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Expanding Community Fuels
Community
Fuels is a Stockton-based biofuel producer committed to providing easy
access to cleaner fuels and consequently expanding the clean energy industry to
strengthen regional economies here in California.
As some of our
readers may be aware, the SJVCEO is
participating in the Workforce Investment Board Regional Industry Cluster of
Opportunities (WIB RICO
II) grant to support the Alternative
and Renewable Fuel Vehicle (ARFV) Technology program. The California
Energy Commission (CEC), under this ARFV Technology Program, awarded Community Fuels a $4.9
million grant for expansion of their production facilities. Community Fuels
will be expected to build commercial-scale facilities that “can sustainably
produce at least 15 MMgy of low carbon transportation fuels” (according
to this article in Biodiesel Magazine).
I was curious about the consumption of gasoline in both our
wonderful state of California and the country as a whole and so I put my math
skills to good use to figure out how much of an impact this one, small company
in the Central Valley could make. Here’s what I found:
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| Photo Source: LA Times |
California is responsible for consuming nearly 11% (14.5
billion gallons) of what the US consumes as a whole (about 133 billion
gallons per year, as of 2012). This means that Californians use about 39.7
million gallons of gasoline each day.
So, what can we conclude?
Well, once Community Fuels expands, they will produce enough
clean transportation fuels to replace at least 40% of what all Californians use
in one day (or 0.1% of what Californians use in a year). Sure, that doesn’t
really sound like a whole lot, ESPECIALLY when we compare it to the entire
country’s gasoline consumption, but the more traction Community Fuels and the
ARFV Technology Program receive, and the more California adapts to the influx
of alternative vehicles (i.e. building more alternative fueling stations),
Community Fuels and other similar production facilities will expand even further
to replace many more gallons of gasoline.
Unfortunately, all of this will
take lots of time, money and resources. But there’s good news, too: the SJVCEO
and our partners on this WIB RICO
grant are making moves to expedite the transition to a San Joaquin Valley with
cleaner, more efficient transportation.
What is biomass electricity, and what waste to energy & biomass in California means for you and me.
What is biomass electricity?
Biomass electricity is drawn from combusting or decomposing organic matter.
There are about 132 waste-to-energy plants in California, with a total capacity of almost 1,000 megawatts. These plants power our homes and businesses with electricity from waste matter that would have been released into the atmosphere, added fuel to forest fires, and burdened our landfills.
Why is biomass electricity important?
Californians create nearly than 2,900 pounds of household garbage and industrial waste each and every second; a total of 85.2 million tons of waste in 2005 (according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board)! Of that, 43.2 million tons is recovered and recycled or used to make energy, but 42 million tons has to be disposed in landfills. Thanks to advances in technology, waste known as biomass, is put to valuable use producing electricity.
In 2007, 6,236 gigawatt hours of electricity in homes and businesses was produced from biomass: burning forestry, agricultural, and urban biomass; converting methane-rich landfill gas to energy (LFGTE); and processing wastewater and dairy biogas into useful energy. Biomass power plants produced 2.1 percent of the total electricity in California in 2007, or about one-fifth of all the renewable energy.
Bioenergy is renewable energy derived from biological sources, to be used for heat, electricity, or vehicle fuel. Biofuel derived from plant materials is among the most rapidly growing renewable energy technologies.
State Policy on Biomass and Biofuels
Biomass electricity is drawn from combusting or decomposing organic matter.
There are about 132 waste-to-energy plants in California, with a total capacity of almost 1,000 megawatts. These plants power our homes and businesses with electricity from waste matter that would have been released into the atmosphere, added fuel to forest fires, and burdened our landfills.
Why is biomass electricity important?
Using biomass to produce electricity reduces our reliance on
fossil fuels, the nation's primary energy sources for electricity, and the
largest contributors to air pollution and greenhouse gases. We will eventually
run out of fossil fuels. Biomass electricity offers alternatives with many
benefits:
- Our supply of biomass is renewable, meaning it will not run out.
- Electricity produced by biomass reduces the threat of global climate change.
- Using biomass waste eliminates the need to place it in landfills.
