The plan is in line with the company's commitment to achieve a 23 pct renewable energy mix target by 2025 and in accordance with Energy Law No. 30 of 2007.
Pertamina will have an installed capacity of 670 gigawatts of electrical power from geothermal energy by 2020, raising to 100 gigawatts in 2025, according to a company release. (Source: Pertamina, Antara News, 7 Nov., 2019) Contact: Pertamina, Irfan Zainuddin, Pres., pge.pertamina.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Pertamina , Geothermal,
The researchers described the device as a large, specialized battery with a stack of electrodes that absorbs CO2 from the air passing over its surface as it was being charged, and then released the gas as it was being discharged.
According to the researchers, the pure CO2 stream could be compressed and sequestered underground or processed into fuel through a series of chemical and electro-chemical processes.
(Source: MIT, The Tribune, Press Trust India, 29 Oct., 2019) Contact: MIT, Sahag Voskian, 617.253.4588,
617.253.8723 - fax, svoskian@mit.edu, www.hattongroup.mit.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Capture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
The coalition's brief noted,
"Even as the Trump Administration indicates it is taking steps to account for future small refinery exemptions, the coalition remains concerned that EPA's abuse of the small refinery exemption program diverges from the spirit and letter of the Clean Air Act. From a substantive and procedural perspective, this is not the way for a federal agency to make such a momentous decision."
(Source: Growth Energy, U.S. Grains Council, and Renewable Fuels Association , 23 Oct., 2019) Contact: Growth Energy, Emily Skor, CEO, Elizabeth Funderburk, (202) 545-4000, EFunderburk@GrowthEnergy.org, www.growthenergy.org; U.S. Grains Council, Tom Sleight, Pres., (202) 789-0789, (202) 898-0522, www.grains.org; Renewable Fuels Association, Geoff Cooper, (202) 289-3835, www.ethanolrfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, Growth Energy, U.S. Grains Council, Renewable Fuels Association,
Legislation that advances energy efficiency in buildings, especially residential buildings, provides numerous benefits in addition to energy and pollution reductions: supporting small businesses and creating jobs across America, strengthening the durability and resilience of buildings, improving health and comfort, and increasing energy affordability, according to BPA.
BPA notes the buildings sector is responsible for nearly a third of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. While buildings are a significant contributor to our climate crisis, they can also be a key part of the solution. With an aging building stock across the country we have only scratched the surface on investing in energy efficiency improvements. Congress can address barriers to retrofitting these existing homes and buildings and advance energy efficiency across the entire buildings sector by supporting workforce development and training, providing incentives for homeowners, and ensuring that building efficiency is part of any conversation on clean energy and climate. (Source: Building Performance Association, PR, Oct., 2019) Contact: Building Performance Association, Kara Saul Rinaldi, VP Gov. Affairs, (202) 276-1773, kara.saul-rinaldi@building-performance.org, www.Building-Performance.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,
"It is unreasonable and counter productive to expect Iowans to put their faith in EPA to fix the SRE problem when they (EPA) were the ones who created the crisis in the first place." -- Monte Shaw, Exec. Dir., Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
Last week Shaw commented: "We welcome the (Trump RFS) proposal to restore integrity to the RFS. We will work with our champions and the White House to make sure the EPA's final rules ensure that a 15 billion-gallon RFS will actually be a 15 billion-gallon RFS. If that is accomplished, the integrity of the RFS will have been restored and President Trump's promise to protect and uphold the RFS will have been redeemed." Contact: Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Monte Shaw, Exec. Dir., (515) 252-6249, www.iowarfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, Trump, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association,
"It's up to each individual entity, but the innovation of taking advantage of low-carbon markets. I think if we can differentiate ourselves within the state of North Dakota, to take advantage of those and be long survivors in this industry." - Gerald Bachmeier, CEO, Red Trail Energy (Source: Red Trail Energy, West Dakota Fox, 5 Oct., 2019) Contact: Red Trail Energy, 701-974-3308, www.redtrailenergy.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, "Hardship" Waiver, Ethanol.Ethanol Blend, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Red Trail Energy,
FSG Smart Buildings' commercial building automation and energy management solutions include the monitoring and control of equipment, including lighting and HVAC systems, visibility into equipment performance and uptime with live metering data of electrical components, and real-time IoT data, such as temperature and humidity data. FSG Smart Buildings also offers around-the-clock monitoring and support for all building system needs, including expert support, technician dispatch, work order tracking, and turnkey facility services. (Source: FSG Smart Buildings, Property Mentor, 28 Sept., 2019) Contact:
Insite360, 713.222.5700, insite360suite.com. FSG Smart Buildings, 512-831-4424, fsgsmartbuildings.com; Facility Solutions Group, Inc., www.fsgi.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Management, Energy Efficiency,
"And then you suddenly say: 'No it doesn't matter ... it doesn't matter how much coal we burn ... we don't give a damn what it does to the rest of the world." -- Sir David Attenborough, an English broadcaster and natural historian commenting on Australia's attitude to addressing climate change. (Source: Business Insider Australia, Sept., 2019) Contact: Sir David Attenborouhj, www.imdb.com/name/nm0041003
More Low-Carbon Energy News Climate Change, Carbon Emissions, Great Barrier Reef, Australia Climate Change,
According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, the Crawfordsville facility is one of 12 biodiesel plants in Iowa. Last year, 365 million gallons of biodiesel was produced in Iowa -- roughly 20 pct of all the biodiesel made in the U.S. (Source: RadioIowa, 25 Sept., 2019) Contact: Iowa Renewable Fuels Association
Monte Shaw, Exec. Dir., info@IowaRFA.org, (515) 252-6249, www.iowarfa.org; W2 Fuel LLC, Roy Strom, CEO, (319) 658-2003, www.w2fuel.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Biodiesel, W2 Fuel, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association,
The study authors contend their study is the first to calculate the economic impact of permafrost melt and reduced albedo -- a measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed -- based on the most advanced computer models of what is likely to happen in the Arctic as temperatures rise.
