COMMENTARY
What
NIMBY Means To One New York
Ethanol Project
by Jeanette Marvin, representing
Empire Biofuels
New York
State
Agribusiness Association
Northeast Certified Crop Advisers
Seneca Falls
,
NY-
The woman standing at the
Seneca Falls Town Board’s June meeting looked smart. She had on
thick dark glasses and a blue business suit. At her feet was a
leather-style briefcase. She held a sheaf of papers in her hand.
On the agenda that night was the formal introduction of the Empire
Biofuels LLC project plans to the Seneca Falls Town Board, the
beginning of the permitting process.
Empire Biofuels is a farmer-driven effort to build a 50-million
gallon corn-to-ethanol facility in
Seneca Falls,
NY, located between
Syracuse
and
Rochester
just off the I-90 thruway.
Was the lady an attorney? An engineer? No. She was a non-resident
who owned a bed-and-breakfast in the town and was there to kick off
a campaign to prevent the chosen project site from being rezoned
from agricultural to industrial. She told the town board she was not
against industry or ethanol. She just didn’t believe an ethanol
plant belonged in her backyard.
A little history.
The idea for Empire Biofuels was conceived over four years
ago by the New York Corn Growers Association. They were impressed by
the growing ethanol industry in the Midwest and wondered if the
industry could expand into
New York
.
In May 2000, the New York Corn Growers Association received grant
monies from the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) to examine “Commercialization of Corn to
Ethanol in
New York
State.” The study found that an ethanol facility offered excellent
economic and agricultural opportunities for
New York. The state offered strong markets for the three products produced
by an ethanol facility: ethanol, distiller’s grain and carbon
dioxide. Furthermore, the project would generate approximately $90
million in annual sales and create 35 new jobs.
That study was followed by a second study completed July 30, 2001.
“The New York Corn Growers Association and Alternative Fuels
Technology Center present a Technical Report on NYCGA Ethanol
Analysis” by the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation
(NYSTEC) investigated the economic impact of an ethanol plant on a
rural community.
On April 10, 2002, Empire Biofuels LLC was created.
Two years later on October 29, 2004, Empire Biofuels LLC announced
the final site choice for the facility would be located on Routes 5 and
20 in
Seneca Falls,
New York
.
Getting proactive.
We’d been hearing from relatives in
Pennsylvania
and
Michigan
that ethanol projects in those states were facing opposition. We
decided the best plan entailed being proactive about ethanol
production education.
In January 2005, Empire invited county, town and village
officials to visit an ethanol plant, ACE Ethanol, in
Stanley
,
Wisconsin. Three town board members and one county board of supervisor
member, the supervisor of the adjacent Town of
Waterloo, accepted the offer. In the middle of January, with temperatures at
-50 degrees with wind chill, we
visited ACE with our proposed engineers T.E. Ibberson and met with
Stanley
City
officials. The visit went extremely well. One town board
member even walked up and down the main street stopping people for
their opinion on the ethanol plant.
The problems didn’t start until we got back home. Local chat
forums started talking about what they called our “junket.” They
claimed we had bought off the officials.
Again we decided to be proactive. Although the plant details had yet
to be designed, we decided to hold two days of open house-style
informational meetings in
Seneca Falls
. We figured that open houses would allow people the opportunity to
have individual face time with each of the experts. The experts
included a representative from Delta-T, representing our
build/ design team; a representative from U.S. Water, our
permitting firm Malcolm Pirnie; the New York Corn Growers
Association, farmer-representatives of Empire Biofuels;
representatives from the local rail line Finger Lakes Rail; and the
County Industrial Development Association. Each had its own booth.
We also ran a video about ethanol production.
Attendance was slow– only 100 visitors in a community of 9,000.
The majority of visitors were simply curious. About six were
doubtful of the project. Of those, two were extremely negative. A
lady and her husband walked up to me carrying a stack of print-outs
from internet websites. The lady stated that she’d heard ethanol
production causes cancer, asthma, tons of pollution, noxious fumes,
dangerous truck traffic… the list went on. She said that she’d
been told we were liars and not to believe a word we said. Then she
asked me to defend the project. My response: “Ma’am, if you
admit that you’re not going to believe a word I have to say, or
that of any of the people here today, I don’t know what you want
me to do or say.”
We spent a lot of time talking to that woman and her husband that
day. We invited them to find out more about ethanol. Our only
qualifier to her and anyone else who had doubts was that they use
only valid information sources from government, universities and
other credible sources. Web blogs are not valid sources of
information. That woman remains doubtful about the project. Each
time we meet, she has a new allegation to make. At the last town
board meeting, she announced that she’d heard that we would not be
paying local and school taxes. Untrue. In
Seneca County,
New York, new businesses do get an approximately 50 percent discount off
local taxes for start-up years. Unless they are in an “empire
zone,” an area designated for development opportunities by the
State. We plan to petition for Empire Zone status for our project.
Start-ups in an Empire Zone pay all local taxes, but are reimbursed
by the State at no loss to the local government.
The open houses themselves caused some negative feelings. One of the
small groups that today we know as Citizens Against Rezoning for
Ethanol (CARE) sent an email alert across the school district email
system warning people that the project was dangerous, and concerned
teachers should show up to the open house to protest. There
also were accusations that an open house format wasn’t good enough.
They
wanted more public meetings. I was directly told by one member that
he wanted a public forum meeting with podium and microphone with
local tv, newspaper and radio news present so that he could refute
our speakers.
That was followed by a demand by one CARE member for the answers to
a list of 21 questions she presented at a town board meeting. The
questions were long, starting with:
1) An ethanol plant in Caro,
Michigan, which went into operation in late 2003, is causing odor and other
safety problems for its neighbors -some of whom have filed
suit against their local government officials, and the plant safety
problems mentioned include: odors, traffic congestion, and multiple
serious fires.
