Domestic Fuel

Envision Solar International (EVSI), has completed the installation of a second Solar Tree array for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at their Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility (VTIF). Envision Solar completed the installation of the Solar Tree array for NREL four and a half days after the components arrived at the site on a single truck. The company says its Drag and Drop capability meant limited disruption at the site and the ability to use the product right away, which was very appealing to NREL.

“I’m proud that we have been chosen again by NREL. They are delighted the Solar Tree deployment went so quickly and without any typical construction problems,” said Desmond Wheatley, Chief Executive Officer, Envision Solar. “Our drag and drop infrastructure is comprised of engineered modules which enable us to deliver beautiful and complex structures, made simple and risk free for our customers. That’s how we minimize installation time and impact to their property.”

“The addition of this Made in America 18kW solar canopy incorporating EnvisionTrak and EV Charging supports NREL’s R&D mission to integrate electric vehicles and grid systems for enhanced value,” added Tony Markel, Senior Engineer, NREL. System benefits of the new tree were maximized by integrating the most efficient SunPower E20 solar panels and a compact transformerless bi-polar inverter from Ideal Power Converters.

The Solar Tree structure is designed to withstand 120mph winds and six feet of snow simultaneously; it is the most robust Solar Tree structure Envision Solar has designed to date.

• The Cadmus Group has launched a new Sustainable Transportation Practice, to be led by Damon Fordham. The practice will provide full-service research, policy analysis, technology assessment, communications/outreach, modeling, and tool development. Current projects include analysis of the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles, support for Context Sensitive Solutions, assessment of energy efficiency technologies, enhancement of aviation environmental models, and research into the costs of extreme weather events.
• @NCSolar Center has awarded a sub award grant to the City of Rocky Mount, NC, through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Blue Skies Green Jobs Initiative, a $12,000,000 bi-state project led by Triangle J Council of Governments. The funding covered over 90 percent of the costs for a new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Refueling Station, and the cost differential between CNG powered refuse trucks and diesel powered trucks.
• Royal DSM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a strategic partnership with Rostekhnologii (Rostec), a Russian State Corporation, in the fields of biotechnology and functional materials. Under the terms of the MOU, DSM and Rostec will explore a potential cooperation in the field of conversion of cellulosic biomass from forestry and agriculture to fermentable sugars for the production of biofuels and/or biobased chemicals as well as the manufacturing of bio-based products such as bioethanol, biogas and organic acids from sugars derived from cellulosic biomass.
• Salt River Project and SunPower Corp. have dedicated a one-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant at Arizona State University‘s (ASU) Polytechnic campus in Mesa, Ariz. The facility is the first commercial deployment of the SunPower C7 Tracker technology, a solar photovoltaic tracking system that concentrates the sun’s power seven times to achieve one of the lowest levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) for solar power plants available today.
• CleanFUEL USA commemorated 20 years of company history by launching several new propane autogas products at the 2013 National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Southeastern Convention and International Propane Expo. Two new autogas dispenser offerings included the redesigned CFT PRO 2200 that features an expanded cabinet for easier installation and service and the Gasboy Autogas Dispenser.

Camp Pendleton has increased its commitment to renewable energy with the addition of two more solar power systems at Edson Range and Chappo Dining facilities. The 221 kilowatt and 125 kilowatt systems, respectively, installed by local firm Sullivan Solar Power should save the military base hundreds of thousands of dollars’ in electricity costs over the life time of the system. In conjunction with the economic advantages, the array will also provide a significant environmental impact by eliminating 13 million pounds of CO2 emissions over the warranty period of the solar panels.

“Camp Pendleton should be recognized as a leader in utilizing renewable energy opportunities. Between this solar installation and those completed within the last year, it’s obvious that the base is committed to developing a renewable future for coming generations,” said Daniel Sullivan, Founder and President of Sullivan Solar Power. “It’s reassuring to know that the military recognizes the value of solar energy.”

According to Sullivan Solar Power, the installation has been a boost for the local and national economy creating six new prevailing-wage jobs within the company. The installation firm employs International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) state certified electricians as their photovoltaic installers. Furthermore, the installation utilized only American-made products. The military base’s newly sustainable dining facilities are powered by 1,666 American-made Sharp 240-watt solar modules.

