Domestic Fuel

Amidst the hustle and bustle of race weekend events, I caught up with EPIC board member Don Endres of VeraSun Energy, a producer of fuel grade ethanol. Don said the Indy Racing League’s switch to 100 percent ethanol fuel is history in the making. He said the IRL’s investment in the fuel not only demonstrates to the world that ethanol is a trusted renewable fuel source that promotes a cleaner environment, but that it’s also a high-performance fuel with benefits surpassing those of gasoline.

Don broke down industry projections for the growth of ethanol. He said the fuel currently accounts for just 4 to 5 percent of the fuel stream today. America uses about 142 billions of gasoline annually and that figure is growing by about a percent and a half a year. The Energy Information Administration estimates that by 2050 the demand for gas will reach upwards of 163 billion gallons a year at a 10 percent ethanol blend. That means an annual demand of at least 16.3 billion gallons of ethanol by 2050.

Don said today, the ethanol industry is producing just 6 billion gallons annually and there is another 6 billion gallons of production under construction. He added that car makers are putting a significant number of flex-fuel vehicles into the consumer market, which can burn a higher grade ethanol blend, E85. With an estimated 2 million FFVs added to the market each year on top of the current 6 million already available, Don said the market for ethanol is set to expand well-beyond where it’s at today.

For Don, it’s still rather early in the game. He added that the concentrated push for domestically-produced fuel from America’s politicians not only reaffirm his projections for a vastly growing demand for ethanol, but help drive it.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (249.0KB)

The agenda for the Ethanol Summit changed at the last minute and just 24 hours before the event, the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Andy Karsner, announced he would attend. Andy said ethanol is a key part of the solution to combating global warming. He said ethanol isn’t the silver bullet, but rather part of the silver buck shot. For Andy, it’ll take a number of committed strategies to establish a more green America. It wasn’t all business for the Assistant Secretary though. Andy strapped on an official Ethanol flame-repellent suit and hopped into the hot seat of a replica Ethanol car.

The “Ethanol Summit” included an impressive list of speakers and both local and national press arrived to cover it. The Ethanol Information and Promotional Council, IndyCar Series, Indianopolis Motor Speedway and Rahal Letterman Racing sponsored the event. EPIC officials said the summit was meant to commemorate what the company calls “monumental use” of 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in the IndyCar® Series as well as ethanol’s first Indy 500 win.

President of the IndyCar Series Terry Angstadt stepped up to the podium first to talk about the IndyCar® Series as a leader in the “Greening of Racing” trend and elaborated on the performance benefits that ethanol provides. EPIC Executive Director Tom Slunecka stressed the importance of consumers in the push for the growth of ethanol fuel. Slunecka said consumers and consumer education are key in raising awareness about ethanol. Jim Gentry, Fuel Manager for GasAmerica, added that retailers need to recognize their responsibility in the future of America’s energy. Gentry called the leaders in the fuel retail industry to support E85 initiatives. Dave Vander Griend with ICM and Andy Karsner, the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy echoed Gentry’s claim that ethanol is set to be a key energy resource for the future. Director of the SmartWay Program Mitch Greenburg spoke on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency. Greenburg commended the Indy Racing Leauge for being one of the first organizations to make a complete transition to a biofuel. He says that “impressive” move highlights the importance of home-grown renewable fuels.
Read the rest of this post…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (18.1MB)

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has approved energy legislation that calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels use by 2022. The bill also provides the necessary incentives to spur the development of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol production.

The bill received bi-partisan support in the committee, with eight Republicans and 12 Democrats voting in favor of passage. Three Republicans opposed the measure.

In addition to increasing renewable fuels production, the legislation includes loan guarantees and other incentives for ethanol research and plant construction, support for production of “plug-in” gas-electric hybrids and requirements for more efficient appliances and light bulbs.

An overall goal would be established of reducing gasoline use by as much as 45 percent below what it otherwise is expected to be in 2030.

Top international experts meeting in Rome last week agreed that bioenergy could be a positive force for rural development

According to a news release from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) it was the first time that experts in bioenergy, food security and the environment came together to discuss the environmental and food security impact of the rapidly-expanding bioenergy industry.

Alexander Müller, head of FAO’s Natural Resources Management and Environment Department, said, ‘While there is legitimate concern among some groups that bioenergy could compromise food security and cause environmental damage, it can also be an important tool for improving the well-being of rural people if governments take into account environmental and food security concerns.”

During the meeting, Luiz Augusto Horta Nogueira is Professor at the ‘Universidade Federal de Itajubá’, Brazil said some crops are more productive than others when it comes to making ethanol and biodiesel.

“The conflict between food and fuel should be evaluated under this point of view,” he said. “If you are considering the good options you have in wet, tropical countries this conflict is not so serious.” He says that sugarcane for ethanol and palm oil for biodiesel are more efficient than corn and soybeans.

