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Needed Now: Farm Bill with Energy Funding

Joanna Schroeder

For two years the Senate has passed its version of a farm bill. Last year the House did not and later this week is set to debate its version of the bill. During this process, the current farm bill was extended but ag, energy and other groups are at a full court press to get a bill passed before the legislators break for summer vacation.

I sat down with Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy recently who is a Washington insider and FEW13-growthenergy-buishas been working on behalf of the agricultural industry and now the biofuels industry for many years to learn more about the current farm bill, or lack thereof.

Buis explained that the 2008 Farm Bill was the first ever with an energy title, all designed to help investment into next generation biofuels. This year, the Senate extended the program and funded it and those are two critical programs said Buis. If a new bill isn’t passed, the extension will expire on September 30, 2013 and with it all the energy programs.

He continued, what the House does is only authorize the programs but don’t put in any money in the bill. “It’s a good press release but it doesn’t mean anything. And the battle will probably end up like that if and when it gets through the House they won’t have any funding for the programs and restrictions on whether or not USDA can fund development under the REAP program, flex pumps in rural communities. They’ll probably have a prohibition which the Senate does not and will have it work in out in conference.”

Tom along with his members have been extremely active in defending ethanol on the Hill and will continue to do so. Realizing that they need more boots on the ground, several years ago Growth Energy launched its “Growth Force” where anyone from around the world can sign up to support biofuels. Now the association is taking it one more step, and individuals from around the country can become members of Growth Energy.

During our sit down, Buis also discussed several other current issues including market access and the ongoing debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Listen to my interview with Tom here: Needed Now: Farm Bill with Energy Funding

Visit the 2013 FEW Photo Album.

Agribusiness, Audio, biofuels, Ethanol, FEW, Growth Energy

Following the Future of Biodiesel

John Davis

FutureFuel1An analysis of where the biodiesel industry is headed is optimistic. Of course, the report comes from a company intimately involved in the green fuel.

This article posted on Stockhouse.com from biodiesel producer FutureFuel Corp. looks at where some of the best prospects for biodiesel are – in particular how biodiesel demand is projected to grow, the biodiesel supply appears limited, and the robust economics and public support biodiesel enjoys:

The Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) … helped the biodiesel industry reach production levels of nearly 1.1 billion gallons per year over the past two years, exceeding the programs requirements.

Between 2008 and 2022, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 increased the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons to 36 billion gallons. These metrics help ensure that demand for biodiesel fuel will continue to rise over the coming years and create significant opportunities for biodiesel producers and affiliate companies to generate strong top-line revenues moving forward…

Biodiesel demand may be on the rise, but the supply side was hit by the RIN crisis that impacted the market…

[T]he Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) [says] it’s clear that biodiesel production fell sharply during the second half of 2012, compared to 2011, but has been recovering so far in 2013 to record levels…

The third key factor for investors to consider beyond supply and demand is public support and cost economics, since the industry’s growth does demand on government subsidies. Fortunately, it has become clear that the biodiesel industry offers a number of enormous economic benefits, environmental benefits, and public benefits worth considering. These benefits … suggest that support for the industry remains robust.

Interesting read. Check it out!

Biodiesel

Volvo Debuts Noiseless Electric Buses

Joanna Schroeder

The launch of an ultramodern bus service in Gothenburg, Sweden will pick up passengers indoors, without noise or emissions via electric buses. The initiative is sponsored by the Volvo Group, Swedish Energy Agency, the City of Gothenburg, Västtrafik, Lindholment Science Park and Johanneberg Science Park. The project has been coined, ElectriCity.

“This represents an entirely new mode of travel and will allow for the public-transport system to contribute to a more pleasant urban environment,” said Olof Persson, president ElectriCityand CEO of Volvo. “A silent and emissions-free public-transport system will enable the inclusion of locations in the city that are currently off limits. It is immensely satisfying to be able to launch this in our hometown, in cooperation with Region Västra Götaland and the City of Gothenburg.”

The use of electric power not only places Gothenburg on the map in terms of sustainable and innovative solutions for public transport; the new bus service will also open up new possibilities in city and urban planning. Commencing in 2015, the electric buses are to run between Johanneberg Science Park adjacent to Chalmers and Lindholmen Science Park in Hisingen.

Anneli Hulthén, Chairman of the Municipal Board added, “The electric bus service entails a new mode of public-transport system usage, which is highly positive for Gothenburg. It will highlight Gothenburg as a progressive city in terms of city planning. This is also in line with our prioritized objective of having Gothenburg reduce its climate impact to become a climate-neutral city, and increasing sustainable travel.”

In addition to the electric buses, the cooperation also includes the creation and trial runs of new bus-stop solutions, traffic-routing systems, safety concepts, energy supply and business models.

