Ethanol Producer Magazine

October 16, 2015

By Holly Jensen

Forty DuPont employees signed a letter sent recently to Sen. Pat Tommey, R-Penn., making it clear they oppose his efforts to modify the renewable fuel standard (RFS) in any way.  Tommey was unsuccessful at recent efforts to add an amendment to a bill about crude oil export, which would have eliminated the RFS corn-ethanol blending targets. 

“As Pennsylvania residents, registered voters and DuPont biofuels employees that support science driven innovation to solve some of the world’s most serious challenges, we absolutely oppose your efforts to repeal the corn ethanol mandate in the RFS and any other legislative initiatives to repeal or modify the RFS,” the letter said. It was signed by DuPont’s James Collins, executive vice president, William Feehery president, and Jan Koninckx global business director of biorefineries, and 37 other DuPont employees.

The letter went on to say that proposals to modify the RFS undercut the existing biofuels industry as well as prevent investments in advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol. “These new technologies are not dependent on additional sources of food-based feedstocks and will significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the U.S. transportation sector,” the letter said.

The company works within the entire supply chain for biofuels, from seed corn, crop protection and enzymes for first and second generation ethanol. In late October, DuPont will hold a grand opening celebration at its 30 MMgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa. The company’s joint venture with BP is Butamax, a project to develop biobutanol.

The letter touched on job creation, economic development and state and federal tax contributions, by the U.S. ethanol industry, pointing to an economic impact report releases by Fuels America.

“The existing biofuels industry has had a significant impact on an improved agriculture economy and ethanol is less expensive than gasoline, reducing gas prices,” the letter said.

Investments in the industry comes with many benefits, DuPont said, such as jobs, reduced environmental impact and positive impacts to the economy and national security, due to decreased reliance on foreign oil. “To realize these benefits, rather than gift these investments to China and Brazil, businesses and investors need stable and predictable policies,” the letter said. “We implore you to reconsider your stance on the RFS and work with us to create the right incentives for the biofuels industry to move beyond current technologies.”

Read the original story: DuPont Employees Write Letter to Tommey, Defend RFS

Renewable Fuels Association

October 16, 2015

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) released the following statement regarding a notice posted by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it intends on investigating the lifecycle impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“For years RFA has been asking the EPA to update their analysis of the RFS’s impacts on greenhouse gas emissions so we welcome this review, as it will give the public a clearer picture of the climate benefits that ethanol is producing today” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “Lifecycle analyses conducted by the Department of Energy and others since the final RFS rule was implemented have shown that grain ethanol produced today reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent compared to fossil fuels — even when hypothetical land use emissions are taken into account. And, the EPA has recently approved nearly 50 petitions from grain ethanol producers for its efficient producer program, with each petition requiring careful lifecycle analysis based on actual production data. These results show that the RFS is doing what it was intended to do, and is a potent weapon in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

See original statement: RFA Says EPA Probe Will Prove RFS is Getting Results

Globe Gazette

By Erin Murphy

October 14, 2015

At the other end of the spectrum, Republican Ted Cruz wants to do away with it.

That frustrates Sweeney, a Republican, who said Cruz is being “really close-minded on this issue.”

Sweeney and Judge said some candidates have shown a willingness to soften their position on the fuel standard.

“We want to try to educate candidates, and it’s not surprising that many of them come into Iowa with almost no knowledge of the role of renewable fuels, particularly the role the RFS plays in maintaining that," Judge said. "So there’s a lot of education that has to go back to the candidates and the candidates’ staff members.

“This is not a mandate. It is not a subsidy. It is simply saying we have a market share here. This is an education process, and we’ll keep at it.”

Read the original story, "Ethanol Group's Goal: Elect a Pro-RFS President"

Biomass Magazine

October 6, 2015

By Katie Fletcher

The International Energy Agency recently released its annual Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report at a Group of 20 leaders’ meeting in Turkey. The report forecasts global market trends and developments for renewable energy and biofuels to 2020.

