Biodiesel Investor Donates $1 Mil to OK Tornado Relief

John Davis

Koch1An investor in a biodiesel operation in Nebraska is donating $1 million to Oklahoma tornado relief. Koch Industries, Inc. made the donation to support relief efforts for the devastated the cities of Moore and Shawnee, and other affected areas of the state:

Half of that amount will be given to the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund established by Governor Mary Fallin in coordination with the United Way of Central Oklahoma. The other half will go to the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army to help affected families with their most urgent needs, including housing, transportation, clothing and more. In addition, Georgia-Pacific, a Koch company, has donated six truckloads of products from its Muskogee, Okla., Fort Smith, Ark. and Naheola, Ala. facilities including Angel Soft® and Quilted Northern® bath tissue, Sparkle® paper towels, Dixie® cups and plates, and Mardi Gras® napkins.

“Koch has deep roots in Oklahoma, and we want the communities of Moore, Shawnee and others throughout the state to know we stand with them and pray for them as they begin the difficult process of rebuilding their lives,” said Dave Robertson, president and COO of Koch Industries, Inc.”

Koch’s Flint Hills Resources Renewables, LLC just inked a deal to use Benefuel, Inc.’s patented ENSEL® refining technology at Flint Hills’ Beatrice, Nebraska biodiesel plant.

Biodiesel

New Solutions for Electric Vehicles

Joanna Schroeder

Volvo Electric Road Test1As gas prices continue to jump up at the pump, the future of electric vehicles is looking bright. The Volvo Group is working on improving electric vehicles and looking for more solutions for vehicles to operate on renewable energy. The company has proposed a future where trucks and buses and continuously supplied with electric power but without batteries. Rather, power lines are built into the surface of the road.

Mats Alaküla, Volvo Group’s expert on electric vehicles and professor at Lund University notes that a challenge is supplying a vehicle with electrical power when needed. “In city traffic, there are currently various solutions and we are researching many others. We have field tests in progress where our plug-in buses are equipped with a battery that can be charged quickly when the buses are at bus stops.”

However, Alaküla notes that using batteries to power trucks and buses traveling long distance will not work. These vehicles stop infrequently and would need so many batteries there would be no room for loads or passengers. This is why the company is searching for a solution to constantly provide power to a truck or bus from an external source through its participation in a large Swedish research project with the support of the Swedish Energy Agency.

The method currently being developed and tested by the Volvo Group, together with Alstom, entails two power lines built into the surface of the road along the entire length of the road. A current collector in contact with the power lines will be located on the truck. With this method, electric vehicles could be continuously supplied with power without carrying large batteries explains Alaküla. The power line will be built in sections and one section is only live as the truck passes.”Read More

Alternative energy, automotive, Electric Vehicles

Ethanol Improving While Oil Gets Worse

Joanna Schroeder

The House and Energy Commerce Committee has released its third white paper on the Renewable Fuel Standard, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Environmental Impacts.” Executive Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Brian Jennings, responded with written comments that included but were not limited to feedback on the RFS role on the environment, agricultural sustainability and tailpipe emissions.

“…petroleum represents the most harmful source of transportation fuel while renewable fuels such as ethanol represent the safest. Recent crude oil spills have killed fish, animals, and plant life. Ethanol, on the other hand, is derived from plant life and ethanol coproducts are fed to fish and livestock. At the same timeCorn_field ethanol’s lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and production efficiencies are dramatically improving, extracting and processing crude oil into gasoline is becoming more expensive, inefficient, and destructive to the environment,” wrote Jennings. (Read ACE’s full comments here.)

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) responded to seven questions proposed in the white paper by proposing 10 questions of their own.(Read RFA’s full comments here.)

RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen said, “When assessing the environmental impacts of renewable fuels, it is absolutely imperative to make appropriate comparisons to the impacts associated with the use of petroleum fuels. In other words, it is inappropriate to examine the environmental effects of the RFS without simultaneously examining the effects of not having the RFS. It is also important to compare new renewable fuels entering the market to the actual sources of marginal petroleum they are delaying and displacing.”

ACE, advanced biofuels, biofuels, Ethanol, RFA, RFS

Group to Take Over Nebraska Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

BenefuelA Nebraska biodiesel plant is being taken over by a group that includes a Japanese investor. Benefuel Inc., with shares held by Tokyo-based conglomerate ITOCHU Corp., and Flint Hills Resources Renewables, LLC, owned by Koch Industries, have inked an agreement to develop biodiesel refineries in using Benefuel’s patented ENSEL® refining technology:

The joint venture, named Duonix, LLC, is actively developing the first project, which is a retrofit of the 50-million-gallon-per-year facility in Beatrice, Nebraska, which was acquired by FHR out of bankruptcy and has since been transferred to Duonix. The Beatrice plant will continue to be operated by FHR.