Many communities in the
Midwest
with operating ethanol plants have received complaints from citizens
regarding offensive odors coming from plants and spreading for
miles. Complaints have continued in communities even where plants
have been equipped with more modern devices called thermal
oxidizers. How do we know
Seneca Falls
will not experience any offensive odors from an ethanol plant? How
would any such odors be compatible with our quality of life and our
tourism industry?
Each question became more negative, a list of the negative impacts
she perceived the plant would cause include: dangerous air
emissions, serious fires, too close to population, hazardous
materials, out-of-state owners, employees spending wages
out-of-town, water quality, truck and train traffic, respiratory
diseases, farmland loss, tourism, wildlife, noise, glare, lawsuits,
and inappropriate relationships with officials.
2) I believe we need time to
carefully consider anything that will have such an important impact
on our community. Why is it necessary for Seneca Falls to approve
rezoning and construction of an ethanol plant before any other
ethanol plants are in operation in the state of
New York? Is it wise to gamble with the welfare of our community on such an
unknown quantity?
The town board passed the questions on to Empire. We answered
twice. First in statement form, which was rejected before being
read; and a second time in question and answer format – all this
before the permitting or rezoning request had even been submitted!
Why Seneca Falls?
-Seneca
Falls,
NY
is the perfect place for a corn grower-supported ethanol plant.
-Distiller’s Grains - Within 75 miles, there are 300,000 dairy
animals.
-Rail Access - Finger Lakes Rail tracks parallel the site, allowing
access to two mainline carriers.
-Water - The Seneca Canal River runs parallel to the site with a
strong flow rate.
-Infrastructure - Gas and electric access is readily available at
competitive prices.
-Traffic - The site is central to transportation access. The New York
State Thruway is only four miles away with a trucking route
that avoids population centers.
-Site - The site is 1600 feet back from the road behind the existing
railroad embankment. The site is sandwiched between two industrial
zones. It is bordered to the south by an industrial park and
aluminum siding production factory. To the east is the River
Canal, on the other side of which is farmland owned by a supporter. To
the west is a soybean field, owned by a supporter. The northern
boundary is also already zoned industrial.
-Corn - The bulk of
New York
corn is grown in
Western New York
.
-Manufacturing
Town -
Seneca Falls
is a town founded on industry. Goulds Pumps is located within the
village center. -Goulds produces pumps for ethanol plants. There are
no less than three Title V–permitted emitters within the village
center itself. Our project would be state permitted, not a Title V
federal emitter.
-Seneca Falls History - When the canal came through, destroying the
Falls, people said it would never work. When the rail came through,
some spoke against that. And when Amelia Bloomer walked downtown
wearing pants like a man, well, you can imagine the result.
Seneca Falls
has always been known for controversial innovations.
One day at a time.
Since then, we’ve spoken with success at numerous venues from
Cornell
University
to Empire Farm Days (the largest farm show in
New York
and ironically in
Seneca Falls
), to the chamber of commerce, Rotary and Kiwanis and more.
We’ve offered to meet and speak with anyone with concerns on a
project. We’ve offered to take, arrange or point anyone with
concerns to existing Delta-T operations. We’ve directly contacted
the woman who submitted the questions and offered to meet and/or
provide any information she may want. The response has always been
the same. No.
The two most vocal members of the opposition group even went to the
local town board meeting at which we weren’t present or on the
agenda, and asked for a moratorium on all economic development.
We’ve contacted other ethanol facilities for advice: ACE Ethanol, Mid-West
Grain, Adkins,
Great Lakes
and more. Each gave us the same message-in every
community there is a contingent who is against economic development
– usually white, usually women, usually less than a dozen members.
No matter how educated or intelligent, these people do not want to
learn about ethanol.
They get their information from the web.
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Veggie Van Helps Katrina
Victims
The opportunity for the American
farmer to support other Americans in a time of need has grown from
food supply to fuel supply. The Veggie Van Organization, a nonprofit
advocacy group based in Venice, CA, teamed with the Iowa West
Central biodiesel cooperative and Florida's Naples City Council to
transport 13,000 gallons of ‘biodiesel' fuel made from soybeans to
devastated coastal cities south of New Orleans.
The Veggie Van organization said the fuel will be “used to power
makeshift medical facilities and emergency generators aboard a
research vessel and fleet of shrimp boats that will bring several
tons of food, water, ice and relief supplies to the victims in
devastated areas near the mouth of the Mississippi River.”
Veggie Van, now paired with the Biodiesel School Bus Campaign in a
new organization called Biodiesel
America
, has donated $50,000 to the relief effort. Recognized by former
President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative, Biodiesel
America
was honored for its support in the restoration of the coastal areas
of
Louisiana. The founder of
the Veggie Van, Josh Tickell, has been keeping a blog of his
activities south of
New Orleans. To find out more about his expedition, see: http://www.veggievan.org/.
Source: http://www.enn.com/aff.html?id=890
Wood Waste to Energy Source
Waste is a significant problem
after devastating hurricanes such as Katrina and Rita hit a city.
It
is often seen as another problem requiring huge cost and no
possibility for revenue. Yet,
for companies in the waste and disposal industry, this can be a big
spike in their revenue. An
article from Solid Waste and
Recycling reported that
Florida’s four hurricanes last year increased volumes at local waste
companies by two to three percent.
