Domestic Fuel

Gas Technology Institute (GTI) recently announced the opening of its Combine Heat and Power (CHP) and Renewable Energy Laboratory located on an 18-acre site in Des Plaines, Illinois. Much of the focus of this lab will be to bring to market more capabilities for developing a wide variety of efficient, sustainable renewable energy technologies such as solar thermal products. The site features a multitude of different types of low-to-medium temperature solar thermal technologies including tankless natural gas water heaters, boilers, space conditioning equipment, and more.

In a press statement Bill Liss, Managing Director, End Use Solutions said, “The advancement of renewable energy is crucial to reducing the demand for conventional fossil fuels while also reducing carbon emissions. A key challenge, however, is integrating renewable energy solutions – such as solar thermal – in a cost-effective way for homes, commercial businesses, and manufacturing facilities. We’re addressing these challenges, with a goal of bringing practical, clean, high-efficiency hybrid solar thermal energy technologies to the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.”

According to GTI, their solar thermal R&D portfolio focuses on advancements of traditional lower-temperature solar thermal (less than 200°F) for hot water or space heating, and newer higher-temperature (over 200°F) systems that can be used for steam generation, absorption cooling, process heating, and other value-added uses.

“Solar thermal water heating technology has been around for more than a century,” said Liss. “However, innovative processes are breathing new life into this technology. When coupled with the most advanced natural gas water heating systems and the latest computer controls, new solar thermal energy solutions are creating a very dynamic and reliable renewable application.”

GTI also notes that advanced “hybrid systems,” which use solar thermal energy along with natural gas or propane, can reduce energy consumption by up to 40 percent including lower capital and installation costs. With sponsorship from Utilization Technology Development, they are developing a residential hybrid-gas solar hot water system that will reduce materials, manufacturing and installation costs. GTI hopes to bring these types of technologies to market soon at a cost-effective price.

You don’t hear much about North Dakota, especially about renewable energy. But today, that is changing. One of the top states for wind, they are inviting people to take an “energy tour” through North Dakota. The tour begins with a look at its oil shale production capabilities (and you thought oil shale was only for Canada). The Wall Street Journal recently featured the state’s oil exploration efforts to cultivate more than an estimated 4 billion barrels of oil underneath the Baaken shale.

In addition to this project, the tour may stop at three other locations including a North Dakota wind farm. As of the end of 2009, the state broke in to the Top 10 Wind Producing States with its 6,500 MW of current production with another 6,500 MW planned. LM Glasfiber and DMI Industries are two companies that recently committed to wind projects in North Dakota.

Next, you may check out the Great Plains Synfuels Plant located in Beulah. According to the company, it is the only commercial-scale coal gasification plant that produces synthetic natural gas from coal in North America. By selling its CO2, captured as a byproduct of production, the sales are estimated to be as much at $30 million each year.

Finally, you may stop at Great River Energy’s Blue Flint Ethanol plant located at Coal Creek Station. Coal Creek Station is the state’s largest power plant using 22,000 tons of coal each day. Sited next to the plant is the Blue Flint Ethanol plant that produces 50 million gallons of ethanol per year and utilizes the waste heat from the coal plant for production.

A Colorado-based firm with a planned biorefinery located near Soperton, Georgia is the recipient of a loan guaranteed by USDA Rural Development to make cellulosic biofuel from wood chips, according to a USDA announcement. The finalized deal with Range Fuels was first announced last year and represents the first ever loan guarantee by USDA to a commercial-scale cellulosic biofuel plant. This project is expected to provide biorefinery jobs, construction jobs and support the timber industry.

“USDA’s investment in the construction of Range Fuels’ commercial facility, which will produce cellulosic biofuel from non-food biomass, such as wood chips, demonstrates the Obama Administration’s goal to make the United States a leader in renewable energy production and furthers the President’s ongoing efforts to bring jobs to rural communities,” said Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager. “USDA is proud to work with the lender and the private sector to bring economic opportunity to rural areas.”

The $80 million loan, being made by AgSouth Farm Credit to Range Fuels, Inc., is being guaranteed through USDA’s Biorefinery Assistance Program authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 and administered by USDA Rural Development. When fully operational, the plant is expected to produce an estimated 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year. USDA announced a conditional commitment to provide the loan guarantee for Range Fuels in January, 2009.

Representatives from the University of Florida, Buckeye Technologies Inc. and the Florida Legislature broke ground for a new pilot plant to produce ethanol from cellulosic biomass.

Funded by a $20 million appropriation from the Florida Legislature, the plant will be built at the Perry, Fla. facility of Buckeye Technologies Inc., a manufacturer and worldwide distributor of cellulose-based specialty products made from wood and cotton. It is scheduled to be operational by spring 2011.

