Teru Talk
Newsletter
Volume I, Issue 34,
October 17,
2011
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's
Trash Talk
Sometimes
ya gotta love the
Military Mindset. Let's
take the Department of
Defense (DoD) attitude
to getting alternative
fuels: "Gimme all you
got now, and as much as
you can make as soon as
you can make it." My
bet? We're witnessing a
Game Changer for the
entire industrial
development of
alternative fuels, with
Biofuels being a major
part (but not all) of
that shift. How is this
possible, when biofuels
production is
supposedly so costly,
both environmentally
and economically when
compared to petroleum
fuels? Because the DoD
counts ALL the cost of
getting that petrol
from the Middle East,
not just the price at
the pump. Because
instead of the
Renewable Fuels
Standard requiring new
fuels to spew 50% less
crud into our
environment, the DoD
just says, "do no
worse." And because,
well … because they can
make the decisions, get
the money and do the
deed without paying
much attention to the
whimpers of the
entrenched petroleum
magnates, or the
zealots among us who
don't want anything to
get built anywhere
ever. The Navy's
alternative energy
motto: "We have the
Land, and we have the
Need!"
Our
best brains from the
National Academy
morosely report that
the way we're going
about it, we just can't
meet the Renewable
Fuels mandated
production and
consumption volumes by
2020. Agreed. When you
fail, yet persist in
doing the same thing,
you can expect more
failure. Einstein
called it insanity. The
DoD has wisely followed
Captain Kirk's
directive regarding the
Kobayashi Maru
principle: when faced
with an unwinnable
situation, change the
rules.
Hey
Rube!
Two
"minor" changes to
California’s most recently
announced proposed Low
Carbon Fuel Standard
regulation (see our new
Focus
Report) deserve
special notice: (a)
there is no longer a
minimum amount of
biofuel necessary to
qualify for Pathway
registration, and (b)
the agency says they
need to see more
examples of Ultra-Low
Carbon Biorefineries.
Looking at the LCFS
Pathway Methods chalked
up to date, we see
little evidence that
conversion of waste to
fuel has any place at
the table. The Air
Resources Board hearing
on proposed regs is set
for December 15th and
there will be a formal
45-day rulemaking and
comment period starting
in a little over a week
to add Public Thoughts
to agency staff
documentation. If your
process can squeeze out
a few drops of
Ultra-Clean Alternative
Fuel, get registered; if
you are making that fuel
from waste-sourced
feedstock for goodness
sake Let ARB Know by
filing comments before
the hearing. We always
whine that the Regs pin
our industry down
unfairly; now's when we
can do something about
that
problem.
The Week's
Extra Reading
The California ARB held its
third and final public
workshop last
Friday on changes to
the proposed Low Carbon
Fuel Standard regulatory
amendments. See Teru's
Focus Report, Update
on California's
LCFS.
We also learned last
week that presentations and
video recordings of the 8th
Annual California Biomass
Collaborative Forum are now
available online. Links are
provided at the end
of Teru's Focus
Report, "Back
from the Biomass
Forum."
The Week's
News
NAS and
DoD Use Different Scales
to Measure Value of
Renewable
Fuels
The National Academy of
Science (NAS) Research
Council's Committee on
Economic and Environmental
Impacts of Increasing
Biofuels Production has
published "Renewable Fuel
Standard: Potential
Economic and Environmental
Effects of U.S. Biofuel
Policy (2011)."
10/16/2011
California’s
Net Metering Program Now
Includes Small Scale
Biomass/Biogas
Governor Brown signed the
Renewable Energy Equity
Act, Senate Bill 489
(Wolk), expanding
California's Net Energy
Metering (NEM) program
beyond wind and solar to
include small scale
biomass, biogas and other
forms of renewable power
generation.
10/14/2011
Alter
NRG and Coskata Complete
Successful Waste
Conversion to Ethanol
Testing
Canadian plasma developer
Alter NRG Corp., owner of
the Westinghouse Plasma
technology, has completed
successful testing for
plasma conversion of waste
feedstock to ethanol.
10/14/2011
Waste
Management Takes Direct
Equity Stake in InEnTec
for Waste to
Fuels
Waste Management, Inc (WM)
has announced the trade of
its equity interest in S4
Energy for a direct
ownership of equity in
InEnTec, Inc.
10/14/2011
London
Releases Shortlisted
Proposal Details of
Residual MSW to CHP
Projects
The North London Waste
Authority (NLWA) has
announced project details
of three proposals for long
term and sustainable use of
Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF).
10/14/2011
Meadow
Lake Tribal Council
Plans 36 MWe Mill Waste
Biopower
Plant
Saskatchewan's utility
company SaskPower has
signed a letter of intent
with the Meadow Lake Tribal
Council (MLTC) to negotiate
a 25-year power purchase
agreement for a 36 megawatt
biomass fueled power plant.
