Domestic Fuel

Duke Energy Renewables is the new owner of the 1-megawatt solar farm located on the grounds of Martins Creek Elementary School in Murphy, N.C. The 4,400 ground mounted photovoltaic (PV) module solar farm has the ability to generate 1.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year – enough to power nearly 150 average-sized homes. Duke purchased the project from ESA Renewables, who until now, operated the farm on behalf of Duke. ESA also developed and installed the solar farm.

The site began producing electricity in March, and all the energy is sold through Blue Ridge Mountain EMC to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as part of its Generation Partners program. The students are able to interact with the solar system through an interactive electronic display. It helps them track power production at the PV facility.

The solar farm is believed to be the only one of its kind located on school property in North Carolina and the third largest solar farm on school property in the states. The 10-year power purchase agreement with TVA is set up to allow the school to share in any revenue created by electric generation. They believe the revenue generated will equate to the cost of salary and benefits for two full-time teachers at the school.

The Martins Creek Solar Project is Duke Energy Renewables’ fourth commercial solar farm in North Carolina and fifth nationwide.

Italy is soon to be the home of one of the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol biorefineries. Yesterday, Mossi & Ghisolfi Group (M&G) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 13 million gallon per year plant located in northwestern Italy. The company believes its plant will be 10 times larger than the largest demonstration facilities in operation today and is scheduled to be fully operational in 2012. The technology will enable the facility to produce cellulosic ethanol from a variety of feedstocks. Novozymes will be supplying the enzymes for the plant. The plant will also use the lignin, a co-product as a result of the production process, to burn in an attached power plant. Any excess bioelectricity will be fed back to the grid.

“Laying the foundation for the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant here in Crescentino is an important milestone for us and at the same time a new beginning,” says Vittorio Ghisolfi, President of the M&G Group. “This plant proves cellulosic bioethanol can be produced in a sustainable manner for the environment and for the industry. But research is not stopping here. We are assessing bio-based substitutes for a range of other petrochemical products and chemical intermediates.”

The cellulosic ethanol will be produced from a variety of biomass-based feedstocks including wheat straw, corn stover or other energy crops. In the production process, the biomass is first broken down into a pulp. At this point, enzymes are added turning the biomass cellulose into sugar. From there, the sugar is fermented into ethanol. Novozymes has been working with M&G for several years to refine the enzyme portion of the process.

“Today’s groundbreaking is fantastic news and signals the dawn of a new green era,” says Poul Ruben Andersen, Marketing Director Bioenergy at Novozymes. “With this state-of-the-art facility, M&G proves there is a cure for the world’s addiction to fossil fuels. Biofuel made from lignocellulosic biomass is no longer a distant pipe-dream. The technology is ready and plants will be built and run on commercial scale, offering a compelling alternative to conventional gasoline.”

Members of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) are in Washington, DC this week for a board meeting and some face time with Congressional leaders to discuss key issues in the ethanol industry.

RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen (L), together with RFA chairman Chuck Woodside (center) of KAAPA Ethanol in Nebraska, were among those who met with Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE). “These are the men and women who are directly responsible for the production of U.S. ethanol, providing jobs and economic opportunity and an alternative fuel source to reduce our addiction to foreign oil,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “It is important that our members have the opportunity to discuss their concerns with their Congressional representatives on the critical issues that the ethanol industry is facing now and in the future.”

The top discussion topic on Capitol Hill for the ethanol industry is reform of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) in a way that continues to address market evolution and economics needs, together with expanding infrastructure investments and increasing efforts to encourage commercialization of second generation ethanol.

The U.S. Department of Agriulture has announced nearly $37 million in research grants to promote the production sustainable biodiesel and ethanol production.

This USDA press release says the money is designed to help the country meet the goal of 36 billion gallons of biofuels per year by 2022 and focuses on three areas: crop protection for sustainable feedstock production systems, enhanced value co-product development, and carbon sequestration and sustainable bioenergy production:

“USDA and President Obama are committed to producing clean energy right here at home, to not only break our dependence on foreign oil, but also boost rural economies,” said Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. “These projects will give us the scientific information needed to support biofuel production and create co-products that will enhance the overall value of a biobased economy. This will propel us to out-educate, out-innovate and out-build in the field of renewable energy and help America win the future.”