The study notes that on the current trajectory of at least 3 degree C of warming by the end of the century, melting permafrost is expected to discharge up to 280 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide and 3 gigatonnes of methane, which is 10 to 20 times more damaging to the the afmosphere than carbon dioxide. This would increase the global climate-driven impacts by $70 trillion between now and 2300, the report concludes. (Source: VIT, Weekened Leader, 22 April, 2019) Contact: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, +358 20 722 111, +358 20 722 7001 - fax., www.vttresearch.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland news, VTT news, Climate Change news, Methane news,
The company also has operations in Midland, Texas and Worthington, Ohio. Work at the innovation center will focus on the company's AssurEOR bio-surfactant treatment program.
(Source: Locus Bio-Energy Solutions, 22 Sept., 2019) Contact: Locus Bio-Energy Solutions, Jonathan Rogers, CEO, (855) 503-0080, www.locusbioenergy.com
DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)will manage the selected projects.
(Source: US DOE, 20 Sept., 2019) Contact: US DOE Office of Fossil Energy, www.energy.gov/fe; NETL, www.netl.doe.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News DOE Office of Fossil Energy, NETL, Coal, Clean Coal, US DOE,
The Alternative Fuel Corridors program was created in 2015 under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act which authorized $305 billion through 2020 to make infrastructure upgrades, including a provision to designate national road corridors for electric vehicle charging and alternative fuels fueling stations. More than 135,000 miles of highway in 46 states and Washington D.C. are presently in various stages of participation in the program.
Pennsylvania, which has designated 1,813 miles of Alternative Fuel Corridors, is also participating in the Transportation Climate Initiative, a regional collaboration among 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and Washington D.C. working to reduce transportation carbon emissions.
(Source: Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation, Energy News, 12 Sept., 2019) Contact: Transportation Climate Initiative, www.transportationandclimate.org/content/about-us; Alternative Fuels Corridors, www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/alternative_fuel_corridors
More Low-Carbon Energy News Alternative Fuel,
The first two projects in the expanded portfolio are expected to break ground this summer for commissioning in summer 2020. by summer 2020.
Standard Solar will finance, own and maintain the community solar arrays that Pivot Energy will develop and construct. Once the arrays are live, customer enrollment and subscriptions will be managed through SunCentral, Pivot Energy's proprietary community solar customer management interface.
(Source: Standard Solar, PR, Solar Builder, 28 Aug., 2019)Contact: Pivot Energy, (888) 734-3033, info@pivotenergy.net, www.pivotenergy.net; Standard Solar, Scott Wiater, CEO, (301) 944-1200, www.standardsolar.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Solar, Community Solar, Pivot Energy, Standard Solar,
Needless to say, the President has yet again misled his supporters and the biofuels industry -- along with just about everyone else both domestic and foreign. In response, ethanol and biofuels players and industry organizations wasted no time in venting their rightful outrage.
"The Trump Administration's approval of 31 refinery exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard is just devastating news for our industry. With this action, President Trump has destroyed over a billion gallons of biofuel demand and broken his promise to Iowa voters to protect the RFS. The vast majority of these exemptions are not justified under the law. Since this news began to leak this afternoon, RFS credit prices have freefallen to nearly zero, destroying much of the incentive to blend an incremental gallon of ethanol." -- Monte Shaw, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Exec. Dir.,
"At a time when ethanol plants in the Heartland are being mothballed and jobs are being lost, it is unfathomable and utterly reprehensible that the Trump Administration would dole out more unwarranted waivers to prosperous petroleum refiners. Today's announcement comes as a total shock, as just two months ago Trump himself heard directly from Iowa farmers and ethanol plant workers about the disastrous economic impacts of these small refinery handouts. In response, he (Trump) told us he would 'look into it' and we believed that would lead to the White House and EPA finally putting an end to these devastating waivers. Instead, the Trump administration chose to double down on the exemptions, greatly exacerbating the economic pain being felt in rural America and further stressing an industry already on life support." -- Geoff Cooper, Pres., CEO, Renewable Fuels Association.
"EPA's refiner-win-at-all-costs oversight of the RFS is doing real damage to America's farmers and renewable fuel producers who are already suffering from trade wars and volatile markets. The RFS is supposed to ensure the use of ethanol and biodiesel increases from one year to the next, but 85 Small Refinery Exemptions later and over 3 billion waived gallons represents an enormous step backwards." -- Brian Jennings, CEO, American Coalition of Ethanol.
As previously noted, "hardship waivers" were intended for refineries producing 75,000 bpd or less and suffered "disproportionate economic hardship" from the costs of RFS compliance. The waiver frees the refineries from an obligation to provide the EPA with biofuels credits proving compliance. Under the now vanquished administrator Greg Pruitt's direction, the EPA handed out 54 exemptions over two years and not a single request for an exemption was denied.
