Domestic Fuel

In his final State of the Union address to the nation, President Bush once again acknowledged the importance of domestic fuels for energy security and the environment.

To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology. Our security, our prosperity, and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil. Last year, I asked you to pass legislation to reduce oil consumption over the next decade, and you responded. Together we should take the next steps: Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions. Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions-free nuclear power. Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the future. Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources. And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases.

The U.S. branch of Dutch-based Corporate Express is converting its delivery trucks to biodiesel.

CNNMoney.com reports that the corporate supplier will run most of its delivery truck fleets in Colorado and Kansas on B20 from Colorado’s Blue Sun’s Biodiesel:

This strategic step will significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the Company’s Colorado and Kansas fleets — a total of 45 trucks. The use of B20 fuel, as compared to using regular petroleum diesel, reduces carbon monoxide by 24%, hydrocarbons by 29%, particulates by 18% and nitrogen oxides by 4%, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

This move is part of Corporate Express’ plans to reduce environmental impact through goals for facilities, distribution operations, sustainable forestry, environmentally sustainable products and social responsibility. These plans are outlined in the Company’s US Sustainability Policy.

Corporate Express officials say the move will reduce wear and tear on their trucks and improve mileage.

Fresh food giant Dole has a fresh idea about how it is fueling its fresh vegetable harvesters in the western United States: use biodiesel.

This company press release says the fresh vegetable division has switched its harvesters in Salinas, California and in Yuma, Arizona over to B20:

Kevin Fiori, Dole’s Senior Vice President Agriculture Operations said “being good stewards of the environment is very important to Dole and this includes reducing emissions and using alternative sources of energy.” Dole has been testing B20 Bio Diesel since August in farm equipment and off road vehicles with very positive results.

Mr. Fiori also commented that “those of us in agriculture, who depend on the environment, land, water, and air quality to grow foods, are keenly aware of the importance of applying sustainable agricultural practices.”

Dole is the world’s largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and fresh-cut flowers, selling $6.2 billion a year.

A California company claims to have a new way to convert biomass into ethanol.

According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News, ZeaChem’s technique uses a proprietary combination of biotechnology and chemistry.

Zeachem’s “secret sauce,” according to co-founder and research executive vice president Dan Verser, is both how it breaks down biomass – waste wood from poplar trees at first – as well as how it uses wood residue to produce the hydrogen it mixes with acetic acid to make ethanol.

One key: A bacteria commonly found in the gut of a termite or in pond scum helps convert the trees to fuel. “Our bug is very tough,” said Jim Imbler, Zeachem’s president and chief executive officer.

ZeaChem has reported started designing a small-scale production facility in Oregon where they hopes to start making cellulosic ethanol using the process next year.

Corvette will continue its legacy of being a platform for introducing and developing new technology this year as Corvette Racing will be powered by E85 in the 2008 American Le Mans Series.

During the announcement at the North American International Auto Show earlier this month, Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper said, “Like the Corvette Z06 E85 concept car that will pace the 2008 Indianapolis 500, the use of E85 ethanol fuel by America’s premier production sports car racing team in a high-profile, high-tech racing series like the ALMS shows that Chevy is continuing to lead by example.”

“By showcasing the capabilities of E85 ethanol before an audience of knowledgeable and technically astute race fans, we can demonstrate the benefits of a renewable fuel that helps to reduce dependence on petroleum, helps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and helps to create greater diversity in energy supplies,” Peper said. “Of course, performance is what counts in racing, so E85 ethanol’s higher octane rating than gasoline wasn’t overlooked by the Corvette Racing engineers.”

Corvette Racing has formed a technical partnership with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) to spotlight E85 in the ALMS.

Legislation is being proposed in Illinois for ethanol blends between 10 and 85 percent.

According to the Peoria Journal Star, State Rep. Aaron Schock said at a news conference Thursday that he would like to see the current 10 percent ethanol blend in gasoline increased to 15 percent and, eventually, 20 percent.

“Throughout the 20-county (18th Congressional) District, farmers have had relatively good years with high prices and high yields, but a number of them are concerned about what the future may hold with any type of dip in yields and prices,” Schock said. “There are things we can do as a government and policy makers to keep prices strong, the markets strong for agriculture and lessen our dependency on Mideast oil.”