• Blue Sphere Corp. has signed a purchase agreement for a suitable property for its 3.2 MW waste-to-energy plant in Rhode Island.
• @ReneSola Ltd has been contracted to provide 7,200 of its 250-watt high-efficiency polycrystalline solar PV modules for a solar project to be built by S&C Electric Company, a Chicago-based provider of equipment and services for electric power systems, in Roswell, New Mexico this year.
• ROUSH CleanTech is taking orders for its propane autogas powered Ford F-650 chassis cab fuel system aimed at fleets. Production will begin in October.
• The European Parliament has voted against repairing the collapsing carbon market according to Rémi Gruet, Senior Climate Advisor of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) in Brussels. Given the failure of the European Parliament to support an effective carbon price, @EWEA urges the EU to urgently negotiate a way forward on backloading and for the European Commission to propose a long-term solution to create an effective carbon market.
• There is only one week left to nominate an individual or organization for a Green Power Leadership Award. The nomination period has been extended one week to Monday, April 22, 2013. Sponsored by Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) and the U.S. EPA, the Green Power Leadership Awards are competitive awards that recognize outstanding commitments and achievements in the green power marketplace.

According to a new report by @GlobalDataEnergy, #bioethanol is the car fuel of the future. The report, “#Cellulosic Ethanol – Global Production, Major Trends, Regulations, and Key Country Analysis to 2020,” finds that #ethanol is the most widely acclaimed alternative or additive for gasoline used for running vehicles. In addition, the U.S. ranked number one in biofuel production using natural waste feedstocks. According to the latest report, the U.S. is the global leader in cellulosic ethanol production, manufacturing 5.42 million gallons in 2012.

Bioethanol is produced through the fermentation of cellulosic feedstock such as forest and agricultural waste. The reports finds that the U.S. has an abundance of biomass feedstock, and dedicated energy crops such as #switchgrass and #miscanthus that are grown exclusively for conversion into cellulosic ethanol to help the nation’s ambition to meet fuel needs while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The U.S. is the only country currently working to promote the cellulosic ethanol market, says the report, with the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) providing grants to help companies establish a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. As a result, several companies have set up pilot and demonstration plants and a few commercial plants are expected to be commissioned in late 2013. The report also finds that the U.S. have also mandated the addition of 10% ethanol in gasoline fuel, setting steady domestic demand for the industry, while certain recently released cars are able to run on a 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline mix.

The report finds corn stover and wheat straw are among the most freely available types of feedstock used in countries producing cellulosic ethanol, and growing ethanol demand may see these nations utilizing the residue of their corn crop for ethanol production, creating a sizable market for agricultural waste. GlobalData expects that the growing feedstock demand will create a structured market, in which biomass feedstock prices will be set based on their ethanol yield and the prevailing trading price of ethanol.

Some EU countries such as France and Italy have cellulosic ethanol production infrastructure, but a limited supply of biomass feedstock. Growth of commercial production in these countries may fuel the need to import feedstock from nearby countries or expand production to other countries with ample feedstock availability. A few producers with upcoming commercial scale plants in the U.S. have already started signing agreements to procure agricultural residue and other kinds of cellulosic feedstock.

Global cellulosic ethanol is expected to increase from 14.25m gallons in 2012 to 412.25m gallons in 2020, with commercial production anticipated to take off on a large scale in late 2013 and 2014, thanks to major players adding substantial production capacity and new companies joining the market. The report finds that the U.S. is expected to retain its market dominance until 2020.

Today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released their Tracking Clean Energy Progress report in New Delhi that details the increased role that biofuels will need to play in reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) as part of their Climate Change Scenario by 2020. The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) applauded this finding, stating that biofuels are already significantly reducing global GHG emissions.

According to the report, globally, the world is not on track to meet the IEA’s goal of holding global climate change to a 2°C rise by 2020. According to the IEA’s Energy Sector Carbon Intensity Index (ESCII) average CO2 emissions have only improved by 0.02 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of oil equivalent in the last 20 years. In order to reach the 2020 target the IEA recommended that annual biofuels production needs to more than double and advanced biofuels capacity must increase six-fold.

“Biofuels are the only real viable option available today to reduce emissions in the transportation sector,” said Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the GRFA. “We agree with the IEA that biofuels offer real GHG emissions reductions today and that we must increase biofuel usage if we want to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

In order to facilitate this major scale up in global biofuels production, the IEA released some specific recommendations for governments in their report:

• Lessen the risks for early investors through mechanisms such as loan guarantees, guaranteed premiums for advanced biofuels, or direct financial support for first-of-a-kind investments.
• Targeted policy support for advanced biofuels is required to ensure large-scale deployment.
• Monitor sustainability in feedstock production.

