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Michigan Governor Kicks off a Biofuels Hub Today
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This morning, the City of Albion and NextEnergy Center celebrated the city’s first biodiesel blend and E85 pumps at Albion Mobil (Kelly Fuels). The station offers both biodiesel (B5 currently, with B20 in the future) and ethanol (E85) for fleets and owners of flexible fuel vehicles.
The station was awarded a grant from NextEnergy Center in Detroit, on behalf of the State of Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) for some of the infrastructure. NextEnergy, located in Detroit’s TechTown on the Wayne State University campus, is one of Michigan’s alternative energy accelerators. It is a non-profit founded to enable the commercialization of energy technologies that positively contribute to the nation’s economy, energy security and the environment. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is working closely with DaimlerChrysler and NextEnergy on activities to promote greater acceptance of B20 in the OEM community.
Speakers at the event included Governor Jennifer Granholm, Jennifer Weaver - contractor to NBB, and city, state, NextEnergy, and Kelly Fuels officials.
Albion is located in south-central Michigan; Albion Mobil is at Exit 121 on I-94, 27814 C Drive North.
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Volunteer State Declares Biofuels Day, for True Independence
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Another way to declare your independence with renewable fuel choices is by celebrating the first Biofuels Day in Tennessee. The governor encouraged Tennesseans to kick off the pre-holiday weekend last Thursday by trying biofuels.
Gov. Phil Bredesen also asked stations to drop their prices on Tennessee’s Biofuels Day. There are 32 retail biofuels stations in Tennessee, with the Governor’s office counting all B20 and E85 stations.
You can buy B20 in 17 Tennessee counties: Blount, Cocke, Davidson, Fayette, Hamilton, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Monroe, Montgomery, Putnam, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson.
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Biodiesel Tax Issues Under Consideration in Congress
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In the days leading up to Congress’ July 4 District Work Period, both the House and Senate considered energy legislation that addressed key tax issues for the biodiesel industry. An extension of the federal biodiesel tax incentive passed the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on June 20 as part of H.R. 2776, the "Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007.” Specifically, the bill:
- Extends the biodiesel tax incentive through Dec. 31, 2010 (currently expires Dec. 31, 2008).
- Denies $1 per gallon renewable diesel credit to fuel derived from petroleum co-processing.
- Provides that biodiesel, renewable diesel, ethanol or fuels eligible for the alternative fuels credit must be produced in the U.S. for use as a fuel in the U.S. This would preclude exported biodiesel from claiming the $1 per gallon excise tax credit on a prospective basis. To address so-called “splash and dash” transactions, the bill retroactively denies the credits to fuels produced outside the U.S. for use as a fuel outside the U.S. For biodiesel, this would deny credits claimed for “splash and dash” transactions retroactive to the creation of the biodiesel tax incentive in the JOBS Act.
The Senate Finance Committee approved “the Energy Advancement and Investment Act of 2007” on June 19. The bill passed by the committee:
- Extends the biodiesel tax incentive through Dec. 31, 2010.
- Extends the biodiesel small producer credit through Dec. 31, 2012 (currently expires Dec. 31, 2008).
- Provides a cap of 60 million gallons per facility for purposes of claiming the $1 per gallon credit that can be claimed for petroleum co-processed renewable diesel. Beyond 60 million gallons, the credit would be 50 cents per gallon. Also extends the renewable diesel tax credit through Dec. 31, 2010.
- Defines biodiesel fuel mixtures and alcohol fuel mixtures, including 99.9 blends, as taxable fuels. Under existing Treasury regulations, 99.9 blends are not considered taxable fuels.
- Allows the excise tax credits for biodiesel, alcohol fuels and renewable diesel to be claimed only on fuels consumed or sold for consumption in the U.S.
