|
|  | Minnesota Implements B2 Standard |  |
|
 Minnesota became the first to successfully implement a statewide initiative that blends two percent biodiesel (B2) throughout its entire diesel fuel supply last week. Sept. 29 marked the official implementation of the effort after the state met all requirements contained in the March 2002 legislation that received bipartisan support. Minnesota has exceeded the legislative requirement that the state have biodiesel production capacity of at least eight million gallons a year. The state now leads the nation with its annual biodiesel production capacity of 63 million gallons.
“Many people talk about doing something to help change our energy situation in this country; in Minnesota they don’t just talk - they took a stand and did something about it,” said Joe Jobe, chief executive officer National Biodiesel Board (NBB). “Today, biodiesel produced in Minnesota from soybeans grown in Minnesota, is flowing through the veins of the state’s energy infrastructure. Liquid solar energy from the Midwest is replacing oil from the Mid-East. Minnesotans should be proud.”
The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) first introduced the B2 legislation in 2000 and again in 2001. With the help of many clean air advocates and agricultural organizations, including NBB, the legislation that had become known as the “B2 legislation” passed and resulted in three biodiesel plants in Redwood Falls, Albert Lea and Brewster, with combined production capacity that far exceeds the production requirement to implement the B2 rule.
“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 MSGA. “But we already have school bus fleets, trucking firms and municipal fleets using a twenty percent blend – B20. Minnesotans really embraced biodiesel for three basic reasons: It’s better for the environment, it’s good for the economy and it helps our nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil.”
The biodiesel blend will also help meet an operational need in diesel starting in 2006. Next year, ultra-low sulfur diesel will be phased in nationwide, and some sort of lubricity additive will be required. Two percent biodiesel fully restores the needed lubricity to prevent premature engine wear and tear in diesel engines.
|
| | DaimlerChrysler Commits Land to Future Biodiesel Plant | |
|
NextEnergy Center, a research facility focused on developing alternative energy technology, is bringing together automakers and biodiesel producers to further biodiesel research and development.
At the grand opening of the research center, located in Detroit’s Tech Town community, NextEnergy CEO Jim Croce announced plans with Biodiesel Industries and DaimlerChrysler to research the development of oil producing crops that can be grown on existing “Brownfield” sites to produce feedstocks for renewable, alternative fuels, as well as further refinement of biodiesel standards. Croce also announced plans for Biodiesel Industries to build a biodiesel production plant in Detroit.
“Biodiesel Industries has many years of advanced development and production experience in the otherwise young biodiesel industry,” said Croce. “Given the tremendous national market demand for their product, we are delighted that Biodiesel Industries has chosen Detroit for their next biodiesel production facility.”
Biodiesel Industries plans to build a three million gallon-per-year biodiesel production facility. It will be the sixth such production project completed by Biodiesel Industries, which already posts the largest network of company owned biodiesel production facilities in the world.
DaimlerChrysler committed currently unused land at a former SuperFund environmental site for use in producing soybeans for NextEnergy research programs. DaimlerChrysler has promoted use of biodiesel fuel nationally with the launch of the Jeep® Liberty CRD diesel, which was fueled at the factory with B5, a five percent biodiesel blend.
NextEnergy is a non-profit organization created by the State of Michigan to advance the Alternative Energy Technology industry in Michigan. The organization hosted a Grand Opening of the NextEnergy Center facility on Sept. 29.
|
| | Ohio Governor Announces Alternative Fuel Investment | |
|
Governor Bob Taft announced in September that after a successful pilot program, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is now fully integrating alternative fuels into its fleet. By executive order, the Governor asked ODOT to use at least one million gallons of biodiesel fuel and 30,000 gallons of ethanol per year, and to purchase only new cars that are able to run on both unleaded fuel and ethanol.
ODOT uses about four million gallons of diesel fuel a year to fuel its 4,200 pieces of heavy equipment that can run on biodiesel or diesel fuel. The equipment includes pick-up trucks, dump trucks (snow plows) and off-road equipment.
"Thanks to the governor's leadership, ODOT has been testing the use of alternative fuels since 1999," said ODOT Director Gordon Proctor. "We are ready to make a seamless transition to using at least one million gallons of biodiesel fuel each year, in addition to other alternative fuels such as ethanol."
|
| | TxLED Implementation Postponed; Biodiesel Certification Underway | |
|
Biodiesel and other fuels in Texas are in testing in response to the state revising air quality compliance plans. The air quality in approximately 110 east Texas counties is out of compliance with the federal Clean Air Act’s standard for ground-level ozone. Because of this, a change in the formulation (physical properties) of diesel fuel offered for sale in those non-attainment counties is forthcoming. The goal of this, and other, changes is to reduce NOx emissions and other pollutants from diesel-powered vehicles and non-road equipment. The new low emission diesel fuel is commonly referred to as “TxLED.”
