Domestic Fuel

There are concerns that the best areas for wind energy farms have been taken up, and that could be slowing development of wind energy in this country.

This piece in Renewable Energy World International Magazine talks about how it’s getting too hard to find large areas of land with strong and steady winds that have a welcoming community and easy access to transmission:

‘When I talk to developers, this is their biggest issue of concern at the moment. The best spots are taken’, said Joanne Howard, vice consul (Energy) at UK Trade & Investment with the British Consulate-General in Houston, Texas.

In the US, a lack of transmission continues to be a primary restraint to the growth of onshore wind farms. The US has land aplenty with strong wind, but it remains undeveloped for lack of a way to get the power to market. Transmission lines cost roughly US$1 million per mile to build in the US. Given that prime wind sites are often far from where the wind power is needed, the price tag is hefty and the federal government has yet to resolve who will pay the bill. Wind developers shy away from proposing wind farms where no transmission yet exists and utilities don’t want to put money into building transmission unless they know a generator stands ready to use the lines. Wind industry insiders call this the transmission chicken and egg dilemma.

In addition to the issue of getting the power from the areas producing it to the areas needing it, farmers have become more savvy about the value of their fields where the wind turbines and transmission lines would be located. The fact that power lines would have to go through multiple jurisdictions is also deterring some companies some jumping in.

The article goes on to say the solution might be more, smaller wind farms closer to population areas, and more importantly, closer to the transmission infrastructure.

Canadian forest products company FPInnovations has partnered with Natural Resources, Canada’s National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative, to launch a $1.625 million field study to study the potential of biodiesel in off-road machinery in highway construction and forest operations.

The Journal of Commerce reports that FPInnovations and Natural Resources are splitting the costs to find the best way to overcome some of the economical and technical challenges Canada’s environment could pose for biodiesel:

The study involves three project locations and industrial activities in British Columbia: highway construction in Coquitlam, sawmill yard operation in Prince George, and forest harvest operations in Merritt.

The Coquitlam location is of interest for the construction sector because it will demonstrate the logistical challenges in delivering biodiesel blends to their jobsites.

The logging and sawmill operations use about 15,000 gallons of fuel each month.

Just last week, we told you how ethanol and biodiesel add $2 billion to Canada’s economy.

From the halls of Montezuma… to the shores of Tripoli… they have vowed to fight our country’s battles… in the air, on land and sea. So it seems only fitting on this Memorial Day, we talk about how Marines in Hawaii could soon be fighting those battles using biodiesel.

Marine Corps Base Hawaii has launched a two-vehicle demonstration project to test B20 biodiesel in tactical vehicles:

The project team will monitor fuel quality and stability, as well as the vehicles’ operational parameters while using the renewable bio fuel blend during an eight to 12 month period…

The use of sustainable fuels will help the base meet its ambitious energy goals, in addition to goals established by the Marine Corps and Department of Defense.

Hopefully, if the demonstration project is successful, it can be applied to more vehicles that burn diesel.

Indy car drivers from several countries extolled the virtues of sugarcane ethanol from Brazil in ads that aired during the telecast of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

The parade of Indy spokesdrivers in two 30-second Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) television ads that debuted on Sunday include Ryan Hunter-Reay, who briefly served as spokesman for the U.S. ethanol industry and drove the #17 Team Ethanol car to victory for the first time in 2008. Takuma Sato of Japan, Davey Hamilton of the U.S., E.J. Viso of Venezuela, join Brazilians Ana Beatriz, Vitor Meira and three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves in proudly proclaiming “I compete with sugarcane ethanol.” Castroneves, who was the 2007 Dancing with the Stars winner, even croons a sweet tune to sugarcane ethanol. “Fast and Sweet and Clean and Lovely, the fuel from sugarcane goes racing,” he sings to the tune of “The Girl from Ipenema,” then says he can dance but he can’t sing. The winner of Sunday’s race, Dario Franchitti of Scotland, was not featured in the spots.

“For the first time ever, we are taking our message about sugarcane ethanol to national network television during one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world,” said Joel Velasco, UNICA’s Chief Representative in North America. “These commercials seek to educate American consumers about sugarcane ethanol and how it can benefit their pockets, the environment and the market, by promoting competition on and off the track.”

The ads are well done and definitely worth watching – see them here on UNICA’s sweeteralternative.com website.

