ACE Conference 2026

We Need to Act Now

Joanna Schroeder

“Americans are already paying the price of inaction,” said President Obama today during his speech on climate change at Georgetown University. After using the “facts of science” President Obama June 25 2013 Climate Change speechto prove that climate change is real, he asked, “So the question now is will we have the courage to act now before it’s too late. We need to act. “I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that’s beyond fixable. And that’s why today I’m announcing a new national climate action plan and I’m here to enlist your generation’s help.”

In anticipation of his plan, groups from around the country reacted to his new climate plan. Graham Richard, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) said, “As a business voice for technology-driven energy progress, AEE believes that President Obama’s plan moves the United States toward a smarter energy future, for economic as well as environmental benefits.”

“Energy efficiency standards will save money as well as energy,” Richard continued. “Utilizing public lands for their solar and wind resources follows in the footsteps of mineral resources and forestry products and should be pursued in the interest of national prosperity. New regulations on emissions will accelerate the replacement of outmoded power plants with high efficiency and low emitting technologies. All of these steps will make the U.S. more of a leader in advanced energy, which is a $1 trillion global market opportunity for American companies and American workers.”Read More

advanced biofuels, AEC, Alternative energy, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Environment, NBB

DuPont Exec Talks Food and Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

ifama-13-dupontFood security was the topic for an address last week to the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) World Forum by DuPont Executive Vice President Jim Borel.

“We need a new generation of food visionaries who can see the tremendous opportunity made possible by the simple fact that people have to eat,” Borel told the group of more than 450 attendees during his address.

The DuPont executive talked about the need for local solutions, information transfer, sustainability in a broad sense, and collaboration. His best quote was about technology. “There’s more technology in a kernel of seed corn than there is in an iPhone,” and even more than that, there’s more hope to feed the world.

After his talk, I had a chance to interview Mr. Borel and I asked him about one issue that he did not touch on during his address – how agriculture can produce both food and fuel and how biofuels have been blamed for food shortages in the world. “This is an important debate,” he said. “First of all, food security and energy security and sustainability are both important issues and each country and government need to come up with the policies and approaches that work best for them.”

Borel believes that at this point, grain-based ethanol production has pretty much reached a peak in the United States. “I think the growth in biofuels production is largely going to be coming from cellulosic sources,” he said. “Our activity in DuPont through our industrial biosciences business is we’re working on enzymes that can help the grain ethanol producers be even more efficient at getting more ethanol out of every bushel of corn.”

He adds that they are working on the next generation of biofuels. “We just broke ground last fall on a commercial scale demonstration facility in Iowa … to take corn stover and convert is to ethanol,” said Borel. “It’s using an agricultural waste to produce something of real value.”

Interview with DuPont Exec Jim Borel


IFAMA 23rd World Forum Photo Album

advanced biofuels, Agribusiness, Audio, biofuels, Cellulosic

WindMade Launches New Product Label

Joanna Schroeder

WindMade product labelWindMade has launched the first global consumer label for products made with wind energy. This label completes the WindMade label portfolio. In tandem with the launch, the organization is calling on consumers to show their support for wind power by participating in the ‘Show You Care‘ campaign. The goal of the campaign is to demonstrate to leading brands that consumers around the world favor products that are manufactured with renewable energy.

In a 2012 global consumer study sponsored by Vestas, 73 percent of consumers globally would have a more positive perception of a brand if it used wind power as their primary energy source.

“The WindMade product label provides consumers with the transparency they demand, and with a credible and intuitive tool to make informed purchasing decisions,” said Henrik Kuffner, WindMade’s CEO. “And in addition, it gives companies an instrument to tap into this large pool of environmentally conscious consumers.”

The WindMade Product Label can be applied to all products using a minimum share of 75 percent of renewable energy in their total electricity consumption, with wind power representing the largest share. A cradle-to-gate approach was adopted, which means that the label will cover the entire power consumption for all product components, from the extraction of the raw materials all the way to the product leaving the factory gate.

“Now it is time for consumers to speak out. We know that they care, and we know that they want to see more companies using wind power. With our campaign, we invite them to actively show their support, and to put pressure on their favourite brands to use this clean, emissions-free energy source for manufacturing our most beloved products,” added Angelika Pullen, WindMade’s Communications Director, who is managing the campaign.

Alternative energy, Environment, Video, Wind

Hanery Releases Global Energy Report

Joanna Schroeder

Hanery Holding Group, a thin-film PV company, has issued its first annual Global Renewable Energy Report. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the renewable energy landscape, outlining patterns and trends in the industry and exploring effective measures to cope with climate change.

HanergylogoHanery says the report clearly demonstrates the increasing role that new energy is playing within the world’s energy structure, with global investment in renewables reaching an impressive $268.7 billion in 2012. In spite of the global downturn in economic growth since 2008, investment in renewable energy increased at a compound annual growth rate of 19 percent between 2006 and 2012.

“Our research is showing that renewable energy, far from being a supplementary option, is already starting to become a genuine replacement for more traditional forms of energy across the globe, “said Hejun Li, chairman and CEO of Hanergy. “We estimate that by 2035, half the world’s energy will be generated from renewable sources.”

