Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume V, Issue 9, March 2,
2015
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
California's
embodiment of Science and
Common Sense known as the
California Energy Commission
(CEC) has
adopted staff's biennial
update to the state's
Integrated Energy Policy
Report (IEPR) to "...
transform the transportation
system to zero- and
near-zero technologies and
fuels to meet its climate
and clean air goals ..."
Please stand, for a rousing
round of
applause.
This Plan goes
way
beyond
Transportation. By law, the
Update "... assesses the major
energy trends and issues facing
the state’s electricity,
natural gas, and transportation
fuel sectors, and provides
policy recommendations to
conserve resources; protect the
environment; ensure reliable,
secure, and diverse energy
supplies; enhance the state’s
economy; and protect public
health and safety." That's a
mouthful, but guess what? Every
few pages, the IEPR again
points out that converting
waste-sourced feedstock into
energy related commodities is
one of the primary keys to
Recovery - of our resources, of
our environment and of our
economy.
The
integrated
plan sidles up
with the state Air
Resources Board,
explaining repeatedly why
turning waste into liquid
or gaseous fuel charts
out as a very, very "low
carbon" way to run our
world: "Biogas, or
renewable natural gas,
can be derived from a
wide array of urban and
agricultural waste
streams and has extremely
low carbon intensity
values." And the CEC is
putting our money where
their mouth is: of 44
grants to expand the
production of low-carbon
fuels, 35 were for
projects that used
waste-based feedstock.
Staff even fret that
there might not be
enough
of
some kinds of gooey waste
to meet the growing
demand.
Common Sense really comes to
fore in the creativity staff
show in doling out support. Not
content to simply write a check
and stand back, CEC goes so far
as to match truck fleets with
low carbon fuels (good
waste-to-wealth idea, when you
haul garbage for a living), and
draw a bead on Public Private
Partnerships that can use a
grant-boost to become
self-supporting. Law asks the
CEC to “…provide preferences to
those projects that maximize
the goals of the Alternative
and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program..." and the
Commission responds by
developing a set of
Sustainability Factors. At the
top of that list: "Maximize the
use of waste-based feedstock."
When that partnership can
convert its waste to fuel
for its own trucks and
then reap an on-going Low
Carbon Credit payback,
"self-supporting" projects
become a
reality.
Hey Rube!
Yes, the updated IEPR defines a
pathway integrating a great
number of public and private
activities, all aimed at
increasing California's access
to low-carbon energy, including
fuels and other commodities
while lowering environmental
impact. Use of all forms of
urban, forest, and agricultural
waste-sourced feedstock figures
prominently throughout the
253-page tome. The CEC has
tapped industrial specialists,
the federal government, and
almost every state agency
having anything to do with
oversight of optimal resource
utilization.
Almost
every
agency - but try searching the
entire report for even one
reference to the
California Department of
Resources, Recycling and
Recovery humorously
called "CalRecycle".
Nope.
This Week's Extra
Reading
Composting
and biochar production are both
methods to use and recycle
organic wastes. See
The Use of Biochar in
Composting by Marta Camps,
Massey University; and Thayer
Tomlinson, International
Biochar Initiative.
This Week's Top Story
Shanks
Accepts First Waste at BDR
Facility in
Rotherham
Shanks Group plc has accepted
the first waste into its waste
treatment facility in
Rotherham, part of a £750
million contract with Barnsley,
Doncaster and Rotherham (‘BDR’)
Councils.
02/27/2015
The Week's News
CalRecycle
Workshop Scheduled for
2015-16 Organics Project
Financing
California's Department of
Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle) has
circulated an early 'Save the
Date' email notice for a
workshop on March 19, 2015 at
1:30-4:00 to discuss the
proposed criteria for the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction (GHG)
Programs, Fiscal Year
2015–2016.
02/28/2015
Waste2Watergy Lands
STTR Grant to Advance
Microbial Fuel Cell
Technology
Oregon BEST has announced that
startup Waste2Watergy has been
awarded a $224,999 Small
Business Technology Transfer
(STTR) Phase I grant from the
National Science Foundation.
02/27/2015
CEC Adopts
IEPR Report, Grants $11M for
Biomass and Waste to
Biofuels
During its February 25, 2015
business meeting, the
California Energy Commission
(CEC) adopted its 2014
Integrated Energy Policy Report
(IEPR) Update, which, among
many things, outlines how the
state is working to transform
the transportation system to
meet its climate and clean air
goals.
02/27/2015
USDA Expands
Investments in
Next-Generation Bioenergy
Development
US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack
has announced the availability
of up to $8.7 million in
funding for bioenergy research
and education efforts, as well
as publishing the final rule
for a program that provides
incentives for farmers and
forest landowners interested in
growing and harvesting biomass
for renewable energy.
02/27/2015
CalRecycle
Plans Workshop on State of
Recycling and Disposal in
California
The California Department of
Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle) will hold
a public workshop on the State
of Recycling and the State of
Disposal in California on March
17, 2015 from 1:30 to 5:00PM.
02/25/2015
SEaB Energy
Joins Cognicity’s Smart
Cities
Accelerator
United Kingdom company SEaB
Energy, Ltd has been selected
as a finalist for Canary Wharf
Group’s Cognicity Challenge,
which aims to identify and
accelerate the development of
smart city technologies.
02/25/2015
Maverick
Synfuels Launches Oasis™ BG
Gas-to-Liquid Methanol
Plant
North Carolina based Maverick
Synfuels, Inc has announced the
availability of the Maverick
Oasis™ BG Gas-to-Liquid
methanol plant product line
that convert biogas from
sources such as anaerobic
digesters and landfills into
higher value methanol.
02/25/2015
OriginOil
Enters Commercial Phase For
Petro, Algae, and Waste
Applications
California based OriginOil, Inc
has announced that it has
entered the commercial stage
for all three of its
application areas. The oil
& gas water cleanup
division is performing in field
demonstrations, and sales have
begun of both small and large
systems.
02/25/2015
Renergi Is
Awarded $5.2M to Develop
Biofuel Demonstration
Pilot
Australian company Renergi Pty
Ltd has been awarded a grant of
$5.2 million by the Australian
Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)
to design and construct an
innovative pilot scale biofuel
demonstration facility.
02/24/2015
VTT Extracts
Tannins from Waste Bark for
Adhesives and Insulating
Foams
In collaboration with its
partners, the VTT Technical
Research Centre of Finland Ltd
(VTT) has developed tannin
extraction from softwood bark
as part of an ERA-NET project.
02/24/2015
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