Canada’s planned 46 Mgy BioStreet biodiesel plant in Alberta selects technology partners
February 29, 2008
In Canada, BioStreet Canada has selected its technology partners as momentum begins to build for the 46 Mgy canola biodiesel plant planned for Vegreville, Alberta. The company has recently been awarded $300,000 in federal support through the Biodiesel Oppportunities for Producers Initiative (BOPI).
The federal ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital (ecoABC) initiative is providing more than $600,000 to Western Biodiesel, a competitor to BioStreet. Local farmers will provide another $275,000 in direct investment toward the $8 million project cost for the 19 Mgy canola and tallow-based Western Biodiesel plant at Aldersyde, Alberta.
Climate Change Central, an Alberta not-for-profit organization, is currently test 60 trucks in a $2.6 million cold weather biodiesel research project. The Canadian and Alberta governments, Shell Canada, the Canola Council of Canada, the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, Canadian Bioenergy, Neste Oil and Milligan BioTech are the project sponsors.
Biofuels Digest Index recovers 2.56 percent to 129.64 on agribusiness, ethanol jumps
February 29, 2008
The Biofuels Digest Index™ (BDI), a basket of public biofuels stocks, recovered 2.56 percent Thursday to close at 129.64 on gains by diversified agribusiness and ethanol stocks. For the day, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) jumped 1.20 percent to close at $46.47.
Among ethanol stocks, Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR) recovered 5.22 percent to $7.05. Among small caps, Xethanol (XNL) rose 10.64 percent to reach $0.52. For the day, declines led advances 3 to 2.
Russia’s Itera Ethanol plans expansion in US, Europe, following BioEnergy International investment
February 29, 2008
In Pennsylvania, the Russian biofuels developer Itera Ethanol is among the investors in the $265 million 108 Mgy BioEnergy International ethanol project in Clearfield. Itera made its first investment in the project in 2006, and plans to invest in similar projects in the US and Europe.
BioEnergy International closed financing for its 100 Mgy corn ethanol plant and pilot cellulosic plant, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The $201 million in debt financing was provided by TD Banknorth and WestLB, with tax exempt bond financing by Sterns Brothers. Equity funding was provided by BioEnergy and its investors Plainfield Asset Management, Camulos Capital, Itera Ethanol, LLC, Context Capital Management and NGP Capital Resources.
“The corn and cellulosic pilot plants to be built in Clearfield are core to BioEnergy’s mission of integrating the development of novel biocatalysts for use in innovative, state-of-the-art biorefineries,” the company said.
BioEnergy International’s strategy combines two conventional 108 Mgy corn-based ethanol plants, based in Lake Providence, LA and Clearfield County, PA; diversification into novel biocatalysts for the manufacture of green chemicals and biopolymers; and development of cellulosic technology to retrofit into existing and future plants.
The BioEnergy International research center is located in Woburn, Massachusetts, and serves as BioEnergy’s strategic hub for development and commercialization of next generation biofuels, biopolymers, and specialty chemicals from renewable sources.
“I look forward to the day when a pound of sugar from renewable raw materials replaces the use of petrochemicals in the manufacture of everything from the fuel we put in our cars to the plastics and fabrics we use in our lives,†stated Chairman and CEO Stephen J. Gatto. Gatto was the founder of BCI (later Celunol), which recently merged into Verenium (VRNM); one of the select group of pioneers in cellulosic technology companies.
Today in Biofuels: DOE awards $33.8 million in research funds; UK halts biofuels target, pending review; Clinton campaign $$, legislative efforts linked to personal ethanol investments
February 28, 2008
Top Story:
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $33.8 million in research grants to four cellulosic ethanol projects in California and New Jersey. The four-year research grants come from a $1 billion fund the DOE established to finance cellulosic ethanol research. The grants are for projects researching advanced enzymes for converting cellulose into sugars. Industry will add another $37 million to the research effort. Grants were awarded to DSM Innovation Center, Genencor, Novozymes and Verenium. The latter three are based in California, while DSMN is based in New Jersey.
Producer News:
In Florida, the Renewable Fuel Association said that “naysayers notwithstanding, 2007 was a seminal year for the industry”. Bob Dineen, executive director of the RFA, in his State of the Industry address at the annual RFA conference in Orlando, said that domestic production reached 6.5 billion gallons, consumption exceeded 7 billion gallons, 29 new refineries opened, and the new Renewable Fuel Standard set out a path for industry growth through 2022. He called the “food-vs-fuel” debate a “fallacy”, noting that ethanol producers do not use the protein in corn, and called articles in Science magazine a “worst case scenario”. However, writing in the Financial Times, Mark Thirwell raised the specter of Malthus and the question of how long the present imbalances between agricultural supply and demand will last, and can last. Henry Miller writes in World Politics Review that politician are ” drunk with the prospect of corn-derived ethanol” and “starvation and malnourishment are becoming worse among the poorest of the poor.”
