Sixth E15 Station Opens in Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman

IowaRFAlogoThe Iowa Renewable Fuels Association reports that Sperry One Stop in Coon Rapids is the sixth Iowa retailer to offer 15% ethanol as a registered fuel for all 2001 and newer passenger vehicles and all flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs).

“This is a new station and we want to be offering the fuels of the future, and that’s cleaner-burning, American made E15,” stated Sperry One Stop Owner Kurt Sperry. “With the POET-Coon Rapids plant nearby, there’s a strong renewable fuels presence here in Coon Rapids, so offering a fuel like E15 just made sense.”

“The citizens of Coon Rapids will really benefit from renewable, less expensive options at the pump like E15,” said IRFA Managing Director Lucy Norton. “This station is offering a variety of ethanol blends as well as biodiesel, and we see that as a win for the consumer and a win for the local economy.”

Retailers interested in installing a blender pump to offer E15, E85, and other ethanol blends can apply for a grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture. The IRFA provides assistance in the application process. For more information, please visit: http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/agMarketing/IRFIP.asp.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

U of Maine Unveils Floating VolturnUS Wind Turbine

John Davis

VolturnUSA new floating wind turbine is making its debut. The Bangor (ME) Daily News reports the University of Maine unveiled the VolturnUS, a one-of-a-kind offshore wind turbine:

VolturnUS will be the first grid-connected floating wind turbine in North America and the first concrete-composite floating turbine in the world, according to Habib Dagher, director of the UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center.

“The goal is to be the first to do it and to do it right,” Dagher said Wednesday during an event at the university’s Offshore Wind Laboratory at the composites center.

The 65-foot-tall turbine prototype is a one-eighth-scale version of the huge 6-megawatt turbines that would create a 5-gigawatt farm 20 miles off Maine’s coastline by 2030. About 170 turbines, each taller than the Washington Monument, would create the 5 gigawatts of energy, which is equivalent to the energy output of five nuclear power plants. Officials estimate that project could bring $20 billion of private investment to the state and create thousands of jobs.

Officials say, when complete, the wind farm will be able to produce electricity for about 10 cents per kilowatt hour by 2020. The first full-scale turbine with blades bigger than a 747’s wingspan is scheduled to go into the water in 2016.

Wind

Sanimax Building Capacity at Wisconsin Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

sanimaxRenderer-turned-biodiesel-maker Sanimax increases capacity at its 20 MMgy biodiesel refinery in DeForest, Wisconsin… although the company won’t say by how much. This Biodiesel Magazine article says Apache Stainless Equipment Corp. will provide the stainless steel tanks:

Apache supported Sanimax’s need for increased capacity by supplying an atmospheric stainless tank and three pressure vessels within the past month. Sanimax would not disclose how much additional production capacity the DeForest plant was installing.

The most recent tank supplied by Apache was used for fuel storage. The tank was constructed from stainless steel with exterior insulation and aluminum cladding. The tank increased storage capacity for Sanimax by 30,000 gallons. The 132-inch diameter, 45 ft. high and 19,000 lb. atmospheric tank was API 650 rated. Apache provided in-house insulation and aluminum cladding of the tank and was shipped via Apache truck.

Apache is known in the biofuel industry for supplying many types of specialized tanks.

Biodiesel

MidAmerican to Invest $1.9 Billion in Iowa Wind Energy

John Davis

midamerican-energyMidwest-based MidAmerican Energy Co. is investing $1.9 billion in wind energy by adding up to 1,050 megawatts of wind generation, consisting of up to 656 new wind turbines, in Iowa by the end of 2015. This article from the Iowa City Press Citizen says the utility’s investment will create lots of green jobs in the state, without tapping any state tax dollars to do it:

MidAmerican Energy, a utility serving 714,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota, said the project would create 460 construction jobs over two years and 48 permanent jobs, primarily workers needed to maintain the 656 wind turbines the utility will build through 2015.

The permanent jobs will create $2.4 million annually in pay for workers, MidAmerican said. The construction workers will take home $30 million, said Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds. “That’s over 500 Iowa residents who will bring home a paycheck to provide for their families,” she said.

The project will add 1,050 megawatts of wind generation, pushing the utility’s total to 3,335 megawatts of energy. As a result, MidAmerican expects that about 40 percent of its power to Iowa customers will come from wind.

