Domestic Fuel

The latest reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are lowering the forecast for this year’s corn crop, but raising the expected use of corn for ethanol.

Corn production is now forecast at 12.5 billion bushels, down 1 percent from the October forecast and down 4 percent from last year’s record production of 13.1 billion bushels. The reason for the decrease is lower than expected yields, especially in key producing states like Missouri and Nebraska. Record high yields are still forecast for several states including Minnesota and Wisconsin.

On the supply-demand side, USDA increased corn use for ethanol in the coming year by 100 million bushels, citing record October ethanol production and favorable ethanol producer margins. “Ethanol prices continue to track higher with corn prices, supporting returns for ethanol producers. Although small relative to domestic usage, higher ethanol exports and lower imports are also expected to add to corn use for ethanol with high sugar prices limiting the availability of ethanol from Brazil.” Corn ending stocks were lowered by 75 million bushels and exports were lowered by 50 million.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is urging the White House to “stay the course” on advance biofuels.

In a letter hand to President Obama this week, RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen urged the Obama Administration to maintain its commitment to the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels. The RFA letter is in response to a White House memo seeking presidential guidance on the future of the Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee program.

“We strongly encourage you to not only continue with the program, but to transform it so it is more accessible for cellulosic and advanced biofuel companies,” Dinneen wrote to President Obama. “In addition, we encourage you to push Congress to restore the funds taken from the program to pay for the Cash for Clunkers initiative and a bailout for states earlier this year. Restoring these funds and accelerating their distribution is one way to quickly add American jobs that cannot be outsourced.”

Going a step further, Dinneen urged the president to not only retain, but reform the current renewable energy loan guarantee program to ensure advanced biofuel technologies are given a fair chance.
“As Congress intended, the loan guarantee program established by the 2005 energy bill was meant to provide access to much-needed capital for developing and nearly commercial renewable energy technologies – both for power generation and liquid transportation fuels,” wrote Dinneen. “The markets for electricity and fuels function differently. As such, the loan guarantee program must reflect these differing real-world circumstances in determining the qualifications of various applicants. Yet, as currently structured, the program seems disproportionately focused toward power generation projects to the disadvantage of cellulosic and advanced biofuel technologies.”

Read the entire letter here.

A coalition of food and livestock organizations has filed suit in federal court to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to allow gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol (“E15”) to be sold for cars manufactured in the 2007 model year or later.

Farm and food petitioners in the suit, which was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, include the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the American Meat Institute, the National Council of Chain Restaurants, the National Meat Association, the National Turkey Federation, the National Chicken Council, the National Pork Producers Council, the Snack Food Association and the American Frozen Food Institute.

The Coalition said: “In approving E15, which is compatible only with certain, later-model automobile and other types of engines, the EPA has clearly exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act. The EPA has unlawfully interpreted the statute to achieve a particular outcome. The agency has a legal obligation to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Clean Air Act and, in this case, has failed to do so. We are confident that the Court will agree and require the EPA to reverse course.”

EPA granted a only a partial waiver for the ethanol industry to allow up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline for 2007 model year vehicles or newer. A decision on the use of E15 in model year 2001 to 2006 vehicles will be made after EPA receives the results of additional DOE testing, which is expected to be completed some time this month.

A new Louisiana refinery that turns chicken fat and other greases into biodiesel is in danger of closing if Congress doesn’t hurry up and renew the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax incentive.

This article from the Wall Street Journal says the Tyson Foods Inc. and Syntroleum Corp. venture is just getting ready to announce the successful opening of the Geismar, La. plant … but could soon be derailed without the tax break:

Tyson and Syntroleum say they’ve begun in recent weeks to make diesel and jet fuel from chicken fat, beef tallow and a range of greases and oils at a plant they’ve built in Geismar, La., south of Baton Rouge. The raw materials are leftovers from Tyson’s meat-processing plants and other food-processing factories and restaurants.