With the new year, the Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) launched a new blog on its website: http://blog.cleanfuelsdc.org.

The goal of the new CFDC blog is to create an informative and ongoing public discussion about the numerous facts, myths, and highly emotional issues which will coattail the development and expansion of the nation’s increased RFS in the years to come.

“The internet in general and blogging specifically are transforming the way researchers, activists, voters, consumers, the media and policy makers learn about many subjects, including ethanol and alternative fuel vehicles. It levels the historically one-sided consumer outreach playing field, draped with full-page advertisements in the nation’s top newspapers, to a level playing field which is fair, interactive and provides access to the majority of people who care to learn more about issues,” said Burl Haigwood, director of program development and author of the new Clean Fuels Development blog.

Siouxland Energy and Livestock Cooperative (SELC) has completed a major expansion of its ethanol plant in Sioux City, increasing production capacity of the corn-based fuel to 60 million gallons annually.

The larger plant can now process more than 20 million bushels of corn. In addition to 60 million gallons of ethanol, the factory produces 400,000 tons of wet distiller’s grains and 140,000 tons of condensed distiller’s solubles (syrup) annually.

The plant, Iowa’s oldest operating farmer-owned ethanol plant, had an annual capacity of 25 million gallons when it opened in 2001.

A biodiesel plant in Eastern Arkansas near the towns of Helena-West Helena on the Mississippi River is set to open April 1st… after nearly two and a half years of planning and building.

This story in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette says the plant will be able to produce 40 million gallons a year… making it Arkansas’ largest biodiesel plant:

“We started researching the project in late 2005,” Crowley said of the venture, which is being undertaken by Patrick Burks, Crowley’s grandfather, and David Griffin, a Phillips County farmer.

“We’ve got a long way to go before [soybean oil ] is affordable again,” he said.

The plant will join to smaller refineries in the state… FutureFuel Chemical Co. near Batesville, able to produce 24 million gallons a year, and Patriot BioFuels Inc. in Stuttgart, producing three million gallons a year. Another 7.5-million-gallon plant run by Arkansas SoyEnergy Group will also start up on April 1st.

Semi-truck manufacturer Kenworth is teaming up with Westport Innovations… a maker of engines that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, and hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG)… to build trucks that run on LNG.

A Westport press release says that they will begin producing Kenworth T800 LNG trucks at the Kenworth manufacturing plant in Renton, Washington, supported by Westport’s new LNG Fuel System Assembly Center in British Columbia in 2009. Wesport’s technology will be used on a Cummins ISX-15-liter engine:

“This agreement with Kenworth creates a dramatic increase in LNG truck delivery capacity and further strengthens Westport’s ability to efficiently meet the significant growth in market demand for environmentally clean LNG trucks from the ports and other fleet customers,” said Michael Gallagher, president and chief operating officer of Westport.

“The Kenworth T800, equipped with a Cummins ISX and Westport’s HPDI fuel system, offers an industry-leading solution with world-class low emissions and greenhouse gases, while delivering outstanding horsepower, torque, and efficiency comparable to a diesel engine,” said Bob Christensen, Kenworth general manager and PACCAR vice president. “Kenworth is recognized as a technology leader in the commercial vehicle market and the exclusive ability to offer this technology reinforces Kenworth’s reputation as The World’s Best.”

The move coincides with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announcement to approve a new $1.6 billion Clean Truck Superfund. The money will go toward replacing many of the 16,800 Class 8 trucks serving the ports with LNG-powered vehicles. Westport’s LNG fuel system is the only alternative fuel technology currently qualified for financial support under the ports’ Clean Truck program.

While the movie “Fields of Fuel” is giving people plenty to talk about regarding biofuels at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah (see Cindy’s Jan. 24th post), some are putting the talk into action.

This blog posting on Wired.com says California-based biotech firm Solazyme is driving around the festival in a car running on its own algae-based biodiesel called Soladiesel:

Solazyme says tooling around Park City, Utah in a Mercedes Benz C320 diesel will be the first real-world road test of biodiesel made from algae. The car is straight off the showroom floor (Solazyme says Mercedes is not involved in the company or the test in any way), and the company says Soladiesel will work in any diesel engine, in almost any climate.