China was a clear leader in investments in 2012 totaling $67.7 billion, equal to 25 percent of total global investment. A large portion of China’s investment went to the photovoltaic (PV) industry where, in spite of EU and U.S. anti-dumping measures, companies with core technologies continued to prosper.

Elsewhere, developed economies continued to commit to investment to renewable energy resources. German, Italy and Japan have pledged to phase-out nuclear energy, and Japan invested 75 percent more in renewables in 2012 than in the 2011. Overall, Hanery says the report demonstrates that while huge challenges remain, a future with renewable energy at its core is well within sight.

Electricity, Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar

RIN Amounts Indicate Positive Trend for Biodiesel

John Davis

Nicholas PaulsonEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) figures for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) shows in 2.5 billion 2012 RINs across the biodiesel (D4), advanced (D5), and renewable (D6) categories. Of this total, just over 2 billion D6 RINs were available. This analysis from Nick Paulson with the University of Illinois says it could indicate a trend that is good news for the biodiesel industry:

Current levels of available 2012 RIN stocks have not changed significantly over the past few months. However, 2013 RIN generation across the D4, D5, and D6 categories implies that these stock levels could be significantly reduced in 2013. This will provide lower RIN carryover into 2014 when mandate levels continue to rise and physical blending constraints tighten further due to the E10 blend wall. This will force increased blending of biodiesel (see here for more info), which does not face the blend wall, or increased use of higher ethanol blend rates such as E15 or E85 (see here for more info).

The analysis goes on to point out that an expected 12.3 billion D6 RINs will be generated in 2013, falling 1.5 billion gallons short of the renewable component of the RFS mandate for 2013 (13.8 billion gallons). And that’s the point the article makes in that biodiesel has an easier job making up those RIN shortages.

Biodiesel, RINS

Edeniq Squeezing Every Penny Out of Ethanol Plants

John Davis

FEW13-edeniq-thomeAfter the ethanol industry went through such a tight year last year, it’s no wonder refineries are looking to squeeze every penny out of profitability out of every gallon that comes out of the plant. During the recent Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis, Mo., Joanna had a chance to talk with Brian Thome, the President and CEO of Edeniq, a company that specializes in doing just that.

“It was founded with the idea of how do you take corn plants and migrate them over to a world class cellulosic operation. And what we’ve done is transition that into how do you take a corn ethanol plant and make it better,” he said. Edeniq has developed an end-to-end cellulosic process, pulling individual unit operations out of that process and finding applications in the real world to help customers with commercial uses. “Our goal is to simply incrementally make a plant better and better over time and then add cellulosic, [so] a corn ethanol plant has a more diverse feedstock and output with better economics.”

Adding in Edeniq technology adds bit by bit to a plant’s value with adding all the product lines. In addition, the other co-products, such as sugars, can add to those value streams. Brian also said that it could help either idled or closed plants get back in operation.

“Is there an opportunity? And the real key question becomes, ‘Has that ethanol plant been idled for a specific reason relative to the technology that someone could come in and take advantage of new product offerings, new additions on the technology side? Or has it been idled by other macroeconomic factors?” He added every plant is different with positive and negative attributes now and in the future.

Brain said Edeniq’s bolt-on technology could give some plants immediate returns, while others will need more time. But, as an ethanol man with more than 15 years in the industry, he certainly believes in the long-term of the green fuel and the potential it holds.

“There’s a 24 billion gallon worldwide market, and ethanol is not going away. Whether a person wants to argue if it should be 13.5 billion gallons or 30 billion gallons, the key for me is that it is still a very robust, very large product that needs to find its way into the market.”

Listen to more of Joanna’s interview with Brian here: Brian Thome, President and CEO of Edeniq

Visit the 2013 FEW Photo Album.

Audio, Ethanol, FEW, News

Overcoming the Summer Gas Price Rise Blues

John Davis

andrewhollandAs we have now officially landed in the summer season (of course, the real summer travel season really started Memorial Day weekend), the question that seems to come up every year remains “Why do gas prices go up during the summer?” Andrew Holland, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate with the American Security Project, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy and research organization that looks at a range of national security issues, including energy, in Washington, D.C., says it’s because so much of our fuel is still made from crude oil, a commodity that is subject to the fluctuations of the market and many other factors.

“The easy answer is: it’s complicated,” Andrew says. While a large portion of the gas price is due to crude oil price affected by the predictions (as opposed to actual supply and demand), this time of year, the change in price has a lot to do with switchovers at the refineries from winter types of fuels to summer types that can cause some short-term shortages. Plus, the increase in demands due to more summer driving for vacations and the seasonal uptick in economic activity drive prices higher. But he believes alternative fuels, while not solving all these issues, could help a bit with those summer gas price spikes.

“It’s using less oil, as a society and as individuals,” Andrew says. “People are buying new cars that are much more fuel-efficient than previous cars, and that’s driving down consumer demand. If everybody demands less oil, that means the oil is going to be a bit cheaper.”

