Domestic Fuel

According to a Protec Fuel press release, the Florida-based corporation will be supplying E85 for the EcoCAR Challenge. The EcoCAR challenges 16 universities across the U.S. and Canada to redesign and reengineer a General Motors donated vehicle to further minimize energy consumption and reduce emissions.

“Protec continues to show great leadership in the area of biofuel commercialization. We are pleased that Protec is sponsoring the EcoCAR Challenge helping to support education and technology,” said Mary Beth Stanek, Director of Environment and Energy Policy and Commercialization for General Motors. Todd Garner, CEO of Protec Fuel stated that “developing the next generation of engineers focused on E85 and flex fuel vehicles is critical. E85 must play an integral role in our transportation fuel mix since the Renewable Fuels Standard 2 cannot be mathematically achieved without a significant expansion of E85 use.”

The EcoCAR Challenge is in year two out of its three year run. Over the last academic year, EcoCAR teams have spent countless hours developing prototype advanced technology vehicles that will be judged in more than a dozen technical events at this year’s competition finals, which will be held May 17-27, 2010. Events will take place at the GM Desert Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona and at locations throughout San Diego, California.

The EcoCAR Challenge is also sponsored by the Department of Energy.

Presenting his new “cornucopia biorefinery” model to produce food, fertilizer and fuel from corn, SynGest, Inc. CEO Jack Oswald led attendees in chants of “Till Baby Till” as he delivered the keynote address at the 2010 International Biomass Conference in Minneapolis last week.

“Our integrated biorefinery model will put an end to the ‘food versus fuel’ debate,” Oswald said. “Now you can have your fuel and eat it too.”

According to Oswald, the Cornucopia process can yield an impressive slate of end products, including anhydrous ammonia, food grade corn oil, high protein food for human consumption, stillage for animal feed, butanol for liquid transportation fuel, and biochar for conditioning and maintaining soil.

“We intend to use each and every component in an ear of corn,” said Oswald. “The cob and bran are gasified into hydrogen for ammonia synthesis, while leaving biochar as residue. The germ is separated into food grade oil and protein, and the endosperm/starch is converted into butanol and animal feed.” Oswald notes that his integrated biorefinery concept “represents a true intersection between agriculture and energy interests, a formula that sets SynGest apart from others who are just making fuel, power or singular bioproducts.”

The concept has already produced one new product – “Till, Baby, Till” t-shirts – available for $19.99 in short sleeve or $24.99 in long sleeve models.

There is plenty of corn in the latest reports out from USDA this week, which is good news for the ethanol industry.

In the first official estimate of the 2010/11 crop, USDA is projecting corn production to beat last year by 260 million bushels and total 13.4 billion. “Based on the rapid pace of 2010 planting as reported in Crop Progress, the 2010/11 yield is projected at 163.5 bushels per acre, 2.7 bushels above the 1990-09 trend. Corn supplies are projected at a record 15.1 billion bushels, 325 million higher than in 2009/10.”

That’s a lot of corn – but it could be even more than that. Corn planting was more than 80 percent complete as of Sunday and almost 40 percent has already emerged, which is almost twice the normal pace. As the Renewable Fuels Association points out, “Should farmers see a near-normal growing season – something that has eluded them in recent years – USDA’s first yield estimate likely will prove to be on the low side. Consider that last year, despite an extremely late planting season and the worst harvest conditions in recent memory, farmers tallied a record average corn yield of 164.7 bushels/acre.”

Total U.S. corn use for the coming year is expected to be two percent higher than the current year, with exports projected to be up three percent and corn use for ethanol expected to toal 4.6 billion bushels, up 200 million from last year. That means that the 260 million bushel increase in corn production forecast for this year will more than offset the 200 million bushel increase in use for ethanol expected.

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the estimates prove U.S. farmers can produce enough corn for food, feed and fuel. “As demand for clean, renewable ethanol continues to grow, these crop estimates prove that our farmers will be able to meet all the demand for food, fuel and feed in this country, as well as meet all our export obligations,” said Buis. “Food vs. fuel was a myth, propagated by deep-pocketed industries more interested in making profits than making our country more energy independent.”

Photo credit: Kelly Robertson Farms

The Tennessee Valley Authority is now transmitting clean, wind energy to some of its customers.

This TVA press release says 300 megawatts of power from Iberdrola Renewables Inc.’s Streator Cayuga Ridge wind park in Illinois is the first delivery under seven contracts that will total 1,380 megawatts from Midwest wind farms:

“Activation of this new wind-power source is an important milestone in our plans to expand TVA’s clean and renewable energy options,” said John Trawick, TVA senior vice president of Commercial Operations and Pricing. “We anticipate a long and productive working relationship with Iberdrola Renewables as we continue to grow our alternative energy portfolio.”

