Domestic Fuel

French energy company Total and California-based renewable products firm Amyris have announced a joint venture to develop, produce and commercialize a range of renewable fuels and products.

The two companies agreed to expand their ongoing research and development collaboration to accelerate the deployment of Biofene® and develop renewable diesel based on this molecule produced from plant sugars. The program launched in 2010 aims to develop the necessary stages to bring the next generation renewable fuels to market at commercial scale. Total has committed to contribute $105 million in funding for an existing $180 million program.

The 50-50 joint venture company formed between Amyris and Total will have exclusive rights to produce and market renewable diesel and jet fuel worldwide, as well as non-exclusive rights to other renewable products such as drilling fluids, solvents, polymers and specific biolubricants. The venture aims to begin operations in the first quarter of 2012.

Read more from Total press release.

A larger trade show at a new venue will highlight the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA).  The Summit will be Tues., Jan. 24, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. The event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required and online registration is now open.

Four star General Paul J. Kern (U.S. Army Ret.) will headline the Summit, addressing the dangers of foreign oil dependence to U.S. military operations. General Kern served in numerous positions during his prestigious 37-year career. He led the 24th Infantry Division’s attack into Iraq in 1991, served two tours of duty in Vietnam and is the recipient of three Purple Hearts. General Kern currently serves as the Chairman of the CNA Military Advisory Board.

The Summit also will feature information on the national outlook for biodiesel, the newest ethanol blend – E15, and the balance between ethanol and livestock production.

Find more details and additional links and information, visit the summit website.

The California Biodiesel Alliance has announced the agenda for the first annual statewide conference on Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel.

The conference will be held on January 16th, 2012 in downtown San Francisco as part of BBI International’s Pacific West Biomass Conference to be held January 16-18 at the Marriott Marquis. Topics on the agenda include panel discussions on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, biodiesel feedstocks, federal and state regulations, fuel quality and new production technologies.

More information about the conference can be found on-line.

According to the latest government figures, U.S. biodiesel production has already set a new record this year.

National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is proud to report that the industry has produced more than 802 million gallons of biodiesel in plants from Florida to Iowa to Washington state, more than doubling last year’s production of about 315 million gallons and breaking the previous record of about 690 million gallons set in 2009.

The main reason for the increased production is reinstatement of the federal tax incentive for biodiesel, which is once again due to expire at the end of this year without congressional action. Without the incentive last year, production dropped dramatically as dozens of plants shuttered and thousands of jobs were lost. This year’s increased production will support more than 31,000 jobs – up from fewer than 13,000 last year – while generating at least $3 billion in GDP and $628 million in federal, state and local tax revenues, according to a recent economic study conducted by Cardno-Entrix.

“This tax incentive is without a doubt stimulating production of biodiesel and creating jobs. We’re clearly seeing that from our members across the country,” said NBB VP of federal affairs Anne Steckel. “We have a little over a month before it could expire again, and it is past time that Congress step up and pass an extension to keep this industry’s momentum going.”

Lights, camera, cash prizes!

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) wants Iowa high school students to submit their best videos highlighting renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

The second annual “Fuel the Future” video contest is for students in grades 9-12 in public, private or home schools who can show how renewable fuels are important to local communities, Iowa and the nation.

The top three video entries will receive prizes in the amounts of $1,000, $600 and $400 respectively. Videos will be featured at the 2012 Iowa Renewable Fuel Summit on January 24 in Des Moines and will be posted on IRFA’s YouTube channel. Last year’s winners from Treynor High School submitted a hilarious and clever parody of an action movie trailer.

Download an entry form and get more information from the IRFA Fuel the Future site.

National Biodiesel Board members this week elected seven returning governing board members and one new member to serve on the leadership committee as part of the organization’s membership meeting in Washington D.C.

