Domestic Fuel

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is putting out a draft copy of its guidance for the storage of ethanol- and biodiesel-blended fuels in underground storage tanks (USTs).

This article from Biodiesel Magazine says that while the agency seems to have a handle on gasoline with more than 10 percent ethanol, there’s a bit more gray area when it comes to biodiesel:

While the draft guidance issued by the EPA would apply to USTs delivering gasoline containing more than 10 percent ethanol, no specific percentage threshold has yet been identified by the agency for biodiesel. According to the agency, it is aware that there may be compatibility issues with UST system equipment used to store biodiesel, but does not have any sufficient data on the compatibility of various biodiesel blends with UST system equipment that is currently in use. In other words, much of the research that has been carried out on this type of equipment for ethanol fuel blends has not addressed biodiesel fuel blends. For example, the agency notes that the U.S. DOE is currently testing the compatibility of UST systems with midlevel blends, but to the EPA’s knowledge no equivalent testing is being conducted for biodiesel-blended fuels.

The EPA also states that it acknowledges that no UST equipment has been listed by Underwriter Laboratories for use with biodiesel, but also notes that UL has issued a statement indicating that biodiesel blends of up to 5 percent will not require UL investigation. However, the UL statement cited by EPA also said that fuel blends containing higher percentages of biodiesel may have significant impacts on UST materials and components. For these reasons, the EPA said it will be seeking comments on what percentage of biodiesel in fuel blends should be included in the proposed guidance.

You can read the proposed guidance here.

They say education is expensive (but ignorance is even more so!), so our friends at the National Biodiesel Board are offering a scholarship to their upcoming conference to better educate students about the importance of biodiesel.

One fortunate student scientist with an interest in biodiesel will get a full-ride scholarship to the biggest biodiesel event of the year – the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, Feb. 6 – 9 in Phoenix, Ariz.:

The scholarship will include:

* Conference registration (a $725 value);
* Three nights hotel;
* Airfare (domestic travel only);
* Networking opportunities with some of the brightest minds in biodiesel research;
* Recognition in conference materials.

The NBB will also be offering several other scholarships to the conference that reduce the registration fee to just $100.

This latest move to encourage student interest in biodiesel comes on the heels of the NBB launching the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel initiative, a student group formed to demonstrate and grow support for biodiesel among tomorrow’s scientific leaders.

Applicants must be a college/university student in a scientific field of study and must have signed the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel initiative’s online declaration of support. Students need to submit:

* A resume
* A 500-word summary of your experience with biodiesel, commitment to biodiesel, and career plans
* Optional: a biodiesel-related photograph of yourself
* Optional: an I Believe in Biodiesel video clip

Application deadline is December 15, 2010. More information is available here.

This project is supported by the National Biodiesel Board and the United Soybean Board through the soybean checkoff.

Military interests and biobased product value streams are seen as the biggest drivers for the biofuel industry in the coming year … that’s according to a new poll from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and Biofuels Digest.

The poll looked at “11 Hot Trends for 2011” and was launched during the recent Advanced Biofuels Markets 2010 conference in San Francisco:

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “The biofuels industry is optimistic that the economy will recover this year, increasing opportunities for advanced biofuel producers to finance construction of new projects. Production of renewable chemicals and biobased products as additional value streams should make these projects attractive investments within the renewable sector. The industry also believes that Congress has a role to play, by crafting energy and tax policies that recognize production of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products as vital to the nation’s economic competitiveness as well as national and energy security.”
Read the rest of this post…

America’s growers are ready and willing to produce biomass for advanced biofuels and biopower and have the land to do so according to a survey released by Ceres, Inc. The survey of U.S. growers showed that 71 percent of respondents were very interested or interested in growing dedicated energy crops. In addition, 77 percent of the respondents said they had underutilized land on which they could grow energy grasses like miscanthus, switchgrass or sorghum.

This survey comes on the tail of a recent announcement by the USDA regarding the final rules for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). The program pays eligible growers a incentive to grow biomass crops for use for biopower or to create biofuels.

Ceres is counting on the growth of biomass for bioenergy and most recently announced that they have developed the first salt tolerant crop, switchgrass. This is a huge advancement especially for agricultural areas that have ceased to produce crops due to the high levels of salt in the water supply. Eventually, Ceres will be looking for farmers to grow their proprietary energy crops.

One of the main reasons survey respondents had for growing energy crops was the ability to diversify their current operations. Other reasons given were better use of marginal land and spending less time, money and resources on crop management. In addition, 70 percent of respondents were open to engaging in long-term contracts and 48 percent said they would anticipate putting at least half of their acreage in long-term contracts.

