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Teru Talk News

Teru Talk Newsletter

Volume III, Issue 23, June 10, 2013 
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "TerĂº")  

Teru's Trash Talk

California is again surveying the progress, lack of progress, and overall angst about Bioenergy for the state's in-progress Integrated Energy Policy Report. We've covered issues surrounding biomethane (biogas) and all the rest of Biomass Energy, and encouraged our dear readers to get chatty about their Bio-Opinions with the Energy Commission and Air Resources Board. To follow the Bio-Theme week, now we're asking you to Save the Date and plan to attend a very different sort of get together, the 8th Annual California Bioresiduals Symposium: A Call to Action set for September 18 and 19, 2013 in Sacramento. Different, because it is both important AND cheap.

This year's Symposium looks at rules, regs, and policies impacting what we can and can’t do with leftover biomass. It will focus largely on agricultural, forestry, and wastewater bioresiduals, but touches on municipal waste as well. So what are "bioresiduals" anyway, who controls what, and how could we possibly talk about this stuff for two days? Let's start with definitions: the straw and stover "residuals" left after harvest fall within the oversight of the Department of Food and Agriculture. Vegetation "residual" cleared from our state and private woodlands and forests is the turf of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The regional Water Boards deal with wastewater treatment plants and all the organic residual goo they absorb and convert. Of course, the Feds manage their own leftovers. Then there's CalRecycle, whose logical playing field is Municipal Waste; once the bottles and cans are pulled out, the organics in the goop left on the conveyor belt are also considered bioresidual.

Along comes AB 341's Mandatory Commercial Recycling program being implemented by CalRecycle. Every "commercial" enterprise in the state is covered by this new regulation, which means CalRecycle gets to fuss with all the bioresiduals usually overseen by the other agencies. Every time we collect, sort, clean, treat, and reconstitute (convert to raw materials) the crud discarded by anyone other than a private resident, we are Recycling Commercial Waste. Easy to see that any clean process that converts Commercially-Generated Bioresiduals to raw materials should be considered in compliance with the intent of AB 341. CalRecycle however, doesn't want to give credit for many kinds of waste conversion, quibbling over the How mostly because it doesn't fit their narrow view of "reconstituting."

This department is supposed to be avidly promoting clean recovery of raw materials from the wastes and residuals generated by All commercial sectors. Makes you wonder then why the EPA Region 9 and UC Davis, who are leading development of this Symposium, are finding so little cooperation from CalRecycle, indeed, a refusal to even enter the dialogue.

Hey Rube!

Whether or not the powers that be at CalRecycle let their staff participate in this year's Bioresiduals Symposium, we want to see your name on the registration list and your smilin' face in the audience. These regulations impact You, and what you can do to promote a Circular Economy. The rest of the agencies want to hear from You, whether dairyman/woman, forester, or City Dweller. We are all trying hard to help answer some basic questions: (1) What can we do with the Bioresidual Crud we generate? and (2) What are the available methods we can use to cleanly accomplish that kind of Waste (or Residuals) Conversion?

The Week's Extra Reading

See Teru's comments to the California Assembly Committee that will be holding a Hearing on June 12th on CalRecycle's management of "Recycled and Environmentally Preferred Products"

The Week's News

NOTE: A recent problem has developed with Internet Explorer 9's ability to follow a link directly to its location on a page. If you are using other web browsers, there doesn't seem to be a problem. We are hoping this will clear up in future IE9 updates. Sometimes the magic works. 