Listen to interview here: FAO Energy 1 (2 min MP3)

Seth Shames, Policy Program Manager of the Washington-based Ecoagriculture Partners says bioenergy could have great benefits for small farmers in countries such as Africa and Central America.

“We’re excited about potentials for growing biofuel crops, trees or even perennial grasses in the future, which could be used by small farmers for their own energy needs to integrate in the food landscape also so they don’t have to make this trade-off and also increases livelihood options for them,” he said.

Listen to interview here: FAO Energy (2 min MP3)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (1.1MB)

The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) recently recognized outstanding leadership in the alternative fuels and vehicles industry at the 13th Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference & Expo 2007.

General Motors received the Green Award for the “Live Green Go Yellow” marketing and advertising campaign.

American Honda was honored with the Green Fleet Award for “leadership and consistency in manufacturing vehicles that provide fleets and customers with the greenest choices around.” Pictured, Dan Bonawitz, Vice President of Corporate Planning and Logistics for American Honda, accepted this award from actor Larry Hagman and AFVi Executive Director Annalloyd Thomason.

The Industry Innovation Award was presented to James Harger of Clean Energy, Westport Innovations CEO Mike Gallagher, Mark Zucker and Andy Douglas of Inland Kenworth.

The Industry Pioneer of the year was Anne Smith with the Southern California Gas Company, and philanthropist T. Boone Pickens was honored with the Industry Vision Award.

More information and photos available here.

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final ruling that assures facilities producing ethanol for human consumption, industrial use or fuel are treated equally under Clean Air Act permitting requirements.

According to EPA officials, this final rule establishes the same emissions thresholds for new facilities that produce ethanol using a feedstock such as corn or sugar beets regardless of the product produced – 250 tons per year for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program. The thresholds for the nonattainment NSR and Title V programs will remain at current levels.

The final rule also will no longer require facilities producing ethanol for fuel or industrial purposes to count emissions of criteria pollutants that do not come from process stacks or vents when determining if they meet or exceed the emissions thresholds for the Clean Air Act operating permits, nonattainment NSR, or PSD programs.

Ethanol producers greeted the EPA decision enthusiastically. “This decision is a critical step forward for the ethanol industry and corn producers everywhere. The EPA’s decision fixes a fundamental regulatory unfairness and will allow for more efficient permitting of ethanol plants that will promote American energy independence,” said Bill Paulsen, President of the South Dakota Ethanol Producers, in a statement issued by Poet Energy of Sioux Falls, SD.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns spent Wednesday in the state of Indiana talking about domestic fuel.

First, the secretary joined Governor Mitch Daniels to break ground for BioTown, USA’s Phase II technology suite. BioTown is the country’s first effort toward creating communities where all energy needs are met through biorenewable resources.

At that event, Johanns also announced the availability of $176.5 million in loan guarantees and $11.4 million in grants to support investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements by agricultural producers and small businesses.

“By promoting energy efficiency and development of energy sources that are farm based and renewable, we’re taking another step toward achieving the President’s goal of reducing America’s gasoline consumption by 20 percent in ten years,” said Johanns. “We hope to dramatically expand renewable energy programs like these, as reflected in our 2007 farm bill proposals.”

Finally, Johanns concluded the day with a renewable energy roundtable discussion at Purdue University in Indiana where he talked about the administration’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals and fielded energy-related questions with a number of other panelists. He also introduced a new web-based tool designed to make energy-related activities from across the Department accessible from a single web page. The Energy Matrix is a comprehensive collection of information on all of USDA’s energy-related programs, research efforts, funding opportunities, and technical assistance.

President Bush talked about his energy initiatives, domestic fuel and alternative fuel vehicles during a visit to a Ford Motor assembly plant in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday.

“The reason I’ve come is I want to highlight an important initiative for the country, and that is to promote technologies so we are less reliant upon foreign sources of oil. And the best way to become less reliant on foreign sources of oil is to manufacture automobiles that will use either less gasoline, or different kinds of fuels,” said Bush.

The president talked about his goal of reducing America’s gasoline consumption by 20 percent over the next 10 years and how hybrid cars and flex-fuel vehicles can help achieve that goal.

“You’re producing flex-fuel vehicles here, where somebody can decide to fill up with ethanol, or they can decide to fill up with gasoline, their choice. In turns out that Henry Ford — Model T was one of the first flex-fuel vehicles. I didn’t realize that until I came here — but that he had the vision of having the Model T run either on gasoline or ethanol. Isn’t that interesting?”

Read the president’s entire address at the Ford plant from the White House website.

The United Nations Foundation has released a report outlining a “roadmap for reducing risks from climate change.”

Among the report’s recommendations are “mproving efficiency in the transportation sector through measures such as vehicle efficiency standards, fuel taxes, and registration fees/rebates that favor purchase of efficient and alternative fuel vehicles” and “expanding the use of biofuels through energy portfolio standards and incentives to growers and consumers.”

