Domestic Fuel

In the past few months, biofuels have taken to the skies with a multitude of successful flights conducted by both the military and the commercial airline industry. This news has been even more welcome with the achievements taking place during the aftermath of the Rand report predicting that aviation biofuels would not play a role in the next few decades. But where biofuels really took flight was during the Paris airshow, which kicked off with the transatlantic flight from North America to Paris using a 50/50 biofuel blend derived from camelina.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack attended the Paris Air Show and told the audience that “extraordinary progress has been made in the last 12 months.” He continued by saying, “I think we’re nearing a tipping point” in terms of building momentum toward use of biofuel on commercial flights. I think [biofuel powering airline flights is] not long-term. In the short term you’ll see the benefits.”

To further spur the development of biojet fuels, the European Commission launched the Biofuels Flightpath, a roadmap to achieve the goal of using 2 million tonnes of aviation biofuels per year by 2020. Prior to this announcement, back in the U.S., Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest released a comprehensive report to speed up the commercialization and use of aviation biofuels in the Northwest. In addition, ASTM officially approved renewable jet fuel standards.

The region has been a leader in the U.S. in the movement to more sustainable airport practices as well as in the movement to adopt renewable fuels. Lawrence J. Krauter, CEO of the Spokane International Airport, one of dozens of entities participating in the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest initiative, noted, “The course is clear that aviation biofuels are key to the future of sustainable air travel. We can no longer base our future on imported petroleum, especially if the United States wants to remain an aviation leader. The SAFN study proves domestic biofuels are feasible and offers an economic opportunity for us to remain competitive as an industry and move toward a sustainable, domestic fuel supply.”

Learn more about the flight of biofuels here: Domestic Fuel Cast

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The biofuels industry got married when a first generation ethanol plant walked down the isle with a second generation algae plant in Shenandoah, Iowa. BioProcess Algae and Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) tied the knot and celebrated their anniversary last month with the announcement that their first babies, a set of Grower Harvester bioreactors, went online. This marked the last phase into adulthood – the algae plant is months away from commercial scale production.

Tim Burns, CEO of BioProcess Algae said this project is about both co-location opportunities as well as adding value to carbon. The algae plant will utilize the waste streams of the ethanol plant including waste nutrients and waste water. In addition, the algae plant uses the carbon dioxide from the corn ethanol plant to grow and thrive. Suddenly a product produced from a first generation ethanol plant with what amounts to negative value now has a tremendous positive value to a second generation plant. When people figure out that carbon from things such as a first generation ethanol plant has value, others will be on board, said Burns.

Years ago, Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains Renewable Energy, said his company began looking for emerging technologies that could add value to his plant. These included adding things such as inedible corn oil extraction technology, but also the partnership with a second generation biorefinery that could utilize their plant’s waste streams. His company recognized the incredible partnership before any others and this fall his company along with BioProcess Algae will be building their algae farm, the last phase before they begin to produce commercial scale algae biofuels.

In the future, Becker and Burns both believe that every first generation biofuel plant will marry a second generation technology and with these marriages, the biofuels industry will rise to the challenge of producing billions upon billions of gallons of domestic renewable energy for America.

Learn more about the first biofuel marriage here: Domestic Fuel Cast

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Some researchers say that, at current production levels, algae biodiesel is not a commercially viable product. But some algae advocates believe researchers might have some ulterior motives for coming to that conclusion.

One of the study’s authors, Dr. Peter Pfromm, a professor in Kansas State University’s department of chemical engineering, says that while they found that it’s possible to produce enough biodiesel to make it a net energy gain over the amount of energy that goes into the green fuel’s production, it won’t make money. In fact, he says the algae would have to produce perhaps three times the amount of oil it currently does in order for algae-for-biodiesel production to be economically feasible, and it would take a pond 11 square kilometers big just to grow enough algae for the green fuel to replace just .1 percent of this nation’s diesel use. Pfromm says the real work needs to go into boosting the level of oil output from the algae.