The full U.S. House has not yet considered H.R. 2776, though the bill will likely be considered in the upcoming months. In the U.S. Senate, the energy tax package approved the Finance Committee was offered as an amendment to H.R. 6, the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007. However, the energy tax package failed to garner the 60 votes required to clear a procedural hurdle, and thus was not included in the energy bill ultimately approved by the U.S. Senate. Despite this, both the Senate Leadership and Senator Baucus (D-MT), the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, have vowed to resurrect the package.
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Oily Celebration for a New Shade of Biodiesel
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It is a long-held fact that biodiesel can be made from french fry grease, but now its accompaniment – the burger - can take some of the credit.
Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel introduced its trap-grease (also called brown grease) biodiesel by hosting a road rally in which 25 cars, trucks and commercial vehicles were running on it in June. Trap grease differs from cooking oil in that it is the food wastes separated from the waste water that goes down the drain.
“By using a waste product for fuel, we’re not only solving a pollution problem, we are
building a business model that will create jobs and much-needed fuel, right in urban areas where most diesel fuel is used,” said Nadia Adawi, president of Fry-O-Diesel. “And, because we’re using a “free” raw material, we can produce fuel that will be cost-competitive with petroleum diesel.” Fry-O-Diesel representatives say that there is no other known use for trap grease, and that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates there are 495 million gallons of it generated annually in the U.S.
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Petroleum/Biodiesel Workshops – Coming to a State Near You?
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Nine areas of the country will host biodiesel workshops for petroleum distributors starting in July. Select Department of Energy Clean Cities Coalitions will educate petroleum marketers, fleet managers and other officials about biodiesel fuel quality and ideal management practices, thanks to grants awarded them.
The Maryland Energy Administration, the Clean Cities program and the National Biodiesel Foundation, teamed up to award the Ohio; New Mexico; Columbia/Willamette, Ore.; South Carolina; Puget Sound; Philadelphia; Denver and the Triangle area, North Carolina Clean Cities the opportunity to present these workshops. The goal of these seminars, and of Clean Cities, is to increase the use of alternative fuels in metropolitan areas.
The workshops will run through Oct. 31, with some of the awardees presenting encore workshops. Some scheduled workshops (locations to be announced) are as follows:
Virginia/Pennsylvania: July 12
New Mexico: August 17
Ohio: September 12 & 13
North Carolina: Sept. 18
Ohio: Sept. 18 & 19
South Carolina: Sept. 19
North Carolina: October 24.
For a complete list of dates, please check back to biodiesel.org’s News/“Biodiesel events.”
The National Biodiesel Foundation was created to outreach, educate, research and demonstrate for the advancement of biodiesel and its co-products, to provide rural economic benefits and myriad other societal benefits.
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NBB Staff Honored for Service
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The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) recognized three of its trailblazing team members at the NBB board meeting last month for their leadership and service.
Joe Jobe, NBB CEO, celebrated his tenth anniversary with the board. Jobe started as NBB’s accountant and became the CEO in 1999. His tireless dedication to the industry has seen it through many developments, such as obtaining a tax incentive for biodiesel blending and extreme industry growth. Jobe is shown here recognizing Weber and Hughes; board members recognized him at the previous evening's reception.
Scott Hughes, NBB, and Alan Weber, MARC-IV, were recognized for successfully launching the Washington, D.C., office last year. Today, the office has grown to three NBB and one MARC-IV employees. MARC-IV is a consulting group for the biodiesel industry. Hughes and Weber now have a team in place that allows them to transition back to their home-state of Missouri, where they will continue working for NBB.
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A Destiny to be Green
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Biodiesel-powered construction equipment is one way Destiny USA, designed to be the largest facility of its kind to be powered by renewable energy sources is fulfilling its commitment to operate the construction site and new facilities without the use of fossil fuels. Increasingly, construction and related companies are realizing the health, environmental and energy security benefits of using cleaner-burning biodiesel, and blends, in construction equipment.
