Announced Wood Bioenergy Projects Overstate Wood Use for Energy in the US; New Products Track Emerging Bioenergy Markets

/PRNewswire/ -- Analysis of public data by Forisk Consulting indicates a 67% success rate for announced wood-using bioenergy projects in the continental US. Projects with the highest probability of success share two requirements. One, they employ currently viable and scalable technology. Two, they demonstrate verifiable progress in planning and executing bioenergy project development. As of July 29, 2010, Forisk screened 363 announced and operating wood-consuming bioenergy projects. These projects represent potential, incremental wood use of 121 million green tons per year by 2020. Based on Forisk's screening methodology, projects representing only 68.4 million green tons per year pass basic viability screening.

"Why is this important? Because assessments of emerging wood bioenergy markets in the US that assume all projects succeed overstate likely wood use for energy by nearly 77%," says Brooks Mendell, President of Forisk. Clearly, tracking and screening bioenergy projects challenge those interested in renewable energy investments, economic development, and timberland markets. Wood Bioenergy US and Wood Bioenergy shapefiles for GIS mapping applications, two new subscription products from Forisk, solve this challenge.

"In Wood Bioenergy US, we continuously confirm, in a systematic way, that each project is moving forward and getting closer to being operational," says Amanda Lang, Managing Editor. The current issue indicates that bioenergy projects in the South comprise the largest volume of potential wood use of the three US regions, but the lowest pass rate through Forisk's screening. Southern projects representing 24 million tons - a 40% pass rate based on volume - appear viable based on current analysis. Alternately, the US North - which includes Appalachia, the Lake States and the Northeast - has the largest number, with 153 projects announced.

Wood Bioenergy US is published ten times per year. For more information, visit www.foriskstore.com and click on "Bioenergy." A monthly, complimentary Wood Bioenergy US summary is available by signing up for the Forisk News at www.forisk.com.

-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Southern Company Awarded $165 Million to Advance Smart Grid Initiatives

/PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company yesterday announced that it has been awarded a $165 million in stimulus funds as part of President Obama's plan to invest $3.4 billion to spur transition to a smarter energy grid.

"As an industry leader in developing and deploying new technologies, Southern Company is pleased to be among those selected to advance this critical investment in our nation's electric infrastructure," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David Ratcliffe. "These funds will be used to augment the company's robust investment in grid reliability, already among the nation's best, and make it more efficient and secure."

Southern Company received the grant to integrate smart-grid technology into its transmission and distribution system that can:

-- Reduce the loss of electricity as it moves from the generating plant
to homes and businesses; reducing delivery losses can have a direct
environmental and economic impact by increasing efficiency and
reducing carbon emissions
-- Better locate the area of an outage before dispatching crews, reducing
outage time for customers
-- Improve monitoring and control capabilities of the system while
enhancing proven grid reliability

For example, line devices with two-way communication will be installed to enable system operators to isolate faulted lines remotely. Moreover, some of these devices will be placed in self-healing network schemes that will automatically isolate trouble areas and then restore power to unaffected portions of the circuit, all without operator intervention.

The company will match the $165 million in funding as part of an initiative across Southern Company's service territory that spans the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.

The grant awarded to Southern Company was among the top 10 made by the administration.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Southern Company to Deploy Clean Coal Technology in China

/PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company today announced that China will be the site for the first worldwide commercial implementation of the Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG(TM)) technology for producing low-emission coal-based electricity.

TRIG is an advanced integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology that produces electricity with lower emissions than traditional coal power plants. It also is compatible with lower rank coals that are abundant in China.

The technology was developed by Southern Company, KBR Inc., and other partners, including the U.S. Department of Energy, at the DOE's research facility in Wilsonville, Ala., that is managed and operated by Southern Company.

Under the terms of their technology licensing arrangements with KBR Inc., the companies will provide Beijing Guoneng Yinghui Clean Energy Engineering Co., Ltd. with licensing, engineering services and proprietary equipment for the implementation of TRIG technology at a power plant operated by Dongguan Tianming Electric Power Co., Ltd. (Dongguan TMEP) in Guandong Province, Peoples Republic of China.

At the Dongguan TMEP facility, TRIG technology will be added to an existing gas turbine combined cycle plant so that it can use clean synthetic gas from coal as its fuel for generating electricity, rather than fuel oil.

"China's rapid growth vividly demonstrates the global need for advanced technologies to ensure reliable, affordable and cleaner supplies of energy," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David Ratcliffe. "This plant will demonstrate that TRIG offers an effective technological solution to these challenges."

