Domestic Fuel

The Environmental Protection Agency has released its proposed design for the label on fuel pumps that would dispense E15, or 15 percent ethanol, as promised under the fragmented ruling issued last week allowing the fuel mix in only vehicles of model year 2007 and newer. EPA must now solicit comment on the proposed label for 60 days before it can issue a final label.

“The RFA will certainly have some comments,” said Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen on the organization’s E-xchange Blog. “Since EPA has chosen the most confusing of options for E15 implementation, ensuring the label is clear, factual and non-threatening will be critical. The industry has worked for a long time to remove confusing and alarming labels from pumps, and the RFA will engage vigorously with EPA to create a label that does not unnecessarily deter motorists from choosing E15. The label is meant to instruct consumers on how to the use the fuel, not frighten them away from doing so.”

Meanwhile, Dinneen says the industry is working together on the technical issues to make this limited introduction of the ethanol blend as smooth as possible. “First, working with Growth Energy, the RFA has begun the health effects testing and fuel registration process that must be conducted for any new fuel,” he said. “This testing is required to determine if any new chemical species in evaporative and combustion emissions are created as a result of increased ethanol content. We do not believe this will be the case and early testing is confirming that belief.”

Other issues that need to be addressed include testing on dispensing equipment; changes to state laws to allow for the use of E15; and completion of the fuels registration process by industry.

Brazil’s sugarcane growing areas went from too little rain earlier this season to too much rain in September, putting a damper on harvest activity, according to the latest report from from the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA).

Heavy rains, nearly 60 percent higher than average for the month, hampered cane crushing for second consecutive two-week period, but reportedly favored ethanol production in the South-Central Brazil region. UNICA Technical Director Antonio de Padua Rodrigues says they are experiencing “another exceptional year” in terms of weather conditions. “From April to early September, the amount of rain was well below the historic average, reducing the availability of cane. Already in September, especially at the end of the month, rainfall returned with greater intensity than expected, hampering the harvest and, more importantly, reducing the quality of cane that will be crushed in October,” he said, adding that these factors should impact the overall production of sugar and ethanol at the end of the harvest.

UNICA reports that total ethanol production has reached 20.30 billion liters, an increase of 22.59% compared to the same period in last year.

Brazil’s Petrobras and international enzyme development company Novozymes are working together to develop a new route to produce second generation biofuel from sugarcane bagasse.

According to a company release, the agreement covers the development of enzymes and production processes to produce second generation lignocellulosic ethanol from bagasse in an enzymatic process.

The commercial potential of cellulosic ethanol in Brazil is substantial due to the great amount of sugarcane bagasse, a fibrous residue of sugarcane production, available in the country. Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer with an extraction capacity of approximately 600 million tons per year, currently yielding 27 billion liters (7 billion gallons) of ethanol. It is estimated that bagasse-to-ethanol technology can increase the country’s ethanol production by some 40% without having to increase the crop area.

Since 2006 Petrobras has been carrying out research on integrated biochemical processes for converting sugarcane bagasse to ethanol.

Under a new agreement, a subsidiary of Perdue Agribusiness will supply feedstock and sell co-products for a 110 million gallon per year ethanol plant in Clearfield, Pennsylvania.

Perdue BioEnergy has partnered with Bionol Clearfield, a subsidiary of BioEnergy International, to supply approximately 40 million bushels of corn as feedstock for the Clearfield plant. Perdue plans to purchase as much corn as possible from area farmers and bring the remainder from Midwest rail locations. In addition, Perdue will market and sell the 385,000 tons of the distillers grains, a co-product of ethanol production, as a feed ingredient to area feed mills serving Pennsylvania dairy, turkey and chicken operations as well as to international markets.

“Perdue’s ability to capitalize on home-grown corn and to market the distillers grains locally will continue to maximize the competitiveness of this important destination ethanol plant,” said Stephen J. Gatto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioEnergy International. “Bionol and Perdue AgriBusiness working together is an excellent fit,” said Dick Willey, President of Perdue AgriBusiness. “We share a commitment to farmers and agriculture in Pennsylvania and are pleased to support the PennSecurity Fuels Initiative.”

NASCAR has announced it will race with ethanol-blended fuel in its three national touring series in next year.

“NASCAR is committed to being an environmental leader, and the sport has taken significant steps over the years toward conservation by introducing measurable, best-in-class initiatives in recycling, alternative energy, and carbon mitigation,” said Brian France, chairman and CEO of NASCAR. “The transition to Sunoco Green E15 takes our long-term sustainability strategy to the next level. Sunoco Green E15 is good for racing, good for the environment and good for America. While fueling the same close, door-to-door racing that thrills our fans, American ethanol creates jobs in the United States, helps foster energy independence, and continues the greening of our sport.”

The fuel will be provided to NASCAR by Sunoco. The new high-performance fuel is called Green E15, described as “a 15-percent ethanol blend using American-made ethanol from corn grown by American farmers.”

“Since 2004, Sunoco has produced and delivered to NASCAR the world’s best racing fuel flawlessly in a challenging, high-stakes environment,” said Bob Owens, senior vice president of Sunoco. “We’re proud to be part of NASCAR’s dedication to conservation with Sunoco Green E15 — the ultimate high-test ethanol fuel blend. In our six years as official fuel partner, Sunoco has changed with the times by helping NASCAR transition to unleaded fuel, and now we are eager to produce for the sport a high-performance ethanol blend.”

As the new official fuel of NASCAR, Sunoco Green E15 will replace Sunoco 260 GTX, the 98-octane, unleaded race fuel that set the standard for performance. Starting in 2011, Sunoco Green E15 will be used by every car and truck in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

American officials say they are looking into allegations that China is providing unfair support to the country’s wind and solar products makers, as well as the advanced batttery and energy-efficient vehicle industries.

This Wall Street Journal article says U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk promises a vigorous pursuit of these allegations through the World Trade Organization:

The United Steelworkers union on Sept. 9 petitioned the Obama administration to examine China’s green technology practices, saying the country employs export restraints and subsidies, discriminates against foreign companies and imported goods, and engages in other practices that harm U.S. interests and run counter to global trade rules.

“As allegations contained in the petition in question are unwarranted, it’s not a right move by the U.S. side to decide to conduct investigation into it,” said embassy spokesman Wang Baodong.

The article goes on to point out that while the U.S. also supports its own clean-energy sector, the USW says China is using its subsidies specifically to help exports, a violation of trade rules.

A new report says that diesel’s compatibility with biofuels, especially biodiesel, makes it poised to play a bigger role in the clean fuel options of the future.

A new Hart Energy Report, entitled “Diesel: Fueling the Future of a Green Economy,” says “diesel fuel’s unique attributes – its energy density, low-sulfur content, widespread availability and compatibility with biofuels, it is easy to recognize diesel’s emergence as a leading fuel of the future.”

With the United States moving to implement stronger environmental and fuel economy standards and expand the use of renewable fuels, clean diesel fuel is “poised to take on an even greater role in the U.S. transportation market”, according to a newly-released Hart Energy Consulting report.

“Diesel offers energy and environmental improvement without the need for development of an infrastructure to support the advanced technology. Diesel’s unique capability to utilize a range of renewable fuels and blends enhances its desirability under emerging renewable fuel requirements.” (p.27)

You can read the report for yourself here.

The National Biodiesel Board is inviting you to meet the people committed to the biodiesel industry at the upcoming National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, Feb. 6-9, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The group wants those who are on the fence about going to the green fuel’s premier event to think about what they might miss … such as the chance to meet and talk with the true movers and shakers in the biodiesel industry:

The National Biodiesel Conference & Expo attendance continues to attract the very best in the biodiesel industry! From our Monday evening reception in the Exhibit Hall, the Biodiesel Networking Center in the Exhibit Hall, to the numerous open forum “Conversessions” that will be offered this year, NBB wants to assist in your efforts to network, connect and learn! We believe these additions and changes to the program will create boundless networking opportunities and allow you to meet new people with some of the same biodiesel interests. Where better to meet than the premier biodiesel conference in the country?

More information on registration and booth availability is on the conference website. And look for our coverage of the event on the conference blog.

A Florida company has announced today that it is three permits closer to opening the BioEnergy Center, the first commercial waste to energy facility in the US.

INEOS Bio’s first commercial project in the United States has secured key permits to build its waste to bioenergy facility in Indian River County, Florida.

The BioEnergy Center will be developed entirely within the existing footprint of a former agricultural processing facility. The DOE Finding and Environmental Assessment established that the BioEnergy Center would have no adverse impacts with respect to sound, traffic, air quality, water quality or to threatened or endangered species. The assessment also found that no changes to land use, planning or zoning were necessary and will not result in any significant change to the existing visual quality of the site and surrounding area. As part of the extensive assessment, the DOE requested input from various entities including Federal, state, local agencies, elected officials, tribal interests, businesses, organizations and members of the general public.

Unlike other technologies that rely on one primary source of feedstock, the INEOS Bio process can produce bioenergy from numerous feedstocks, including forestry and agricultural waste, sustainable energy crops, construction waste and municipal solid waste. This flexibility allows facilities to be built anywhere that a renewable biomass feedstock is available, providing jobs and locally sourced energy for urban and rural communities. The Indian River facility is scheduled to begin construction in 4th quarter of 2010 and begin production in 2012.

The Golden Arches are going green. A McDonald’s restaurant, that was rebuilt in Riverside, California, became the fourth in the U.S. and the first west of the Mississippi to go green. The building, which is owned and operated by Tom and Candice Spiel, re-opened the new energy efficient, sustainable McDonald’s with a multitude of green features including ‘Green Arches’.

“We were inspired to build a McDonald’s restaurant that highlights the green focus of Riverside: California’s first Emerald City,” said Candace Spiel, McDonald’s owner/operator. “We are so proud of this restaurant and its possibilities to encourage and educate our customers and community on the importance of environmental sustainability.”

Some of the key features include 294 photovoltaic solar panels that will generate a portion of the restaurant’s power consumption.

Other green features include:
* Light colored hardscape to reduce heat emissions from site
* Native drought tolerant plants to reduce water consumption by landscape
* Low flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water usage
* Recycled denim insulation inside the building

The green McDonald’s also features an interactive touch screen display for visitors to learn about the building, environmental sustainability, and how individuals can reduce their carbon footprint. In addition to owning this McDonald’s, the couple also own and operate eight others in and around California’s Inland Empire.

Somerset County Improvement Authority (SCIA) has awarded Vanguard Energy Partners with the contract to install 7.6 megawatts (MW) of solar power at 31 local and Somerset County, N.J. government locations. Once the project is complete, it will be one of the largest public solar energy projects in the state.

“This project will save taxpayers more than $1 million per year in energy costs, significantly decrease carbon emissions and greatly contribute toward achieving our long-term sustainability goals,” said Freeholder Director Jack M. Ciattarelli. “Just as importantly, with this bold initiative, we continue to demonstrate environmental leadership and our commitment to keeping Somerset the ‘greenest’ county in New Jersey.”

According to a company news release, the photovoltaic systems will save taxpayers $18.35 million over the 15-year power purchase agreement and avoid the emissions of more than 15 million tons of C02 yearly. SCIA will not be providing any capital outlay for the project – Vanguard will build, own, operate and maintain the solar systems for 15 years. The energy will then be sold at pre-determined rates to the county.

