Domestic Fuel

A biodiesel supply agreement between BIOX Corporation and Shell Canada is touted as being a big benefit for both Canadian companies. This BIOX news release says the company will pipe biodiesel from BIOX’s Hamilton refinery to the adjacent Shell distribution terminal and will provide a market for the refinery’s 67 million liters (approximately 17.6 million gallons) of biodiesel while helping Shell meet its Canadian requirement of renewable energy content.

“This agreement provides Shell Canada access to a secure, stable supply of renewable content for our diesel with the most efficient logistics possible,” said Esther Atere, Shell Canada Business Development Lead. “As well, it will assist Shell Canada in achieving the federal mandate of 2% renewable content in diesel fuel and heating distillate oil requirements.”

“This agreement is a great example of how the renewable fuels industry can work with the petroleum industry,” said Kevin Norton, Chief Executive Officer of BIOX. “Shell is investing in its distribution terminal to blend renewable content in diesel and we are investing alongside them to deliver biodiesel in the most efficient manner possible, through a pipe across the property line.”

The pipeline connecting the two facilities is expected to be completed late this year.

The Bioprocess Pilot Facility B.V. (BPF), a scale-up plant located on the Biotech Campus Delft, is attracting the right kind of attention. The “first green Minister-President” Mr. Kretschmann, the Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, one of the federal states of Germany, visited BPF’s facility to learn about their technology and contribution to the country’s bio-based economy. After his visit, Mr Kretschmann said that it is good that companies and knowledge institutions have the possibility to carry out scale-up research in a facility that is unique in its experience with this type of research.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) have launched a global photo competition – ‘Discover the stories behind wind energy’. Deadline for submissions is May 5, 2013. The first prize winner will receive a 1,000 Euro voucher. Second prizes of 250 Euros will be awarded by region. The winning photographs will be displayed in the European Parliament in Brussels in June. They will also be published in the renewable energy newspaper ‘Recharge‘ and EWEA’s magazine ‘Wind Directions‘.

Prize winners will be announced on Global Wind Day, the worldwide day ‘to discover the power of wind energy’ that occurs annually on June 15 with several hundred events, exhibitions, open wind farms and local activities organized in about 40 countries all around the globe, as well as online actions.

You can find information on the photo competition here.

A New York-based cellulosic sugar producer has received the 2013 Sustainable Biofuels Feedstock Process Award.

Sweetwater Energy received the award at this year’s World Biofuels Markets and Bio-based Chemicals Conference currently being held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The award recognizes the most exciting new feedstock innovation in the development of truly sustainable and renewable fuel and chemical solutions in the global biofuels market.

“We’re very pleased to receive this recognition, especially on the global stage,” says Arunas Chesonis, Chairman and CEO of Sweetwater. “Sweetwater’s sugar platform technology is a way to help our customers take a step away from the difficulties of managing various types of feedstocks, and to have at their disposal a simple, clean source of carbon from which to produce fuels, plastics, and other useful chemicals. It’s gratifying to know we’re processing carbon captured from the atmosphere by crops and trees over the past few years, as opposed to carbon from 100 million years ago in the case of fossil fuel.”

The award is in recognition of Sweetwater’s patented cellulosic sugar technology, as well as for the patented decentralized business model that allows refineries to transition to cellulosic feedstocks gradually and without large capital outlays usually associated with cutting-edge cellulosic technologies. Sweetwater uses a unique technology to produce low-cost sugars from non-food plant materials, including waste materials such as crop residues, wood thinning, or non-food, purpose-grown crops such as energy sorghum. This highly fermentable sugar solution is sold to refineries, which use it to produce biofuels, biochemicals, and bioplastics.

Lignol Energy Corporation has announced that it has subscribed for convertible notes with a principal value of A$1.18 million issued by Territory Biofuels Limited and signed a Technology Collaboration Agreement that includes a package of technical and further assistance to aid in the restart of Territory Biofuels Limited 150 million litres per year biodiesel plant and glycerine refinery located in Darwin, Australia.