The 120-megawatt Dongguan TMEP plant, expected to begin operation in 2011, would demonstrate an example of advanced U.S. IGCC technology that is being developed in partnership between the DOE and industry. This IGCC technology is compatible with carbon capture, and its deployment in China is an important step toward positioning IGCC for future integration with carbon capture technology.

Ratcliffe also noted that Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power currently is seeking regulatory approval to build a 582-megawatt plant using TRIG technology in Kemper County, Miss. That plant would include 65 percent carbon capture and sequestration.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

UGA licenses technology to make fuel from dead forests and agricultural waste

An innovative process for turning waste biomass—such as dead trees, agricultural waste and lumber byproducts—into a liquid fuel to power conventional engines has been licensed by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. to Tolero Energy, LLC, a private biofuels company based in Sacramento, Calif. The technology represents a leap forward for the biofuels industry: the ultra-low-sulfur biofuel does not require additional refinement or processing before blending with biodiesel and petroleum diesel.

The exclusive license provides Tolero Energy global rights to the technology, including the right to grant sublicenses.

Tolero CEO Chris Churchill said the company will focus on the transportation fuels market as it completes development of the UGARF bio-oil technology. He expects to make product based on the technology available in the first half of 2010.

Lead inventor of the technology is Tom Adams, a retired member of the University of Georgia Faculty of Engineering. Co-inventors are John Goodrum, Manuel Garcia-Perez, Dan Geller and Joshua Pendergrass—all presently or previously associated with the UGA Faculty of Engineering.

“Fuel produced through this efficient technology, which uses dead biomass as the starting material, holds the promise of being highly economical, carbon-negative and environmentally acceptable,” said Adams, now an engineering consultant.

Tolero will use this low-cost, on-site process to turn non-food, waste biomass into sustainable and renewable forms of energy and industrial products. The biomass is heated at carefully controlled high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, a process known as fast pyrolysis. The vapors produced during pyrolysis rapidly condense into a bio-oil that can be added to biodiesel or petroleum diesel. Other pyrolysis by-products are gas and bio-char, which can be used as a soil amendment.

Dead trees are one of the major sources of waste biomass for Tolero, said Churchill. He explained, “Infestations of the mountain pine beetle have devastated forests in the western United States and Canada, killing over 40 million acres of pine trees. As the trees decompose and decay, they release millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, and the devastation has created a significant and dangerous fire hazard in the western forests.

“Harvesting dead trees and forest residue and converting them to renewable fuel and soil amendment products will help reduce the CO2 released into the atmosphere and reduce the fire danger. The recent fire in the Los Angeles foothills, which was fueled by years of highly flammable dead biomass build-up, is a prime example of a situation where this technology can be put to use. Tolero has the capability to establish pyrolysis facilities to process the dead underbrush and convert it to a renewable fuel that is easy to transport,” Churchill said.

Tolero also will convert other types of cellulosic biomass, such as agricultural waste and waste wood pallets, into renewable transportation fuels, heating fuels, soil amendments and industrial products.

“We are glad that our new business partner, Tolero, will be using biomass waste as starting material for the production of biodiesel,” said Gennaro Gama, senior technology manager at UGARF charged with the management of UGA’s bioenergy technologies. “Not only is this approach socially responsible, since it does not employ food crops as the source of biofuels, it also is ecologically sound, as it will open areas to reforestation and at the same time lead to the production of cost-efficient, sulfur-free fuels,” he said.

“This commercialization approach perfectly reflects the social and ecological concerns of UGA’s bioenergy researchers and the research partnership formed with Tolero,” Gama concluded.

UGARF performs the technology transfer function for the University of Georgia, taking assignment of patents and licensing such patents to the private sector in return for royalty income to support the research mission of the university. To learn more about technology commercialization at the University of Georgia, see http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/tco/industry/.

Tolero Energy LLC focuses on renewable transportation fuel from waste biomass. More information is available at www.toleroenergy.com.


-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia

Southern Company Announces New Partner at National Carbon Capture Center

/PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company, the manager and operator of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Carbon Capture Center, announced today that the technology research center has added another partner, NRG Energy, Inc.

Princeton, N.J.-based NRG joins DOE and a group of leading energy companies that are working to develop and test advanced technologies to capture carbon dioxide from coal-based power plants.