Had Syntroleum known Congress would let the break lapse, the company probably wouldn’t have built the plant, said Jeff Bigger, a company senior vice president.

The biodiesel tax incentive is one of several tax breaks many people are hoping will be renewed either during the lame duck Congressional session or when Congress reconvenes after the first of the year.

Algae Biofuel Maker OriginOil, Inc. has found a way to produce hydrogen from the power of the sun at a level comparable to solar photovoltaics.

This company press release says the breakthrough could prove to be a highly scalable and renewable source of hydrogen that can come from algae production:

To achieve this breakthrough, OriginOil researchers built a pared-down version of the company’s Hydrogen Harvester™ and tested many process variables and materials. They achieved hydrogen energy corresponding to a solar energy conversion efficiency of about 12 percent continuously for several hours on a partially clouded day. The sole energy input was the Sun. By comparison, commercial solar cells achieve conversion efficiencies between six and 20 percent.

Brian Goodall, OriginOil’s CTO, said: “Our experiments clearly demonstrate that this technology can generate renewable hydrogen at rates that matter to the global economy. These early rates compare well with those of the more mature solar cell industry, with the added benefit that the fuel, hydrogen, is readily storable. This is the first renewable source for today’s $39 billion hydrogen market.”

OriginOil officials admit the in-the-field efficiency might be less than the 12 percent achieved in the research system. However, since algae stores up energy during the day, it will continue to generate hydrogen throughout the night. Also, algae production facilities using a Hydrogen Harvester could be self-sufficient for refining.

According to the Tucson Regional Clean Cities Coalition Arizona Petroleum reached their goal of raising $2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Desert Southwest Chapter Memory Walk. During the month of October, Arizona Petroleum, Tucson’s largest supplier of E85 and Biodiesel in Southern Arizona, gave .5 cents of every gallon of E85 and Biodiesel sold, both bulk and retail, to the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk.

“On Saturday, November 6, 2010 I was proud to be at the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk event while Jerry Kachenko, of Arizona Petroleum, stood on the stage at the Reid Park Bandshell and presented the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association with a check for $2,000,” noted Colleen Crowninshield, Manager, Clean Cities/Solar Partnership Programs. “We should all be very proud that we are giving back to our community by using biofuels, and I want to extend a warm thank you to Arizona Petroleum, for giving their time and dollars to this very worthwhile event.”

Other retailers who participated in the event in Arizona were:
Coolidge Chevron, 295 S. Arizona Blvd., Coolidge
C & T Alvernon & Pima, Tucson
Fastlane Chevron Ajo & I-10, Tucson
Gas City Houghton & Alvernon, Tucson
Gas City Fry Blvd., Sierra Vista
Gas City Buffalo Soldier Tr., Sierra Vista
Loma Catalina Ruthraff and La Cholla, Tucson
Loma Catalina Dove Mtn., Tucson
Pioneer Fuel 22nd & Kolb, Tucson
Quik Mart Irvington & Houghton, Tucson
Quick Pik #3 Pantano & Golf Links, Tucson
R & D Conoco Magee & Thornydale, Tucson
Super Stop Sahuarita

The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk® is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. This event calls on volunteers of all ages to become champions in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

An Ohio company has won a state grant that will help it turn dirty plastic and rubber into transportation fuel.

Akron-based Polyflow LLC, has announced it has received a $50,000 grant in development funding from the Edison Technology Assistance Grants (E-TAG) program funded by the Ohio Department of Development. Polyflow will get some help from EWI, a leading engineering and technology organization dedicated to materials joining and allied technologies:

The E-TAG program is a strategic technology acceleration program whereby for-profit Ohio companies, working in collaboration with one or more Edison Centers or Incubators, can receive small and targeted grants that will help the company overcome some hurdles that stands between them and commercial success of a technology-based product or production process. The E-TAG award will allow Polyflow a greater speed to market by validating the Polyflow product for meeting fuel specifications and helping Polyflow target specific markets.