(Source: Various Media, AgPro, 9 Aug., 2019) Contact: Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Monte Shaw, Exec. Dir., info@IowaRFA.org, (515) 252-6249, www.iowarfa.org;
Renewable Fuels Association, www.ethanolrfa.org;
American Coalition of Ethanol, www.ethanol.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, RFS, "Hardship Waiver", Ethanol Blend, Renewable Fuels Association, ,
The algae will be treated with high temperature and pressure to turn it into a biomass which can be converted into fuel. This process also destroys any toxins that might be in the biomass. While the process of extracting algae and turning it into fuel will not pay for itself, it could offset the cost of the process.
In the pilot program water flows through a container where "billions and billions" of microscopic air bubbles attach to the solids in the water and float the mass to the surface. The algae and cyanobacteria in the water column rise to the top of the tank. The algae is then skimmed off and fed into a cannister that allows the clear water to flow out into another container. The clear water is treated a second time with an ozone process that eliminates toxins, should any be present. The pilot program treats 100 gallons of algae laden water per minute but can be scaled up to treat 100 million gpd.
The Lake Okeechobee algae removal project is the second of three projects funded by the Corps. AECOM, a Los Angeles-headquartered global engineering company that specializes in algae removal is a co-investigator on the project. (Source: Immokalee Buletin, Aug., 2019) Contact: AECOM, Dan Levy, (213) 593 8000, www.aecom.com: US Army Corps of Engineers, Dr. Martin Page, Project Manager, 863-983-8101, www.usace.army.mil
More Low-Carbon Energy News Algae, Biofuel.AECOM,
Ten other ethanol plants in the country have also temporarily shut down and three others have reportedly closed due to what Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw described as a "supply-demand imbalance" caused by waivers that federal officials are granting big oil refiners. (Source: Plymouth Energy Business Record, Radio Iowa, 1 Aug., 2019) Contact: Plymouth Energy, 712-938-2373, www.plymouth-energy.com; Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Monte Shaw, Exec. Dir., info@IowaRFA.org (515) 252-6249, www.iowarfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Ethanol, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association,
The initiative is a DOE-wide effort comprising EERE, the Office of Fossil Energy (FE), the Office of Science, and the National Laboratories. The initiative helps to leverage the National Laboratories' high performance computing capabilities to address challenges in manufacturing and materials through state-of-the-art modeling, simulation, and data analysis. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) leads the HPC4EI program along with partner laboratories Argonne, Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and National Energy Technology Laboratory. Funded projects include:
Within the High Performance Computing for Materials (HPC4Mtls) Program, EERE's Vehicle Technologies Office has selected two projects:
"EPA's stubborn refusal to obey a court order to restore lost demand is yet another kick in the teeth to U.S. renewable fuel producers and farmers already facing the worst market conditions in a generation. EPA's suggestion that following the court's directive would place an 'additional burden' on obligated parties is an insult and an affront to the farmers and ethanol producers who trusted this administration would follow the law." -- Renewable Fuel Association (RFA), Geoff Cooper, (202) 289-3835, www.ethanolrfa.org
"We are frustrated the EPA did not account for potential waived gallons going forward in the proposed rule. If the EPA continues to grant retroactive waivers, the RVO numbers are meaningless and the EPA is not following the law. Farmers are facing a very tough economic environment and the continued waiver abuse chips away at farmers' bottom line." -- Lynn Chrisp, Pres., National Corn Growers Association, (202) 326-0644, www.ncga.com
(Source: RFA, NCGA, Various Media, EHS, 23 July, 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFA, RVO, RFS, NCGA, "Hardship Waiver",
Dnepro-Bugsky Wind Power Station LLC is owned by Akuo Energy SAS (France), Saffelberg Investment NV (Belgium) and Aeolus Invest NV (Belgium).
The 25-turbine Dnepro-Bugsky project is expected to come in at €188.64 million. Nordex is supplying the turbines.
(Source: EBRD, Interfax-Ukraine, 13 July, 2019) Contact: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, +44 (0) 207 338 6000, www.ebrd.com; Dnepro-Bugsky Wind Power Station LLC, www.dbwes.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News EBRD, Wind, Ukraine Wind,
"As long as EPA continues to dole out compliance exemptions to oil refiners without reallocating the lost volume, the agency may as well start referring to the annual RFS levels as 'renewable volume suggestions' rather than renewable volume 'obligations'. It is a complete misnomer to call these blending volumes 'obligations' when EPA's small refinery bailouts have essentially transformed the RFS into a voluntary program for nearly one-third of the nation's oil refineries.
"In its announcement today, EPA has proposed a total renewable fuel volume of 20.04 billion gallons, of which 5.04 billion gallons are advanced biofuel, including 540 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel. That leaves, on paper, a 15-billion-gallon requirement for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol, unchanged from 2019.
"Most notably, EPA failed to prospectively account for any expected small refinery exemptions in the 2020 proposal, even though it is almost a foregone conclusion at this point that the Agency will continue to grant more exemptions.
"Congress gave EPA the direction and tools necessary to ensure that the statutory RFS volumes are enforced, and that includes prospectively reallocating exempted volumes to non-exempt parties. Instead, EPA has chosen to continue its demand destruction campaign that has been crippling to both ethanol producers and the farmers who supply our industry. Enough is enough.
