Domestic Fuel

This post was on Corn Commentary yesterday:

The price of a barrel of crude shot up to $110.10 today before closing at $100.01, driven by fear despite evidence of good supplies and falling demand, illustrates the tightrope the United States walks in terms of energy security.

A refinery explosion in Texas over the weekend and fear that OPEC will decide to cut back production next month drove prices higher.

You know it’s big when it’s become a child’s plaything. Corgi International is introducing the next-generation fuel-cell powered toy car. Now renewable energy is going to be hip with the kids…

A revolutionary next-generation radio controlled (RC) toy car powered by clean fuel cell energy technology was unveiled at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in Germany.

The H2GO is the result of a unique strategic partnership between Corgi International and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, a global leader in fuel cell development. Going forward, both companies aim to develop and produce a range of new toys using hydrogen fuel cells, making the H2GO brand a recognized global leader in clean energy toys.

A bill before the Utah legislature that will encourage utilities to use renewable energy has received a boost from that state’s governor.

This story in the Salt Lake Tribune says despite the support from Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., it doesn’t mean he’s giving up his own push for more solar, wind and geothermal resources into the state’s electricity mix:

During a legislative committee hearing on Monday, Huntsman’s energy policy advisor, Dianne Nielson, spoke in favor of SB202, which urges public and regulated utilities to pursue renewable energy sources to the extent it is cost-effective to do so.

“The governor wants to find a way to work with all the parties to diversify the energy supply and meet the targets,” Nielson said. “That’s everybody’s goal here.”

The article goes on to say that Huntsman is stopping short of mandating the increase in renewable fuel use.

Two biofuel interests are partnering to extract corn oil from the by-product of an ethanol plant in Wisconsin and turn that oil into biodiesel.

This story from Ethanol Producer Magazine says GreenShift Corp. (through its subsidiary GS CleanTech)is partnering with United Ethanol to extract 1.5 million gallons of corn oil a year from the distillers grains produced at the 42-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Milton, Wisconsin using GreenShift’s patent-pending Corn Oil Extraction Systems:

The technology reduces overall plant emissions and utility costs by up to $1 million each year for a 100 MMgy plant that dries all of its distillers grains.

GS CleanTech Corp., a subsidiary of GreenShift, will build the corn oil extraction operations on the ethanol plant site, and United Ethanol will operate the facility, according to David Cramer, president and chief executive officer of United Ethanol, “This is the first stage of a long-term project that will get us into biodiesel production using corn oil from our facility,” he said in a company newsletter.

I will tell you that this kind of technology was part of the talk at the recent National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla. Seems to make sense to squeeze every bit of good out of that corn seed that you can… ethanol, biodiesel, livestock feed… to make sure bottom lines stay above the red line.

Researchers from several schools in Colorado, including Colorado State University, the University of Colorado, and the Colorado School of Mines, along with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden are putting their heads together for the sake of alternative fuels.

This story in Colorado State’s publication, CSU Zone, says they have created the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, or C2B2:

The group, made up of more than 200 researchers – about 64 of them at CSU – combined the expertise of an array of scientists to study new biofuels, how they work and their implications for society.

“The country needs some solution of where we’re going to find energy, and we need it soon.”

They’re looking for that solution outside of the traditional corn and soybean feedstocks for ethanol and biodiesel, namely, switchgrass and other biomass products looking at getting the most plant material… not just seeds… per acre.

To read more about C2B2, check out the web site: www.c2b2web.org.

The number of E85 stations nationwide only grew by 35 percent last year, compared to 118 percent the previous year.

Still, an increase of more than a third is pretty decent growth and the total number of stations as of the end of 2007 was 1420, according to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.

That number has already increased this year by another 15 or so. One station opened just outside of Tulare, California prior to the recent World Ag Expo.

“This is only the second public E85 fueling station in the state of California,” said NEVC Chairman Phil Lampert. “We are extremely pleased that E85 is priced at $2.49 per gallon (at the station). The average price for regular unleaded in the area is $3.19 per gallon.”

NEVC is traveling to Mississippi this week for the grand opening of that state’s first E85 station in Newton.

San Francisco will play host to more than 800 investors, entrepreneurs and leading renewable energy experts at the international Cleantech Forum XVI convening next week. This year’s forum is highlighting 2008 as ‘The Defining Year for Cleantech Globalization.’

Investors, entrepreneurs, industry influencers and corporate leaders at the forefront of the rapidly developing cleantech investment and business category from North American, Europe, the Gulf States and Asia will convene in San Francisco for Cleantech Forum(R) XVI, to be held at the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel from February 25-27, 2008.

U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner will highlight the Department’s transformational public-private sector work intended to accelerate the development, deployment and commercialization of cutting-edge, clean energy technologies from the Agency’s national laboratories into the global marketplace.
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Nordic winds are breezing across the face of the Golden State. Nordic Windpower has opened a new North American office in Berkeley, CA.

Nordic Windpower Ltd., a leading company manufacturing and selling utility-scale wind turbines based on field-proven and innovative technology, has announced that it has opened its new North American office in Berkeley, CA. The company’s management team for North America is located at this new office, at 125 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710, in the Berkeley Marina. Nordic Windpower also has offices in Bristol, England, and Taby, Sweden.

“With a world-class university and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley is a global center for renewable energy and clean technology research and innovation,” said Steve Taber, CEO, and co-founder of Nordic Windpower.

Options for alternative energy are on the rise and the third annual Piper Jaffray Clean Technology and Renewables Conference aims to explore the leading innovations of this rapidly growing sector of U.S. energy.

