Farm Foundation hosted another segment in their “Transition To A Bio Economy” conference series this week in Washington DC, focusing this time on “Global Trade and Policy Issues.”

The conference considered biofuels from a global perspective with participation from the European Union and Brazil. There were a number of very interesting presentations made at the conference, but here is just a sampling:

David Zilberman with the University of California-Berkeley, has created a model to show how ethanol is impacting the price of oil. His model shows that by increasing the supply of fuel with ethanol you reduce OPEC’s ability to make money. Even better, he says our ethanol production has raised the price of fuel in OPEC’s own countries while lowering it for everyone else around the world.

Listen to an interview with David by Chuck Zimmerman of Domestic Fuel here:

Laurent Javaudin, Delegation of the European Commission to the United States, spoke about the impacts of EU mandates for renewable energy. He says the EU is looking at requiring alternative energy sources like biofuels be a percentage of the fuel consumed and achieve it by 2020 and they expect these fuels to obtain at least a 35 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. He adds that the EU mandate is still a work in progress and they hope to have it agreed to by the second quarter of 2010.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Laurent here:

Finally, Joel Velasco with the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, told the conference that because they have broken the oil monopoly in Brazil so that they consume more ethanol than gasoline, they no longer have gas stations, they have “fuel” stations. In addition, 90 percent of the new cars sold in Brazil today are flex-fuel. However, Velasco says price is the key to the development and use of ethanol and today ethanol is half the price of gas in Brazil.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Joel here:

See more stories from the Farm Foundation conference here on Domestic Fuel.

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Corn Plus General Manager Keith Kor tells AgWeek today that his ethanol plant in Winnebago, MN is considering using the city’s wastewater in their production process.

So Corn Plus General Manager Keith Kor talked to Winnebago officials about exploring the possibility of diverting the city’s wastewater from the river to the ethanol plant.

“They really liked the idea, so I made a few phone calls,” Kor said.The calls included state lawmakers who represent Winnebago — Sen. Julie Rosen and Rep. Bob Gunther, both Fairmont Republicans who are sponsoring state legislation to finance the cost of a pipe running from the wastewater facility to the ethanol plant.

While ethanol production is becoming more efficient as technology improves, environmental groups are still critical of the amount of water some ethanol plants consume.

Already, Corn Plus has reduced its ratio to three gallons of water for each gallon of ethanol produced.

“We’d like to get that at least down to two or even a one-to-one ratio,” he said.

When looking at ground-water usage, the ratio could potentially drop close to zero if Corn Plus is able to rely almost exclusively on wastewater from the toilets, bathtubs and sink drains of Winnebago.

There’s more analysis to do about the quality of the water coming from the Winnebago treatment plant and how much additional treatment might be required, but Kor is optimistic.“

Our water engineer took some samples, and preliminary indications look like it will work,” he said.

The United States has become much more environmentally conscious in the past several years, and the reuse of water that would otherwise be drained back into the river is a win-win situation for everyone. This is a great idea!

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President Obama announced the nomination of Cathy Zoi as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Ms. Zoi has a history of working in the energy sector including: being the founding CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection; Chief of Staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy; and manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where she pioneered the Energy Star Program.

Zoi will face the task of helping President Obama deliver on a promise that was central to his campaign: ending American dependence on foreign oil by focusing on renewable energy sources that in the bargain can help create thousands of new, “green” jobs. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama vowed to increase the emphasis on renewable, clean energy. That is a goal the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has been pursuing for years, trying to wean the country from dependence on fossil fuels and find cleaner ways to satisfy its energy needs.

EERE leads the Federal government’s R&D efforts on energy efficiency and manages what it calls “the Department of Energy’s (DOE) diverse energy efficiency and renewable energy applied science portfolio. The mission is to develop and deploy renewable energy sources and conversion technologies, as well as identify efficiency best practices, regulations and technologies that collectively strengthens our economy, protects the environment and increases national security.”

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There is a contingency of people who are concerned about the future of the renewable energy industry, but new company, NEAtech is not. NEAtech was launched in tandem with the swearing in of President Obama, and is offering engineering and consulting services to companies developing new energy alternatives.

Mark Yancey

Brian Duff

Rafael Nieves

NEAtech is comprised of several former experts from BBI International’s Engineering and Consulting Group.  Mark Yancey, Brian Duff and Rafeal Neives are now assisting companies worldwide in assessing the feasibility of new technologies, and then helping these companies develop and bring to market the technologies with the most promise.

Additional services they provide for the renewable fuels industry include, process engineering for renewable energy technologies; evaluation and selection of renewable energy technologies; anaerobic digestion system design; construction and financing; feasibility studies and financial analysis; market analysis and surveys; and more. To learn more about NEAtech visit www.neatechllc.com.

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A major federal investment in the entire value chain of advanced biofuels and biobased products commercialization is needed to move advanced biofuels and emerging biobased materials to market, according to the executives of companies who are working to make that happen.

During a teleconference today hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), representatives from cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels companies gave updates on progress being made toward commercializing advanced biofuels and some of the challenges still to be overcome.

BIO Executive Vice President Brent Erickson says they are recommending the implementation of specific policies to provide funding in a number iof areas, including feedstock development, enzymes and fermentation organisms, algal oil production, alternative fuel distribution networks and vehicles, and biorefinery construction.

“We need a new systems approach to advance biofuels throughout the whole value chain,” said Erickson. “We’re actually talking about creating a new energy infrastructure, which this country hasn’t done for over 100 years.”

They are requesting an immediate injection of capitol for biorefinery construction, feedstock development and fuel delivery infrastructure, which can be accomplished through existing programs within the Departments of Energy and Agriculture. They are also recommending an increase in the availability of E85 fuel pumps and flex fuel vehicles, as well as the certification of higher ethanol blends and the extension of the cellulosic producer tax credit.

BIO is holding its annual legislative fly-in this week and members of the organization will be meeting with administration officials and members of Congress over the next two days to communicate their ideas.

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A new policy designed to reduce ship pollution within 200 miles of US shores has been unveilled today (31st March) by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Under the new proposal, US and foreign-flagged ships in this area will be required to use dramatically cleaner fuel and more effective pollution controls for their engines. Once implemented, the proposal will significantly improve air quality in port communities, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

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Image via: Author’s photo album

Today Akeena Solar and Morgan Stanley Solar Solutions Group announced their partnership, aimed at creating more jobs in the green-energy field, as well as improve the lives of low-income homeowners. But, Akeena Solar AC integrated solar panels also make it easier for first time installers to learn the system and get a job. Find out how. …

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Photo: Flickr, CC

“If the poisonings don’t stop, the fate of the African lion may be sealed.”
Lions in East-Africa are being poisoned by a pesticide that is banned in the European Union and will probably soon be banned in the US for all food crops. It’s called Carbofuran and it’s used to “control insects and other pests on crops such as corn, rice and sorghum”. Unfortunately, it’s also used to poison lions……

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One fun and simple project that you can do at home to make use of the sun's radiant energy is homemade solar ovens. (…)

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Amsoil Lubrication Training – . The following course is an introduction to the basic understanding of lubrication and lubricants. It has been developed as a technical course.

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