Biodiesel Magazine

March 21, 2017

By Ron Kotrba

March 21 represents the end of the 60-day freeze period on new regulations pending review, implemented by the incoming U.S. administration Jan. 20. Among the regulations on hold during the two-month freeze period was the final rule for the 2017-’18 renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

While U.S. EPA has yet to announce anything on the matter, biodiesel and renewable diesel stakeholders welcome implementation of the boosted advanced biofuel volumes for 2017 and biomass-based diesel volumes for 2018, finalized by the Obama administration’s EPA last November after Donald J. Trump won the presidential election.

The advanced biofuel category for 2017 was finalized at 4.28 billion ethanol-equivalent gallons, up 19 percent over the 2016 RVO and up 7 percent from the 2017 proposal issued in spring 2016. The biomass-based diesel category for 2018 was finalized last November at 2.1 billion gallons, up 100 million from 2017, the same as what EPA proposed last spring.

“Though last year’s market actually outpaced the 2018 requirement, we are pleased that the rule is effective and that the industry can move forward under the program as outlined,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs with the National Biodiesel Board. “With the help of a strong RFS, American biodiesel supports some 64,000 jobs across the nation, many the most affluent in their region. We look forward to working with EPA and the new administration as they begin the process of setting volumes moving forward and are confident American biodiesel producers can do even more to contribute to energy security, economic prosperity and clean air.”

Renewable diesel producer Neste Corp., which exported more than 200 million gallons of renewable diesel to the U.S. in 2016, also commented on the expiration of the regulatory freeze period.

“The regulatory freeze pending review by the new U.S. administration, which was applied to the renewable fuel volume requirements for 2017, has expired,” the company stated in a press release March 21. “Hence, the EPA continues to implement the final ruling under the RFS program as published Nov. 23.”

Kaisa Hietala, executive vice president of Neste’s renewable products business area, said, “We are pleased with the EPA’s continued commitment to the RFS program. Determination and ambitious targets are required to combat climate change globally.”

Read the original story: 2017-'18 RVOs Assumed Intact as Regulatory Freeze Deadline Passes

Today we are responding to the Duluth News Tribune story, “Habitat Loss Highest Near Ethanol Plants,” that was published March 21, 2017. We believe the article does a disservice to readers by citing a study that contains dubious and inaccurate conclusions.

Twin Cities Pioneer Press

March 18, 2017

By Bob Shaw

Dump it today, drive with it tomorrow.

That’s the promise of the nation’s first waste-to-ethanol plant, proposed for Inver Grove Heights.

The $200 million biofuels plant would process Dakota County’s garbage into ethanol, to be blended with gasoline for use in cars and trucks.

If the plant works as described, it would make the county more environmentally friendly, said county Environmental Resources Director Georg Fischer.

The plant would be built by the Canadian company Enerkem Inc. and SKB Environmental Inc., a St. Paul-based waste and recycling company. The companies made a preliminary presentation to the Inver Grove Heights City Council in February but have not yet made any formal proposals to the city.

“There seems to be a potential for a lot of benefits, but there are also a lot of unknowns,” said city administrator Joe Lynch.

If the council and state and federal agencies approve, the plant could be operating by 2020, according to David McDonnell, Enerkem’s vice president for business development for North America.

The companies would build the plant near existing landfills, south of 117th Street and about 1 mile west of U.S. 52.

The plant would employ 100 workers and would pay Inver Grove Heights about $1.5 million annually in fees and taxes. “Economically, there is an attraction here,” Lynch said.

Enerkem operates two waste-to-ethanol plants in Canada. One is a small demonstration facility at the company’s headquarters in Quebec, and the other is a commercial plant for the 800,000-population city of Edmonton.

The Minnesota plant would be the first in the U.S. and would be twice of the size of the Edmonton plant.

Dakota County’s Fischer described how the plant could revolutionize garbage processing for the county, which produces 400,000 tons of garbage a year — half recycled and half going into landfills.

At the biofuels plant, workers would pick through the garbage destined for landfills a second time for recyclables, boosting the county’s recycling rate from 50 percent to about 70 percent, according to Fischer. The remaining material would be shredded into 2-inch pieces, heated and processed into ethanol.

The garbage-based ethanol, just like corn-based ethanol, would be blended into automotive fuels. The plant would produce about 20 million gallons of ethanol annually.

There’s another environmental advantage to the plant — the re-use of water.

McDonnell said Enerkem likes the site because the plant could use water from the Empire Wastewater Treatment Facility in Empire Township. The Empire plant processes sewage from the metro area and pipes the wastewater to the Mississippi River.

If the ethanol plant used that water, it wouldn’t have to pump water up from aquifers.

The savings? About 1.6 million gallons annually.

“If they were able to do that, it would become more and more of a green project,” Fischer said.

He said that by slashing the volume of garbage going into landfills, the plant would help the county meet environmental goals set by the state.

State law lists environmental practices from worst to best: landfilling, landfilling that captures flammable gases, composting or burning garbage, composting yard waste and food waste, recycling, and reduction and re-use.

The biofuels plant, said Fischer, would move Dakota County up two levels. “In that respect, it would be a great thing,” he said.

The waste-to-ethanol process is so new that many environmental groups and the Environmental Protection Agency don’t list it under methods they have evaluated.

The EPA’s website, like Minnesota’s waste-management hierarchy, places “energy recovery” in the mid-range of treatment options. Presumably, “energy recovery” would include turning garbage into ethanol.

“The process, if it works as they say, could potentially be a good alternative for us,” said city administrator Lynch.

Read the original release: Inver Grove Plant Would be First in U.S. to Turn Garbage Into Ethanol