The National Carbon Capture Center, located in Wilsonville, Ala., was established earlier this year to work with scientists and technology developers from government, industry and universities who are creating the next generation of enhanced carbon capture technologies.

The center will conduct testing and analyses in a power plant setting, at a size large enough to provide meaningful performance data under real operating conditions to enable scale-up of the technologies.

Other current partners include American Electric Power, Luminant, Arch Coal, Peabody Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The center expects to add more partners as its work progresses.

"We welcome NRG to the growing partnership at the National Carbon Capture Center," said David Ratcliffe, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. "Carbon capture is an important component of the diverse portfolio of technologies our nation must pursue to meet our energy and environmental challenges. NRG's involvement strengthens our effort to develop and deploy these critical solutions."

The National Carbon Capture Center, scheduled to be fully operational in 2010, is expected to be a focal point of national efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through technological innovation.

"As we look to further decarbonize our fleet and push to develop and deploy these advanced technologies on a larger scale, initiatives like the National Carbon Capture Center will bring us closer to meeting the challenges of global climate change and transitioning to an environmentally sustainable energy future," said NRG President and CEO David Crane.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

U.S. energy legislation forward thinking, limiting

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 charges the U.S. to add 36 billion gallons of biofuels to the country’s transportation fuel mix by 2022. Continued investment in research, development and deployment are required to achieve this goal.

Recent scientific studies warn that increasing land use for producing biomass for biofuels would increase greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions compared to gasoline. Some may disagree with these studies. However, they do show the weakness in expanding a crop-based fuel system without planning for sustainability.

If we continue to try to produce more biomass from the current spectrum of crop choices, GHG emission restrictions could put small biofuel producers and family farms at a disadvantage. Reduced emissions require crops that are easier to grow; require less money to plant, harvest and water; and are easier to process.

Needed production improvements

Corn ethanol production in the U.S. consumes a quarter of the country’s corn crop. Increasing ethanol production to the targeted 15 billion gallons a year by 2022 will double the corn required. That increase will impact land and water needs and create environmental concerns.
We need to improve the productivity of corn and other biofuels crops and incorporate improvements into the production process.

Producing lignocellulosic ethanol or other advanced biofuels, or green diesel, is a challenge. Technology development in this field has advanced, but most U.S. facilities are still in the early-demonstration phase.

Using existing forestry and agriculture residues for biofuels would have minimal environmental impact while creating opportunity for small businesses and farms.

Forestry and agriculture generate significant biomass. According to the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, forestlands can produce 368 million dry tons of biomass annually. Current legislative definitions make renewable forest biomass off-limits to biofuels companies. Definitions must be changed, while maintaining the resources' sustainability.

Data from the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources suggests collecting residues and producing chips for biofuel production costs $11 to $12 per ton delivered to mills.

Food v. fuel

It’s crucial that we have a diverse source of biomass that doesn’t compete with food supplies. Diversity allows different geographical regions to focus on crops best suited to local conditions. Current federal funding often favors specific feedstocks, hampering development and transfer technology for novel crops.

Many novel crops are being explored. For example, a recent UGA study looked at using a multi-benefit winter cover crop, oil seed radish, for its biofuels potential. UGA scientists led a global team in sequencing the sorghum genome and are now working toward understanding how we can use the information to produce biofuels at lower costs in poor soils.

Targets eliminate possibilities

Targeted GHG reductions can unintentionally eliminate some promising technologies that are lagging behind because of late starts, such as algae-based biofuels.

Anaerobic digestion, a well-developed technology, is not considered because the energy output (methane gas) isn’t a liquid transportation fuel at room temperature. A similar process called landfill bioreactor produces methane biogas which can be converted to compressed natural gas. Its GHG emissions are 17 percent less than its fossil-based equivalent.

Anaerobic digestion can create jobs and produce net income to farms and small biofuels producers. UGA researchers are developing a system that combines anaerobic digestion with algae production.

Current regulatory policies don’t readily support developing such integrated solutions in early development. More pilot-scale testing could help move them to the marketplace faster. Federal agencies seem focused on large-scale demonstrations before pilot-scale research is completed.

Welcomed policy change

Carbon sequestration is a welcomed change in national policy. Current regulatory emphasis favors carbon capture and storage through geological storage of compressed CO2. Although potentially a reliable technique, this approach favors larger-scale sequestration.

One example of a smaller-scale method is using biochar, a byproduct of pyrolysis, a high-temperature breakdown of cellulosic materials that produces a liquid hydrocarbon, which could be converted to green diesel or other liquid fuels.