- Clearing biomass from wooded areas helps prevent forest fires.
- Using by-product methane gases to produce electricity eliminates odor and reduces air pollution in surrounding areas.
Californians create nearly than 2,900 pounds of household garbage and industrial waste each and every second; a total of 85.2 million tons of waste in 2005 (according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board)! Of that, 43.2 million tons is recovered and recycled or used to make energy, but 42 million tons has to be disposed in landfills. Thanks to advances in technology, waste known as biomass, is put to valuable use producing electricity.
In 2007, 6,236 gigawatt hours of electricity in homes and businesses was produced from biomass: burning forestry, agricultural, and urban biomass; converting methane-rich landfill gas to energy (LFGTE); and processing wastewater and dairy biogas into useful energy. Biomass power plants produced 2.1 percent of the total electricity in California in 2007, or about one-fifth of all the renewable energy.
Bioenergy is renewable energy derived from biological sources, to be used for heat, electricity, or vehicle fuel. Biofuel derived from plant materials is among the most rapidly growing renewable energy technologies.
State Policy on Biomass and Biofuels
The Governor directed several state agencies - including the
Energy Commission - to take major steps toward the widespread use of biomass to
produce clean, renewable transportation fuels or electricity. This directive
helped to reinvigorate the Bioenergy Interagency Working Group through the help
of the California Biomass Collaborative.
The Bioenergy Interagency Working Group -- lead by
Commissioner Jim Boyd of the California Energy Commission, and includes the Air
Resources Board (ARB), California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA),
California Public Utilities Commission, California Resources Agency, Department
of Food and Agriculture, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Department
of General Services, Integrated Waste Management Board, and the State Water
Resources Control Board -- made a recommendation to the Governor in March 2006
on biomass and biofuels.
That report, Recommendations
for a Bioenergy Action Plan for California , can be downloaded from their website. (PDF file, 56 pages, 4.5 MB).
The Governor issued an Executive
Order S-06-06 (PDF file), signed on April 25, 2006, dealing with
biomass and biofuels. Two important points stated that:
- By 2010, 20 percent of its biofuels need to be produced within California; increasing to 40 percent by 2020 and 75 percent by 2050.
- By 2010, 20 percent of the renewable electricity should be generated from biomass resources within the state; maintaining this level through 2020.
The Governor then in July 2006, released California's
Bioenergy Action Plan (PDf file, 11 pages, 2.1 MB). The plan's
objectives included:
- Establish California as a market leader in technology innovation, sustainable biomass development, and market development for bio-based products.
- Coordinate research, development, demonstration, and commercialization efforts across federal and state agencies. ----Develop biomass roadmap.
- Align existing regulatory requirements to encourage production and use of California's biomass resources.
- Facilitate market entry for new applications of bioenergy including electricity, biogas, and biofuels.
- Maximize the contributions of bioenergy toward achieving the state's petroleum reduction, climate change, renewable energy, and environmental goals.( http://www.energy.ca.gov/biomass/ )
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/riducareflui/5142516275/
Biogas industry seeks to clear the regulatory air
A bootstrap industry, still trying to gain a toehold in the state, can remove tons of those pollutants and produce renewable energy at the same time. The concept would appear to meet the goal of the state's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which seeks to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
So what's the holdup?
Part economics, part regulatory. Five of the top people in the state's biogas industry met recently in Fresno with members of the California Public Utility Commission to explain the difficulties in getting bio-digesters up and running. The meetings were in Fresno City Hall. Each commissioner and his or her staff listened and gave feedback to various groups.
Making the case for biogas
The small but friendly renewables group spelled out all the potential a viable biogas industry could bring. But the group, who represented five companies, also explained the turmoil their operations face breaking into the market in a substantial way. And by and large, the commissioners, who met them one by one, appeared to see the merits of their cause.
The biogas representatives' plan is simple. The Valley is also home to 1,700 dairies, the most productive and largest milk production region in the country. These dairies also produce a huge amount of methane, mostly through cow poop.