He points to alternative fuels, such as ethanol, and alternatives to travel, such as carpooling or public transit as being more ways to reduce that consumer demand. Andrew also talks about the “social costs of carbon” and external factors, which adds anywhere from 10 cents to $3-4 per gallon of transportation fuel. But he also says that higher taxes on gas and crude oil could help spur the growth of technologies that would ultimately end up lowering the amount of fuel used and actually save people money in the long run.

“It incentivizes us to have alternatives. It makes sure there’s an incentive for producers to produce more fuel-efficient cars,” Andrew says. And he says it doesn’t just have to mean more money out of people’s pockets. It can reduce taxes elsewhere. “If we increase the price of gasoline a dollar a gallon, but reduce everybody’s payroll taxes by a similar amount, then it’s a tax shift… and most of us who drive less would pay much less.”

Listen to more of Joanna’s interview with Andrew here: Andrew Holland, Senior Fellow, American Security Project

Audio, biofuels

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFPure Energies Group and its U.S. subsidiary One Block Off the Grid have announced a new solar power educational partnership with trusted contractor, Mike Holmes, best known for his television show, Holmes on Homes, on HGTV. Holmes will feature residential solar power education on his website Make it Right.
  • JinkoSolar supplied 25.8 MW of solar PV modules to the first private solar park in India located in Mandrup Village, Solapur District, Maharashtra State, India.
  • The California Solar Initiative (CSI) Thermal program has qualified Skyline Innovations as a Program Performance Data provider (PPD) certifying that Skyline meets all the requirements for monitoring system accuracy and reliability, as well as technical expertise and capability.
  • Alterra Power Corp and Energy Development Corporation (EDC) have finalized their joint venture for the development of Alterra’s Mariposa geothermal project in Chile and the Crucero, Loriscota and Tutupaca Norte concessions in Peru.
  • Locus Energy has announced the beta launch of its solar forecasting service that provides a short-term (0-6 hours) forecast tool capable of predicting solar irradiance and power across an entire install base or geographic region. The service provides cloud motion by applying computer vision algorithms to real-time satellite imagery.
Bioenergy Bytes

India Solar Project Advances

Joanna Schroeder

CNPV Solar Power SA and Cheenu Group of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India have announced the advancement of the first large scale captive consumption Solar utility project in India as part of their 10MWp strategic agreement.

Screen Shot 2013-06-23 at 7.49.03 PMCheenu Group began the project due to ability to expand its business because of lack of available power and rising electricity acquisition costs. The company first established a 2 megawatt solar power plant using CNPV’s Optimal Premium Series Solar PV modules at their Coimbatore facility to supplement the power shortage concerns.

Mr. Prabhu Devarajan, chief executive of Cheenu Group said, “In the event that the local infrastructure cannot support our power needs, the effects to our business can be catastrophic. We also wanted to be the forerunner in fulfilling the Solar Power Obligation imposed by the state electricity utility and therefore decided to set up our own captive consumption solar power plant.”

“Our module selection was focused on quality and performance, and after compiling and comparing the technical features of several manufacturers concluded that CNPV are able to demonstrate the most significant benefits in terms of high quality, energy yield, and long term performance,” continued Devarajan. “We are extremely happy with the technical guidance and support extended by CNPV in the smooth execution of the module supply and look forward to developing the next tranche of the 10MWp with CNPV, during second half of 2013.”

There are additional expansion plans for the provision of EPC services and solar module distribution for off grid use in Southern India.

Alternative energy, Electricity, Energy, International, Solar

Industry Congratulates NY on 2% Bioheat Mandate

John Davis

nbb-logoThe biodiesel industry and environmental groups expressed their pleasure with the New York state legislature’s passage of a 2 percent biodiesel in all heating oil (Bioheat) mandate. Leading those congratulations was the National Biodiesel Board:

“America’s advanced biofuel and Bioheat are a great fit for New York’s heating oil market” said Shelby Neal, NBB Director of State Governmental Affairs. “Creating a standard that includes at least 2 percent biodiesel will replace about 30 million gallons of petroleum annually with a cleaner burning, renewable fuel.”

“New York State’s crop farmers are growing more and more soybeans every year,” said Julia Robbins, Executive Director, New York Corn and Soybean Association. “This policy will help provide New York farmers with a new market for the state’s soybean oil.”

New York City, the largest municipal consumer of heating oil in the country, has already taken advantage of biodiesel’s benefits by instituting a citywide 2 percent biodiesel requirement in October of 2012.

“Extensive testing has clearly shown that biodiesel blended with traditional heating oil is safe, seamless, and actually improves fuel efficiency through cleaning and preserving equipment,” said John Maniscalco, CEO of the New York Oil Heating Association. “This law extends these tremendous benefits to all New Yorkers and will provide the state with the cleanest, most sustainable heating oil in the country.”

Other Bioheat backers pointed out that the statewide mandate will provide a uniform standard throughout the state, while increasing overall economic activity.

The legislation says all heating oil sold in the City of New York, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland counties will need to contain at least 2 percent biodiesel by October 1, 2014, with the rest of the state adopting the standard by July 1, 2015. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.

Biodiesel, NBB