Much of the plant’s research will be based on the work of Lonnie Ingram, UF distinguished professor of microbiology and cell science and director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels. Ingram engineered an E. coli bacterium that breaks down inedible plant material into sugars that can be processed into fuel-grade cellulosic ethanol. Variations of the technology are already at work in fuel plants in Louisiana and Japan.

Click on photo, courtesy of IFAS news, for a larger view. Pictured left to right: Lonnie Ingram, UF distinguished professor of microbiology and cell science; Leonard Bembry, Florida House of Representatives District 10; Ralph Poppell, Florida House of Representatives District 29; Debbie Mayfield, Florida House of Representatives District 80; John Crowe, Buckeye Technologies, Inc. chief executive officer; Bernie Machen, University of Florida president; Cynthia O’Connell, University of Florida Board of Trustees; Larry Arrington, University of Florida interim senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.

Marty Lyons, Chief Commercial Officer with Hawkeye Gold, LLC has resigned from the Iowa ethanol company to pursue other interests. Lyons worked for Hawkeye Gold since 2007, helping to create and expand marketing opportunities for one of the nation’s largest ethanol producers. Previously, Lyons was the Senior Vice-President, Ethanol, Sweetners, and Starches at Archer Daniels Midland in Decatur, Illinois.

“It was a pleasure to work with the team at Hawkeye Gold and I wish them all the best in the future,” said Lyons. “I will miss my hard working colleagues but am excited about the prospect to pursue other opportunities and continue my involvement in the renewable fuels industry. Clearly, plants need more control of their business as they manage their inputs in these volatile markets. I am focused on looking for ways to bring that necessary control back to the plants.”

Lyons and his family will be relocating to the St. Louis area while looking to pursue other opportunities. Lyons has spent more than 30 years in the grain and renewable fuels industries, working to improve efficiencies and business opportunities through more streamlined and integrated business activities.

Dutch shipping giant Maersk Line is joining with Lloyd’s Register to test biodiesel in its marine engines for the next two years.

This story from the Journal of Commerce says the feasibility study on the container ship Maersk Kalmar will be funded in part by the Dutch government:

Using fatty acid methyl esters – a biodiesel product known as FAME — the tests will use a blend of between 5 percent and 7 percent biodiesel to examine a long list of potential problems.

“One of the aims of the tests is to establish the degree to which issues experienced by the automotive industry in the use FAME, will be duplicated on board ship, in particular the impact on storage stability, handling and its subsequent use in the engine. Where adverse effects are arising it is hoped to find solutions to overcome them,” said Kim Tanneberger, specialist of Lloyd’s Register’s Strategic Research Group.

In addition to testing the performance in its engines, Maersk will be looking at storage issues with the biodiesel.

Pilot Travel Centers has added three more locations where Ethanol 85 can be purchased. Pilot now offers E85 at five locations statewide. E85 contains 85 percent ethanol and is for Flex Fuel vehicles only.

The stations include Strawberry Plains Pike and Crossville locations in East Tennessee and in Dickson, Tenn., along Interstate 40 west of Nashville. Earlier locations were in Knoxville at Northshore Drive at Pellissippi Parkway, and Walker Springs Road. They offered the fuel beginning in 2007. Pilot, based in Knoxville, bills itself as the largest operator of travel centers in the country with more than 300 locations in 40 states.

Last Friday, four of the Tennessee Pilot locations offered special pricing on E85 as part of its introduction of new east Tennessee stations. Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot Travel Centers said, “We are committed to our customers, our community and our environment. Providing E85 meets a strong consumer demand and helps the environment—a win-win for all involved. We plan to continue installing E85 pumps as it is feasible.”

The National Research Council (NRC) is currently conducting an ongoing study on the impacts of expanded biofuel production. NRC, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, hosted a workshop last week to receive feedback from people on both sides of the debate. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) represented the ethanol industry and Geoff Cooper, RFA’s Vice President of Research and Analysis, was on hand for the meeting.

Prior to the event, however, Cooper prepared some responses in advance of the meeting. There were six questions proposed by NRC that RFA responded to four in detail. Specifically, the questions asked and responded to were:

• 1. What are the costs and disruptive effects on the economy and environment of meeting the RFS mandate by 2022?
• 2. In your view, what are the potential beneficial impacts of the RFS mandate in addition to improving energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions?
• 3. Which groups would gain or lose most from meeting the RFS mandate?
• 4. What are the most important barriers to meeting the RFS mandate?