The next purchased wind addition to the TVA power grid will be 115 megawatts scheduled to arrive this fall from Horizon Wind Energy LLC’s Pioneer Prairie wind farm in Howard and Mitchell counties in Iowa.

TVA officials say they have to get the wind power from out of the Southeastern U.S. region because winds in that area are less reliable.

A measure that would require all diesel heating oil in Connecticut to contain a biodiesel blend by next summer has cleared that state’s legislature and is headed to the governor’s desk.

Biodiesel Magazine reports the measure will step up the amount of biodiesel, starting at 2 percent on July 1, 2011:

In 2012, the mandate increases to B5; in 2015, B10; in 2017, B15; and finally, in 2020, Connecticut will require 20 percent biodiesel in all heating oil.

There are some caveats to this legislation. First, Governor M. Jodi Rell needs to sign the bill before it becomes law.

In addition, the article says that the state must be able to produce at least 50 percent of the annual mandated volume of biodiesel, and similar measures must pass in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVI) 2010 Conference is now in full swing in Las Vegas. The 16th annual event is offering its attendees a wide array of workshops and sessions concentrated on alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles.

The AFVI show kicked off on Sunday featuring speakers on compressed natural gas (CNG), propane, biodiesel, electric and ethanol. Nearly 90 exhibitor booths opened on Monday at noon including companies such as General Motors, Toyota, Ford, the National Biodiesel Board, Dresser Wayne, and Honda among others.

In their booth, Dresser Wayne is displaying a CNG dispenser, E85 fleet dispenser and a diesel exhaust fluid dispenser (see right). “It’s always a good opportunity to participate in a show like this to learn about about emerging opportunities relating to alternative fuels,” noted Dresser Wayne’s Director, Alternative Energy Products, Scott Negley.

A “Ride-n-Drive” also took place today offering attendees a chance to experience how an alternative vehicle feels on the road. Vehicles included in the Ride-n-Drive included: Ford E-250 (Propane); THINK THINK City (Electric); Camry (Hybrid); Highlander (Hybrid); Prius (Hybrid); Prius (Plug-in Hybrid); Civic GX (CNG); FCX Clarity (Hydrogen Fuel Cell); Volkswagen Golf TDI (BioDiesel); Volkswagen Jetta (BioDiesel); Crane Carrier LET2 (CNG/Hydraulic Hybrid); Starcraft Allstar (CNG); XCaliber CNG66 Mower (CNG); Escape (Hybrid); Fusion (Hybrid); Global Electric Motorcars e4 (Electric); Ford F-Series (Biodiesel – B20); and Chevy Tahoe (Flex Fuel Vehicle)

The 2010 AFVI show concludes tomorrow.

The head of the nation’s biggest biodiesel lobbying group is renewing his call for Washington to retroactively reinstate the federal biodiesel tax incentive … and it’s unacceptable how long the industry and country has had to go with the credit.

Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board told energy leaders at the Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Institute national conference in Las Vegas that Congress and the Obama Administration need to show how truly dedicated they are to green jobs by renewing the $1-a-gallon federal incentive:

Jobe explained that the biodiesel tax credit, in just five short years since its enactment, has resulted in the construction of over 150 renewable refineries in 44 states, 23,000 jobs, billions of dollars of net tax revenue to the U.S. Treasury, and the displacement of billions of gallons of petroleum. Congress allowed the biodiesel tax credit to lapse on December 31, along with all other expiring tax provisions.

“As we all wait in dread for the Gulf oil slick to wreak devastation on some of the nation’s most sensitive wetland habitats, Congress’s inaction has left America’s nontoxic, biodegradable biofuel at risk of collapse,” he said.

Jobe says the inaction by the two chambers of Congress to reconcile their two versions of the bill that would save the nation’s first successful advanced biofuel is causing the loss of jobs every day.

The president of a company responsible for designing half the corn ethanol plants in the country is responding to comments attributed to him in the on-line publication of the Minnesota 2020, which describes itself as a “progressive, non-partisan think tank.”

The opinion article was written by a college student from an interview done with Ron Fagen, president and CEO of Fagen, Inc., at the National Ethanol Conference in February. That’s where Ron and his wife Diane were recognized with the first ever Membership Award from the Renewable Fuels Association for their dedication of time, energy, resources and ideas in making the ethanol industry what it is today.

Editorial author Natalie Camplair notes Fagen’s contributions to the ethanol industry in the first paragraph, and then infers that Fagen has abandoned the industry he has helped to build over the last 20 years. “But the ethanol boom is over now,” she writes. “In an interview at the 2010 National Ethanol Convention on February 16 in Orlando, Florida, Mr. Fagen announced that, in 2010 and beyond, he plans to “put ethanol [projects] on hold” and instead to invest in biomass and wind energy projects.”