Biodiesel is covered by these new “TxLED” regulations. The executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has determined that blending biodiesel into TxLED must be approved by TCEQ as being equivalent to TxLED in reducing NOx emissions.
These new fuel property requirements were set to take effect for fuel producers October 1, but that date has been delayed for 30 days due to the impact on refining and distribution infrastructure from the recent hurricanes.
To date, one biodiesel blend formulation has been certified by TCEQ. The certified blend is a B20 utilizing biodiesel made by Biodiesel Industries and the additive Viscon.
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB), industry members, and stakeholders have been engaged in this issue for many months and it is one of the industry’s top regulatory priorities.
NBB is partnering with Octel-Starreon to test a B20 blend using biodiesel meeting ASTM D6751 and utilizing one of their NOx reducing additives. NBB is also testing another B20 utilizing a generic cetane improver which has shown to lower NOx through work done at the National Renewable Energy Lab, and a B20 using a third additive which is yet to be selected. Testing is scheduled for late October/first week of November.
Metropolitan areas covered by the TxLED requirement include Houston, Beaumont/Pt. Arthur, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas/Ft. Worth.
Several entities in addition to the NBB have indicated a decision to conduct TxLED equivalency testing for biodiesel blends. Those entities include additive companies, biodiesel producers, and biodiesel marketers.
|
| | Biodiesel Plays Gripping Role in Hurricane Relief | |
|
 The Veggie Van Organization, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Venice, Calif., recently partnered with West Central, a farmer-owned biodiesel company based in Iowa, to transport 13,000 gallons of biodiesel in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The donated fuel powered two relief ships and emergency generators for makeshift medical facilities. The ships took 12 tons of food, water, ice and other relief supplies to the mouth of the Mississippi River.
“I thought I was looking at a scene from 'Apocalypse Now’ at times,” said Josh Tickell, biodiesel advocate and founder of the Veggie Van Organization, who made the journey to Louisiana to assist in aid. “But it kept me going to know that by providing fuel for the relief ships, we were doing something important to help the victims.” Tickell grew up in Louisiana and has been promoting biodiesel since 1997, when he toured the United States in his biodiesel powered van.
After almost a week working aboard the ship and in towns devastated by Katrina, Hurricane Rita halted Tickell’s participation in the relief effort. “In less than 24 hours, I went from being a second-response relief worker to an evacuee,” he said.
After the Veggie Van was struck by debris outside of Lake Charles, La., he was forced to leave it. However, Tickell has since located the van and has said it received only minor storm damage.
Former President Bill Clinton publicly endorsed the use of biodiesel in the hurricane relief effort and in other applications. Speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), a global conference to address the world’s most challenging problems, Clinton thanked Biodiesel America, another Tickell venture.
“Biodiesel America is committed to mitigating climate change and increasing America’s energy independence through public school education on biodiesel and restoration of the coastal areas of Louisiana with biodiesel-generated support systems,” Clinton said. “...this is a very, very important thing…I hope you become a household name in America.”
Tickell and NBB are continuing to help coordinate fuel donations to hurricane stricken areas. To make a monetary donation, please visit www.veggievan.org.
|
| | France Steps Up Use of Biofuels | |
|
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced last month that France will further increase its support of biofuels. The French Government will move forward by two years (to 2008) its goal of reaching a 5.75 percent target, setting a new target of seven percent of biofuels market penetration by 2010, and a 10 percent target for 2015. This follows many recent declarations from government representatives repeating that the oil era is ending for France.
de Villepin also announced the launch of lower biofuels taxation by the end of the year covering 1.8 million tonnes of biofuels.
Also, recently, a new proposal for lower taxes on biofuels, followed by mandatory targets, was announced in the Netherlands, followed by the publication of no taxes on biofuels in the Belgian market.
|
| | New Guidelines on Blending in the Cold | |
|
In light of greater demand for biodiesel and a growing number of petroleum distributors getting into the biodiesel business, an industry-established Cold Flow Blending Consortium recently issued results of a cold weather blending study. This project employed experts in biodiesel and petrodiesel industries from both the U.S. and Canada.
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) coordinated this study because petroleum blenders and distributors wanted more data on the most cost effective means to achieve a homogenous, or consistent, biodiesel blend in cold weather.
It is well known that biodiesel blends of B20 (fuel that is a 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent regular diesel blend) and lower can be used in cold climates if the finished blend has appropriate cold flow properties for the time of year and geography where it is used. This study addressed questions from the petroleum industry about how to achieve that stable blend in cold weather, especially for a B2 blend, when the temperature of the diesel fuel is colder than the point at which the pure biodiesel starts to freeze and become cloudy (known as cloud point).