“Frankly, the GRFA is not surprised by these findings, despite the commitments from world leaders we are clearly struggling to reduce emissions in the transportation sector,” concluded Baker.

LS9 has announced plans to expand its operations at their Okeechobee, Florida demonstration facility with a successful customer trial. The Florida facility was initially designed, and has been used, to scale-up LS9′s fermentation technology and generate large commercial samples for testing and product qualification by key partners and prospective customers. Since the company’s initial run at 135,000 liter scale in the third quarter of last year, LS9 has made several additional fatty alcohol runs of this size as well as smaller production runs of fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel).

In addition, LS9 has successfully completed a pilot production run at its Florida plant for another advanced bioproducts company, Cobalt Technologies. According to LS9, fermentation scale-up is an expensive proposition and requires the proper facilities and expertise to make an effective run. The need to run trials is also intermittent so it is not cost-effective for many companies in the industry to make the investment in a larger plant.

LS9 says its Florida demonstration plant was designed to manage a multitude of processes, and with this successful customer run, they have proven they can leverage their state-of-the-art facility and the expertise of its operations staff to work with partners to commercialize renewable products. Given the success of the initial production run, says LS9, Cobalt is considering future work at LS9′s Florida facility.

“The capability to transition from the lab to 135,000 liter scale is a key milestone on our road to commercial success, and we know we are not alone in this requirement,” said Tjerk de Ruiter, President and Chief Executive Officer of LS9. “Our ability to support other companies’ technology scale-up activities is not only an example of the flexibility and the capabilities of our team, it is also an excellent example of how, as an industry, we can work together to make a renewable future a reality. This new revenue source, together with a recent $6 million investment from our current investors, positions LS9 to enter into new partnerships with our technology and advance our own products.”

Indiana University Bloomington has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 43 percent last year from the previous year and has now cut its direct emissions by more than half in the past two years, according to campus officials. The major reduction in GHG emissions over the past two years reflects a concerted shift from coal to natural gas usage at the campus’s Central Heating Plant according to Mike Jenson, director of IU’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety Management. The campus has already exceeded a goal set forth in IU Bloomington’s 2010 Campus Master Plan, which called for a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

“This is a very positive step — perhaps the most significant step the campus has taken so far — toward carbon neutrality,” said Mike Jenson, director of IU’s Office of Environmental, Health and Safety Management.

The Campus Master Plan, spanning several years, established a goal to build “fuel flexibility” into the boiler system, ensuring the campus could take advantage of falling natural gas prices to dramatically cut its carbon footprint. “In recent years, there has been a strong dedication among our utilities group toward reducing our emissions and increasing our energy efficiency as much as possible, so when there were changes in the marketplace, we were in a position to shift more and more resources to natural gas,” said Jenson.

“Still, we were surprised by the magnitude of our reduction,” he added. “Because we were burning so much more natural gas than ever before, we knew it was going to drop, but we didn’t expect it to drop that much.” The campus power plant now uses 95 percent natural gas and only 5 percent coal. Among the next steps for the campus is increasing its focus on energy efficiency in its buildings and facilities.

In December, IU trustees approved a new Integrated Energy Master Plan for the IU Bloomington campus that provides detailed guidelines for reducing campus energy use and cutting carbon emissions while maintaining sound economic rationales for conservation-related improvements. The plan benchmarks energy consumption by campus buildings and addresses the current and future effectiveness of the Central Heating Plant, Central Cooling Plant and utility distribution systems for electricity, chilled water, and steam and condensate.

Shell and TravelCenters of America LLC have finalized an agreement to develop a U.S. nationwide network of liquefied natural gas (#LNG) fueling centers for heavy-duty road transport customers. The plan is to construct at least two LNG fueling lanes and a storage facility at up to 100 existing TA and Petro Stopping Centers branded full service travel centers along the U.S. interstate highway system, in a phased approach.

The two companies anticipate the first of LNG stations to open by the end of this year, with a priority to develop main trucking corridors to provide the potential for the first-ever coast-to-coast LNG-fueled commercial transport network.