 

CARB Posts Draft Alternative Diesel Regulations, Schedules Workshop

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released draft regulatory language for oversight of the sale of alternative diesel fuels in California. 06/09/2013

GE Supplies Waste Heat to Energy Systems for Remote Alaskan Community

General Electric Company (GE) has announced that it will provide its Clean Cycle waste heat to power generator module to the Kotzebue Electric Association (KEA), servicing remote cities in Alaska. 06/09/2013

Cool Planet Energy Secures $29MM for First Commercial Biofuels Facility

Based in Camarillo, California, the biofuels and biochemicals company Cool Planet Energy Systems has announced closure on $29 million as part of a Series D funding round seeking $100 million total. 06/09/2013

California Assembly to Review CalRecycle Management of Recycled Products

The California Assembly's Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review has now posted notice of an informational and oversight hearing scheduled for June 12, 2013 to consider agency management of "Recycled and Environmentally Preferred Products." 06/07/2013

CPUC Commissioner Will Keynote Annual California Bioresiduals Symposium

Commissioner Carla Peterman with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will provide the opening Keynote: "The Future Role of California Bioenergy" for this year's California Bioresiduals Alliance. 06/07/2013

Canada's AgriInnovation Program Supports Bio-Composite Development

The Canada Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food has announced that the Harper Government is supporting development and commercialization of non-food bio-plastics and bio-composites. 06/06/2013

Draft Energy Bill Focuses on Decarbonization of UK Power Industry

The United Kingdom (UK) Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released details of its Energy Bill, now moving through the UK's House of Commons. 06/06/2013

GETH Secures Off-Take Agreement for Crude Oil from Waste Plastic and Tires

Newly headquartered in Oakdale, California, Green Envirotech Holdings LLC (GETH) has announced execution of an agreement with Ebbros Energy Partners, LLC of Overland Park, Kansas, following on an Oil Production Revenue Sharing Agreement between the companies in March. 06/05/2013

World Bioenergy Association Releases Biomass to Biogas Fact Sheet

Based in Sweden with a global presence, the World Bioenergy Association (WBA) has announced the launch of its fifth publication, "Biomass - an Important Renewable Energy Source" as part of a series of verifiable, easily referenced sources of information addressing global biogas usage and potential. 06/05/2013

Suez Environnement and Demeter Invest in COGEBIO for Biomass Gasification

France based Suez Environnement has announced that its venture capital fund "Blue Orange" has partnered with Demeter Partners in an investment into the French company COGEBIO SA. 06/05/2013

Greenleaf Power Finalizes Tracy, California Biomass Plant Acquisition

California based Greenleaf Power, LLC has announced finalization of its acquisition of the 19 megawatt electric (MWe) Tracy Biomass plant in northern California from US Renewables Group, which has owned and operated the plant since 2007. Greenleaf Power acquires, develops, owns, and operates power projects that utilize residual biomass as fuel. 06/05/2013

Ad Astra and Cummins Run Generator on Biogas and Hydrogen in Costa Rica

Texas based Ad Astra Rocket Company has announced that in collaboration with engineers from Cummins Inc., they have successfully run a Cummins-built generator on mixtures of hydrogen and biogas in Costa Rica. 06/05/2013

The Week's Action Items

Due 07/23/2013: Applications to California EISG Small Grant Programs

The California Energy Commission (CEC) Energy Innovation Small Grant (EISG) Program has again released a cycle of funding opportunities for its Electricity Program (13-02), for the Natural Gas Program (13-02G), and for the broader Transportation Program, which itself is broken into an Electricity element (13-03T- Electricity) and a Natural Gas element (13-02T-Natural Gas). 06/05/2013

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Featured Events:
8th Annual
CBA Symposium

Sacramento, California
September
18-19, 2013
SEE YOUR EVENT HERE!
Recommended Reading:

"Waste-to-Energy, Second Edition: Technologies
and Project Implementation" by Marc J Rogoff and Francois Screve

Municipal Solid Waste to Energy Conversion Processes: Economic, Technical, and Renewable Comparisons by Gary C Young

"Municipal Solid Waste to Energy Conversion Processes: Economic, Technical, and Renewable Comparisons" by Gary C Young

 

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Teru Talk is an online publication of JDMT, Inc with the goal of opening the dialogue and providing current news and commentary on issues and successes associated with waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bio-based products for resource recovery.

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The Teru Talk Newsletter is published weekly or more or less frequently, primarily depending on what is going on in the world of waste conversion or ours.