“After significant validation of the Benefuel technology, we are looking forward to demonstrating its commercial application and the competitive advantage we expect it will offer,” said Jeremy Bezdek, managing director, Innovation, FHR. “We are excited to partner with Benefuel to bring this next-generation biofuels technology to market.”

Officials from both companies say Benefuel’s ENSEL method will allow for cheaper, high free fatty acid (FFA) feedstocks, such as distillers corn oil from ethanol refining, waste-vegetable oils, animal fats and unrefined oils, without the usual processing penalty, letting the refinery be profitable.

Biodiesel, International

Iowa Gets Aggressive on Blend Wall

Joanna Schroeder

E85 pump in IowaThe Iowa Legislature has passed H.F. 640 that supports fuel choice for Iowa’s fuel retailers and consumers. The legislation protects retailers from Big Oil efforts to restrict competition by guaranteeing them the right to offer ethanol and biodiesel blends of their choice including E15, E85 and B20.

“This legislation represents a solid step forward for higher ethanol blends, consumer choice, and the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS),” said Iowa Renewable Fuel Association (IRFA) President Rick Schwarck, CEO of Absolute Energy. “I find it ironic that Big Oil consistently claims that retailers don’t want to sell higher ethanol blends like E15, yet they use every trick in the book to prevent retailers from offering E15.  In fact, the American Petroleum Institute (API) fought tooth and nail to try to keep these retailer protections out of the bill.  This bill tears down one part of Big Oil’s bogus blend wall in Iowa.”

The legislation includes a section that amounts to a retailer ‘Bill of Rights,’ preventing oil refiners’ supply agreements from directly or indirectly limiting the ability of local retailers to offer the ethanol and biodiesel blends they choose. The provision was based on a law enacted in South Dakota in 2011 and addresses specific, anti-competition provisions from actual refiner supply agreements.  As a result, new supply agreements will not be allowed to:

  • Restrict fuels from other suppliers;
  • Restrict installing a blender pump;
  • Restrict using current equipment from offering higher blends, like E15, E85, and B20;
  • Restrict ethanol or biodiesel blends from being advertised;
  • Restrict the locations where a retailer may offer the higher blends (like under a canopy); and
  • Restrict payment for higher blends to cash only (no credit cards).

“One supplier should not be allowed to dictate to local retailers what they can and cannot do with products from other suppliers,” continued Schwarck.  “More freedom for retailers to offer the fuels they choose often means more ethanol and biodiesel blends, which benefits consumers by increasing competition at the pump.  And it also means more RINs will be generated for use in complying with the federal RFS.”

Biodiesel, biofuels, E15, E85, Ethanol, Iowa RFA, Renewable Energy

Bioenergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFVIASPACE has signed a joint development agreement with Grain Hill / AGRICORP to establish, develop, build, own and operate a 2,100 acre Giant King Grass plantation and a co-located 12 MW biomass power plant. The two companies will be equal shareholders.
  • Green Plains Renewable Energy has qualified for recognition under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) program, based on the findings of a third-party audit conducted by SCS Global Services.  SCS found that Green Plains’ biofuels production and use results in less than half (about 45%) of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with ordinary gasoline. The award of certification confirms that Green Plains is in compliance with the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive, allowing the company to export biofuel to Europe.
  • Alterra Power Corp. has announced the completion of a joint venture agreement with Energy Development Corporation (EDC) for the development of Alterra’s Mariposa geothermal project in Chile plus three geothermal concessions held by Alterra in Peru.
  • Globeleq has inaugurated its 44 MW Eolo de Nicaragua S.A. (Eolo) wind farm in Nicaragua. The Eolo wind farm is located in the province of Rivas on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, about 123 kms south of the capital Managua.  Using 22 x 2.0 MW Gamesa G90 wind turbine generators, electricity is sold through two 20-year PPAs to the national privately owned distribution companies.
Bioenergy Bytes

April Biodiesel Production Hits 110 Million Gallons

John Davis

nbb-logoNew numbers from the EPA show that biodiesel production in the U.S. hit 110 million gallons in April … staying on pace to hit more than a billion gallons for this year. The National Biodiesel Board hopes the green fuel can exceed targets set under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for a third consecutive year:

The numbers show a total of more than 118 million gallons of Biomass-based Diesel for April, but that total also includes production of renewable diesel. The biodiesel portion of the total was 110 million gallons – roughly the same production as in March and putting year-to-date biodiesel production through the end of April at almost 369 million gallons.

NBB also points out that the biodiesel industry supports about 50,000 jobs across the country.

