Domestic Fuel

Algae-biodiesel production company Solazyme, Inc. will be featuring its SoladieselRD(TM), the world’s first algal-based renewable diesel, at a summit this week in California.

This company press release posted on MarketWatch.com says SoladieselRD(TM) will be showcased at the Governor’s Global Climate Summit in Beverly Hills, CA, Nov. 18th-19th:

“We are glad to be a part of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Global Climate Summit and applaud him for bringing together U.S. and international leaders to address this critical issue. Moving towards the Copenhagen meeting in December, these opportunities to discuss all solutions to the global climate crisis have become vitally important,” said Harrison Dillon, co-founder, president and CTO of Solazyme. “In this search for solutions, Solazyme has taken a 150 million year process of making oil and condensed it to a matter of days to renewably produce oil that can be converted into fuels that not only address these challenges, but have already been proven to be fully-scalable on a commercial level.”

Solazyme’s unique process grows algae in the dark in large industrial fermentation tanks, where the algae are fed a variety of non-food and waste biomass materials including glycerol and cellulosic biomass. This allows the company to produce oil with a very low carbon footprint efficiently in a controlled environment. Solazyme’s fuels have already been road tested in unmodified vehicles for thousands of miles. Solazyme also recently announced that it has produced the world’s first algal based jet fuel which met all eleven of the tested key criteria for (ASTM) D1655 (Jet A-1). Additionally, Solazyme’s process is the very first bridge from non–food carbohydrates and certain industrial waste streams to edible oils and oleochemicals.

The folks at Solazyme would love to talk to people, one-on-one during the summit. Contact Beth Starkin at 212-931-6108 or bstarkin@peppercom.com.

The Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) at Oklahoma State University (OSU) has received $20 million in funding for renewables research. The university received the money from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Four million dollars will be allowed over five years.

According to Biofuels Business, the research project will be led by Dr. Ray Huhnke, director of the Biobased Products and Energy Center at Oklahoma State University (OSU); Dr. Lance Lobban, director of the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU); and Dr. Kirankumar Mysore, associate professor at the Samuel Roberts Noble Research Foundation. The funds will support research for molecular tools for biomass development, and the underlying microbial conversion of biomass to liquid fuels, as well as new catalytic/thermochemical conversion processes for cellulosic biomass.

“There is already a great amount of momentum in the state right now about the production of non-food based biofuels,” said Dr. Jim Wicksted, associate director of the Oklahoma EPSCoR program. “This theme area and project will build on that momentum by developing an infrastructure that supports Oklahoma’s biofuels initiative. We’re so pleased that NSF and the State Regents are willing to provide the resources that enable this work.”

In this “Ethanol Report” podcast, Geoff Cooper of the Renewable Fuels Association talks about a new land use report just released.

The report systematically refutes claims that ethanol production will divert land from agricultural use, stressing that agricultural land can expand without “jeopardizing forest or other sensitive lands.”

The report also gives historical context to global agricultural land use as well as the impact of increased grain demand on sustainability and the role of the ethanol co-product distillers grains used for animal feed.

You can listen to “The Ethanol Report” on-line here:
ethanol-report-21.mp3

Or you can subscribe to this podcast by following this link.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.6MB)

The newly formed ethanol advocacy group, Growth Energy, has aggressive plans for attacking some of the major issues impacting the growth of biofuels.

During an interview at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting, Growth Energy board member Greg Krissek of ICM said they want to “especially focus on the federal work being done on mid-level and higher level blends (of ethanol) but accelerate that.”

The new organization will be “working very closely together” with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). “As the industry gets bigger, it’s an opportunity for coalitions to be built of groups of producers,” said Krissek.

Growth Energy will also be aggressively fighting back against food companies that have been blaming ethanol production for higher food prices. “The question is simple – are food prices going to fall? Or was it really a disingenuous statement that was made,” Krissek said. The organization is requesting that Congress to hold hearings with food companies to ask them the question.

Listen an interview with Greg Krissek here: nafb-08-krissek.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.4MB)

Schools in Ohio are being urged to apply for grants to fund using soy biodiesel in buses.

This story from the Chilicothe (OH) Gazette says 21 school districts are already taking advantage of the program designed to help kids breathe easier:

“It is great to see schools take advantage of this program that requires no additional costs but provides a tremendous amount of benefits to school children, and I am hopeful that even more school districts apply during the second round of funding,” said Dan Corcoran, chairman of the council and a soybean farmer in Pike County.

The program, which is administered by the Ohio Department of Development and is promoted through the council’s Clean Air for Kids program, provides grants to cover any cost difference between regular petroleum diesel that most districts now use and a B20 biodiesel, which is a blend of 20 percent biodiesel with 80 percent of the traditional diesel fuel.

You can find out more about the program by going to www.soybiodiesel.org/kids.

