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Biofuel Producers ‘Must Comply with Carbon Emissions Rules’
July 15, 2013 Biofuel Producers ‘Must Comply with Carbon Emissions Rules’ Biofuel producers must comply with federal greenhouse gas emissions standards, a US appeals court ruled on Friday. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found the EPA had “no basis” for its 2011 rule giving paper and wood product manufacturers, ethanol producers and other biomass facilities a pass on curbing their GHGs. The EPA had put the three-year deferral in place to give it time to study the industry’s CO2 emissions. Industry groups argued regulations and permit requirements would be too costly and said in some cases, such as wood burning, biomass facilities are carbon neutral because trees absorb CO2 before they are cut down. The Center for Biological Diversity filed the suit against the EPA, arguing that the government was treating biofuels’ emissions differently from other sources of gas. The American Forest and Paper Association, the American Wood Council and other industry groups intervened in the case to support the EPA’s temporary CO2 regulation suspension. On Friday, American Forest & Paper Association president and CEO Donna Harman said the court’s ruling “creates great uncertainty” about permitting requirements for biomass facilities and “underscores the need for EPA to finalize its rulemaking on the treatment of biogenic emissions.” American Wood Council president and CEO Robert Glowinski said the trade group hopes the EPA “moves expeditiously” to finalize CO2 regulations for the biomass industry. The EPA said it’s reviewing the decision before determining what next steps to take, Reuters reports. Earlier this month, BP and Royal Dutch Shell cut back on biofuel research , stopping funding on four projects because they say the technology to generate fuel from woody plants and waste will not be economically viable until 2020 or later. Continue reading
In 1776, Energy Was Rooted In Wood
In 1776, an “all of the above” approach to energy basically meant wood. The course of human events has run 237 years since then, and we’re pretty much independent of fuel from trees. The fossil fuels coal, natural gas and oil now provide about 90 percent of the energy Americans consume, according to a special Fourth of July report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But wood is getting a federal push for a comeback, this time as technically revolutionary advanced cellulosic biofuel. The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act requires refiners to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuels into gasoline and diesel by 2022 , putting pressure on oil producers to invest in alternative fuel sources, such as sugar, algae and wood chips. Cellulosic biofuels include fuels produced from wood, grasses, or the inedible parts of plants, and, more recently, algae . The Obama administration has urged the development of non-carbon resources, as an alternative to fossil fuels that contribute to climate change. And while the oil industry has challenged biofuel mandates citing lack of available cellulosic fuel , the future mandated targets still stand, with tax credits and other incentives further encouraging companies to invest. To help meet the upcoming mandates, Chevron Technology Ventures teamed with forest products giant Weyerhauser in 2008 to form Catchlight Energy. It supplies raw material to Pasadena-based Kior, which makes advanced biofuels from southern yellow pine at a plant in Columbus, Miss. The commercial scale plant, which began shipping its product earlier this year, can process 500 tons of woody biomass per day. The resulting biofuel is blended with gasoline and diesel to reduce the petroleum component and carbon emissions of those fuels. Wood chip-based fuel, however, costs about $4.50 a gallon to produce, said Desmond King, president of Chevron Technology Ventures. And on Thursday, the nationwide average retail price per gallon was $3.48 for regular gasoline and $3.82 for diesel, according to AAA. The main challenge in wood’s return as a fuel source is that there isn’t enough of it. “You can look at the cost to make a gallon, but the problem is how much biofuel you need to make a difference to the world’s oil supply,” King said. The world’s annual timber production would only generate 3 million barrels a day of biocrude, he said. Meanwhile, according the Energy Information Administration, the world is consuming about 90 million barrels of oil a day. Continue reading
UN Carbon Market Scheme Passes 7000 Project Mark
Last updated on 8 July 2013, 10:07 am By Ed King The world’s largest emissions trading scheme has passed the 7000 project mark, despite continued concerns over its viability and a collapse in carbon prices. The Clean Development Mechanism’s newest project is a biogas capture plant in a Philippine chicken farm, which will reduce emissions by 48,000 tonnes, equivalent to 10,000 cars. The news is welcome boost to the UN, which runs the CDM under the Kyoto Protocol. One thousand new projects have been accepted since February, but certified emission reductions (CERs) prices remain low, having dropped 90% in 2013. Biogas is produced by the anaerobic digestion with bacteria or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as manure, sewage & crops “Despite unfavourable market conditions, the CDM continues to provide a mechanism for real emission reductions and real sustainable development for those who wish to use it,” said Peer Stiansen, Chair of the CDM Executive Board. “The Board will continue its efforts to make the CDM the best tool it can be to reduce emissions and spur development, but Parties must do their part and set ambitious emission reduction targets to incentivize climate action and these types of green growth projects.” The CDM currently operates in 88 developing countries, allowing companies in the industrialised world to invest in emission reducing projects in developing countries and earn carbon credits in the process. Over the past decade the CDM has spurred more than USD 215 billion of low-carbon investment in developing countries, issued credits equal to 1.3 billion tonnes of CO2, and added more than 110,000 Mega Watts of renewable energy to global electricity grids. But with governments setting low emission reduction targets, the demand for credits has collapsed, leading to calls for the market to be saved with a $2.5 billion bailout. Speaking to RTCC two weeks ago, Joan MacNaughton, vice chair of the high-level policy dialogue that reviewed potential solutions to the CDM’s predicament in 2012, said the CDM would likely play a vital role in any global emissions deal agreed in 2015 and needed to be helped. “The fund is a temporary, interim means to ensure we can retain its functionality,” MacNaughton said. “The real solution is in increasing the demand for offset credits and that means higher levels of ambition on emission reductions by the parties and reaching that agreement will take some time. “Until we get an agreement on a new mechanism and higher [mitigation] ambition, then we will be able to take advantage of these projects. “All of this is not about maintaining the market for its own sake. It’s about retaining it as a means to an end, which is reducing greenhouse gases. Without it the wound continues to bleed.” – See more at: http://www.rtcc.org/…h.unadivFg.dpuf Continue reading