Back in the days when print only went as far as the paper on which it was published, this editorial would probably have only been read by a handful of people and Ron himself might never have even seen it. But, thanks to the internet, the story was re-published and linked around so it created enough waves that Mr. Fagen has circulated his own response:

A recent op-ed alleging that “the ethanol boom is over” and that “policies to further the corn ethanol industry should not be supported” demands a response, both because it is patently untrue and because my words were twisted and taken out of context to justify the editorialist’s opinion about corn ethanol. I respect that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But, in the case of the op-ed titled “Beyond Corn Ethanol” published on April 28, 2010 by Minnesota 2020, neither the opinions nor the so-called facts expressed were accurate.

So it is not accurate – in fact, it is downright misleading – to suggest corn ethanol has no future. Today, ethanol-blended fuel is the most affordable and clean-burning alternative to gasoline. And more importantly, unlike some other promising alternative fuels, we don’t have to wait for more ethanol because it is here now as the only commercially viable substitute to fossil fuels. In fact, this year U.S. ethanol producers will rank as our nation’s third largest supplier of fuel on a gasoline-equivalent basis, behind only Canada and Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Venezuela.
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Novozymes continues to lead the way in biomass technologies with their new announcement that they are partnering with Dacheng Group, a major starch processing company based in China, to develop technologies designed to produce household cleaning products and plastics from agricultural waste. Both plastics and cleaning products typically have petroleum as one of their ingredients.

As part of the partnership, Novozymes will share its enzymes for converting biomass to sugar and then Dacheng Group will convert the sugar into glycol. Dacheng Group has the first commercialized plant in the world to produce plant-based glycols. Glycols are biochemicals used in household cleaning products and cosmetics as well as used as building blocks for making polyesters and plastics.

Xu Zhouwen, Chairman of Dacheng Group noted, “Dacheng and Novozymes have complementary technological advantages in the biomass-to-chemical industry and share the vision for the future that renewables such agricultural and forestry residues or even urban organic garbage should be important energy and material sources.”

China currently produces 700 million tons of ag waste per year, including corn and wheat stovers, rice straw and more. Currently, most of the waste is burned contributing to the country’s serious air pollution problems.

“This collaboration with Dacheng Group is another important step toward the future biobased society,” said Steen Riisgaard, CEO and President of Novozymes A/S. “Biotechnology will open the pathway to a biobased society in which renewable agricultural residues can be converted into biochemicals and nearly substitute the role that petrochemical industries have been playing since the industrial revolution.”

In addition to this agreement with Dacheng to produce biochemcials for bioplastics. Novozymes has partnered with Braskem in Brazil and Cargill in the United States on similar projects.

“I hope people use this opportunity to take a hard look at their own dependence on oil. I hope they look to find ways to kick their oil addiction as soon as possible and to elect leaders that help us do the same as a nation,” said John Abraham Powell, President of Get Oil Out (GOO), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Americans stop using oil and adopt alternative energy. Powell’s comments were in response to the LA Times news article that stated BP officials are concerned that the oil spill will soon release up to 2.5 million gallons of oil per day. If this comes to fruition, it would make this oil spill the largest in US history. Yes. Much, much larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

It is a tad ironic that BP is the culprit of such a devastating oil spill. Well before any other oil companies became involved in developing alternative energy technologies, BP, formerly British Petroleum, changed their name to Beyond Petroleum and began touting their devotion to alternative energy technologies– technologies that will ultimately replace oil when it disappears. Well, millions upon millions of gallons of their petroleum has now “disappeared” and “reappeared” right into one of the most sensitive wetland areas in the country. We need Houdini to develop a trick where the oil reappears in our gas tanks, but alas, I fear that even the great Houdini couldn’t pull off a trick like this.

ExxonMobil couldn’t pull of this trick either. Decades after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill off the coast of Alaska, ExxonMobil is still struggling with the consumer backlash, in part, due to their inappropriate response to the cleanup initiatives or more specifically, lack thereof. To this day, they never fulfilled their cleanup requirements. Will the same fate befall BP?
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The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) recognized outstanding leadership in the alternative fuels and vehicles industry as part of the 16th Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Conference + Expo 2010 today in Las Vegas.

Among this year’s honorees is Robert White, Director of Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), who was awarded the 24/7 Blend Award for “his leadership in industry-wide education about social media.” Under his leadership, RFA and other fuel advocacy groups were awarded a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to provide training that includes social media for national Clean Cities Coalitions and their stakeholders.

The EV-angelism Award was presented to President and COO Rick Kasper for his early and lasting success in manufacturing electric vehicles. The Golden Bullet Award was presented to National Clean Cities Director Dennis Smith for his leadership in overseeing the process that will add 9,000 vehicles and more than 500 refueling stations under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Green Fleet Award was presented to Jerome Webber, Vice President of Fleet Operations for AT&T’s replacement of 15,000 vehicles over the next ten years with alternatively fueled and powered models. Director of Government Affairs for NGV America, Paul Kerkhoven received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his tireless advocacy of natural gas and Napa Valley Unified School District Transportation Director Ralph Knight received the Magic School Bus Award for replacing diesel buses with electric.