This week I read “Powering The Future,” by Daniel B. Botkin. I was motoring along learning about our current energy mix (fossil fuels, fossil fuels, fossil fuels) and then moved on to the section about alternative energy and his evaluation of the viability of wind and solar. Then I got to the biofuels section and this is where in most books I feel authors are either uneducated or intentionally dismiss the data. Botkin was no different in his assessment of biofuels. He only supports biofuels from algae and soil bacteria and he backs up much of his biofuels with bad data from the likes of David Pimentel.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The goal that Botkin set out in his book was to discuss each major source of energy including how much energy it provides today, how much it could provide in the future, how much it would cost, and its advantages and disadvantages. On this note, I do think that Botkin set out what he meant to do and offered analogies and numbers that most will understand.

Here are some interesting takeaways from his analysis. First, he is not a proponent of natural gas because his data shows that if it were used to fuel the 140 million+ cars on the road, we’d run out in less than 20 years. Second, he is not a proponent of nuclear because there is a limited amount of uranium and it costs more to decommission a nuclear plant than build one. While he has reservations about coal, he does anticipate that coal use will increase for electricity.

So what does he like?
Read the rest of this post…

“The grand total of the annual positive economic impact of renewable fuels is $2.013 billion.” This according to a new biofuels economic report, “Total Economic Impact Assessment of Biofuels Plants in Canada,” released today. The report was commissioned by the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) and conducted by econometric firm Doyletech Corporation. The report studied 28 ethanol and biodiesel plants across Canada and added that there were major benefits from renewable fuels in “rural revitalization, increased oil exports from western Canada, industrial development, and valuable options for re-balancing fuel ‘mix’.”

“This is the first report of its kind to study the economic impact of Canadian renewable fuel plants, and the results are undisputable, ethanol and biodiesel in Canada are driving growth,” added Gordon Quaiattini, President of the CRFA. “It’s overwhelmingly clear that Canada’s new renewable fuel standard is delivering on its promise of jobs, investment and growth.”

Here are a few highlights of the report.

The economic impact of operating the 28 Canadian renewable fuels plants was assessed to include:

• A total direct investment of $2.326 billion.
• The total net economic activity of $2.949 billion, including $100.2 million to municipal governments, $492.1 million to provincial governments, and $679.9 million to the federal government.
• And the creation of 14,177 direct and indirect jobs during the respective construction periods.
  Read the rest of this post…

It’s Friday and for many the start of the Memorial Weekend holiday is already underway. There is more to celebrate than friends, food and family – savings at the pump due to lower priced ethanol. According to new data, drivers will save nearly 10 cents per gallon if filling up with E10.

According to information from the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), ethanol is currently selling for nearly a dollar less than gasoline at the rack, leading to cost savings for ethanol blends at the retail level. According to price data published on May 24 by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) E10 is an average of 9.5 cents lower per gallon than straight gasoline. Based on a national average gas price of $2.85 per gallon and calculating the distance AAA expects 28 million travelers to travel, this 9.5 cent discount for E10 could potentially save drivers nearly $95.8 million in savings.

“Every little bit of cost savings helps in a tight economy, and American families are saving money at the pump thanks to the availability of ethanol,” said Ron Lamberty, Vice President / Market Development for ACE, the nation’s largest grassroots ethanol association. “With the wide spread right now between ethanol and gasoline prices, the higher the ethanol content per gallon of your fuel, the higher the savings.”

If E15 were available to drivers nationwide, the savings would be nearly 14 cents per gallon making the total savings for motorists nearly $138 million dollars just over this holiday weekend. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to make its final ruling on the E15 Waiver this summer.

Other ethanol blended savings included 28.5 cents per gallon less than gasoline for E30 and and E85 is 75 cents less per gallon.

“Motorists deserve to have access to these cost-effective fuels at the pump instead of just being limited by government red tape and Big Oil’s grip on the market,” added Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of ACE. “We need to give consumers the power to choose whatever fuel is most affordable by making flexible fuel vehicles and blender pumps more widely available.”

U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have introduced S. 1627, the Consumer Fuels and Vehicles Choice Act, to increase the number of FFVs and blender pumps nationwide. Currently there are 200 blender pumps and more than 1000 E85 stations across the nation.

Everyone was declared a winner in a Minnesota-Wisconsin border battle this week between two fuel retailers on opposite sides of the St. Croix River.

The promotional event on Thursday featured a rush-hour special where both stations sold E85 (85 percent ethanol fuel) at an 85 cents per gallon discount from 4-6 pm. The promotion was supported by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Holiday Companies, Erickson Oil, American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest and MN & WI Clean Air Choice Teams.

It was all in good fun as Alice in Dairyland (aka Cheryl O’Brien), Wisconsin’s official agricultural ambassador, squared off with the University of Minnesota mascot Goldy Gopher. However, when it came right down to it, Bob Moffit with the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest reports that the Wisconsin station ultimately won the border battle, selling 589 gallons of E85 during the two-hour promotion, while the Minnesota station sold 447 gallons.

Thanks to Bob for the photo!