Officers elected to lead the board are:
Gary Haer, chairman, Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (Producer)
Ed Ulch, vice chair, Iowa Soybean Board (Farmer)
Ron Marr, secretary, Minnesota Soybean Processors, (Producer)
Jim Conway, treasurer, Griffin Industries (Producer)

Biodiesel board members also voted to fill eight board member spots, which include the officer team and:
Ed Hegland, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council (Farmer)
Kris Kappenman, Archer Daniels Midland (Producer)
Bob Metz, South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion council (Farmer)
Robert Stobaugh, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board (Farmer)

San Diego-based Buster Biofuels has formed an Alliance with LEGOLAND California, the San Diego Padres, hundreds of restaurants, hotels, and resorts to collect their grease and oil and turn it into biodiesel. Now this biodiesel is being used to fuel the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) school buses. Emissions from the use of the biodiesel are being reduced nearly 78 percent as compared to traditional diesel fuel.

“Organizations like LEGOLAND and the Padres have a huge amount of oil and there is just no way they can use it all themselves (in the form of biofuel),” said Buster Halterman, CEO of Buster Biofuels. “The concept is to take that oil and recycle it into biodiesel then to reduce carbon emissions locally by putting the fuel into the buses of the San Dieguito Union High School District.”

The school district is using a B20 blend in two of their buses and is in the process of converting its entire fleet to the biodiesel blend.

“We want to be at the forefront of green technology,” said Daniel Love, the director of transportation for SDUHSD. “It’s really exciting to work with Buster Biofuels and to know that we are some of the first ones making this change.”

Jason Biddle, Chief Sales Officer for Buster Biofuels added, “It’s about asthma, it’s about emphysema and it’s about helping out the kids! It’s about local companies helping local school buses via Buster Biofuels.”

The bacteria that is most commonly associated with triggering food recalls could be a catalyst to convert sugars into biodiesel.

Researchers at Stanford University believe that Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli, could convert sugar to biodiesel at “an extraordinary rate.”

Biodiesel can be made from plant oil or animal fat – usually the former. Used cooking oil from restaurants is common, but for biodiesel to contribute significantly to reducing fossil fuel use, there needs to be a way to mass produce it from plant-derived raw materials. The problem is that synthesizing biodiesel is complicated. That is where E. coli comes in.

It turns out that like any high performance engine, the catalytic process in E. coli can only attain peak efficiency when all the controls are tuned just right. The research is described in a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Khosla is a coauthor of the paper, which is available online.

Crown Express Mart is opening Raleigh’s first E85/Biodiesel fuel station today.

Crown Express owner Kargo Corporation will join with the N.C. Solar Center/N.C. State University and Protec Fuel to celebrate the offering of two cleaner-burning renewable fuels to North Carolina’s capital city with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the first commercial fuel station offering both E85 and B20 biodiesel. The celebration will include a special promotion of E85 fuel for 85 cents a gallon for 85 minutes, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association.

Speakers at the grand opening will include representatives from Kargo, North Carolina House, Protec Fuel and the state departments of administration, commerce and transportation. The event is taking place starting at 3:00 pm Eastern time.

USDA has issued a loan guarantee that will allow a biofuels firm to construct a facility in New Mexico to produce “green crude” oil from algae which can be refined into transportation fuel.

The loan is going to Sapphire Energy, which intends to design, build and operate a $135 million integrated algal biorefinery (IABR) in Columbus, N.M., for the production of advanced biofuel that is a “drop-in” replacement for petroleum derived diesel and jet fuel. The IABR will be capable of producing 100 barrels of refined algal oil per day, equivalent to at least one million gallons per year. The oil will be shipped to the United States Gulf Coast to be refined by Sapphire’s refinery partner, Dynamic Fuels, located in Geismar, La.

The funding is provided through USDA’s Biorefinery Assistance Program. On December 3, 2009, USDA issued a conditional commitment for an 80 percent guarantee on a $54.5 million loan. The loan closing and issuance of the Loan Note Guarantee for this project took place on October 21, 2011.

For the fourth year, the United Soybean Board (USB) through the soybean checkoff is joining with U.S. Department of Energy-affiliated Clean Cities to build demand for soy biodiesel and Bioheat® in major urban areas by providing some reimbursement incentive.

The Clean Cities program is a government-industry partnership sponsored by DOE that has more than 90 local chapters across the United States working to reduce petroleum consumption. The checkoff has opened the biodiesel reimbursement application process and encourages Clean Cities chapters to partner with Qualified State Soybean Boards for this project. “Hopefully we’ll see more applications for programs that reach out to potential biofuel users in the commercial area, such as heavy trucks and contractor fleets,” says Mike Beard, USB director and soybean farmer from Frankfort, Ind. “We also want to continue to reach those who make decisions in municipal governments.”