“That is marvelous news,” said Harold Prior, executive director of the Iowa Wind Energy Association. “MidAmerican is one of the top utilities in the country as far as embracing wind energy.”

In addition, the project is expected to lower consumer’s utility bills. Officials in the Hawkeye State also believe this sends a message to the rest of the country that Iowa is innovative, especially when it comes to wind energy. The state is on track to generate 10,000 megawatts of wind power by 2020.

While MidAmerican is not getting state aid for this project, it will receive federal wind production tax credits.

Wind

Governor Corbett Commits $9.6M to Clean Energy

Joanna Schroeder

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced a commitment of more than $9.6 million for 13 clean and alternative energy projects in 11 counties. The Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) has approved 13 projects, through the state’s Alternative and Clean Energy Program, including five Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fueling stations that, the agency says, have the benefits of reducing emissions, fuel savings and utilizing the large domestic CNG Station in PA Photo: Scott Detrow / StateImpact Pennsylvaniasource of natural gas available in Pennsylvania.

“The projects supported by the CFA will help businesses and school districts save collectively on their utility costs and reduce their environmental impact,” said Corbett. “They will also result in significant private economic investment throughout the commonwealth and the creation of 25 new jobs.”

Among the approved projects includes a $250,000 Alternative and Clean Energy Program grant for PMF Industries to aid in the company’s expansion of their manufacturing plant. The project will expand their precision metal forming facility to allow for the manufacturing of CNG cylinders.

“We have an available, abundant, domestic, economical and clean-burning supply of natural gas throughout Pennsylvania that can be used in a number of ways including to fuel our vehicles,” added Corbett. “Increasing the number of natural gas filling stations in the state will grow the industry, boost our economy and result in a better environment.”

In total, 13 projects were approved in Allegheny, Beaver, Bucks, Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Lackawanna, Lycoming, Montgomery and Schuylkill counties. The state investments are projected to result in more than $109 million in additional economic investments.

Alternative energy, Clean Energy, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Beef Ranches as Biodiesel Refineries

John Davis

humphreyThe next set of biodiesel refineries will probably continue to be in rural America, but they might be part of livestock operations. This article from BeefProducer.com says Arkansas State University researcher Kevin Humphrey sees real potential for ranchers to produce their own biodiesel from oil seed crops, waste oil or tallow:

“If all you want to do is extract oil and meal, you can do that. If you want to extract and produce meal and then also produce biodiesel, you can do that,” he says.

Humphrey is using waste oil and oil seed crops — soybeans, canola, and camelina — to make biodiesel. He adds he hasn’t used animal fats but that is a viable option.

Matt Roberts, vice president of marketing for Springboard Biodiesel, says if the oil is collected free, as might be beef tallow from rendering, the biodiesel will cost about 95 cents per gallon to make. That price includes the cost of the chemicals to make the biodiesel — methanol, lye, and sulfuric acid.

The article goes on to point out that with many of the biodiesel feedstock oilseeds, especially soybeans, the resulting meal from the crush is a high quality feed. Plus, the glycerin from biodiesel production can be a livestock feed and an ingredient in soaps, lotions and lubricants.

The author also spoke with Darrell Wood, cattle rancher and owner of Leavitt Lake Ranches in Vina, California, who believes a ranch-based biodiesel refinery might just make his place more sustainable.

“It just opens the door for all kinds of possibilities,” Wood says.

Pretty good article. Give it a read here.

Biodiesel, Farming, livestock, livestock feed

AEC Calls for End to Advanced Biofuel Delays

Cindy Zimmerman

aeclogoThe Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) has sent a letter to the White House expressing concern about ongoing delays in the approval process for advanced biofuel pathways pursuant to the implementation of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The letter calls for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prioritize and approve a number of these pathways to facilitate the program.

“While we understand that the White House and U.S. EPA must be thorough in their analysis when it comes to which advanced biofuels qualify for the RFS, we have gotten to the point where administrative delays are causing project developers to look to other countries to build their facilities,” said AEC Executive Director Brooke Coleman. “The private sector has stepped up to the plate when it comes to advanced biofuels and the RFS, but developers rightly expect resolution on the pathways to start construction on these projects. There is a point where too much delay and uncertainty drives these innovative projects to Brazil and China, and that’s where we are for some of the more critical pathways.”