Solazyme hopes to begin mass-producing Soladiesel at a competitive price within three years. That could be a tad optimistic, but Chevron Corp. is sufficiently impressed that it’s joining Solazyme to perfect the technology.

Of course, Solazyme is featured in “Fields of Fuel,” so it sure makes sense that the company would want to be present.

The City of Long Beach, California might be the latest municipality to join the ranks of those that are switching their fleets to biodiesel.

The Long Beach Gazette reports the city is trying to reduce its carbon footprint:

The City Council directed City Manager Pat West to investigate the feasibility of using biodiesel to power its 361 city-owned trucks, large cars and other diesel vehicles. The fuel allows engines to get about 400 miles out of each tank and is 35% more energy efficient than petroleum diesel.

Vehicles that run on biodiesel get about 47 miles per gallon and provide a renewable, cleaner alternative fuel with lower toxic exhaust emissions than petroleum. Lowenthal said she supports its use, because it would help reduce the city’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Officials expect little effort to actually make the change. Right now, Long Beach uses more than 21,600 gallons of diesel a year in its vehicles. If the city makes the conversion, it would be eligible for state and federal incentives, tax credits, and other programs.

GE Energy has agreed to deliver $1 billion worth of wind turbines to Chicago-based Invenergy LLC for projects in North America and Europe.

In this article posted on the Business Review website, says GE cites it as the biggest commitment ever for wind turbines in one year:

Under the deal, GE Energy, based in Atlanta, will deliver 400 of its 1.5 megawatt wind turbines to Chicago-based Invenergy for projects in North America, and 200 megawatts, or 80 turbines, for projects in Europe.

Some of the work will be done at GE Energy’s Schenectady plant. Victor Abate, GE Energy’s vice president of renewables, called the deal “a milestone agreement.”

The article goes on to say that GE has increased it’s wind turbine production by 500 percent since 2004.

The ABC sitcom “Carpoolers,” which airs on Tuesday nights, featured the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council’s “e” logo in this week’s episode entitled “First Fight.”

As the name implies, Carpoolers is about a group of guys who carpool to work together from their suburban homes. The gas-saving connection makes it a great show for the ethanol brand’s first product placement.

The producers of Carpoolers contacted EPIC in September to ask permission to use the “e” logo. The photo shows how the “e” was used during the show – as “Baby Ethanol Farmer.”

Won’t spoil any of the plot, but if you want to see the “e” in action and find out who Baby Ethanol Farmer is and what happens to he/she, watch the entire episode of Carpoolers at www.abc.com.

The biofuels documentary “Fields of Fuel” made its debut this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah to mixed reviews.

AFP reports that the biodiesel film is “not to everyone’s tastes at Sundance.” The reviewer, who interviewed film director and activist Josh Tickell, focused on the food versus fuel controversy rather than the film itself, saying “not everyone is buying into his (Tickell’s) message.” The review discusses both biodiesel and ethanol, brings up the energy bill and quotes an economist saying that ethanol is causing higher food prices.

CNET News reporter Michelle Meyers offers a better review of the movie itself, noting that it “received a long standing ovation at its first public screening” Monday.

In the film, director Josh Tickell tells the story of his life as an activist pushing for the use of biodiesel and other alternative fuels in an effort to reduce our dependency on foreign oil and protect the environment.

I tend to be wary of advocacy docs for fear they’ll be feature-length brainwashers. But Tickell’s film is fair, honest, informative and–a biggie for me–nicely edited. And I suppose it was convincing, too–it got me thinking about buying a car with a diesel engine and I went online to find the nearest biodiesel fuel pumps.

MTV also gives the film a good review with a liberal light, although it does confuse biodiesel and ethanol.

If you are a fan of “An Inconvienient Truth,” “SICKO,” or any Michael Moore-esque film than you are going to love this film. It urges the power of the vote, the power of change, and the power of you. You have the momentum to make certain small changes that can impact this world. We are currently in a war where most Americans think it is for the control of oil. This film just gives the voice that this war is not needed and we do not need oil – we can use bio-diesel fuel made from corn, wood chips, algae and alleviate the pressure we put on this earth. Final say: watch the film, learn from it, and make it happen.