“The Destiny USA project is fully committed to operate 100% free of fossil fuels,” said Robert J. Congel, founder of Destiny USA. “With this project, we will stop talking about our dependence on fossil fuels and instead demonstrate how we can earn our independence. This project will prove the viability of using 100% biofuel in all types of equipment, and will educate and challenge other developers in New York and around the country to adopt similar environmentally friendly approaches."
Located in Syracuse, N.Y., Destiny USA will be a showcase for the world’s most advanced technologies and services and a showroom for the latest and best products and brands, company officials say. Destiny began using a B5 blend and increased to B20, and then B50. As of press time, they planned to convert all 18 excavation and site work vehicles to B100. Through the duration of the construction, it is expected that nearly 100 different construction vehicles will run on biodiesel, consuming over 10,000 gallons of B100 per month for the next 6-8 months.
Other construction users of biodiesel include Earthwise Excavation of Snohomish, Washington (Northeast of Seattle); Turner Construction Company in Washington state; The Tennessee Department of Transportation; The Cherokee Boys Club, in Cherokee, North Carolina; Manatt’s, Inc., based in Brooklyn, Iowa; North Bay Construction in Petaluma, California. Click here to read more about all of these organizations, and hear what they have to say about biodiesel.
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Udall Foundation on Public Service Biodiesel Bus Tour
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To continue the legacy of a congressman from Arizona who served for 30 years, a bus tour launched last month to highlight public service and environmental and Native American issues. The Morris K. Udall Foundation’s bus tour, using B20-blend biodiesel, started from Washington, D.C. Members of Congress and federal government agency leaders kicked off the coast-to-coast Udall Legacy Bus tour near the U.S. Capitol in the first motor coach approved by the University of Vermont's "Green Coach Certification" program.
“We are pleased to see that the Udall Foundation and the federal agencies and equipment manufacturers who are sponsoring the tour recognize biodiesel’s valuable contribution to the environment,” said NBB Chief Executive Officer Joe Jobe. “It is only fitting that the bus tour will feature many National Parks since the Park Service’s fleets were among the first in the nation to use biodiesel.”
The University of Vermont Senior Program Manager David E. Kestenbaum said that the university originally wanted the bus tour to run on biodiesel and they added the other greening components later. “The environmentally-friendly concept of this tour was built around biodiesel,” he said.
For more information, including specific activities at each stop of the Udall Legacy Bus Tour, and a blog, see http://udall10.udall.gov.
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Extreme Biodiesel Cars Break the Mold, and Hopefully Records
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Biodiesel-blend fueled entries took home the top and second placings in the third Challenge X competition. Engineering students at Mississippi State University won the General Motors and U.S. Dept. of Energy jointly-sponsored event, with their car running on B20. Seventeen schools converted 2005 Chevy Equinox crossovers to alternative powertrains. Twelve of the teams used biodiesel in their submissions.
The winning entry uses a hybrid drivetrain charged by a 1.9-liter GM turbodiesel. It achieved a 48 percent increase in fuel economy over the production vehicle. The University of Wisconsin-Madison placed second with a similar drivetrain. The “Crossover to Sustainable Mobility” competition focuses on new technology and fuel economy; this year’s theme was integrating advanced powertrains and subsystems into the Equinox.
Biodiesel MotorSports, a company that specializes in environmentally friendly motorsports projects, has announced that "The Turbinator," the world's fastest wheel-powered vehicle, will attempt to break the 500 MPH barrier in 2008, hopefully running on biodiesel fuel. Team Vesco, owners of The Turbinator, have operated the vehicle in excess of 470 mph.
"What kept us below 500 mph in 2001," said Rick Vesco of Team Vesco, "was lack of high-speed tires. The vehicle was only operating at 70% throttle at 470 mph. Our sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires has recently released tires that will allow us to reach over 500 mph, and we strongly believe we can reach 500 mph running on biodiesel fuel."
The team, which has been racing since 1955, has held nearly 20 international land speed records.
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Upcoming Events
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