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Smith Electric Opens Facility in Chicago

Joanna Schroeder

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Smith Electric Vehicles have announced that Smith will open an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Chicago, creating hundreds of direct and indirect jobs. The company’s decision to locate a facility in the windy city was influenced by the Mayor’s voucher system created to accelerate the conversion from diesel to zero-emission, all-electric commercial fleet vehicles. In addition, the city, with a growing battery and electric vehicle industry, also offers some development incentive for Smith. Chicago will be Smith’s third location in the United States, joining their headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., and a manufacturing facility in New York City.

“I’m proud to welcome another growing company with a great mission to Chicago. Soon hundreds of Chicagoans will be able to put their skills to use providing businesses worldwide with high-quality, zero-emission, American-made vehicles,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Smith Electric Vehicles is an innovative company in a forward-looking, essential industry that is a central part of Chicago’s economic future.”

Smith is  a leading manufacturer of all-electric commercial vehicles, which are considered zero-emission and less expensive to own and operate when compared with traditional diesel trucks. The company produces trucks for multiple industries, including food & beverage, utility, telecommunications, retail, grocery, parcel and postal delivery, school transportation, military, and government. Smith’s customers include many of the world’s largest fleet operators, including PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, FedEx, Staples, TNT, Sainsbury’s, Coca-Cola, DHL, and the U.S. Military.

During the press event, the Chicago Department of Transportation announced a $15 million incentive program to encourage companies to convert their fleets to electric vehicles. Believed to be the first of its kind, the plan rewards fleets on an increasing scale for converting to EVs. The incentives will be in the form of vouchers to assist with conversion costs. Chicago is also considering additional incentives such as preferential loading jobs and decreased registration costs.

“A mass urban deployment of commercial electric vehicles is an important next step in catalyzing mainstream adoption,” noted Smith CEO Bryan Hansel. “Chicago’s location, commitment to adoption in municipal fleets, concentration of commercial vehicles, talented workforce and importance to the global business community make it a perfect choice to grow our company and this industry.  The leadership being shown with the mayor’s CDOT voucher program is a prime example of how Chicago is creating the template for a new energy city.”

Alternative energy, automotive, Electric Vehicles, Renewable Energy

EU Parliament Budgets €6 Billion for Clean Energy

Joanna Schroeder

The European Parliament’s Energy and Research Committee (ITRE) voted to allocate 6 billion Euros to clean energy research. This is nearly two-thirds of the entire energy research budget, of 80 billion Euros, to cover renewables, energy efficiency, smart grids, and storage.

“MEPs have understood how crucial wind energy and other renewables are to the EU’s economic growth, technology leadership, fighting climate change, and that sufficient R&D funding is essential to further their development in line with the EU’s climate and renewable energy priorities,” noted Vilma Radvilaite, Regulatory Affairs Advisor at the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

“With 75% of its energy funding going to renewables, energy efficiency, smart grid and storage technologies and an additional 15% going to the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme, Horizon 2020 gives a real boost to green growth,” she added.

The ITRE Committee also made a specific commitment to the development of wind energy research with the agreement that they would create a separate budget line for wind energy and other Strategic Energy Technology Plan technologies. The Horizon 2020 R&D program is set to run between 2014-2020 but needs to be presented to the European Council for approval.

Alternative energy, Electricity, International, Renewable Energy, Wind

Yingli Americas Selected for Large Solar Project

Joanna Schroeder

Yingli Green Energy Americas (Yingli Americas) has announced the company has been contracted to supply 200 MW-dc of utility-scale solar PV modules for the Centinela Solar Energy Facility Project. This is the company’s largest order to date. The project will be completed in two phases and when complete, Yingli Americas believes the 170 megawatt-ac project will be one of the largest of its type inte world. It is being sited around 90 miles from San Diego, California, on 1,600 acres and is expected to be fully operational in mid 2014.

“The expansion of the utility-scale market in the U.S. is instrumental in securing our country’s clean energy future. We are proud to be chosen for this milestone project that demanded the highest levels of product and performance guarantees,” said Robert Petrina, Yingli Americas’ managing director. “We are now working with several of the top utility companies in the nation, and are cementing our reputation as the ideal module supplier for large-scale projects.”

The facility will generate enough electricity to power more than 60,000 homes and is one of the first significant projects to feed into the Sunrise Powerlink Transmission Line. Centinela Solar Energy, a member of LS Power Group, will be handling the engineering, procurement and construction and will also overview the operations and maintenance. San Diego Gas and Electric will be purchasing the power through a 20-year agreement.

John King, Executive Vice President of LS Power, added, “We’re pleased to work with a module supplier that proves their commitment to reliability with competitive warranty terms. We are confident in Fluor Corporation’s selection of Yingli Americas for this significant module supply deal.”

Alternative energy, Electricity, Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar

Tablets Top the Wish List

Melissa Sandfort

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ” What gadget is on your Christmas wish list?”

Our poll results: Twenty-four percent said other; twenty percent said tablet; ten percent said wide screen TV; seven percent said desktop computer; three percent said smartphone; and three percent said notebook computer.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “With harvest over what are your winter plans?” During the winter months, you may not see farmers out in the field but that doesn’t mean they’re not busy! So what will you be doing until next year’s planting season? Let us know!