Biochar has high carbon content and stays in the soil for decades, increasing agricultural productivity and sequestering carbon for a long time. However, the regulatory framework doesn’t favor developing this technology.

There is great promise for biofuels to augment our energy supply. New ideas, technologies and discoveries are emerging from universities and research centers daily. Development and use of these discoveries could be faster if regulatory framework would support deeper exploration into novel crops that don’t pit fuel against food.

Encourage innovation

We need policies to encourage processes and technologies that create jobs and income for farms and small businesses. We need support that allows us to investigate diverse feedstocks and low-cost, efficient production methods that protect and enhance the environment.

If we are to reach 36 billion gallons of biofuels in our transportation fuel mix by 2022 while reducing GHG emissions, all avenues of exploration must be open and barriers to development removed.

By K.C. Das
University of Georgia

K.C. Das is director of the Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Engineering. This editorial was presented as testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business’ subcommittee on regulations and healthcare.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

What They Are Saying About Clean Coal Technology

/PRNewswire/ -- In the lead up to a House floor vote on H.R. 2454 -- The American Energy and Security Act of 2009 -- much has been said about the importance of clean coal technology in an overall energy policy. Following is a sampling of those comments:

David G. Hawkins (Director of Climate Programs, NRDC): "Whatever the ideal vision of the future, coal will be there for decades at least." L.A. Times, June 21, 2009

President Obama: "I am a big proponent of clean-coal technology and I want us to move rapidly in developing those sequestration technologies that are required." Flathead Beacon, May 30, 2008

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Mississippi): "We're leaders in clean coal technology. Mississippi power company, a subsidiary of southern company, has permitted right now an IGCC, that is a coal gasification plant where they would take Mississippi coal, turn it into gas, burn the gas, but then they would capture the carbon. And sequester by putting it in the ground not just to store it, but to use it to recover oil. Something we're already doing." CNBC, June 11, 2009

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana): "Coal is probably used more around the world than even oil and gas for the production of electricity ... So the strategy is to clean coal and to expand clean natural gas drilling ... and then promote alternative fuels." C-SPAN, June 10, 2009

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Virginia): "If carbon controls take effect before the capture and storage technologies are available, there could be a rapid switch from coal to other fuels that would be unbearable for our economy.

"To avoid these problems, we must protect the ability of electric utilities to continue coal use. In a very real sense, therefore, the technologies we will discuss today will be the enablers of a successful climate change program for the nation." Stated in the Congressional Record, March 6, 2007

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on FutureGen: "This important step shows the administration's commitment to investing in carbon capture and sequestration technology as part of a comprehensive plan to create green jobs in the US while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Not only does this research have the potential to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions in the US, but it also could eventually result in lower emissions around the world." Platts, June 12, 2009

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Peabody Energy Becomes Founding Member of U.S. Department of Energy's National Carbon Capture Center

/PRNewswire / -- Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) today became a founding member of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Carbon Capture Center. The center is a public-private partnership to advance the next generation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. The effort will be based at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) south of Birmingham, Ala., the nation's premier carbon research and development laboratory. Peabody has been a funding partner of the PSDF since 1997.

The National Carbon Capture Center will bring together scientists and technology experts from government, industry and academia to analyze both pre-combustion and post-combustion carbon capture technologies in a coal-fueled power plant setting. Once fully operational in 2010, the center will play a leading role in the global effort to advance cost-efficient, large-scale carbon capture and storage operations at coal-fueled power plants.

"Coal continues to be the fastest-growing fuel in the world, and carbon capture and storage will be essential to meet any carbon dioxide emissions goals in a cost-effective manner," said Peabody Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H. Boyce. "Peabody is the global leader in clean coal solutions, with signature projects in Asia, Australia and North America, and we are proud to also support the National Carbon Capture Center."

Post-combustion research will be conducted at Plant Gaston, a coal-fueled generating plant adjacent to the PSDF that is operated by Southern Company subsidiary Alabama Power. This power plant will be large enough to provide meaningful performance data under realistic operating conditions, accelerating the commercialization of CCS technologies.

Existing facilities at the PSDF will also be modified to conduct the testing of pre-combustion carbon dioxide capture technologies.