Some highlights include projects in California and Michigan that focus on biomass feedstocks and some South Dakota projects that design ecologically optimized feedstock production systems and develop biochar.

The full list of award winners is available here.

Just like their counterparts on land, some racing boats will now be making the move to ethanol blended fuel.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the National Boat Racing Association (NBRA) have announced that Hydroplane and Runabout racing boats will soon be speeding across the lakes of the Midwest on a blend of ten percent ethanol fuel (E10). The newly-formed partnership will provide all powered boats competing in the 2011 NBRA series event races with E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline).

“American boaters have been utilizing ethanol-blended fuel safely and effectively for years,” said Vernon Barfield, NBRA Spokesperson. “Ethanol-blended fuel provides the high-performance engines in this series with the horsepower and performance they need to win. We are excited to show that our racing boats are able to perform to their best capability using E10 fuel, shaking the myths that ethanol harms marine engines.”

Through the partnership of the RFA and NBRA, ethanol pride will be displayed at every race. To educate and inform consumers about the use of ethanol, Fan Packs of ethanol information will be give out to the first 200 attendees at each event with RFA’s “Fueled With Pride” logo displayed on uniforms, course buoys and flags, t-shirts sold at the races by NBRA, trophies presented at national events, near refueling areas of all boats, and on signs placed throughout the viewing area. Through the Ethanol Driver Contingency Program, cash awards will be given to those who promote their use of E10. It is important that America’s consumers are aware the benefits ethanol blended fuels and the positive impact this domestic made fuel has on our environment and our economy.

Find out more at ChooseEthanol.com.

More Ryder trucks in Southern California will be riding on natural gas.

This company press release says Ryder has ordered 202 heavy-duty natural gas trucks as part of an agreement with the San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG):

The heavy-duty natural gas truck rental and leasing project in Southern California is a $38.7 million project funded as part of a joint public/private industry partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, and Ryder. The project is expected to displace an estimated 1.5 million gallons of diesel fuel with 100 percent domestically produced natural gas. Ryder will begin taking delivery of the trucks in April and expects to integrate the full order into its fleet by September. Ryder has also begun work to upgrade the first of three existing maintenance facilities in its network to be properly equipped for the indoor servicing of natural gas vehicles and will soon commence construction of two natural gas fueling stations.

Ryder also announced that it will take part in the “NGVs Take the Hill” event this Wednesday, April 13, 2011, just down the street from the U.S. Capitol building. The event is designed to educate the public about the use of natural gas as a clean, viable alternative to foreign oil.

“Providing leadership to promote the use of natural gas in heavy-duty commercial fleets is a key initiative for Ryder,” stated Robert Sanchez, President, Global Fleet Management Solutions for Ryder. “Participation in this event underscores our commitment to bringing cost-effective, environmentally-sound commercial transportation solutions to market that help businesses reduce both fleet fuel costs and emissions.”

Instead of food versus fuel, this time it’s food working with (bio)fuel.

Illinois-based food distribution giant U.S. Foodservice has announced the acquisition of WVO Industries of Bluffton, S.C., a facility that turns used vegetable oil to fuel, and this article from The Packer.com says the company plans to use the biodiesel to fuel their food distro trucks at one of their divisions in South Carolina:

By late 2011 U.S. Foodservice officials hope to be converting 5 million pounds of waste oil into 400,000 gallons of bio feedstock annually. About 200,000 gallons would be used annually in fuel for the division’s trucks. The rest could be used for other divisions or as a supply source for outside companies.

“We expect to duplicate the success of the Columbia biodiesel operation at other U.S. Foodservice divisions to offer customers nationwide an opportunity to contribute to the sustainability of our environment by reducing dependence on petroleum and cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” said Michael Frank, vice president of operations excellence.

U.S. Foodservice officials say they will be using distinctively separate trucks for the waste oil collection, with no danger of the waste coming into contact with the company’s food.

In November 2009, U.S. Foodservice began running its 185 tractors and 210 trailers in Atlanta on B5, joining the company’s Streator, Ill., and Plymouth, Minn. divisions burning the green fuel.

