In the News
June 2, 2014
By Geoff Cooper
If the Environmental Working Group’s PR hacks are truly interested in combating global climate change, they ought to start by curbing their own noxious emissions of hot air. Last week, EWG released a sham “study” claiming that corn ethanol is somehow worse for the climate than gasoline, despite the fact that a number of recent peer-reviewed studies by government, academia, and private analysts clearly show first-generation ethanol significantly reduces GHG emissions relative to gasoline.
EWG apparently doesn’t debate the fact that corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions when compared directly to gasoline. Indeed, it’s only when hypothetical, unverifiable indirect emissions are added into the equation that EWG suggests corn ethanol is no better than gasoline. In an attempt to make their case, EWG cherry picks questionable data points from EPA’s flawed and outdated “indirect land use change” analysis from five years ago. And where EPA data doesn’t exist to support their bias, EWG simply makes things up (e.g., there is no support for the claim that 8 million acres of “native” grassland and wetlands were converted to corn production between 2008 and 2011).
EWG’s bogus study is at odds with a growing body of science. Numerous analyses conducted since EPA published the RFS2 final rule in 2010 show that corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 30–40% compared to the gasoline it is replacing—even when speculative land use change emissions are included. These peer-reviewed and published studies have been conducted by the likes of Purdue University, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Illinois, Michigan State University, the International Food Policy Research Institute, Life Cycle Associates and others. Even the California Air Resources Board (CARB) disagrees with EWG—CARB says more than two-thirds of the GHG reductions achieved under Low Carbon Fuel Standard to date have come from conventional ethanol (despite the fact that CARB’s current framework significantly underestimates corn ethanol’s GHG benefits).
Not only does EWG’s report contradict the state of the art in lifecycle analysis, but it also contradicts data from the real world. Imagine that…EWG being out of touch with reality. Beyond the seemingly endless debate about economic models, hypothetical scenarios, and input assumptions lies an indisputable set of facts and real-world data that shows the utter fallacy of the indirect land use change hypothesis.
USDA’s newly published 2012 Agriculture Census, which is based on collection of empirical data and surveys of real farmers (not mysterious and uncertain satellite images), reveals the truth about how land is being used in the U.S. It demonstrates—quite compellingly—that long-term land use trends have not been interrupted in any meaningful way since the emergence of biofuels and passage of the RFS.
• The amount of land in farms declined 0.8% from 922.1 million acres in 2007 to 914.5 million acres in 2012. Land in farms in the 2002 Ag Census was 938.3 million acres.
• Total cropland fell 4.1% from 406.4 million acres in 2007 to 389.7 million acres in 2012. Total cropland in 2012 was a whopping 44.5 million acres lower (10% less) than the 434.2 million acres of cropland in 2002. If the RFS is causing cropland expansion and land use change, as EWG ridiculously claims, why does USDA data continue to show fewer acres dedicated to crops?
• Idle cropland and summer fallow both decreased slightly from 2007 to 2012, indicating that any “new” land coming into cultivation likely came from lands that were previously cropped—not from “pristine prairie” and “native grasslands.” Meanwhile, permanent pasture and rangeland increased 1.6% from 408.8 million acres in 2007 to 415.3 million acres in 2012.
• Contrary to EWG’s doomsday rhetoric that “forests are being chopped down” as a result of the RFS, total woodland increased 2.5% from 75.1 million acres in 2007 to 77 million acres in 2012.
• Another favorite fib some of the environmental NGOs like to tell is that corn ethanol growth has driven expansion of irrigated acres. Once again, the Ag Census shows otherwise. Irrigated acres fell 1.4% from 56.6 million to 55.8 million between 2007 and 2012, according to USDA. (Incidentally, government data also show steadily declining deforestation rates in the Amazon and a shrinking hypoxic “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico since the RFS2 was enacted—so we can toss those canards out too while we’re cleaning house).
As EPA and the White House prepare to release the final 2014 RFS requirements, let’s hope they are looking at the recent Ag Census data and the most current lifecycle analyses from reputable sources—not the latest spew from EWG.
Read the original story here : Ag Census Data Shows EWG Is Full of Hot Air
May 23, 2014
By Holly Jessen
Last weekend, we had a special dedication ceremony for my daughter at our church. (It’s like a baby baptism, but without the water.) Afterward, family and friends gathered in the park for lunch.
That’s when one of my friends started asking me questions about the ethanol industry. She’s a graduate student, something in political studies I believe, and was clear that she had heard negative things about corn ethanol. Basically, her impression was that corn ethanol is no good and we’re just waiting on next generation fuels. I was happy to explain to her that, No. 1, corn ethanol isn’t the villain she may have been led to believe and No. 2, cellulosic ethanol is a lot closer than she realized.