The final report of the Scientific Expert Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development was prepared as input for the upcoming meeting of the UN’s Commission on Sustainable Development.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the awarding of grants to fund six cellulosic ethanol projects nationwide.

Among them is Broin Companies’ $200 million expansion of a conventional corn dry mill facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa into a bio-refinery that will include production of cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs, according to a Broin release.

Energy Secretary Samual Bodman made the announcement this morning, stating that “Broin will play a critical role in helping to bring cellulosic ethanol to market, and teaching us how we can produce it in a more cost effective manner.”

Jeff Broin, CEO of Broin Companies was with Bodman in Washington when the announcement was made. “Our goal is to bring cellulosic ethanol to commercial viability by the end of the decade in order to reduce global warming, revitalize the rural economy and lessen our country’s dependency on foreign oil,” said Broin. “This partnership with the Department of Energy, along with the collaboration of companies like DuPont and Novozymes and the farmers around Emmetsburg, Iowa, will allow us to achieve significant progress toward these goals.”

Known as Project LIBERTY, the expansion will utilize an existing infrastructure with projected costs for the increased capabilities at just over $200 million dollars. The expansion will take approximately 30 months and is slated to begin as soon as the terms of the agreement with the DOE are finalized.

Project LIBERTY, which stands for Launch of an Integrated Bio-refinery with Eco-sustainable and Renewable Technologies in Y2009, will provide deliverables that include 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn and 27 percent more ethanol from an acre of corn, while consuming 24 percent less water and using 83 percent fewer fossil fuels than what is needed to operate a corn to ethanol plant.

A day after getting a close-up look at a 100 percent ethanol-powered IndyCar, President Bush checked out the battery-powered options on the White House South Lawn, calling on Congress to fully fund his budget request for alternative sources of energy.

“It’s going to require collaboration between the public sector and the private sector. It’s going to require making sure our smartest scientists understand that this is a national priority. But I firmly believe that the goal I laid out, that Americans will use 20 percent less gasoline over the next 10 years is going to be achieved, and here’s living proof of how we’re going to get there,” he said.

“Americans ought to feel optimistic about our future. We’re going to be driving our cars using all kinds of different fuels other than gasoline, and using batteries that will be able to be recharged in vehicles that don’t have to look like golf carts.”

Arizona-based Diversified Energy, has announced a “breakthrough biofuels technology” that they say “offers a “100% green” biofuel product containing no fossil fuel components.”

According to a company release, the patent-pending process, termed Centia™, “provides several key advantages when compared with other biofuel processes like biodiesel, ethanol and others.”

Centia™, a name derived from Crudus Potentia (meaning “green power” in Latin), can utilize feedstock oils from edible and inedible animal fats, waste oils, agriculture crops like soybean, algae, newly proposed energy crops, or any other lipid-based feedstock.

Diversified is developing Centia through an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with North Carolina State University.

A California-based company will begin providing natural gas created from animal waste to the state’s largest electricity provider by this summer.

BioEnergy Solutions, a Central Valley waste-to-energy company, announced an agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric Company to deliver renewable electricity to customers in central and northern California. BioEnergy Solutions is expected to break ground on the project in the spring and begin delivering renewable natural gas to PG&E in the summer.

BioEnergy Solutions’ first project will be Albers’ Vintage Dairy, located in Fresno County, California. Manure from the farm’s 3,000 dairy cows will be flushed into covered lagoons that will trap the methane gas produced as the manure decomposes. The methane will be “scrubbed” to remove carbon dioxide and corrosive materials to meet PG&E standards for power plants, then delivered to PG&E through the utility’s pipeline and used to produce renewable energy for California consumers.

BioEnergy Solutions is a subsidiary of American Dairy Parks, LLC which develops sustainable, vertically integrated farming operations that include crop farming, milk production, milk processing and waste-to-energy facilities.

In his weekly radio address to the nation Saturday, President Bush expressed optimism that energy policy is one area where both Republicans and Democrats can work together and make some progress.

“Republicans and Democrats both recognize these problems. We agree on the solution: We need to diversify our energy supply and make America less dependent on foreign oil,” said the president.

Bush said that his “Twenty in Ten” plan to reduce America’s gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years has received bipartisan support.

This past week, we took a key step toward my “Twenty in Ten” goal when I sent Congress my budget for the next fiscal year. The budget proposes $2.7 billion to expand alternative energy research, a 53 percent increase over the 2006 funding level. These funds will support further research into cellulosic ethanol, which can be produced from sources like wood chips and grasses. These funds will also support promising technologies beyond ethanol, such as new forms of biodiesel, lithium-ion batteries, and hydrogen fuel cells.

Read and/or listen to the president’s address on the White House website.