Burning Bio News

The University of Minnesota’s Institute for Renewable Energy and the Environment awarded a total of $4.85 million in grant funding Monday to conduct University research on seven projects aimed at impacting the commercial development of renewable energy.

The Friends of the Quinebaug River are challenging the state’s authorizing of four permits needed to build a controversial, 37.5 wood-burning plant in Plainfield, CT. In their formal appeal to the State Department of Environmental Protection, the group argues that the $160 million plant proposed by Norwalk-based Plainfield Renewable Energy LLC is likely to harm the river, from which nearly one million gallons of water a day would be diverted for cooling purposes.

The Planned 55 MW poultry manure and biomass power plant has support and opposition in Surry County, NC. Jobs, local energy, manure management top the list of pro’s, while increased truck traffic, pollution and possible odor lead the list of cons. Community support is a tremendous asset that often must be cultivated.

Biofuels developer Greenleaf Biofuels LLC received a $1.3 million grant from the state of Connecticut to help finance the construction of a 6.7 million gallon biodiesel plant in New Haven Harbor, CT. Construction on the plant is anticipated to be completed by January 2010.

The Randolph County Farm Bureau in Sparta, IL, began manufacturing its first batch of biodiesel in its new farmer-manufactured bioreactor. The 40 gallon reactor will be used as a teaching tool for high school classes involving recycling, alternative fuels, chemical reactions, agriculture and clean energy.

Chemist, Ben Wen, Ph.D., vice president of United Environment and Energy LLC, Horseheads, NY, reported development of a solid catalyst to convert oil from algae into biodiesel, as opposed to more conventional liquid catalysts. This solid catalyst creates no wastewater and requires less time.

G-OIL SAE 5W-30 motor oil, a bio-based motor oil from Green Earth Technologies, received certification from the American Petroleum Institute earlier this month. The certification paves the way for G-OIL to carry API’s official service symbol and make its way to retail. Although the company said it does not expect G-OIL 5W-30 to reach retail shelves until June, “bulk” oil will be made available much sooner to satisfy the fast-lube market. The company also plans to finalize the testing and certification process for 10W-30 and 5W-20 by the end of summer.

Plasma Waste Recycling, Huntsville, AL, is discussing the use of Montgomery, AL municipal solid waste in a plasma gasifier to turn it into energy (and treat the waste). The city would only supply the waste/feedstock. Plasma Waste Recycling would finance the $100 million project through outside investors.

A plan to put a solar power plant on the Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO) announced earlier this month is part of a wider initiative to make the military school energy independent by 2015. Other plans include converting garbage to electricity with a biomass facility and a hydropower plant that would generate electricity from water flowing downhill from academy grounds to Colorado Springs.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Gas Recovery Systems LLC for the purchase of approximately 1.5 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from a plant that generates electricity from landfill methane gas.

A new 2 MW landfill waste-to-energy project using methane gas to generate electricity has been completed at the Salem County Improvement Authority (SCIA) in Salem County, New Jersey. In addition, SCLE will facilitate the delivery of methane gas from the landfill to the Samuel H. Jones Glass Education Center, an annex of Salem County Community College that is located adjacent to the project site.

Chris Brechbill, Fayetteville, PA, estimates his 600 cows’ manure could make more than 100 kilowatts of energy an hour if the methane is harvested from it. And removing the methane would also remove the odor, something that would be most noticeable when waste is spread on Brechbill’s 450 acres of fields. The digester should save $61,000 a year in energy savings,” Brechbill said, noting he’d also have excess energy to sell. Brechbill is applying for a $350,000 grant from USDA.

Biofuels company Poet LLC and Magellan Midstream Partners LP announced a joint venture to study whether they can build a dedicated ethanol pipeline with an estimated cost of more than $3.5 billion. The 1,700-mile pipeline would deliver ethanol from plants in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to distribution terminals in the northeastern United States.

The Department of Energy has awarded the University of Georgia (Athens), Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, a four-year, $3.1 million grant to continue as a national resource for researchers who study the complex carbohydrates of plants and of microbes that interact with plants.

A top executive with Verenium Corp. said that plans are going forward to build a $300-million, 36 million gallon cellulosic ethanol plant in Highlands County, FL. Gerry Haines, executive vice president, was responding to wire service stories reporting that the company said, in a year-end filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that it may have to “curtail or cease operations” if it could not raise additional capital.The same statement about the company’s need to raise capital has been included in its fillings with the SEC for each of the last three years, he said.

Stellarwind Bio Energy, LLC, a producer of fuel oil from algae, announced the opening of its new small scale pilot production facility and corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. The plant has a 1/10th acre greenhouse, along with offices and an advanced research and development.

Ethanol plant designer ICM Inc. has announced plans to lay off 98 employees as the economic downturn hinders the opportunity for new investment. The layoffs amount to about 25 percent of the work force of the company, which is based in the south-central Kansas town of Colwich.

The Kearney, Nebraska-based KAAPA cooperative is going to be part of a recently announced 20 million gallon cellulosic ethanol project being built by NextStep Biofuels and Energy Grains Biomass in central Nebraska. KAAPA’s role in the project will be to solicit seven-year crop residue contracts from its members and other farmers in the area.

In an effort to promote North Carolina’s renewable fuels standard (RFS), the Biofuels Center of North Carolina has awarded a total of more than $850,000 to five ethanol-related projects within the state. The Biofuels Center has been tasked to implement the state’s RFS, which says that by 2017, 10 percent of the liquid fuels sold in North Carolina should come from locally grown and produced biofuels.

ERI Solutions Inc., based in Colwich, Kan., has launched a new interactive chart known as the OOPS Chart – operational occurrences and plant safety. The company, formerly a division of ICM Inc., provides safety and insurance risk management services to more than 60 ethanol plants in the U.S. and Canada.