In Pennsylvania, Diamond Star Energy has proposed a 35 Mgy biodiesel plant for Neville Island, in the Ohio River north of Pittsburgh. Diamond Star and Land Gas Technologies will be a con-investor in the project, and is negotiating with Ashland Chemical for a lease of a proposed island-based site. The proposed plant, using an undisclosed feedstock, would ultimately be expanded to a capacity of 100 Mgy.
In Illinois, a federal judge has approved a sale process for the bankrupt Central Illinois Energy plant in Canton, while turning down an undisclosed Florida group who offered $25 million for the plant and equipment. The $80 million Credit Suisse offer is the only offer that has not yet been rejected for the plant, which ran up costs of more than $130 million and was not completed.
In New Mexico, the Carlsbad City Council approved a loan of $1.1 million in federal funds for Cetane Energy, which will enable the plant to obtain final permits and commence construction. The funds are provided by the federal Waste Isolation Pilot Plan Acceleration Funds, but are controlled by the local council, and are awarded annually by the council to offset the impact of the nuclear waste repository closing.
International News:
In Thailand, Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop announced a 15-year Renewable Energy Development Plan that will detail incentives and tax breaks for ethanol, biodiesel, wind and solar power. Lt Gen Poonpirom said that ethanol would be initially targeted for export, and biodiesel built up through increased palm cultivation over a 6-year period. Thailand produces 125 Mgy of ethanol at nine plants, with annual consumption at 67 Mgy. The plans calls for expansion of production capacity by 220 Mgy this year, and the introduction of a B10 standard this year.
In China, ASB Biodiesel announced a 100,000 Tpy multi-feedstock biodiesel plant that will be built in the Tseung Kwan O industrial area of Hong Kong. The plant will primarily utilize used cooking oil, waste animal fat and grease trap waste as feedstock.
In England, Environment Minister Ruth Kelly said that “We are not prepared to go beyond current UK target levels for biofuels until we are satisfied it can be done sustainably.” The UK Renewable Fuels Agency has been tasked to produce a study on the economic and environmental impacts, including indirect impacts, of biofuels. The study will be used by the Environment Ministry to help determine UK and EU’s policies, and EU biofuel targets after 2010.
Research News:
In Malaysia, Godrej International projects that crude palm oil will reach a price of $1400 per tonne in the September 2008 - February 2009 period. Oil World projects $1090 per tonne in 2008; LMC International forecasts $1213 per tonne in 2008m, while Prudential Bache forecasts a range of $930-$1550 per tonne. In Canada, Syntec Biofuel said that record feedstock prices have caused a surge in inquiries for its thermo-chemical cellulosic ethanol catalyst technology, which pushes yields up to as high as 150 Gpt from waste biomass, compared to an industry standard of around 92 Gpt for corn ethanol production.
Policy and Policymakers:
In New York, reports have linked Senator Hillary Clinton to investments in several ethanol projects owned indirectly by controversial international investor Ron Burkle. The New York Times reported that President and Senator Clinton hold interests in several projects owned by Yucaipa, a private equity fund founded by Burkle, as compensation for advisory work done by the former President for the fund. Burkle has raised more than $100,000 for the Clinton presidential campaign, and Senator Clinton has sponsored legislation to provide massive government investments in ethanol. Yucaipa has, in turn, invested in numerous ethanol companies, including Cilion.
In Iowa, the chief of the state Fire Service Training Bureau said that reports that firefighters are not trained for ethanol fires should not be exaggerated. He said that 17 HAZMAT fire teams exist around the state of Iowa to respond to complex fires, and that ethanol trains generally travel through rural areas where there is less exposure to risk. However, he confirmed that local fire teams do not have ethanol fire-fighting foam.