The application period will close November 14. Participating chapters will be selected by USB farmer-leaders. USB has provided up to $150,000 to use toward the funding of these soy biodiesel and Bioheat® communications programs. Selected participants in this reimbursement program will be announced in mid-December.

In addition, USB has a second reimbursement program opened for Clean Cities. This will focus on creating demand for soy-based products, many developed with the help of the soybean checkoff. This program will award three reimbursements for up to $10,000 and four reimbursements for up to $5,000.

The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear a case brought by petroleum interests against the Environmental Protection Agency over the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2).

The petition made by the National Petrochemical Refiners Association (NPRA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) was rejected by the District Court of Appeals in December 2010. The petition filed in March 2010 claims that 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.”

National Biodiesel Board vice president of federal affairs Anne Steckel says they are happy with the court decision.

“The RFS program is working just as Congress intended. It’s creating jobs across the country. It’s breaking our addiction to oil. It’s helping clean our air, and it’s reducing greenhouse gases,” said Steckel. “This year alone, the biodiesel industry is on pace to produce at least 800 million gallons of advanced biofuel while supporting more than 31,000 jobs. We’re pleased to see the Supreme Court put an end to this litigation as we continue building a strong U.S. biodiesel industry.”

Ethanol industry group Growth Energy was also pleased with the decision which mainly impacts biodiesel producers as they had intervened in the court case to defend the mandated volumes and make sure that the volumetric levels were retroactive as of Jan 2010. “The intent of Congress was clear when it passed the Energy Independence and Security Act – domestically-produced biofuels do strengthen our national defense and help support our economy. We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision as the right decision,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) is now on Facebook.

IRFA announced the launch of its Facebook page today as part of an ongoing effort to provide Iowans with news and information on renewable fuels. IRFA’s Facebook page will feature news, announcements, press releases, photos, and videos.

“The IRFA Facebook page gives our organization another effective outlet to communicate the positive impacts of renewable fuels on job creation, air quality, and national security,” said IRFA Biofuels Manager Grant Menke. “The Facebook page will improve our outreach, especially to younger consumers who demand instant information and value efficient, renewable products.”

Connect to the Iowa RFA Facebook page here.

The Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is asking Iowa fuel retailers and gas stations to submit nominations for his annual Renewable Fuels Marketing Awards, which recognize fuel retailers that have gone above and beyond in their efforts to sell renewable fuels. The Iowa Department of Agriculture awards are presented for both the marketing of ethanol and biodiesel.

“Fuel retailers continue to take steps to make ethanol and biodiesel more available to Iowa customers and this award is an opportunity to recognize those who have shown leadership in promoting these renewable fuels and making them more available to customers,” Northey said.

Qualifying entities will be those that market the renewable fuels they have available through creative efforts including, but not limited to: hosting special events highlighting their renewable fuels, development of creative signage, initiation of new advertisements or marketing efforts, and efforts dramatically increase renewable fuel availability.

The winners will be recognized during a meeting of the Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores of Iowa in Des Moines on January 10th. This is the fifth year for the award which was won last year by Kyle Krause of Kum & Go and Roger Baschke of Green Plains Energy Company.

Nominations must be submitted by January 1 and nomination forms can be found on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s website.

Hawaiian Electric Company has again selected Renewable Energy Group® (REG) to supply their sustainable biodiesel needs.

Under the new contract, REG will continue to supply 3-7 million gallons of high quality biodiesel annually for Hawaiian Electric’s 110-megawatt combustion turbine generator at Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station for three additional years. Like the current supply contract, the biodiesel will be processed from used cooking oil and waste animal fats. The new contract was awarded as a result of a request for competitive bids issued in February 2011.

“We are committed to beating the legal requirement of 40 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric executive vice president. “We need to bring as much clean energy online as soon as possible.”

The Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station is the first utility-scale combustion turbine run entirely on biodiesel.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Hawaiian Electric Company, a progressive, sustainable leader in the electric utility generation business,” said Daniel J. Oh, REG president & CEO. “The state should be commended for its leadership in creating a model for other utility companies across the country to follow.”