Domestic Fuel

One of the big issues that continues to dog the biofuels business, especially ethanol production, is the use of food crops as fuel sources. While many have made the case that the crops can provide both food AND fuel (consider the dried distillers grains from ethanol production, for example), a New Jersey-based company thinks it has a way to remove the food part from the debate altogether.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk to Kef Kasdin, CEO of Proterro, as she tells us about her company’s method of actually creating, not extracting, sugars. You’ll be able to hear how this process makes sugar for as low as 5 cents/pound… a pretty good bargain compared to 10-20 cents/pound of more conventional methods.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Proterro Creating Sugars for Biofuels

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And you can check out the video below to get a better explanation of how the process Kasdin describes works.

It seems like they’re natural enemies – biofuels producers, particularly biodiesel and ethanol, versus Big Oil, as each competes for a place in the gas tanks of vehicles in America and around the world. But does there really need to be such enmity between the two, with biofuels producers accusing oil companies of trying to derail increased ethanol and biodiesel levels in transportation fuels and Big Oil saying don’t blame us?

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, listen as we talk to stakeholders on both sides of the game, as well as those who point out that everyone is in the same game: providing energy.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Oil Vs. Biofuels - Can't We All Just Get Along?

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There’s been a lot of talk about the prices for Renewable Identification Numbers … better known as RINs … especially from Big Oil trying to blame RINs for the rise in gasoline prices.

But in this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, Ron Lamberty, Senior Vice President with the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President for ACE, explain what RINs are and what they do … as well as dispelling some of the myths that have created what they call RIN-sanity.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Countering RIN-sanity

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View the ACE Biofuels Beltway March 2013 Photo Album.

When you think of Las Vegas, you probably picture the bright lights, wild nightlife and gambling… probably not a home for environmentally friendly biodiesel innovation. But if you think about it, the gambling aspect really came out for a group that was an early adopter of the green fuel.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk to Russell Teall, President and Founder of Biodico; Gary H. Weinberg, who was with Haycock Petroleum and is now with Western Sierra Services; Frank Giordana, a transportation director with the Clark County School District; and James Morwood, Fleet Services Manager Support Services at the Las Vegas Valley Water District. These biodiesel pioneers gambled big on biodiesel and are now part of the group recognized with the Eye on Biodiesel: Inspiration award during the 10th Annual National Biodiesel Conference and Expo. Listen to their story about how they overcame their own doubts about the green fuel and how all of what we’re now calling BioVegas came up big winners.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Las Vegas Biodiesel Innovators

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2013 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album

See more coverage on the Biodiesel Conference Blog

Probably no one in the country was more pleased to see the renewal of the wind energy production tax credit than the folks in Iowa, a place that has become a real leader nationwide in wind energy. During the recent Iowa Wind Energy Day, officials and advocates for wind energy expressed their appreciation for the extension… and the hope that it could become more permanent to give more stability to the green industry.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, President of the Board for the Iowa Wind Energy Association Kathy Law and Executive Director of Iowa Wind Energy Association Harold Prior as they talk about what wind power has meant to their state and what potential it holds for the entire country… especially the rural areas.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Wind Energy PTC Passes

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And check out Joanna’s 2013 Iowa Wind Energy Day Photo Album.

We’ve known for quite a while that biodiesel is helping the bottom lines of feedstock producers, in particular, the nation’s soybean growers. But a new study from the National Biodiesel Board says livestock producers are also sticking more green in their pockets thanks to the green fuel.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from the NBB’s senior advisor for economic issues, Alan Weber, and NBB member and Nebraska farmer and livestock producer Greg Anderson, who explain the bottom line results from a new study.

Check out the NBB’s reports here: AF T BD Demand Impact Final and SBM Analysis Feb 2011 Final

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Biodiesel and Livestock

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It’s less than a week before election day, and President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney are vying for every vote they can, including those people interested in energy issues in this country.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from Obama and Romney as they made their pitches about their domestic energy policies during the debates they held in October. A little talk about wind… a little talk about biofuels (with just one small utterance of the word ethanol)… and a LOT to say about petroleum and coal. It’s for you to hear and make your decision… and for all of us to see what talk actually becomes action once the shouting is all over.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Candidates on Energy

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

A new coalition forms to fight back against the push against the Renewable Fuels Standard… a fight prompted by the drought and the pressure the drought is causing on the most common feedstock for ethanol, corn. During a recent news conference, former congressman and now CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization… or BIO… Jim Greenwood was one of the leaders of the new coalition dubbed Fuels America, a diverse group of interests, including renewable fuels, national security, renewable energy and other stakeholders. Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, the National Corn Growers Association, BIO and the Advanced Ethanol Council are part of Fuels America, as well as several biofuel companies, such as DuPont, POET and Novozymes.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, listen in as Greenwood is joined by Novozymes president Adam Monroe, Marion (Ohio) Chamber of Commerce president Pam Hall, and ZeaChem president and CEO Jim Imbler who make the case for preserving the RFS.

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The EPA has just started the 30-day comment period for a proposed waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). And just as the comments started, the National Corn Growers Association has asked for even more time for comments to come in.

But there’s no lack of viewpoints already out there. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we’ll hear from National Turkey Federation president Joel Brandenberger, Purdue University’s Wally Tyner and Chris Hurt, former Secretary of Agriculture Clayton Yeutter, and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis giving their thoughts about a possible RFS waiver.

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

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During the last Domestic Fuel Cast, we talked about the U.S. Senate’s work on the renewable energy provisions of the Farm Bill. In this edition, we follow the debate over to the House, where not much funding in the energy title of the bill moved out of the Agriculture Committee.

Listen to what some key lawmakers, as well as leaders from the renewable energy sector, farm groups, and government officials had to say as the discussion spilled over into another House committee considering changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

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

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The U.S. Senate has passed its version of the Farm Bill… or as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack likes to call it by its more proper name, Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, because of its all-encompassing nature (he even “fines” people in his office $1 for every time they give the shortened, less encompassing name)… and it is off to the House for consideration sometime after the 4th of July break.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear about some of the programs seen as good for renewable energy that survived in the Senate’s version of the bill, as well as comments from some key lawmakers and Vilsack on the importance of these provisions.

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

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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

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.