Blackhawk Biofuels has announced it will cut the ribbon on its newest biodiesel plant this coming Wednesday (Nov. 19) in Danville, Illinois, with production at the 45-million-gallon-a-year facility to start the next day.

This story in TradingMarkets.com says the plant will at first use soybeans from Bunge Milling, adjacent to the biodiesel plant:

The cost of soybeans, which had skyrocketed in recent years, had kept the facility’s construction from completion before the new investors took over, Vermilion Advantage President and CEO Vicki Haugen said in May.

The plant’s biodiesel would be created from Bunge’s soybean oil and eventually, alternative feedstocks like animal fats.

The article goes on to say that Blackhawk has an agreement with Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group to get the animal fats needed. Private investors put in $25 million, while the State of Illinois kicked in another $19.8 million to make the refinery a reality.

This past summer, when oil prices were skyrocketing past $145 a barrel, one man was saying that the price would fall back to $60. People laughed and said we had seen the end of less-than-$100-a-barrel oil. Well, that price has dropped below $60, and 82-year-old oil analyst Henry Groppe has proved his critics wrong… again.

So, when Groppe says in this article from Toronto’s Globe and Mail that global oil production has peaked, but alternatives, such as biodiesel, ethanol, solar and wind, will help keep those prices down by replacing that diminishing oil supply, maybe more will listen:

His view is based on a fundamental belief that global oil production has peaked, and is destined to go into a slow but steady decline. At the same time, though, he also believes those higher prices will result in demand destruction as consumers shift to alternative fuels – thus keeping a lid on prices, albeit at higher levels…

He said such a change in consumption is already happening, and not just because of a global economic slowdown. (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development yesterday slashed its 2008 and 2009 global demand estimates, citing declining estimates for world economic growth.) Power generators and major industrial consumers have already been switching away from oil and toward cheaper coal and natural gas, and many are in the process of retooling their equipment to lower consumption and shift to cheaper fuels.

The article goes on to point out that Groppe doesn’t believe that the number of cars on the road worldwide will go down, but increased alternative fuels used especially in the industrial sector will offset any production declines and consumption increases that come along.

While it might have a past deeply rooted in petroleum, attendees of the Oklahoma Biofuels Conference in Oklahoma City this week were told renewable energy has a huge future in the Sooner State.

This story from Forbes says a huge wind corridor in the western part of Oklahoma, along with perennial native grasses for biofuels, gives the state a great potential to be a leader in alternative energy:

“We have 40,000 megawatts of wind potential in western Oklahoma, and that industry is exploding out of the ground as we talk,” said Oklahoma Energy Secretary David Fleischaker. “The Obama administration’s attitude toward bringing wind into the grid will really benefit that industry in Oklahoma.

“If you have an annual, you’ve got to pull the tractor out of the barn and plant it every year, which takes a lot of energy,” Fleischaker said. “If you have a perennial, it grows back every year automatically and you can leave the tractor in the barn.”

Luxury vehicles, exotic new rides, and the latest in domestic developments are all part of any auto show. Add to that list the environmentally-friendly aspects of a new car at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle|SF Gate.com 51st Annual International Auto Show.

This story from the Chronicle has the green details about the week-long event slated to start on November 22nd:

If your interests range more toward eco-friendly vehicles, you’re in luck. AAA’s Greenlight Initiative Showcase returns with an exciting collection of alternative fuel vehicles. This year’s showcase will feature five alternative fuel vehicles including a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) from CalCars that gets more than 100 miles per gallon, a VW Jetta that runs on both biodiesel and vegetable oil, a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle from the California Air Resources Board and AC Propulsion’s eBox – an all-electric conversion of the popular Scion xB. In addition, visitors to the AAA booth can see a live demonstration of a Prius being converted to a plug-in hybrid. AAA Members receive two-for-one admission to the show Nov. 24 to 26.

More details are available at www.sfautoshow.com.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published environmental regulatory rules and requirements for the construction and operation of biodiesel production facilities.

In a press release, the agency says it’s a user-friendly manual for the 176 biodiesel plants in operation nationwide:

Region 7 Administrator John B. Askew said, “We are taking steps to provide useful tools to help biodiesel facilities comply with environmental regulations. The manual serves as a road map of federal environmental information. EPA is addressing our nation’s growing energy demand in a way that supports our goals for a clean environment, supports farmers and rural America, and supports greater energy security.”

The manual provides practical examples to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. A contact directory of key federal and state officials is included in the manual. EPA Region 7 staff members are available to answer questions about the applicability of environmental requirements to renewable fuel facilities.

National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe commended the EPA for developing the manual for the industry:

“We appreciate that the document includes EPA’s recognition that biodiesel contributes to the wellbeing of the environment by ‘significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions’ and other pollutants,” he said. “Biodiesel use is a viable part of protecting the environment, and we look forward to working closely with the agency on future mutual goals.”