The MTRMR 2015 indicates that renewable energy will represent the largest single source of electricity growth over the next five years, driven by falling costs and aggressive expansion in emerging economies. Although the report points to the promise renewables hold for affordably mitigating climate change and enhancing energy security, the report warns governments to reduce policy uncertainties that are slowing greater deployment.

“Renewables are poised to seize the crucial top spot in global power supply growth, but this is hardly time for complacency,” said Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director as he released the IEA’s MTRMR at the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting. “Governments must remove the question marks over renewables if these technologies are to achieve their full potential, and put our energy system on a more secure, sustainable path.”

According to the MTRMR, renewable power expanded at its fastest rate to date—130 gigawatts (GW)—in 2014 and now represents more than 45 percent of overall supply additions. The report attributes the fall in fossil fuel prices over the past years to concerns about the competitiveness of renewables and government willingness to maintain policy support. One policy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, carries uncertainty. The report states, “Amid generally sluggish demand growth, OECD power systems face challenges to maintain long-term policy frameworks while shifting away from high incentive levels and integrating higher variable renewable penetrations.”

In the report’s executive summary, it states renewable electricity additions over the next five years will reach 700 GW, or more than twice Japan’s current installed power capacity. The report concludes that the share of renewable energy in global power generation will rise to over 26 percent by 2020 from 22 percent in 2013.

This deployment is thought to increasingly shift to emerging economies and developing countries, which will make up two-thirds of the renewable electricity expansion to 2020. China will account for nearly 40 percent of total renewable power capacity growth and require almost one-third of new investment over the next five years.

The MTRMR highlights risks that may be associated with increasing deployment. Financing remains key to achieving sustained investment, and regulatory barriers, grid constraints and macroeconomic conditions pose challenges in many emerging economies.

The report shares that wind leads global renewable growth, followed by solar and hydropower. Meanwhile, other renewable technologies grow slower on an absolute basis, but still scale up significantly. The report gives the example of bioenergy supported by coal-to-biomass conversions in Europe and a significant scale-up in non-OECD Asia using domestic resources. Excluding traditional biomass, the report states global renewable energy use for heat will grow only moderately over the medium term. “While renewable heat technologies can be cost-effective options, an extended period of lower oil prices could undermine growth, particularly in bioenergy markets.”

The report also carries insight on biofuels for transport and renewable heat. “Blending mandates are expected to support biofuels for transport demand and production, even with the lower oil price environment.” The report indicates that, overall, biofuels growth is forecast to stabilize, reaching over 4 percent of road transport demand in 2020. A number of risks limit this growth, however. The U.S. continues to face structural challenges in scaling up ethanol to more than 10 percent of gasoline demand while the EU-28 has introduced a 7 percentage point cap on the contribution of conventional biofuels towards the 10 percent renewable transport target for 2020, according to the report.

The MTRMR notes that significant development of advanced biofuels is necessary for diversification and debarbonization of transport in the long term, particularly in aviation. Since 2013, the report shares that advanced biofuels have made good progress, with nine commercial-scale plants commissioned. Also, policies that mandate blending levels and provide capital incentives, along with the development of secure local feedstock supply chains have been fundamental. The report estimates new projects may require oil prices around $100/bbl or above to be attractive.

The executive summary of the MTRMR concludes, while energy security and local sustainability concerns prove a first-order motivation for adopting enhanced policies, the improving affordability of renewables can have positive ramifications for global climate change negotiations.

Read the original story: IEA Releases Mid-Term Forecast for Biofuels, Renewable Energy

Find a full copy of the executive summary here or more information at the IEA website here.

Recently I took a group of young adventurous students from Lake Crystal to Guardian Energy to see ethanol production up close and personal. After two hours of touring, we barely covered the entire plant, just the highlights! But it really got the wheels turning on what goes into producing ethanol? Let’s start at the beginning : corn!

The Hill

October 2, 2015

By Devin Henry

Novozymes

September 22, 2015

Today, Novozymes announced the launch of a new enzyme for ethanol producers who want to reduce their use of chemicals without sacrificing yield.

Liquozyme LpH is an alpha-amylase effective at low pH that thins the mash by breaking down starch into shorter dextrin chains. A more fluid mash ensures more efficient operational performance for ethanol producers running their production at low pH.

Plant trials have shown improved viscosity levels and liquefaction, enabling customers to reduce their use of chemicals for pH adjustment.

“We were really pleased by our recent trials,” says Peter Halling, Vice President for Biofuels at Novozymes. “Ethanol producers can reduce dosing of both ammonia and sulphuric acid during the cook process. This saves costs and ensures a safer working environment.

More innovation for the ethanol industry
Liquozyme LpH is the latest addition to Novozymes’ range of enzyme products for the ethanol industry, and there is more to come.

“Novozymes will continue to develop new technology for the ethanol industry,” says Peter Halling. “We will expand our portfolio further towards the end of the year with a new innovation”.

Read the original story: New Enzyme for Ethanol Producers Reduces Use of Chemicals and Saves Costs

Biomass Magazine

September 17, 2015

By Anna Simet

Nearly two dozen top executives from the advanced and cellulosic biofuels industry recently sent a letter to President Obama regarding the U.S. EPA’s renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume requirement proposal, four of whom spoke during a Sept. 16 conference call to discuss its message.

In the letter and during the call, it was emphasized that the May 29^th proposal represents a broken promise that is negatively impacting investments and partnerships in advanced biofuels, is sending projects and jobs overseas, and is at odds with the president’s initiatives to combat climate change.

“As you know, the point of the RFS was to require oil companies to buy and sell an increasing amount of renewable fuel to address the fact that the oil industry would otherwise use its market position to cut off market access for competitors and thereby smother investment in cellulosic ethanol and advanced biofuels that have the lowest carbon footprint in the world,” the letter reads. “And yet, for the first time in RFS history, EPA is proposing to change the rules in the middle of the game to allow challenges related to the “distribution” of renewable fuel by oil companies – i.e. the oil industry’s refusal to buy and distribute low carbon, renewable fuel and its willingness to block brand-licensed gasoline retailers from selling higher renewable content blends under their branded canopy to be cause for waiving the RFS on a year-to-year basis. Such a provision would gut the core concept behind the law.”

During the call, Adam Monroe, North American president of Novozymes, said discussed how the RFS was originally set up—participants who chose not to comply were required to purchase RINs. “Basically it rewards those who behave the way the law intended, and penalizes who don’t,” he said. “What has happened with the proposal is that it has turned this whole mechanism on its head, in that those who don’t want to participate are actually rewarded.”

He said the proposal is driving investors away, and commented that it seems pointless to implement the Clean Power Plan when altering the RFS would increase carbon emissions by 25 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of nine coal-fired power plants.

Poet-DSM President Dan Cummings remarked that the RFS has experienced great success over the past 10 years, and as a result, the joint venture invested $275 million to build one of the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants now operating in Emmetsburg, Iowa. “As we see the proposal moving forward, it has chilled the outlook for us, for further investing,” he said. “We have a network of an additional 25 plants in the U.S. that are eligible to further adapt this technology….but we’re struggling.”

Cummings said Poet-DSM is looking more overseas, particularly in Europe, and discussing licensing the technology there and in other parts of the world as well. “That’s a message I’ve been hearing, now everyone is looking outside of the U.S., due to uncertainly in the market.”

Enerkem CEO Vincent Chornet echoed Monroe’s and Cummings’s statements, adding that the company, which has invested $400 million in its municipal solid waste-to-ethanol and –methanol technology and has a full-scale, commercial plant up and running and making money, isn’t prioritizing projects in the U.S. anymore. “It’s unfortunate, because we’ve viewed the RFS as the gold standard of renewable fuel standards globally—it’s an outstanding piece of legislation and well designed, and it’s unfortunate that the rules may be changing…”

Chris Standlee, executive vice president of global affairs at Abengoa Bioenergy, which owns and operates 15 commercial-scale biorefineries on three continents and is nearing 900 MMgy per year of ethanol production, said that because of the RFS, Abengoa now permanently employs 500 in the U.S. and has invested over $2 billion in developing its eight U.S. production facilities, including a cellulosic pilot plant and one of the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants in Hugoton, Kansas. “It’s very frustrating for us, and we think just a little but ironic, that the RFS, which is based on the concept of lowering greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicle fuels, has been undermined by one of the most active administrations in fighting climate change,” he said. “Obama is asking the nation to get behind the Clean Power Plan, but turning his back on only law currently on the books that is directly aimed at climate and clean energy. “

As a result, Abengoa has been forced to change its investment strategy, according to Standlee. He said Abengoa had originally intended to develop other second-generation projects based on the Hugoton model, but is now looking overseas for those opportunities. “While we will continue to purse projects in the U.S., especially from waste-to-biofuels area, we have found interest in U.S. projects from investors and potential partners has been dramatically reduced as a result of the recent proposals.”

Brazil and France are now the most likely locations for the company’s next second-generation projects, Standlee said.

Read original story here: Advanced Biofuel Industry: RFS Proposal Damaging Industry

Duluth News Tribune

September 16, 2015

By Don Davis

Finding gasoline mixed with higher percentages of ethanol soon will be easier for Upper Midwest motorists.

Ethanol Producer Maganzie

September 15, 2015

By Bob Dinneen

It’s that time of year again, when leaves make their seasonal color change and pumpkins are carefully placed on every porch. Another year is on its way out. Time, it seems, is never on our side; it’s always zipping by us faster than we expect. The ethanol industry had quite the significant “has it been this long?” moment in August when we celebrated the 10th anniversary of what is arguably our nation’s most successful energy policy: the renewable fuel standard (RFS). Over the past 10 years, the RFS has made an indelible impact on the nation’s economy, environment, and energy security.

The RFS is powering America’s rural economy in ways we could not have imagined before the Energy Policy Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2005. Since then, ethanol industry jobs have more than doubled, driving a threefold increase in annual ethanol production from plants nationwide to its historic height of 14.3 billion gallons in 2014. Farmers are now producing 25 bushels of corn per acre thanks to higher yields—all without expanding onto additional lands—and the doubling of corn prices has saved families from the brink of bankruptcy.

The RFS is, of course, a multifaceted program that was created to tackle critical energy issues gripping the nation at the time of its passage. In 2005, the United States imported three-fifths of its petroleum needs. Today, that number rests at just over a quarter. Notably, ethanol’s rise to claim 10 percent of the gasoline pool has virtually eliminated all gasoline import dependence. Last year, the Energy Information Administration found that ethanol displaced the gasoline equivalent of 512 million barrels of crude oil, which is more than all the oil America imports every year from Saudi Arabia.

But what is a comprehensive energy plan without a consideration of its environmental impact? Ethanol continues to be unquestionably cleaner than fossil fuels. Conventional ethanol is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent compared to gasoline. That means less carbon monoxide, benzene and other toxic hydrocarbons are polluting our atmosphere. The lowered emissions each year equate to removing more than 8 million cars from the road. If cleaner tailpipe emissions aren’t already a draw, consumers can look forward to cheaper gas prices, thanks to ethanol. On average, ethanol saves drivers about a dollar per gallon at the pump.

The fact is the RFS is doing what Congress intended it to do 10 years ago. The American public recognizes that fact. The U.S. EPA, however, does not seem to want to hear about the public’s satisfaction with the program. Its proposal to drastically slash volumetric blending requirements for refiners proves that the agency instead prefers to listen to the same misinformation that the oil companies have been propagating for years. As the EPA witnessed at its June hearing Kansas City, support for the RFS at the ground level is ubiquitous and strong. EPA’s proposal will only reverse the program’s success in the name of Big Oil profits.

The RFS is just a decade old and its results have been wide-ranging and long-lasting. Ethanol production, corn yields, and the number of rural American jobs are up, while oil imports, greenhouse gas emissions and gas prices are down. At a time when the White House is making a concerted effort to move America beyond the 20th century kilns of the coal factories, biofuels are now more important than ever. The stability the RFS has brought to the ethanol industry has not only economically rejuvenated the nation, but it has driven the innovation necessary to propel advanced biofuels into the forefront. What was once a niche gasoline supplement has found its footing and is being recognized for what it is: the fuel of the future.

Read the original story "RFS: Doing What Congress Intended"