“The assistance of the E-TAG award will allow Polyflow to assess and fine tune our material for the most viable and opportune markets,” said Polyflow Feedstock Development Manager Terry Parmelee, Jr. “We thank the Edison Welding Institute for the resources and insights that will help ensure that Polyflow commercializes swiftly and effectively.”

Polyflow officials say the timing of the grant is perfect. It will compliment Polyflow’s work so far to establish the right commercial channel and buyer the company commercializes in the near future.

Many years ago on a high school field trip, we were taken to the local landfill. It was nearly full and the city needed to do something – find somewhere to take its trash. Out of this field trip came my first environmental inspiration. I researched recycling and determined that at that time, the only way to get people to participate would be to give them bins that would be picked up at the curb. I pitched it to my class, they joined in the effort…we went door to door …and the during the next election, the resolution passed.

I felt pretty good for years to come but that enthusiasm has waned as I’ve learned that recycling programs are barely effective and we still generate too much stuff. “The Story of Stuff” came of out the internet movie sensation by the same name. Author Annie Leonard has been traveling around the world for more than 20 years learning about the world’s obsession with “Stuff.”. Not only do we have too much, but its too toxic. According to Leonard, we’re also using our natural resources far faster than the Earth can replenish them.

Leonard explains that the expanding economic system is about to hit a wall. It is running up against the limits of our planet’s capacity to sustain life. Economists predict that with the rate of growing populations, especially those in countries like China and India, coupled with the amount of CO2 emissions created from the production and transportation of our Stuff, we’re in trouble.

“Put it simply, if we do not redirect our extraction and production systems and change the way we distribute, consume, and dispose of our Stuff – what I sometimes call the take-make-waste-mold-the economy as it is will kill the planet,” writes Leonard.

While I don’t agree with her wholeheartedly, I do agree that she is on to something. I can’t tell you how many times in the past few years I’ve purchased something I usually don’t even need and it has a crazy amount of wasteful packaging. I am now even more aware as Leonard takes you through the entire process of Stuff from extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal.
Read the rest of this post…

The man in charge of a California solar company believes his company’s unique three-dimensional technology could revolutionize the way solar arrays capture power.

Jim Nelson, the CEO of Solar3D, says his company’s conceptual three-dimensional solar cell is a departure from the traditional technology for solar cells, which normally use a two-dimensional design that reflect a lot of the light back out into the atmosphere.

“Our design borrows lot of technology from the fiber optic business, where there’s a lot of wave-guide management of light. We manage the light so that we capture essentially 100 percent of it in our solar cell.”

That gives them more space to absorb the light, giving them a much higher efficiency, no matter what material they use for making the cell. In fact, he says the technology could double the efficiency of most solar cells.

In addition to boosting efficiency, Nelson says the 3-D technology will also make solar power more competitively priced, putting it on par with most conventional sources of power. He points out that right now solar power is dependent on government subsidies … too dependent for his tastes.

“We don’t believe [subsidies] are a permanent solution [for solar power]. We believe in a permanent solution for solar energy we have to approach grid parity; solar energy has to be as inexpensive or less per kilowatt hour than anything that is cheap… natural gas, for example. My objective is revolutionize the way people think about electrical energy, [regardless of the source].”

While Solar3D doesn’t use any government subsidies right now, Nelson doesn’t rule them out in the future. But he does believe any public money should really come from investors, not from taxes. That’s part of the reason why he recently took the company public (see Joanna’s post from October 25, 2010).

Listen to more of my conversation with Nelson here: Jim Nelson, Solar3D

Is the food versus fuel debate finally subsiding? It has been hanging around since 2008 when the Grocery Manufactures of America launched a coordinated attack on the ethanol industry blaming them for the rising cost of food. It turned out that the greatest offender was actually rising oil prices which topped out over $150 per barrel.

