Domestic Fuel

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado has installed two of the biggest wind turbines ever tested at the facility.

The video above shows workers putting up the 220 tons of wind turbine parts for the 253-foot diameter blades. This story in EnergyCurrent.com says they’ll be able to generate 1.5 megawatts of power:

“This turbine is a modern, utility-scale machine that will serve as a general-purpose research platform,” said Fort Felker, director of the wind center.

“Wind energy is cost-effective now, but there are lots of opportunities to be more reliable and more efficient,” said David Simms, manager of testing and operations. “We’re trying to figure out how to get more wind turbines out there that are more effective.”

The article goes on to say that an even bigger wind turbine with a rotor diameter of 331 feet will be put up at NREL’s National Wind Technology Center later this year. Researchers believe the extreme wind conditions, along with snow, ice, lightning and severe storms, in that part of Colorado will be a great testing ground to see how much the big blades can take.

Prices for diesel continue to climb in the U.S., hitting their highest point of the year… and that’s good news for producers of green, renewable biodiesel.

Biodiesel Magazine reports that according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the national average price of diesel fuel went up 1.6 cents per gallon from $2.652 per gallon Aug. 17 to $2.668 per gallon Aug. 24:

This marks the fifth week in a row for rising diesel prices, which biodiesel producers and marketers should make note of. The lower the price of diesel fuel, the tougher it is for biodiesel to remain competitively priced.

While it’s good news, the diesel prices are still considerably lower than a year ago when they were pushing $4.15 per gallon… and still down from the July 2008 high of $4.764 per gallon.

The Colorado Corn Growers Association, the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition, Western Convenience Stores and Southern Colorado Clean Cities in Colorado Springs are partnering to celebrate the opening of a new E85 pump location at 227 West Fillmore Street in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on August 26. This will be the ninth station selling E85 in Colorado Springs.

“Use of ethanol can contribute greatly in our nation’s drive toward energy independence, improved air quality, reduced carbon emissions, and national security. Ethanol in our fuel had the net environmental impact of removing over 2 million cars from America’s roads in 2008 alone,” says Mark Sponsler, CEO of Colorado Corn. “And the product has to be conveniently available in order for consumers to use it regularly. This pump marks another step forward.”

“Many consumers have been duped into thinking that ethanol is not energy efficient and has caused significant food price increases. Credible independent scientists know differently, and so do the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition (GBC) and the many Clean Cities organizations across the country. Western Convenience has been a great partner and one of Colorado’s industry leaders in renewable fuels adoption.”

The number of E85 fueling locations in Colorado has grown significantly over recent years. Currently there are over 100 stations open and selling Biofuels. Western Convenience has invested in 23 of those locations throughout Colorado. The Colorado Corn Growers Association and GBC have provided funding and support to most of the E85 refueling sites across the state.

Consumers who drive FFV’s will have an opportunity to save money by filling up for only .85 cents a gallon on Wednesday, August 26. Western Convenience is making E85 available for .85 cents a gallon from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in a promotional effort to highlight the availability of the fuel at their Store in Colorado Springs.

The Obama administration’s Rural Tour last week highlighted the Show Me Energy Cooperative in Missouri as an example of how crop residue can be used to create energy.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the biomass facility is taking wood, corn stalks and other crop residue and converting it into pellets that can be used to produce energy or a substitute for propane on the farm.

“We have seen plants like this one that are using it as a substitute for propane, we have seen plants that are in the process of trying to use corn cobs for producing anhydrous ammonia,” Vilsack said. “It is continually amazing to me how innovative this country is and how innovative rural America is and can be with a little bit of incentive.”

Vilsack says the small plant costs about $8 million to replicate. “It takes crop residue from about a 50-100 mile radius, creates a new market for farmers, an opportunity for them to increase their bottom line, and at the same time, a chance for a local utility to meet its renewable energy portfolio standard requirements.”