“We are proud to be working with Territory Biofuels Limited on this important, large scale project,” said Ross MacLachlan, Chairman and CEO of Lignol. “The Darwin plant is an impressive industrial facility and the TBF team has developed a compelling business model with strong commercial partnerships with which to become a major regional player in the biodiesel market in the Pacific Rim. This transaction reinforces the commitment to our strategy of selective investments in energy related projects which have synergies with our Company and have the potential to generate near term cash flow.”

The terms of the notes provide for conversion into an equity position for Lignol between 20 percent to 40 percent in Territory Biofuels Limited, depending on a range of criteria related to the development of the Darwin facility. This investment will be funded, in part, from Lignol’s recently announced line of credit with its major shareholder, Difference Capital Funding Ltd. The terms of the Technology Collaboration Agreement provide for technical assistance from Lignol and its partners with respect to both the restart of the facility and the potential integration of new pretreatment technologies and catalysts to facilitate the processing of a broad range of low cost feedstocks.

“Lignol’s financial investment and support from its partners is an important step in the restart of our world class facility,” said Chris Hart, Chairman of Territory Biofuels Limited. “Having toured the Lignol facilities and met with their scientists, engineers and partners, I am also confident that our new technology collaboration will assist in an efficient recommissioning of our project and lead to the implementation of advanced technologies that maximize plant performance.”

SunWize Technologies is developing two major solar photovoltaic projects in the Republic of Ecuador in conjunction with Solexica Energy Corporation, JCM Capital and Radical Energy, Inc. that have created a North American Consortium to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. The two photovoltaic projects—known as Condor Solar and Solarconnection, represent 30 megawatts (AC) and 20 megawatts (AC) respectively. Combined, these installations will have an estimated peak capacity of 62.5 megaswatts (DC) and will feature approximately 234,000 solar panels, multiple inverters and a substation to process and distribute energy to over 100,000 households in northern Ecuador.

“Photovoltaic solar energy doesn’t pollute air, soil or water, making it a sustainable and environmentally-friendly choice for energy production worldwide. As members of the North American Consortium, we look forward to providing the people of Ecuador with an energy resource that will serve them well in the years ahead,” said Scott Tonn, CEO of SunWize.

Both the Condor Solar and Solarconnection projects will be constructed in a region of the Andes Mountains called Canton Pedro Moncayo. According to SunWize, the area’s average temperature allows solar panels to operate at optimum efficiency, while its altitude and location near the equator offer abundant sunshine with few impediments. In addition to its climate, there are other factors which make Pedro Moncayo an ideal location for solar projects. During the development of both solar projects, surrounding communities will host activities to promote and ensure sustainable development throughout the region. These activities will include training programs focused on renewable energy, health, sustainable agriculture, and arts and culture.

SunWize President and COO David Kaltsas, added, “Pedro Moncayo’s geographic location will help these projects be both economical and efficient. However, the area is also surrounded by a number of tourist attractions, including the Mojanda stratovolcano. As a result, Pedro Moncayo is uniquely positioned to serve as a model of sustainable energy use that thousands of tourists will have the opportunity to discover and appreciate in the years ahead.”

India-based VayuGrid and Zambia-based BetterWorld Energy are partnering on VayuSap biofuel development zones in Zambia. The development zones, based on Elite VayuSap trees, will produce sustainable energy, local jobs, and reforest and rehabilitate degraded lands which will, in turn, according to VayuGrid, raise living standards for the local communities and replace imports of petroleum fuels across the country.

The Energy and Environment Partnership in Southern and Eastern Africa (EEP-SEA), funded by the governments of Finland, Austria, UK, and hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, selected the VayuSap project for a phase 1 grant that award the project up to $1 million in funds over the next five years. According to VayuGrid, the VayuSap project is based on a sustainable networked model to enable rural communities to plant VayuSap trees on degraded and deforested land, and to link these plantations to central commercial plantations and processing hubs.