For Waste Management Inc., this meant approximately $100
million in revenue, just from the 2004 hurricane season. Green
Energy Resources expects to capitalize on this situation and help
bring down the cost of hurricane cleanup. Instead of landfilling the
waste, a substantive amount of it could be used as feedstock for
energy production. Green Energy Resources has made a pledge to both
Alabama
and
Mississippi
to purchase up to one million tons of hurricane-damaged wood from
each state. Not only
would this be a boost to the states' economies, it would also
alleviate pressure on landfills, develop new export markets, and
create new jobs. Furthermore, Green Energy Resources uses special
UTCS software to track sources of wood biomass, greenhouse gas emissions
and landfill space; coordinate multiple-agency data; and create
chain-of-custody documentation. This
is a win-win for everyone.
Source: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=85749
Farm Bill and Katrina
On September 12, 2005, the Wichita Eagle newspaper reported that at the
Kansas
State
‘Listening Tour’ for the Farm Bill, USDA Secretary Johanns
discussed how the federal budget deficit and the $170 million in
emergency assistance will create a tough environment for the
reauthorization of the 2002 Farm Bill in 2007.
Johanns explained that in 2002, when the last Farm Bill was
passed, the Federal government had a budget surplus. However,
since the
United States
is currently running a heavy deficit, the possibility of budget
cutting and use of discretionary rather than mandatory funding is
receiving moreprominent attention than it did 2002.
Farmers around the country are feeling the crunch of high fuel costs
and may not be able to wait for 2007 to receive additional aid from
the Federal government. This was the situation before Katrina, which
only exacerbated the cost of energy. Hence,
Johanns announced that counties in
Kansas,
California,
Minnesota,
Oregon,
Texas
and
Virginia
were designated agricultural disaster
areas, making farmers eligible for low-interest emergency loans from
the Farm Service Agency. Katrina
and Rita will fuel more debate on how the Farm Bill should be
reauthorized in 2007.
Source: http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/12627115.htm
LEGISLATIVE
UPDATES
Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative: Nine States Cut Emissions
In late August, the New York
Times ran an article describing a plan to freeze power plant
emissions at current levels for nine northeastern states.
An anonymously leaked plan given to the newspaper suggested
that
Connecticut
,
Delaware
,
Maine
,
Massachusetts
,
New Hampshire
,
New Jersey
,
New York
,
Rhode Island and
Vermont
would set a national precedent for carbon dioxide emissions
standards.
The plan has been made public and is officially called the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative (R661), or "reggie" for short.
It would include a “cap-and-trade” system with a maximum carbon
dioxide emissions level of 150 million tons a year through 2015.
This
figure is near the current levels. By 2020, the required level would
be reduced by 10 percent.
Energy
efficiency gains, conservation incentives and rebates also would be
included in the plan. Additionally,
the plan would include controversial provisions allowing carbon
sequestration as a means to offset a state’s emissions.
Although the plan is due to be voted on in the near future,
negotiations are still taking place.
This legislation was first introduced after the Bush administration
decided not to join the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement with 150 other
countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on
Environmental Quality, said, “We welcome all efforts to help meet
the President's goal for significantly reducing greenhouse gas
intensity by investing in new, more efficient technologies.”
Similarly,
California
,
Washington
and
Oregon
are discussing a plan to reduce Northwestern greenhouse gas
emissions.
Source: http://enn.com/biz.html?id=1066
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30715FF355A0C778EDDA10894DD404482
USDA
Announces $22 Million in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Grants
to 154 Projects in 32 States
On September 14, 2005 at the Farm
Bill Forum in
Salt Lake City,
Utah, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced awards of $22.2
million to 154 applicants from 32 states under the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Section 9006 program. Of this amount, $20.6
million will go toward renewable energy projects and $1.6 million
toward energy efficiency projects for FY 2005.
A total of 388 grant applications from 43 states
requesting more than $62 million were received.
Additionally, the USDA announced two loan guarantees for $10.1
million each. This is the first year that loan guarantees have been
awarded.
The application period ran from March 28, when the Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA) was published, to June 28, 2005.
The NOFA set aside $11.4 million for loan guarantees, but
after August 31, all non-obligated funds were awarded through the
competitive grant process.
The FY 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill has been approved by the
full Senate, and at this time is part of a Continuing Resolution
through November 18, since the appropriations bill was not finalized
by Sept. 30, the end of this fiscal year. Both the House and Senate have
thus far maintained full funding for Section 9006 at $23 million.
For a complete listing of individual awardees by state and
technology, see http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/
and www.eesi.org.
Implementation
of Sec. 9002 Federal Procurement of Biobased Products
The comment period for the first
proposed rule, designating biobased products for Section 9002 Federal
Procurement of Biobased Products (7 CFR Part 2902)
– ended on
Sept 6, 2005. USDA
is drafting a final rule on the six designated biobased products.
Once this is finished it will go to clearance. It is predicted that
the final rule will be published in the Federal Register sometime in the first quarter of the new fiscal
year. Meanwhile, the
USDA has a second proposed rule now undergoing clearance and is
drafting a third proposed rule, each with ten items.
Finally, information on the products to be found in the
fourth
proposed rule is being gathered.
Senator Harkin (D-IA) met with the USDA Biobased Program
staff during the week of September 26 to discuss
implementation of the program.
For more information see: http://www.biobased.oce.usda.gov/public/index.cfm
Farm
Bill Forum Update
USDA Secretary Johanns kicked off
the beginning of the “Farm Bill Listening Tour” in
Tennessee
on July 7, 2005. Since then, Johanns, USDA Natural Resources and
Environment Under Secretary Mark Rey, and Food and Consumer Services
Under Secretary Eric Bost have held more than 30 forums to discuss
the reauthorization of the 2002 Farm Bill.
The listening sessions have been held at farm-related
activities and therefore have had good turnouts. Farm
Bill forums are the USDA’s efforts to discuss the
Farm Bill and hear how it could meet the future needs of rural
communities. When participating in the forums, the public is welcome
to comment on the six questions posted at the link below. Additionally, there will be
open comment periods for general Farm
Bill questions. The USDA team will be hosting additional forums in
the upcoming months.
