Tag Archives: energy
World’s First Refinery Turning Farm Waste to Bioethanol Opens
CRESCENTINO, Italy, October 14, 2013 (ENS) – The world’s first commercial-scale refinery to produce bioethanol from agricultural residues and energy crops has opened in northern Italy. When fully implemented, the system will provide 75 million liters of bioethanol annually for the European market. Present at the opening Wednesday were Italy’s Economic Development Minister Flavio Zanonato, local and regional officials and representatives from the European Commission, as well as more than 500 stakeholders from around the world. Beta Renewables new cullulosic ethanol plant in northern Italy (Photo courtesy Novozymes) Situated in fields outside the city of Crescentino, the plant uses wheat straw, rice straw and arundo donax, a high-yielding energy crop grown on marginal land to produce cellulosic ethanol, using enzymes to convert the plant material into fuel. The facility is the result of a collaboration between Beta Renewables, a cellulosic biofuels company based in Tortona, Italy, and Novozymes, the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes, headquartered in Denmark. The two companies formed a strategic partnership in October 2012, making Novozymes the preferred enzyme supplier for Beta Renewables’ current and future cellulosic biofuel projects. “The advanced biofuels market presents transformational economic, environmental and social opportunities, and with the opening, we pave the way for a green revolution in the chemical sector,” said Beta Renewables Chairman and CEO Guido Ghisolfi. “We will continue to commercially expand Beta Renewables’ core technology throughout the world, and we are very confident at this stage given the demand we see around the globe.” “The opening today presents a leap forward and is truly the beginning of a new era for advanced biofuels,” said Novozymes CEO Peder Holk Nielsen. “Here, at this plant, enabled by Novozymes’ enzymatic technology, we will turn agricultural waste into millions of liters of low-emission green fuel, proving that cellulosic ethanol is no longer a distant dream. It is here, it is happening, and it is ready for large-scale commercialization.” Lignin, a polymer extracted from biomass during the ethanol production process, fuels an attached power plant, which generates enough power to meet the facility’s energy needs. Any excess green electricity will be sold to the local grid. Since 2011, more than US$200 million has been invested in research and development of the technology used to produce cellulosic ethanol at the Crescentino facility with financing from the Texas Pacific Group. Beta Rewables new biorefinery uses waste straw to make bioethanol. (Photo courtesy Novozymes) Beta Renewables says its Proesa™ engineering and production technology used with Novozymes’ Cellic® enzymes represent “the most cost-competitive advanced biofuels platform in existence today.” Proesa belongs to the so-called “second-generation” technologies which allow the use of the sugars present in lignocellulosic biomass to obtain fuel and other chemicals with lower greenhouse gas emissions and at competitive costs compared to fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. “Investors interested in cellulosic ethanol often ask when the technology will be ready at commercial scale,” said Ghisolfi. “PROESA enables customers to produce advanced biofuel at a cost-competitive price relative to conventional biofuels – at large-scale and today.” “Our complete offering makes cellulosic biofuel projects bankable and replicable,” Ghisolfi said. “With the world’s first commercial plant up and running here in northern Italy, I very much look forward to an exciting journey of establishing an entirely new, and very promising, industry.” A recent study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance concludes that transforming agricultural residues into advanced biofuels could create millions of jobs worldwide, economic growth, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and energy security by 2030. But before this can occur, Ghisolfi and Nielsen say government support is necessary to accelerate the deployment of next-generation biorefineries. “Policy makers now need to send clear signals to encourage the necessary investments in advanced biofuels,” said Nielsen. “Stable and predictable blending mandates, incentives for the collection of agricultural residues, and investment support for the first large-scale plants will help move the world substantially in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, stimulating economies, and providing energy security. Continued reliance on fossil fuels is not viable.” Italy’s government is hearing this message. Zanonato and Environment Minister Andrea Orlando responded on the facility’s opening day with a decree that promotes the creation of new biorefineries. The decree simplifies the procedures for authorizing biorefineries, with the dual purpose of promoting them in Italy and facilitating investments in the industry. “The use of this type of biofuel,” said Orlando, “is the solution to get to reach the target of 10 percent to 2020 European directive. The government is working to implement the plan, approved in recent months by the CIPE [the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning], the decarbonization of the economy and the reduction of CO2 emissions, encouraging measures to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, low-emission mobility, green chemistry and 2nd generation biofuels.” Continue reading
Renewable Fuel Standard Needs to Be Modified, Not Repealed, Experts Say
Oct. 15, 2013 — Congress should minimally modify — and not, as petroleum-related interests have increasingly lobbied for, repeal — the Renewable Fuel Standard, the most comprehensive renewable energy policy in the U.S., according to a new paper from two University of Illinois researchers. In the study, U. of I. law professor Jay P. Kesan and Timothy A. Slating, a regulatory associate with the Energy Biosciences Institute, argue that RFS mandates merely ought to be adjusted to reflect current and predicted biofuel commercialization realities. “The RFS is the first and only federal policy that directly mandates the use of renewable energy in the worthwhile effort to displace the use of fossil fuels for our energy needs,” said Kesan, who also is the principal investigator for the Biofuel Law and Regulation project at the institute. “As with any pioneering regulatory regime, unforeseen implementation issues will arise,” Kesan said. “But this does not justify throwing out the baby with the bath water. Every effort should be made to keep the RFS in place, but efforts should also be made to revise its regulatory regime to make it operate as efficiently as possible.” In the paper, Kesan and Slating contend that the RFS can serve as a “model policy instrument” for the federal support of all types of socially beneficial renewable energy technologies. “By mandating a market for emerging biofuels, it sends a clear signal that if they are produced, they will be effectively commercialized,” said Slating, who also is an adjunct professor in the law school. “This, in turn, provides the necessary certainty to free up credit constraints and incentivize investment in the socially beneficial biofuels industry. Additionally, it does so with very little impact on the federal budget because regulated parties bear its costs.” “While the federal government has traditionally incentivized renewable energy development through tax credits and funding R&D grants, these approaches are more costly than simply mandating a market,” said Kesan, who also holds U. of I. appointments in the College of Business, the Institute for Genomic Biology, the department of electrical and computer engineering, and the department of agricultural and consumer economics. The researchers also contend that the biofuel categories of the RFS ought to be expanded to encompass all emerging biofuel technologies, as well as having its biomass sourcing constraints relaxed. But while the current RFS policy is by no means flawless, and some of the current implementation issues would necessitate statutory changes, the authors say it would be more efficient for these changes to be made by the Environmental Protection Agency, as opposed to Congress. “We recommend that Congress simply amend the RFS’ statutory provisions to grant the EPA the authority to address its implementation issues via the regulatory rulemaking process,” Kesan said. “For example, the RFS’s volumetric mandates need to be adjusted to reflect current biofuel production realities. But since Congress has demonstrated an inability to properly set these mandates in the past, it would be more efficient for the EPA to set the RFS mandates for future years through a formal rulemaking process with input from all affected stakeholders.” “It’s clearly a step in the right direction that the EPA has finally initiated rulemaking to address the issue of RIN fraud and help promote liquidity in the RIN market,” Slating said. RIN stands for renewable identification number, a number assigned to a given amount of biofuel by the EPA so that its production, use and trading can be tracked. Although the biggest issue with traditional biofuels usually can be reduced to the food vs. fuel argument, the researchers stress that if the RFS is successful in achieving its goals, it will usher in the use of emerging biofuels that will have significantly less impact on food-related markets. “The ultimate goal of the RFS is to incentivize the increased commercialization of second-generation biofuels, such as cellulosic biofuels that do not rely on food-related feedstocks for their production,” Slating said. “But in order to efficiently accomplish this goal, the RFS also must continue to incentivize the use of first-generation biofuels like corn ethanol.” “In the short-term, if any food vs. fuel tradeoffs result from the RFS’ implementation, they will likely be minimal and probably justified in order to effectuate the long-term goal of facilitating the widespread adoption of second-generation biofuels.” Kesan and Slating’s study also notes that the RFS has only been fully implemented in its current form for three years, and legislatively revising it in an overly reactionary manner would be ill advised at this point. “Stakeholders and markets must be given time to adjust to the existing regime before serious and informed discussion about significantly altering the RFS, beyond what we propose, can be had,” Kesan said. “Likewise, you’ve got to allow some time for the maturation of this pioneering and socially beneficial renewable energy policy.” The research will be published in a forthcoming issue of the New York University Environmental Law Journal. The Energy Biosciences Institute, supported in part by BP, funded the study. Continue reading
Ag Secretary Vilsack Reaffirms Support for Biofuel Mandates
The Obama administration strongly supports biofuel mandates and opposes any legislation that would return transportation fuel choice to the states or the people, said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a speech to ethanol producers. Vilsack Blasts Congress In a September speech sponsored by the ethanol industry, Vilsack blasted efforts in Congress to amend the 2007 statute that forces consumers to purchase biofuels and ethanol-blended gasoline. Under the law—passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed by Republican President George W. Bush—refiners are required to blend biofuels into the nation’s motor fuel supply in greater quantities every year, with the mandate reaching 36 billion gallons a year by 2022. More than half that amount, or 21 billion gallons, is required to come from what are called “next-generation fuels” that do not use corn starch as a feedstock. “There is no need for Congress to intervene in this,” Vilsack said. “There is no need for Congress to try to rewrite this renewable fuels standard. They got it right the first time.” Mandates Face Wide Opposition Whether Congress “got it right the first time,” as Vilsack says, is at the center of an intense debate. Opponents of the renewable fuel mandates, which include environmentalist groups, livestock producers, automobile associations, and consumer advocates, point out the mandate diverts 40 percent of the nation’s corn crop away from feeding people and livestock. This in turn drives up food prices and induces farmers to develop marginal cropland that would otherwise be left in its natural state. The ethanol itself, moreover, delivers fewer miles per gallon and fewer miles per dollar than gasoline. Adding to the ethanol controversy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the sale at fueling stations of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol as conventional gasoline, up from the former 10 percent cap. Automotive engineers warn the higher blend of ethanol will make fuel substantially more corrosive and will increase damage to vehicles. “If the EPA continues to dictate unrealistic levels of ethanol that fail to recognize declines in gasoline consumption, one of two scenarios will occur. Refiners will either be forced to raise the price of gasoline to pay fines to the EPA, or they will be forced to export raw gasoline in order to make a profit, leaving a massive shortage of gasoline here at home,” U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, noted in an open letter published on his website. EPA Requires Nonexistent Product A further problem arises with cellulosic ethanol mandates imposed by EPA. Contrary to the expectations of lawmakers in 2007, fuel made from switchgrass, corn stover, wood chips, and other materials remains commercially unviable. Nevertheless, EPA is using its discretion under the law to tell refiners they must use cellulosic ethanol that, for all practical purposes, does not exist. EPA is targeting refiners with steep fines for not blending the nonexistent cellulosic ethanol into gasoline. An Oil Industry Conspiracy? Unmoved by such arguments, Vilsack told the ethanol producers the oil industry wants biofuel manufacturers to fail so they can buy up the ethanol plants. He said the oil industry is conspiring with its allies to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from funding the installation of pumps at gas stations capable of blending higher levels of ethanol into gasoline. House Takes Action On Capitol Hill, where the biofuel mandates originated, members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee are drafting an amendment to address the problems that have surfaced with the biofuels mandate. House leaders plan on conducting hearings on the topic later this year. Vilsack’s comments, however, strongly suggest any legislative revision of the biofuels mandate would face a near-certain presidential veto. “The biofuel mandates subsidize the U.S. corn farmer at the expense of livestock producers and American consumers,” said Daniel Simmons, director of state policy at the Institute for Energy Research. “It is a disgrace that Secretary Vilsack supports policies that drive up food and fuel prices in exchange for subsidies for special-interest groups,” Simmons added. Bonner R. Cohen, Ph. D. ( bcohen@nationalcenter.org ), is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research. Continue reading