“Over 70 percent of Zambia’s energy needs currently come from forest biomass,” said Dr. Benjamin Warr, Founder and Managing Director of BetterWorld Energy. ”The VayuSap tree together with our development zone business model are excellent solutions to drastically turn-around the environmental degradation while reducing poverty and increasing energy access.”

Doug Peterson, CEO of VayuGrid, added, “Zambia is going through a dramatic transformation as the country looks at economic diversification. Our partnership with BetterWorld Energy will address the needs of sustainable energy in an ROI based model to benefit all players in the value chain, including the rural communities, the energy consumers, and the government.”

According to U.S. ethanol organizations, the European Commission (EC) is officially imposing a $83.03 per metric ton tariff on U.S. ethanol entering the European Union (EU).

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy issued a joint statement on the action.

“This tariff is outrageous and based on absolutely no facts or evidence of harm. An extensive investigation was conducted and there was no proof to substantiate the European Union’s protectionist claims of dumping. Imposing a country wide anti-dumping tariff is unprecedented and unfounded. This is blatant protectionism at its worst. This is absolutely not the final chapter. We will challenge this policy in every manner possible.”

During the recent National Ethanol Conference, the Secretary General of the European ethanol organization ePure was on a panel with RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen, as well as representatives from other ethanol producing countries, including Canadian Renewable Fuels Association president Scott Thurlow pictured here between the other two.

On the panel, ePure’s Rob Vierhout was asked why they were pursuing trade actions against U.S. ethanol. “It’s completely legitimate what we are doing,” said Vierhout, who engaged in a back and forth with Dinneen about subsidies and dumping. Dinneen made the point at the time that a country wide anti-dumping tariff is protectionist. “That is a violation of WTO, a violation of every trade concept that has ever been established,” said Dinneen. “If there’s anti-dumping, you’re supposed to impose a fee to penalize the company that’s doing the dumping. You didn’t find any so you’re penalizing everybody.”

Listen to exchange between Vierhout and Dinneen here: ePure's Rob Vierhout and RFA's Dinneen

2013 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

2013 NEC Golf Tournament Photo Album

Conergy has added more solar capacity in Greece. The company has just completed a 500 kilowatt plant on 2.25 acres of roof space at the warehouses of Hellenic Energy S.A. in Agios Ioannis Rentis on the edge of Athens.

Conergy acted as main contractor and was responsible for the overall planning, engineering and design of this turnkey rooftop installation, as well as for the supply of the components and the handling the construction where they cooperated with Hellenic Energy S.A. After connection of the power plant at the end of January, 58 inverters are feeding the clean electricity produced by more than 2,000 Conergy PowerPlus modules on Conergy SolarFamulus mounting systems into the grid. The company says the solar system has an annual production of over 700,000 kilowatt hours and the plant can supply around 200 households in Agios Ioannis Rentis.

“Thanks to the country’s excellent climate, solar installations in Greece provide the perfect combination of sound economic thinking and environmental protection,” said Dr. Stefanos Melissopoulos, Managing Director of Conergy Greece. “But the country’s high insolation levels are not the only advantage. Greece has a large amount of industrial roof space, providing the perfect conditions for making clean and safe investments. There is still great potential.”

Ioannis Kavalis, Managing Director of Hellenic Energy, added, “Conergy possesses a unique track record and many years of experience. This is absolutely vital when planning complex roof spaces. It means everything is supplied from a single source and we are assured of absolute top quality. This is very important when making an investment, particularly in today’s difficult times.”