One of my main points to her was that advanced biofuels wouldn’t be an option if it wasn’t for the first generation industry. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, many of the same companies that now produce corn ethanol are also working to produce cellulosic ethanol. One example is a small plant in Galva, Ill., that is working to start up a bolt on technology that will produce ethanol from the cellulosic material in a corn kernel. Other current corn ethanol producing companies are targeting corn stover for cellulosic ethanol production. My friend was surprised to hear how close some of these companies are to completing construction and producing commercial-scale volumes of advanced biofuels.
I then addressed the “corn-ethanol is bad” impression she had, with analogy I’ve used before. We’re both mothers of young daughters so it’s one that makes sense to both of us. Children don’t come out of the womb walking. They must first master some basic skills like sitting up and rolling over. And then, once they do walk, it’s not like they abandon sitting up and rolling over because they are “bad” skills or things only babies do. The U.S. corn ethanol industry has already done a lot of good for this country, by reducing oil imports and providing jobs, for example, and it will continue to contribute positively in the future.
Another question she had was about the efficiency of the corn ethanol industry. Has that improved over time? Again, I was glad to be able to say the answer was yes. First generation ethanol plants are, today, producing more ethanol using less thermal energy, electricity and water. We wrote about that back in spring of last year. And, keep in mind that the numbers in that story are averages. Certain leading ethanol facilities have improved on those numbers even further. Another important point is that corn ethanol facilities are installing or considering advanced technologies like anaerobic digesters, combined heat and power, fractionation and more. The same is probably true for a lot of industries. Production of products such as food, fabric or tires is much more advanced today than it was when the industries first started up. It's the natural progression of things.
It’s always nice when I can talk to someone that is open to learning more about the ethanol industry. Some people have so deeply swallowed the negative propaganda against the industry, that it’s pretty much not worth the time to tell them anything different. My friend may still have reservations about corn ethanol but she certainly knows more about it than before we had our conversation.
Read original story here : Defending Corn Ethanol Around A Picnic Table
May 23, 2014
By Anna Simet
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has named five in-state bioenergy projects as recipients of NextGen Energy grants.
The five projects were selected out of a pool of 35, according to MDA Commissioner Dave Frederickson. All projects underwent consideration by a technical team made up of members from five state departments – agriculture, commerce, natural Resources, pollution control, and employment and economic development. Projects were scored separately according to NextGen grant guidelines, and all are required at least a 50 percent match from the grantee.
Grant recipients include:
-Easy Energy Systems, Welcome, Minn. - $500,000
The project builds a showplace biofuel production facility capable of testing multiple feedstocks, verifying economic data, and confirming conversion rates in Welcome.
-Central Minnesota Renewables LLC, Little Falls, Minn. - $500,000
This project will receive funding for final engineering work needed to convert the existing 20 million gallon per year ethanol facility, Central Minnesota Ethanol Cooperative, to n-butanol production for the chemical industry.
-Segetis Inc., Golden Valley, Minn. - $325,000
Grant amount is to be used for equipment, capital construction and materials for operation of a pilot plant for process development required to commercialize their biobased non-phthalate plasticizer.
-University of Minnesota, Natural Resources Research Institute, Duluth, Minn. - $217,500
In collaboration with Syngas Technologies, Elk River, this project will develop a more efficient biomass fuel pretreatment process for putting feedstock into a high-pressure gasifier, which produces drop-in biofuels.
-Duluth Steam, Duluth, Minn. - $150,000
Funds will help facilitate the detailed design, procurement and installation of an on-site biomass receiving, storage, and feed system. It utilizes up to 25 percent biomass feedstocks from local forestry operations and will displace the current use of western coal.
The MDA said that in addition to the $1.7 million granted to these projects, nearly half a million dollars has been set aside for a separate request for biomass thermal projects, targeting overall project sizes of $200,000 to $300,000. This RFP is due to be released early this summer.
Read the original story here : Minn. Funds 5 Biofuel And Bioenergy Projects, Thermal RFP Soon
May 23, 2014
By Ayesha Rascoe
The Obama administration is likely to partly backtrack on proposed steep cuts to renewable fuel targets for 2014 when it finalizes a rule due out in June, industry sources said.
Biofuel groups expect the Environmental Protection Agency to send the final proposed targets to the White House as soon as Friday.
The EPA shocked biofuel supporters in November with a draft rule that slashed federal requirements for biofuel use in gasoline and diesel. The agency argued that U.S. energy markets could not absorb the levels of renewable fuels that would be required by a 2007 law.
Since then, though, rising projections for gasoline consumption give the agency leeway to raise its corn ethanol target from November's proposal of about 13 billion gallons to about 13.6 billion, a biofuel industry source said.
The more gasoline consumed, the more ethanol that can be absorbed before hitting the "blend wall," the point at which the law would require more ethanol to be used than the 10 percent blend found at most U.S. gas stations.
The rumored adjustment would still leave the corn ethanol target for 2014 far below the 14.4 billion gallons called for by law, and will likely enrage oil companies who lobbied hard for cuts to the targets.
The industry source said administration officials have told stakeholders that "no one is going to be happy" regarding the final rule.