You can read the manual by clicking here.

One of the knocks against wind energy is that you don’t have power if you don’t have wind. Well, an energy company in the Upper Midwest might have the solution.

This story from the Minneapolis (MN) Star-Tribune says Xcel Energy Inc. has teamed up with the state of Minnesota and a Virginia-based technology firm to test the first battery in the country capable of storing wind energy:

The breakthrough technology, which is the size of two semitrailer trucks stacked atop each other, was built in Japan and shipped to Luverne, Minn., where it will store electricity generated by the nearby Minwind Energy wind turbines. S&C Electric Co. expects the equipment will be completely installed by April.

“Energy storage is key to expanding the use of renewable energy,” Xcel Chairman and CEO Dick Kelly said. “This technology has the potential to reduce the impact caused by the variability and limited predictability of wind-energy generation.”

Xcel, has invested $3.6 million in the project and hopes that the battery will become key to its wind energy operations.

A Fort Collins, Colorado biofuel company will build an algae-biodiesel plant on an Indian reservation in southern Colorado.

Solix Biofuels has announced it has raised $10.5 million in funding with another $5 million commitment from investors to build the facility on 10 acres on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. This story on Colorado.com has details:

The plant will be jointly developed by Solix and Southern Ute Alternative Energy LLC.

Currently, algae grown in Solix photo-bioreactors create five times the amount of fuel per acre of land per year than agriculture-based fuel such as corn-based ethanol and soy- or canola-based biodiesel, according to the company.

Company officials say the facility won’t be on a largescale right away but is hoped to set the stage for a much bigger operation in the future.

A trip to a Patagonian forest (that’s in South America) has produced the latest development in the biodiesel game.

Dr. Gary Strobel from Montana State University has found the endophytic fungus, Gliocladium roseum — a hydrocarbon-producing fungus he found growing in a tree in Patagonia — has been shown to produce many of the same hydrocarbons found in diesel. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says Strobel calls his discovery myco-diesel:

Strobel, a professor in the plant sciences and plant pathology department at Montana State University, explained that many organisms produce the shortest chain hydrocarbon, methane, and a number of organisms make longer-chain hydrocarbons that become increasing wax-like as the carbon chains get longer. However, in an extensive search of the literature, no other organism has been identified that produces as many short-chain hydrocarbons as Gliocladium roseum.

“How long it will take to make it practical to use is anybody’s guess,” Strobel said. “My son is doing the genetic profile and genetic sequencing. Perhaps these genes could be moved into other organisms like yeast or E coli that grow faster.” His son, Scott Strobel, is chair of Yale University’s Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.

Strobel has published a paper on the subject due out in the November issue of Microbiology. He’s headed next to the rain forests of Borneo and then to Patagonia again to find more specimens to test.

You can read more about Strobel and his work on his Montana State web site: plantsciences.montana.edu/facultyorstaff/faculty/strobel/.

The 2008 Missouri Agribusiness Summit was held today in Columbia, MO and featured a wide array of speakers presenting on biofuels.

Leading off the event was a welcome by Troy Norton of Williams-Keepers. Presentations on cellulosic ethanol, the Farm Bill, Federal and State legislation, and ethanol and biodiesel markets followed.

“There are several challenges that we have to overcome after this election,” stated Missouri Rep. Brian Munzlinger, Chairman of the Special Committee on Agribusiness. “There is uncertainty in agriculture at this time with the new Governor, DNR and the Department of Agriculture.”

Jenna Higgins Rose from the National Biodiesel Board said, “The National Biodiesel Board’s Future Vision is to increase the demand for commercially produced biodiesel within the United States through education, communication, and quality assurance programs.” She added that the goal of NBB is to have 1.85 billion gallons of B100 sales, mostly as blends by 2015.

Sponsoring the summit were: Bryan Cave, LLP; MO Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority; MO Corn Growers Assn.; MO Soybean Assn.; and Williams-Keepers, LLC.

The amount of agricultural land required to produce 15 billion gallons of grain ethanol in the United States by 2015, as required by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), is likely to be less than 1 percent of total world cropland, according to a new report released today by the Renewable Fuels Association.

According to the report, “Understanding Land Use Change and U.S. Ethanol Expansion,” gains in agricultural productivity, coupled with the contribution of feed produced as an ethanol co-product, are expected to significantly mitigate the need for conversion of non-agricultural lands to support expanded U.S. biofuels production.

Moreover, there is no empirical evidence demonstrating land conversion abroad is a result of U.S. biofuels production. “Unfortunately, the current state of land use change science is far from conclusive and no consensus exists on how best to analyze the potential indirect land use impacts of expanding biofuels production,” continued the report.

The report analyzes historical cropland and crop utilization trends, explores the complex and multifaceted nature of land use changes, and discusses the uncertainty of current land use change modeling approaches.