Piper Jaffray & Co. will host its third annual Clean Technology and Renewables Conference Feb. 20, 2008 in New York City. The conference will provide insight on upcoming technological advancements and cost improvements from leading solar, biofuels and other clean technology companies operating across the globe.

Investors will also hear a keynote address by Steve Creamer, chairman and CEO of EnergySolutions, Inc. Additionally, the conference will feature company presentations from senior management, as well as one-on-one and group meetings.

More than 75 companies are scheduled to participate in the conference.

The world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city goes not to the renewable fuel-crazed U.S., but to Abu Dhabi. The capital of the United Arab Emeriates broke ground on Masdar City earlier this month. If this city actually functions as its supposed to, I think it will be rather impressive. When is the U.S. breaking ground on it’s own carbon-neutral playground?

Masdar CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber announced a total development budget for the city of $22 billion. Of that investment total, Masdar (“the source” in Arabic) will contribute $4 billion to develop the city’s infrastructure. The remaining $18 billion will come through direct investments and the creation of various financial instruments to raise needed capital. An essential driver for the development of the city is carbon finance. Carbon emissions reduced by Masdar City will be monetized under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism.

By implementing these technologies, Masdar City will save the equivalent of more than US $2 billion in oil over the next 25 years, based on today’s energy prices. The city will also create more than 70,000 jobs and will add more than two percent to Abu Dhabi’s annual GDP.
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A wind turbine maker says it will expand its operations at a plant in Iowa.

The Des Moines Register reports that Siemens Power Generation will invest in a $33 million expansion at its wind turbine blade factory in Fort Madison. The move is expected to add 287 good-paying jobs:

The new jobs would pay an average of $17.14 an hour, said the company, which seeks state incentives.

The Iowa Economic Development Board will consider providing Siemens with a
$1.4 million forgivable loan Thursday and an estimated $1.9 million in tax credits and sales tax refunds. Fort Madison also seeks to capture $2.8 million in state withholding taxes the company would pay, under a pilot program designed to help revitalize urban renewal areas in border cities.

As you might remember from my post back on October 11th, 2007, Iowa is seen as riding the crest of a potential $10 billion wind energy market. That was also the same time when Hendricks Industries said it would become the fifth wind turbine maker to locate in the state.

A bill that would require all state vehicles in New Hampshire that run on diesel to have a percentage of biodiesel in the mix has passed that state’s House and is moving to the Senate.

This story in the Nashua Telegraph says the legislation also includes the heating oil used for state buildings:

The bill requires the commissioners of the Department of Transportation and the Division of Plant and Property Management to purchase fuels that contain 5 percent biodiesel.

“The way things are going now, if oil keeps going up, it’s very likely biodiesel will become very competitive,” he said. “It does lengthen engine life, so the purchasers for state agencies may decide it’s worth it even if they have to pay a small premium.”

There is a clause that allows the state to opt out of buying the biodiesel if it is cost-prohibitive. But it says the purchasing director must also consider biodiesel’s benefits, such as longer engine use, when figuring up the cost.

A new biodiesel plant that is being touted as Arkansas’ first and only biodiesel refinery with its own on-site crusher will open on Tuesday.

Arkansas Business reports that Arkansas SoyEnergy Group will open the one-stop plant that will eventually produce seven million gallons of the green fuel a year near the town of DeWitt:

The event will feature remarks from U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.; Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark; and former Arkansas House of Representatives Speaker Benny Petrus.

With the new plant, the Hornbecks aim to create a new market for area farmers by buying and crushing locally grown soybeans, saving their neighbors the heavy toll of transportation costs while providing “homegrown energy” that can be used in farm machinery and vehicles. A byproduct of the process, soybean meal, can be used for animal feed.

The Hornbecks say they’ll get most of their feedstock from local farmers within a 30 mile radius of the plant.

Engineers wanting to learn more about coal-to-liquid clean fuel projects have some new options for getting the education. Fuel Frontiers, Inc. has developed a CTL engineering program with Shaw, Stone and Webster.

Fuel Frontiers, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuclear Solutions, Inc., has announced that it has transferred funds to Shaw Stone & Webster (Shaw), a division of The Shaw Group Inc., to launch the engineering program that will provide a technical basis for a 400 Tonne per day Coal-To-Liquid (CTL) Ultra-Clean Diesel fuel production facility in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

FFI is planning to employ a commercially proven plasma gasification system designed by Westinghouse Plasma Corporation (WPC) coupled to commercially available Fischer-Tropsch (FT) gas-to-liquids (GTL) diesel fuel production systems, to be designed and constructed by Shaw Stone & Webster (SS&W) for its coal to ultra-clean diesel production facilities.

Researchers at Purdue University have developed a model that shows how economic policies related to ethanol may impact future prices and production.

Purdue professor of agricultural economics Wally Tyner says the prices of corn and crude oil, which prior to 2007 fluctuated almost independent of one another, have become more closely linked as the use of corn to make ethanol has grown.

According to Tyner, the fixed 51-cent per gallon subsidy paid to ethanol producers will become increasingly expensive for the federal government as oil prices and levels of ethanol production continue to rise.

Tyner analyzed four policy options – the current 51-cent fixed subsidy, the variable subsidy, no subsidy and a renewable fuel standard – at oil prices ranging from $40 per barrel to $120 per barrel. The renewable fuel standard contained in the 2007 Energy Act mandates that energy companies purchase 35 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022, with a maximum of 15 billion gallons coming from corn.

“Regardless of the policy, results become similar at high crude oil prices where the market dominates,” Tyner said. “At low oil prices, however, government policies have huge effects, and all the results are enormously different. The policy choices we make will be critical.”

Read the report here.