The Renewable Fuel Standard requires increasing amounts of various types of biofuels to be blended into U.S. gasoline and diesel supplies each year through 2022.
Citing the looming blend wall, the EPA issued a proposal last year to cut the overall biofuel use target from 18.15 billion gallons to 15.21 billion gallons, the first overall cut in the program's history.
Refiners said the reductions were necessary to prevent crippling compliance costs for their industry and possible fuel shortages.
Tim Cheung, an energy analyst for ClearView Energy, also predicted an ethanol requirement of 13.6 billion gallons. He noted the targets could be raised higher if EPA estimates there will be more consumption of the 85 percent ethanol blend, known as E-85, used in flex-fuel vehicles. An estimated 10.6 million such vehicles are now on U.S. roads.
Biodiesel producers said Wednesday the administration has hinted that it plans to leave the biodiesel target at the proposed 1.28 billion gallons, while slightly raising the overall target for advanced biofuels from 2.2 billion gallons.
"This decision would have lasting, damaging consequences for the jobs and economic activity supported by the U.S. biodiesel industry, while undermining your efforts to boost U.S. energy security through clean, domestic energy production," Joe Jobe, chief executive of the National Biodiesel Board, said in a letter to President Barack Obama.
Jobe said raising the advanced biofuel target, without increasing the biodiesel requirement, would merely encourage large amounts of imports of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol.
Read the original story here : U.S. may adjust 2014 corn ethanol target after outcry: sources
Global Renewable Fuels Alliance
May 21, 2014
TORONTO, Canada – Today, as the International Transport Forum Summit gets under way in Leipzig, Germany, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) in cooperation with (S&T)2 Consultants Inc. released their Global Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction Forecast for 2014. The GRFA is forecasting global ethanol production and use in 2014 to reduce GHG emissions by over 106 million tonnes.
(S&T)2 Consultants Inc., an internationally renowned energy and environmental consulting firm, in partnership with the GRFA have produced data that shows that year after year the reduction in global GHG emissions from global ethanol production is increasing. This year’s figure reveals that 90.38 billion litres of global ethanol production and use in 2014 will reduce global GHG emissions by over 291,000 tonnes per day. Compared to 2013, this is an increase of over 7000 tonnes per day in GHG emission savings.
“This data is good news for the environment,” said Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the GRFA. “Ethanol consumption is the largest single contributor to GHG reductions in the transportation space,” added Mr. Baker.
This year’s theme for the International Transport Forum Summit is “Transport for a Changing World”. As attendees discuss clean and sustainable transport for the future they should recognize that global ethanol production is reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector today. In fact, the projected GHG reductions from ethanol this year alone is equivalent to removing over 21 million vehicles from the road each year.
106.4 million tonnes in Green House Gas emissions reduction is equal to:
• 21,279,808 cars being removed from the world’s roads in 2014 OR removing more than all of the vehicles registered in Malaysia off the road annually.
• 58,300 cars being removed from the world’s roads daily OR removing more than all the vehicles registered in Saint Lucia off the road daily.
• Removing the annual emissions from 14 average-sized coal-fired power plants.
“Biofuels like ethanol are the only cost-effective and commercially available alternative to crude oil and are proven to reduce harmful GHG emissions and help in the fight against climate change,” stated Baker.
“We believe International Transport Forum Summit participants should call for an increase in ethanol production and use given the significant contribution ethanol is making to reducing global GHG emissions today,” concluded Baker.
Read the original story here : Global Ethanol Consumption To Reduce GHGs By Over 106 Million Tonnes In 2014
April 8, 2014
By Christopher Doering
The Obama administration has halted investments in advanced biofuels plants following its proposal last year to reduce how much renewable fuels must be blended into the country's fuel supply in 2014, an executive representing the industry told Senate lawmakers Tuesday.
"What the (Environmental Protection Agency) proposal did, first the leaked version in October and then in November is frozen everything," Brooke Coleman, executive director of the Advanced Ethanol Council, told sympathetic lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee. "Every single one of my companies. There are no exceptions."
The EPA, which oversees the country's Renewable Fuel Standard, proposed in November cutting the fuel requirement in 2014 to 15.2 billion gallons of ethanol and other biofuels, 3 billion gallons less than Congress required in a 2007 law. As part of that, EPA proposed requiring 2.2 billion gallons of advanced biofuels, including agricultural waste, wood and grass, to be used in 2014, far below the 3.75 billion outlined in federal law.
Coleman said if the EPA raises the levels in its final 2014 rule, the advanced biofuel industry would benefit. "If that's done we will recover and we will recover well," he said.
The final rule is expected to be issued by the EPA in late spring or early summer.
After years of delays and millions of dollars spent ramping up production, three large-scale U.S. cellulosic plants will open this year. DuPont Cellulosic Ethanol, which is building a 30 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol plant near Nevada, Iowa, will use corn stover as its feedstock when it ramps up production.
Jan Koninckx, DuPont's chief on cellulosic renewable fuel, told lawmakers the fuel will initially cost more before the price comes down.