Their companies, with the exception of one that uses agricultural waste, take what the cows discard and convert it to energy. However, to do this they need a little help. Because the industry is so new, development and operation costs somewhat exceed current return. The biodigestion process removes pollutants, which could improve the health of millions of people, but that benefit -- at this time -- isn't worth anything to banks. The fact that the industry could divert a huge amount of the state's greenhouse gas and create a renewable resource can't be monetized. And that means the projects don't look good to traditional financiers.
"We need a stable program to launch the industry," says Neil Black, president of California Bioenergy.
Industry could use a hand
There are a lot of details involved with getting a biodigester up and running. Suffice to say that most of them boil down to price per kilowatt hour. Utilities pay something like 8.9 cents, while the standard biodigester coupled to a energy-creating turbine needs something more, like 15 to 17 cents, at least at this early stage.
It's not uncommon for a developing energy source to get regulatory assistance. In the energy business, it's understood that every new resource needs some sort of subsidy to get started and eventually become profitable. Even oil.
Black says there only 11 biodigesters operating in California. He says about that many went out of business, unable to make the economics work.
"We're operating in five different states now, and all are easier than California," says Bob Joblin, who represents AgPower Group. He says he's had a project fully permitted for a year and a half, just waiting on assistance to unravel regulatory red tape.
Nettie Drake of Ag Power Development says she's working on her second digester, but it hasn't been easy. She says her business finds nothing but hurdles.
The cost of clean air
The difficult part is that of air quality. Because there is no viable methodology for trading carbon credits, where one company pays another to offset its pollution, there is no method for companies like Black's or Drake's or Joblin's to leverage those credits.
Congress has failed to pass cap-and-trade, meaning no sales of credits for biodigesters. However, California does show some promise -- but not until next year, when it's due to launch what Peter Weisberg of BioCycle.net says is "the nation’s most comprehensive cap-and-trade program."
Weisberg says digester and composting project developers interested in generating carbon credit revenue "must now turn their attention to the intricacies of the emerging California carbon market."
Timing is key. The group at the CPUC meetings in Fresno says the opportunity for getting their current projects established and successful is limited. Expired permits, missed financing or mounting debt could sour farmers on the concept.
And it's farmers who take the risk.
Renewable energy
These projects could make a big difference. Black says the potential in California for all digesters, including waste water and ag waste is 3 gigawatts of power.
That's a pretty big deal. For example the twin reactors at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo produce about 2.2 gigawatts.
And it would remove greenhouse gases from the worst air in the nation. Fresno and other cities in the Valley are good at getting on lists no city wants any part of. For instance, Fresno has the distinction of having the nation's highest concentrated poverty and a number of Valley cities found their way onto the Top 10 residential foreclosure list over the past few years.
Bye bye brown haze?
The American Lung Association's 2012 State of the Air Report lists primarily Valley cities in its top 10 most polluted. One of the reasons for this airborne nastiness has to do with the region's geographic configuration (basin surrounded by two mountain ranges) its lack of wind and rain and the fact that everything from Los Angeles and the Bay Area migrates east and hangs out.
The biodigester industry is poised to do its part. And there's this: Biogas doesn't operate at the whim of mother nature like wind and solar. Hook it up to the grid and it could even out the highs and lows of other renewable power sources.
Making use of wasted space with solar and clean energy
Sometimes, what seems to be wasted space isn't.
Take road medians, rights-of-ways, military bases and airports for example. More studies are showing those regions, which are often off limits or seemingly unusable, could be sites for placing solar arrays, wind turbines or crops for biofuel.
This NPR story talks about the huge potential for solar arrays on the vast expanses of military bases. This suggests lining roadways with solar panels, and this USDA report, released in January, says locating alternative power at airports could be an ideal compromise to habitat and land conflicts that plague renewable energy projects.
From the report: "with careful planning, locating alternative energy projects at airports could help mitigate many of the challenges currently facing policy makers, developers, and conservationists. "
It makes sense. Wildlife isn't wanted at airports, and development of property in the flight path is discouraged. Officials at my hometown airport in Fresno, Calif., were way ahead of the game when they had solar panels installed in 2008.
The panels, placed on land near runways that was previous unusable, are shaving millions off the power bill. The USDA report showcases the Fresno installation and notes it supplies about 60% of the airport's power. Any surplus energy is resold.