“Shell is investing now in the infrastructure that will bring this innovative, cost-competitive and environmentally beneficial fuel to our customers,” said Elen Phillips, Vice President, Shell Fuels Sales & Marketing Americas. “We are leveraging our strength as an integrated company to produce, liquefy, distribute and commercialize natural gas in transport – and TravelCenters of America is the ideal partner to help us bring this vision to life.”

Demand for innovative fuels, like LNG, from commercial customers is growing due to the wide range of benefits for trucking fleet operators says Shell. These benefits can include lower fuel costs, the potential to reduce emissions as well as reduce noise levels in certain engines.

“We see great potential for LNG as a fuel option among our range of quality fuels, due to the sheer abundance and affordability of domestic natural gas in North America,” added Phillips.

• #EcoEngineer’s RIN QAP WEBINAR recording is now available. The free webinar covered QAP and A and B programs as well as the NPRM. Answers to questions asked during and after the webinar will be posted on their website.
• @SunPower Corp. has begun construction on two solar power projects for Yolo County in Calif. The projects are expected to generate 5.8 megawatts of emission-free solar power for county facilities, worth an estimated $1.5 million in electricity costs the first year of operation.
• #Versalis and #Genomatica announced the signing of a definitive joint development and licensing agreement establishing a technology joint venture for bio-based butadiene. The two companies will work together to develop a complete ‘end-to-end’ process for the on-purpose production of butadiene from non-food biomass.
• Solectria Renewables @SolectriaRen is offering a webinar, “Single-Phase Inverters for your PV System,” on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 2:00 pm EST. The webinar will walk through the company’s single-phase PVI 1800 through PVI 7500 inverters including: installation details, string sizing, AC/DC connections, wiring needs, data monitoring, available options and how to use the inverters in parallel for PV installations ranging from 1.8kW through 15kW.
• SEI – Solar Energy International @solarenergyintl has announced April 22nd Earth Day Solar PV training events. For Earth Day 2013, SEI will be offering some of their most popular training sessions both online and in-person in support of their non-profit mission of renewable energy education for a more sustainable future.

Earth Day is around the corner and 75 Olympic medalists, including White House “Champion of Change” awardee and pro snowborder Jeremy Jones, along with other winter sport athletes are urging President Obama to take action on climate change and clean energy and delivering the message that “winter is in trouble.” The athletes signed a letter to Obama and delivered it in tandem with the “Champion of Change” ceremony honoring ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”

“Without a doubt, winter is in trouble,” the letter states. “… at risk are the economies of tourist-dependent states where winter tourism generates $12.2 billion in revenue annually, supports 212,000 jobs and $7 billion in salaries. Those are the jobs and businesses owned by our friends and families, generators of billions in federal and state income.”

Jones was recognized for his contribution to raising awareness about the impact of climate change on the winter sports industry by creating “Protect Our Winters,” a foundation established in 2007 to unite and mobilize the global winter sports community against climate change.

“This nomination is an absolute honor for me and the work we’re doing at POW. But it’s now my responsibility to take this recognition and help secure a place in the climate discussions in Washington,” said Jones. “The letter that’s been enthusiastically signed by so many amazing athletes is a strong showing of solidarity from the leaders in snow sports on climate action, so together, we have to keep that momentum going.”

The letter to the president references a December 2012 report published by #ProtectOurWinters and the @NRCS (Natural Resources Defense Council) highlighting the economic impact of inconsistent winters on the U.S. snow sports community and tourism-dependent states. It calls for Obama to follow through on the promise he made in the State of the Union address to fight climate change. The athletes say he can do so by using executive authority currently available to reduce carbon pollution emitted by America’s power plants, the largest source of carbon pollution worsening climate change, and by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, which would add millions of tons of new carbon pollution to the atmosphere.

“Mr. President, it’s time to force our transition to clean energy, and we need your leadership,” the letter states. “…on behalf of 23 million of us who love winter and depend on it for our economic livelihoods, please take the action on climate change you have promised.”

Fuels America has released a new video highlighting the truth behind high gas prices and how renewable fuels can help. Many studies, including a report from the American Security Project, have shown that the country can’t drill its way out of high gas prices and vulnerability to global oil markets. In addition, recent International Energy Agency (IEA) data shows drilling will still leave us with oil that costs upwards of $215 per barrel.