But But Barry Cohen, the executive director of the advocacy group, the National Algae Association, says Pfromm is not looking at real-world conditions, and Cohen says Pfromm’s assumption that the algae would be grown in open ponds is an old, out-dated technology, and most algae growers are using vertical photo bioreactors and fermenters. He also contends that algae researchers have a financial reason for not seeing algae commercialized as the U.S. Department of Energy is only funding research, not production, done on algae-biodiesel. He says that if researchers ever found a way to make algae-biodiesel commercially viable, that federal money for the research would dry up.

Pfromm says they received no outside money, especially no DOE money, for this project.

Hear more of what both men had to say here: Domestic Fuel Cast

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Community solar projects have always been good for the environment, but a company in New Jersey is making them pay for individual investments, especially senior citizens living on fixed incomes.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, I talk with Pete Ramsey, the Director of Business Development for GeoGenix. He explains that having an entire neighborhood put in a solar project helps realize some economies of scale … being able to have crews simultaneously work on several solar projects, materials, logistics, and things like that. He says doing community solar, as opposed to each individual putting up his or her own panels, also makes a lot of sense for senior citizens, who could realize a return on their investment in less than five years.

Ramsey admits there a lot of factors that go into figuring those returns: how much electricity is already used, the pitch and position of the roof, the type of system the owner wants, and so forth. That’s why he says it’s important to do individual assessments and discuss what system is right for each home.

It’s a pretty interesting conversation, and you can hear more of it here: Domestic Fuel Cast

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given the green light for E15 ethanol to be used in vehicle years 2001-2007. But what about older cars and trucks?

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we listen in to part of the presentation by Ricardo, an internationally recognized automotive and engineering firm, at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, where the company made the case that E15 is OK for vehicles made between 1994 and 2000.

We hear from Ricardo’s Rod Beazley, who explains why they looked at this group of cars and trucks, the challenges involved in the testing, and why the fuel tanks were actually more likely to corrode from the outside and not from the E15 on the inside (the picture on the right is quite telling).

It’s an interesting presentation, and you can see the slide show here and hear what Beazley has to say here: Domestic Fuel Cast

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The new year brings talk of new legislation for the ethanol and biodiesel industries.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk to some of the leaders of the green fuels’ industries, as well as the head of the nation’s largest farm organization, to get their takes on what should be coming from Washington, D.C. as far as ethanol and biodiesel legislation is involved.

Comments include American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman explaining why his group wants to shift the public money away from the ethanol blender’s credit towards infrastructure, despite the fact that there are many Farm Bureau members who have ethanol interests. Retired General Wesley Clark, who serves as co-chairman of Growth Energy, a group representing ethanol interests, agrees with Stallman’s assessment of moving more money toward infrastructure. Meanwhile, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says the real focus needs to be on this nation’s energy policy and welcomes the debate. On the biodiesel side of the house, Chairman of the National Biodiesel Board and vice president of sales and marketing for the nation’s largest biodiesel producer, Renewable Energy Group, Gary Haer, says the green fuel enjoyed a Christmas gift with the renewal of the federal one-dollar-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive, even though it’s set to expire again at the end of this year. And he says getting that incentive renewed is a big priority for the biodiesel industry in the coming year. Haer also talks about how the biodiesel industry needs to work on its image by making sure people know biodiesel is truly an advanced biofuel, available right now. Those efforts are helped by biodiesel’s partner, the United Soybean Board, whose chairman, Marc Curtis, a soybean grower from Mississippi, points out that biodiesel adds 25 cents to the price for every bushel of beans sold.

It’s an interesting conversation, and I’m sure we’ll hear even more during the biodiesel and ethanol industries respective conferences, both going on in Phoenix, Arizona in February. In the meantime, you can hear what these folks are saying about the legislative year to come in this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

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The developer of technology that turns algae in to renewable fuel is going down under to do some long-term testing of its process.

OriginOil recently announced the successful completion of the first phase of its commercial pilot program with Australian company, MBD Energy, OriginOil’s first customer and pilot partner. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk to OriginOil’s CEO, Riggs Eckelberry, about his company’s testing of its algae-to-renewable-fuel technology in an in-the-field, real-world situation.

“We were looking for one of our pilot customers that would enable us to scale up our technology in real conditions.”

Eckelberry says his company’s bread and butter is focusing on extracting all that water from the algae and then extracting the oil by a process that he describes as “shocking” the algae. This testing should take several years with Eckelberry hoping at the end of the day, his technology will prove successful.