Earlier in the week, Vilsack took the Rural Tour to his home state of Iowa where he served as governor for eight years. During an interview with the Des Moines Register, Vilsack discussed a variety of topics, including ethanol. The secretary stressed the need for higher ethanol blends and more FFVs. “This is a supply issue. What we need are more vehicles that have flex-fuel capability (to use up to 85 percent ethanol), more retail stations with blender pumps that allow the motorist to adjust to the blend they want.”

The Administration’s Rural Tour has been traveling around the country since June.

A one-million-gallon-a-year algae-biodiesel plant could soon become a reality for Massachusetts with some help from the state and federal governments.

Biomass Magazine reports that Plankton Power, the maker of algae-based biodiesel, and the Regional Technology Development Corp. of Cape Cod, Mass. are working together to build a pilot-scale algae-based biodiesel production facility in Bourne, Mass.

Together with the Massachusetts National Guard, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Marine Biological Laboratory and Cape Cod Commission, the groups recently submitted a $20 million project proposal to the U.S. DOE that would leverage $4 million in private funding to construct the facility.

The Cape Cod Algae Biorefinery will be located on five acres on the Massachusetts Military Reservation in Bourne. Felix said the location is ideal for the project, because of its on-site wastewater treatment plant, which will provide an excellent source of nutrients for the algae, and Massachusetts Military Reservation’s close proximity to the Cape Cod Canal, which would provide a convenient source of seawater and a renewable thermal energy source for algal growth and temperature control.

The article goes on to say that the one million gallons a year of biodiesel the plant could make might be enough for all of Cape Cod’s biodiesel needs. Officials hope to start contruction next summer.

This is one of the good news, bad news stories.

The bad news is: According to this story in World Energy Alternatives, Brazil wants to start sending soy-based biodiesel to the U.S. and the European Union. That word comes the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry:

Sustainability studies have been performed to prove the biodiesel was produced sustainably to meet EU norms, but some areas have to be adapted to meet requirements in order to enter the market.

While the news that foreign biodiesel could be headed for America’s shores and into an overseas market that the Americans would like to get back into (Europe) might be bad for most biodiesel producers in this country, at least one is looking to take advantage of the boon in Brazilian biodiesel production by investing in that growth.

This story from the San Francisco Business Times says California-based Amyris Biotechnologies, a company that has already raised more than $24 million for a sugar cane-to-biodiesel plant, wants to raise a total of $62 million:

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emeryville-based Amyris said it is already nearly halfway there, with $24.75 million in commitments. Amyris had previously raised $120 million in two rounds of venture financing, much of it from top-tier venture capitalists and other investors like Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and TPG Biotech.

Amyris is gearing up to begin commercial production next year in Brazil. In a joint venture with Brazil’s second-largest sugar cane grower, it aims to produce 200 million gallons a year by 2011.

A pair of three-year National Science Foundation grants will help the St. Louis-based Donald Danforth Plant Science Center continue its biofuel research.

This press release says one of the awards is a $550,000 grant awarded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act that will support research that explores regulation of plant metabolism, an important part of biofuel research:

Dr. Oliver Yu, associate member, Danforth Plant Science Center will serve as the principal investigator on the project.

Yu will investigate how enzyme interactions in a metabolic process direct the flow of plant resources in the metabolic pathway that leads to production of lignins. For example, when plants are under attack by pathogens, specific enzyme interactions may direct simple molecules (in this case, monomers derived from phenol) to polymerize into lignins that re-enforce cell walls to prevent further invasions by the pathogen. However, under strong ultraviolet light irradiation, the plant uses the same pathway to establish new enzyme interactions that would produce flavonoids (a group of UV protectants) from the same phenolic monomers. Yu and his team of researchers hope to identify how enzyme interactions are established under various conditions and how these interactions alter the direction and flow of a particular pathway, leading to production of various compounds from a common starting molecule.

Dr. Dilip Shah, associate research member at the Danforth Center, picked up the other NSF grant worth $500,000 and a two-year $271,000 award from the Consortium of Plant Biotechnology Research, for his research aimed at learning more about fungal pathogens and how to control the diseases that they cause.

The work is seen as important for feedstocks, such as corn and soybeans.

