Conference Gives Homebrew Biodieselers a Home

John Davis

CollectiveBiodieselConf1Of course, most people who follow renewable fuels are familiar with the National Biodiesel Board‘s annual conference and expo. It’s a great venue for some of the bigger commercial ventures, but for those who might be brewing up a few gallons in their garages, there’s a place just for them. This article in the Aspen Business Journal talks the Collective Biodiesel Conference, returning to Colorado this year and attracting some of the nation’s leading experts, researchers and innovators in the biodiesel industry.

[T]he conference … was first held in 2006 at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden grew from a very humble beginning.

“There was no real conference for ‘home-brewers’ [of the fuel],” said Graydon Blair, one of the conference founders. “It was just a bunch of people on the internet talking about biodiesel.”

Blair, an expert in small-scale biodiesel brewing and president of Utah Biodiesel Supply, has been involved in the industry since 2003. He said the original conference grew from an idea he and three other biodiesel enthusiasts shared because the only other annual conference catered to larger commercial businesses.

“We wanted to share ideas on a small scale,” he said. “We wanted people to come to a central place and share ideas about biodiesel and what it does, and let others who are doing it share their stories.”

That tradition of sharing ideas continues Aug. 15-18 at Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge. More information is available here.

Biodiesel, conferences

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFPOET Founder and Executive Chairman, Jeff Broin, was honored by Top Producer Magazine readers as the top brave thinker in agriculture over the last 30 years.
  • According to EIA data, ethanol production averaged 832,000 barrels per day (b/d) — or 34.94 million gallons daily for the week ending July 26, 2013. That is down 21,000 b/d from the week before and the lowest in 16 weeks. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 861,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 13.12 billion gallons. Stocks of ethanol stood at 16.5 million barrels. That is a 4.7% decrease from last week. Imports of ethanol were 13,000 b/d, down significantly from last week. Year-to-date imports stood at 175.7 million gallons according to EIA weekly data. EPA expects 666 million gallons of imports will be needed to meet the 2013 advanced biofuel standard.
  • Kathryn Christensen, a Professor of Practice at the University of Nebraska/Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications, will discuss trends in media reporting at the Nebraska Ethanol Board meeting on August 7th. The meeting is open to the public.
  • ICM has been issued Canadian Patent No. for its Advanced Oil Separation (AOSTM) System. ICM’s AOS technology employs both mechanical and chemical separation and delivers significant economic value to an ethanol plant by dramatically increasing a volume of non-food grade oil recovered from the plant’s process streams. AOSTM uses a centrifuge as a mechanical dewatering device to deliver a targeted emulsion concentrate stream for further processing by adding a polar solvent, ethanol, as an emulsion breaking-agent.
Bioenergy Bytes

Concord Pacific To Purchase 5 Solar Projects

Joanna Schroeder

Concord Pacific Energy has entered into an agreement with Canadian Solar Solutions to acquire five utility-scale solar power plants totaling 49 MW and valued at more than U.S. $277 million. Under the agreement, the five utility-scale solar power plants, located in Chesterville, Pefferlaw, Springwater, Sudbury and Wyebridge, Ontario, Canada, are canadian_solar_solutions solar projectexpected to start construction during 2013 and 2014 with commercial operation expected in 2014. Canadian Solar will provide turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) services to complete the projects and will provide operations and maintenance services after completion. BowMont Capital and Advisory acted as financial advisor to Concord on the transaction.

“Concord Green Energy is always looking at a variety of investment opportunities in green energy production to fulfill our mission of creating sustainable communities,” said Cliff McCracken, Senior Vice-President Concord Pacific. “Critical to our success in this area is finding and working with strong EPC partners who deliver high-quality projects that we can feel good about aligning with our brand. Canadian Solar has a reputation as a leading provider of solar energy solutions, making its projects attractive investments for our firm.”

The five utility-scale solar power plants will power approximately 8,713 homes. In addition, the installations will include approximately 236,000 Canadian Solar CS6X high-performance modules. The CS6X modules have been formally tested and awarded international certifications. The solar farms are expected to in total create more than 500 new jobs during the development and construction phases of all five solar projects.

“Concord shares our vision of creating renewable clean energy to power our communities,” added Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. “This agreement is a further example of Canadian Solar’s successful transition from a premier PV module manufacturer to a PV total solution provider and the agreement with Concord is expected to contribute to our success. Through a careful and focused approach, we have built an attractive pipeline of sought-after solar power projects in Canada and the U.S., and are pursuing growth opportunities in other key markets. We look forward to successful cooperation with Concord.”