“We are excited and pleased to support Somerset County’s outstanding leadership and commitment to its citizens and the environment,” said Vanguard CEO Jim LaFleur. “This private-public partnership in renewable energy is a win-win because it will save money for taxpayers, support the local economy, and benefit the environment.”

Steve Mayfield, the Director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, believes that we need new sources and new revenue streams for agriculture. The most important element of the crop, says Mayfield, is that it can’t complete with existing agriculture. His answer? Algae.

Algae, says Mayfield, is going to be the next big agricultural crop. The only difference is algae grows on water, whereas traditional ag crops grow on land.

Today, researchers across the country are studying algae to produce fuel and feed and maybe even some day fiber, and Mayfield told me during an interview as part of a San Diego Algae Tour, that what we’re looking for in algae is exactly what they worry about in ag.

There are four things that Mayfield and his team are focusing on in their algae research: growth rate, the product being made, crop protection and harvestability. For example, when his team is growing algae, they need it to grow fast, produce a high amount of lipids, be free of disease, and be harvested as cheaply as possible.

I asked Mayfield when we would see full-scale deployment of algae fuel and he noted, “In this country, it took 100 years to reach the scale of ag we’re at right now. It’s not going to take 100 years to get to that scale in algae because the need is much great now.” You would typically build up your technology as the population increases, continued Mayfield, but the population increase is here now and we’re running out of fuel.

Mayfield estimates that we’re ten years away, and approximately $10 billion from commercial production but he is confident we’ll get there.

You can view pictures from my algae trip in my San Diego Algae Tour Photo Album.

A new Financial Times/Harris poll in the U.S. and the five largest European countries finds strong public support for increasing some renewable energy sources, particularly wind farms, provided that they are not asked to pay much more for it.

The new poll found big majorities of the public in all six countries favor the building of more wind farms in their countries, varying from 90% in Spain and 87% in the U.S. to 77% in France. And large numbers of them favor it “strongly.” Majorities in all six countries, from 77% in Italy and 76% in Spain to 60% in the U.S. favor governments giving financial subsidies for the use of bio-fuels.

When those who pay energy bills were asked how much more they would be willing to pay for renewable energy, most people in all countries said either no more or only 5% more. Those willing to pay more than 5% varied from 32% in the U.S. and 31% in Italy to only 17% in Spain and 20% in France.

The poll showed less support on whether to build more nuclear power plants, more or less equally divided in the U.S.

Everyone’s favorite online retailer (well, ok, at least the favorite in the Davis household) is offering its customers some more environmentally friendly options when it comes to having their items shipped to your door, and one of those options is hydrogen.

The London Financial Times reports that Amazon has patented its “environmentally conscious electronic transactions” that allow customers to see the environmental impact of their purchase and choose green shipping options:

The proposal includes the idea of adding a fourth “environmentally friendly” shipping alternative to Amazon’s current range of standard, overnight or two-day options.

It says this could include opting for hybrid or hydrogen-powered delivery vehicles or using empty space on already scheduled routes.

The article goes on to point out that Ocado, the UK-based the online grocery home delivery service, already uses biodiesel in its delivery vans.

The Petro Serve E85 station at 3902 Main Ave. in Fargo, North Dakota will be celebrating Odyssey Day tomorrow with an E85 promotion. Odyssey Day is a nationwide series of events and promotions held every two years to educate the public about alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles.

The alternative fueling facility will sell E85 for 85 cents less per less per gallon and will sell E30 at 60 cents less per gallon than regular unleaded. The event is being sponsored by the North Dakota Renewable Energy Council, North Dakota Corn Growers Association, North Dakota Department of Commerce, North Dakota Ethanol Council, North Dakota Ethanol Producers Association, Petro Serve USA and by the American Lung Association in North Dakota, which supports cleaner-burning E85 as one way to reduce air pollution and its related health concerns.

More than 41,000 FFVs are now registered in North Dakota and flex fuel capability comes standard on more than 40 vehicle models.