Alternative energy, Climate Change, Electric Vehicles, Environment, International

Turning Plant Matter into Fuel

Joanna Schroeder

Charles Wyman, a University of California Riverside professor in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, recently edited a book, “Aqueous Pretreatment of Aqueous Biomass BookPlant Biomass for Biological and Chemical Conversion to Fuels,” that provides in-depth information on aqueous processing of cellulosic biomass into fuel.

The just-published book focuses on aqueous pretreatment of cellulosic biomass to promote sugar release for biological, catalytic, or thermochemical conversion into fuels and chemicals. Introductory chapters provide the rationale for converting biomass to fuels; its importance to national security, balance of trade, and the environment; and insights into biological and catalytic processing to fuels. Also included are in-depth information on the chemistry and biology of cellulosic biomass, leading pretreatments to facilitate its biological and chemical conversion to sugars, and methods important to assess the effectiveness of biomass conversion technologies.

In recent decades, interest in converting cellulosic biomass to fuels has closely tracked the price of petroleum: support jumps when petroleum prices are high and wanes when prices drop.

“That creates a big challenge,” Wyman said. “The volatility of oil prices and associated enthusiasm for alternatives results in a very unstable environment in which to build a business.”

Yet, cellulosic biomass conversion has unique and powerful benefits. It has the potential to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and imported petroleum dependence and is widely available and inexpensive. For example, cellulosic biomass costing $60 per dry ton has about the same cost per energy content as petroleum at about $20 per barrel.Read More

advanced biofuels, biomass, Cellulosic

DoD Biofuels Program Weathers Senate Storm

John Davis

us-capitol-fiscal-cliff-voteSomebody in Washington must be looking out for biofuels. On the heels of the full U.S. Senate passing the the Farm Bill and its provisions friendly to biofuels (including $38 million for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, about $160 million for the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance program, and possibly up to $88 million for the Rural Energy for American Program), the Senate Armed Services Committee has stopped attempts that would have curtailed the military’s biofuels program.

The move gained the praise of the Advanced Biofuels Association’s president Michael McAdams:

“The Advanced Biofuels Association applauds the Senate Armed Services Committee for their leadership in supporting the Department of Defense initiatives in advanced biofuels. The Senate continues to recognize the mission value of investments in biofuels that meet multiple national security objectives, and contribute to growing jobs in American agriculture and technology.”

Of course, both of these bills are still to pass both the full House and Senate and the inevitable joint committees to hash out the differences. Both of these might have been wins for biofuels, but the war’s not over. Stay tuned.

biofuels, farm bill, Government

ICM’s 2.0 Tech to Add More Value to Ethanol Plants

John Davis

Kurt Dieker head shotRecently, we told you about ICM, Inc.’s Generation 1.5 Integrated Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technology that will help produce cellulosic ethanol at existing grain ethanol plants. Now the company has announced its Generation 2.0 technology that will allow ethanol plants to also produce cellulosic ethanol from the stover from those same corn fields where the grain comes from.

“ICM sees that as a co-location facility, next to Generation 1 facilities,” explained Kurt Dieker, ICM’s Director of Product Development during an interview with Joanna. He said they’ll see a differentiated feedstock going in, so the process won’t be that much different than their 1.5 technology, with corn stover and other cellulosic crops being turned into fuel. And the 1.5 technology would serve as a cheaper proving ground before stepping up to the more expensive 2.0 technology. And since the 2.0 can be located in existing ethanol plants, farmers can have one stop to bring their corn and stover to make the two generations of ethanol. “Our mission is to add value to sustainable agriculture through renewable fuels and chemicals. Not only can the plants make more money, but also the farmer make more money per acre.”

Another benefit of ICM’s Generation 2.0 technology is using the existing infrastructure, such as power and water, which can make up to 30 percent of the costs of building a plant, and using a first generation plant’s steam, making the second generation plant cheaper.

Kurt said they’ll be doing the first integrated run of the Generation 2.0 technology in the third quarter of this year, and the market will drive the future.

“The bigger thing for us is to continue to add value for our customers, continue to invest into the industry as a whole, and to give overall producers options for the future and a positive outlook.”

Listen to Joanna’s interview with Kurt here: Kurt Dieker, ICM

Audio, Cellulosic, Ethanol, News, RINS

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFGenscape is sponsoring the first New York Energy Week, a cross-sector energy event series launched to stimulate industry investment and innovative energy solutions. The event will take place in New York City June 24-28, 2013. Genscape energy experts will be sharing their insights during a number of headline events throughout the week including the Oil and Gas breakfast panel and the Energy Data Jam at Google headquarters.
  • Green EnviroTech Holdings Corp. has appointed Kim Johnson as VP
    of Marketing. Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry. Prior to joining the company, she was the President of eBarton LLC.
  • NuMat Technologies, a materials technology company that captured top honors at cleantech business competitions across the country, has announced it closed a $2 million seed round, bringing the nanotech startup’s total funding to $2.4 million. The GOOSE Society of Texas, an angel network, led the round, which included participation from Owl Investment Group.
  • Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. has been selected as the balance of plant constructor for phase two of the Lower Snake River wind farm. The 267 megawatt wind farm is located near Dayton, Washington, northeast of Walla Walla, and will utilize 116 Siemens Energy wind turbines with a capacity of 2.3 megawatts.
  • Real Goods Solar, Inc. has announced that Jirka Rysavy resigned from his position as a director and chairman of the board of the company. Rysavy has served as the chairman of the company’s board of directors since its inception. Until recently, Gaiam was the largest shareholder of the company.
Bioenergy Bytes