In response to the first two questions, Cooper wrote, “We believe the positive economic and environmental effects associated with meeting long-term RFS2 requirements far outweigh any potential negative consequences. Further, some “disruptive” effects are in fact positive for the U.S. economy and environment. The disruption of crude oil markets that would result from meeting RFS requirements is one example.”

In response to the second question above, Cooper wrote, “We believe it is important that committee members have a full understanding of all of the beneficial impacts that would result from meeting RFS2 requirements so that likely benefits can be properly weighed against potential risks.”

Benefits highlighted by RFA for the committee include increased energy security, reduced dependence on foreign oil, reduced GHG emissions, increase in green jobs, increase in farm income and decrease of gas prices at the pump. Cooper also noted that the barriers to success of the RFS include blend wall limits, infrastructure and logistics, and access to capital, to name a few.

You can read the full response from RFA by clicking here.

Back by popular demand, Phibro Ethanol Performance Group, along with Fremont, Fermentis and Novozymes are hosting the second Process Optimization Seminar targeted for plant managers, operations managers, technical managers, lab managers and general managers. This interactive seminar is focused on helping ethanol plants increase their efficiency and profitability through learning about new technologies available for the fermentation process. This two half-day seminar is being held in Indianapolis, Indiana on March 30-31 and the early registration deadline is March 10.

I was able to spend a few minutes with Tom Slunecka, the VP of Marketing for Phibro Ethanol Performance Group to learn more about the seminar and why fermentation is so important. “The life blood of the plant is optimizing alcohol production within that plant. That’s really what drives the profitability of a plant. Of course, we have to buy our corn right and sell our ethanol right and sell our distillers right but if we’re not optimizing every kernel of corn for every amount of ethanol it can possibly produce, we’re leaving money on the table.”

Slunecka continued, “That’s really what this seminar is all about. It’s making sure that the people involved with the most important details of the plant have the optimum information to maximize the profitability of the plant.”

The location of the seminar was designed to be within driving distance of many ethanol plants and Slunecka explained that the class size is small, and limited, so that the exchange between instructors and participants is high, yet the price point is low. Click here to learn more and to register.

Listen to my full interview with Tom below.

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Ethanol issues were in the spotlight when National Corn Growers Association president Darrin Ihnen of South Dakota took the stage at the Commodity Classic general session on Friday.

Ihnen talked about the importance of using higher blends of ethanol in the fuel supply. “The EPA is studying the issue and everything they’ve indicated to this date looks very promising,” said Ihnen. “They said it will probably be late summer now and we are very hopeful it will come then.” He says that is a top priority for corn growers and “this is a game changer” that will give them an opportunity to use more corn.

Ihnen also talked about the climate change issue and other important issues during an interview with session moderator Mark Mayfield which is available in the player below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

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During the general session of the 2010 Commodity Classic, American Soybean Association president Rob Joslin, who stressed the importance of getting the biodiesel tax credit back in place.

“We need it now,” Joslin said. “It’s costing U.S. soybean farmers 25 cents for every bushel. On my 500 acres of soybeans, that’s over $6000 a year. Couple that with all the jobs loss, that’s our goal right now.”

Joslin says the tax credit is back in the second jobs bill that is being considered by the Senate right now. “I kinda feel like a bride that goes to the altar that comes away without a ring. We’ve been to the altar 2 or 3 times and we haven’t gotten a ring on our finger yet.”

Rob was interviewed by session moderator Mark Mayfield about this issue and others important to soybean producers – listen to that exchange below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.8MB)

The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) has come out today calling a recent OPEC report “self serving.” The report, co-written by the former Secretary General of the OPEC oil cartel, criticized biofuels while according to GRFA, ignoring the overwhelming evidence on the devastating impact of crude oil on the environment and on our economies. The report will be released during the International Energy Forum’s meeting in Cancun, Mexico this month.

“This report would be laughable if the risks associated with our dangerous reliance on oil were not so serious,” said Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance. “OPEC has dedicated its history to keeping oil prices artificially high and combating any threat to the shocking wealth of its members. It was only a matter of time until it attacked biofuels.”

GRFA notes that biofuels represent a competitive threat to crude oil but also acknowledge that the implementation of renewable fuels standards by governments around the world have the practical effect of lowering prices at the pump.  A trend, not surprisingly, that OPEC has no interest in seeing continue. For example, according to a report from Merrill Lynch commodity strategist, “retail gasoline prices would be $21/bbl higher, on average, without the incremental biofuel supply.”

Countries around the world are expanding their biofuels production to meet increased energy needs at the same time as addressing growing greenhouse gas emission concerns that lead to global climate change. In 2009, global biofuels production exceeded 80 billion litres.

