 |
DOE: Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Investment of ARRA
Grant Funds
CEC's Proposed RPS Guidebook Changes: TRECs
and DG Energy
On-site conversion of biomass and/or waste to renewable
energy is categorically excluded right now from being counted toward the percentage of renewable energy
generated in the state, simply because it is distributed energy, or DG. This may soon change. The
California Energy Commission recently circulated proposed changes to the Overall and Eligibility Guidebooks implementing the Renewable
Portfolio Standard (RPS); see our Teru Talk article of September 9, 2010, exploring Guidebook focus on MSW. Also under
consideration: removing the exclusion of renewable DG from the RPS, and allowance of Tradable
Renewable Energy Credits, or TRECs. Many of the public comments to the CEC's proposed changes (all in, and
now available on the CEC website) focused on these two issues. CEC staff indicate their
own decisions will follow on the final TREC rulemaking of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), yet clear
inter-agency purview and interpretation conflicts have been identified in the public's comments. Look
for the proposed Guidebook changes to come before the CEC for approval at the November 17, 2010 Business Meeting. 09/30/2010
USGS Nitrogen & Phosphorus Contaminant Hot
Spots Report
Fast-growing Bioenergy crops often are also
"hyper-accumulators", capable of extracting many contaminates out of soils and near-surface groundwater.
Thermal conversion of Short Rotation Woody Crops (SRWC) such as willow (Salix spp.), poplar
(Populus spp.), and Empress tree (Paulownia spp.) can clean up the
soil and water while providing feedstock for energy, fuels and other commodities. Called
"phyto-remediation", the technique is one method approved by USDA and EPA for water basins to strategically
mitigate nitrogen pollution from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment
Program (NWQAP) just released a very detailed national assessment for both nitrogen and phosphorus
contaminated "hot spots" that could act as a road map for companies capable
of integrating phytoremediation, biocrop production, and conversion. Click here for the USGS report. 09/30/2010
CARB Votes for 33% Renewables by
2020
The California Air Resources Board voted yesterday to approve the most aggressive Renewable
Electricity Standard (RES) in the nation, now set at obtaining 33% of the state's energy from renewable
sources by 2020. All forms of renewable energy meet the criteria, including renewable energy generated
from waste conversion facilities certified as eligible under CEC RPS eligibility guidelines. The regulation is a coordination of ARB, California Public
Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission and California Independent System Operator, following
Governor’s Renewable Electricity Standard Executive Order, signed on September 15, 2009. The goal of 33
percent renewable electricity was also a major measure in the Scoping Plan, adopted by the Board in December
2008, toward fulfilling AB 32, the requirements of California’s climate change legislation.
The regulation applies to investor
owned utilities (IOUs) and publically owned utilities (POUs) including municipal utilities
and creates a phased approach program for compliance. Click here for more. 09/24/2010
Clean Energy Small Business Act Introduced
Today
Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-05), a Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
introduced the Small Business Clean Energy Financing Act, legislation which will assist small businesses
in the clean energy sector to access financing. The Congresswoman's office explains, "As you are
aware, small businesses in the clean energy sector are experiencing greater difficulty in accessing
financing than those firms servicing more traditional segments of our economy. Due to the larger
degree of uncertainty related to clean energy development, financial institutions are less comfortable
with offering credit for advanced energy investments. This legislation would call greater attention to the gap
in capital accessibility by directing the SBA to establish a clean energy program within the 7(a) loan
program. This legislation would not authorize and/or appropriate additional funding. SBA would
be able to utilize its existing budget authority. The clean energy financing program would only be
available to U.S. clean energy companies." You can read more about the Bill and send your thoughts to Congresswoman Matsui through
her website here, and read the proposed Bill language here. 09/23/2010
New International Energy Agency report: "Ending Energy
Poverty"
Conversion Technologies can reduce global energy poverty and improve human health by providing clean electricity, heat and cooling alternatives; part of our global challenge is knowing where the need is most urgent. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just launched a new report in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO): “Ending Energy Poverty: How to make modern energy access universal”, a special excerpt of IEA World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2010. The report was presented on the sidelines of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit in New York. An early excerpt available at: http://www.iea.org/index.asp; the full report will be published in November of this year. 09/21/2010
UK's RFA Hosts EU for Public Discussion of "Indirect Land Use
Change"
When we consider "sustainable" certification for development of energy, fuels and
co-products from waste, we get into all other issues related to sustainability. One of those topics,
"Indirect Land Use Change" or iLUC, "indirectly" shines a brighter light on waste
conversion, because the only land use change THIS causes is less land disposal. The United Kingdom's
Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) will host the European Commission’s Ignacio Vazquez, to provide stakeholders with insight
into the view from Brussels regarding iLUC associated with production of sustainable biofuels.
Speakers including the RFA’s chairman Prof Ed Gallagher, and the UK Department of Transport (DfT)
Director of Environment & International Affairs Graham Pendlebury. Shell’s biofuels agronomy manager,
Alex Nevill and Chris Malins of the ICCT have also agreed to speak at the event while consultants from
Ecofys will present on their work on iLUC mitigation. The free event will take place on Thursday, 23
September at the Institute of Education at the University of London. If you are in London this week,
attend, and report back to us! To see more details, click here. 09/20/2010
ZERO EMISSION CARBON REFINERY Working Group on LinkedIn
Edward Someus has started a LinkedIn discussion group to consider the broad topic of
building no-emissions conversion facilities; the participation is growing rapidly and seems a solid venue
for detailed and open considerations. Folks need to be signed into LinkedIn (free) to participate; click
the Group Directory here and select Zero Emissions Carbon Refinery. 09/20/2010
Small Business Contracting Support Should Help Conversion Tech
Start-ups
President Obama's Interagency Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses put forward thirteen recommendations to: (1) Develop clearer and more comprehensive small business contracting policies; (2) Provide for a better workforce and hold agencies accountable for meeting small business goals; and (3) Leverage technology to enhance transparency, increase federal procurement accessibility for small businesses, and improve data quality. Read the Executive Summary here. 09/16/2010
Free Brookings Institute "Center for American Progress" Event, Washington DC The Brookings Institute's Center for American Progress, with the Council on Competitiveness and the National Association of Development Organizations is presenting a free admission, limited audience gathering state and local policymakers, members of the Obama administration, and leaders from the business, academic, and philanthropic sectors for a conversation about the significance of regional innovation clusters to the future of the American economy. The event is scheduled for September 23, 2010 in Washington DC. For more information, click here. 09/16/2010
Pyrolysis and BioOil Research at PNNL Gets a $3.1MM Boost The Energy Department is awarding up to $3.1 million to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at Richland for biofuel research, working with UOP and Abermarle. Doug Elliott, who coordinates the Pyrolysis Network (PyNe) for the International Energy Agency's Task 34: Pyrolysis, indicates that there will be a formal PNNL press release regarding the DOE funding of this parallel Pyrolysis to biofuels effort in the near future. Watch here for more. 09/15/2010
New US Patents for ThalesNano H-Cube Continuous Flow Hydrogenation Method
When making biofuels, or
for that matter, any number of foundation chemicals from our wastes and bi-products, the ability to
effectively "hydrogenate", or add hydrogen to molecular structures, often becomes a costly, critical step.
ThalesNano just announced USPTO approval of a series of patents for their
well-tested H-Cube continuous flow hydrogenation system, which they say "enables safe, fast and
cost-efficient hydrogenation with superior yields when compared to conventional methods." In April, the
company just shipped their 500th bench-top H-Cube unit to a Chinese research facility.
09/14/2010
ISU Research Breakthrough: Biomass + High Temp and Pressure = $$ Iowa State University researchers have found how to use high temperature and pressure on biomass to produce high-value chemicals such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, without the use of strong acids, enzymes, catalysts or hydrogen gas. New patents have just been applied for. For more, click here. 09/10/2010
| ||
|
Tip: Use your browser's "Find" or "Find on Page" to drill down.
|
|
 |
|
|
Founding Sponsor: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recommended Reading: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| Sponsored Links: | |
|
|
|
| © Copyright 2010-2023 Teru Talk by JDMT, Inc. All rights reserved. |