This announcement comes on the heels of the news that OriginOil has another project in the works, this time a little closer to home. The company will help build a new Advanced Algae Center with Sustainable Resources, Incorporated on the site of the original Aquatic Species Program in Roswell, New Mexico, scheduled to start sometime next year. Eckelberry jokes that they’ll even hold a job fair for any little green men who might be visiting Roswell to work at the facility.

Hear more from Eckelberry on both these projects in the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

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It’s a red letter day for General Motors today, as the very first Chevrolet Volts rolled off the assembly line today at the company’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant in Michigan. The Volt is the world’s first electric vehicle that also has a gasoline-powered generator, allowing it to keep on driving past the usual 40-mile battery limit.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, I speak with Britta Gross, Director of Global Energy Systems and Infrastructure at GM, about the revolutionary technology that makes the Volt a truly impressive vehicle.

“With the Chevy Volt, you don’t have to plan the way you use this vehicle. It’s great if everyone drives off the battery. It’s great if you don’t have to figure out if you can stop at the dry cleaners [or pick up a sick daughter at school]. You don’t have to plan your day around it.”

Gross says it’s practically impossible to tell when you have switched from battery to gasoline power with the transition practically seamless. Plus, she says it easily plugs into a 120 volt, three-prong plug at home for charging overnight. No special charging stations are needed for this electric car.

While she admits the Volt can look a little pricey at first …. about $40,000 before the $7,000-$8,000 in tax credits that kick in … you have to keep in mind that this is first-generation technology and will get lower with time. Remember how much VCR and DVD players were when they first came out? But she says Chevy also has a lease option for the Volt, and at about $350 per month, it’s on par with other vehicles in its class.

Gross says Chevy will produce 10,000 of the Volts in 2011 and another 45,000 in 2012. Now, these first two that rolled off the assembly line today will have special homes – the first will go into GM’s museum and the second is being auctioned off with the proceeds going to support the Detroit Public School’s math and science at www.bidonthevolt.com.

Gross says today is a proud day for her and many of her co-workers, some who have been working more than three years to make this dream a reality. And she says it’s a sign that after a couple of tumultuous years, General Motors is back.

It’s a great conversation, and you can hear more of it in the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the green light to E15 ethanol … or maybe a “pale” green light, in the case where it is a partial waiver to allow up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline for 2007 model year vehicles or newer.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Gina McCarthy, who says the agency needs input on what the E15 pump labels should look like. We also hear from Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen, who is pleased with seeing the rise in the percentage of ethanol allowed in gasoline but is concerned that it is unnecessarily limited to 2007 model year vehicles and newer. He also worries that a “warning” label about E15 at the pumps could confuse consumers and scare them away from using the green fuel. Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy and ethanol producer POET’s president Jeff Broin believe the comment process will weed out any problems, and consumers, and in turn, retailers will end up embracing E15.

More information, including how you can give your input on the label is available at the EPA’s E15 website.

It’s an important conversation, and you can hear more of it in the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

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It’s an issue we’ve talked about before … plenty of ethanol and biodiesel and vehicles that can burn the green fuels but not enough infrastructure to support those cars’ and trucks’ needs. But a little help from the government is changing that in one of the largest concentrations of privately-owned vehicles … and incidently, one of the largest concentrations of flex-fuel vehicles in the country … California.

Matt Horton is the CEO of Propel Fuels, a California-based company that provides E85 ethanol and biodiesel to existing stations. He says having the types of pumps that can handle those fuels is biggest problem.

“One of the key challenges in the alternative fuels and biofuels market in particular being the lack of infrastructure to provide everyday customers with access to the fuels.”

He says there are plenty of flex-fuel vehicles that can burn E85 ethanol and plenty of diesel vehicles able to use biodiesel. But the infrastructure to provide these biofuels and the public’s awareness that they can use ethanol in their flex-fuel vehicle are lacking. To fix that, Propel has received $11 million in state and federal grants to put in 75 E85 ethanol pumps in California. Anthony Eggert sits on the California Energy Commission (CEC). He says the state’s portion of the money … about four million dollars … comes from California’s Alternative and Renewable Fuels and Vehicle Technology program … also known as AB 118, named for the enabling legislation that created it. He justifies the tax money spent on this program as just a drop in the bucket compared to what consumers have to spend on non-renewable, petroleum-based fuels.

