Gasoline prices may have decreased recently, but what if you could pay less than $1.00 per gallon for fuel? Never change your oil? Improve your fuel efficiency 3 or 4 fold? Have zero tailpipe emissions? And help make it easier for your utility to integrate renewable electricity into the system? Continue reading »
MINNEAPOLIS – Biobased industry, agriculture, and environmental interests reached agreement this week on legislation that would create production-based incentives for renewable chemicals, advanced biofuels and biomass thermal energy, and the groups are urging the Minnesota legislature to pass the legislation, as amended. Continue reading »
What’s the deal? Environmental and Bioindustry Agreement on Bioeconomy Bill
April 1, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Authors: Amanda Bilek, Brendan Jordan
As has already been reported here and here, a major deal has been struck that brings the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota and the Minnesota Environmental Partnership together in support of an amended version of the Bioeconomy bill in Minnesota. The agreement cleared a path in the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, where it had been stalled. The bill (HF 536/ SF 517) was amended on agreed-upon terms in House and Senate committees – the text of the Senate amendment is here. The text of the agreement is here. Continue reading »
There are exciting biobased industry developments happening all across the U.S., no doubt about it. Biobased industry development is also facing its share of challenges, but significant opportunities can be found at the state and local level. In Minnesota, there are project proposals moving forward in the metropolitan area that would use anaerobic digestion (AD) to process organic material from households and institutions to produce biogas. The biogas would be cleaned and compressed to fuel garbage trucks, buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. These projects will help metropolitan counties reach increased recycling goals and zero waste goals for the city of Minneapolis. Continue reading »
Bioeconomy Bill Advances in MN Legislature
February 24, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Authors: Amanda Bilek, Brendan Jordan
A bill that would establish a set of production incentives for commercial deployment of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biomass heat was heard and passed out of two committees in the Minnesota legislatures on February 18th. HF 536/SF 517 is a legislative proposal supported by the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota, which Great Plains Institute facilities and coordinates. Continue reading »
Data and Tools to Better Evaluate Biogas Potential
February 17, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Amanda BilekBiogas projects come in all shapes and sizes and are implemented across a variety of industrial, municipal and agricultural applications. For a biogas project, there is no “one size fits all”. The variety of biogas feedstock sources and end-use applications sets it apart from other biomass project configurations. Continue reading »
Bioeconomy Bill Introduced in MN Legislature
February 2, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Amanda Bilek
Today in the Minnesota legislature Senator Tom Saxhaug (DFL-Grand Rapids) and Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) introduced a bill creating a production incentive program for commercial development of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biomass thermal energy. The bill is the top legislative priority for the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota, a multi-stakeholder partnership of private industries, agriculture and forestry interests, and non-profit organizations. GPI organizes and facilitates the Coalition. Continue reading »
Developing Pathways for a Sustainable Biomass Supply
January 6, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Authors: Amanda Bilek, Brendan Jordan
The sustainability of biomass supplies for energy and fuel production has been a topic of ongoing discussion for decades. The completion and commissioning of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities in 2014 is giving this discussion a renewed sense of urgency. 2014 was the year that cellulosic ethanol moved from something that was five years away to reality due to the commissioning of commercial-scale facilities. Continue reading »
When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in July expanding cellulosic fuel pathways to include renewable compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) derived from various sources of biogas, a surge of cellulosic fuel credits from biogas was widely anticipated. After two months of reporting, the speculation was correct. August and September saw record volumes of cellulosic Renewable Information Numbers (RINs). These high volumes were not generated from liquid fuels like ethanol or renewable gasoline, but from renewable CNG and LNG. Cellulosic Fuel Production Surges in August, But Not From Ethanol
October 3, 2014 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Amanda Bilek
According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the month of August recorded the highest amounts EVER for cellulosic units of fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). What might surprise many is the units of cellulosic fuel were not from liquid biofuels like cellulosic ethanol or renewable gasoline but from….drumroll please……renewable compressed natural gas (CNG) and renewable liquefied natural gas (LNG) or biogas that has been cleaned and compressed for use as a transportation fuel. Continue reading »