Despite the fact that total revenues of $13.0 million were down $1.4 million compared to last year, Verenium Corporation executives were happy with the 2010 first quarter financial report released yesterday.

“I’m very pleased with the successful first quarter and start to 2010 Verenium had with both its biofuels and specialty enzymes business units,” said Carlos A. Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verenium. “Of note, the $5.0 million in gross margin generated from enzyme sales for the quarter is a record for us and is an indication of the strength in that business.”

Product gross margin dollars increased to $5.0 million, compared to $4.8 million for the same period in the prior year, “due primarily to an increase in the royalty on Phyzyme profits received from Danisco, combined with an increase in sales of higher margin enzyme products.”

Verenium recently announced an additional $4.9 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fund activities at the Company’s demonstration-scale facility in Jennings, Louisiana and extended the joint development program established in August 2008 with partner BP.

German airline Lufthansa is looking to start flying some of their jets on a mix of biofuel within the next couple of years.

This story from Reuters says it’s a move to save money and cut greenhouse gas emissions:

Lufthansa rival KLM, part of Franco-Dutch Air France, last year became the first airline to test biofuel in a passenger airplane, filling one of four engines on a Boeing 747 with biofuel for a 1.5 hour test flight.

“First, we are hoping to get some resource security, and second, we hope that we will have some advantages in our costs for emissions trading,” Mayrhuber said.

Lufthansa estimates that it could spend between $200-470 million a year in European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) credits they will have to pay starting in 2012. The airline will have to buy fewer credits by using the biofuels.

The ethanol co-product known as DDGs or dried distillers grain is mostly used as livestock feed, but a food grade version could help improve human nutrition.

South Dakota State University research shows a traditional Asian flatbread called chapathi (or chapati) gets a big boost in protein and fiber when fortified with food-grade distillers grains.

SDSU food scientist Padu Krishnan said it is one example of the ways DDGS could help improve human nutrition worldwide – and provide a new market for the ethanol co-product. Krishnan, a cereal chemist, has been studying and writing about the possibility of using DDGS in human diets since the early 1990s. Especially now with new state-of-the-art ethanol plants coming online in recent years, Krishnan said, the ethanol industry is well poised to make food-grade DDGS.

In lab studies, Krishnan and his colleagues found that using DDGS to make up 10 percent of the dough in chapathi, an Asian whole wheat unleavened bread eaten in South Asia and East Africa, boosted the fiber from 2.9 percent to 7.8 percent, while using 20 percent DDGS in the dough increased the fiber to 10.3 percent. Protein content also increased by using DDGS in the dough, up to 15.3 percent by adding 20 percent to the dough.

DDGS is ideal for including in human diets because it contains 40 percent dietary fiber and nearly 37 percent protein.

In a court brief filed last week, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), Brazil’s ethanol trade association, defended California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) against lawsuits filed by the petroleum, trucking and ethanol industries of the United States.

“With about one in every ten U.S. cars driven in California, the largest state in the country with one of the highest carbon intensities in the world is seeking to do its share to fight climate change,” said Joel Velasco, UNICA’s Chief Representative in North America. “After exhaustive study, state officials have identified sugarcane ethanol as an important part of the solution to achieving California’s low-carbon goals, and our industry is prepared to help meet the challenge.”

However, Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol industry is defending a flawed formula that overestimates theoretical “indirect land use change” (ILUC) penalties on U.S.-made grain ethanol – when ILUC itself has yet to be proven as fact. “The foreign interests that would stand to gain under California’s flawed low-carbon fuel standard are rushing to defend it – despite the fact that ILUC is far from certain, and despite new evidence that the California Air Resources Board’s use of a Purdue University formula estimating ILUC was wrong. And that evidence comes from the very university that designed the formula,” said Buis in a news release.

Buis notes that a recent Purdue University study shows that the formula used by California overestimates corn ethanol’s ILUC emissions by more than twice as much.

Growth Energy, in conjunction with the Renewable Fuel Association and several agricutlural organizations, are challenging California’s LCFS on grounds that the regulations violate the Commerce and Supremacy clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The case will be heard on May 26 in Federal District Court in Fresno, California.

POST UPDATE: UNICA’s Joel Velasco wrote in to comment that Growth Energy’s issues with indirect land use change “have nothing to do with the challenges before the court – the lawsuit is about whether the Constitution allows California to regulate its fuels.” Velasco says he was not defending CARB’s ILUC calculations in his quote, “In fact, CARB assesses a higher ILUC penalty on sugarcane than corn — 46 vs. 30 gram of CO2 per megajoule. We just think California has a right to regulate its fuels under the Constitution.”