Comments have covered every possible part of the Farm Bill. Many
comments have pertained to commodity issues, pricing, cost,
transportation and energy. Here is a quick tally of the number of
times the energy title or renewable energy-related issues were
mentioned in each state forum.
|
State
|
Number of Energy Comments
|
|
Tennessee
|
15
|
|
North Dakota
|
10
|
|
Minnesota
|
12
|
|
Wisconsin
|
5
|
|
Iowa
|
11
|
|
California
|
3
|
|
Pennsylvania
|
6
|
|
Indiana
|
9
|
|
Wyoming
|
2
|
|
Alabama
|
3
|
|
Alaska
|
3
|
|
New Mexico
|
2
|
|
Kentucky
|
7
|
As
efforts are gearing up for the next Farm Bill, and with the USDA
holding ‘listening sessions’ across the country, we would
very much like to hear your suggestions and ideas about the Energy
Title and how energy should be addressed in the next Farm Bill.
Please email any comments and ideas to: jwong@eesi.org.
For more information, including comments from the most recent forums
and USDA’s questions, please visit: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
CAFTA
and Ethanol
In a report published in late June by the
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), ethanol under
CAFTA is allowed into the
United States
with little difficulty. Ethanol
imports up to 240 million gallons, mostly from
Brazil
but also from Central American countries, may flow into the
United States
tariff-free. Ethanol, an important growing industry for farmers, may
now face competition on the
US
market from the cheaper Brazilian ethanol converted in
Central American countries.
Under CAFTA, the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) will become a
permanent part of trade policy. The ethanol provisions in CBI allow
up to seven percent of the total annual
US
ethanol production to come from a “foreign feedstock” duty-free
if it is produced in any of the 24 countries covered by CBI. Right
now that would be around 240 million gallons. Yet,
as ethanol production ramps up to meet the new Renewable Fuels
Mandate in the recently enacted Energy Policy Act of 2005, that
number will become more significant.
In
addition to the seven percent import allowance, an additional 35
million gallons also may enter the
United States
duty-free, if at least 30 percent of the ethanol is derived from a
“local or Caribbean” region. Furthermore, anything above the 35
million gallons is also duty-free if at least 50 percent of the
ethanol comes from
Caribbean
Basin
feedstocks.
Companies such as Cargill have been watching this development
closely. The IATP reports that “Cargill announced a $10 million
partnership to build a 63 million gallon ethanol dehydration plant
in
El Salvador
to export Brazilian sugar-based ethanol into the
United States
duty-free under the CBI.” Furthermore, the IATP reports that “in
December 2004, Cargill and Brazilian commodities trader Coimex
struck a deal to drop another $10 million in a Jamaican ethanol
plant to, again, dehydrate Brazilian ethanol.”
How will this influx of foreign-produced ethanol affect our growing
domestic market?
Source: http://www.iatp.org/global/
Energy
Policy Act of 2005: New Provisions for Biomass
The
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L.109-58) was signed into law on early
August. Listed briefly below are some of the key biomass provisions:
Sec. 932 Bioenergy Program
Three programs were created with this provision: Biofuels and
Bioproducts; Integrated Biorefinery Demonstration projects; and a
University Biodiesel program. These projects are focused on
research, development, demonstration and commercial application for
bioenergy. No more than $100 million will be awarded for any single
biorefinery demonstration.
Sec. 941 Amendments to the Biomass Research and Development Act of
2000
This section amends the Biomass Research and Development
Initiative to include not only research but also development and
demonstration of biobased fuels and biobased products. The bill
authorizes $200 million for each fiscal year from 2006 through 2015;
the previous authorization level was just $54 million per year.
Sec. 942 Production Incentives for Cellulosic Biofuels
This section calls for One billion gallons of cellulosic
biofuels production by 2015 and authorizes $25 million for a
“reverse auction” incentive program.
Sec. 943 Procurement of Biobased Products
The Architect of the Capitol, the Sergeant at Arms of the
Senate, and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House are to
establish procedures to comply with Section 9002 of the 2002 Farm
bill to procure biobased products for the Capitol Complex.
Sec. 944 Small Business Bioproduct Marketing and Certification
Grants
This section provides for competitive grants for marketing and
for the certification of biobased products to qualify for the label
described in Section 9002 of the 2002 Farm bill. The program is
authorized through 2015 with $1 million specifically authorized for
fiscal year 2006. Grants require a full match and are limited to
$100,000.
Sec. 945 Regional Bioeconomy Development Grants
Competitive grants to support and promote growth and development
of a bioeconomy within a region will be made available for work
pertaining to coordination, education, and outreach. A grant may not
exceed $500,000 and matching funds are required. For fiscal year
2006 $1 million is authorized, with an authorizing “such sums as
are necessary’ for fiscal years 2007 through 2015.
Sec. 946 Preprocessing and Harvesting Demonstration Grants
Competitive grants up to five per year for the purpose of
demonstrating cost-effective, cellulosic biomass innovations will be
made available to agricultural producers. Biomass material harvested
must be used to produce ethanol or for another energy purpose, such
as the generation of heat or electricity.
A minimum non-federal cost share of 20 percent is required,
with $5 million a year authorized for fiscal years 2006 through
2010.
Sec. 947 Education and Outreach
A program of education and outreach on biobased fuels and
biobased products shall be established within the USDA or through a
designated contracting entity. For each fiscal year from 2006
through 2010 $1 million has been authorized to be appropriated.
Sec. 948 Reports
USDA is to provide the Congress a report on the economic
potential of “widespread production and use of commercial and
industrial biobased products” through 2025.