The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) is calling on delegates to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) meeting in Rome to focus on the price of oil as the real driver behind rising food costs.

Last week while addressing the South American renewable fuels industry in Buenos Aires, GRFA spokesperson Bliss Baker presented data showing the direct link between the recent increase in crude oil prices and the UN FAO’s world food price index.

“There is very clear evidence that oil prices are continuing to have a disproportionate affect on the price of our food,” said Bliss Baker. The UNFAO’s Deputy Director, David Hallam confirmed this same finding in early March by saying that “unexpected oil price spikes could further exacerbate an already precarious situation in food markets.”

In January of this year the UN FAO’s global food price index hit an all time high which provoked angry responses from several other organizations concerned with food security. World Bank managing director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, “food prices are not only rising, but they are also volatile and will continue this way into the future.” The International Energy Agency called rising oil prices “dangerous” warning that high oil prices could threaten the stability of an already fragile recovering global economy.

Read more from GRFA

The use of biodiesel in generators and power units is getting a boost from a pilot program by Sprague Energy Corp. of White Plains NY and BIODICO, Inc (also known as Biodiesel Industries, Inc.).

The Biogenset (www.Biogenset.com) program is being partially funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and will be aided by the New York City and Lower Hudson Valley Clean Cities Communities:

Steven J. Levy, Managing Director of Sprague Energy and President of the New York City and Lower Hudson Valley Clean Cities stated the, “BioGenset is an opportunity to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gases, and create local jobs. We are looking for leaders in industry, government and academia to become involved.”

The project will help to clean up the air, promote energy security and local energy use, and provide local area employment. BioGenset is actively seeking diesel generator owners and operators to become involved. Participants may include private businesses, maintenance contractors, schools, hospitals, municipalities, utilities, and public buildings.

The potential for this project is big. BIODICO officials point out that the state of New York uses one-fifth of all the petroleum distillate used in the U.S. and nearly a billion gallons of diesel a year. Nationwide, about half of all the petroleum diesel used goes to electrical generators and boilers.

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers can now charge their EV’s while they are shopping. Simon Property Group, a developer of retail real estate, has become one of the first retail developers to offer EV charging stations at its properties. Shoppers at Simon’s Florida Mall in Orlando are the first recipients of the EV chargers – the installation was recently completed and the ‘Level 2′ charger has the ability to “top off” or partially charge a battery between 60 to 120 minutes. On the West Coast, shoppers frequenting the Standford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA will be able to charge up their cars by the end of this month. In both locations, shoppers will be able to “pull up and plug in” and after an introductory period a small fee structure will be determined.

“We believe that a well-developed EV charging infrastructure is going to be key to the success of EVs,” said George Caraghiaur, Simon Property Group’s senior vice president of energy and procurement. “Meeting the needs of the first-to-market drivers of electric vehicles in the communities we serve is yet another example of our commitment to sustainability.”

Simon is working with two companies during this initial rollout: Car Charging, Inc. installed the unit at Florida Mall and 350Green will install the charging units at Stanford Shopping Center.

Michael D. Farkas, CEO of Car Charging Group, Inc., said of the completion of the project, “Our collaboration with Simon Property Group is a prime example of our national growth strategy. By partnering with premier national property management companies for installations, we are able to rapidly deploy a nationwide roll out of a robust network of convenient charging stations. We are happy to have brought this amenity to customers at Florida Mall and look forward to bringing it to additional Simon Property Group locations across the nation.”

350Green is quickly becoming a national leader in installing EV charging stations, and the company’s founder and CEO, Mariana Gerzanych said her company is thrilled to be working on the project and expects many more charging stations to arrive in the Bay Area soon. “The goal is to make EV charging convenient and accessible to anyone who owns an EV – regardless of whether or not they have a charging station at their home or office.”

EV industry experts predict there will be approximately 1 million EVs on U.S. roads by 2015. Some believe there could be as many as 27 million, or 10 percent of all the cars on the road, by 2020.

The propane industry is speaking out against a new bill introduced by backers of the Pickens Plan (aka T. Boone Pickens). The New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (NAT GAS Act) would provide federal incentives for natural gas while excluding all other types of renewable energy. Supporters of propane autogas are upset and calling for federal legislators to stop cherry picking who will be the winners and losers in the alt energy race.