"The product will at first . . . be more expensive than corn ethanol and more expensive than fossil fuel but over time this will come down," Koninckx said. "We continue to anticipate to be competitive with oil at about $80 per barrel."
Lawmakers outside of ethanol producing states have proposed to end or significantly overhaul the Renewable Fuel Standard.
"I don't know what would happen if you put the Renewable Fuel Standard to a vote today in the United States Congress," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. "We'd like to think we'd maintain it. . . but that may not be factual."
One measure, introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., would greatly diminish the importance of the Renewable Fuel Standard by removing the component that requires fuel to be made from corn. Smaller mandates for advanced biofuels such as cellulosic would remain in place. Others would cap how much ethanol could be blended into gasoline at 10 percent.
Iowa, the country's largest ethanol producer, has 42 refineries capable of producing over 3.8 billion gallons annually, with three cellulosic ethanol facilities under construction.
Read the original story here : Ethanol Proposal Has Stopped Investments In Advanced Biofuels, Industry Tells Senators
April 9, 2014
WASHINGTON — For the third year in a row, Americans, by an overwhelming majority, consistently support the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and other key federal initiatives supporting the expanded use of ethanol. A new national poll conducted by American Viewpoint found 65 percent of adults support the RFS, while just 26 percent are opposed. Support for the RFS has been steadily rising. In 2013, 64 percent polled supported the policy, up from 61 percent in 2012.
As you may know, there is currently a renewable fuels standard that requires a certain amount of the fuel produced each year to come from ethanol, bio-diesel and other renewable sources that aren’t fossil fuels to reduce foreign oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. Do you favor or oppose this requirement?
Favor: 65%
Oppose: 26%
Don’t Know: 8%
RFA’s President and CEO Bob Dinneen commented, “It is telling that support for the RFS continues to grow in spite of the relentless attacks on ethanol and the RFS financed by Big Oil’s deep pockets. Repeatedly Americans have decisively said they place a premium on energy independence, job creation, and a cleaner environment. For these reasons and more, Americans overwhelmingly support the RFS for its ability to strengthen this great nation. Members of Congress and the Obama Administration should review this data before taking action to reduce or eliminate a program with broad national appeal and tangible energy and environmental benefits.”
Expanding on the polling results, Dinneen continued, “Americans see great value in investing in the next generation of fuel, cellulosic ethanol, and they support the idea of an open fuel standard which encourages the manufacturing of cars that run on any number of alternatives to petroleum. In fact, Americans appear to have a visceral dislike for the billions and billions of dollars in government subsidies and special tax treatment that Big Oil has enjoyed for 100 years.”
The government has considered giving incentives to help fund the expansion of a new fuel known as Cellulosic ethanol, which is a biofuel produced from wood, grasses and other non-edible parts of plants. Do you favor or oppose these incentives?
Favor: 66%
Oppose: 24%
Don’t Know: 9%
Do you favor or oppose requiring automobile manufacturers to build cars that will run on fuel sources other than oil, such as electricity, natural gas and bio-fuels?
Favor: 78%
Oppose: 19%
Don’t Know: 3%
As you may know, oil companies receive four to five billion dollars in government subsidies and special tax treatment and incentives for things like equipment depreciation, oil depletion allowances, and foreign investment tax credits for taxes they pay in foreign countries. Do you favor or oppose these tax incentives?
Favor: 22%
Oppose: 66%
Don’t know: 11%
The new poll was commissioned by RFA and conducted by American Viewpoint. The poll was conducted via phone with a sample size of 1,000 adults. Margin of error in the poll is +/- 3.1 percent. Approximately 40 percent of respondents were contacted by cell phone.
Linda DiVall, President of American Viewpoint, analyzed several keys themes from the polling results:
“Despite the barrage of negative advertising targeting ethanol recently, ethanol’s image has held strong, largely unchanged from last year. More telling is the fact that the unfavorable rating of oil companies has climbed five percentage points to 47 percent, with a plurality of Americans rating oil companies unfavorably.”
“That rise in negative opinion of oil companies certainly manifests itself in the 66 percent of adults polled who desire a level playing field among fuels and resent the subsidies and special treatment oil companies have held onto at the expense of the American taxpayer.”
DiVall concluded, “The ethanol industry must not be deterred from telling its story. It should stand proudly and champion its ability to significantly reduce greenhouse gases, lower our dependence on foreign oil, create quality jobs, and reduce fuel costs for American drivers. Ethanol, thanks in large part to the RFS, is a fuel with a proven track record of success and a promising future.”
Read the original story here : New Poll : For 3rd Year In a Row, Americans Overwhelmingly Support The RFS
April 15, 2014
By Susanne Retka Schill
The continuing shifting relationships between ethanol, corn and gasoline are the subject of two analyses done by Iowa agricultural economists for the AgMarketing Resource Center newsletter.
