Biomass

Ethanol Mandates Come Under Renewed Attack Over Costs: Infographic

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The unintended consequences of energy policy have been the focus of widespread public discussion in recent years, with everything from solar bankruptcies to the ethanol business coming under fire for receiving government funding that critics said makes the energy source a source of disruption in markets.

The unintended consequences can filter into unlikely areas, with rising costs for inputs into government-mandated fuels driving up costs to competing industries and contributing to the breakdown of established supply chains. The analysts at Smarter Fuel Future, an advocacy group that counts the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers among its members, have laid out some of the unintended consequences they say Americans face as part of the country’s efforts to comply with the 2007-era Renewable Fuel Standard. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 11, 2013 at 3:45 PM

Five Years On, Advanced Biofuels Industry Marks Its Progress

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Five years isn’t long in the energy business, where project development cycles can stretch into decades. That makes the emergence of the cellulosic biofuels business as a commercial force in the US in the past five years even more striking.

While the industry is making rapid strides to commercial maturity and widespread use, it has lacked common templates for creating and building successful production facilities that can be integrated into all-important infrastructure. The Advanced Ethanol Council, only five years after Congress called for aggressive development to alleviate US dependence on foreign oil and the Renewable Fuel Standard was signed, is seeking to provide highly detailed information about those facilities that are under development. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 20, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Decentralized Renewable Energy Systems Will Make Us Less Vulnerable to Hurricanes

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It was stunning to see just how fast Sandy shut down the northeast’s electrical systems, leaving people powerless in more ways than one. The storm’s flip of a switch effect was because our electrical generating systems are so centralized.

Not one to mince words, Governor Cuomo called New York’s electrical system “archaic and obsolete.” “The utility system we have was designed for a different time and for a different place,” he said, it “is a 1950s system. We’re going to have to look at a ground up redesign.” Keep reading →

 /  Published November 27, 2012 at 9:00 AM

SGB’s Jatropha Vision: Jet fuel Grown From Seeds

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Call it the jatropha bubble. When word got out several years ago about the promise of a small subtropical tree called jatropha, it became a biofuel sensation. Advocates claimed the fruit tree was hearty, drought-resistant and could be grown on marginal land. Its oil seeds offered a promising biofuel that wouldn’t compete with food crops. Air Japan, Continental Airlines and Air New Zealand ran test flights of planes using jatropha-based biofuel, prompting more than 100 companies to plunk down millions on jatropha plantations in developing countries. Energy giant BP (BP) sunk $160 million into the farms, and one industry group projected that $1 billion would be invested annually in jatropha. Then everything crashed. Jatropha, it turned out, was much harder to grow than once thought. Yields were inconsistent, and many farmers didn’t have the training needed to manage commercial-scale crops. Most of the jatropha operations shut down.

 /  Published November 26, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Does Renewable Energy Raise the Cost of Your Thanksgiving Dinner?

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Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner is an expensive operation that is almost universally observed across the United States, and a consortium of companies and groups concerned about the impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard on the US economy sees this year’s Thanksgiving as an ideal opportunity to note what it says will be an increase in the cost of a high-profile family event.

The group has issued an infographic detailing the increased costs it says could result from the RFS policies. The full infographic can be downloaded on the Smarter Fuel Future website here. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 21, 2012 at 9:00 AM

The Supposed Decline of Green Energy http://s.hbr.org/VCXj49

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The Supposed Decline of Green Energy http://bit.ly/RUWjKw HarvardBiz

 /  Published September 25, 2012 at 1:45 PM

British Companies Go Onsite With Renewable Energy Projects

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Organic Rankine Cycle Biomass Power System

The UK government, corporations and the general population find climate change to be a pressing issue and some prominent corporate actors are tapping into global supply chains to power their operations with increasing amounts of renewable energy as a means of curbing carbon emissions. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 19, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Data Show Brazil’s Wind Energy Market is Wide Open for Business

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Blessed with abundant surface water resources and a considerable amount of associated hydroelectric power, Brazil has lots of renewable energy, and a lot of room to generate additional power from renewable sources like wind and solar.

Brazil is the world’s second largest hydro power consumer behind China, but a sharp contrast between wet and dry seasons – along with occasional droughts – has driven the country to import LNG in recent years to supplement its energy security. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 27, 2012 at 8:30 AM

US Army Seeks $7 Billion Worth of Renewable Energy Projects

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Hear a bugle blowing? For the beleaguered renewables industry, the cavalry may be riding to the rescue.

The US Army is inviting suppliers who can build, own and operate solar, wind, geothermal or biomass generation to qualify for a pool of contractors who will perform an anticipated $7 billion worth of work for military installations. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 8, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Defined by Oil and Gas, UAE Invests in a Global Diversified Energy Future

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The United Arab Emirates is one of the world’s richest countries, blessed with extraordinary access to the kind of fossil fuels that the globe depends on. The rush to develop the oceans of oil and gas this smallish desert country sits on has transformed it from an isolated sultanate to a major player in an increasingly integrated world on the hunt for greater and more reliable access to energy.

The challenges of sudden wealth and success are not to be dismissed, and UAE officialdom is working to find ways to leverage its comparatively recent role as one of the planet’s economic leaders into longer-term leadership. The country has sought to invest more and more abroad, with many of its investments focused on the energy sector, a natural focus for a country where the wealth flows from the world’s hunger for energy commodities. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 6, 2012 at 8:30 AM
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