This week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about rising food prices. Many of you may know that they rarely miss an opportunity to blame the ills of the world on biofuels. However, in “Food Sellers Grit Teeth, Raise Prices,” the authors mention several reasons why food prices are on the rise, one being a greater demand for meat in emerging countries such as China and India. This demand has raised grain prices, which have also been adversely affected due to the drought in Russia. Speculators also have a hand in the volatility of commodities.

For more than two years, the ethanol and agriculture industries have been fighting back. In addition, dozens of research studies have been released from organizations around the world with the conclusion that biofuels had “little to no effect” on rising food prices in 2008. The most recent report from the World Bank also came to this conclusion.

However, in the midst of this most recent food hike, Growth Energy is saying that although the debate has weakened, they “have to keep telling people the truth.” They believe that, “The article further proves that food price increases are impacted by a number of factors. Not surprisingly, however, nowhere in the story do the authors mention any impact by biofuels.”

Growth Energy concludes, “We have said it before and we will say it again, food vs. fuel has always been and will always be nothing more than a myth.”

Amyris is having a busy week. Yesterday, they announced a partnership with Tate and Lyle Ingredients Americas, Inc (a subsidiary of Tate and Lyle) for them to produce farnesene. Amryis will take the farnesene and produce farnesane, the company’s unique diesel molecule that forms the basis of its renewable diesel. The product will be manufactured in Tate and Lyle’s facility in Decatur, Illinois.

Then today, the company announced even bigger news – the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has increased its official registration of their renewable diesel fuel, raising the registered blend level with ultra low sulfur diesel from 20 to 35 percent. To date, this is the highest blend level awarded by the EPA for commercial sale diesel fuel. The company was able to improve its registration by submitting additional fuel property data, third-party testing, engine testing conducted by major diesel engine OEMs, and highway validation tests.

Amryis was able to conduct a portion of the testing through an Integrated Bio-Refinery Program grant they received this past April from the Department of Energy.

“Obtaining the highest EPA awarded blend level registration validates the high performance properties of our renewable hydrocarbon diesel,” said Amyris CEO John Melo. “We are producing a true No Compromise fuel – a renewable diesel that eliminates the critical challenges plaguing biofuels while still enabling dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas and tail pipe emissions for vehicles, from passenger cars through heavy-duty trucks.”

Good news today for several California biofuel producers. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved eight grants worth more than $9.6 million along with $11,969,855 in private funds. Each winning project demonstrated its ability to reduce petroleum use, reduce pollution and provide jobs. The categories of industry that were eligible for funding included biofuels, manufacturers of electric vehicles and batteries, and the addition of vehicle charging stations.

The money for the projects came from the CEC’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Transportation program. All winners had to match the grants with private funds.

“Three years ago California crafted innovative legislation that is paying dividends in ground-breaking advances in transportation,” said Energy Commissioner Anthony Eggert. “Partnerships between government and the private sector are encouraging new industries that can rebuild California’s manufacturing base. The projects the Commission approved will improve California’s economy and its environment by fostering green, clean advancements in transportation.”

• • Biofuel production – $1,989,101 to Great Valley Energy LLC to test the feasibility creating biofuel from a crop new to the Central Valley – sweet sorghum.
• • Biofuel production -$1,900,000 to the City of San Jose to build and demonstrate a new system that turns trash into natural gas that can be used as a transportation fuel.
• • Biodiesel production – $1,000,000 to East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) to make an estimated 300,000 gallons of biodiesel each year at its existing wastewater treatment plant in Oakland.
• • Biodiesel distribution – $69,233 to the Western States Oil Company to convert an existing, 8,000-gallon retail tank used for premium gasoline into one that can dispense wholesale biodiesel.
• • Electric vehicle manufacturing: $1,000,000 to TransPower, a clean-energy company headquartered in Escondido, to study the feasibility of manufacturing large electric-drive trucks in or near San Pedro by 2013.
• • Electric vehicle components: $505,381 to San Francisco-based Mission Motor Co. to help it bring its prototype electric vehicle components to commercial production.
• • Electric vehicle components: $2,962,743 to Leyden Energy Inc., to help it create a production line capable of assembling its lithium-ion cells into 10 battery packs per month for its partner in the project, electric vehicle manufacturer Green Vehicles of Salinas.

