Domestic Fuel

When nearly 5,000 South Dakota fourth graders return to school after the holidays, they will be getting some new lesson plans. They will be learning about alternative energy including ethanol, wind and hydroelectricity as well as conservation and other green practices. The lessons have been added to the 2011 “South Dakota Road Trip,” a 13-week virtual tour of the state used in the classrooms to help the students learn about the state’s history.

“South Dakota and the entire Midwest has had a profound impact on our nation’s energy supply, and that impact will grow many times over in the future,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said. “I’m glad that POET can help students learn about that rich history and hope it will inspire some of them to get involved in this exciting field in the future.”

Beginning in January, during each lesson, students will travel across South Dakota learning about significant historical figures, events, industries, and culture. Along the way, they’ll stop at places including a farm, an ethanol plant and a racetrack to learn about the different stages of ethanol production. Students will also stop at a windmill to learn about the evolution of wind energy and the Oahe Dam to learn about hydroelectric power. This is just a sampling of the places the students will go.

There is also a health element in the program.“Students learn about the environment and healthy habits related to the town’s name and history, making it a fun and interesting way to learn about healthy lifestyles,” said Marsha Kucker, owner of Education Resource Center of South Dakota.

The curriculum is being finalized for use in January 2011. The project was developed by the Education Resource Center of South Dakota in partnership with Avera Health. South Dakota State University provided graphic design and programming and POET sponsored the alternative energy sections. If you would like to request a copy of the curriculum or enroll your student, please contact Julia Miller at 605-265-5555 or via email.

The biodiesel industry got another early Christmas present when a district appeals court today denied a petition challenging the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2).

The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia set forth a unanimous decision to deny the petition by National Petrochemical Refiners Association (NPRA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) challenging the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). The petition was filed in March of this year saying the RFS2 violated the statutory requirements setting separate biomass-based diesel volume requirements for 2009 and 2010, that it was inappropriately retroactive without proper lead time and compliance provisions.

The National Biodiesel Board’s (NBB) was obviously pleased to hear about the decision. “This wholly validates the U.S. biodiesel industry’s legal position and sends a clear, unambiguous signal to the marketplace that the common-sense renewable goals established in the RFS2 program will be met,” said Manning Feraci, NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs.

Renewable Energy Group (REG), the nation’s largest biodiesel producer, also applauded the decision.

“This lawsuit was the final piece of uncertainty creating market disruption for the biodiesel industry. With last week’s reinstatement of the biodiesel blenders’ tax credit and today’s announcement by the court, REG is bullish on the 2011 market for biodiesel demand,” said REG’s Gary Haer, who is the new president of NBB.

More than 1.4 billion gallons of biodiesel production is registered with the EPA to produce valid RINs to meet required volume obligations. Renewable Energy Group has more than 180 million gallons of production capacity. The company anticipates significant demand increases in coming weeks due to these recent announcements.

Meanwhile, NPRA “expressed disappointment and concern” over the decision. “This retroactive regulation by a federal agency establishes a deeply troubling and potentially far-reaching precedent,” said NPRA president Charles Drevna. “We’re disappointed that the court did not overturn what is clearly a flawed and misguided approach toward implementation of the federal Renewable Fuels Standard. Regardless of the court’s ruling, however, NPRA and its members remain committed to working towards the overall implementation of the RFS program.”

Even though the thrust of the challenge was related to biodiesel, Growth Energy had intervened in the court case on behalf of the ethanol industry to help defend the mandated volumes and make sure that the volumetric levels were retroactive as of Jan 2010. “We intervened because we believe that EPA’s decision regarding the mandated volume of domestic renewable fuels furthers the intent of Congress,” Growth Energy said in a statement.

The wind industry has gained some momentum as the year comes to a close. Last Friday, President Obama signed into law the tax bill that includes a one-year extension of the 1603 investment tax credit for developing renewable energy sources including wind. Denise Bode, the CEO of the American Wind Energy Association said of the event, “This is a great holiday present for the 85,000 American workers in the wind energy industry, tens of thousands of whom will now be able to get back to work in a sector that has been a bright spot in the recession so far.”