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

Senate Approves Military Biofuels Use

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Senate has repealed a provision in the defense department budget that would have prevented the military from developing the use of biofuel alternatives.

A coalition of organizations representing military biofuels supporters welcomed the news that will allow the Department of Defense “to continue research and testing of fuels that provide U.S. forces with enhanced military capability.”

The Senate voted 62-37 to pass an amendment by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) repealing section 313 of the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which prohibited DOD from procuring alternative fuels if they cost more than their conventional counterparts.

“Military leaders and security experts believe these initiatives are vital to our military’s energy security,” said Mike Breen, Executive Director of the Truman Project and spokesman for its clean energy campaign, Operation Free. “Our dependence on oil as a single source of transportation fuel endangers our national and economic security.”

The House of Representatives has included similar language in its defense appropriations bill.

advanced biofuels, aviation biofuels, military

Reinstate the Biodiesel Tax Incentive

Joanna Schroeder

The lame duck session is in full swing but no movement has yet been made on the tax extenders package that includes incentives for wind energy, advanced biofuels, including biodiesel, and cellulosic ethanol. Today, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) sent letters to all the members of the Iowa Congressional delegation urging them to level the energy playing field and reinstate the biodiesel tax incentive. Iowa leads the county in biodiesel production.

The letters stated: “The biodiesel industry’s recent progress is to be applauded, particularly in such a weak economy, but it should not cloud the fact that biodiesel remains a young and vulnerable industry. As the petroleum industry fights to preserve the tax advantages it has enjoyed continuously for the past century, the biodiesel industry has seen its growth stall since the tax incentive expired on Dec. 31, 2011. As a result, U.S. biodiesel production will likely be down from last year and the growth in Iowa biodiesel production will likely be less than expected.

The projected decrease in U.S. biodiesel production in 2012 demonstrates that if the petroleum industry maintains its century-old tax advantages and the biodiesel tax incentive is not reinstated, then the RFS volumes will most likely be the ceiling for U.S. biodiesel production and use, not the floor. Now, as much as ever, the biodiesel industry needs stability and a level energy playing field to continue growing.”

The letters were send to Senators Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley, and Representatives Dave Loebsack, Leonard Boswell, Steve King and Tom Latham.

advanced biofuels, Alternative energy, Biodiesel, Iowa RFA, Renewable Energy

US-Based GCEH Receives RSB Certification

Joanna Schroeder

In an earlier post today, I mentioned four major global biofuel sustainability initiatives mentioned in the DoShort, “Sustainable Transport Fuels Business Brief.” One such initiative is the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) who just announced that the first U.S.-based biofuels company, Global Clean Energy Holdings (GCEH), has been awarded the RSB certification.

“We’re happy to welcome GCEH under the RSB umbrella,” said Dr. Michael Keyes, Senior Agriculture and Natural Resources Specialist for SCS Global Services, the company that oversees the program, “GCEH is a model for how biofuels can be produced sustainably and contribute to reducing the carbon intensity of our fuels, while providing concrete contributions to communities and the environment.”

According to SCS, the RSB certification is the most stringent of all consensus standards for sustainable biofuel production. To achieve the designation, a biofuel producer must a high level of compliance with environmental and social criteria that includes, but is not limited to, agricultural sustainability.

GCEH grows jatropha in the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula on marginal land with no irrigation. In order to protect local plant species and wildlife, the company sets aside over 10 percent of its land to create conservation areas and buffer zones. I find this interesting because many in the environmental community believe jatropha is more harmful as a biofuel feedstock than helpful.

“The certification process included a very comprehensive review of all our operations,” added Noah Verleun, Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs Manager at GCEH, “We’re proud to report that we only had to institute minor operational adjustments to our already strong internal processes to qualify for the comprehensive RSB sustainability certification.”

advanced biofuels, Alternative energy, Environment, Renewable Energy

Message at Doha Climate Talks: CO2 Rising

Joanna Schroeder

There is a message that United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is delivering during the Doha Climate Change Conference taking place through December 7, 2012 in Qatar – despite efforts, carbon emissions are up 20 percent and greenhouse emission targets will not be met. The organization says if the world does not scale up and accelerate action on climate change immediately, emissions could rise to 58 gigatonnes (Gt) by 2020. This is far above the level some climate researchers say is safe to keep the global temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius this century.

UNEP has released its third Emissions Gap Report 2012 to coincide with the Climate Conference. The report concludes that if the world stays on a business-as-usual trajectory, more drastic and expensive cuts will be needed after 2020.  Climate scientists have set a 2 degree target – meaning that if global temperature rising higher than 2 degrees, Earth as we know it will considerably change. Previous assessment report have underlined scenarios that provide options with costs as low as possible but early action was needed in these situations.

Emissions of warming gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) are actually increasing, according to the report. Total greenhouse gas emissions have risen from around 40 Gt in 2000 to an estimated 50.1 Gt in 2010. The report states that even if the most ambitious level of pledges and commitments were implemented by all countries, and under the strictest set of rules, there would be a gap of 8 Gt of CO2 equivalent by 2020, 2 Gt higher than last year’s assessment.