"EPA approved 54 exemptions for 2016 and 2017 and an additional 38 requests for 2018 exemptions are pending. Not a single exemption request has been denied by EPA since 2015. The exemptions effectively lowered the total RFS requirement for 2017 by 1.82 billion gallons and cut the 2016 requirement by nearly 800 million gallons.
"Making matters worse, EPA's proposal continues to flout the D.C. Circuit Court's 2017 order requiring the Agency to restore 500 million gallons of renewable fuel obligations that it inappropriately and illegally waived from the 2016 RVO. Unbelievably, the Agency is proposing to snub the court's ruling by refusing to restore the 500 million gallons remanded volume. EPA's stubborn refusal to obey a court order to restore lost demand is yet another kick in the teeth to U.S. renewable fuel producers and farmers already facing the worst market conditions in a generation. EPA's suggestion that following the court's directive would place an 'additional burden' on obligated parties is an insult and an affront to the farmers and ethanol producers who trusted this administration would follow the law. The RFS wasn't intended to make oil refiners comfortable; it was intended to change the status quo by guaranteeing renewable fuels would have access to a marketplace otherwise closed to competition.
"EPA appears to be selling out to oil refiners -- again -- at the expense of rural America. The court found in favor of renewable fuel producers in 2017 because it was clear our industry had been harmed by EPA's illegal use of a general waiver -- now EPA is doubling down on that harm to the ethanol industry and farmers.
"Today's proposal undermines the pledge President Trump made to farmers and renewable fuel producers that his administration would enforce the statutory RFS volumes. By failing to prospectively reallocate, failing to commit to a more judicious and restrained approach to refinery waivers, and failing to follow a court's order to restore lost demand, EPA is blatantly undercutting President Trump's commitment to ethanol, which he restated less than a month ago when he visited the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy ethanol plant. We urge the President to resolve the disconnect between the oval office and EPA and get the RFS back on track." (Source: RFA, PR, 8 July, 2019) Contact: Renewable Fuels Association, Geoff Cooper, (202) 289-3835, www.ethanolrfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFA, RFS,
"We strongly oppose giving the Secretary (Perdue) any role in the decision-making process over the petitions. We would view any decisions to further delay, reduce, or deny hardship relief to small refineries, or reallocate the obligations of small refineries to other refineries, as the result of the Secretary of Agriculture's impermissible interference. We are confident that others, including the federal courts, would do the same," the thirteen Senators wrote.
The small-refinery exemptions have reduced ethanol use by about 2.6 billion gallons, and 38 refiners are waiting for EPA to decide on new exemptions.
Senators writing the letter included Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) as well as senators representing Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
As previously noted, "hardship waivers" were intended for refineries producing 75,000 bpd or less and suffered "disproportionate economic hardship" from the costs of RFS compliance. The waiver frees the refineries from an obligation to provide the EPA with biofuels credits proving compliance. In 2017, the number of small refineries filing for exemptions retroactively for 2016 jumped from 14 the previous year to 20. The rate in which EPA granted these petitions also increased dramatically from 53 pct to 95 pct (Source: Various Media, DTN, Progressive Farmer, July, 2019)
Contact: Office of Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue,(202) 720-2791,
feedback@oc.usda.gov, www.usda.gov/contact-us
More Low-Carbon Energy News Hardship Waiver, Ethanol, Ethanol Blend, RFA, Sonny Perdue,
The Husker Ag facility was originally built by Fagen Inc. and designed by ICM of Colwich, KS. Husker Ag expanded its operations in the fall of 2007 and as of 2017 utilizes more than 26 million bpy of corn to produce about 76 million gpy of denatured ethanol and about 450,000 tpy of modified wet distillers' grain (DDG) for cattle feed.
(Source: Renewable Fuels Association, Husker Ag, 3 June, 2019) Contact: Renewable Fuels Association, Geoff Cooper, (202) 289-3835, www.ethanolrfa.org;
Husker Ag, Seth Harder, Gen. Mgr., (402) 582-4446, www.huskerag.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News DDGs, Corn Ethanol, Husker Ag, Renewable Fuels Association,
"We know that the Earth is warming; years ago it was covered in ice. Several times since it has gone through periods of being encapsulated in ice!!! Fifty-five thousand years old samples drawn from Antarctic core drills indicate the Earth was 2% warmer than it is today. The reason for this is that the proximity between the sun and the Earth is in a constant state of flux., "The United Nations has propagated an agenda that has a goal of establishing income equality between all countries. To reach that objective, they have decided on the 'Robin Hood' approach -- rob from the rich and give to the poor. Guess who the villain is -- that's right, the USA. How do they accomplish this? They develop a 'Chicken Little' narrative and generate a villain -- that rich country whose people live in luxury.
"Please humor me while we address the UN's narrative. They repeatedly reiterate that 97 pct of the scientists say that the earth is warming and it is caused by humans and the use of 'fossil fuels.' In 1988, The UN formed a committee, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC) 11,944 scientists were questioned. Of those, 66.4 pct (7,930) said they did not believe that was true. Of the other 4,014, 1,344 said they did not know leaving 2,670 that agreed, which is 22 pct, not 97 pct. That is the first big lie!!! The question I have is: How many of those 22 pct have a parochial interest in the warming equation? Bear in mind that our government spent $22 billion in 2016 to have this warming theory authenticated, with most going to academics.
"Next, let's address the fossil fuel cause. 70.9 pct of the Earth's surface consists of ocean water. The National Oceanographic Survey Department states that the average depth of the ocean is 12,100 feet, which means there are 351,600,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of water in the ocean.
"Salt water weighs 8.5 lbs. per gallon. One pound of water uses 1 BTU to raise the temperature 1 degree Fahrenheit. All countries combined in 2015 produced 9 billion tons of coal. The heat factor of the Pittsburgh seam of coal is 12,000 BTU. Using the 35/65 pct factor with 35 pct used to generate electricity and 65 pct lost to the stack gases, allowing for 0 pct dissipated to the land masses or the atmosphere, all heat being transferred to the ocean, it would take 21,610 years to raise the temperature of the ocean 1 degree Fahrenheit!
"We (the U.S.) are the only industrialized country that has cut CO2 emissions since 2005. Following is a list of coal-fired power plants in several other countries: Europe has 480 and is building 27 more; Turkey- 56 and building 93; South Africa-79, building 24; India- 589, building 446; Philippines- 19, building 60; South Korea- 58, building 26; Japan- 90, building 45; China- 2363, building 1171; and the USA- 359, building 0 . Totals: 4,075 existing and 1,892 under construction not including Russia, North Korea and Eastern Europe, with most of their electric generation being coal fired.
"My fellow Americans, the most outrageous hoax that has ever been attached to any group of people since the beginning of mankind is attempting to be heaped on the United States of America -- all in the interest of taxing this country into oblivion.
They are trying to do what two World Wars, communism and socialism could not accomplish, but it is being condoned and sanctioned from within by progressive liberals who apparently have had lobotomies, or missed a good chance, and our own politicians who gush with delight at the unending stream of $$$$ coming from this potential 'Cash Cow'"! (Source: WCWV, Exponent Telegram, 26 May, 2019) Contact: Exponemt Telegram,
Mr. Phil Southern, (800) 982-6034, www.wvnews.com/theet/news
More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Emissions, Coal,
"The continued issuance of small refinery exemptions undermines the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard and imperils the ability of biogas and other renewable fuel producers to create new investments and jobs, especially in rural communities.
"As a program, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) works for the biogas industry. It has boosted American production of renewable fuels, brought new revenue streams to farmers and catalyzed investment in biogas systems. In fact, the number of biogas systems that have been built or upgraded to participate in the RFS has grown at a rate of 30 pct annually supplying valuable renewable fuel that can replace conventional natural gas. In the RFS, biogas and renewable natural gas (RNG) related projects represent the fastest growing sector of the RFS and are therefore critical to addressing the gap between the congressionally mandated fuel volumes and the EPA-lowered fuel volumes.
"But the recent management of the RFS program, in particular, the Administration's frequent issuance of small refinery ("hardship") exemptions has killed demand in this market-based program and is now impeding growth, development, infrastructure investments and the creation of quality American jobs. The prevalent issuance of exemptions has created the impression that any refinery can get one. As a result, small refineries and some larger ones, both in growing numbers, have stopped purchasing biogas hoping that each one might also be granted an exemption by the Administration to not comply with this congressionally mandated program. Due to the volume of fuel that most biogas systems produce, a large proportion of biogas systems sell to small refineries.
"The Administration must dramatically slow the issuance of small refinery exemptions (SREs) to small refineries and stop granting SREs to large or unqualified refineries. Indiscriminate and frequent issuance of SREs undermine the integrity of the RFS and imperil economic prosperity and energy security. The Administration needs to follow the law that Congress passed." (Source: American Biogas Council, PR, 23 May, 2019) Contact: ABC,
Patrick Serfass, Exec. Dir., (202) 640-6595, info@americanbiogascouncil.org, www.AmericanBiogasCouncil.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, Hardship Waiver, Biofuel, American Biogas Council , Biogas,
According to Koleilat, the problem with perovskite cells is their durability when exposed to oxygen and humidity. To address the issue, Koleilat and her team designing an environmentally friendly, hybrid organic-inorganic material with perovskite that can stand the test of time.
Koleilat's lab can produce more than 10 solar cells in 3 hours from perovskite film than can be created in just 15 minutes. Koleilat
aims to perfect the molecular recipe of her hybrid material over the next few years. (Source: Dalhousie Univ., CBC, 19 May, 2019) Contact: Dalhousie University, Ghada Koleilat, Assist. Professor of Engineering, (902) 494 4177, ghada.koleilat@dal.ca,
www.koleilatresearchgroup.com; www.dal.ca
More Low-Carbon Energy News Solar, Solar Cell, perovskite ,
Perovskite solar cells, using materials with the same 3D structure as calcium titanium oxide, are cheaper to make, thinner and can be easily printed onto surfaces. They also work in low light conditions and can produce a higher voltage than silicon cells.
The research team tested the waterproofing by submerging the coated perovskite cells in water and using the harvested solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The coated cells worked underwater for 30 hours, roughly ten hours longer than the previous record.
. The study is published in the open access journal Nature Communications. (Source: University of Bath Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, Gren Car Congress, 13 May, 2019)
Contact: University of Bath Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, +44 0 1225 385820, csct@bath.ac.uk, www.csct.ac.uk
More Low-Carbon Energy News Perovskite Solar Cell,
The Vineyard Wind Connector project will consist of sub-sea and sub-surface electrical transmission lines and a new substation that will connect the Vineyard Wind turbine array to the Massachusetts electric grid.
Construction is scheduled to begin this year and is expected to be operational by 2021. (Source: Vineyard Wind, May, 2019)
Contact: Contact: Vineyard Wind, Lars Thaaning Pedersen, CEO ,(508) 717-8964, www.vineyardwind.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Vineyard Wind, Offshore Wind, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners,
Burmeister & Wain (BWSC) is a project developer, turnkey EPC contractor and O&M provider of tailor-made fossil-fueled and renewable energy power plants. The company
provides in-depth support and financial stability during the project development stage, extensive turnkey power plant design and build experience during the construction phase, and operational expertise in future operation and maintenance.(Source: Burmeister & Wain, Interfax, Biofuels Digest, 8 May, 2019)
Contact: Burmeister & Wain, +45 48 14 00 22, +45 48 14 01 50 - fax., bwsc@bwsc.dk, www.bwsc.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Burmeister & Wain,
The innovative 3D design removes many of the manufacturing process steps required by existing photovoltaics (PV) modules and allows new materials to be used that would not usually be appropriate in regular solar cells, according to a release.
Other benefits of the design include the removal of expensive transparent conductive oxides and the use of simple and low cost electrical interconnections and the ability to tune electrical output to match user requirements.
(Source: The Tribune, PTI, 2 May, 2019) Contact: Power Roll, Neil Spann, CEO, +44 (0)191 543 9254,
info@powerroll.solar, www.powerroll.solar; University of Sheffield,
Professor David Lidzey, Department of Physics and Astronomy , +44 (0)114 22 23501,
d.g.lidzey@sheffield.ac.uk, www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics/people/academic/david-lidzey
More Low-Carbon Energy News Solar, Solar Cell,
In traditional wind farms, each turbine is individually optimized. Each creates its own turbulence, or wake, which prevents downwind turbines from receiving full energy from the wind stream, significantly reducing wind energy production. Vayu estimates two-thirds of U.S. wind farms experience reduced capacity due to wind wake. Emerson and Vayu's solution leverages key data and machine learning to enable turbines to work cooperatively, adjusting the side-to-side movement of each turbine based on wind speed, wind direction and other parameters to extract the optimum energy from wind.
Emerson's Ovation compact controller will communicate data from each turbine's wind sensor to the Vayu system every 1-2 seconds thus enabling near-real-time data to accurately calculate the optimum setting for each turbine.
Ovation compact control technology can easily interface with any turbine controller, regardless of manufacturer, eliminating the significant time and expense associated with removing and replacing existing turbine controls. (Source: Emerson, PR, 8 May, 2019) Contact: Emerson, Bob Yeager, Pres. Power & Water, (314) 982-8608, www.emerson.com/en-us; Ystrategies Corp., www.ystrategies.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Emerson, Wind,
The FOA topics will advance DOE's Bioenergy Technology Office's (BETO) objectives to reduce the price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources. Topics areas for this funding opportunity include the following:
This FOA also supports the Water Security Grand Challenge, a White House initiated, DOE-led framework to advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure, and affordable water. In particular, this funding will support R&D focused on anaerobic digestion, a technology that can help achieve the Grand Challenge's goal to double resource recovery from municipal wastewater. (Source: US DOE EERE, 3 May, 2019) Contact: US DOE EERE, www.energy.gov/eere
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE EERE, Bioenergy, Biofuel, Anaerobic Digestion ,
The study authors contend their study is the first to calculate the economic impact of permafrost melt and reduced albedo -- a measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed -- based on the most advanced computer models of what is likely to happen in the Arctic as temperatures rise.
The study notes that
on the current trajectory of at least 3 degree C of warming by the end of the century, melting permafrost is expected to discharge up to 280 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide and 3 gigatonnes of methane, which is 10 to 20 times more damaging to the the afmosphere than carbon dioxide.
This would increase the global climate-driven impacts by $70 trillion between now and 2300, the report concludes.
(Source: VIT, Weekened Leader, 22 April, 2019)
Contact: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, +358 20 722 111, +358 20 722 7001 - fax.,
www.vttresearch.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News VIT, Permafrost, Climate Change, Methane,
The researchers, mainly from Environment Canada, calculated emissions rates for four major oilsands surface mining operations using air samples collected in 2013 on 17 airplane flights over the area. In results published today in the journal Nature Communications, the scientists say the air samples from just those surface mining operations suggest their carbon dioxide emissions are 64 pct higher, on average, than what the companies themselves report to the federal government using the standard United Nations reporting framework for greenhouse gases. The findings suggest Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions would be around 2.3 pct higher than previously thought.
The report suggests the differences between the new estimates and previously reported numbers are related to methodology. The standard "bottom up" method sees companies quantify the amount of fuel they use at each source of their operation, from extraction to delivery of crude to refineries. They then calculate their carbon emissions from their fuel use. The scientists behind the Environment Canada study used a "top-down" approach involving hundreds of air samples taken during more than 80 hours of flights over four major surface mining operations in northern Alberta: Syncrude Canada's Mildred Lake facility, Suncor's Millennium and North Steepbank site, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s Horizon mine, and what was then Shell's Albian Jackpine operation, now majority owned by Canadian Natural.
The gap between the facilities' reported CO2 emissions and the levels calculated by researchers was 13 pct for the Suncor site, 36 pct for the Horizon mine, 38 pct for Jackpine and 123 pct for Syncrude.
The study did not include emissions from all oilsands operations that use in-situ extraction, pumping steam into the ground to get the petroleum out. About 80 pct of oilsands reserves, and the majority of current production, require in-situ extraction. That means the overall amount of under reported greenhouse gas emissions could be significantly higher.
(Source: Environment Canada, CBC News , 23 April, 2019) Contact: Environment Canada, John Liggio, www.linkedin.com/in/john-liggio-34349467
More Low-Carbon Energy News Environment Canada, Carbon Emissions, Oil Sands, Carbon Emissions,
The plan, which is part of his Worship's efforts to reduce city-wide greenhouse emissions by 30 pct, would also require all city operations to be powered from renewable energy sources,
mandatory organics recycling, and various other measures. (Source: Office of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, 4NY, April, 2019) Contact: NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency, Bill de Blasio,
"We believe it is time for the EPA to address this threat to the Renewable Fuel Standard," Naig said, adding that over the last two years, the agency has granted waivers accounting for 2.6 billion gallons of ethanol or about 1 billion bushels of corn. "This happens at a time when our farmers and rural America can least afford it" he said adding there are currently 39 small-refinery exemption applications before the EPA. Refiners with a capacity of less than 75,000 bpd can receive a waiver as long as they can prove that complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard would cause "disproportionate economic harm."
According to Shaw, the nearly 40 exemptions out there could "rip the heart out"of the Renewable Fuel Standard. "If you can justify granting a small-refinery exemption under today's circumstances -- where you can buy a Renewable Identification Number (RIN) for 8 cents, then what the EPA would really be saying is that it's always going to grant small-refinery exemptions, and the hope of ever having a true 15 billion-gallon RFS is dead," Shaw said.
The Renewable Fuels Association noted overall U.S. ethanol consumption declined last year.
The association also noted 48 small refinery exemptions approved last year by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt as a main factor for the drop in ethanol use. (Source: Iowa RFA, PR, The Courier, 21 April, 2019)
Contact: IRFA, Monte Shaw, Exec. Dir., info@IowaRFA.org, (515) 252-6249, www.iowarfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Monte Shaw, RFA, IRFA, RFS, "Hardship" Exemption,
The R&D projects for coal-fueled power plants and technologies include the following separate funding opportunities:
DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage all of the selected projects.
Download details HERE.
( Source: US DOE, April, 2019) Contact: US DOE, Sec. of Fossil Energy, Steven Winberg, Assist. Sec., www.energy.gov/fe/office-fossil-energy
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE, Coal, Clean Coal,
Evolve is a fully-integrated residential energy storage system that incorporates proprietary power electronics system, LG Chem low-voltage battery modules, and a comprehensive user interface. The system is rated at 5KW AC output with a modular battery design based on a 6.5 kWh battery, which is scalable from 13 to 39kWh in storage capacity. The NEMA 3R wall-mounted package is suitable for indoor and outdoor installations.
(Source: Source: Eguana Technologies Inc., 21 Mar., 2019)
Contact: Eguana Technologies, Justin Holland, CEO, (416) 728.7635,
Justin.Holland@EguanaTech.com
(905) 929-7522, www.EguanaTec.com;
PurePoint Energy, Michael Dowling
Business Development Manager, Tom Wemyss, VP Bus. Dev., (203) 642-4105, mdowling@purepointenergy.com, www.purepointenergy.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News PurePoint Energy, Energy Storage, Eguana Technologies,
"It's extremely disappointing and outrageous to see EPA once again allow oil refiners to undermine the RFS and hurt family farms, ethanol producers and our environment by exploiting and abusing a statutory provision that exempts them from their obligations to blend renewable fuels. The RFS was created to preserve the environment, protect America's energy security and give Americans more affordable options at the pump. These exemptions undercut those goals, and today's exemptions mean more than 2.6 billion gallons of RFS blending obligations have been erased with the stroke of EPA's pen. RFA will continue to fight these exemptions through the courts and urge EPA to adopt a more judicious and restrained decision-making process on refiner exemptions, as well as restore lost volume obligations from previous years."
As previously noted, "hardship waivers" were intended for refineries producing 75,000 bpd or less and suffered "disproportionate economic hardship" from the costs of RFS compliance. The waiver frees the refineries from an obligation to provide the EPA with biofuels credits proving compliance.(Source: Renewable Fuels Association, 21 Mar., 2019) Contact: Renewable Fuels Association, Geoff Cooper, Pres., (202) 289-3835, www.ethanolrfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Renewable Fuels Association, EPA, RFS Hardship Waiver, Biofuel Blend,
The report was authored by John Urbanchuck, managing partner at ABF Economics.
As we reported on 23 Jan., 2019, 2018 was a record year for ethanol production in Iowa with the state's ethanol production facilities producing 4.35 billion gallons -- 150 million gallons more than 2017 and 150 million gallons short of capacity. The Hawkeye State produces about 27 pct of total U.S. ethanol production.
Iowa's two cellulosic ethanol and 41 corn ethanol plants use more than 1.3 billion bpy of corn. Iowa also produced a record 365 million gallons of biodiesel in 2018 (Source: Iowa Renewable Fuels Assoc., Mar., 2019) Contact: IRFA, Monte Shaw, Exec. Dir., info@IowaRFA.org, (515) 252-6249, www.iowarfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Iowa Biofuel, Monte Shaw, IRFA,
According to the ETH Zurich report, oceans absorb CO2 in two stages. First CO2 in the atmosphere dissolves in surface water and is carried by currents into the depths of the sea, where it accumulates. For the report, researchers from seven countries measured concentrations of CO2 gathered from the world's oceans and developed statistical model to calculate the proportion generated by human activities.
ETH Zurich environmental physics professor Nicolas Gruber, who led the research, was already involved at the turn of the millennium in a similar study on the absorption of man-made CO2 from the beginning of industrialization around 1800 up to 1994. Comparisons of the two surveys found that the proportional volume of CO2 stored by the oceans has remained stable in the 200 years since the industrial revolution but increased in absolute terms as atmospheric CO2 levels have risen, leading to fears that the oceans might one day become saturated and unable to serve as a carbon "sink".
(Source: ETH Zurich, swissinfo.ch, Mar., 2019) Contact: ETH Zurich, Prof. Nicolas Gruber, Dept. of Environmental Systems Science, +41 44 632 03 52, www.up.ethz.ch
More Low-Carbon Energy News ETH Zurich, CO2, CO2 Emissions, Climate Change,
According to the researchers, most carbon capture methods involve compressing CO2 into liquid form to be pumped and stored underground. Despite progress, the best carbon capture and storage technologies still aren't economical. They also pose environmental concerns.
To turn CO2 into coal, scientists developed a liquid metal catalyst that is highly conductive. The conversion process begins by dissolving the captured CO2 in an electrolyte liquid. After a small amount of the catalyst is added, a current is run through the solution. Chemical reactions caused solid flakes of carbon "coal" to separate from the solution. Because the carbonaceous solids are stable, they could be compacted and buried in the ground.
The process is efficient and scalable, but researchers acknowledge more work is needed before the method can be commercialized, according to the researchers.
The research was conducted at RMIT's MicroNano Research Facility and the RMIT Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility, with support from the Australian Research Council Centre for Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES).
The paper is published in Nature Communications -- Room temperature CO2 reduction to solid carbon species on liquid metals featuring atomically thin ceria interfaces -- DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08824-8.
(Source: RIMT University, Nature Communications, UPI, Feb., 2019) Contact: RMIT University, Australian Research Council , Dr, Torben Daeneke, Dr. Dorna Esrafilzadeh +61 3 9925 2000, www.rmit.edu.au
More Low-Carbon Energy News CO2, Carbon Sequestration, Coal,
In partnership with the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory LBNL) and Expero Inc., GroundMetrics will develop a continuous sequestered carbon monitoring system to measure resistivity changes in the subsurface. The system will help carbon sequestration managers monitor CO2 saturation and thus provide time and cost-effective insight into how the CO2 is being distributed underground and whether it is leaking.
GroundMetrics offers full-field survey and monitoring services as well as partnership opportunities to oil and gas, geophysical service, and mineral exploration companies. (Source: GroundMetrics, Inc., PR, 21 Feb., 2019) Contact: GroundMetrics, George Eiskamp, CEO, Jessie Kaffai, (858) 381-4155, jkaffai@)groundmetrics.com, www.groundmetrics.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News CCS, CO2, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Sequestration,
The annual Outlook publication provides policymakers, regulators, consumers, the media and renewable fuel advocates with key statistics, trends, insight, and analysis on the latest developments in the U.S. renewable fuels industry, as well as commentary on what to expect in 2019. The publication also features a detailed listing of every fuel ethanol plant in the country, along with production capacity.
Access the RFA 2019 Ethanol Industry Outlook -- Powered with Renewed Energy
HERE. (Source: RFA, Feb., 2019) Contact: RFA, Robert White, VP Ind. Relations, (202) 289-3835, www.ethanolrfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFA, Renewable Fuels Association, Ethanol, Biofuel,
The study credits the larger-than-expected GHG reductions to: the adoption of technology improvements in the production of corn-based ethanol, resulting in far greater GHG reductions than originally estimated by EPA; the GHG emissions of petroleum are higher than the baseline estimates originally projected by EPA; and advanced biofuels like biodiesel, renewable diesel, and renewable natural gas have contributed additional GHG reductions, even though actual cellulosic biofuel production has been lower than initially projected. The study also notes that the conventional ethanol consumed in 2018 reduced GHG emissions by 43 pct compared to EPA's initial projections that conventional ethanol would achieve only a 20 pct GHG reduction versus petroleum.
Download the study HERE. (Source: RFA, 6 Feb., 2019) Contact: Renewable Fuels Association, Geoff Cooper, Pres., CEO, (202) 289-3835, www.ethanolrfa.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News GHG Emissions, Renewable Fuel Standard, Renewable Fuels Association, Climate Change, RFA ,
PPS will retain
around 70 employees involved in the wafering technology portfolio at the thun facility which Meyer Burger will rent to PPS on a long term basis. (Source: Meyer Burger, PV Tech, 7 Feb., 2019) Contact: Meyer Burger, Hans Brandle, CEO, +41 33 221 28 00, sales@meyerburger.com, www.meyerburger.com; Precision Surfacing Solutions, www.precision-surface.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Meyer Burger, Solar, Solar Wafer ,