According to the report, successful homogenous blending of B2 (2 percent volume biodiesel) will occur if the biodiesel is incorporated into the diesel stream as it is going from a storage tank to a truck, and if the temperature of the biodiesel is a minimum of 10 degrees F above the cloud point. The temperature of the diesel fuel did not matter, as long as its temperature was above its cloud point. This type of in-line blending is similar to the way conventional diesel fuel additives are incorporated.
Additives Systems Incorporated of Broken Arrow, Okla., the firm selected to conduct the study, blended biodiesel with diesel fuel at a variety of temperatures, including those seen in the wintertime in Minnesota, the state that last week started a B2 requirement in all its diesel fuel. Unadditized No. 1 and No. 2 diesel fuels were selected, along with three biodiesels with a range of cold flow properties. The fuels were selected to represent the highest and lowest freezing temperatures expected of petrodiesel and biodiesel in the U.S. and Canadian market. To ensure quantitative data was obtained for in-line blending, differential pressure drop measurements were collected.
The full study can be accessed by visiting www.biodiesel.org/resources/reportsdatabase/reports/gen/20050728_Gen-354.pdf.
|
| | Clean Cities Coalitions Celebrate “Beyond a Billion” | |
|
Clean Cities Coalitions across the country will celebrate displacing more than a billion gallons of oil on Friday, Oct. 14. At the current per-barrel prices, the U.S. is now spending approximately $300 billion per year for imported petroleum; about $200 billion of this is for the transportation sector alone.
Clean Cities, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office, builds partnerships with industry stakeholders, fleets, fuel suppliers and others, with the goal of decreasing petroleum use. The nation’s 88 Clean Cities Coalitions focus on alternative fuels and other alternative energy to help reduce the nation’s need for imported oil.
Through those efforts, the Clean Cities initiative has reached the milestone of displacing one billion fuel gallon equivalents of petroleum, enough to fuel two million cars for a year. Clean Cities Coalitions are holding events nationwide to commemorate the “billionth gallon saved.”
“By passing the billion gallon milestone, Clean Cities Coalitions have shown they are making a difference on a local and a national level,” said Kevin Herdler, St. Louis region Clean Cities Coordinator. “While our thirst for oil puts our economic and energy security at risk, Clean Cities Coalitions across the country are demonstrating options that work.”
For more information on Clean Cities, visit the Web site at www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities.
|
| | Bonnie Raitt Continues to Sing the Praises of Biodiesel | |
|
 As acclaimed musician Bonnie Raitt hits the road for her year-long Souls Alike Tour, she is once again fueling her two diesel-powered buses and two semis with environmentally friendly biodiesel (B20). This tour continues the Green Highway eco-partnership she began in 2002 on the Silver Lining Tour promoting biodiesel, the environment and alternative energy solutions at shows and benefits along the way.
"I believe we should do everything we can to minimize our impact on the planet, and using biodiesel is a simple step that goes a long way,” said Raitt. “By using B20 on my Souls Alike Tour, we are reducing pollution and putting a dent in imported petroleum. Biodiesel has come so far in the last few years. It's wonderful to see it gaining momentum - we can all benefit from more biodiesel use."
In 2002, Raitt was the first major U.S. entertainer to adopt cleaner burning American-made biodiesel for use on tour. Since then, other performers have followed her lead by using biodiesel on tour including, Willie Nelson (who also has his own “BioWillie” brand of the fuel); Neil Young; the Indigo Girls and Jack Johnson.
|
| | Farm Aid Concert Gives Biodiesel an Encore | |
|
 The Farm Aid concert to benefit family farmers, held this year Sept. 18 near Chicago, used pure biodiesel (B100) supplied by producer Stepan Company, in its generator set as well as in artists’ buses. Willie Nelson and Neil Young, two Farm Aid co-founders and board members, both use biodiesel in their tour buses and personal vehicles.
“At Farm Aid before, I said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s called biodiesel,” Nelson said. “We can use soybeans, canola, mustard seed and other crops for our fuel. American farmers need to be growing things we can be using for our energy.”
“Farmers are lifeblood to the future of our nutritious food supply, and to quality products we know were created and grown with meticulous care,” said Jeff Nelson, Biodiesel Business Manager of Stepan Company of Northfield, Ill., a member of the National Biodiesel Board. “Sponsoring some of the biodiesel is a small way of giving back to that phenomenal group of people, while also using their product.”
Farm Aid Tractor Parade tractors highlighted their biodiesel use with signage on Farm Aid weekend. Another role biodiesel played in Farm Aid 2005 was fueling the Jeep Liberty Common Rail Diesel (CRD) that was auctioned for benefit.
John Mellencamp, another co-founder, and Dave Matthews make up the two other members of the board of directors. Beyond the board members’ performances, others included Kenny Chesney, Los Lonely Boys and Emmylou Harris.
This was the second year of biodiesel use at Farm Aid, and Farm Aid’s twentieth anniversary.
|
| | Upcoming Events | |
|
|
| |
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment