Domestic Fuel

Alternative energy, including biodiesel, ethanol, wind and solar power, set a record in 2008.

This column posted on RenewableEnergyWorld.com from Ron Pernick, the co-founder and managing director of clean-tech research and publishing firm Clean Edge, Inc., which is publishing the newly-released Clean Energy Trends 2009 report, points out that the three major clean-energy sectors grew more than 50 percent from $75.8 billion in 2007 to $115.9 billion in revenues in 2008:

The report shows that this significant increase in revenue was due to continued growth in solar PV, wind and biofuels deployment globally. For example, solar PV expanded from 2.8 gigawatts (GW) installed in 2007 to 4.2 GW in 2008. Over the same time frame, biofuels increased from 15 billion gallons to nearly 20 billion gallons, with Brazil using more gallons of ethanol than petrol-based gasoline for the first time. Wind power expanded from 20 GW installed in 2007 to 27 GW in 2008, with the U.S. becoming the largest generator of wind energy in the world after bringing on nearly a third of last year’s global total (8 GW).

We don’t expect to see a repeat performance of such installation or revenue growth in 2009. We project that clean-energy revenues will remain level or decrease slightly, until several key factors begin to turn around. The initial public offering (IPO) market must regain steam — last year saw only 43 total IPOs in the U.S. that raised at least $50 million, compared with 272 one year earlier. As in most other sectors, the credit crisis needs to ease for money to start flowing again for project deployment and new manufacturing facilities. And stimulus-related monies and policies must start to have a direct impact on the market.

Pernick admits that 2009 will be a tough year to get through, but renewable energy continues to have great success. While he doesn’t expect the same growth this year (although he points out what other industry has global growth of more than 30 percent over the past decade), he says the $70 billion in direct spending and tax credits for clean-energy and transportation programs in the U.S. stimulus bill will help a lot.

Nevada-based Russell Industries, primarily known for its lucrative uranium mining operations, is looking at expanding into the biodiesel business.

This company press release says it’s moving into algae biodiesel development because of the massive amount of federal money to be poured in to green energy:

At this time the Company is focused on renewable energy, specifically, its Houston Algae Farm Project which will produce Algae oil and Bio mass to be sold as feed stock to bio diesel refineries and to the bio-gasoline, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, bio-plastics and organic industries, respectively. Specifically, in 2009, RIND plans to develop a full scale operational model that will be the first of its type to be located in Houston, Texas. The model will utilize closed photo bio reactors to grow Algae oil and Bio mass for commercial purposes.

“$60 billion has been allocated for alternative energy in the current stimulus bill. Washington has a clear mission to reduce dependence on foreign oil and develop alternative energies. RIND’s timing to market is ideal. Annually the demand in the U.S. for diesel fuel is 80 billion gallons, yet total production of biodiesel is around 450 million gallons, leaving the market for biodiesel virtually underserved,” said Rick Berman, President and CEO.

You can check out more about the company’s plans at www.russind.com.

A Texas-based biodiesel maker has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an attempt to reorganize and stay afloat.

This story from Reuters says Nova Biosource Fuels of Houston has hit some tough times in the alternative fuels biz, including last week’s posting of an $11 million first-quarter net loss:

The company has up to $50 million of both liabilities and assets, it said in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Nova Biosource, which produces diesel from animal-derived fats, greases and vegetable-based oils, lists five refineries on its website.

Those refineries include facilities in Iowa, Montana, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Illinois.

Now, it appears the company is trying to stay in business, and that’s good news for the business. Maybe if they can hold on through these lean times, they’ll emerge on the other side much stronger and built for the long term.

President Obama announced the nomination of Cathy Zoi as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Ms. Zoi has a history of working in the energy sector including: being the founding CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection; Chief of Staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy; and manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where she pioneered the Energy Star Program.

Zoi will face the task of helping President Obama deliver on a promise that was central to his campaign: ending American dependence on foreign oil by focusing on renewable energy sources that in the bargain can help create thousands of new, “green” jobs. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama vowed to increase the emphasis on renewable, clean energy. That is a goal the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has been pursuing for years, trying to wean the country from dependence on fossil fuels and find cleaner ways to satisfy its energy needs.

EERE leads the Federal government’s R&D efforts on energy efficiency and manages what it calls “the Department of Energy’s (DOE) diverse energy efficiency and renewable energy applied science portfolio. The mission is to develop and deploy renewable energy sources and conversion technologies, as well as identify efficiency best practices, regulations and technologies that collectively strengthens our economy, protects the environment and increases national security.”

There is a contingency of people who are concerned about the future of the renewable energy industry, but new company, NEAtech is not. NEAtech was launched in tandem with the swearing in of President Obama, and is offering engineering and consulting services to companies developing new energy alternatives.

NEAtech is comprised of several former experts from BBI International’s Engineering and Consulting Group.  Mark Yancey, Brian Duff and Rafeal Neives are now assisting companies worldwide in assessing the feasibility of new technologies, and then helping these companies develop and bring to market the technologies with the most promise.

Additional services they provide for the renewable fuels industry include, process engineering for renewable energy technologies; evaluation and selection of renewable energy technologies; anaerobic digestion system design; construction and financing; feasibility studies and financial analysis; market analysis and surveys; and more. To learn more about NEAtech visit www.neatechllc.com.

A major federal investment in the entire value chain of advanced biofuels and biobased products commercialization is needed to move advanced biofuels and emerging biobased materials to market, according to the executives of companies who are working to make that happen.

During a teleconference today hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), representatives from cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels companies gave updates on progress being made toward commercializing advanced biofuels and some of the challenges still to be overcome.

BIO Executive Vice President Brent Erickson says they are recommending the implementation of specific policies to provide funding in a number iof areas, including feedstock development, enzymes and fermentation organisms, algal oil production, alternative fuel distribution networks and vehicles, and biorefinery construction.

“We need a new systems approach to advance biofuels throughout the whole value chain,” said Erickson. “We’re actually talking about creating a new energy infrastructure, which this country hasn’t done for over 100 years.”

They are requesting an immediate injection of capitol for biorefinery construction, feedstock development and fuel delivery infrastructure, which can be accomplished through existing programs within the Departments of Energy and Agriculture. They are also recommending an increase in the availability of E85 fuel pumps and flex fuel vehicles, as well as the certification of higher ethanol blends and the extension of the cellulosic producer tax credit.

BIO is holding its annual legislative fly-in this week and members of the organization will be meeting with administration officials and members of Congress over the next two days to communicate their ideas.

I think Joel Velasco, Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, had the quote of the day here at the Farm Foundation Transition To A Bio Economy Conference.

He said that carbon is the new agricultural commodity and that our incentive is to produce less of it and get paid for it. So, grow a crop, sell it and maybe earn some carbon credits? Who knows where all that will wind up.

Joel wanted people to know that biofuels can not only help mitigate climate change but build energy security. In Brazil they’ve managed to increase the use of ethanol from sugarcane to where they’ve displaced fifty percent of their liquid gasoline. They don’t have gas stations anymore he says, they have “fuel” stations. He says price is the key to the development and use of ethanol and today ethanol is half the price of gas in Brazil.

You can listen to my interview with Joel here: ff-global-09-velasco.mp3

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.4MB)

Seth Meyer is with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI). He’s also a speaker here at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference.

He talked to us about how biofuels policies are affecting commodity prices and trade but he says there are a lot of other factors affecting export volume. For example, he says that even though we’ve been using more corn to make ethanol we’ve still been able to increase the amount of corn we’re exporting at the same time. However, whether we have biofuels policies or not other factors will come into play like weather, the price of oil and foreign demand.

You can listen to my interview with Seth here: ff-global-09-meyer.mp3

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.0MB)

We’re back in session at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global Trade & Policy Issues. I’ll be posting live throughout the morning. Feel free to join in.

Speaking on behalf of the European Commission To The United States here at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference was Laurent Javaudin.

His comments focused on the impact of EU mandates for renewable energy. To start with, in the EU they don’t have a mandate of a certain number of gallons of biofuels. Instead they are looking at requiring alternative energy sources like biofuels be a percentage of the fuel consumed and achieve it by 2020. He says that they don’t consider just biofuels but also other alternative sources of energy. The biofuels that are considered must be produced in a sustainable way. They also expect these fuels to obtain at least a 35 percent decrease in green house gas emissions.

He says that after the political decision of December 2008, the implementation phase of the mandate for the 27 nations of the EU is now a work in progress and they hope to have it kicking in by the second quarter of 2010.

You can listen to my interview with Laurent here: ff-global-09-javaudin.mp3

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.3MB)

We know that OPEC has had a monopoly control over the price of oil on the world market and we hope that the increase of more environmentally friendly biofuels will force that to change. However, David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley, has created a model to measure how much impact we’re having.

I spoke to David here at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference. He wanted to show how ethanol in particular fits into the whole OPEC price situation. His model shows that by increasing the supply of fuel with ethanol you reduce OPEC’s ability to make money. He says that our ethanol production has raised the price of fuel in OPEC’s own countries while lowering it for everyone else around the world.

He says the promise of ethanol isn’t just it’s value to our environment but the ability to lessen OPEC’s grip on fuel prices.

You can listen to my interview with David here: ff-global-09-zilberman.mp3

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.6MB)

A Colorado company is getting ready to debut a biodiesel hybrid officials claim will get 100 miles per gallon… if they can get it finished for an upcoming auto show.