Read more here. Meadows Field in Bakersfield and Denver International Airport also have solar arrays.
The USDA study says airports are "one of the few land holdings where reductions
in wildlife abundance and habitat quality are necessary and socially acceptable, and where regulations discourage traditional (crop) production." (Did you know economic losses from wildlife/aircraft collisions are estimated at $600 million annually in the United States?)
Authors of the USDA report, while citing the solar airport examples, note they are not aware of any biofuel production at airports. That could be because officials are afraid the crops would attract wildlife. However, several airports already lease land to farmers who grow such crops as corn. And opportunity exists, at least in terms of land size. The study found that only 10% of the 50 U.S. states had median farm sizes larger airport grasslands.
The authors also note that turf near runways sometimes attract geese and other birds. The report suggests that converting that land to switchgrass or other types of cellulosic feedstock could be an option. "Field research likely could identify productive biofuel crops that, from a wildlife perspective, are compatible with safe airport operations," the authors state, citing other studies.
For more, here is a CleanTechnica post that serves as a good overview.
We're starting to see much more in this area. Solar, for example, is showing up on farms, on roadway pilot projects, on parking garages, city wastewater treatment plants, and on county jails and state prisons. The military is going full speed ahead on renewables, while corporate America, professional sports (hello, baseball season) and others are moving ahead on sustainability programs.
Watch for solar and other types of renewable energy to show up in even more places. Wouldn't it be great if this nation took a space race approach, as my colleague put it so well in this blog, to clean energy and energy efficiency?
Fresno airport solar savings graphic provide by City of Fresno
Grant opportunity for biomass, biofuel research
The federal Departments of Agriculture and Energy, continuing research into biomass and biofuel, are funding projects that combine three program areas: (A) Feedstock development, (B)Biofuels and bio based products development, and (C) Biofuels and bio-based products development analysis.
The agencies are accepting grant applications through April 24 for projects that research or demonstrate the conversion of feedstock and cellulosic biomass into biofuel and bio-based products such as chemicals, animal feed and co-generation power.
Successful applications will consider cradle-to-grave impacts, including environmental, social and economic implications. Nonprofits, universities and businesses are invited to apply for the grants. More information can be found here.
Biodiesel industry keeps rolling
But Gillis, president and chief executive of Watsonville, Calif.-based Energy Alternative Solutions Inc., intends to stay in the business. Once the sale is complete, he plans to focus on development of marketable biofuel crops like camelina, which requires very little water and has been grown successfully in the San Joaquin Valley.
"Biodiesel is taking off," he says. And camelina, which is harvested for its seeds, has a bright part in that future, he adds.
The biodiesel business certainly isn't putting the petroleum companies out of business. In fact, the market remains relatively limited with most sales going to fleets or established customers. However, its niche is extensive with more than 600 fleets using biodiesel blends in their vehicles and the military testing it as a 50 percent additive to jet fuel.
Gillis says he sees the fuel as an intermediary that will serve to ease dependence on petroleum until a substitute can be found. And that may take awhile.
The EPA has forecast through its Renewable Fuel Standard program a target of about 1 billion gallons of biomass-produced biodiesel this year. In 2006, 250 million gallons were sold, with more than 900 million projected to sell in 2011.
The EPA says biodiesel can help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and provide greenhouse gas emission reductions: "It reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter and sulfates, as well as hydrocarbon and air toxics emissions."
Derek Mead of greentechmedia.com calls biodiesel the workhorse of the biofuel sector. He writes that the "market is projected to continue to increase production and is still a stable sector."
Gillis' plant, which sits near the central coast in Gonzales, Calif. just south of Salinas on Highway 101, recycled 150,000 pounds of waste vegetable oil into biodiesel each week and has been on line since 2007. Over its history, the plant has produced more than 1 million gallons.
Biodiesel can be produced from vegetable oils, animal fats and used restaurant grease.
Gillis says the plant was built by Pacific Biodiesel, headquartered on Maui, Hawaii. "They are one of the oldest producers of biodiesel fuel and production plant builders in the country," he says.