Consumer and Fleet News:
Sir Richard Branson, in remarks surrounding the Virgin 747 biodiesel test flight, said that algae would almost certainly be the feedstock for commercial aviation biofuels, implying that the selection of coconut and babassu oil had been made in light of an algae oil shortage. Jon Dee, founder of Planet Ark, said “it is good to show that you can fly major airliners on alternative fuels. I think that it is vital that as quickly as possible we move away from business as normal. But what we should be looking at, I think, is how we get that biofuel derived from algae. That is the best way to go when it comes to biofuel.” Meanwhile, the World Development Movement called the Virgin 747 biodiesel test flight a “publicity stunt with dangerous consequences for the planet” and said that Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson should back a campaign to include aviation in the climate change bill.â€
Financial News:
The Biofuels Digest Index™ (BDI), a basket of public biofuels stocks, fell 1.34 percent Wednesday to close at 126.40 as diversified agribusiness retreated from gains early in the week. For the day, The Andersons (ANDE) slipped 1.68 percent to close at $46.27, to lead the downward trend in diversified agribusiness stocks. Among ethanol stocks, Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR) recovered 4.78 percent to $7.02. Among small caps, Texcom (TEXC.PK) plunged 28.57 percent to close at $0.05 while Bluefire Ethanol rose 2.78 percent to reach $3.70. For the day, advances led declines 5 to 3.
Department of Energy awards $33.8 million for enzyme projects in cellulosic ethanol
February 28, 2008
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $33.8 million in research grants to four cellulosic ethanol projects in California and New Jersey. The four-year research grants come from a $1 billion fund the DOE established to finance cellulosic ethanol research. The grants are for projects researching advanced enzymes for converting cellulose into sugars.
Industry will add another $37 million to the research effort. Grants were awarded to DSM Innovation Center, Genencor, Novozymes and Verenium. The latter three are based in California, while DSMN is based in New Jersey.
The US Energy Department most recently awarded $114 million in grants to cellulosic ethanol projects in Missouri, Oregon, Colorado and Wisconsin. The demonstration projects were proposed by ICM, for a plant in in St. Joseph, Missouri; Lignol Innovations, for a plant in Commerce City, Colorado; Pacific Ethanol, for a plant in Boardman, Oregon; and Stora Enso North America for a plant in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Pacific Ethanol received $24.32 million, while the others received $30 million.Last February, the Department of Energy awarded $385 million to six cellulosic ethanol projects. They were Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, for a facility in Colwich, Kansas; ALICO Inc., for a facility in LaBelle, Florida; BlueFire Ethanol, for a facility located in Corona, California; POET, for their “project liberty†facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa; Iogen Biorefinery Partners, for a facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Range Fuels, for a facility in Soperton, Georgia.
Overall, at least four US government departments are funding biofuel research.
The Department of Defense has issued a wide-ranging set of RFPs related to the use of biodiesel in support fleet as well as in vehicles and craft used in military operations. The US Defense Department is the world’s single-largest consumer of petroleum-based diesel. Algae-based biodiesel is reportedly a product of intense scrutiny at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA). Biofuels Digest sources say that both biodiesel and biocrude, or synthetic crude oil, are being investigated for their potential to give stealth-enabled aircraft a more difficult-to-detect heat signature.
The Department of Agriculture most recently granted $425,000 to esearchers at Washington University for a pilot butanol project. The university’s International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability is using microbes to produce butyrate from corn kernels. Butyrate can be fermented into butanol.
The US Department of Transportation awarded $435,000 in grants to develop improved conversion rates for cellulosic biomass into ethanol. The DOT awarded the four-year grants to a University of Wyoming team, which received $50,000 in matching funds from the UW School of Energy Resources.
Iowa fire training chief confirms shortage of ethanol fire-fighting foam, but says risk should not be exaggerated
February 28, 2008
In Iowa, the chief of the state Fire Service Training Bureau said that reports that firefighters are not trained for ethanol fires should not be exaggerated. He said that 17 HAZMAT fire teams exist around the state of Iowa to respond to complex fires, and that ethanol trains generally travel through rural areas where there is less exposure to risk. However, he confirmed that local fire teams do not have ethanol fire-fighting foam.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs said this week that most local fire departments do not have the materials or training, to put out ethanol fires. Ethanol, fires require special alcohol-resistent foams that cost 30 percent more than standard foams used to smother gasoline fires.
Ethanol eats through standard gasoline fire-fighting foams and continues to burn, while water is not effective with fuel fires because it spreads the fires and carries it into areas such as drains and sewer systems.
Ethanol trains, carrying up to 2.5 million gallons of fuel, travel through more than 20 US states and hundreds of communities. By contrast, 10,000 gallons of fuel per tower caused the World Trade Center disasters on 9/11.
25 ethanol related fires or disasters have occured in the past six years, including a recent explosion at the American AG Fuels plant in Defiance. A full list of ethanol fires can be found here. Other recent ethanol fire disasters include derailments in Windsor, Colorado and a 30-car derailment in Ohio.