According to Baker, the report ignores the horrific impact on economies due to high crude oil prices, especially those in developing nations as well as fails to address the positive impact biofuels production has on fuel supplies and prices. “In an era of ever increasing oil prices, biofuels production is more important than ever,” added Baker. “Our industry is calling on the OPEC oil cartel to embrace biofuels and the competition that it brings to the global fuels markets instead of stifling competition and keeping prices high.”

Baker concluded, “I can only conclude that this self-serving piece of research is an attempt to slow down biofuels production. Perhaps OPEC finally sees biofuels as competition. If that’s the case I suspect we can see similar future so-called reports on biofuels from OPEC.”

“I’m not troubled by getting it right as long as we get it right. And I think we’re headed in the right direction. I’m anticipating we’ll see some increase in the blend rate,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during a press conference at Commodity Classic when asked about EPA’s delaying the decision to increase the blend rate to E15.

However, prior to addressing the status of the E15 Waiver, Vilsack began by noting that biofuels are a good way to bring prosperity and economic vitality to all regions across the country. Rural America is disappearing and farmers have been one of the hardest hit groups during this financial crises. He explained that its not just growing the crops that help farmers but also the jobs it creates for residents of rural communities who work in the ethanol plants and other companies that are tied to biofuels production.

Circling back to E15, approving a higher blend is essential to reaching the country’s goal of producing 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022. Per the mandates as set by the EPA as part of the Renewable Fuels Standard, nearly 10 percent of all fuel will be blended with E10 in 2010. Without higher blends, including E85, there is no where for the fuel to go.

Yet earlier this week, the EPA announced that it was delaying any decision on increasing the blend level to E15 until the end of the summer. Vilsack commented that the purpose of the delay is due to ongoing testing by the Department of Energy to determine what engines can use the higher blend without ill effects. It has already been established that newer vehicles, and all flex-fuel vehicles can use the higher blend safely, “Which suggests to me that we’re going to see an increase in the blend rate,” said Vilsack. He then noted that it will be important to use rural development resources to make sure the distribution systems create the opportunities for people to use higher blends.

You can see photos from Commodity Classic here.

You can listen to Vilsack’s comments on biofuels here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (1.8MB)

A man who is considered to be the father of genomics says that if algae-based fuel makers can’t start making billions of gallons of fuel, they are just playing with investors’ money.

This post on earth2tech.com says Craig Venter, the founder of synthetic biology startup Synthetic Genomics, made the remarks at the Wall Street Journal’s Economics conference this week:

In other words the algae companies need to be able to reach the scale at which the oil companies currently operate to be competitive. “That’s the real bugaboo for everybody,” said Venter. To address that hurdle, last July Synthetic Genomics announced that it was partnering with ExxonMobil on a $600 million algae biofuels program.

Venter said the synthetic genomic process could one day fundamentally change not just fuel and transportation, but food supply, medicine, and clean water. Venter and his crew at the J. Craig Venter Institute have already created a completely synthetic bacterial genome, which they claimed back in 2008 was the largest man-made DNA structure ever. Now Venter and the researchers are “extremely close” to activating the synthetic bacteria chromosome in a new cell which would make “the first synthetic species,” and will be their “proof of concept,” as Venter put it at the conference. That’s some crazy stuff.

The article goes on to say that some biofuel companies, such as Synthetic Genomics, are forming partnerships with some big oil companies to address the issue. In addition, Algae biofuel maker Sapphire Energy says it will be able to produce 1 million gallons of algae-based biodiesel and jet fuel per year by next year and a billion gallons per year by 2025.

The advanced biofuels industry is putting a bug in Congress’ ear, calling for lawmakers to allow for an investment tax credit that will help advanced biofuels makers get money to get their projects up to commercial scale and become eligible for another operating credit.

Biomass Magazine explains that the industry would be eligible for a federal production tax credit of 30 percent, but the incentive is unused because there are no operating commercial-scale facilities:

Nearly 40 industry-relevant groups such as the Renewable Fuels Association, BlueFire Ethanol, Coskata, Enerkem, Verenium, Range Fuels and Iogen signed a letter to U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, (D-Mont.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.)and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), which points out that there will be no commercial cellulosic biorefineries commissioned before 2011, at the earliest. The principle cause for commercialization delay is lack of funding, the letter states, due to the severe plummet of the U.S. economy.

According to U.S. Department of Energy numbers, it costs $250 million to get a 50 million-gallon-a-year advanced cellulosic biofuel operation up and running, and right now, that’s some tough scratch to come up with in this economy.