Gillis says he'd like to see the plant bought and relocated to the nearby San Joaquin Valley where it would be close potential fields. He says "parties interested in relocating the plant to the San Joaquin Valley will be given a credit with a cap for the cost of disassembly and transport of the plant."
Gillis says that although a $1 per gallon tax credit wasn't renewed by Congress, renewable fuel credits are available through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "and remain an excellent source of support for producers of biodiesel. Cap and trade will also have a positive effect on the industry."
The tax incentive was enacted in 2004 as part of the American Jobs Creation Act and expired at the close of 2009.
The National Biodiesel Board says the industry generates substantial economic benefits. In 2008, the U.S. biodiesel industry supported 51,893 jobs, added $4.287 billion to the economy, and generated $866.2 million in tax revenue, it says.
Gillis says the elimination of the tax credit either eliminated or temporarily shuttered about half the jobs in biodiesel.
Gillis believes in biofuels and would like to see more jobs developed. He'd also like to find a buyer for his plant -- although he may have a line on it with a couple interested parties. He's got a list of the equipment for those who would like to know more. Price is negotiable, the list says.
The U.S. Military: The Big Green Machine Gets Even Greener
The military has a history of innovation that eventually goes mainstream. The most notable example, of course, is the Internet. Developed for the military, it revolutionized society. Department of Defense support also helped forge commercial development of global positioning systems and semiconductors.
Green energy and microgrids could be next on the list of advancements to expand beyond military bases and the battlefield. In a new report and a video, PEW Charitable Trusts says the emergence of clean energy and increasingly competitive alternative energy sources "presents DoD (Department of Defense) with opportunities for saving lives and money in the years ahead."
There are challenges, such as an austerity movement (although it could be argued that a strong clean-energy program actually saves money) and fallout from the Solyndra bankruptcy, which sidetracked an ambitious plan to attach solar to put solar panels on military housing. Whether the program survives remains to be seen.
Still, the military is moving ahead on other fronts. And it is not alone. Big Business, led by Walmart, Google and others, is pushing on. Walmart is particularly interesting; the world's largest retailer wouldn't be pursuing such an ambitious program if it wasn't profitable. If you want to know more about Walmart's efforts, read this new book.
In fact, there is so much going on that the phrase "industrial revolution" keeps coming up in regard to green energy. Economist Jeremy Rifkin is the latest, calling it "the third Industrial Revolution."
The military's efforts certainly are a catalyst. Using alternative fuel to power jets and other vehicles can sharply reduce dependence upon oil. The Department of Defense is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States, gobbling more than 375,000 barrels of oil per day in 2009 - more than all but 35 nations.
Liquid petroleum accounts for about 75 percent of the military's annual energy consumption, and more than $11 billion of its annual power bill. So, electric vehicles and biofuel such as algae and switchgrass can save millions of dollars. Did you know base leaders at Fort Bliss, Texas, drive tiny electric cars made of recycled plastic? Leave the Hummer home, baby!
Recently, a company of Marines operated their equipment solely on solar and battery power for 192 hours, saving eight gallons of fuel per day. And it is quieter, making it safer to operate on the battlefield.
From the report: "The Navy has also made progress on hybrid systems for ships. The USS Makin Island was commissioned in 2009 with a hybrid electric propulsion system that will save more than $250 million in fuel costs over the life of the ship. Looking forward, a hybrid electric drive system will be tested and installed as a proof of concept on the USS Truxtun. The Navy estimates successful testing will result in fuel savings of up to 8,500 barrels per year."
Just as alternative fuel enhances the security of energy supplies, self-contained microgrids and other smart-energy technology can protect the military's 500,000 buildings (totaling 2.2 billion square feet) at 500 major installations from commercial power outages.
Pew cites market analysts who project the military will account for almost 15 percent of the microgrid market in 2013, and that military implementation of microgrids will grow by 375 percent to $1.6 billion annually in 2020.
The Pew report is fascinating, and there is much more than recapped here. After reading it, I'm left with this thought: The influence of the military combined with growing interest in energy efficiency and sustainability by Big Business and others equals the start of a powerful movement that likely will pick up speed as awareness increases.