Other studies have shown that renewable fuel lowers gas prices by an average of $1.09 per gallon in 2011, reducing the average American’s gas bill by more than $1,200 per year.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today congratulated the Iowa Senate for voting unanimously to pass Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 5 (SCR 5) that  urges the United States government to continue its commitment to energy independence and maintain its support of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

SCR 5, in part, states: “The United States government is urged to renew its commitment to this nation’s energy security, move the United States toward greater energy independence and security as required by the federal Energy Independence and Security Act, and use all efforts to meet the highest possible renewable fuel volume requirements set forth in RFS2 in order to ensure that this nation achieves energy independence.”

“I commend the Iowa Senate for showing solidarity with the Iowa Congressional delegation by urging the federal government to stand behind the federal RFS, our nation’s most successful energy policy,” stated IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “The RFS forms the bedrock of Iowa’s economic resilience – creating good-paying Iowa jobs, boosting Iowa’s farm income, and reducing prices at the pump for Iowa consumers.  The RFS is vital to Iowa’s economic future and IRFA will oppose any effort to undermine it.”

Randy Olson, CEO of the Iowa Biodiesel Board said of the bill, “The legislature’s resolution makes clear our state’s commitment to renewable fuels like biodiesel, and shows backbone to the few but vocal opponents of the RFS-2. It is gratifying to see continued support from our state’s leaders, who recognize the RFS and federal tax incentive for biodiesel as smart energy policy living up to their promise.  On behalf of the biodiesel industry in Iowa, we thank the state legislature for standing up for biodiesel.  It’s not only in our state’s best interest, but also our nation’s, and we’re proud to see Iowa once again at the forefront of leadership in this important industry.”

The bill passed by a vote of 50-0 and now goes to the Iowa House for consideration.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) have extended their support for the truSolar Working Group’s efforts to develop uniform open source risk scoring standards and rating criteria for solar projects. These standards would facilitate lower transaction and capital costs and improve project finance liquidity within the commercial and industrial solar segment.

“truSolar represents a valuable opportunity to create a common approach to characterizing solar project benefits and risks and more precise alignment on pricing of project capital,” said NREL Senior Financial Analyst Michael Mendelsohn.

Roger Hill, principal member of technical staff at Sandia, added, “This initiative could potentially lower transaction costs, and improve access to financial capital critical to solar project deployment. We will be examining the risks inherent in projects to sharpen our analytical tools for criteria and assessment in technical areas including yield and reliability.”

The truSolar Working Group was established on January 14, 2013 as a collaborative consortium of 16 solar industry market leaders dedicated to addressing a broad array of project risks through the development of uniform standards. The founding members of truSolar, led by Distributed Sun and DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, are among the leaders in solar project asset management, development, financing, manufacturing, insurance and ratings agencies. Founding member companies include ABB, Assurant, Inc., Mosaic, PanelClaw, SMA America, Standard & Poor’s, Booz Allen Hamilton, and the Rocky Mountain Institute.

“On behalf of our founding members, we are pleased to welcome the National Labs to our initiative,” said Chase Weir, chief executive officer – Distributed Sun a member of the consortium. “We are excited about the opportunity to work closely with the National Labs, and the SAPC initiative currently led by NREL, to develop comprehensive, complementary solutions for the solar industry, by the industry.”

A new technology has been released for the offshore wind turbine industry. According to DNV who developed the software, it includes dynamic simulations, advanced fatigue calculation and code check in one analysis package. The module is powered by FEDEM Windpower and is integrated with Sesam. Sesam Wind Coupled Analysis powered by FEDEM Windpower has capabilities ranging from the purely mechanical aspects of a wind turbine to customizable control systems and detailed wind and wave load simulations. The company says its software will increase efficiency and save cost.

“It saves costs by optimisation of wind turbine design and work processes, says Svein Gjølmesli, Fedem Technology’s software manager. He notes that this software is a complete solution for wind turbine design, strength and fatigue analysis.

“The demand for renewable energy is growing rapidly and offshore wind is a significant part of renewable energy sources. Offshore wind installations are facing the same structural integrity challenges as traditional offshore engineering with structural design, hydrodynamic loads, global stresses and fatigue,” said Are Føllesdal Tjønn, Managing Director at DNV Software.

Tjønn concluded, “In addition there are challenges with loads generated from the turbine itself and turbine rotor blades. As offshore wind is moving into deeper waters, engineering of offshore wind installations will take full benefit of Sesam, whether the installation is based on fixed structures, floating structures, shallow waters or deeper waters. With its leading position within offshore engineering, the offshore wind segment is a natural part of the Sesam strategy going forward.”