10/13/2011
Chemopolis
Among Top 3 Biofuels
Finalists in Global
Cleantech
Competition
The Finnish biorefinery
specialist Chemopolis Ltd
announced its selection as
one of the top three firms
in the category of
Renewable Energy, Biofuels
in the Global Cleantech
Cluster Association (GCCA)
2011 competition.
10/13/2011
Chemtex
JV Formed to
Commercialize PROESA for
Cellulosic Biofuels,
Biochemicals
Italy's Gruppo Mossi and
Ghisolfi (M&G) through
its Chemtex subsidiary has
formed the joint venture
BETA RENEWABLES for
exclusive licensing of
Chemtex' PROESA® cellulosic
biofuels and chemicals
platform.
10/13/2011
CleanMetrics
Releases Waste Reduction
and GHG LCA Modeling
Tools
Tracking and estimating the
carbon footprint, waste
reduction options,
greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG), and energy
efficiency profile for
industry has just received
a boost with the release of
two new value chain
modeling-software packages
from Oregon-based
CleanMetrics
Corporation.
10/13/2011
Primus
Green Energy Pilot
Produces and Tests
Drop-in
Bio-Gasoline
Primus Green Energy has
completed successful
production and testing of a
high-octane drop-in
gasoline from conversion of
cellulosic biomass at the
firm's expanded New Jersey
pilot.
10/13/2011
Bank of
America Poised to Enter
US Carbon Market Through
California's AB
32
Bank of America Merrill
Lynch (BofA) has announced
an agreement with
TerraPass, Inc. to procure
and market
California-standard carbon
offsets through 2020 with
credits generated by
agricultural methane
facilities (e.g. dairies)
from TerraPass' portfolio
of US greenhouse gas
reduction projects.
10/12/2011
California's
SGIP Re-Funded through
2014 to Support
Renewable Energy
Projects
Governor Brown signed
Assembly Bill 1150 (Perez)
into law, re-instating
funding for California's
Self Generation Incentive
Program (SGIP) and bringing
needed support to renewable
energy and energy
efficiency projects
including combined heat and
power (CHP), waste heat
recovery, and biogas to
fuel cell energy
generation.
10/12/2011
Calgary
Will Host 2011 Global
Clean Energy Congress
&
Exhibition
The Global Clean Energy
Congress & Exhibition
is scheduled for November
1-3, 2011 in Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. The
Congress is the inaugural
event dedicated to
providing a platform for
companies and innovators to
showcase unique, cutting
edge, sustainable
technologies.
10/12/2011
Waste
Bamboo-to-Biochar
Project Receives USDA
Funds
The Pacific Islands Area
(PIA) Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS)
of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture announced the
award of four conservation
grants, one of which will
support the employee-owned
Whispering Winds Bamboo
Cooperative in its efforts
to convert bamboo timber
processing waste to
biochar.
10/11/2011
California's AB
341 Signed, Sets 75%
Recycling Policy Goal by
2020
Among the plethora of bills
signed by Governor Jerry
Brown this past week was
Assembly Bill 341 that sets
a 75% recycling goal for
California by 2020,
developed by recycling
advocacy group Californians
Against Waste and sponsored
by 1st District
Assembly Member Wesley
Chesboro (D – Eureka).
10/11/2011
Virgin
Atlantic and LanzaTech
Partner for Waste
Emissions to Aviation
Biofuel
In a move to reach beyond
its commitment for a 30%
carbon reduction per
passenger kilometer by
2020, Virgin Atlantic
announced its partnership
with New Zealand-based
LanzaTech for development
of an emissions-to-jet fuel
platform.
10/11/2011
Illinois
Research Team Overcomes
Major Barrier in Waste
CO2-to-Fuel
Pathway
Research by University of
Illinois Professor Paul
Kenis's team in
collaboration with retired
professor Richard Masel's
start-up company Dioxide
Materials has resulted in
development of a liquid
catalyst to improve
artificial photosynthesis.
10/10/2011
Biomass
and Biogas Carbon
Calculator for Carbon
Intensity and GHG
Released
Great Britain's Office of
Gas and Electricity Markets
(Ofgem) as released the
Biomass and Biogas Carbon
Calculator, an on-line tool
for determining carbon
intensity (CI) and
greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG) savings developed
along the entire supply
chain when using biomass
and biogas for heating and
electricity.
10/10/2011
Construction
Starts in Sri Lanka on
1,000 Tons per Day MSW
to Energy
Plant
The Malaysian based
company Octagon
Consolidated Berhad held a
ground breaking ceremony at
Karadiyana, Kesbewa,
Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a
US$ 248 million plasma
gasification facility.
10/10/2011
The Week's Action
Items
Due
10/24/2011: Comments to
Proposed Amendments to
California’s
LCFS
The California Air
Resources Board (ARB) held
its third and final Public
Workshop on Friday, October
14, 2011 to discuss
proposed amendments to the
Low Carbon Fuel Standard
(LCFS) regulation.
10/16/2011
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