Electricity, Energy, Solar

Illinois Biodiesel Terminal Re-Opens After Repairs

John Davis

ghc_tanker1Biodiesel deliveries started up again after repairs on a meter at the Buckeye Terminal’s Hartford, Ill., terminal. Biodiesel Magazine says the news was certainly welcomed by Gulf Hydrocarbon, the terminal’s biodiesel supplier.

“We applaud the Buckeye Pipeline terminal employees for obtaining the part so quickly and managing the repairs and proving of the meter,” [Jess Hewitt, president of Gulf Hydrocarbon] said. “Buckeye predicted the meter would be back in service by close of business on July 31 and they delivered us a proven meter fully functioning for high-speed deliveries.”

The terminal blends up to nearly 30,000 gallons of biodiesel a day.

Miscellaneous

Man Gets Five Years in Prison for Biodiesel Fraud

John Davis

Texas flagA Texas man gets five years for his part in defrauding investors to sink money into a biodiesel plant that never existed. The Houston Press reports that Kenneth Paul Lawrence was convicted on two charges for his role in raising money for a purported biodiesel plant and sentenced to five years for money laundering.

According to the [Texas State] Securities Board, “Lawrence was the proposed operator of the biodiesel plant, and received money from Greenway Energy Partners LLC, the managing partner of the energy project. Greenway raised more than $800,000 through the fraudulent sale of investments, and Lawrence received $265,000 of that total.”

The board also pointed out that “in 2003, the Texas Securities Commissioner entered an agreed cease and desist order that fined Lawrence for selling unregistered oil and gas securities, and ordered him to stop selling the securities. Lawrence has never been registered in Texas to sell securities.”

Lawrence also received a probated ten-year sentence for engaging in organized criminal activity.

Biodiesel

Riding Safe, Fueling Right at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Chuck Zimmerman

Ride Safe Fuel RightRide Safe. Fuel Right. That’s the message from the Renewable Fuels Association here in Sturgis, SD at the 2013 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I’m on location for the next couple days at the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground where I’ll be documenting the activities with staff members from RFA. We’ll start out with a dinner tonight and the Legends Ride tomorrow that takes off in Deadwood.

According to the Legendary Buffalo Chip it has been a record opening weekend already for this year’s rally.

Legendary Buffalo Chip CampgroundThe Largest Music Festival in Motorcycling™ is off to a record-breaking start. With some campers arriving nearly two weeks prior to the festival kickoff, the sea of people and rumble of bikes for the first two nights of performances was larger than the Sturgis Buffalo Chip campground has ever seen before.

“We’re very excited about attendance we’ve seen so far and look forward to what this year’s rally has in store.” Says Rod Woodruff, President of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip. “In addition, it’s a huge honor to have CMT television filming their Bike Week series here and we’re excited to be able to send a piece of the Chip into millions of home across the country.”

I’ve got a photo album started which I’ll be adding to when I can. You can also expect to hear interviews with a variety of folks including some of the bikers here. I hope you enjoy the coverage and feel free to share: 2013 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Photo Album

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Motorcycle, RFA, Sturgis

Motorcycle Enthusiasts Choose Ethanol at Sturgis Rally

Chuck Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association at SturgisEthanol will be on display in Sturgis, SD once again this year in front of a huge crowd at the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground and the 73rd Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I’ll be working with our good friends at the Renewable Fuels Association. They are partnered with the event and venue to promote the use of ethanol fuel to motorcycle enthusiasts. And having been there once, let me tell you, these are motorcycle enthusiasts!

RFA has produced promotional and educational materials, banners and merchandise including koozies and t-shirts (featured above) exclusively for this event that will be handed out at various locations during the week. The RFA’s promotional trailer will be featured at The Crossroads, a gathering area for riders. The Sturgis Rally offers an opportunity for attendees to be educated on ethanol-blended fuel as it is often mischaracterized as a problem fuel for engines found in motorcycles.

New this year, campers at the Buffalo Chip will see more ethanol promotional efforts on the jumbotrons during the day and concerts at night as videos play 144 times each day. Banners will now also wrap the jumbotrons.

Returning this year is the opportunity for riders to fuel their motorcycles for free. The “Free Fuel Happy Hours” promotion will allow motorcyclists to fill their tank, free of charge, with 93 octane E10 (10 percent ethanol). This high octane fuel is not available in the area, and will be brought in specifically for this event. To fill up, riders must have a Buffalo Chip wristband and no fuel containers will be allowed. The Free Fuel Happy Hours will be on Tuesday, August 6, Wednesday, August 7 and Thursday, August 8 at The Crossroads at the Buffalo Chip from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

“We’re very pleased to have the Renewable Fuels Association at the Chip and offer our campers some education and free ethanol-blended fuel,” said Rod Woodruff of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip. “The RFA will be here to address some of the loose talk we all hear about motorcycles and ethanol. Personally, I’ve used home-grown American ethanol-blended fuel in my motorcycle for years. Naturally, I’m looking forward to getting a free fill at the Buffalo Chip’s CrossRoads during the RFA’s ‘Free Fuel Happy Hours’ and, hopefully, even get some free ‘Fueled with Pride’ stuff.”

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Brazilian Biofuel Trade Mission

Cindy Zimmerman

A first-of-its-kind joint trade mission to Brazil has been scheduled to “improve and enhance biofuels trade by matching businesses seeking greater trade opportunities in ethanol and other biofuels as well as green technology designed to expand and enhance biofuel production.”

brazilApproximately 15 companies will be selected for the mission, which is the product of a partnership between the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), and the Advanced Biofuel Association (ABFA), targeting the Brazilian cities of São Paulo and Recife.

The trade mission, which will be held Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, will focus on introducing importers and exporters of biofuel and biofuel technology, in an effort to enhance bilateral relationships and enhance trade opportunities. The effort was engineered through a partnership between the aforementioned biofuel advocates, and the Brazil-U.S. Business Council (BUSBC), which represents key businesses from the United States and Brazil that have interests in promoting free trade between the two countries. The BUSBC, which is a part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is helping to administer the matchmaking mission as part of its Export Green Initiative, which was created through funding from the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce to promote U.S. exports of renewable and green commodities and technologies.

Learn more about the mission here.

advanced biofuels, biofuels, Brazil, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, UNICA

Are Electric Cars Really Green?

Joanna Schroeder

IMAGITRENDSAccording to two recent articles published in IEEE Spectrum, electric vehicles (EVs) may not be so “green”. The first report, Unclean at Any Speed, describes how the subsidies for electric cars may cause more harm than good after considering full electric vehicle lifecycles. It advocates directing EV subsidies toward initiatives such as emissions testing, bicycle infrastructure, public transit and land-use changes.

The second article, coined by Ozzie Zehner, is a response to electric car proponents published in the same journal, and describes how the high cost of electric cars and solar cells exposes the substantial amount of fossil fuels that their manufacturing employs.

Zehner, is a visiting scholar at the University of California – Berkeley and the author of Green Illusions. He once built an electric hybrid car of his own, but is now more cautious about promoting costly high-tech strategies. “Stating that an electric car is clean is like saying that a light bulb is clean. Light bulbs don’t produce exhaust, but it doesn’t mean we IMAGITRENDScan use them with zero emissions. The same holds true for electric cars,” said Zehner in an NPR interview Monday.

In his article, Zehner identifies a price tag predicament. “The cost of manufactured goods ultimately boils down to two things: natural resource extraction, and profit,” explains Zehner. “Extraction is largely based on fossil-fuel inputs. Generally speaking, if a supposedly green machine costs more than its conventional rival, then more resources had to be claimed to make it possible.”

He indicates that pricey green technologies, including solar cells and electric cars, likely require more fossil fuel and produce more carbon dioxide than their conventional counterparts. Zehner warns that even if electric car costs come down, “we will have invested billions of dollars to maintain an otherwise unsustainable transportation infrastructure.”

Zehner remarks that researchers could instead “measure the virtues of electric cars against those of walkable neighborhoods, and the costs of generating more energy against the savings from using less.” He admits these may not seem comparable at first but that “in a world of 7 billion people living in increasingly precarious times, these are the tough questions that matter.”

Electric Vehicles, Environment

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFVerenium Corporation has announced that James Levine, Chief Executive Officer, and Janet Roemer, Chief Operating Officer, will present at two upcoming conferences. Roemer will present at the Southern California Investor Conference on Thursday, August 8, 2013 at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California at 2:00 pm ET and Levine will present at the upcoming Jefferies 2013 Global Industrials Conference in New York City on Monday, August 12, 2013 10:30 a.m. ET.
  • New Energy Farms is hosting an Open Day featuring a CEEDS demonstration.  For farmers, end users and project developers requiring feedstock, this is an opportunity to see a breeding demonstration of napier grass, miscanthus, arundo donax and sugarcane.  The event is September 19, 2013 in Leamington, Ontario.
  • Advanced Energy Economy announced the appointment of Todd Keller as Vice President, Federal Policy. Keller previously led legislative efforts for the National Wildlife Federation, and served as the Director of Recreation Policy for the Outdoor Industry Association. Keller will work to build the Accelerating Energy Leadership Political Action Committee.
  • Moore Energy, a Southampton, PA based renewable energy design and installation firm, recently completed the installation of a 39,000 watt solar system at the Northampton, Bucks County Municipal Authority. The solar system was installed at no cost to the Authority through a Power Purchase Agreement, and will guarantee a 20% reduction in utility costs. The solar system is comprised of 150 WINAICO 260 W modules.
Bioenergy Bytes