KMGH-TV in Denver reports Lightning Hybrids of Loveland is unveiling a vehicle this Wednesday at the Denver auto show… although company Chief Executive Officer Dan Johnson admits they need to finish the prototype, including getting in painted in time:

“We are jazzed, we are really jazzed,” said Johnson.

The company is unveiling the LH4, a biodiesel, hydraulic hybrid.

“It’s a sports sedan, very practical, four-seater, and has some storage,” said Johnson.

The company is also building the LH3, a three-wheeled version that also has four seats.

The hybrid drivetrain uses two different power sources, biodiesel fuel and hydraulics, which helps with the acceleration.

Lightning Hybrids also hopes to get some money from the city of Loveland… a $100,000 cash incentive, $50,000 for a performance agreement and $50,000 after the company hires 25 employees… to get the operation going. They hope to have the cars on the market by the spring of 2011. Better get your financial incentives in order by then if you want to purchase one. Cost is expected to be between $50,000 and $60,000.

A high school science project has turned into a way for a North Carolina school to save money, save the environment and comply with a state law requiring biodiesel use.

This story from the Burke County (NC) News Herald says East Burke High School, located between Hickory and Morganton in North Carolina, is the home of science teacher Bob Smith and his Magic Fuel Bus team of juniors and seniors Kelly Triplett, Ethan Hull, Nathan Maltba, Nou Yang, Mucheng Yang and Porter Yang have built a biodiesel refinery:

…after spending three days a week afterschool on the project, the students presented Friday morning the results and implications of the project to school board members, local biodiesel experts and parents.

The team’s first two processors failed, but the current processor, a five-gallon reactor, has produced more than 80 gallons of biodiesel fuel, Triplett said…

Porter Yang said the team started its trials in October and began testing the fuel in November.

But the team’s first successful batch of biodiesel fuel wasn’t created until January.

“We were surprised, but excited,” Nou Yang said.

With the successful batches of biodiesel, the students set forth to test the fuel in the high school’s activity and yellow school buses beginning in February, Smith said.

Nou Yang said the buses, for two weeks each, used a diesel and biodiesel mix of 5 to 15 percent biodiesel.

The biodiesel managed to improve the buses’ mileage, created less pollution and there was less friction in the engine, Nou Yang said.

The test results led the students to recommend building a biodiesel manufacturing plant in order for the schools to save money and to comply with a new state law, Mucheng Yang said.

The state law, which went into effect this school year, requires diesel school buses to use at least 2 percent biodiesel, Hull said.

School officials say they are looking at putting in a refinery to turn the area’s waste cooking oil into a steady supply of biodiesel… and the Magic Fuel Bus team aims to be part of that effort.

Renewable energy, including biodiesel and ethanol are making the big oil producing countries nervous… and that’s got to be a good thing.

This story in the New York Times quotes Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi as trying to dismiss alternative energy, while praising non-renewable petroleum as “an enabler of progress and prosperity.” He cautioned that the current economic crisis — and the uncertainties over future oil consumption — could force producers to trim their supplies, and hence could cause a new price shock.

Mr. Naimi also offered his strongest public criticism against the drive for alternative fuels — which he referred to as “supplemental” energy — and the inconsistent policies of consuming countries. Although he never once mentioned either the United States or President Obama by name, these were clearly his targets.

But the readers of the Times aren’t buying this oil prince’s faulty logic. From the comments section of the article, I found that most people dismissed Al-Naimi’s argument almost as quickly as he dismissed the viability of biodiesel and ethanol.

From “Clif”:

When a seller is driven to praising his product the only thing it tells us is that he is looking to sell more of what he has to offer. The Saudis have far far more to lose from declining oil production than the world at large has to lose from any lack of flexibility in energy supplies.

From “Brennan”:

Pretty obvious he is going to try to scare people into using oil for centuries to come. The thing is right now it is supplemental for the most part but as technology increases his oil will basically not be worth anything because no one will really have large scale uses for it in the United States and a few other countries.

“T.Caine” said:

To me this is as unconvincing as it is unsurprising. Not that anyone can really blame him for making the pitch. It is only natural to fight for the survival of his country’s largest export and influx of capital, but that does not change the fact that oil is a finite resource and its use should begin declining.

Hmmm… nervous foreign oil producers worried that they’ll be replaced by American farmers. I like the sound of that!

Biofuels production in Canada will impact meat trading patterns according to research by Al Mussell, George Morris Centre, University of Guelph. He says that the increase in biofuels production will turn the country into an importer of grains instead of an exporter. Al was one of the speakers at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference.

He says that as you develop an ethanol production system built on feed grains it will seriously impact feeding livestock. That will mean serious adjustments over time. He says that these trends take a while to work themselves out. But in the long run he says we should like the taste of Brazilian beef and pork.

You can listen to my interview with Al here: ff-global-09-mussell.mp3

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.1MB)