Photo of soldiers deploying a solar banket by Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul D. Williams, US Navy)
Green energy and microgrids could be next on the list of advancements to expand beyond military bases and the battlefield. In a new report and a video, PEW Charitable Trusts says the emergence of clean energy and increasingly competitive alternative energy sources "presents DoD (Department of Defense) with opportunities for saving lives and money in the years ahead."
There are challenges, such as an austerity movement (although it could be argued that a strong clean-energy program actually saves money) and fallout from the Solyndra bankruptcy, which sidetracked an ambitious plan to attach solar to put solar panels on military housing. Whether the program survives remains to be seen.
Still, the military is moving ahead on other fronts. And it is not alone. Big Business, led by Walmart, Google and others, is pushing on. Walmart is particularly interesting; the world's largest retailer wouldn't be pursuing such an ambitious program if it wasn't profitable. If you want to know more about Walmart's efforts, read this new book.
In fact, there is so much going on that the phrase "industrial revolution" keeps coming up in regard to green energy. Economist Jeremy Rifkin is the latest, calling it "the third Industrial Revolution."
The military's efforts certainly are a catalyst. Using alternative fuel to power jets and other vehicles can sharply reduce dependence upon oil. The Department of Defense is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States, gobbling more than 375,000 barrels of oil per day in 2009 - more than all but 35 nations.
Liquid petroleum accounts for about 75 percent of the military's annual energy consumption, and more than $11 billion of its annual power bill. So, electric vehicles and biofuel such as algae and switchgrass can save millions of dollars. Did you know base leaders at Fort Bliss, Texas, drive tiny electric cars made of recycled plastic? Leave the Hummer home, baby!
Recently, a company of Marines operated their equipment solely on solar and battery power for 192 hours, saving eight gallons of fuel per day. And it is quieter, making it safer to operate on the battlefield.
From the report: "The Navy has also made progress on hybrid systems for ships. The USS Makin Island was commissioned in 2009 with a hybrid electric propulsion system that will save more than $250 million in fuel costs over the life of the ship. Looking forward, a hybrid electric drive system will be tested and installed as a proof of concept on the USS Truxtun. The Navy estimates successful testing will result in fuel savings of up to 8,500 barrels per year."
Just as alternative fuel enhances the security of energy supplies, self-contained microgrids and other smart-energy technology can protect the military's 500,000 buildings (totaling 2.2 billion square feet) at 500 major installations from commercial power outages.
Pew cites market analysts who project the military will account for almost 15 percent of the microgrid market in 2013, and that military implementation of microgrids will grow by 375 percent to $1.6 billion annually in 2020.
The Pew report is fascinating, and there is much more than recapped here. After reading it, I'm left with this thought: The influence of the military combined with growing interest in energy efficiency and sustainability by Big Business and others equals the start of a powerful movement that likely will pick up speed as awareness increases.
Photo of soldiers deploying a solar banket by Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul D. Williams, US Navy)
Biofuels score big, but can they cut oil imports?
On the federal side, President Obama has allocated $510 million to produce the fuel for military jets and ships and commercial vehicles. And the Army has established the Energy Initiatives Office Task Force, which is charged with figuring out how to meet a 25 percent renewable energy goal by 2025.
A national security issue
Much of the task force's efforts could be directed to biofuels. Oil dependence has long been considered a national security issue. A 2006 report by the Council on Foreign Relations said the United States must manage the consequences of unavoidable dependence on foreign oil. “The longer the delay, the greater will be the subsequent trauma,” the report said.
This week, Obama emphasized the importance of biofuels to energy security, and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said, "America's long-term national security depends upon a commercially viable domestic biofuels market."
But it won't be easy. Obama's plan is to produce 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022, with 20 billion gallons coming from advanced biofuels, 15 billion gallons from corn ethanol and one billion gallons from biodiesel.
Biofuel targets by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 2012 are about 9 percent greater than the previous year and show a modest but increasing role for non-corn biofuels. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires that a percentage of fuel sold in the country contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel.
What exactly is biofuel?