Thai Energy Minister announces 15-year Renewable Energy Development Plan; Thailand to move to B10 this year; ethanol to expand 220 Mgy before year end
February 28, 2008
In Thailand, Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop announced a 15-year Renewable Energy Development Plan that will detail incentives and tax breaks for ethanol, biodiesel, wind and solar power. Lt Gen Poonpirom said that ethanol would be initially targeted for export, and biodiesel built up through increased palm cultivation over a 6-year period. Thailand produces 125 Mgy of ethanol at nine plants, with annual consumption at 67 Mgy. The plans calls for expansion of production capacity by 220 Mgy this year, and the introduction of a B10 standard this year.
Last month, former Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand said that biofuels sales would increase in 2008 to $469 million from $157 million in 2007. He said that the cost of oil imports have fallen 10% as a result of biofuel usage and a stronger currency, adding that gasoline would be replaced by E10 and E20 blends by 2012.
Thai biofuel demand has increased more than 100 percent for 2007; the spur in biofuels sales comes not only from the introduction on E20, but also the implementation of a B2 mandate. Demand is so brisk that major oil traders may be required to establish mandatory strategic reserves of ethanol and biodiesel in addition to conventional fossil fuels.
The Thai Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry is promoting sugarcane production for ethanol in a the cadmium-contaminated Mae Sot district of Tak, where food crops have been banned for health safety reasons. The Mae Sot Clean Energy plant, a joint venture between Padaeng Industry, Thai Oil and Petrogreen, will be completed in 2008 to produce sugarcane ethanol in the district.
To coordinate these disparate developments, last month the Thai government announced the establishment of a new, national biofuels organization, which will include members of the government, industry, and private citizens. The Energy Ministry began coordination talks with the Commerce and Agriculture ministries, as well as representatives of universities, farmers, car makers and oil retailers. A 21-member panel will supervise policy while a 13-member panel will supervise management of biofuels development from field to wheels. $3 million in palm oil taxes will be used to support the committees.
Sir Richard Branson says algae is the future for aviation biofuels
February 28, 2008
Sir Richard Branson, in remarks surrounding the Virgin 747 biodiesel test flight, said that algae would almost certainly be the feedstock for commercial aviation biofuels, implying that the selection of coconut and babassu oil had been made in light of an algae oil shortage.
Jon Dee, founder of Planet Ark, said “it is good to show that you can fly major airliners on alternative fuels. I think that it is vital that as quickly as possible we move away from business as normal. But what we should be looking at, I think, is how we get that biofuel derived from algae. That is the best way to go when it comes to biofuel.”
Meanwhile, the World Development Movement called the Virgin 747 biodiesel test flight a “publicity stunt with dangerous consequences for the planet” and said that Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson “should back a campaign to include aviation in the climate change bill.â€
Airbus said recently that the global aircraft fleet will double by 2026 — to more than 28,000 passenger and cargo aircraft, up from 13,000 today, and said that the industry’s share of greenhouse gas emissions would increase from 2 percent to 3 percent, even with the introduction of new eco-friendly jet engines. The Aviation Environment Federation, said that the 50% reduction in fuel consumption suggested by Boeing as a 2050 target, must be brought forward by several decades.
There has been an ongoing dispute between some environmental groups, such as Friends of the Earth, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on the tally of emissions.Environmental groups typically include a calculation called “radiative force”, which attempts to multiply greenhouse gas emissions by a factor that takes into account the effect of high altitude. Using this method, it has been stated that airlines are responsible for 12 to 13 percent of all greenhouse gases. IATA uses a figure of 3 percent, or 600 million tons of CO2.
IATA has set a goal of making planes 25 percent more fuel efficient by 2022, and “zero emission” planes within 50 years, but with airlines expected to increase fleet size by 140 percent in the next 20 years, such an effort would not keep pace with the rate of airline fleet growth. Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA said, “Air transport takes its environmental responsibility seriously. Alongside safety and security it is a pillar on which we have built a great global industry. Despite our good track record, air transport’s carbon footprint is growing. That is not acceptable. Our vision is for air transport to achieve carbon neutral growth in the medium-term, on the way to a carbon emission free future.
RFA says 2007 “a seminal year”; critics raise the ghost of Malthus, link biofuels to global starvation
February 28, 2008
In Florida, the Renewable Fuel Association said that “naysayers notwithstanding, 2007 was a seminal year for the industry“. Bob Dineen, executive director of the RFA, in his State of the Industry address at the annual RFA conference in Orlando, said that domestic production reached 6.5 billion gallons, consumption exceeded 7 billion gallons, 29 new refineries opened, and the new Renewable Fuel Standard set out a path for industry growth through 2022. He called the “food-vs-fuel” debate a “fallacy”, noting that ethanol producers do not use the protein in corn, and called articles in Science magazine a “worst case scenario”.