Don Hofstrand takes a look at the increase in corn production cost and how the saturation of the ethanol market may impact the profitability of the ethanol supply chain, and how these profits may be distributed between corn farmer and ethanol producer.
Robert Wisner examines the question of the changing relationships among ethanol, gasoline, crude oil and corn prices. “Corn supplies, barring another period of adverse weather, appear ample for both feed and fuel needs for the next few years if the corn-starch ethanol industry capacity remains near the current level,” he writes.
In a series of charts, Wisner compares corn prices to crude oil since 2003 as well as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices versus crude prices. In the case of gasoline and ethanol prices, the higher cost of transporting ethanol by rail or truck compared to pipeline for gasoline has widened the spread between the two. “Also, as supplies increased, ethanol prices tended to more fully reflect ethanol’s lower energy content than gasoline. The energy content of ethanol is about two-thirds that of gasoline, although part of the value difference is offset by ethanol’s higher octane content and the ability of refiners to produce cheaper low-octane gasoline and upgrade the octane level with ethanol. In early 2006, ethanol prices were about 80 percent of the price of gasoline. By early 2014, with the domestic ethanol market nearly saturated, ethanol prices at Iowa plants were about 58 percent of retail gasoline prices.”
While serious rail transportation impediments have moved wholesale ethanol prices higher, he continued, that is expected to be temporary. “Whether ethanol prices will weaken relative to gasoline in the next few years will depend heavily on whether the domestic market can be expanded beyond the current blend-wall saturation level.”
Hofstrand refers to an analysis for a hypothetical Iowa corn farmer looking at revenue, costs and net returns since 2000. While corn prices have shown significant volatility, product costs have gone up at an increasing rate over this time, and essentially doubled since 2000. “The trend has been relatively stable except for 2009 where cost increased substantially but then fell back in 2010. Seed, fertilizer, diesel fuel, machinery repairs, etc. have all increased substantially over the 15 year period. Only herbicide cost has bucked the trend,” Hofstrand writes.
In his discussion of the historical trends and projections for the future, Hofstrand adds that if lagging ethanol demand “cannot continue to mop up excess corn supplies, corn prices may drop below the cost of production. If this happens, there will be considerable downward pressure on production costs.”
Hofstrand also briefly reviews the potential for ethanol prices to weaken relative to gasoline. “With the expected emergence of cellulosic ethanol production and increasing government mandates for its use, shrinkage of the corn starch ethanol market is an additional factor that may affect total returns and profits shown here.”
Read the original story here : Iowa Economists : 2014 Ethanol Prices Drop To 58% Of Retail Gas
More...
April 21, 2014
By Donnelle Eller
Experts on Monday criticized a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln study, saying it used “worst-case” assumptions to determine that cellulosic ethanol creates more carbon emissions than gasoline.
The report from Adam Liska, an associate professor at Nebraska, says crop residue used to make cellulosic ethanol creates 7 percent more greenhouse gas emissions in the short-run than gasoline emissions and are “above the 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions” required by the federal government.
Tom Vilsack, the U.S. secretary of agriculture, said the study makes “certain assumptions about farming operations” that “aren’t a reality. It’s not what’s happening on the ground.
“If you make the wrong assumption, you’re going to come up with the wrong conclusions,” said Iowa’s former governor, who was in Des Moines on Monday. “It’s unfortunate.”
The U.S. Department of Energy provided a $500,000 grant over three years for the study, published Sunday in a peer-reviewed journal, Nature Climate Change. The research attempts to quantify, over 12 Corn Belt states, how much carbon is lost to the atmosphere when the stalks, leaves and cobs that make up residue are removed and used to make biofuel, instead of left to naturally replenish the soil with carbon.
The university said the study “casts doubt on whether corn residue can be used to meet federal mandates to ramp up ethanol production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” The federal government has provided more than $1 billion in funding to support what it believes is greener cellulosic ethanol development.
In November, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed pulling back how much renewable fuels — including corn-based and cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel — must be used in the U.S. fuel supply. EPA has reduced the target for the cellulosic industry five times, given the industry’s difficulty in meeting the volumes.
Jennifer Dunn, an environmental team leader at the Argonne National Laboratory, said the study looked at “extreme levels of corn stover removal — up to 100 percent.”
A study from Dunn and others in 2012 found that biofuels made with corn residue were 95 percent better than gasoline in greenhouse gas emissions. That study assumed some of the corn stover harvested would be used to create energy and replace power produced from coal.
“The general consensus has been that we would manage corn stover removal to avoid adverse impacts to soil health, including a decline in soil organic carbon,” Dunn said.
Dunn said several plants are creating energy to power their own cellulosic plants, a fact not factored into the Nebraska study. That includes Poet-DSM, which is building a $250 million cellulosic plant in Emmetsburg.
Another Iowa plant, DuPont Nevada, says its $225 million facility has the potential to reduce greenhouse emissions by more than 100 percent. It’s under construction west of the Story County town.
“The companies behind these plants have really striven to emphasize the sustainability of their feedstock, including the soil carbon aspect. It’s why there is only a certain level of stover that can be removed from the field.
