Domestic Fuel

Gulf Ethanol Corporation has annouced the change of its name to Gulf Alternative Energy Corporation. The name change encompasses the added focus of the company’s biomass processing technology.

With their main office in Houston, Texas, Gulf Alternative Energy develops cellulosic ethanol pre-processing and production technologies for the ethanol producers in North America. The Company plans to use its patented, exclusive technology to retrofit existing corn-based ethanol plants for cellulosic ethanol production and also for use in the design and construction of its own cellulosic ethanol production facility.

Gulf Alternative Energy is working to transform America’s renewable and abundant biomass resources into cost competitive, high performance biofuels such as E85.

This edition of the “Ethanol Report” discusses the critical decisions being made regarding renewable fuels and indirect land use on both the federal and state level. Comments are from Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper, Air Improvement Resource President Tom Darlington and Nathanael Greene, Senior Policy Analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

You can listen to “The Ethanol Report” on-line here:
ethanol-report-29.mp3

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

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In a very well-written opinion piece for the Omaha World-Herald, a Nebraska ethanol producer defends his product, the industry and American agriculture.

Chuck Woodside, chief executive officer of KAAPA Ethanol in Minden, NE and secretary of the Renewable Fuels Association, says attacks upon corn ethanol are becoming more frequent and fanciful – but “there’s scarcely a kernel of truth in any of them.”

“Their fundamental flaw is underestimating the ingenuity of the American ethanol industry — and American agriculture as well. Both are becoming more technologically advanced and more efficient in every way, including their use of energy, water and land,” writes Woodside.

Because of efficiency improvements at American ethanol plants, there have been dramatic reductions in the use of water and energy. While production increased at ethanol facilities in the United States from 2001 to 2006, their water consumption decreased by 27 percent, electricity usage declined by 16 percent and total energy use went down by 22 percent.

Moreover, the total 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, would most likely be less than 1 percent of world cropland.

Read the entire op-ed here.

The National Corn Growers Association Ethanol Committee has established a task force of corn farmers to focus on climate issues, such as land use change, greenhouse gas emissions, cap-and-trade policies, carbon sequestration and low carbon fuel standards. The team includes farmers from Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio.

“There is a wealth of information and research on climate change that we need to gather and communicate to our members and policymakers,” said Steve Ruh, chairman of the task force and a farmer in Sugar Grove, Ill. “We also know there is a need for more research to fill the gaps for policy and legislative initiatives that will help us maintain economic and environmental sustainability.”

One immediate project for the task force is a response to the controversial low carbon fuel standard proposed by the California Air Resources Board.

California-based AE Biofuels is partnering with Merrick & Company to commercially implement its enzyme-based technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol.

Merrick provides engineering and architectural design-build, procurement, construction management, and geospatial services.

According to a press release, the companies will work together “to rapidly deploy AE Biofuels’ next-generation biofuels technology to address the significant demand for cellulosic ethanol created by the revised Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).”

The combination of AE Biofuels’ industry-leading technology and Merrick’s leading position as a world-class engineering and services provider brings to the market a solution that is both cost-effective and commercially viable to address the growing demand for non-food, advanced biofuels.

A new biodiesel plant is set to open in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina.

This story from WCBD-TV in Charleston says Coastal Biodiesel Group, Inc. is opening a $4.5 million facility in Horry County that will employ 50 people making the green fuel from used cooking oils:

“We are pleased to begin operations in South Carolina with our Conway facility. Horry County provides us with a positive business environment and excellent labor pool, as well as giving us excellent market access. We appreciate all the support we’ve received from state and local officials,” said Mark L. Hefner, president of Coastal Biodiesel Group.

“Coastal Biodiesel Group is an innovative start-up company that recycles used cooking oils and grease trap waste to produce biodiesel. The company’s decision to establish its operations in South Carolina is a strong testament that our state’s business-friendly climate, strong workforce and growing alternative energy sector are working to attract new investment. We welcome Coastal Biodiesel Group to South Carolina’s business community and wish them success in their new venture. Thanks to the team effort by state and local officials, Horry County will benefit from this investment with new jobs,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce.

The company will start picking up the used oil this week with hopes of beginning biodiesel production in the next few months.

A trucker from Tulsa, Oklahoma has been charged in Willow Springs, Missouri for dumping nearly 500 gallons of ethanol fuel in a ditch. Carl Wescott is faced with a year in jail and/or a fine not less than $2,500 but not greater than $25,000. The incident took place in March of 2008.

Missouri Highway Patrol noted that Wescott admitted to dumping the fuel because his load was too heavy and he needed to meet truck weight limits.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources tested the area where the fuel was dumped and found high levels of explosive vapors. Although ethanol burns cleaner than the hydrocarbons found in gasoline, its vapor can burn with explosive speed when mixed with air in the correct fuel/air mixture.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received at least two more letters this week protesting the state’s proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).

Over 65 retired members of the U.S. armed forces and intelligence community wrote to the governor about their concerns that applying the LCFS in its current state would penalize renewable fuels to the benefit of petroleum and other fossil fuel.

This is not simply a scientific or environmental matter. It is a matter of national security, which is threatened by our reliance on oil and the effects of climate change. That is why we, as former members of the United States armed forces and intelligence services are writing to you on this important subject. Biofuels play a critical role in breaking our dependence on oil and mitigating the impact of climate change. The links between national security, fossil fuels, and climate change are many and they are severe.

The letter, which came through the Truman National Security Project, concluded, “We are calling on the state of California to lend us a hand in keeping America safe by enacting a fuel regulation that is unbiased and does not enforce indirect carbon effects against only one type of fuel.”

Meanwhile, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation also wrote to Gov. Schwarzenegger this week, calling for a “level playing field” in the development of that state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).

AFBF president Bob Stallman noted that the agricultural community is eager to play a central role in the increased use of biofuels, but warned, “If adopted as currently proposed, the LCFS will uniformly dissuade the production and use of all forms of biofuels that utilize land and undercut what is a tremendous opportunity to spur economic growth in agricultural communities and reduce carbon emissions with American farming.”

Airmen and soldiers in Alaska could one day be using alternative fuels for their operations.

The Alaska Journal of Commerce reports the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency has announced it wants contractors to bid on a long-term deal to supply for those Air Force and Army cold weather warriors:

Mark Iden, deputy operations director of the Defense Energy Support Center, a part of the Defense Logistics Agency, said his agency is soliciting proposals from industry to supply a 50-50 blend of alternative and conventional fuels.

The agency wants the alternative fuels made through the Fischer-Tropsch process, a chemical process that converts carbon-based material like biomass, natural gas or coal to high-quality liquid products.

Officials say they want to let a minimum five-year purchase contract with options for extensions… a great departure from the agency’s typical one-year fuel purchase contracts.

Hmmm… maybe if the DoD wants to get a fuel that is earth-friendly and can stand up to the rigors of an Alaskan winter, maybe they should talk to our friends at the Indiana Soybean Alliance. As you might remember from the latest Domestic Fuel podcast, the ISA just recently successfully tested a 100 percent blend of biodiesel during a trip from Anchorage to the Arctic Circle… in temperatures well under 20 degrees below zero!

An American biodiesel maker has headed north of the border, but its product will come back to the U.S.

This story from the Winnipeg Free Press says North Carolina-based Greenway Biodiesel is opening a approximately 5 million-gallon-a-year refinery in St. Boniface, Manitoba… the first for the Canadian province. While the green fuel will be headed for sale in Minnesota, it will actually trigger a biodiesel mandate in Manitoba:

Its owner, Royce Rostecki, says that as things stand now, he won’t produce a single litre for the local market — he will sell all his production from the new St. Boniface plant to Minnesota, where his U.S. customers receive a $1-per-gallon blending subsidy.

During the last provincial election, Premier Gary Doer promised a five per cent biodiesel mandate for 2010 that would create demand for 40 million litres of the biofuel, which would be blended with petroleum diesel. But government officials have since indicated that the province intends to introduce some level of mandated use before the end of 2009.

Canadian officials say they are working on legislation that will make Canadian biodiesel more competitive.

Massachusetts-based Verenium Corporation, a developer of next-generation cellulosic ethanol, has signed a deal with Swedish provider of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling technologies Alfa Laval to market processes that degums vegetable oils, making them better for biodiesel production.

This Verenium press release says they’ll use Verenium’s Purifine PLC enzyme and Alfa Laval’s engineering services and equipment.

“Verenium is pleased to be working with Alfa Laval to expand Purifine’s global market penetration in the edible oil industry,” said Janet Roemer, Verenium’s Executive Vice President, Specialty Enzymes Business. “Together, our companies offer a comprehensive solution to increase efficiencies in edible oil and biodiesel production. Customers implementing Purifine enzymatic degumming through Alfa Laval have the security of process performance guarantees from a highly reputable, leading-edge engineering services company with proven technology and know-how in the edible-oils and biofuels industries.”

“Alfa Laval welcomes the collaboration with Verenium to bring leading edge enzyme technology to customers in the edible oil and biodiesel industries,” said Bent Sarup, General Manager for Alfa Laval’s Edible Oil Technology Business. “Use of the unique Purifine enzyme in combination with Alfa Laval’s equipment and plant design experience will enable customers to make significant steps to improve oil yields and separation efficiencies, thus fitting well with Alfa Laval’s corporate mission of optimizing our customer’s processes time and time again.”

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) will be awarding $5,000 worth of scholarships to employees and dependents of employees of ACE Voting and Associate member companies and organizations in good standing. The application is now available but 2009 membership dues must be paid for applicants to be eligible.

According to a press release from ACE, one $2,000 and three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students attending college or vocational programs at any accredited post-secondary institution.

The program was created through sponsorships and participation in the Jeff Fox Scholarship Golf Classic, which will be held again this year in conjunction with the ACE Annual Meeting and Trade show in Milwaukee, WI August 11-13, 2009. Winners of the 2009 scholarships will also be notified during this event.

The deadline for application is May 15, 2009. For a copy of the application or for more information, email sgustafson@ethanol.org or call 605-334-3381.

It looks as though the state of Maine could have no ethanol blended with their gasoline. Assistant Senate Majority Leader Lisa Marrache has submitted a bill requiring oil companies to make ethanol-free fuel an option at the pump in Maine.

As an additive, ethanol has been blended with gasoline within the state of Maine in the last year. However, there have been reports of complaints from boat owners and owners of older engined vehicles. They say that the additive is harming their engines.

Marrache says she’d like to work with oil dealers and importers to come up with a solution that doesn’t require legislative action. She says her bill would require dealers to sell high-test gasoline that’s free of ethanol, giving buyers an ethanol-free option.

“Man’s most carnal tendencies are inflamed by the most modern of elements, uranium.”

War, terrorism, treason, energy, and renaissance — the basic elements of uranium as vividly described in the new book, “Uranium: War, Energy, And The Rock That Shaped The World” by Tom Zoellner. This is a fantastic true tale of the quest for “nuclear fission,” the devastation it caused, its role as an “energy savior,” the worldwide frenzy to develop nuclear bombs, and the “nuclear renaissance” on the horizon.

In the 40s and 50s nuclear energy was going to save the world. People couldn’t get the word “atomic” into their lives fast enough incorporating “atomic” into the names of towns, businesses and sandwiches. The Atlantic Monthly wrote in the article, “The Control of Energy,” in 1955, “Reactors to produce electric power from nuclear fuels are now being built both here and abroad, and some soon to be designed should give enough power to fill the needs of the largest city. All of the electrical power now used in the United States could in theory be produced from 60 tons of uranium.”

Well, uranium has not saved the world. In fact, many would argue that its wrecked more hell than help. The US government conspired for decades to deny that nuclear fallout caused life-threatening health issues, and environmentalists can’t agree on whether nuclear energy is “green”. “One of the manifest ironies of the “nuclear renaissance,” though, is that it relies on image of atomic power as a green technology,” writes Zoellner.

Many thought the debate over nuclear energy was cooled but in fact its as heated as ever. There is a vocal worldwide debate about the fate of nuclear energy and its role as a green alternative to coal. Uranium is one of the most abundant elements in the world and ours for the taking. The United States is working on bringing several new nuclear facilities online, the first in more than two decades, and while France is adding more nuclear plants Germany is shutting all their nuclear facilities down citing environmental issues. Yet a handful of countries trying to build nuclear facilities are being denied access to the technology citing “terrorism” concerns.

No one knows how this story is going to end, but I’m certain of two things. First, the movement to clean, domestic renewable energy is not an option. Second, you must read this book.

You can buy Uranium or any other book I’ve reviewed by clicking here.

Senators from ethanol producing states are asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to propose regulations assuming that greater U.S. biofuels use would increase carbon dioxide emissions.

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) spoke on the Senate floor about the issue on Monday, following a letter sent by 12 senators to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson last week.

Grassley expressed fears that EPA is “going down a path of blaming our biofuels producers for land use changes around the globe.”

I’m afraid the climate folks at the EPA are heading in the wrong direction on this. I don’t think they’re bad people, but I’m afraid they don’t understand how American agriculture works. I don’t think they’re aware of the significant crop yield improvements we’ve seen in recent years or the great potential over the next 20 years. I also don’t think they fully understand the benefit of valuable ethanol byproducts, which further reduce the effective land used for fuels production. It defies common sense that the EPA would publish a proposed rulemaking with harmful conclusions for biofuels based on incomplete science and inaccurate assumptions.

Grassley is urging President Obama to take an active role in the issue and keep a close eye on what EPA is doing with regard to indirect land use calculations.