However, writing in the Financial Times, Mark Thirwell raised the ghost of Malthus and the question of how long the present imbalances between agricultural supply and demand will last, and can last.
Henry Miller writes in World Politics Review that politicians are “drunk with the prospect of corn-derived ethanol” and “starvation and malnourishment are becoming worse among the poorest of the poor.”
Jay Ambrose writes in the Scripps-Howard News Service that “Americans, who can mainly afford it, are paying more for food these days, but as a new U.N. report reminds us, there are poor people around the world who can’t afford the rising prices. They are going hungry, are rioting in some countries ― are even resorting to eating mud cookies in Haiti ― and maybe you are wondering why. Ethanol, that’s why.”
Earlier this month, an editorial by David Ridenour of the National Center for Public Policy Research, linking biofuels to higher retail food prices in the US, and “chronic hunger, malnutrition and starvation” in the poverty-stricken nations of Africa and Southeast Asia, has been widely syndicated in the United States.
The Raleigh News & Observer, the Sacramento Bee, the Fresno Bee, the Billings Gazette, the Washington Tri-City Herald, the Press of Atlantic City, the Bellingham Herald, the Anchorage Daily News, Hilton Head Island Packet, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Oakland Tribune, the Alameda Times-Star and the Argus have run the story so far.
Reaction to last week’s shocking Science magazine articles continued, as biofuels associations and academics continued to respond to Science magazine articles published last week that condemned US biofuel production efforts.
The complete supporting online material from the Searchinger study, including well-to-wheel emission tables can be downloaded (free) here.
More on the Science magazine controversy from Biofuels Digest:
Editorial in Newsday that calls biofuels supporters “Biofools”
Argonne National Lab says Science article authors’ models did not factor in changing crop yieldsBad, bad biofuelsâ€, more Science magazine reaction, and downloads to complete underlying data
A group of scientists write to US President George Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging them to revise US biofuels policiesBiofuels emissions authors say biofuels OK if made from waste, perennials, or abandoned land
93 percent increase in greenhouse gases? Renewable Fuel Association says fossil fuels created the “carbon debt we can never repayâ€
Nature Conservancy study says converting land for biofuels increases net carbon usage
Reaction from world press is linked below, most of it strong reading, usually condemning biofuels:
The Register
San Francisco Chronicle
World Changing
Wall Street Journal
Science
The Morning Call
TIME
National Post (Canada)
CTV
The Car Connection
The Nature Conservancy
New York Times
Los Angeles Times
Washington Post
25×25 response
UK Enviro minister, no increases in biofuels targets “until we are satisfied it can be done sustainably”
February 28, 2008
In England, the UK Renewable Fuels Agency will produce a study on the economic and environmental impacts, including indirect impacts, of biofuels. The study will be used by the Environment Ministry to help determine UK and EU’s policies, and EU biofuel targets after 2010.
Environment Minister Ruth Kelly said that “Biofuels have the potential to help reduce the impact of transport on the environment, provided they are sustainable. There has been much recent debate around the risks associated with overly rapid expansion of biofuel production, with evidence now emerging on the indirect, or “displacement” impacts, of growing demand for agricultural production around the world. The UK government takes this issue very seriously. We are not prepared to go beyond current UK target levels for biofuels until we are satisfied it can be done sustainably.”
In reaction to articles published last week in Science magazine, the UK government had ordered the revised analysis review on biofuels, but reconfirmed a biofuels target of 2.5% of transportation fuel by April, rising to 5% by 2010.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace called on the government to suspend biofuels targets. John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said “The scientific evidence is mounting - biofuels are often more damaging to the climate than the fossil fuels they are designed to replace. While it’s good news that the Government has commissioned a report to assess the consequences of these fuels, the fact remains that from April this year we’ll be forced to pump biofuels into our petrol tanks. The Government needs to introduce a moratorium on the UK’s biofuel targets until this review has been published.†Oil Voice published the Greenpeace call.
In London at International Petroleum Week, Jos Dings, director of the European Federation for Transport and Environment, said quantity targets for biofuels should be dropped in favor of a low-carbon standard, which gives incentives to companies to invest in high-performance, advanced biofuels. Peter New, president of global biofuels at BP noted that the European 2020 target was equivalent to building a 300 million gal plant every week.
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