The AEC points out that some pathway deliberations have been ongoing for three years without any clear timeframe for resolution. “It is absolutely critical for the private investment marketplace to have a transparent, expeditious and predictable resolution process for all proposed pathways, or we face the prospect of losing these projects to other countries, ” the letter states.

advanced biofuels, AEC, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Intertek Biodiesel Lab Earns BQ-9000 Certification

John Davis

IntertekThe Intertek biofuels lab in Romeoville, Illinois has earned an important designation from the National Biodiesel Board (NBB). This company news release says the Intertek lab is now listed as a testing facility on the BQ-9000® website and is a preferred lab for BQ-9000® producers and marketers by the National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission (NBAC):

NBAC, a committee of the NBB, reviews and approves laboratories interested in becoming a BQ-9000® Certified Laboratory. The laboratory must have a quality management system that meets the requirements of the NBAC, and analyze biodiesel following the ASTM D6751 Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels, and follows various ASTM, UOP and EN test methods referenced within the specification.

Jeff Kaylor, Regional Vice President for Inland Waterways, stated, “The award of the BQ-9000® certification for biodiesel testing is an honor for our staff and the biodiesel laboratory. Intertek is committed to providing our clients with reliable, high quality, biofuel testing and inspection services, in the USA and on a global basis.”

Intertek has a network of biofuel laboratories that test a wide range of renewable fuel products and blends, including biodiesel, ethanol, and biomass fuels.

Biodiesel, NBB

Corn Growers Comment on RFS White Paper

Cindy Zimmerman

ncga-logo-newThe National Corn Growers Association recently submitted comments on the impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in response to their second white paper, “Agricultural Sector Impacts.” In these comments, NCGA addressed how the RFS affects commodity products including corn, agricultural output and economics, RFS flexibility, food prices, cellulosic feedstock and global impacts.

The comments began by noting that corn farmers have responded to the increased demand of ethanol from the Renewable Fuel Standard by producing more corn and doing so in a more environmentally friendly manner. “In the last 30 years, corn production has improved on all measures of resource efficiency, by decreasing per bushel: land use by 30 percent, soil erosion by 67 percent, irrigation by 53 percent, energy use by 43 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 36 percent.”

Comments also noted the energy security and environmental benefits attributable to the RFS. “RFS has increased national energy security by creating a market for renewable fuel as a substitute for non-renewable petroleum-based fuel, thereby accelerating the nation’s progress toward a low greenhouse gas emissions economy. In addition, the RFS has contributed to the reduction of petroleum imports.”

The remainder of the comments directly addressed questions posed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce about impacts of the RFS. Topics of particular interest included impacts attributable to the RFS on corn prices, food prices, job creation, economic growth and land use change. NCGA comments provided a detailed look at the myriad of factors involved in each area that are often overlooked in discussions about this standard including: the impact of export demand for soy from China; the direct impact of the drought on beef production; alternative models and theories concerning the idea of indirect land use change; the impact of rising global labor and diesel costs on food cost; and the inherent flexibility of the standard.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA, RFS

Most Readers Not Far From the Farm

Talia Goes

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How many generations are you removed from the farm?”

Our poll results: Thirty percent say they are “One Generation, My Parents are Farmers,” 23% are Two, My Grandparents Were Farmers, 22% say None, I’m a Farmer, nine percent are not farmers but work in the ag industry, seven percent have No Direct Farm Connection, and three percent say Three, My Great-Grandparents Were Farmers, More Than Three, or Other. It is safe to say that most of our followers are not far removed from the farm, if at all!

chart

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Are so-called “ag gag” bills fair?” In the wake of undercover videos at animal agriculture operations that have shown abuse, and especially those that were compiled over a period of time, edited and then released to the public without doing anything to stop the abuse or take it to the proper authorities, several states have passed legislation making that illegal. Most of the laws simply require mandatory reporting of animal cruelty when it happens but opponents have labeled them “ag gag” laws that would suppress efforts to document and publicize animal abuse. Those in favor prefer to call them “See Something, Say Something” bills. Do you feel that the so-called “ag gag” bills are prohibitive? Will these laws hamper efforts to stop animal cruelty? Does this impede our efforts for transparency in the food systems? Let us know.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

Farming, ZimmPoll