“It’s around $100 million per year for the CEC to invest in a portfolio of non-petroleum fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower our petroleum dependency and improving our energy security. In California alone, we spend approximately $150 million per day on gasoline and diesel fuel.” He says the impact on the economy due to volatile fuel prices, as well as environmental issues and the vulnerability to foreign nations that might not always be the friendliest, makes the grant money well spent. Plus, it will pay dividends in the form of new jobs, less foreign oil and more money in consumers’ pockets.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

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With the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf being rolled out this fall across the country … and the more pricey Tesla Roadster already making its electric vehicle debut … the next concern is where to charge these electric vehicles. While most folks will have or will be getting the capability to do it at home, the lack of infrastructure for these new cars could be problematic.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast President of Car Charging Group Andy Kinard says his company will be able to provide these away-from-home chargers at a variety of locations, including shopping centers, parking garages and movie theaters. He explains his company’s system is put in for free at these types of locations, and then the revenues generated are shared. There’s even an application for smart phones that will help electric vehicle owners find the charging locations, generating traffic for that business that has a charger put in.

Kinard says there are some regulatory hurdles he still has to clear. The biggest is how to sell the electricity. Only two states, California and Texas, allow businesses to charge for re-sold kilowatt hours. Right now, he can only charge for the time without considering how much electricity each vehicle might be drawing. In the meantime, he’s trying to educate the public that these chargers will be available once the vehicles are readily available.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

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Earlier this month, the 25x’25 Alliance released a progress report on where the nation is in terms of the goal of meeting 25 percent of our energy needs with renewable resources by 2025, and they held a press conference with representatives of all the major renewable energy sectors to talk about the report and what still needs to be done.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we will hear from each of those representatives – Tom Buis with ethanol group Growth Energy; Bob Cleaves of the Biomass Power Association; Brad Collins with the American Solar Energy Society; Karl Gawell from the Geothermal Energy Association; and Rob Gramlich with the American Wind Energy Association – as well as 25x’25 steering committee co-chairman Reid Smith.

Listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

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Indy cars recently tore up the track running on clean-burning ethanol, right next to the Iowa corn fields where the feedstock for the green fuel is grown.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we bring you some of the sounds and interviews from the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer, and the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Our own Chuck Zimmerman had the chance to talk to Ron McQueeny, director of photography for the Indy Racing League and a nearly 40-year veteran photographer of the sport, who says the clean, green fuel has made a world of difference in clearing the haze that used to accompany the start of each race. In addition, we catch up with farmer and President of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Don Elsbernd, and Todd Frazier with Pioneer Hi-Bred. They see the Iowa Corn Indy 250 as a great showcase for the green fuel and are glad that so many corn farmers are able to see the fruit… a very high-performance fruit… of their labors in corn-based ethanol in these fantastic racing machines.

It’s a great conversation, and you can hear more of it in the player below.
Domestic Fuel Cast

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Biodiesel producers, large and small, have renewed their call for Congress to move on the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive.

During a recent webinar hosted by the National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe, Bernie Crowley of Delta American Fuel in Helena, Ark.; Gen-X Energy Group in Pasco, Washington President Scott Johnson; Bobby Heiser with Nittany Biodiesel; and Renewable Energy Group’s CEO Jeff Stroburg made their case to the media.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, you can hear what they had to say, including how they not only need the tax incentive renewed now, but also how they need a more permanent solution to save jobs, to save the biodiesel industry, and considering the ecological disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, to save the environment.

Listen to the conversation in the player below.

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America’s ethanol producers have launched a new effort to educate the public about America’s fuel: ethanol.

CEO of Growth Energy Tom Buis recently was joined by Gen. Wesley Clark, co-chair of Growth, and former Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle, an advisor for Growth, in an announcement launching a $2.5 million TV advertising campaign on major cable television networks, including Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and CNN, that seeks to get the American public up-to-speed on ethanol, featuring the green facts of the fuel and dispelling the rumors around it.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, you’ll hear some of that news conference and the arguments that should lay to rest any misconceptions about ethanol. Just click on the player below.

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