Here is a fun fact. Did you know that the average age of a person working in the Mexican biodiesel industry is 30 years old or younger? A bit different than in the U.S. where the average age is much older and the industry is recruiting students to join the biodiesel ranks with the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel. How did I come to know this interesting fact? By speaking with Daniel Gomez, with Solben during the 10th Annual National Biodiesel Board Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

Solben, founded about six years ago, develops and commercializes multi-feedstock technology for biodiesel production. Today, nearly 70 percent of all the biodiesel producers in Mexico use Solben technology.

Gomez explained that biodiesel production in Mexico is like going back 10 years in the U.S. Last year the biodiesel industry produced was 2.5 million gallons and the year before that .5 million gallons and in 2013 the industry will double to 5 million gallons. He continued by saying that if you go back to the late 90s in the U.S., Mexico is now on that same trajectory and the government is looking at legislation that would support the increased growth and use of biodiesel. He hopes that by next year the country will see good things for biodiesel and from there the industry will grow exponentially.

Learn more about Solben and the potential for biodiesel in Mexico by listening to my interview with Daniel here: Meet Solben

2013 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album

As always, the Global Perspectives and Washington Insiders panels at the National Ethanol Conference were as entertaining as ever. The panels routinely feature representatives from other organizations that may not share the same viewpoint of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), allowing the opportunity for some interesting dialogue.

Global Renewable Fuels Alliance spokesperson Bliss Baker served as the moderator/referee for the global panel which featured RFA CEO Bob Dinneen; Canadian Renewable Fuels Association president Scott Thurlow; Rob Vierhout, Secretary General of ePURE; UNICA CEO Elizabeth Farina; and Poul Ruben Andersen with Novozymes A/S.

Noting the panel placement of Canadian Thurlow between Dinneen and Vierhout, Baker commented, “Some of you may be familiar with Canada’s tradition of peacekeeping,” he said. “Scott may have to assume that role of peacekeeper when we talk about our first issue” which was Europe’s trade challenge to U.S. ethanol imports. “I find it a little bizarre that we are in this spat that we are in today, attacking one another,” Baker said, throwing the floor open to Veirhout to explain “what were you thinking?”

Listen to the panel here: NEC 13 Global Panel

This year’s Washington Insiders panel included (L to R) – Marty Durbin, Executive Vice President, American Petroleum Institute; Shane Karr, Vice President, Federal Government Affairs, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers; Louis Finkel, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, Grocery Manufacturers Association; and James Massie, Principal, The Alpine Group (the “insider’s insider”).

Interesting exchange on the panel came between Dinneen and GMA’s Finkel regarding the impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Challenging Finkel’s claim that the production of corn ethanol under the RFS has had a “significant” impact on food costs, Dinneen asked if he would say that oil prices also have a significant impact on the price of food. “I don’t think it has a significant impact,” Finkel replied. “I think it has an impact on the cost of transporting our food.”

“You’re a good advocate for your industry,” Dinneen responded.

Listen to the whole panel here: NEC 13 Insiders Panel

2013 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

2013 NEC Golf Tournament Photo Album

According to a new report, “Eastern Winds,” analyzing the emerging wind power markets in Central and Eastern European countries, plus Turkey, Ukraine and Russia, wind power will become a significant source of electricity production by 2020. In addition, Turkey’s wind power generation capacity will grow even faster as long as there is a stable legal framework in place. The report was published by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

“Wind energy in Central and Eastern Europe, including Turkey, will substantially reduce the fossil fuel dependency of the power sectors, “said Christian Kjaer, Chief Executive Officer at EWEA. “But some countries – such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria – are without stable renewable energy legislation, and investors and banks will withdraw unless governments put in place long-term renewable energy policies.”

According to EWEA 12 newer EU Member States in Central and Eastern Europe plan to increase wind power capacity from the 6.4 gigawatts installed at end of 2012 to 16 gigawatts by 2020. This is equivalent to the electricity supply of 9 million households. Turkey wants to increase wind power capacity from its current 2.3 gigawatts to 20 gigawatts by 2023.