“If Boone and his team of lobbyists were serious about American energy security, they would include other American-made alternative fuels like propane autogas in their push for incentives,” said Autogas for America founder Stuart Weidie. “Natural gas is an abundant natural resource, but it’s not our only clean-burning alternative to gasoline and diesel. The NAT GAS Act doesn’t give Americans solutions; it crowns a single solution as the victor.”

According to Autogas for America, 90 percent of the propane autogas is produced in America. Of this percent, 60 percent is generated from domestic natural gas refining. The organization also says propane autogas is less expensive than gasoline or diesel. Customized fleets that are operating with the fuel, on average, see more than $1.00 per gallon savings as compared to their previous fuel.

Weide continued, “Our legislature should not manipulate the market by giving a special interest advantage to one solution. They should recognize that taxpayers want multiple clean-fuel options to reduce harmful emissions and replace oil imports with affordable, American-made energy. The NAT GAS Act is an example of legislative cherry picking, the kind of legislation that skews the natural selection process that otherwise enables innovation in a free market economy.”

ROUSH CleanTech, one of the companies that have deployed auto technologies to convert fleet vehicles to run on autogas is ready to support President Obama’s energy goals, but is also frustrated with the introduction of the NAT Gas Act.

“An important, strong national energy policy was outlined by President Obama and Secretary Chu last week that will dramatically increase the adoption of fleet vehicles powered by domestically produced alternative fuels,” said Joe Thompson, president of ROUSH CleanTech. “While we are supportive of all alternative fuels, we won’t be as successful in achieving the President’s vision if each industry introduces legislation that plays to their own agenda, like we saw with the introduction of the NATGAS Act.  Wouldn’t we find the most success with one piece of legislation supporting all domestically produced alternative fuels?”

Several announcements were made last week surrounding the “greening” of fleets. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a streamlined certification process for aftermarket alternative fuel conversion systems that make it easier for companies to offer alternative fuel conversions for a broad range of vehicle makes and models. Also last week, the Department of Energy together with the White House announced the National Clean Fleets Partnership. This program highlights the need for fleets to adopt “advanced technology vehicles or ones that use alternative fuels, such as electricity, natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, or propane.”

More and more companies are moving to powering their manufacturing facilities and company headquarters with renewable energy. This week the EPA announced its Top 20 On-Site Generation List. This is a list of the organizations that are using the most on-site green power to energize their operations. The list is part of the Green Power Partnership. The winner was Kimberly Clark Organization who generates 7 percent of its electricity from biomass. Several cities in California made the top 20 including San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. Also on the list: Wal-Mart and the U.S. Air Force.

Also on the list at number 18 was Zotos, a hair care brand. According to the EPA’s site, nearly 60 percent of the company’s electricity is generated from on-site wind energy. The reason Zotos stands out is while most companies purchase renewable power from electricity companies, they actually generated their power from wind turbines located right on their campus. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the Zotos Wind Project is considered one of the top on-site wind projects currently being undertaken by a manufacturing company in the United States.

“It was a  sizable investment to purchase the wind turbines, but it was a small price to pay when compared to the major benefits it creates for the community of Geneva, NY, and our environment,” says Anthony Perdigao, Zotos Chief Sustainability Officer.

With approximately 6.5 million kWh of electricity produced annually, the Zotos wind turbines will provide more than 50 percent of organization’s energy requirements and are expected to reduce overall CO2 emissions by 50 percent in 2011. Zotos’ energy goal is to utilize 100 percent renewable energy by 2012.

USDA’s new supply and demand report makes a subtle, but significant, change in the way it reports corn use for ethanol, acknowledging for the first time the livestock feed produced as a by-product of ethanol.

Instead of calling the usage category “ethanol for fuel” USDA has changed the wording to “ethanol & byproducts,” with a footnote reading “Corn used to produce ethanol and by-products including distillers’ grains, corn gluten feed, corn gluten meal, and corn oil.”