The USDA is looking into turning a common weed into biodiesel.

Researchers with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have found that field pennycress, better known in some circles as stinkweed, puts out a large amount of oilseeds good for making the green fuel:

Field pennycress belongs to the Brassicaceae family, along with canola, camelina and mustard-other prolific producers of oil-rich seeds. The ARS studies help support USDA’s efforts to develop new sources of bioenergy.

The scientists obtained oil from wild field pennycress, pretreated it with acid, and used a type of alcohol called methanol to react with the field pennycress oil to produce both biodiesel and glycerol. After some additional refining, the finished biodiesel was tested to see if it met the biodiesel fuel standard established by the American Society for Testing and Materials. The results suggested that, with some work, the previously problematic pennycress could become a commercial commodity.

The ARS goes on to say that pennycress oil is attractive for biodiesel because of its low cloud and pour points, 14 degrees Fahrenheit for clouding and for pour, well below the cloud and pour points of soybean oil-based biodiesel. In addition, pennycress can be grown in the winter and harvested in the late spring, allowing farmers to still have a summer soybean rotation.

Today, Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC, a partnership between BP and DuPont to develop biobutanol, announced the opening of a biobutanol technology laboratory in the city of Paulínia, São Paulo state, Brazil. Butamax CEO Tim Potter joined Ricardo Vellutini, DuPont do Brasil’s President and Vice President of Agricultural Products for Latin America, for a ribbon cutting ceremony. Media were also welcome to tour the facility.

“The new laboratory was built to accelerate the path to commercial market entry for cane-to-biobutanol production,” said Potter.

Butamax believes that sugarcane is the most efficient feedstock for the production of biofuels and the lab will focus on optimizing the cane fermentation process. The company’s technology can be used with a range of feedstocks including starch-based crops such as corn, and in the future, cellulosic feedstocks such as energy grasses. The company also feels that Brazil’s strong economy and existing expertise in the biofuels industry makes it the perfect strategic location for producing biobutanol and adds some diversity to its biofuels mix.

Butamax believes that biobutanol complements the success of the ethanol industry and offers several key advantages including its ability to be blended at higher concentrations than ethanol delivering twice the renewable energy in every liter of gasoline. Another advantage over ethanol is that it can be used in vehicles with no modifications and can be transported via pipelines.

The company believes that its proprietary technology is a game changer and as such, has focused across the biofuel value chain. They have been researching the technology on a global scale in anticipation for their commercial launch.

It is time to start thinking about the next National Biodiesel Conference, coming up February 6-9 in Phoenix. Registration is now open with special early bird discounts until available until November 19.

The theme of the 2011 conference is “Advance” – reflecting the fact that biodiesel is classified as an advanced biofuel by EPA under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). “The EPA’s final rule making made it very clear that biodiesel, from all domestically produced feedstocks, is not a conventional biofuel,” says National Biodiesel Board (NBB) CEO Joe Jobe. “It is in the category of advanced biofuel.”

The RFS2 will be a primary focus of the conference in February, according to Jobe. “By the time we get to the conference in February, the RFS2 program will be critically important to drawing demand and getting the biodiesel industry moving again,” Jobe says. “So the centerpiece of this conference is going to be all about the RFS2 and how we’re going to have an 800 million gallon plus market in 2011.”

The last two years have been a struggle for the industry, but there are plenty of people who still believe in the future of the sustainable fuel. The NBB is asking for people who believe in biodiesel to submit brief video statements about why they do. “We’re going to use the most interesting ones to use in video intros and segues at the conference,” said Jobe. More information about the “I believe in biodiesel” video project can be found on the NBB website.

Listen to an interview with Joe Jobe about the 2011 National Biodiesel Conference here: Joe Jobe Interview