ACE: Fighting Fallacies and Making Believers in E15

John Davis

Vincent Kwasniewski GTL ResourcesMaking people converts to the idea of ethanol, especially higher blends of E15 and above, is no easy chore. But many of the folks gathered for this week’s American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 26th annual conference, with the theme of “Unite and Ignite,” seemed pretty united and ignited to fight some of the fallacies swirling around E15. Among those is former Amoco and BP oilman Vince Kwasniewski, now with GTL Resources. During last March’s ACE Biofuels Beltway event in Washington, D.C., he told Joanna that his message to lawmakers on Capitol Hill was one of choice for the consumer.

“E15 is not something that consumers are mandated to use. It’s not something that going to cause the disappearance of E10. It’s something that consumers ought to have the choice to use, and retailers ought to have the choice to offer,” he said.

Vince added that getting educated is key to having the best weapons in your arsenal when battling fallacies put out by Big Oil.

“Unfortunately, our opponents primarily in the oil industry and the American Petroleum Institute have a lot of money to spread misinformation, and it’s getting picked up by the press, not very critical of where it’s coming from and getting parroted back to the public,” he said, advising ethanol advocates to hit back with the facts. “Ethanol is energy beneficial. Ethanol has less greenhouse gas admissions. Ethanol costs less than gasoline. Ethanol gets no subsidies.”

Listen to Joanna’s interview with Vince here: Vince Kwasniewski, GTL Resources

Visit the ACE 26th Annual Ethanol Conference photo album.

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Audio, E15, Ethanol, Government

Ethanol Report on RFS Attacks

Cindy Zimmerman

fps13-dinneenThe attacks on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by the oil industry just keep coming and Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen was at the 2013 Farm Progress Show this week to talk about the latest – a petition for a partial waiver submitted recently to EPA by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM).

ethanol-report-adIn this “Ethanol Report” interview, Dinneen talks about RFA’s letter to EPA urging them to reject the waiver request. “API really doesn’t have standing to even file a waiver because they’re not an obligated party,” he says.

Dinneen also talks about cellulosic ethanol production, RINS, and his reaction to Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) considering legislative changes to the RFS.

Ethanol Report interview with Bob Dinneen: Ethanol Report on Latest RFS Attacks

Subscribe to “The Ethanol Report” with this link.

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA, RFS

Mosaic Investors See Good ROI

Joanna Schroeder

Every day consumers and businesses purchase energy from utility companies. But now, some consumers are actually earning an income from utilities that purchase solar power. Now in California, residents can earn income as PG&E energy from a solar installation completed by Pristine Sun, 322 KW solar installation constructed on dual-use farmlands.

Today, Mosaic is offering California residents the ability to invest in the solar project for as little as $25. The total offering is $140,725 and investors are expected to earn 5.5 percent annually over a 10-year period- double the current rate on a 10-year U.S. Treasury bill.

solar project in northern californiaThe solar project will generate revenue by selling clean energy produced to PG&E, one of the largest investment-grade utilities in the country, under a 20-year Purchase Power Agreement. The panel installer, Panasonic, has provided the project with a 12-year production guarantee. This means that if the solar projects fail to generate an expected minimum, Panasonic will cover the shortfall in associated revenue.

“Small utility-scale solar projects like this– complete with a low-risk purchase contract with PG&E and top quality components by Panasonic– are the future of utility-scale solar in America,“ said Troy Helming, CEO of Pristine Sun. “As a Mosaic investor, I’m excited to be making our projects available through their innovative and successful platform.”

This partnership between Mosaic and Pristine Sun launches a series of similar solar investment opportunities with competitive returns. Pristine Sun is the leading integrator for PG&E’s Feed-in-Tariff program, and is developing 50 MW of solar power plants in California, enough to power 50,000 homes, to be sold to utilities under 20-year Power Purchase Agreements.

“California contains nearly a third of the entire solar capacity of the United States, but 75% of Californians can’t install solar directly on their homes,” added Billy Parish, President of Mosaic. “We’re thrilled to work with Pristine Sun to provide these opportunities for all residents (over 18) to participate and earn 5.5% returns.”

Electricity, Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar, Utilities

Indonesia Aims to Increase Biodiesel Use

John Davis

Indonesia flag1Indonesia wants to increase its use of biodiesel. This story from The Jakarta Post says the government’s finance and energy ministries came up with the plan to be greener and solve a fiscal deficit.

“The policy is being finalized with an aim to reduce oil and gas imports significantly,” [Deputy Finance Minister Mahendra Siregar] said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Mahendra further explained that the policy was aimed at reducing the current account deficit and to maintain the stability of rupiah exchange rate, the first of four policies in the government’s economic package issued on Friday.

In the second quarter of 2013, the current account deficit reached 4.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Mahendra said the mandatory biodiesel use of 10 percent would be implemented starting from September 2013 to replace subsidized diesel fuel in Bali, Java, Kalimantan and Sumatra.

The rest of the country will see the 10 percent mandate starting at the beginning of 2014. The Indonesian legislature is expected to discuss the new regulation.

Biodiesel, International

Waste-to-Energy Insider Interviews

Joanna Schroeder

Renewable Waste Intelligence has just released a report, RWI Insider Interviews:
The Municipal Perspective on Waste Conversion Projects, that features five in-depth interviews with executives that focus on waste management to energy. Interviews featured RWI Insider Interviewsare with the County of Maui; the City of San Jose; Humboldt Waste Management Authority;, Monterey Regional Waste Management District; and the City of Glendale. The interviews provide insight into the experience of companies currently undergoing municipal waste conversion projects including opportunities and challenges the projects face.

The goal of the brief is to give the reader insight into how municipalities deal with regulatory & technical issues, have changed public perception, utilised public-private partnerships and financed projects; and understand how municipalities go about selecting project partners and technology providers.

For instance, Kyle Ginoza, Director of the Department of Environmental Management in the
County of Maui, Hawaii, notes, “The greatest challenge is perhaps ensuring that a waste conversion project is economically viable. We face constraints in acceptability of the project from an electricity generation perspective, since there is a multitude of existing renewable energy projects in the region. Consequently, our waste conversion project will entail generating liquid and solid fuels as the output marketable products.”

The paper was launched as a prelude to the upcoming Waste Conversion Congress taking place December 3-4, 2013 in San Diego, California. Click here for more information and to register.

conferences, Waste-to-Energy

Biodiesel Maker Hits Milestone, Makes Univ. Deal

John Davis

sequentialpacificA biodiesel maker in the Pacific Northwest hits a milestone in making the green fuel and strikes a deal with a major collegiate athletic program in the area. SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel, which turns waste cooking oil into biodiesel, has produced its 20 millionth gallon of the fuel. And this company news release says the region’s longest-running commercial biodiesel producer has struck a deal with the University of Oregon to recycle the athletic department’s cooking oil into biodiesel.

The University of Oregon joins more than 7,000 Northwest organizations in working with SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel to recycle cooking oil. SeQuential Pacific’s fuel is made from used cooking oil collected from local restaurants, businesses, hospitals and schools. These relationships help benefit the environment by diverting a waste stream – keeping used oil out of landfills or the sewer system – and by producing a cleaner-burning fuel. Biodiesel made from used cooking oil is significantly cleaner than petroleum diesel, emitting up to 78 percent less carbon dioxide and other harmful gasses.

“Oregon Athletics is committed to playing a leadership role in the university’s greening efforts,” said Craig Pintens, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Marketing & Public Relations. “From individual offices to our complex of athletic venues, our staff, student-athletes, and supporters are making a difference for the environment. We are excited to be working with SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel to ensure that the waste oil generated by our athletics concessions will be put to good use for the environment as well as for the community.”

“Twenty million gallons is a major milestone for us and a testament to the partnerships we work to foster between our team, our customers and the community,” said Tyson Keever, general manager for SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel. “Our relationships are critical to what we do. We’re particularly excited about this agreement with the University of Oregon because it has already played a big role in shaping our story.”

What also makes the deal even better is that many of SeQuential’s founding members are also Oregon alumni.

Biodiesel

ACE on Ethanol: Keep it Simple, Say What You Know

John Davis

Larry JohnsonAs members of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) gather in Des Moines, Iowa this week to “Unite and Ignite” for their 26th annual conference, there’s some simple advice for those advocating for the green fuel.

“Keep it simple … say what you know … be able to back it up,” advised Larry Johnson, a lead consultant with LLJ, Cologne, Minn., when asked by Joanna how he talked to legislators in Washington, D.C. during last March’s ACE Biofuels Beltway event when about 70 ethanol backers gathered on Capitol Hill to tell ethanol’s story.

Larry said the lawmakers earlier this year had lots of questions many Americans have about ethanol: asking about things such as the food-versus-fuel debate and ethanol blends in off-road and marine engines. He also made the point that advanced biofuels are not just something that are coming sometime in the future.

“Advanced biofuels are definitely here now,” he said, specifically pointing out that cellulosic ethanol is past the days when advocates kept promising that it was “just around the corner.” “We have several companies, Abengoa, POET, DuPont, Ineos down in Florida, that [are] building and even one is in production down in Florida. The other plants have got steel in the ground. By the end of this year, we’ll have our first production facilities from corn stover and other products.”

While he admitted it’s been a long process to get here, Larry believes once the cellulosic process is tweaked, things will really take off.

“It’s going to boom again, and we’ll see a lot of this.”

Listen to Joanna’s interview with Larry here: Larry Johnson, LLJ, Lead Consultant

Visit the ACE 26th Annual Ethanol Conference photo album.

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, advanced biofuels, Audio, Government

ACE: Infographic Tells a Thousand Words of Ethanol

John Davis

Greg Veerman Astronaut Brand StudioYou’ve heard the expression that “a picture tells a thousand words.” Well, some advocates of ethanol believe a well-done picture coupled with compelling facts can tell that thousand words even better (which falls in line with our latest ZimmComm poll results about infographics). American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) members are gathering this week as they “Unite and Ignite” for this year’ 26th annual conference in Des Moines, Iowa, and hopefully, they’re armed to tell ethanol’s story with an engaging infographic touting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) developed by Greg Veerman’s Astronaut Brand Studio:”An American Success.”

“There are a lot of smart people in this industry who have been serving up a laundry list of features and benefits behind ethanol and the technology, and it’s been kind of a repeated script. What we’re trying to do with the infographic we developed is to use design as a tool,” Greg told Joanna during ACE’s Beltway Biofuels March earlier this year, as about 70 ethanol advocates descended on the nation’s capital to talk with lawmakers. “Design is meant to solve problems, and that’s what we’re doing here with the infographic, [reframing] those features and benefits in a way that engages the audience.”

aceinfographic1Greg went on to say that this infographic helps cut through the noise, and it invites exploration by the reader, giving more visual energy than a white paper, without replacing the necessity and information of a white paper but giving people a chance to better relate to the data.

He continued, pointing out that many of the arguments against ethanol are predictable. But he believes if ethanol advocates are able to use the infographic and the facts behind it, they’ll sway audiences because there are some real compelling reasons to support the green fuel. It just needs to be told properly.

“We need to wrap our data with the human dimension and the human benefits that this industry has delivered to so many communities all over the country … and not just in the cornbelt. There are people paying their bills and putting food in their cupboards who are working on the science, the biotechnology and the engineering, and I think the personal human dimension and benefit that represents for American families really in every state is a critical component to this.”

Listen to Joanna’s interview with Greg here: Greg Veerman, Astronaut Brand Studio

Visit the ACE 26th Annual Ethanol Conference photo album.

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Audio, biofuels

ACE: When Telling the Truth About Ethanol, It’s Easy

John Davis

Troy Prescott Cardinal EthanolAs members of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) gather in Des Moines, Iowa this week to “Unite and Ignite” for their 26th annual conference, we’re reminded of some previous advice from Troy Prescott with Cardinal Ethanol about telling the good news story of ethanol.

“When you’re telling the truth, it isn’t hard to keep telling the story,” he told Joanna back when she talked to him during ACE’s Biofuels Beltway event last March in Washington, D.C., as about 70 ethanol backers gathered on Capitol Hill to tell that ethanol story (and you thought no one ever spoke the truth in Washington!).

Troy said they faced some real doubters in the Nation’s capital, including Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who had just sponsored legislation to keep E15 from going to the marketplace. But he said they stuck to the facts about ethanol, and giving credit to the senator, Hatch’s office listened. Troy explained that while Utah is not a cornbelt state, it’s still in the senator’s and his constituents’ best interests to see ethanol succeed now, because today’s support of corn ethanol will pay off when the industry is able to move more to cellulosic, and places like Utah can reap the benefits.

“You just have to find the niche that gets them to start thinking, ‘Hey, this could be good for my state.'”

While he realizes he’s not going to convert everyone, Troy believes continuing to tell ethanol’s factual story, even to those in the cornbelt, will pay off in the long run, bit-by-bit.

“You just gotta keep chippin’ away, getting your word out,” he concluded.

Listen to Joanna’s interview with Troy here: Troy Prescott, Cardinal Ethanol

Visit the ACE 26th Annual Ethanol Conference photo album.

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Audio, biofuels, Cellulosic, conferences, corn, Ethanol, Government

Most People Love Infographics

Talia Goes

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is your opinion on farm info graphics?”

Our poll results:
· Love them, they are helpful 69%
· Waste of energy 6%
· Confusing 13%
· Other 13%

It looks like the time spent creating these easy-to-use, quick-to-read infographics is worthwhile. Keep up the good work.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question “Why do you attend farm shows?” A lot of companies spend a lot of money promoting their products, answering questions and launching new products at trade shows, but we want to know why YOU go! Let us know.

ZimmPoll