Biofuel is a pretty broad category that includes ethanol, biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol, gas-tank-ready isobutanol and, depending on how it's classified, algae fuel. But biofuel manufacture requires energy and, like petroleum products and coal, burning it creates greenhouse gases. Similar to natural gas, those emissions aren't as bad, but the distinction marks its green credentials with an asterisk.
Ethanol, which remains a widely used gasoline additive, may have lost some of the momentum it had five years ago, especially that derived from corn. However, research and development appear undeterred.
At the U.S. Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center in Oak Ridge, Tenn., a team of researchers at believe they have "pinpointed the exact, single gene that controls ethanol production capacity in a microorganism." The discovery, officials say, could prove the missing link in developing biomass crops that produce higher concentrations of ethanol at lower costs.
“This discovery is an important step in developing biomass crops that could increase yield of ethanol, lower production costs and help reduce our reliance on imported oil,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a statement.
New biofuel discoveries
Further underlining my premise for acceleration in biofuel development is yet another announcement from the DOE, this time about two promising biofuel production methods. Both are referred to as "drop-in" biofuels technologies because they can directly replace or be used in lieu of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel without alteration to engines.
The National Advanced Biofuels Consortium, which received $35 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate biofuel development, selected the "technology pathways" for extra attention.
The consortium plans to develop the technologies to a "pilot-ready" stage over the next two years. One of the two methods focuses on converting biomass into sugars that can be biologically and chemically converted into a renewable diesel and is dubbed FLS, for fermentation of lignocellulosic sugars. The second, catalysis of lignocellulosic sugars, or CLS, focuses on converting biomass into sugars that can be chemically and catalytically converted into gasoline and diesel fuel.
Speed is important, partners needed
"Biofuels are an important part of reducing America's dependence on foreign oil and creating jobs here at home," Obama said, adding that the job requires partnering with the private sector to speed development.
Officials said that to accelerate the production of bio-based jet and diesel fuel for military purposes, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of the Navy Mabus have developed a plan to jointly construct or retrofit several drop-in biofuel plants and refineries.
Oil remains the dominant player
The United States relies on imported oil for 49 percent of its fuel supply, but about half of that comes from the Western Hemisphere with Canada at the top with 25 percent, followed by Venezuela's 10 percent and Mexico's 9 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Some 12 percent of the nation's imports come from Saudi Arabia.
And while U.S. dependence on imported oil has declined since peaking in 2005, the cause can be traced to the recession, improvements in efficiency and various changes in consumer behavior, the EIA says. "At the same time, increased use of domestic biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel), and strong gains in domestic production of crude oil and natural gas plant liquids expanded domestic supplies and reduced the need for imports," officials say.
Undoubtedly that biofuel percentage will rise. The next decade will be the test.
At the Advanced Biofuels Markets exhibition and seminars Nov. 8 to Nov. 11, 2011 in San Francisco, the topic will be "How are we going to get from 6.6 million gallons in 2011 to 20 BILLION gallons in 2022?" It will be a good place to learn more than you wanted to know.
Photo: Courtesy greenenergyproject.tk
Putting A Bug In For Green Energy
As interest in biofuel heats up, so does research into various forms. Alternatives are being studied, including camelina,, which can be grown on marginal farmland, and algae, but there are other opportunities too.
In Michigan, researchers from Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center are studying whether genes from fungi that live near bark beetles can efficiently produce bio-ethanol from stalks, leaves, wood chips, sawdust and dead trees.
Allison Leahy has more in this fascinating report in CleanTechies and Earth & Industry.
The Michigan research is an example of the tremendous progress being made in alternative fuels and clean energy - a movement that some analysts have likened to America's industrial revolution.
Advancements are announced regularly. Just today, I read this: the use of molten salt to store solar power so it can be used when the sun is not shining. An MIT study also is under way.
Who knows where all this will lead. The recent federal debt agreement casts doubt on Washington D.C.'s ability to participate, but some states, such as California, are pushing ahead with green agendas.
Some heavy hitters in the corporate world are pursuing sustainability as core programs. UPS just announced that its alternative fuel fleet motored 200 million miles over the past decade. Walmart, General Electric, Google and others, have recognized that going green produces green for the bottom line.
Let's hope the message spreads.