Biodiesel, Government, NBB

Tesla Repayment Testiment to DOE Loans

Joanna Schroeder

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Automotive has repaid its entire $465 million DOE loan guarantee the company received from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nine years earlier than originally required. New Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said of the feat, “When you’re talking about cutting-edge clean energy technologies, not every investment will succeed — but today’s repayment is the latest indication that the Energy Department’s portfolio of more than 30 loans is delivering big results for the American economy while costing far less than anticipated.”

The program came under fire in 2011/2012 when solar manufacturing company Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ceased all operations after receiving a Tesla EVsignificant amount of loans and grants from the DOE. Yet Moniz noted that more than 90 percent of loan loss reserve Congress established remains intact with losses only representing about 2 percent of the overall $34 billion portfolio.

“The Department first offered loans to Tesla and other auto manufacturers in June 2009, when car companies couldn’t get other financing and many people questioned whether the industry would survive,” continued Moniz. “Today, Tesla employs more than 3,000 American workers and is living proof of the power of American innovation.  This is another important contribution to what the Obama Administration has done to preserve and promote America’s auto industry.

“Finally, this announcement is also good news for the future of America’s growing electric vehicle industry.  While the market has taken longer than predicted to get going, sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. tripled last year and are continuing to increase rapidly in 2013.  Tesla and other U.S. manufacturers are in a strong position to compete for this growing global market,” Moniz concluded.

Tesla’s $465 million loan enabled it to reopen a shuttered auto manufacturing plant in Fremont, California and to produce battery packs, electric motors, and other powertrain components. Tesla vehicles have won wide acclaim, including the 2013 Car of the Year from both Motor Trend and Automotive Magazine, and Consumer Reports recently rated Tesla’s Model S as tied for the best car ever rated. Tesla has created more than 3,000 full-time jobs in California – far more than the company initially estimated – and is building out a supply chain that supports numerous additional jobs and technologies, and is bringing advanced manufacturing technology back to America.

Alternative energy, Electric Vehicles

Bioenergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has joined the ASTM (Formerly American Society for Testing and Materials) Technical Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants, represented by ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty.BioEnergyBytesDF
  • Solar garden developer Clean Energy Collective (CEC) is working to build the first community-owned solar garden in Putney, Vermont. Reservations are available for the Putney Community Solar Array, a 147 kW photovoltaic (PV) system. The 588-panel solar garden owners will receive all rebates and tax incentives.
  • N.C. State University has been awarded a three-year $6,200,000 award for the Clean Fuel Advanced Technology (CFAT) project from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The CFAT project focuses on improving air quality in 24 non-attainment counties throughout the state and includes a public education campaign and the launch of a green fleet.
  • Sempra U.S. Gas & Power and Consolidated Edison Development are partnering on two of Sempra U.S. Gas & Power’s solar power facilities, the 150-megawatt (MW) Copper Mountain Solar 2 plant near Las Vegas and the 150-MW Mesquite Solar 1 power plant near Phoenix. Under the sales agreement, each company will own a 50-percent interest in the two solar facilities, which are among the largest photovoltaic plants in the U.S.
  • CleanFUEL USA has partnered with the City of Springfield, Illinois to convert 24 police cars and pickup truck to propane autogas. Fuel savings for the first year is estimated to be more than $82,000.
Bioenergy Bytes

EMCORE Wins NASA Solar Contract

Joanna Schroeder

EMCORE Corporation has been awarded a contract by ATK to design and manufacture solar panels for NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) planned for launch in 2015. The solar panels include EMCORE’s most advanced XTJ triple-junction solar cells, and will power a satellite that will carry the GPIM payload. ATK will integrate the EMCORE’s solar panels into its heritage-designed solar arrays for final flight configuration for the GPIM satellite.

705062main_gpim_earth_flyover_226One goal of the GPIM project is to demonstrate the practical capabilities of AF-M315E, a high-performance green alternative to hydrazine that has traditionally been used to fuel several spacecraft. This low-toxicity propellant is expected to improve overall vehicle performance – more fuel can be stored in current containers and it delivers greater thrust per given quantity of fuel.

“ATK is pleased to be providing the solar arrays for the GPIM project to Ball Aerospace, and we look forward to another successful collaboration with EMCORE in support of this innovative program,” said Dave Messner, General Manager of ATK Space Systems in Goleta, Calif.

GPIM is supported by co-investigators including NASA’s Glenn Research Center and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio; Aerojet Corporation, a GenCorp company in Washington; NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida; and the U.S. Air Force Space & Missile Systems Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

“EMCORE is extremely pleased and honored to receive this program award from ATK,” added Brad Clevenger, Ph.D., General Manager of EMCORE’s Photovoltaics Division. “EMCORE has partnered with ATK on many successful missions, and we greatly value our long-standing business relationship. We look forward to supporting ATK on the Green Propellant Infusion Mission.”

Alternative energy, Solar