In a voting frenzy today prior to the Memorial Day recess, the U.S. House of Representatives has extended the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit that expired Dec. 31, despite indications even late yesterday that the vote would be delayed until June.

The extension, which was part of a package that includes continued unemployment benefits and other tax breaks, would keep the biodiesel credit in place until the end of this year. The legislation still needs to be approved by the Senate, but that vote is not expected until after the recess.

National Biodiesel Board Director of Federal Communications Michael Frohlich says this is great news for the industry. “Each step that brings us closer to having the biodiesel tax credit reinstated is a win,” said Frohlich.

Leading biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group (REG) issued the following statement:

Today the U.S. House of Representatives have finally followed through on their commitment to green-collar jobs and protecting our environment by passing the biodiesel blenders tax credit as part of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. We applaud their actions today to move our biodiesel tax credit one step closer to reinstatement as this bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. REG continues to monitor the status of H.R. 4213 and urge our Senators to pass the biodiesel tax credit when they return June 7th.

First it was the unprovable Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) theory. Now ethanol is being challenged by a new “what goes around comes around” hypothesis called the “Global Rebound Effect.”

Earlier this week, the Clean Air Task Force filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency over the Renewable Fuel Standard for failing “to account for the “global rebound effect” when analyzing the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels.”

This theory goes on the assumption that, “By displacing some gasoline from the US market, the RFS reduces overall demand for petroleum, which in turn leads to lower prices, increased consumption, and higher greenhouse gas emissions in other countries. If EPA had considered the “global rebound effect” in its analysis of different biofuels, only a few of those fuels would have met Congress’s emissions reduction requirements.”

Using this theory, ANY action the United States might take to reduce gasoline consumption – from using more ethanol to increasing vehicle fuel efficiency – will result in INCREASED gasoline use elsewhere in the world. As Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen puts it, “Whatever environmentalist activists call this new theory, I call it nonsense.”

RFA is is challenging the lawsuit and the whole concept of Global Rebound Effect. “To penalize a technology, any technology, that reduces American oil consumption for any potential oil use in other nations is asinine,” said Dinneen. “Environmentalists are in favor of precious little these days, but by applying their new logic even efforts to improve efficiencies such as gas mileage must suffer a carbon penalty. It simply defies logic.”

That is indeed what the theory says, according to Steven Stoft, founder of the Global Economic Policy Center. In something he wrote last year called, “Corn Whiskey vs. the Climate,” Stoft said, “More ethanol use causes less oil to be imported, which causes a lower world “oil” price, which causes more liquid-fuel use worldwide. This same effect applies to conserving oil as well as to replacing it with ethanol, or even to pumping more oil from Alaska.”

RFA is also challenging the lawsuit claims that EPA is using overly optimistic assumptions about the nature of ethanol production in 2022, implicitly implying little improvement will occur in ethanol production technology between now and then. “To assume that no further innovation will occur in America’s ethanol industry is akin to believing the iPad is the final product from Apple,” said Dinneen.

The case, and RFA’s challenge to it, has been filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Two biodiesel-powered and one ethanol vehicle took top honors in the latest EcoCAR competition.

This press release says a biodiesel extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) from Mississippi State University won first place in the General Motors and Department of Energy-sponsored EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge finals in San Diego, with Virginia Tech earning second place with an ethanol-powered EREV design and Penn State coming in third building a biodiesel EREV vehicle:

The competition challenges university engineering students from across North America to re-engineer a GM-donated vehicle to minimize the vehicle’s fuel consumption and emissions, while maintaining its utility, safety and performance. The winning teams will answer questions about their work and vehicles during an online chat on Friday, June 4 at 3 p.m. EDT.

The Mississippi State EcoCAR team chose to design an EREV hybrid with a 21.3 kWh A123Systems battery pack, which provides an electric range of 60 miles. It’s also equipped with a 1.3 L GM turbodiesel engine and 75 kW UQM generator in a series plug-in configuration. During testing, the vehicle’s fuel economy stood out, achieving 118 miles per gallon gas equivalent (combined city/highway cycle). In addition to the overall winner’s award, Mississippi State won nine additional awards, including performance events in auto-cross and acceleration.

Virginia Tech’s entry has a a 40 mile electric range, and Penn State’s EcoCAR vehicle includes a 4-cylinder 1.3 L biodiesel engine and achieved more than double the fuel economy of the baseline vehicle, or 57 miles per gallon gas equivalent.

While it was partly an arbitrary date, it looks like Congress will miss the Memorial Day deadline that many hoped would see renewal of the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive.