“Everyone knows that if you take the whole thing off, it’s going to cause problems,” she said. “That’s not even debated. ... Nobody wants to damage their soil health.”
Dunn and others say farmers look at soil carbon on a “sub-field level” to determine how much stover can be sustainably removed.
Liska said in an email that his study looked at stover removal at 25 percent, 50 percent and 75-100 percent, and the rate of carbon emissions was constant. “It is likely that no matter what level of residue is removed, the carbon intensity stays the same,” he said.
Douglas Karlen, a research soil scientist with USDA’s Agriculture Research Service, said the amount of stover removal used in the model isn’t physically possible. “If you could take off 75 percent of the corn stover, I’m not sure where you would put it,” he said.
Karlen said Iowa farmers would take off 1 to 1.5 tons per acre of stover from their fields. The study model would remove 2.68 tons per acre.
“You’d be stacked up with corn bales that are miles long,” said Karlen, who has worked with both Poet and DuPont in Iowa, among other companies, on ensuring sustainable amounts of stover are removed. “The machinery can’t take off 75 percent of the material, even with a vacuum system.”
Read the original story here : Experts Say Ethanol Study Used Bad Model
By David Shaffer
CHS Inc., the nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, is getting back into the ethanol-making business, hoping that the third time is the charm.
The co-op based in Inver Grove Heights said Wednesday that it will purchase a large ethanol plant in Rochelle, Ill., and is looking to acquire other plants and globally expand sales of the biofuel and its byproduct animal feed called dried distillers grains.
“We are really looking at this as a first ethanol plant,” said Mark Palmquist, who is chief operating officer of CHS’ ag business. “We would be looking at other purchases. This is really a start of a strategy.”
CHS, which had $44.5 billion in revenue in fiscal 2013, has long marketed ethanol and traded distillers grains as part of its vast global commodities business. CHS also owns two petroleum refineries, blends ethanol with gasoline and sells fuel at 1,400 Cenex-brand stations across the country.
The co-op has twice entered — and exited — the business of making ethanol from corn.
In the 1980s, CHS and Archer Daniels Midland Co. owned a small, first-generation ethanol plant in North Dakota, but CHS sold its stake in 1991. Fifteen years later, in 2006, CHS acquired 24 percent of US BioEnergy, which then owned four ethanol plants. But CHS had to write off $74 million of that investment after US BioEnergy merged with VeraSun and the combined company filed for bankruptcy in 2008.
Palmquist said CHS learned a lesson from its passive investment in US BioEnergy, whose business was not integrated with the Minnesota co-op’s commodities-trading strengths.
“We are a leading trader in DDGs, we are a leading trader in ethanol,” Palmquist said in an interview. “We look at it and say, ‘This time around this [ethanol plant] is something that should be part of our portfolio of operating companies.’ That is why we are taking it on as the full owner of the plant.”
Larry Johnson, a Cologne, Minn., ethanol industry consultant, said CHS’ re-entry into the ethanol business is a sign of the co-op’s confidence in the biofuel industry.
“It shows they have got a high level of optimism in agriculture, ethanol and themselves,” he said. “I think it is a good move.”
CHS didn’t disclose the terms of the acquisition of Illinois River Energy, but said the purchase is a cash deal that is expected to close in June. Palmquist said CHS plans to retain the approximately 60 employees of the plant 80 miles west of Chicago.
The plant was built as a smaller ethanol refinery in 2006, and after a major expansion now produces 133 million gallons of ethanol, along with corn oil and distillers grains.
Sinav Ltd., based in London, has owned the plant since 2012. Sinav is a unit of London-based Harwood Capital and Siem Industries Inc., a diverse company with shipping and oil services segments based in the Cayman Islands. The Illinois operation was Sinav’s only ethanol plant.
Richard Ruebe, CEO of Illinois River Energy, said Sinav put the plant up for sale in January and had multiple bidders. He said CHS has marketed the plant’s ethanol since 2006.
“We have had a strong relationship with them through the highs and lows,” Ruebe said in an interview. “They have been a good business partner.”
Palmquist said the Illinois plant is well run and in a good location for corn and transportation. He wouldn’t say whether CHS has other pending deals for ethanol plants, but said the company’s strategy aims to export ethanol and distillers grains.
“It is becoming more global,” he said of the ethanol business, “and that fits our structure.
Read the original story here : Minnesota Ag Coop CHS Agrees To Buy Ethanol Plant In Illinois
May 13, 2014
By Ashwin Raman
A recent opinion piece titled, “Pipelines: Safest Way To Transport, Oil, Gas” by Rolf Westgard which was published in the Brainerd Dispatch on May 1, 2014, contained several inaccurate and misleading statements.
In the piece, Westgard said “there is little difference in emissions from the tar sands oil versus conventional oil” and added “CO2 emissions are the same regardless of the crude source.”
In actuality, lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, which calculates emissions from the production state to the consumption stage, for crude oil differs in accordance to its source.