Sec. 1344 Extension of Excise Tax Provisions and Income Tax Credit
for Biodiesel.
This provision provides an extension of the excise tax
provisions and income tax credit for biodiesel to 2008. (This is a
two year extension.)
Sec.1345 Small Agri-biodiesel Producer Credit
Qualified producers are eligible for a 10 cent per gallon
credit; qualified production for the credit may not exceed 15
million gallons per year.
Sec. 1346 Renewable Diesel
This provision amends the biodiesel tax credit by inserting
"renewable diesel" as an eligible biodiesel fuel for a $1/gallon
production tax credit. The
“renewable diesel” must be made from thermal depolymerization of
biomass. The credit will
apply after Dec. 31, 2005 and expire with the biodiesel tax credit
in 2008.
Sec. 1501 Renewable Content of Gasoline
The Federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), which requires 7.5
billion gallons of renewable fuels including ethanol and biodiesel
to be sold or dispensed in the United States by 2012.
One gallon of cellulosic biomass ethanol or waste derived
ethanol is counted as 2.5 gallons of renewable fuel.
Under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a program mandating
the use of renewable fuels will be created within one year of the
enactment of this law. Regulations
which will ensure that gasoline sold or introduced in the United States
will, on annual average basis contain the applicable volume of
renewable fuel. Small oil refiners (producing fewer than 75,000 barrels a
day) will be exempt until 2011.
If the EPA fails to make these regulations public, then the
volume of renewable fuels sold or dispensed in 2006 must be 2.78
percent of the market. In 2012, 7.5 billion gallons of renewable
fuels should be sold or dispensed.
Please note that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes funding for
many programs- however, such programs can not be implemented unless
Congress appropriates funds for them. This is a very long and
complex bill. You may access it at: http://thomas.loc.gov/
Two
Percent Biodiesel Mandate In
Minnesota
On September 30,
2005, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Agriculture Commissioner
Gene Hugoson celebrated the beginning of the state-wide biodiesel
standard at a school bus garage in
Mendota
Heights. (In 2002, the Minnesota
legislature passed a law requiring that one month after the state
had certified that it had the capacity to produce eight million
gallons of biodiesel, biodiesel fuel sold within the state would be
blended to include two percent biodiesel.) The Governor and
Commissioner then went on to visit biodiesel plants in Albert Lea,
Brewster and Redwood Falls, which have a combined
production capacity of 63 million gallons –more than any other
state.
Minnesota
soybean farmers started alternative fuel research in 1990. Now, 15
years later, biodiesel is used in farm equipment, fleets, transit
systems, school buses, mines and marinas. According
to the National Biodiesel Board, all diesel engine makers with
equipment in
North America
support the use of up to five percent biodiesel, meeting national
and local specifications.
“An economic study completed by the
Minnesota Department of Agriculture estimates that using just B2
blends will increase the demand for soybean oil in
Minnesota
by 92 million pounds – that’s the equivalent of 8.5 million
bushels of soybeans,” said Bob Worth, president of Minnesota
Soybean Growers Association.
At the celebration, Commissioner Hugoson said,
“Biodiesel will provide significant economic benefits to the state
through reduced reliance on imported oil and increased demand for
Minnesota-grown soybeans. Also, it will benefit the state’s
natural resources and public health through a reduction in harmful
vehicle emissions.”
In all, 170 biodiesel-related pieces of
legislation were under consideration in 36 other states.
Arkansas,
Hawaii,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Missouri,
Pennsylvania, and Texas
all passed biodiesel legislation, illustrating the great interest in
biodiesel initiatives.
Source: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/biodiesel/b2/default.htm
http://www.enn.com/aff.html?id=899
Pennsylvania
Headed Toward the Use of Alternative Energy for the Future
With Governor Rendell’s creation of the
Renewable Agricultural Energy Council in Pennsylvania,
it is now possible not only to strengthen the agricultural industry
and save consumers hundreds of dollars a year, but also reduce
foreign dependence on oil. The council is to focus on developing and
moving forward agricultural energy industries in PA. The
governor
said that the council will provide recommendations on policy,
regulations, procedures, and legislation that would advance the
development and implementation of renewable energy, provide a
liaison between the governor and the agricultural community, and
assist the development of an infrastructure that allows for these
new and beneficial resources to be delivered to the state’s
consumers.
Rendell said that “renewable energy can help
us increase our economic and environmental security. The creation of
the Renewable Agricultural Energy Council is an important step in
this direction.” The state projects that renewable energy could
provide as many as 64,000 additional jobs for the state's
agricultural sector. Gov. Rendell wants to bring biofuels into
everyday use, while producing homegrown fuels. Funding opportunities
for this effort include the Energy Harvest, Alternative Fuel
Incentive, and First Industries Funding loans and grants.
Source: PR
Newswire Oct. 12, 2005
New
Biomass Program in
Canada
In February 2006, a new biomass program will
begin. The program will allow unused forest waste to be turned into
clean oil to power devices currently used to create electricity.
This plan has been designed to take pressure off the strained
power grid. The Ministry of Natural Resources believes that this new
program will create new jobs, reduce the use of fossil fuels,
provide new biobased products, utilize wasted biomass, and produce
heat or electricity. Ottawa
’s Advance BioRefinery Inc. built and designed the portable
experimental device which will be used in these programs.
Source: http://www.biobased.org/list2.php?storyid=8135
Representative Marcy Kaptur
Introduces Bill to Include Alternative Fuels in Strategic Petroleum
Reserve
On July 19 Rep. Kaptur (D-OH)
introduced a bill (H.R.3345) to expand the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve to include alternative fuels and alternative fuel products.
Source: http://thomas.loc.gov/
RECENT
STUDIES
Development Yields
Antifreeze from Biodiesel
In a new process the University of Missouri-Columbia,
, has created antifreeze as a co-product from the
manufacturing of biodiesel. According to the university, this biobased, nontoxic, biodegradable,
home grown antifreeze will meet every performance standard and will
more than likely be cheaper than the conventional petrol-based
petroleum product. Glycerin, a
co-product of the production of biodiesel, can be made into
propylene glycol, which currently has a much higher price than just
glycerin. This value-added product could help off-set the cost of
biodiesel production by as much as $0.40 per gallon.
Source: http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=35527
Microbes in Asian Rice
Fields: Friend or Foe?
In early
August, Science magazine published a report about a specific
microbe in the soil of rice fields that increases the amount of
methane released into the atmosphere.
This
microbe uses carbon released by the plants’ roots to create methane.
The Science
and Development Network explains that, “human activities
release 300 to 400 million tons of methane each year. Their
contribution to global warming is equivalent to one-third of that
made by man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Rice fields emit between
50 and 100 million tons of methane each year.” Although
more carbon dioxide is emitted into the air, methane is 20 times
more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
A possible
solution to this problem is to increase the yield of the rice
plantations. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the
Philippines
believes that when the rice plant is more productive, allowing it to
store more carbon in the plant itself, it releases less carbon into
the soil. This reduction of carbon results in less methane created
by the microbe.
Source: http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=375&language=1
http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2287&language=1
Lu and Conrad, In
Situ Stable Isotope Probing of Methanogenic Archaea in the Rice
Rhizosphe. Science 2005.
Biodiesel
on the Highest Motorable Road
Biodiesel from the Jatropha plant is going through another round of
tests by Daimler Chrysler. In
August, three Mercedes began a ‘record-setting’ journey to the
world’s highest motorable road in
Leh,
India. The cars will start
and end in
New Delhi
and travel through the frozen
Khardungla
Pass
at 18,500 feet. Sanjeev
Mandpe, the deputy general manager for Diamler Chrysler, explained
that their high-end Mercedes line has driven over 6,000 kilometers
on the Jatropha biodiesel. The
company plans on testing their cars for more than 50,000 kilometers
on this new fuel. If
the experiment is successful, Jatropha shrubs will be cultivated on
barren tracts of land that have high salt content.
Villagers of
India
will gain a new crop for these tracts of land that could not support
other forms of traditional agriculture, while cutting back on the
country’s reliance on imports of petroleum from other countries.
Source: http://www.eians.com/stories/2005/08/01/01bf.shtml
Biofuels May have Found a New
Friend
A protein called CBP21 was discovered by Dr.
Eijsink and his colleagues at the Norwegian
University
of Life Sciences. The discovery was made while
the scientists were observing the natural process of chitin
degradation by soil bacterium. "Chitin is an insoluble
molecule that consists of tightly packed chains of polymerized
sugars," explains study author Dr. Eijsink. It is often found
in the shells of shrimp and insects. This is an important discovery
because the protein binds with the chitin, compromising the strength
of the tightly-packed sugars. This allows for the sugars to be
broken down much quicker. The biofuel industry may benefit from
CBP21 because it could aid in the decomposition related to the
fishing and farming of crustaceans. More importantly, this protein
may also help scientists discover similar proteins that may assist
in the enzymatic process which turns cellulose into glucose which
than may be turned into biofuels.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050805102015.htm
Over the Barrel: Why Aren’t Oil Companies
Using Ethanol to Lower Gasoline Prices?
The Consumer Federation of America’s May
report Over the Barrel has
particular significance as the country has watched oil and gasoline
prices move higher and higher over the last year. The report
discusses rising gasoline prices and the coinciding cost to consumers and the
fall in price and significant increase in production of ethanol.
A
copy of this report may be found at the following link: http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/cfaethanol050505.pdf
NEWS
BRIEFS
Renewable
Energy: Greening the Bottom Line
In the wake of this summer’s oil price surge
and refinery shutdowns caused by Katrina, many people are
starting to see a lot of green by investing in green. According to
Market Watch, alternative energy companies are seeing a real
“boost” in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s
Gulf
Coast
onslaught. This boost
has been felt in multiple areas, including wind power, solar power,
hydrogen fuel cells, and biomass to energy.
Green Energy Resources is one of those
corporations feeling that boost. Adding
up the newly enacted energy policy, global adoption of the Kyoto
Protocol, and rising oil costs, the CEO was quoted as saying that
the “renewable energy industry’s momentum is irreversible and
unmistakable – momentum that many experts are not expecting to be
temporary.” He stated that investments in “clean technologies”
rose 3.4 percent in 2004; and in 2005, one new Clean Energy exchange-traded fund’s portfolio has “gained 35 percent in the months
through September 9.”
According to a recent New York Times
op-ed piece by Tim Gray, the solar industry as a whole “has
[recently] been getting perhaps its most serious look from
investors,” resulting in a surge of investment. “Over the last
year, the shares of Evergreen Solar, Day Star Technology, Energy
Conversion Devices, and Spire – all small domestic companies that
make equipment for converting solar power into electricity – have
more than doubled in price.” The future looks bright as well, and
investors still project the solar market to “grow 35 percent for
the next three to five years.”
Source:
http://www.enn.com/press.html?id=186
http://www.wildershares.com/pdf/InvestorsBusinessDaily,%209.12.05.pdf
http://www.bizjournals.com/
Closing the Circle With Soy
The Office of the Federal Environmental
Executive was created by Executive Order to “promote sustainable
environmental stewardship throughout the federal government.”
To
serve this mission, it began the “Closing the Circle” (CTC)
awards program 11 years ago to “recognize Federal employees and
their facilities for efforts which resulted in significant
contributions to or have made a significant impact on the
environment.” This year’s awards illustrate the growing use of
biobased products, such as fuels, soaps, and lubricants, which are
being increasingly recognized for their environmental benefits.
Recently, the White House’s Office of the Federal Environmental
Executive released its winners and honorable mentions for the 2005
“Closing the Circle” award. Of these, two winners and four
honorable mentions were recognized for their use of soy-based
products.
In the 2005 awards, of the nearly 200
nominations that were received, 11 winners and 15 honorable mentions
were chosen. Edwin Pinero, the Federal Environmental Executive,
explained at the awards ceremony that the “winners exemplify how
to improve environmental performance and protect our resources.”
In reference to biofuels, he said the winners demonstrate how “the
Federal government is leading by example when it comes to the
widespread use of soy-based bioproducts.” The winners of the award
that exemplified this were the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration Motor Vehicle Efficiency Team, which uses large
amounts of B20 and more than 20,000 gallons of B100 biofuels; and
the US Department of Defense’s US Marine Corps, which has attained
a 27.5 percent conventional fuel reduction largely due to the annual
use of nearly one million gallons of biodiesel.
In addition to these winners, four of the 15
honorable mentions were recognized for their use of bio-based fuels
and products: The US
Department of Defense, Air Force Petroleum Office; US Department of
Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service Southern Plains Area; US
Department of Energy Procurement Partnership (Mark Decot, Shab
Fardenesh, Alison
Thomas, Richard Langston, and Don Lentzen); and the US Department of
Defense Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro NC 4CES/CEV
Pollution Prevention Section. “These winners,” Pinero said,
“demonstrate a strong commitment to environmental protection and
have helped to increase awareness about the environmental health and
energy security benefits of soy-based bioproducts.”
Source: http://www.ofee.gov/
2005 National Clean Bus
Leaders
Washington
,
D.C.
, The Environmental and
Energy Study Institute (EESI) on recognized six state and local
initiatives for their leadership in deploying cleaner bus fleets.
Public transit agencies, school districts, corporate entities
and a national park are demonstrating the importance of cleaner
public transportation to reduce congestion, improve air quality and
protect public health.
Yosemite
National Park
(CA) is recognized for
its investment in hybrid bus technology for a national park.
The introduction of 18 diesel-electric hybrid buses, coupled
with an extensive public education effort to increase awareness
about this advanced technology, demonstrates
Yosemite
National Park
’s ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility while
serving as a model for cleaner transportation options in national
parks.
Medford
Township
Public
School District
(Medford,
NJ) is recognized for pioneering fleet-wide use of biodiesel for the
past eight years. The
district operates 62 school buses on a B20 blend (20 percent
biodiesel, 80 percent petroleum diesel), transporting 3,500 students
daily. Through its use
of biodiesel, the school district has displaced more than 70,000
gallons of petroleum diesel and significantly reduced toxic
emissions, resulting in increased public health and energy security
benefits, as well as improvements to air quality in the community.
In addition, the district has adopted a host of energy
efficiency and renewable energy measures which have strengthened its
energy portfolio and contributed to increased sustainability.
Santa Clara
Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) (San Jose,
CA) is recognized for its leadership in investing in and developing
advanced technologies. VTA’s
$18.4 million Zero-Emission Bus Demonstration Program has put into
full-time service three 40-foot low-floor hydrogen fuel cell transit
buses in 2005. The
demonstration program is viewed as an important step in the
integration of fuel cell technology into the US
transportation industry. In
addition, VTA has been a leader in demonstrating advanced nitrogen
oxide emissions reduction technologies, like exhaust gas
recirculation and selective catalytic reduction, as an effort to
clean up its existing fleet.
Cook-Illinois
Corporation (Chicago,
IL) is recognized for
demonstrating corporate environmental stewardship through the use of
cleaner, renewable biodiesel in 500 of its 1600 buses.
The decision to use biodiesel in its fleet in the absence of
government grant funding or mandates, is commendable and serves as
an example for other private school bus contractors to follow.
The corporation is a national clean bus leader for its
large-scale commitment to cleaning up its fleet and helping to
protect the health of school children in
Illinois.
Fresno
County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA) (Fresno,
CA) is recognized for its long-standing commitment to alternative
fuels, serving as an example for other transit agencies to follow
suit. As early adopters
of natural gas and electric vehicle technology, they have proven the
sustainability and viability of a cleaner fuel choice while
addressing emissions and environmental justice concerns.
FCRTA has proven that a small transit agency, despite limited
resources, can successfully implement a long-term sustainable
alternative fuel program.
Colorado
Springs School Districts 11 and 20 (Colorado Springs,
CO) are recognized for
their co-operative efforts to clean up their school bus fleets. The
school districts are using a combination of diesel oxidation
catalysts, particulate matter filters and biodiesel to reduce
harmful diesel emissions from their fleets, while improving
efficiency through idle reduction measures. The two districts have
forged a partnership which has allowed them to leverage resources,
overcome funding limitations and provide a unique model for school
districts seeking to minimize exposure from diesel-fueled buses.
The National Clean Bus Leadership Recognition
Program was initiated in 2003 by EESI to highlight the leadership of
local initiatives to bring cleaner buses to
America
’s communities and remove the dirtiest diesel buses from our
roadways. This program
is part of EESI’s Clean Bus Project, which encourages the
deployment of cleaner fuels and advanced vehicle technologies by
strengthening support for local, regional, state, and national
‘clean bus’ initiatives that have recognized the environmental
and health impacts of conventional diesel buses and are working
toward cleaner transportation practices.
See: www.eesi.org
Fill
Your Tank with Nature’s Goodness
Great Britain,
Germany
and
France
are leading a shift from crops harvested for food to crops harvested
for fuel. This shift is occurring with the development and
implementation of biofuels in the market. Both
car manufacturers and fuel stations are being converted so they may
distribute biofuels. The reality of using biofuels as an energy
source is closer than the general EU public believes. Biofuels,
according to the British Association for Biofuels and Oils (Babfo),
are “the only current viable solution to cutting carbon dioxide
emissions.”
The European Union’s approved standards for
biodiesel and ethanol are five and 95 percent, respectively.
About nine filling stations in the UK
sell B100 and claim that most diesel cars can run with no problems
on such fuel.
Britain
plans to have 0.3 percent of the total fuel sold within its borders
to be biofuels by the end of the year.
Germany
and
France
are on their way to reaching two percent this year and are pressing
the UK
to join them before hitting six percent by 2010.
British sales of biodiesel nearly doubled from
2004 to 2005. Babfo
Chairman Peter Clery stated, “For the next 50 years at least,
biofuels are likely to be the most effective alternative to fossil
fuels.” This
alternative is on the right track with rapeseed
oil leaping from 100,000 hectares in 2004 to around 1.5 million hectares
in 2005. Although
these figures are in line with Clery’s vision that “every field
in
Britain
could become a potential oilfield,” it is still a bit off from the
current state of politics in Britain.
Source:
Times Online- www.timesonline.co.uk.
New Mean Green Biofuels Corporation
The
GreenShift Corporation has announced the formation of Mean Green
BioFuels Corporation (“Mean Green”). This company will use a new
technology for a cost-effective conversion of corn oil into
biodiesel fuels for an area that encompasses most of the eastern
half of the
United States. The Mean Green process includes the extraction of crude corn oil
that is prepared and shipped for further refinement. The Mean Green
BioFuels Corporation will buy this corn oil and sell it both wholesale and
retail. This extracted corn oil can also be sold directly to
commercial feed industries.
Mean Green
is hoping to operate a 30 million gallon biodiesel fuel production
facility. It also plans to invest in and develop more biofuel
production facilities along with certain distribution and diesel
blending facilities. The oil blended there can be converted into
biodiesel for about $.30 per gallon production costs and sold for
about $2 per gallon, creating a gross profit of $1.35 per gallon.
All this will help short-term revenue and the long-term
environmental goal of moving away from fossil fuels that produce
greenhouse gases.
David
Cantrell, chairman and chief executive officer of Mean Green, sums
up the company by saying, “our technology is an innovative and
unique approach that helps ethanol producers and farmers by
increasing their profitability while enabling the production of a
new biodiesel fuel.”
Sources: http://www.enn.com/biz.html?id=1014
http://www.greenshift.com/news.php?id=50
http://www.greenshift.com/news.php?id=55
Sacramento
to Use Anaerobic Digestion to Generate Renewable Energy
Researchers from the University of California,
Davis and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) are
working together to survey the city’s commercial food processors
and institutions to see how much food waste they could use to
generate renewable energy through the use of anaerobic digestion and
compost from biomass. The project will be called “Leftover to
Lights,” which will survey interested businesses in the
Sacramento
area. SMUD and the California Energy Commission are working together on
research, development, and demonstration projects for renewable
power generation under the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER)
program.
SMUD says that about 18 percent of the city’s
commercial garbage is food waste, which goes to the local landfill.
When this biomass is used in energy production, air and water
pollution is reduced and operating costs of storage and disposal in
landfills are minimized. A project with accelerated anaerobic
composting is underway at the
Yolo
County
landfill . Since the construction of this system, the landfill has
produced more than 30 million standard cubic feet of methane. This
is equivalent to 2,020 mega watts per hour of electricity.
Sources: http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=36371
http://www.smud.org/pier/projects/biomass2_1.html
Cow
Manure Can Help Power Ethanol Plants
Panda Energy plans to build another 100 million
gallon ethanol plant in
Haskell County,
Kansas. Panda Energy has begun two other fuel ethanol projects this year,
one in
Texas
and the other in Colorado. The Kansas
plant will use one billion pounds of cattle manure each year as a
renewable fuel to power the plant’s operations. This will require
400,000 to 500,000 head of cattle, according to the Austin
American Statesman. Panda Energy believes that when the “manure
is gasified and converted into a clean bio-gas used to power the
plant,” they will reduce their need for natural gas and “save
the equivalent of 1,000 barrels of oil per day”.
Panda developed community support through its
commitment to local concerns, so the people in Haskell
County
are excited about this plant and what it can do for them.
County
Commissioner
Chairman Bill Lower made it clear that
Haskell
County
has the resources to make this a viable project. Throughout the
United States, Panda is currently developing ethanol plants, biomass
electric generating facilities and biodiesel plants, while working
actively on next-generation clean coal projects.
In
addition to its
Kansas
plant, Panda has announced that
Hereford,
Texas
and Yuma,
Colorado
will be in line for new ethanol plants.
Once all three plants are running, it is predicted that their
combined production will replace 300 million
gallons of imported gasoline annually.
“The ethanol produced by our Haskell facility
will play a major role in securing
America
’s energy independence. By using manure instead of natural gas to
power the plant, we conserve another of our country’s depleting
natural resources,” says Todd Carter, Panda Development Group
president.
Sources: http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=36794
http://sev.prnewswire.com/oil-energy/20050919/DAM01019092005-1.html
Biogas
and Transportation:
Sweden
In June,
Sweden
tested the world’s first biogas-fueled train. Its biogas train,
along with biogas-fueled cars, is part of
Sweden’s approach to climate change mitigation.
Sweden
’s Minister for the Environment, Lena Sommestad, visited
California,
Washington
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