The Canadian government is putting more than $72 million into a biodiesel plant in Ontario.

This government press release says the money for the BIOX Corporation facility in Hamilton comes from the ecoENERGY for Biofuels program, which works to help stabilize the Canadian renewable fuel industry:

“The Government of Canada is delivering results for families and workers in Hamilton,” said [The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources]. “By investing in this project, our government is helping to create and sustain local jobs and economic opportunities as well as a healthier environment for all Canadians.”

“This announcement today is ensuring new, green, sustainable manufacturing jobs are being created right here at home,” said [Tim Haig, President and CEO of BIOX Canada Ltd.]. “Clean-burning renewable fuels such as biodiesel significantly reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and finally give drivers a choice at the fuel pump. BIOX is proud to be a world-leader in advanced biodiesel production, and proud to help Canada grow beyond oil.”

The news was also welcomed by the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA):

“BIOX is using a new advanced technology at their facility in Hamilton to make a world-class renewable fuel,” said CRFA President Gordon Quaiattini. “Biodiesel significantly reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as reducing many other harmful air pollutants. This is on top of bringing about diversity at the fuel pump for all drivers and consumers.”

BIOX is the largest producer of biodiesel in Canada.

American Energy Enterprises, Inc. has plans to build a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Millford, Connecticut. The facility will use wood waste to produce the clean burning fuel at 80 to 85 cents per gallon.

An original plan was announced in March of 2008 but the failing economy put the brakes on the project. “We, like all companies, had a bit of a hit when the Wall Street money went down, but we’ve back-filled it in a good way,” Brown said. The company is awaiting approval on a $50 million U.S. DOE grant application it recently submitted and is hopeful it will be approved by the end of August. However, Brown said the project will move forward with or without the grant money. “We have funding for it,” he said. “We’re in the final negotiation on permitting and the land in New Milford so we can move ahead and break ground within the next two months.” The funding is to purchase the Century Enterprises/Brass Mill property located in New Milford, Connecticut.

American Energy Enterprises, Incorporated was founded in 2005 by Christopher Brown, Nicholas M. Schmidt and Greg Chickneas. The company has been developing its business model, planning, science, and engineering alliances and is
prepared to bring the first Commercial Ethanol Distillery to New England and plans to grow with distilleries throughout the Northeast over time. AEE is contracting with a local entity, True North Industries, to task their property maintenance and tree care company as the lead source for collecting biomass material for the distillery’s operation.

The recent American Coalition for Ethanol’s 22nd Ethanol Conference & Trade Show in Milwaukee saw an exploration of an issue that remains a hot issue in the biofuels biz: Indirect Land Use.

The concept that the growth of some biofuels feedstocks in the United States, especially corn and soybeans, could cause the cutting down of the rain forests in other parts of the world… and would disqualify some of the green fuels from being part of the proposed Renewable Fuels Standard.

The latest discussion featured energy economist from Purdue University Wally Tyner and Air Improvement Resource President Tom Darlington, who talked about how studies that blamed corn-based ethanol for deforestation ended up being wrong and how the most common economic models used to figure the amount of Indirect Land Use vary too much and don’t consider things like dry distillers grains.

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The city of Gary, Indiana plans to replace 120 cars and trucks in its aging auto fleet this year with new flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) paid for with a $3 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration.

Christopher Meyers who is the Gary director of planning notes that they will be purchasing 86 FFV Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor patrol cars and 14 FFV Ford F-150 pickups along with Ford Escape hybrids.

Once the vehicles are received by the city, Meyers said, Gary can send a copy of the bill to the Indiana Department of Transportation, which will send the city the federal funds to cover the full cost of the purchases.

“A total of $3 million has been set aside by the Indiana Department of Transportation for Gary to use for new vehicles and for a new E85 fuel pump,” Meyers said. The grant is part of the FHA’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. “I’m greatly appreciative.”

Gary was also awarded $52,200 for five 4,000-gallon rounds of E85 fuel for the patrol cars and pick-up trucks.

As the company moves closer to the commercial development phase for cellulosic ethanol, Mascoma Corporation is making some management “reconfigurations.”

Bruce Jamerson will transition from his role as Mascoma’s CEO to the position of Chairman of Mascoma and of Frontier Renewable Resources, Mascoma’s Michigan-based operating subsidiary. The company is in the process of recruiting a new CEO with experience in the biotechnology, fuels or chemicals processing industries, and scale-up of new processes and the Board has appointed Dr. Jim Flatt, Executive Vice President of R&D and Operations, to serve as Acting President until a new CEO is hired.

Mascoma has developed proprietary technology, called Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP), which enables the production of sustainable, low carbon cellulosic ethanol. This technology has been proven in Mascoma’s Rome, New York demonstration facility and will soon begin deployment at one of the industry’s first full-scale cellulosic biofuels plants in Kinross, Michigan.

With just four races left in the current racing season, Volkswagen Motorsports has announced next year’s SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup schedule… a series that features clean-burning B5 biodiesel in its cars.

This press release says Volkswagen of America has an online application page for prospective drivers at www.vwmotorsportusa.com, adding one more path that drivers may follow in order advance to the final driver selection event that will be held in February:

The final driver selection event will be held in early February 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada and is the last step in qualifying for the factory series. During the event, candidates will undergo a comprehensive examination on the asphalt and in the classroom. After driving tests, media-readiness assessment and physical fitness examination, 25 drivers will be chosen to participate in the 2010 season. Once selected, Volkswagen provides factory maintained and prepared racecars, media support and promotions, a first class at-track hospitality area as well as ongoing driving instruction for these future racing stars in hopes of advancing their careers to the next level.

Potential driver candidates must be between the ages of 16 and 26 as of January 1, 2010 and hold a passport from the U.S., Canada or Mexico. In addition, drivers entering the series for the first time must not have competed in any professional racing series regardless of location.

There are three paths now available for qualifying for the final driver selection event: online application, through the iRacing.com Jetta TDI Cup online racing season, and through the Karting qualifier competitions.

In what is being characterized by the company as a major breakthrough in algae technology to be turned into biodiesel, California-based Aurora Biofuels has optimized algae strains that more than double their intake of carbon dioxide… important for producing the oil that is eventually turned into biodiesel.

This article from Biodiesel Magazine says while it’s hard to figure how much more economical and closer to industrial-sized commercial biodiesel production these algae will be, company officials believe it will bring algae-biodiesel production costs down to about $1.75 a gallon:

Optimized algae have been producing oil in Aurora Biofuels’ outdoor pilot ponds for several months, providing strong evidence that these strains will remain robust at the industrial scale and remove more carbon emissions than previously thought possible.

The company is currently investigating three different locations for its demonstration stage algae cultivation sites, but could not disclose specifics in a conversation today with Biodiesel Magazine. “We can say that we expect to be cultivating and harvesting algae oil at a 50-acre site by the second quarter of 2010,” the Aurora spokesman said.

Aurora has been growing the algae in Florida and shipping it to its headquarters in California to be turned into biodiesel that meets ASTM standards. But Aurora is not looking at producing biodiesel and selling the green fuel itself… just the algae’s oil.

Researchers will be gathering in St. Louis next week for the “Algae-to-Energy Research and Development in the South” meeting.

The Center for Evergreen Energy in conjunction with The Southern Growth Policies Board and The Southern Agriculture and Forestry Resource Alliance (SAFER) is hosting the meeting of southern algae researchers on August 26th at the Regional Chamber and Growth Association’s office in St. Louis at One Metropolitan Square, Suite 1300:

“Algae-to-Energy Research and Development in the South,” [is] a gathering of scientists and stakeholders in the southern United States who are researching effective and innovative ways to convert algae to biofuels. This gathering will be the first of several events related to algae biofuel research and development that the Center for Evergreen Energy will host.

August 26th, 2009 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

The event is free, including lunch, as long as you register by Monday, August 24th, 2009. After the August 24th deadline, there will be a $25 charge to attend the event.