The measure is attached to a larger bill that would extend unemployment benefits, but Hoosier Ag Today reports that it won’t happen until after the holiday recess:

Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Blue Dog Coalition co-chairwoman, said Thursday that given the timetable the House is on – they’ll have to grapple with the tax extenders measure after Memorial Day. Herseth Sandlin says part of the problem is leadership was shy of the votes needed to pass the bill.

Remember, it was just Tuesday that U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer promised that “we will have enough votes.” Somebody better learn to count.

Yesterday, a full day conference: Mobilizing NC: Where Air Quality, Energy & Transportation Meet, which concentrated on alternative fuel and advanced technology solutions to air quality, energy security and environmental concerns, was held at the Jane S. McKimmon Conference Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Topics covered during the event included: Fleets, Transportation and Land Use Planning Success Stories and concurrent sessions on Biofuels, Natural Gas, Propane, Diesel & Electric Vehicle Transportation Technologies. The luncheon speaker was Peter Maas, author of Crude World, the Violent Twilight of Oil .

Over 2 dozen Ride-N-Drive vehicles were displayed along with a number of exhibits.

The event was hosted by NC Solar Center/NCSU with support provided by Triangle Clean Cities, Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition, Land of Sky Clean Vehicle Coalition, Triad Air Awareness and NC State Engineering Foundation. A cosponsor included Growth Energy.

Memorial Day is right around the bend and this weekend marks the start of summer driving. According to AAA, nearly 28 million Americans are expected to travel this weekend alone, a number curtailed due to environmental concerns as well as concerns caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Yet there is good news for drivers as they are saving an average of $105 per year because of ethanol. This according to a report released today by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

The blending of ethanol into America’s fuel supply is saving consumers approximately 10 cents per gallon as compared to straight gasoline prices. According to RFA, at the wholesale level, ethanol has been selling at a 50-70 cent per gallon discount to gasoline before the 45 cent per gallon blender’s credit is taken into account. As a result, at a 10 percent ethanol blend (E10), the average American household is saving up to $105 per year.

“Domestic ethanol blends are a great bargain for consumers, saving them money at the pump while allowing them to support a truly American industry,” said RFA Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper. “Simply filling up with E10 instead of regular gasoline saves families money at a time when economic concerns and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are front of mind. Ethanol is part of the solution to both concerns.”

On another front, as the grills get fired up, ethanol continues to be incorrectly blamed for higher prices of meat due to the claim from ethanol opponents that grain prices are higher. Yet the study shows that grain prices are not higher. In fact, corn prices are nearly 20 percent lower than one year ago and less than half of what they were during the oil-fueled speculative commodity bubble in the summer of 2008.

In a recent column, influential commodity analyst Rick Kment writing for DTN said, “Ethanol continues to be the whipping boy, but blaming the fuel for today’s higher meat prices just doesn’t add up. In the past four months live cattle futures have increased 25 percent while corn prices have fallen nearly 13 percent.”

Cooper on behalf of RFA added, “Finally, and most importantly, Memorial Day is a hallowed holiday in America when the nation pauses to remember those defending and those who have defended this nation. We pay special tribute to those individuals and families who made the ultimate sacrifice. The RFA wishes to extend its appreciation on behalf of everyone involved in America’s ethanol industry.”

Today COFCO, a leading producer and supplier of processed agricultural products, Sinopec, the world’s third largest oil refinery and Novozymes, the leader in biofuel enzyme development and production, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to take the next steps towards commercial production of cellulosic biofuels in China. As an element of the partnership, COFCO and Sinopec will build a cellulosic demonstration plant and Novozymes will produce the enzymes needed for production.

It is anticipated that the plant will be online in the 3rd Quarter of 2011 and is expected to produce three million gallons of bioethanol made from corn stover per year. One of the key elements that will make this cellulosic ethanol commercially competitive is the Cellic CTec2 enzyme developed and launched by Novozymes this past February. Once the plant is completed, it will be the largest demonstration facility converting ag waste into biofuel in China. Estimates show that China has more than 700 million metric tons of agricultural residue available per year and a recent study by Novozymes and McKinsey shows that the conversion of ag waste to biofuel has the ability to reduce China’s gasoline consumption by 31 million tons in 2020.

“In 2009, we forged this partnership in China to develop biofuel from agricultural waste; today, we are one step closer to producing commercial quantities,” said Michael Christiansen, President, Novozymes China. “With gasoline prices hovering around $4 per gallon in China, companies across the country are reaffirming their commitment to investing in development of clean, alternative fuel sources.”

The number of cars in China is expected to exceed 200 million by 2020 an increase from 130 million on the road today. To meet the demand, China launched an aggressive bioenergy plan of which cellulosic biofuel production is one component. In addition to lowering China’s gasoline needs, this portion of the plan will also reduce CO2 emissions by 90 million tons and provide 6 million new jobs.