“This is one of the areas where we were interested in learning more about, since reliable feedstock supplies will be critical for new bioenergy facilities to obtain project financing,” said Gary Koppenjan who directs communications and product marketing for Ceres. “What constitutes a long-term contract will likely be an area for discussion, but it appears the suppliers and users are on the same page.”

This non-scientific survey was completed during the summer of 2010 and was skewed to growers in the Southeast United States since that is an area particularly suited to grow energy crops.

There are several complaints that plague the wind industry including noise, visual impact and bird and bat mortality. Along with these complaints are sources that attempt to mitigate these issues. However, as with any emerging industry, the extent of negatives and positives are not known until later. That is why research is focused on answering these questions.

For example, many in the wind industry along with government agencies and universities have been conducting research on the topic of bird fatalities. The research includes bird and bat behaviors including migration, collisions statistics, how the turbine designs themselves affect birds and bats, and even how site selection can mitigate negative impacts.

Other areas of research focus around noise. Many people who live near wind farms complain about the noise, but how loud are they? The closest wind turbine to a home is 300 meters but they are usually placed further away. At this distance, a turbine will have a sound pressure level of 43 decibels. This decibel level equates to the noise emitted by an average air conditioner, which can reach 50 decibels of noise or a refrigerator which can reach up to 40 decibels.

General Electric (GE), one of the leading wind turbine technology developers and manufactures, has taken this complaint seriously. As a result, they have published a new graphic that demonstrates the “noise” factor of a wind turbine. According to GE, at .3 miles (500 meters) away from a turbine, the sound pressure level drops to 38 decibels.

According to Keith Longtin of GE Global Research, in most places, background noise ranges from 40 to 45 decibels, meaning that a turbine’s noise would be lost among other noises. For the stillest, most rural areas, Longtin says the background noise is 30 decibels. At that level, a turbine located about a mile away wouldn’t be heard. While more research is certainly needed, you can compare the noise from a wind turbine with the noise of other household items in the graph above.

The LA Auto Show took place last week and several of the hottest cars were electric vehicles (EVs). On display were the much anticipated Chevy Volt along with its current biggest competitor the Nissan Leaf. According to Chevy, the Volt will be available sometime this year for pre-order and manufacturing will begin sometime in the first quarter of 2011. Once it is finally available, the price tag is expected to be in the $40K range. So maybe, just maybe consumers will actually get their hands on the Volt in 2011.

Nissan took orders for the the Nissan Leaf earlier this year and according to the company, the first year model is sold out. With a price tag around $32K it will definitely be a competitor to the Volt. But here is where the cars really differ. The Volt is both a plug-in electric vehicle with flex-fuel capability (PHEV). In other words, it has a gas backup that can run on anything from 100 percent gasoline to eighty-five percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, (E85) while the Leaf is a plug-in electric only vehicle (PEV).

But how hot will EVs and PHEV’s really be? The auto industry is banking on them and nearly all major auto companies have either an EV or PHEV car that will hit the market by 2012. Here are some examples: Audi is releasing 2 models, BMW is releasing 4 models, Ford is releasing 2 models, Mercedes Benz is releasing 4 models, Toyota is releasing 4 new models, Lexus is releasing 5 models, and Honda is releasing 5 new models. In addition, Cadillac has one model, Hyundai is launching its first hybrid, as is Jaguar, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, KIA, SAAB, and Volkswagen. And this list doesn’t include the hybrids and EVs from independent car companies such as Fisker Karma, the Coda sedan, Smart Fortwo EV and Weego LiFE.

What is interesting is that very few of these vehicles are set to be plug-in electric FFV vehicles (PHEVs) meaning most won’t be able to use higher blends of ethanol for their “gas” back-ups. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll notice two things of interest. First, most of the EVs are coming from foreign manufacturers and countries such as China have plans to dominate the EV market. These same manufactures are not releasing many, if any FFVs. Second, American auto manufacturers are not releasing as many EV models as foreign manufacturers. However, in their case, they are releasing significantly more FFVs.

It will be extremely interesting to watch consumer adoption of the next generation of FFVs and EVs and simultaneously see if the American auto industry comes out on top with its gamble on alternative fuels or if foreign auto makers will continue to gain market share with their gamble on EVs.

A 98-turbine wind farm in Ohio is moving forward after regulators in that state gave the developers permission to build the project, designed to generate up to 150.4 megawatts of energy.

BrighterEnergy.org reports the Ohio Power Siting Board will allow Houston-based Horizon Wind Energy to build the second phase of its Timber Road wind farm on 15,000 acres leased in Northwest Ohio:

The wind farm is to use either Acciona 1.5MW turbines, GE 1.6MW machines or Vestas 1.8MW turbines, with expectations of generating between 395,000 and 460,000 megawatt-hours of power each year.

Horizon, which is developing the project through its Paulding Wind Farm II LLC subsidiary, filed its application with the Board in May for certification to site its Timber Road II Wind farm.

The developers had to agree to several provisions that would lessen the impacts on the environment. The project is seen as being a big step toward Ohio meeting its goal of 25 percent of the state’s electricity from alternative energy sources by 2025, half of which must come from renewable resources.

A Reuters report out of Athens today on former Vice President Al Gore’s comments about corn ethanol has generated responses from the U.S. ethanol industry.

According to the article, Gore said, “It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol,” while speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens. He blamed his original support for corn ethanol on his presidential campaign. “One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.”

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis responded to Gore’s reported comments by noting the great success of first generation ethanol. “Earlier this year, we invited former Vice President Al Gore to visit a modern day ethanol plant to see firsthand what America’s grain ethanol industry has done, and what it can do, for our country given greater access to an open market. Our offer still stands.” Buis sent Gore a follow-up letter today.

On the Renewable Fuels Association E-xchange blog, Matt Hartwig said that Gore was right about ethanol the first time. “Now he tells us: Al Gore was for grain ethanol before he was against it,” writes Hartwig. “Gore bemoans “the lobbies that keep it [ethanol] going.” What about Big Oil lobbying for ever-more costly and risky offshore drilling? Gore should stop apologizing for having supported ethanol. He had it right the first time.”

Gore also reportedly said the corn ethanol has a definite impact on food prices, which has been disputed, and that he supports next generation ethanol from non-food feedstocks, which would not be possible without supporting first generation corn ethanol.

The Reuters story is being regurgitated by such news outlets as the Washington Post, FOX News and the Des Moines Register, but an actual transcript of Gore’s remarks has yet to surface.

The discovery of a new gene could help in the production of cellulosic ethanol.

Purdue University scientists have found the last undiscovered gene responsible for the production of the amino acid phenylalanine, a discovery that could lead to processes to control the amino acid to boost plants’ nutritional values and produce better biofuel feedstocks.

The researchers have determined that the gene is one of ten responsible for phenylalanine production in plants, which is important for plant protein synthesis and for the production of flower scent, anti-oxidants and lignin, a principal plant cell wall component that helps plants stand upright and acts as a barrier in the production of cellulosic ethanol. It is one of the few essential amino acids that humans and animals cannot synthesize, so it must come from plants.

Decreasing phenylalanine could lead to a reduction in lignin, which would improve digestibility of cellulosic materials for ethanol production. Increasing phenylalanine could boost the nutritional value of some foods.

Source: Purdue University press release

The American Farm Bureau Federation isn’t expecting too much from the lame duck session of Congress, particularly when it comes to renewal of the federal biodiesel and ethanol tax credits.

“I think the lame duck session will be pretty lame,” said Mary Kay Thatcher, Director of Policy at AFBF, during an interview with our own Cindy Zimmerman during the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasters Trade Talk session in Kansas City, Mo.

While she says members of Congress will kick the budget to the next Congress coming in after the first of the year by passing a continuing resolution and will at least temporarily extend some of the Bush tax cuts before they expire on January 1st, she’s not as optimistic about the green fuels’ chances.

“I hope we add on ethanol and biodiesel as part of [those expiring credits], [but] I’m probably less optimistic that happens than I am the others because of the economy. But I think we can get those [biodiesel and ethanol] credits extended. It’ll be short term … six months, maybe a year … and then the new Congress will have to figure out where do you get the money to pay for that stuff.”

Thatcher says the biofuels tax credits will be a big topic of discussion when the AFBF holds its 92nd Annual Meeting, Jan. 9-12, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia … just as the new Congress comes into session in Washington. She admits the ethanol tax credit could end up taking a hit from some of the new fiscal hawks elected this year. Thatcher does believe that farmers and biofuel producers will be helped by the fact that Republicans have taken control of Congress, and thus, taken control of the purse strings of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies that have put up roadblocks. And that could ease some of the restrictions the government has put on the two industries in the past few years.