Bode believes that this governmental action will be a signal to investors to put more capital back into the U.S. economy. She anticipates that new orders will be on the rise and with wind power reaching 20 percent of the total in Iowa and at times contributing to 25 percent of total power needs in Texas, Bode sees a “a whole lot more” affordable wind energy to come. “The inclusion of renewable energy in the tax bill is a clear indication of strong bipartisan support for the wind industry, which will make more renewable energy than any other technology for decades,” she said.

Another big win for the industry last week was word that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a proposal by Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO), the company that operates the grid throughout the Midwest, to create a new cost allocation policy, or “regime” to pay for transmission upgrades. These upgrades are needed to develop transmission infrastructure, improve reliability, reduce electric bills, foster economic development, and provide consumers access to wind energy and other forms of renewable energy.

The regime creates a new category of transmission projects called Multi-Value Projects (MVPs). The MVP concept is based on the recognition of the numerous, widely shared benefits provided by enhanced transmission infrastructure and, accordingly, spreads the costs for these lines across the MISO footprint.

“We applaud the Commission’s decision to approve the MISO proposal with respect to Multi-Value Projects, as it represents a significant improvement over the existing cost allocation proposal,” said AWEA’s Senior Vice-President for Public Policy Rob Gramlich. “With this policy in place, the Midwest is ready to step up to the plate and support wind development and unlock the associated manufacturing and supply chain jobs throughout the region. The proposed mechanism would spread the costs of new transmission infrastructure to the beneficiaries, allowing the region to build a robust transmission grid that will bring reliability and economic benefits as well as supporting state, regional and national policy goals. This policy is a tremendous victory for the region’s consumers, environment, and economy.”

This fall, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  approved the use of E15 (15 percent ethanol, 85 percent gasoline) in conventional vehicles manufactured in 2007 or later. As a result, many questions have been raised as to the effect the increased level of ethanol will have on vehicles on other small engine equipment. (It should be noted that at this time, E15 has not been approved for use by the EPA in small engines or for marine equipment.)

The “Fuel Answerman” a.k.a. Mike Profetto who is the Vice President of Product Engineering at Gold Eagle Co has cautioned motorists that ethanol is corrosive to rubber and plastic parts and can lead to issues in both vehicles as well as small engines including lawnmowers. He also notes that ethanol is a solvent and can loosen debris and deposits that have built up in a fuel tank over time, resulting in clogged fuel systems. This can lead to hard starting, rough running and even stalling. Yet in the opinion of the author, it is also these properties of ethanol that can keep your engine running, meaner, cleaner and longer.

The “Fuel Answerman” is offering up his services and is ready to answer technical fuel-related questions from diesel to ethanol and a current hot button issue: the voluntary transition to E15. In addition, his company is preparing to launch a new product after the first of the year to help counter the effect of ethanol fuels. It’s called STA-BIL Ethanol Performance Improver and Profetto says the product will aid in engine maintenance in several ways including the prevention of corrosion caused by ethanol blended fuels; help remove water from fuel; clean fuel injectors, carburetors and intake valves; and keep engines running smoothly for optimal performance.

Santa and his reindeer have a lot to navigate on Christmas Eve. But with the growth of solar panels on roof tops, Guelph Hydro Inc. has thought it best to send a brief note to Santa and his reindeer to advise them about how best to navigate the solar photovoltaic panels that are being installed on their roof.

Once the project is completed, the solar panels will generate 100 kilowatts of electricity that will be fed into the Ontario electricity grid. Guelph Hydro will receive payment for the electricity generated from the solar panels on a 20-year contract from the Ontario Power Authority under Ontario’s Green Energy Act Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program.

“Guelph Hydro is committed to developing cleaner energy sources in Guelph, so we felt it was important to lead by example and be one of the first organizations in the community to install a rooftop solar renewable energy system under Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff program,” says Barry Chuddy, Chief Executive Officer of Guelph Hydro. “Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative calls for the implementation of 1,000 solar roofs, some of which will be City properties which Guelph Hydro is leasing for solar photovoltaic installations.”

The company is actively involved in leasing other industrial, commercial and institutional rooftops in the community for solar panel installations. However, this particular project is being installed by AECON and consists of 60 arrays of photovoltaic modules manufactured by Canadian Solar Inc., the parent company of Canadian Solar Solutions Inc.

“Canadian Solar Solutions applauds Guelph Hydro for their continued commitment to being a municipal marketplace leader in sustainable energy,” said Milfred Hammerbacher, President, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. “We look forward to creating more solar photovoltaic (PV) solutions in Guelph and throughout Ontario to help as many Ontarians as possible become participants in renewable energy solutions like solar PV.”

This year alone, the Ontario Power Authority has reported that more than 1,000 contracts have been executed for photovoltaic installation in 2010. As such they caution the reindeer to be careful when landing Santa’s sleigh on Ontario roofs this Christmas. In the Guelph alone, there are 20 home with rooftop solar panels.

Guelph has told us that The North Pole has responded to their note saying they are delighted with the company’s efforts to be “good” and help curb climate change through their year-round energy conservation programs, their donation of energy-efficient LED holiday lights to the St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation’s Festival of Lights, and their rooftop solar installation.

“That’s the type of ‘green’ Christmas Santa likes to see!” says the note.

If Santa has a Droid, he can now easily find ethanol blended fuel for his Flex Fuel Vehicle sleigh on Christmas.

Just in time for holiday travel, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has announced the Flex-Fuel Station Locator application for Android phones designed especially to find E85 stations nationwide.

To develop this application, the RFA utilized the E85 station database hosted by the Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center and the U.S. Department of Energy. With this continuously updated data, the Flex-Fuel Station Locator application is able to locate more than 2,400 E85 fueling stations throughout the United States. The application is available at no cost from the Android Marketplace application store.

Similar to the Flex-Fuel Station Locator, the RFA has developed an E85 Point of Interest (POI) application for Garmin and TomTom GPS devices. Updated quarterly, these GPS applications accurately guide drivers to over 2,400 E85 fueling stations throughout the United States. Step-by-step downloading instructions are available here . There, consumers can download individual state data, a combination of states, or national data directly from their computer to the GPS device. The database for both TomTom and Garmin can be found at www.ChooseEthanol.com.

Find out more from RFA here.

Ecoterror has made it into mainstream fiction. OK, so its been there for a while but it made it into the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Jeffrey Deaver. (I know it’s a shocker, but I actually read for fun too). His latest book, the Burning Wire, focuses around an ecoterrorist who uses electricity from an East Coast utility company called Algonquin to kill people because he believes he is dying from leukemia caused from the electricity he works around each day.

Weaved throughout the book is the message of renewable energy. One of the sub-characters in the book, who is tasked with helping the crime scene investigators, is the genius from Algonquin who is tasked with working on renewable energy projects for the company. Ironically, the company’s CEO, Andi Jessen, is against renewable energy so while you read, you are unwittingly exposed the pros and cons of renewable energy or continuing down the path of the status quo.

In one scene of the book Jessen says, “Sure, the renewables will be growing but very, very slowly. For the next hundred years, they’ll be a drop in the bucket of juice, if I can quote myself.” The president was growing even angrier. “The start-up costs are obscene, the gadgets to create the juice are ridiculously expensive and unreliable, and since the generators’re usually located away from major load centers, transportation is another huge cost. Take solar farms. The wave of the future right? Do you know they’re one of the biggest users of water in the power business? And where are they located? Where there’s the most sun and therefore the least water.”

I have to give some kudos to Deaver and commend him on his research into the power grid. From what I’ve learned over the past year and how the smart grid is changing the game and how renewables are also changing the game, it seemed like Deaver really created some eerily real scenarios for murder by electricity. I just hope that people don’t take his “insights” into energy as “truths” and continue to explore the pros and cons of renewable energy outside of fiction.

He also has some amazingly in-depth characters. From his hero – the quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme whom some may remember from The Bone Collector – to his partner in the sense of both professional and personal Amanda Sachs, and all the supporting characters, he has created both a winning book as well as a winning series.

So if you’re looking for a last minute gift for the energy enthusiast, book loving friend or family member, definitely add this one to your gift list.

The City of Baltimore, Maryland will be testing biodiesel in its institutional boilers for the next year.

This article from BrighterEnergy.org says New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. will provide the 440,000 gallons of the green fuel for the test … the second phase of testing the company’s biodiesel in the city:

The Phase Two program will determine the long term operational impact of the renewable biofuel, it said.

“The emission-reduction capabilities of our biofuel have already been demonstrated in Phase 1 of the program and we look forward to demonstrating our fuel’s capabilities during this extended test burn,” added Mr Mahoney.

New Generation Biofuels makes its biodiesel from from recycled oils, animal fats or non-food feedstocks.

Butanol is not just for fuel. Today, TetraVitae Bioscience announced that it has successfully demonstrated its process to produce renewable n-butanol in a corn dry-mill pilot plant. The company says this is a major milestone for them in creating economically competitive renewable n-butanol for the coatings, plastics, personal care, and packaging industries.

“With this achievement, TetraVitae has shown that producing renewable n-butanol in a commercial scale corn dry-mill will be a reality very soon,” said Jay Kouba, CEO of TetraVitae. “Corn dry-mills offer the most direct, capital efficient, and low-cost route to large-scale production of renewable chemicals in North America. The industry has built a successful business based on fuel ethanol. TetraVitae is offering dry-mill operators a way to make higher value products using their existing capital base.”

For the demonstration phase, TetraVitae worked with The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) to retrofit NCERC’s fully integrated corn dry-mill pilot plant to operate using their technology. The technology performed and successfully produced n-butanol as well as acetone and distillers grains at a competitive cost.

Working with the University of Texas in Austin’s Separations Research Program, the pilot phase of the program also demonstrated product purification. TetraVitae took raw chemical products produced at NCERC and produced purified n-butanol and acetone in a continuous distillation that met all standard chemical industry specifications for solvents.

“n-Butanol and acetone are high value chemicals with many applications in the coatings, plastics, personal care, and packaging industries,” said Kouba. “TetraVitae is creating partnerships with companies across these value chains that will result in economically competitive renewable products that consumers use every day.”

The “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act” has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced the bill which would authorize the Department of Defense to continue its leading role in helping to commercialize next generation biofuels by extending the multi-year contracting authority for advanced biofuels from 5 years to 15 years. In his speech introducing the legislation, Inslee quote Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who recently commented that the Defense Department uses 300,000 barrels of oil every day. “”The energy use per soldier creeps up every year. And our number-one import into Afghanistan is fossil fuel.” Admiral Mullen understands how critical an energy supply is to a combat troop; but how safe are our troops if this oil comes from overseas? Our defense sector should adopt more sustainable fuels, which can be produced here in the United States; for the security of our troops.”

Brent Erickson with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) says the bill would help scale up advanced biofuel production in the United States. “Expanding the military’s ability to engage in long-term contracts could provide leading companies and potential investors the certainty they look for before committing capital to large-scale biofuel production,” said Erickson. “The Department of Energy, for instance, has been asking for long-term off-take agreements as an eligibility requirement for its loan guarantee program.”

Erickson notes that the Department of the Navy recently established goals to cut petroleum use in the commercial fleet in half by 2015 and ensure 50 percent of its total energy consumption comes from alternative sources by 2020. “In order to reach the Navy’s goal, there needs to be a dramatic scaling up of advanced biofuel production in the United States. Investment in environmentally responsible technologies lessens dependence on imported fossil fuels,” he said.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is far from over and but when it is, just what do you do with all that waste? In the case of the oil-soaked, plastic absorbent booms that floated in the Gulf of Mexico, they are ending up as parts for the Chevy Volt. This according to General Motors who is telling their story today during a radio media tour. GM estimates that they will save more than 100 miles of boom material off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts from landfills and create enough parts to supply the first production run that is now underway.

“Creative recycling is one extension of GM’s overall strategy to reduce its environmental impact,” said Mike Robinson, vice president of environment, energy and safety policy at GM. “We reuse and recycle material byproducts at our 76 landfill-free facilities every day. This is a good example of using this expertise and applying it to a greater magnitude.”

Heritage Environmental collected the boom material and then Mobile Fluid Recovery used a massive high-speed drum to spin the booms until they were dry. This process eliminated all the absorbed oil and wastewater. Then using its patented process, Lucent Polymers turned the booms into the physical state necessary for plastic die-mold production where finially, GDC converted it into auto parts. The components, which aid in vehicle air flow and water deflection, are typically comprised of post-consumer recycled plastics and other polymers, and recycled tires from GM’s Milford Proving Ground vehicle test facility. Now, 25 percent of the composition includes the boom material.

In case you’re wondering, who was the very first consumer owner of the Chevrolet Volt? Rick Henderson, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, has purchased the first Volt for $225,000. All proceeds from the online auction, which closed on Dec. 14, will benefit science, math, engineering, and technology education initiatives through the Detroit Public Schools Foundation.

A newly formed group of engine manufacturers is challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to grant a partial waiver approving the sale of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol (E-15) for 2007 model year and newer passenger cars and light trucks.

The Engine Products Group, made up of several automobile, marine and small engine manufacturing organizations, filed a petition today specifically challenging whether EPA’s “partial waiver” approval for E-15 fuels violates the federal Clean Air Act provisions.

“The partial waiver for E-15 sets a bad precedent of how to introduce a new fuel. This partial waiver would allow fuel to come on the market with inadequate testing, inadequate misfueling controls and without a dedicated legacy fuel for use in those products for which E-15 was not approved,” said Kris Kiser, Executive Vice President of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.

Growth Energy, the ethanol organization which filed for a waiver in March 2009 to allow up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline, disagrees with the engine manufacturers. “Concerns about misfueling are premature, as EPA is drafting a robust labeling rule and will conduct a vigorous public education campaign, and we are confident that the process will be successful,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis.

The Renewable Fuels Association noted that EPA could avoid potential market confusion by simply allowing the use of E15 for all cars and light duty pickup trucks. “The only way to meet the nation’s energy, economic and environmental goals as put forth in the Renewable Fuels Standard is to increase ethanol consumption. Allowing for the use of E15 blends is a safe and appropriate step toward meeting these goals. The RFA will continue to press for the safe and effective use of higher level ethanol blends in both conventional as well as flexible fuel vehicles.”

Petroleum marketers and fuel station owners are invited to attend an ethanol blending solutions webinar for the new year.

The Blend Your Own Ethanol Campaign is kicking off 2011 by helping retailers learn how blender pumps can be the answer to dealing with all the variables surrounding ethanol in the year ahead, including new infrastructure programs, new regulations, and the opportunity of a large expansion of the flex-fuel vehicle fleet.

The webinar, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), will be held on January 19, 2011 starting at 1:00 pm central time. More information about the webinar and how to register can be found at byoethanol.com.

Biodiesel from Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group is now flowing at a major Chicago area fuel terminal.

The company has announced that REG-9000/1 biodiesel is now available for convenient splash blending or truck-load pick-up at Kinder Morgan’s Argo, Illinois facility:

This new terminal location combines the quality of REG-9000 biodiesel, the industry experience of REG and the convenience of the Chicago terminal site. Multiple biodiesel pricing options are available for REG customers through the Kinder Morgan terminal. on Friday, Dec. 17, 2010. Petroleum distributors may pick up REG-9000TM biodiesel 24/7 at the terminal located at 8500 West 68th Street Argo, Illinois after setting up a Kinder Morgan account.

REG says it is making several pricing options available for customers.

President Obama held a public signing ceremony for the tax bill passed by Congress this week that delivers early Christmas presents for everyone. Among those in attendance at the signing were some 150 members of Congress, administration officials and key stakeholder and advocates who worked to pass the bill, including representatives from the ethanol industry.

Both Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis were in the audience at the bill signing. “The Obama Administration today reaffirmed its commitment to America’s ethanol industry,” said Dinneen in a statement. “Extending these tax incentives prevents America from backtracking on the gains it has made in energy security and jettisoning the economic opportunity domestic ethanol production has brought to hundreds of rural communities all across the nation.”

At the ceremony, Buis presented the President with a letter thanking him for his support on behalf of the American ethanol industry. “We write today to express our deep appreciation and thanks for your leadership in delivering a common-sense ethanol tax policy. This legislation provides the certainty we require as our nation transitions to the debate over reforming our long-term national energy policy,” the letter reads. “Every year, our addiction to foreign oil drains $1,000 for every man, woman and child out of our economy. That is money we should invest in Des Moines, not Abu Dhabi – Columbus, and not Caracas.”

The biodiesel industry was not represented at the signing, but they were no less enthusiastic in their praise and gratitude for the bill which retroactively renews the biodiesel tax credit that expired at the end of 2009. “Reinstatement of this proven incentive helps provide the policy framework needed to meet the nation’s renewable goals, and the NBB sincerely appreciates the bipartisan cooperation and support that made extension of this worthwhile incentive possible,” said Joe Jobe, National Biodiesel Board CEO.