With continued delayed action, the economic costs will skyrocket and the options narrow and become more severe. The report states that in this scenario, a heavier long-term dependence on mitigation technologies such as bioenergy and carbon capture and storage would occur.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: “There are two realities encapsulated in this report-that bridging the gap remains do-able with existing technologies and policies; that there are many inspiring actions taking place at the national level on energy efficiency in buildings, investing in forests to avoid emissions linked with deforestation and new vehicle emissions standards alongside a remarkable growth in investment in new renewable energies worldwide, which in 2011 totaled close to US$260 billion.”

“Yet the sobering fact remains that a transition to a low carbon, inclusive Green Economy is happening far too slowly and the opportunity for meeting the 44 Gt target is narrowing annually,” he added.
Climate Change, Electricity, Energy, global warming

Restaurant Owners Join Fight Against RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Council of Chain Restaurants today joined the fight against the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) with the release of a new report on its impact on the chain restaurant industry, commodity prices and the food supply chain.

The study, which was conducted by PwC, “concluded that the RFS mandate could cost chain restaurants up to $3.2 billion annually, with quick-service restaurants witnessing cost increases upward of $2.5 billion, and full-service restaurants seeing increases upward of $691 million.”

Ethanol industry representatives called the study “flawed” and “misleading” and said it failed to take many factors into account. “The true culprit behind rising food prices is the cost of energy, and in particular oil,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. “Only 14 percent of the price of food is attributable to the cost of the commodity, while the rest can be attributed to energy costs and marketing. The processing, packaging, wrapping, storage, refrigeration and transportation costs are the true drivers in price increases.”

American Coalition for Ethanol Executive Vice President Brian Jennings says the council of chain restaurants is ‘out to lunch’ on the RFS. “Contrary to their claims, a recent fact-based analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and EPA showed that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has virtually no impact on food prices, so we encourage the media to take this fast-food study with as much salt as you’d find in one of their meals,” said Jennings.

“They lost in their bid for a waiver of the RFS, so now they are resorting to super-sized myths about the impact of the RFS on food prices. Every reasonable analysis of the factors influencing food prices has concluded that the cost of diesel fuel, gasoline, and other energy inputs is the major driver. This study conveniently avoids that issue,” said Bob Dinneen, President of the Renewable Fuels Association.

Listen to Dinneen’s comments here: RFA president Bob Dinneen

Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) announced at the NCCR press conference this morning says the report supports his legislation “The Renewable Fuels Elimination Act” HR3098. “This is a bipartisan effort,” Goodlatte said, noting that a letter to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson encouraging a waiver of the RFS was signed by 156 members of the House. “That group provides a basis for moving forward with legislation that would do what unfortunately she chose not to do.”

Goodlatte says he is hopeful that the RFS will either be reformed or eliminated in the next Congress.

Listen to Goodlatte’s comments here: Congressman Bob Goodlatte

ACE, Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Growth Energy, RFA, RFS

DoShort Review – Sustainable Transport Fuels

Joanna Schroeder

What do you do when you’ve got a frustrating case of insomnia? You read books about energy. Okay, maybe not something you would do but it always keeps me good and entertained. Last night I read the DoShort, “Sustainable Transport Fuels Business Brief,” by David Thorpe in less than two hours. That is part of the sell – learn about a topic in 90 minutes or less. This is a brillant concept lads.

So what did I learn? I got a briefing on research, development and deployment of sustainable fuels around the world. The DoShort kicked off with a brief overview of the history of transportation fuels, relevant legislation, and the role of emissions reduction in determining the sustainable viability of a future fuel.

Next were a series of briefs on various types of fuels beginning with biofuels. The discussion included current technologies and technologies to watch, feedstocks, infrastructure, partnerships, pros and cons and opportunities and challenges. This same type of format was used in the brief sections about electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, fuel cells, and a fuel I’d never heard of called hydrazine hydrate. There is even a concept car developed by Daihatsu. Who knew?

Much of the brief was focused on biofuels, since today they are the primary source of alternative fuels for the transportation sector (when specifically discussing fleets, the leading fuel is propane autogas). Here was an interesting tidbit I picked up: according to the IEA Bioenergy Implementing Agreement there are at least 67 local, regional or global initiatives to develop sustainability criteria and standards for biofuels.  (And if you’ve been reading this blog for the past six years you notice that biofuels, and currently the Renewable Fuels Standard, are constantly under attack). The most significant initiatives are: The Global Bioenergy Partnership, The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, International Organization for Standardization, and the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System.

While I have encyclopedic volumes of energy info stuck in my head, I got most of it reading many good, but dense books that took hours. What I’ve also known is that most people don’t have the time, nor interest, in reading all of these books. That’s why I do it for you and why I now consider these DoShorts such a winner – the reader of “Sustainable Transport Fuels Business Brief ” can sit down at a meeting and can impress the boss with a working knowledge of transportation fuels, in 90 minutes or less.

algae, Alternative energy, Biodiesel, biofuels, book reviews, Cellulosic, Electric Vehicles, Ethanol, Hydrogen