The State Department’s report for the Keystone XL Project released in January clearly states that on a lifecycle analysis, Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin crude oil (which will flow through the proposed pipeline) emits 17 percent more greenhouse gases than the average barrel of crude oil refined in the United States.
It said 0.24 million metric tons of CO2 will be emitted per year during the construction period of the Keystone XL project and, once operational, it would emit 1.44 million metric tons of CO2 per year.
Westgard also mentioned the Ogallala aquifer, which is below specific parts of the proposed pipeline, and said that a bigger threat to the aquifer is the farming of corn in those areas for biofuel production, adding it takes 500 gallons of water to produce corn for a gallon of ethanol in Nebraska and Kansas.
A study by Argonne National Laboratory, which is a nonprofit research laboratory operated by the University of Chicago for the Department of Energy, points to a lower amount of water used to produce corn in those states.
In a 2011 study, it said 239 gallons of water is needed to produce corn for a gallon of ethanol in states like Nebraska and Kansas, where rainfall isn’t as much as in states like Minnesota (for illustrative purposes, only 17 to 25 gallons of water is used to produce corn for a gallon of ethanol in Minnesota).
This water usage includes groundwater, surface water, rain water and water that’s reused. It is imperative to note that water usage for corn production is the same irrespective of whether it is used for ethanol or animal feed (which still comprises the bulk of corn production nationwide).
Additionally, during the ethanol production process, only a third of the biomass in a corn kernel goes to ethanol. Another third becomes CO2 which is used for dry ice and bottled drinks while the remaining third is used to produce dried distillers grain, which is a high-protein animal feed.
As such, Argonne said, the amount of water used to produce corn specifically for ethanol in the Great Plains is actually 160 gallons.
It should be pointed out that actual ethanol production, according to the same 2011 Argonne study, only requires 2.7 gallons of water for a gallon of ethanol. In Minnesota, some producers are using only 2 gallons of water.
In another Argonne study released in 2012, it said ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 44 percent. Using the laboratory’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use In Transportation (GREET) model, the Renewable Fuels Association concluded that ethanol reduced 38 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2013, which was the equivalent of removing eight million cars from the road.
In contrast, the State Department’s Keystone XL report said the annual 1.44 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from the pipeline is the equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from 300,000 passenger vehicles a year.
Read the original story here : Pipeline Will Increase CO2; Ethanol Is A Cleaner Option
April 16, 2014
By Mario Parker
Ethanol declined in Chicago for a fourth day following a government report that production last week climbed to the highest level since December.
Futures fell 4.1 percent after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said output increased 4.8 percent to 939,000 barrels a day, the steepest gain since Sept. 27.
“The trade is really keying on the production number; it was big,” said Mike Blackford, a consultant at INTL FCStone in Des Moines, Iowa.
Denatured ethanol for May delivery fell 9.3 cents to settle at $2.172 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade, the lowest since Feb. 24. Prices have gained 14 percent this year.
Gasoline for May delivery slid 0.16 cent to $3.0405 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract covers reformulated gasoline, made to be blended with ethanol before delivery to filling stations.
Ethanol’s discount to the motor fuel expanded 9.14 cents to 86.85 cents.
Stockpiles slumped 2.8 percent to 16 million barrels, the first weekly decline since March 14, according to the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm.
Corn for May delivery sank 6.25 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $4.975 a bushel in Chicago.
In cash market trading, ethanol fell 35.5 cents to $2.345 a gallon in Chicago, 32 cents to $2.85 on the West Coast and 5 cents to $2.45 on the Gulf Coast, data compiled by Bloomberg show. In New York, the biofuel climbed 2.5 cents to $2.475 a gallon.
Corn-based ethanol Renewable Identification Numbers for 2014, used by the government and refiners to track consumption targets, were at 42 cents, while 2013 RINs were at 44 cents, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Read the original story here : Ethanol Drops As Production Climbs To Highest Since December
WASHINGTON — A new study published in Nature Climate Change that argues biofuels from corn residue (stover) may be worse for the climate than gasoline is deeply flawed and contradictory to current science. It shows a complete lack of understanding of current farming practices.
Commenting on the study, Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), said, “The study’s methodology is fundamentally flawed and its conclusions are highly suspect. The results are based on sweeping generalizations, questionable assumptions, and an opaque methodology. The authors offer no robust explanation for why their findings contradict other recent, highly regarded research. Ultimately, this paper should be seen for what it truly is – a modeling exercise of a hypothetical scenario that bears no resemblance to the real world.”
Dinneen goes on to highlight several key areas of contention with the Liska et al study. “Stover removal rates are currently in the 10-25% range, which well documented research demonstrates is sufficient to replenish soil. But this study assumes 60-70% stover removal, a level that nobody believes is sustainable.”
“This study lacks sophistication and contradicts without explanation a larger highly–regarded, credible body of science. Other recent studies have examined the carbon impacts of using corn residue for bioenergy. For instance, an analysis conducted by the University of Illinois and Argonne National Laboratory showed 30% residue removal resulted in no additional direct or indirect carbon emissions. Furthermore, it showed certain levels of corn stover can be removed without decreasing SOC. Initial results from research at South Dakota State University showed that SOC levels remained constant from 2008-2012 in a harvest system with relatively high residue removal rates.”
Dinneen concluded, “Last week there was a study suggesting the carbon impact of fracking may be 1,000 times greater than previously thought. Curiously, that report was largely ignored by the media. Folks need to stop manufacturing scenarios to make biofuels look bad, and begin focusing on the true carbon menace – oil.”
More detailed information on RFA’s points of contention with this study can be found here.
Read the original story here : RFA: New Stover Study Is Deeply Flawed
April 24, 2014
The Ascheman Uni-Mart in Appleton is the latest station to join DENCO II's E85 discount campaign.
With Ascheman Uni-Mart on-board, there are currently a total of 12 stations participating in DENCO II's campaign to offer E85 at $1 cheaper than regular unleaded gasoline.
Ascheman Uni-Mart joins the Hancock Co-op as the latest stations to join the campaign and both stations are expected to begin offering E85 at a $1 discount to regular gasoline by the end of this week.
The E85 campaign earlier this month and is expected to run throughout the summer months. The other participating stations are the Morris Food Shop, Morris Co-op Association, Jerry's U-Save Conoco (Morris), the Tri-County Co-op Association stations in Chokio and Wheaton and Cenex stations in Alexandria, Donnelly, Glenwood, Graceville and Starbuck.
The stations that have already begun offering E85 at $1 less per gallon than regular fuel are the three participating stations in Morris, the Tri-County Co-op Association stations in Chokio and Wheaton and the Cenex in Graceville and Alexandria. The other remaining stations are expected to begin offering the discounted price for E85 soon.
In fact, on April 18, the three stations in Morris were offering E85 at a $1.11 discount to regular gasoline.
Denco II is supplying the aforementioned stations with discounted E85 in April and throughout the summer. Denco II invested over $100,000 in 2011 in upgrading its ethanol load-out system to offer E85 and higher level blends directly to retailers.
Updates on the campaign will be regularly posted at Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association's Facebook and Twitter pages. To find these stations, go to MBA's E85 and Blender Pump map here
April 24, 2014
A new footprint study by Fuels America finds that the renewable fuels industry contributes $11.7 billion to Minnesota's economy annually.
The study, which was prepared by John Dunham & Associates, Inc of New York for Fuels America, includes direct and induced economic output from the renewable energy industry as well as economic contributions from the industry's suppliers.
The renewable energy industry, as defined by the study, includes conventional and cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and advanced biofuels.
According to the study, the renewable energy industry annually supports 48,506 jobs, generates $3 billion in wages and contributes $708.2 million and $401.9 million in federal and state taxes respectively.
The study also examines the economic contribution and job creation from the industry in individual congressional districts within the state. Congressional district 7, which encompasses most of western Minnesota, has the most number of jobs related to the renewable energy industry.
The Fuels America study can be found here.
April 30, 2014
By Amanda Peterka
A trio of House Democrats said they met with senior White House officials yesterday to express concerns over U.S. EPA's proposal for this year's renewable fuel targets.
The lawmakers, all three from Midwestern states and on the House Agriculture Committee, said the agency's proposal to slash the targets for both conventional ethanol and advanced biofuels would hurt Midwestern economies and undermine national energy security goals.
"The EPA's proposed rule would do nothing but undercut a growing American energy industry and further our reliance on foreign oil," Reps. Tim Walz and Rick Nolan of Minnesota and Cheri Bustos of Illinois said in a statement after the meeting. "Biofuels allow us to take control of our energy future, promote industry innovation and create thousands of jobs in the Midwest and across the country."
In November, EPA proposed to require that refiners blend or purchase credits for 15.21 billion gallons of renewable fuels this year, a 16 percent cut compared to the level set by the 2007 statute that created the current renewable fuel standard. The proposal would set this year's targets below last year's actual production of both conventional ethanol and advanced biofuels.
The three lawmakers have previously met with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on the proposal and are among a larger group of Midwestern representatives who have pressed the agency to increase the numbers (E&E Daily, Jan. 16).
Ethanol and advanced biofuel producers have also slammed the agency's targets. On the other hand, EPA's proposal has failed to quell calls by opponents in the oil and livestock industries for Congress to repeal the renewable fuel standard.
The agency is expected to issue a final rule in June. McCarthy has said publicly that EPA may have gotten the numbers wrong, but it's unclear whether or how much the agency will change the proposed targets.
EPA says that it's trying to put the renewable fuel standard on a "manageable trajectory." The agency based the proposal on the limit to the amount of ethanol that can be blended into gasoline, which is known as the blend wall, and on a slower-than-expected ramp-up in advanced biofuels.
Read the original story here : House Democrats Meet With White House On RFS Targets