The Renewable Fuels Association said the change provides a better accounting for the fact that corn processed by ethanol facilities results in the production of both ethanol and animal feed. Historically, USDA has reported only the gross usage of corn for ethanol, implying that the ethanol process uses the entire bushel of corn for fuel production. “This has led to inflated claims that the ethanol industry is using “nearly 40%” of the 2010/11 corn supply, (but) when the production of animal feed co-products is taken into account, only 23% of the 2010/11 U.S. corn supply and 3% of the global grain supply is truly being used for fuel production.”

RFA notes that ethanol co-products have become a substantial component of the global feed market. “In 2010/11, the ethanol industry is expected to produce more than 39 million metric tons of animal feed, enough to produce 50 billion quarter-pound hamburgers—or seven patties for every person on the planet.”

During a press briefing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a USDA program will provide funding for installation of ethanol blender pumps to provide Americans with flexible fuel vehicle with more choices when they fill up. “This announcement is going to help expand the national biofuels industry and create jobs across the country,” said Vilsack.

USDA is issuing a rule to clarify that the definition of renewable energy systems in the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) includes flexible fuel pumps, sometimes referred to as “blender pumps.” This clarification is intended to provide fuel station owners with incentives to install flexible fuel pumps that will offer Americans more renewable energy options. The Obama administration has set a goal of installing 10,000 flexible fuel pumps nationwide within 5 years.

“Flex-fuel pumps will give Americans a choice to purchase domestically produced renewable transportation fuels,” Vilsack said. “USDA’s energy programs are helping to build a clean energy economy, while creating green jobs here at home and making our nation more energy secure in the long-term.”

“Today there are more than eight million flex-fuel vehicles, cars and trucks that can run on a mixture of gas and up to 85 percent ethanol,” Vilsack said. “There are over 110,000 gas stations in the country today, but only 2300 of them provide E85 pumping and distribution systems.”

Vilsack was supposed to make the announcement from Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a flexible fuel pump manufacturing plant in Greensboro, North Carolina, but “given the discussions taking place in the nation’s capitol” with the potential for a government shutdown, Vilsack felt it was more important to stay in Washington. He did have a conversation with company officials about their ability to respond to increased demand for installation of new blender pumps.

Gilbarco, together with Dresser Wayne, are the two largest manufacturers of fuel dispensers in the U.S that offer blender pumps built to dispense a variety of ethanol fuel formulations.

Listen to or download Vilsack’s comments here: Secy Vilsack on Blender Pump Funding

The USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) released this morning that shows corn ending stocks unchanged despite a 50 million bushel increase in corn use for ethanol also shows a gain in global grain stocks.

According to the report, global coarse grain supplies for 2010/11 are projected 6.3 million tons higher this month with a 1.8-million-ton increase in beginning stocks and a 4.5-million-ton increase in production.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) VP of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper says the report should ease some of the tension in the world corn market. “While stocks are still relatively tight, today’s report shows that the corn supply picture is not quite as bad as some were expecting. Corn stocks—both in the U.S. and globally—are a little more robust than the market was anticipating,” commented Cooper.

RFA CEO and President Bob Dinneen notes that global corn production is looking stronger than many were expecting. “In particular, production in South America and Africa has been robust. Farmers in countries like Uganda are responding to higher world prices by increasing production through the use of better technology and improved farming practices. Higher prices are allowing farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions to participate in the world market and likely many of them are earning a profit on their crops for the first time in years,” he said.

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the strong production in South America and elsewhere around the globe are disproving fears of food shortages. “Fear in the market that the carryout number would go down didn’t come to fruition,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. “Now there is still a lot of volatility in the market, based on rumors of increasing sales to China, excessive speculation and profiteering in the commodities market,” said Buis. “But this newest USDA report proves what we’ve been saying all along, which is that the productivity of American farmers and farmers worldwide will meet the challenge to provide more than enough corn to meet demand. American farmers are expected to produce the largest crop ever this year.”

Domestically, USDA left the estimate for the 2010-11 U.S. corn carry-out unchanged at 675 million bushels. The trade was expecting carry-out to be lowered to 595 million bushels (to reflect lower-than-expected March 1 stocks number). Some analysts were expecting a drop to as low as 515 million bushels.