Sioux Indian Tribes Adopt Wind Energy

Joanna Schroeder

Leaders from six Sioux Indian Tribes along with former U.S. President Bill Clinton have announced a new wind power initiative for South Dakota. The project is being assisted by Arent Fox a team including former Senator Byron Dorgan, co-chair of the Government Relations practice, and Communications, Technology & Mobile partner Jonathan E. Canis and associate G. David Carter. The project is supported by the Clinton Global Initiative.

Crow-Lake-Wind-Farm-S-Dakota“Having served as Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, I understand the strong desire of the Indian Tribes to build ‘Indian owned’ wind power projects to create new jobs and affordable power for their Tribes,” said Senator Dorgan. “This project is a unique opportunity for the Sioux Tribes in South Dakota to chart their own destiny. They live on lands that are rich with wind resources and they can use those resources to build a large wind energy project that can both help the Tribes and produce clean, renewable power for our country for decades to come.”

Dorgan continued, “Together with my colleagues at Arent Fox, I have been honored to work with elected leaders of the Tribes to plan this project and I am especially proud of the recognition given it today by President Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative.”

Through the project, the Tribes stand to infuse up to $3 billion directly into the South Dakota economy, an amount roughly equal to the impact of the entire manufacturing sector in South Dakota in a given year. The planned project could generate 1-2 gigawatts of power annually. Measured conservatively, that’s more than enough power to electrify the homes in Denver, Colorado for the next 20 years, the typical useful lifespan of the wind turbines.

The majority of the project’s funding will come through the sale of bonds by a Multi-Tribal Power Authority, which are expected to be made available to investors in about two years, following a critical planning and preparation stage. For this reason, the Tribes have partnered with the crowdfunding platform Rally.org to seek funding and raise general awareness for the project.

The Tribes participating in the project include Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, and Yankton Sioux Tribe.

Alternative energy, Electricity, Energy, Wind

Atlanta Biodieseler Celebrates One Year

John Davis

CleanenergybiofuelsA Georgia-based biodiesel maker is celebrating its first year in business for its retail station. Atlanta’s Clean Energy Biofuels, which touts its biodiesel as the only in the country that is made using 100 percent solar power, threw a party for the one-year anniversary of the opening of their retail biodiesel station by hosting Atlanta Green Drinks, a monthly networking gathering for people interested in sustainability, green business, environmental and social causes, architecture and design, organics, renewable energy:

Over the past year we have had the pleasure of providing fuel to a wide range of drivers, from local residents to landscape companies to cross country travelers – Woody Harrelson and New Belgium Brewing Company’s Tour de Fat, just to name a few. Everyone who provides grease or purchases our fuel has been key to our success this year. By using the fuel from our retail station, you are helping prevent carbon dioxide from being emitted into the air, making a real difference in the environment.

Our biodiesel is the only biodiesel in the country produced using 100% solar energy. It is also completely locally sourced, meaning that every cent is pumped right back into the Georgia economy. Our biodiesel also meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Standard, which ensures quality and consistency that rivals conventional diesel.

The company also touts their turning of old grease into biodiesel as a way to lift a “burden on our landfills and sewers into the greenest transportation fuel available.”

Check out the pictures from the event on Clean Energy Biofuels’ Flickr page.

Biodiesel, Solar

SiNode Systems Wins 2013 Clean Energy Challenge

Joanna Schroeder

SiNode Systems has won the top prize in the 2013 U.S Department of Energy National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. The company was also a finalist in Clean Energy Trust’s 2012 Clean Energy Challenge and earned a sport at the national competition after SiNode Systemswinning the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition.

“SiNode’s game-changing battery technology will change the way we use cell phones, computers and even electric cars,” said Amy Francetic, CEO of Clean Energy Trust. “We are enormously gratified that we could help advance such a dynamic and creative company since its initial formation through the 2012 Challenge.”

SiNode, a cleantech startup from Northwestern University, is commercializing an anode for lithium-ion batteries that allows the battery to charge more quickly and hold a charge 10 times longer than current technology.  SiNode’s anode could greatly enhance battery life for electric vehicles and smartphones. The startup won first prize and more than $800,000 at the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition.

“These wins validate the Midwest’s clean energy ecosystem and demonstrate its ability to launch viable businesses with homegrown technology from our world-class research institutions,” Francetic said. “We are thrilled to have a Clean Energy Trust company win the national title two years in a row.”

Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles