Georgia Fights for More Solar Power

Joanna Schroeder

Residents of Georgia are asking Georgia Power Company to increase the amount of solar energy in its 20 year plan. Last week, Georgia Public Service Commission and its staff heard testimony from Robert E. Green, CEO of Georgia Solar Utilities, asking the Commissioners to deploy solar energy farms to rural counties that are scheduled to lose their coal and oil-fired power plants.

In its written testimony to the PSC, Georgia Solar Utilities requested 500 megawatts — enough to power 200,000 homes — to be deployed to areas that are being economically-impacted by coal-plant closures.

Georgia Power Company recently presented their 20-year energy plan to the PSC. In the plan, the company provided no new solar resources for Georgia ratepayers.  Tom Fanning, CEO of the Southern Company (Georgia Power’s parent company), said at a recent Atlanta Press Club appearance that “renewables are going to remain a niche for some time.” However Tim Echols with the Georgia Public Service Commission said, “We’ve got to change our thinking on renewables.”

Rocky Creek Solar Farm“We’re losing Plant Harllee Branch in the months to come and a significant portion of Putnam’s tax revenues may be lost — several million dollars annual to be exact. This is a concern that I share with all of the communities facing the same dilemma,” said Representative Rusty Kidd, who along with many others have testified during the public phase.

During his testimony, Robert E. Green noted, “We have a unique window of opportunity to use historically-low interest rates in the bond market to install solar energy farms that will provide long-term stability in energy rates. Zero future fuel costs means additional savings to future generations. Through our plan, hundreds of millions of dollars in investments will be provided to local communities and hundreds of new jobs will be created.”

The Georgia Public Service Commission will hear final testimony from Georgia Power lawyers in June on the merits of changes to the Integrated Resource Plan, with a final vote to take place in July.

Alternative energy, Electricity, Energy, Solar

PacificAg Created Through Merger

Joanna Schroeder

PACAG-001 Final Logo CMYKSister companies Pacific Ag Solutions and Pacific PowerStock have merged to become PacificAg. According to the company, the merger creates the largest agricultural residue and hay harvesting business in the U.S. with operations in seven states and the largest fleet of biomass harvesting equipment in the country.

“We have always served two important markets: demand for forage crops for livestock to feed a growing global middle class and dynamic growth in the uses and demand for agricultural biomass to replace petroleum and other fossil sources in the creation of bioenergy, cellulosic biofuels, bio-based chemicals and other bio-based products. Originally we felt two sister companies were necessary to meet the demands of these distinct marketplaces,” said Bill Levy, founder and CEO of PacificAg.

“Years of experience developing and operating feedstock supply chains for both domestic and export forage and for bioenergy markets have demonstrated that in practice, serving these distinct customer groups involves leveraging the same equipment fleets, complementary operational and logistics skills and processes,” Levy continued. “The synergies now apparent far outweigh any benefits of operating the former companies separately. Operating as one company will enable us to be more responsive and more competitive to meet the growing demand for agricultural biomass at commercial scale.”

According to Levy, PacificAg is now the largest player in supply chain logistics. The company’s dedicated supply chain model, which depends on multi-year supply agreements and close, formalized cooperation from one end of the chain to the other, provides the most effective way to reduce the risks posed by cost, quality and supply volatility. Levy added that its proprietary PowerStock Pro supply chain management system provides a turnkey tool for managing every aspect of the complex feedstock supply chain from grower contracts to GIS enabled field mapping to equipment deployment, harvest results and inventory management.

advanced biofuels, Agribusiness, biomass, feedstocks

Turning Used Cooking Oil into Biodiesel Feedstock

John Davis

darton_logo1We’ve talked a lot here about turning used cooking oil into biodiesel. But the process is a bit more involved than using virgin oils, such as soybean oil. This story from the Roanoke, Virginia Times tells how two brothers, Tony and Daryl Hubbard who have set up shop filtering and processing the used cooking oil into something that can be readily made into biodiesel:

[T]he stuff is greasy gold for Hubbard and his brother, Daryl, whose Bedford company, Darton Environmental, refines icky, sticky cooking oils from restaurants into a product that can be turned into cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel.

Since starting in September 2010 in a small garage just south of the Bedford city limits, Darton Environmental has cleaned up in the grease market. The Hubbards buy used cooking oil from nearly 150 restaurants in a region that runs from Charlottesville to Harrisonburg and down through Lynchburg, Roanoke and the New River Valley. They expect to eclipse 200 restaurants before the end of the year.

They’re still gaining their foothold in the market, but in less than three years the Bedford biodiesel brothers have built a larger facility near the old Rubatex plant that holds nine 2,600-gallon tanks and have added a second tanker truck for collections.

They currently process and sell as much as 36,000 gallons of oil per month, which serves as “feedstock” for biodiesel companies that make the fuel.

“That was oil that was being thrown away into landfills,” Tony said. “This way, it gets recycled.”

The refining process is relatively simple. The dirty grease is pumped from the truck into the holding tanks, where it is heated so that the water, food pieces and other contaminants can be filtered out. The final product is sold to be converted into fuel, which has lower emissions than regular diesel fuel.

“Every drop we sell goes to the biodiesel industry,” Daryl said.

Of course, the restaurants have caught on that their waste is now a hot commodity and charge for it. But that’s better than just being waste.

Biodiesel

New Algae-to-Biofuels Photobioreactor Designed

John Davis

Alicante1Researchers at a university in Spain believe they have a new photobioreactor that will make it easier to turn algae into biofuels. The University of Alicante announced a patent on the new device:

The Research Group in Polymer Processing and Pyrolysis at the University of Alicante is the team that has designed and developed this device, consisting of a photobioreactor, easily scalable to larger production, which has attracted the interest of both Spanish and foreign firms in the sector of biotechnology.

The director of the research group, Antonio Marcilla Gomis, explained that the novelty of this photobioreactor compared to those existing is that it allows mass production, less cleaning and maintenance operations, better use of CO2 and better light transfer to cultivation…

The design of this novel technology aims to overcome any difficulties or problems that have been presented over the years with the use of other similar cropping systems.

“The subject on the cultivation of microalgae is having a major boom in terms of research in the last fifteen years as an alternative energy to oil”, he said.

Marcilla Gomis did admit that turning algae into fuel is still not on par with the profitable process that petroleum uses. But they’ll keep working on making it comparable, including finding multiple uses for the algae, such as food, pharmaceuticals or cosmetics.

algae, biofuels, International

Filling Up? Ethanol Will Save You Money

Joanna Schroeder

This Memorial Day, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is reminding drivers that ethanol can help save money at the pump. As national gas prices continue to rise, the national average today is $3.66 according to GasBuddy.com. For drivers living on the coasts, it’s not uncommon to see high gas prices. Yet the oddity this year is that the highest prices in the nation last week were in Minnesota. According to various media reports, the statewide average is $4.26 per gallon.

“It is getting painful yet again to stand at the pump and watch the dollars fly by,” said Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of RFA. Thankfully, ethanol exists to help Gas Buddy Map May 27 2013lower prices, stretch the gasoline supply, and provide both engine and environmental benefits. On a larger scale, the ethanol industry is a high octane economic engine that is supporting more than 365,000 jobs across America, revitalizing challenged rural communities, and reducing the American dollars sent overseas to buy petroleum from often hostile dictators in oil-rich countries.”

According to 2012 updated research conducted by economics professors at the University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University for the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), domestically-produced ethanol reduced wholesale gasoline prices by an average of $1.09 per gallon in 2011. That is an additional 20-cent savings over the $0.89 these same economists recorded in 2010.

It is expected that drivers in Iowa may also soon be hit with increased costs. Once again, ethanol, this time in the form of E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) that is widely available in the Corn Belt, is delivering significant savings to owners of flex-fuel vehicles.

Dinneen added, “I suspect owners of flex-fuel vehicles will enjoy their summer driving vacations a bit more than other drivers. The savings that flex-fuel drivers will enjoy is significant.”

biofuels, E85, Ethanol, RFA

Needed: Summer Gas Loan

Joanna Schroeder

It’s that time of year when families hop in the car and begin summer vacations. It’s also the time of year when gas prices jump up and the cash in wallets jumps out. When I filled up my tank yesterday, I thought I might have to go the bank and take out a “summer gas loan” to help pay for high gas prices. I’m can’t be the only one in this boat as the high gas prices are dominating local TV news casts these days.

Gas Bill May 23 2013Growth Energy’s CEO Tom Buis notes that Big Oil’s predictability is absurd. Every year the same thing happens, as more people hit the road, prices climb. It is just as certain that the sun will set in the evening, as oil companies will use any excuse to gouge consumers and blame some outside factor,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “After roughly 40 days of price increases in February, switching seasonal blends were blamed. Now, it is refinery planned maintenance and tight regional supplies. Their unending excuses are as long as the list of government subsidies they have received over the last century.”

Buis says this is just another example of many, of why renewable biofuels are necessary. They provide consumer savings and a choice at the pump. They reduce dangerous dependence on foreign oil. “While Big Oil touts all the new wells, the fracking and the so-called abundant supply right here at home, prices have not gone down. Why do prices remain so high with a so-called increase in supply? Oil companies will continue to rake in record profits on the backs of their customers as they continue their monopoly on the liquid fuels market by blocking competition and doling out the same baseless excuses time and again,” Buis continues.

“Enough is enough,” says Buis. He calls for an end to the absurd addiction to foreign oil and encourages drivers to use homegrown American ethanol. He also stresses the need to stop paying nearly a billion dollars a day for fossil fuels and foreign oil and spend the money at home.

“The latest reports that motorists will pay record prices this Memorial Day weekend at the pump is no surprise, but just one of many reasons it is time we break the addiction to oil and start using higher blends of ethanol.”

biofuels, Ethanol, Growth Energy

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