Teru Talk - 2013 Newsletter V-III-11

There's been a noticeable international up-tick in commercial waste conversion interest, company growth, and project development over the past few months. Maybe it’s the weather - coming out from under what has been a brutal winter for many. Maybe it’s the recognition that, hey, there's Money in that Trash. Maybe it’s the global mind-set that somehow we need to quit complaining and get back to work. Regardless the reason, Company Growth means Jobs. But if we think it has been difficult to find the right Widget to turn our specific type of waste goop into gold, it is equally hard to find that latent brain-trust out there that can effectively aid in supporting that growth. Face it: a firm gets their feet on the ground, gets that first few projects initiated, and suddenly finds themselves strapped for Bright Employees with the background and the gumption to Make It Happen.

We worked through the first three Commercial Readiness Levels or CRLs in last week's Trash Talk: (1) Run it till it breaks, fix it and run it till it is stabile; (2) Find somebody Outside that can also say the thing works, and (3) Make sure you have Business Heads that can turn that Waste Conversion Thingie and its Operators into Money. The next three logical steps: (4) Find those Initial Backers smart enough to know a Good Thing when you prove it to them; (5) Get that first Reference Project on the ground and working, and (6) Start attracting Bright People to add to the crew. Those crucial CRLs sometimes tend to all happen at once, and also tend to catch companies off-guard: Yeah! We've got some Money! followed by Yeah! We've got some Projects! and then Oh Crud! We need some People! Companies can stall out for lack of brains.

Here's where the rest of us come in. It's a pretty safe bet to say there's a whole lot of under-utilized talent out there: very smart individuals who for the past half decade have been dog-paddling to stay afloat, along with a bunch of small companies with good tools that need to quick-like find Strategic Partners. Where, O where can we go to keep up with this fast-changing field? How in the world can we match up Need to Service, People to Jobs in this rapidly-expanding Waste Conversion sector? What we need is an Impartial Observer, somebody who can track all these emerging Waste Conversion regulations, policies, opportunities and companies in real-time, a place with all the current contact info and uh … wait a minute: that sounds just like Teru Talk!

Hey Rube!

Right ... you're not out of work: you're a Consultant. So just for fun, pretend you actually DO need to (a) generally increase your income, (b) find a company with cool waste conversion thingies to work with, and/or (c) figure out how to marry up with a complementary team. Our web service works hard to not just Roll the News, but to provide all the stuff you need to Do Business. Here's a daily routine you might consider adopting. Think about what sort of Change is being reported upon in each News item, and conjure up what that Company now needs in response to that change. Imagine sitting down with that firm's Interviewer: what would they ask about you, and what would you answer? How does your own background complement what is now needed? Take notes, do your homework. Then sleep on it. And bright and early the next day, Call Them Up.

The Week's News

The eighth annual California Bioresources Alliance Symposium will be held on September 18-19, 2013 from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.at the Cal/EPA Building, 1001 I Street, Sacramento. 03/17/2013

Aston University in the United Kingdom (UK) has announced that its European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) has won the Best Technological Breakthrough award for its Pyroformer at the national Climate Week Awards held at the UK House of Commons. 03/16/2013

The Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, has announced plans to develop a pilot facility for conversion of the organic residual from anaerobic digestion (AD) into stabile, effective fertilizer. 03/16/2013

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced that the City of Houston has claimed one of four $1 million Mayor's Challenge Innovation awards for the City's proposed single bin waste collection program, and highly-automated materials recovery system designed to recycle 75% of all waste. 03/15/2013

British Columbia bioproducts company Lignol Energy Corporation (LEC) has invested A$1.8 million in the Australian biodiesel and glycerin processing firm Territory Biofuels Limited (TBF). 03/15/2013

The Danish firm Xergi A/S has announced that it will supply a biogas plant with anaerobic digestion and biogas upgrading modules to the French developer Marnay Energie for installation in the small town of Feux near Sancerre in central France. 03/15/2013

California based Codexis, Inc. has announced the availability of its next generation engineered enzyme packages CodeXyme® 4 and CodeXyme® 4X for use in producing cellulosic sugar for production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals. 03/15/2013

New York based Sweetwater Energy, Inc. has announced receipt of the 2013 Sustainable Feedstock Processing award "for the most exciting new feedstock innovation" in this year's World Biofuels Markets competition in the Netherlands. 03/14/2013

The Vancouver based BC Bioenergy Network (BCBN) has announced approval of a loan of $1.5 million to Quadrogen Power Systems, Inc to demonstrate landfill gas clean-up to ultra-clean levels for sustainable energy. 03/14/2013

Finland based Metso Corporation has announced that the biomass plant developer Vaskiluodon Voima Oy has inaugurated what is purported to be the world’s largest biomass gasification plant, based around Metso's gasification technology. 03/14/2013

The United Kingdom based Becon Consortium has announced a public consultation to acquaint the community with its proposed waste management complex in eastern Northern Ireland. The project is being proposed in response to a solicitation released by the arc21 group, the waste management group representing eleven councils. 03/14/2013

California based biofuels and biochemicals company Amyris, Inc. has announced that it has joined the non-profit sugarcane sustainability association Bonsucro with the intent to secure certification of Amyris' products as sustainably produced. 03/13/2013

With a new headquarters, laboratory, and pilot plant established in Pearl River, New York, Anellotech Inc. has announced that it plans to make 100 kilogram quantities of its bio-sourced "green" benzene, toluene, and xylene available to strategic partners for downstream product development. 03/13/2013

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that its Federal Energy Management Program has issued "The Large-Scale Renewable Energy Guide: Developing Renewable Energy Projects Larger than 10 MWs at Federal Facilities." 03/13/2013

Colorado-based ZeaChem has announced that it has successfully produced its first volumes of commercial grade cellulosic biochemicals and ethanol at the company's 250,000 gallon per year biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon. 03/13/2013

Canadian firm Solutions4CO2 Inc. (S4CO2) has announced entering an agreement with Vir-Clar Farm Power, LLC (Vir-Clar) of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to build an Integrated Biogas Refinery™ ("IBR") at the Vir-Clar dairy farm in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 03/11/2013

The Week's Action Items

Due 03/25/2013: Comments to CEC on Proposed RPS Guidebook Changes Update : The presentation from the March 14, 2013 Staff Workshop on Proposed Changes to the Renewables Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook is now available on the CEC's website. The comment period has been extended to March 25, 2013. 03/16/2013

Pacific Power has released a Request for Applications for funding through its Blue Sky renewable energy program to support community-based renewable energy projects within the company's service territory. 03/15/2013

Teru Talk Newsletter

Teru's Trash Talk

Hey Rube!

The Week's News

The Week's Action Items