Listen to more of Cindy’s interview with Mary Kay here: Mary Kay Thatcher, AFBF

Right now, the Philadelphia Eagles are sitting atop their division in the NFL and have to have what’s considered one of the better feel-good stories in pro football with the comeback of Michael Vick (we can debate his merits and whether he was deserving of another chance in some other venue). But the Eagles might be putting up their biggest win of the season with their announcement that onsite wind and solar power generation will play a major role in powering Lincoln Financial Field, becoming the world’s first major sports stadium to convert to self-generated renewable energy:

The Eagles have contracted with Orlando FL-based SolarBlue, a renewable energy and energy conservation company, to install approximately 80 20-foot spiral-shaped wind turbines [shown on right] on the top rim of the stadium, affix 2,500 solar panels on the stadium’s façade, build a 7.6 megawatt onsite dual-fuel cogeneration plant and implement sophisticated monitoring and switching technology to operate the system.

“The Philadelphia Eagles are proud to take this vital step towards energy independence from fossil fuels by powering Lincoln Financial Field with wind, solar and dual-fuel energy sources,” said team owner and chief executive officer, Jeffrey Lurie. “This commitment builds upon our comprehensive environmental sustainability program, which includes energy and water conservation, waste reduction, recycling, composting, toxic chemical avoidance and reforestation. It underscores our strong belief that environmentally sensitive policies are consistent with sound business practices.”

Team officials say the amount of renewable energy generated each year will be equal to what 26,000 homes go through in electricity annually and remove the same amount of carbon from the air equaling 41,000 cars.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has guaranteed a $110 million loan for a Hawaiian utility cooperative that has biodiesel as part of its power generation efforts.

BusinessWeek reports the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative received the federal guarantee:

[T]he guarantee includes nearly $73 million for hydroelectric plant improvements and a 10-megawatt naphtha/biodiesel fueled combustion turbine.

[Sen. Daniel] Akaka says the homegrown energy sources keep dollars in Hawaii while reducing air, land and water pollution.

A biomass-based synthetic diesel is being featured at the Green Cars LA Auto Show Ride & Drive event.

Rentech, Inc. says its synthetic RenDiesel(R) fuel is powering an Audi A3 TDI, coming on the heels of the recent four-day, 1,000 mile endurance drive that is part of the 2010 Green Car of the Year Tour:

During [last month's] drive, the Audi A3 TDI averaged 43 mpg on RenDiesel fuel, which is greater than the EPA average highway fuel economy rating for that car. The RenDiesel fuel used on the drive was produced from natural gas and can also be made from biomass. The renewable RenDiesel fuel to be produced from biomass using Rentech-SilvaGas gasification technology at Rentech’s Rialto Renewable Energy Center is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis by as much as 97% over conventional diesel fuel and by a comparable amount over electric vehicles. A vehicle using RenDiesel fuel is also expected to be as much as two times more fuel efficient than one running on ethanol. RenDiesel fuel contains approximately 60% more energy per gallon than ethanol and diesel engines typically achieve 20-40% more miles per gallon than gasoline engines. RenDiesel fuel also produces fewer volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions than ethanol or traditional diesel and has lower tailpipe emissions compared to traditional diesel.

Rentech’s Rialto Renewable Energy Center is expected to produce about 640 barrels per day of renewable synthetic fuels, primarily RenDiesel fuel, and approximately 35 MW of renewable electric power (RenPower) from urban green waste diverted from landfills.

DomesticFuel reporter Chuck Zimmerman recently had the opportunity to sit down with Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis and get an update on the state of the industry. This week, the lame duck session kicked off and this is a very important session for the biofuels industry as they are facing the expiration of several important tax provisions.

“We’re hoping the lame duck session becomes a productive session. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren’t,” said Buis. “Unfortunately, lame ducks create mad ducks and that sometimes prohibits them from working cooperatively together.”

Buis continued, “We’ve seen partisan gridlock in Washington for too long. We have some timely issues that are going to be a big deal to our industry and others that need to be addressed by the end of the year.”

Some of these issues include the potential end of the ethanol tax credit, VEETC, the small producer tax credit, and the ethanol tariff.

“Sometimes in lame ducks when you switch power from one party to the other the incoming party says we’d rather wait until January so we can control how these issues are dealt with,” said Buis. Well, that has consequences if they take that avenue and I’m hoping they don’t.”

Growth Energy would like to have an opportunity to take a bigger, broader look at where the industry is going and Buis feels that with the industry’s support, they are well on their way. But he cautions that for change to happen, you can’t allow the current programs to expire before the new programs are in place.

You can hear more about the state of the ethanol industry in Chuck’s full interview with Tom Buis. Ethanol State of the Industry

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