In 2012, Poland and Romania almost doubled their annual installed wind power capacity in 2012: Poland had 2.5 gigawatts, Romania 1.9 gigawatts, and Bulgaria 0.7 gigawatts of wind power capacity installed.

Chile is ramping up its renewable energy sector with two recent project announcements. SunEdison and the Chilean mining and steel group CAP have signed an agreement to construct what the two companies believe will be the largest solar photovoltaic power plant in Latin America and one of the largest on the world. The plant is designed to have an installed capacity of 100MW (DC) and will be located in the Atacama Desert of Chile. It is estimated that the plant will produce as much as 15 percent of the mining group’s energy needs.

The plant will be built using SunEdison technology. More than 300,000 Silvantis monocrystalline silicon modules will be installed, which according to the company, are made from non-toxic, non-polluting material that can be recycled at the end of its useful life, together with solar trackers designed by SunEdison, for which steel produced by CAP is expected to be used.

Mainstream Renewable Power, has announced they have completed financing and begun construction of its 33 MW Negrete Cuel Wind Farm in southern Chile. The farm is expected to be fulling operational in September 2013. Goldwind is supplying the project with GW87 1.5 MW wind turbines. Mainstream also owns and operates a 150MW Calama Oeste wind farm located in Atacama Desert.

Mainstream’s Chief Executive Eddie O’Connor said, “I am delighted to announce Mainstream’s fifth project to go into construction across three continents in a period of just six months. Since entering the Chilean market back in 2009 Mainstream has built a very strong and growing portfolio of wind and solar projects, many of which are in the mid to late development stages.

A pair of University of Illinois researchers say the reinstatement of the $1 a gallon biodiesel blenders credit has changed the equation back in favor of American biodiesel versus Brazilian ethanol.

Back in December and even earlier this month, Darrel Good and Scott Irwin found that Brazilian sugarcane ethanol, which qualifies as an advanced biofuel under the Renewable Fuels Standard, was a cheaper alternative to American biodiesel to meet RFS obligations. But according to this Biodiesel Magazine article, since the renewal of the biodiesel tax credit and making of the credit retroactive back to 2012, Good and Irwin have relooked at the issue, especially after getting several comments pointing out omissions in their analysis, including the 2.5 percent Ad Valorem tax on Brazilian ethanol:

“The price relationships at the U.S. Gulf on Jan. 10 favored biodiesel blending over the blending of Brazilian ethanol, even without consideration of the opportunity cost of Brazilian ethanol,” write Good and Irwin. “That cost added substantially to the advantage of biodiesel.”

After the more complete analysis of blend economics, Good and Irwin conclude the data suggests an economic advantage to U.S. biodiesel over Brazilian ethanol in meeting the advanced biofuel requirements of RFS2.

“The biodiesel advantage is large and a dramatic change from our analysis [on January 10],” they write. “It also has potentially far-reaching implications for both U.S. corn and domestic fats and oils consumption in 2013.

Good and Irwin also point out that since Brazilian ethanol has to be shipped, that would add to the cost of that fuel.

Two agribusiness giants from each side of the Atlantic are considering their joint biodiesel venture. U.S.-based Bunge and Europe’s Sofiproteol are reviewing their operation in Europe, according to this Reuters story, as the two look to cut overproduction while demand is weak for the green fuel.

Sofiproteol, owner of the European Union’s biggest biodiesel maker, Diester Industrie, and Bunge have a 60-40 percent deal in a spinoff called Diester Industrie International (DII), which controls plants in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Austria.

“They (Bunge) are mainly present in Northern Europe and we are in France and southern Europe. So there are a number of talks going on with them,” he said.

According to Reuters, Bunge wasn’t commenting on the story. But DII stopped production a year ago at its Livorno, Italy, facility and does not plan to restart it. The weak biodiesel sector in Europe has been caused by cheap Argentine and Indonesian imports, and the European biodiesel market has been even further threatened by a change in EU policy that aims to limit the use of oilseeds in fuels.