As a global leader in clean coal technologies, Peabody Energy is advancing signature projects to commercialize low-carbon and near-zero emission technologies around the world. The company is:

-- The only non-Chinese equity partner in GreenGen, China's centerpiece
climate initiative;
-- A founding member in the COAL21 Fund and the Global Carbon Capture and
Storage Institute in Australia, two major initiatives channeling
public and private investment into low-emissions power projects;
-- A founding member of the FutureGen Alliance in the United States, an
initiative to build a power plant prototype that would capture carbon
dioxide emissions;
-- A $5 million grantor to Washington University in St. Louis to help
establish the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization, an international
partnership of universities, industry leaders and foundations to
advance carbon solutions;
-- A founding member of the Western Kentucky Carbon Storage Foundation,
which is already testing geologic carbon dioxide storage options; and
-- An equity partner in GreatPoint Energy, a Massachusetts-based company
that converts coal into clean substitute natural gas while enabling
carbon storage.

In addition to the DOE, Peabody and Southern Company, partners include American Electric Power, Luminant, Arch Coal and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), among others. The partnership will continue to seek new members as research progresses.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia

Georgia Tech Powers Southeast's First Solar Cell Manufacturer

Using technology developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Suniva Inc. has become the first solar cell manufacturer in the Southeast. The company is making high-efficiency crystalline-silicon photovoltaic cells around the clock at a 73,000-square-foot facility in Norcross, north of Atlanta.

Moreover, Suniva expects to expand quickly. Using technology based on the research of Georgia Tech Regents’ Professor Ajeet Rohatgi, the company is presently manufacturing its ARTisun solar cells at a rate of 32 megawatts (MW) annually. Since an average U.S. home requires about 5 kilowatts of power, Suniva’s present annual output can furnish enough solar cells to supply about 6,300 homes, Rohatgi says.

Suniva plans to ramp up to an annual solar-cell output of nearly 100 MW – enough to power about 19,000 U.S. homes. The company currently employs about 70 people and expects to add more staff as it grows.

Suniva uses a patented technology it calls Star to extract maximum performance from wafers of monocrystalline silicon, a material often used for solar power generation.

A solar cell contains several layers, and every layer plays a role in the cell’s overall efficiency. Rohatgi has studied solar cells in depth for some 30 years, learning how to optimize each layer to get maximum output – at the least cost.

“We want to be right at the sweet spot,” said Rohatgi, who is both Suniva’s founder and chief technology officer. “We want cells that are highly efficient but low in cost, and that can generate power at a cost comparable to the power you buy from the electric company.”

Rohatgi’s solar-cell research has received significant funding over many years from the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Suniva is a shining example of how government support for research can lead to very real job creation,” said Robert Knotts, director of federal relations for Georgia Tech. “It’s a strong reminder of why we should invest in research.”

Suniva’s current solar-cell output falls in the 17- to 18-percent efficiency range, which Rohatgi classifies as high, especially in a lower-cost cell. But the company is continuing to improve its technology, and recently the National Renewable Energy Laboratory certified a new Suniva cell and cell structure at 20 percent efficiency, generally considered very high.

Suniva is a graduate of VentureLab, a Georgia Tech program supported by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) to foster young companies based on commercially promising research. In early 2008, Suniva joined the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Georgia Tech’s science and technology incubator.

Georgia Tech’s VentureLab is part of Commercialization Services, a unit of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. Commercialization Services’ work involves identifying, evaluating and promoting Georgia Tech research discoveries that show commercial promise.

To date, Suniva has received total funding of $55.5 million from several venture capital organizations, including Menlo Park, Calif.-based New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Even more significant, Suniva now has contracts worth more than $1 billion through 2013, with more agreements expected.

Rohatgi, who runs the University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education in Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, admits he was hesitant when VentureLab and NEA began encouraging him in 2006 to start a solar-cell company. He told them it would be better to wait until he’d achieved even higher efficiencies in a low-cost cell.

“The VentureLab people were very helpful to me as I thought through the pros and cons of starting a company,” Rohatgi said. “I wanted to wait for 20 percent efficiency, but VentureLab and NEA executives convinced me that we already possessed a unique balance of efficiency and cost.”

Rohatgi said Suniva gained another advantage early on—a first-class management team.

“With the help of NEA and VentureLab, Suniva has assembled a great management team with enormous experience in running technology manufacturing companies,” he said. “I have to admit that being able to put together such a well-established team played a big role in my decision to start the company in August 2007.”

Suniva’s chairman and CEO, John W. Baumstark, is a technology-industry veteran with wide experience that includes serving as CEO of DWL before its acquisition by IBM and as chief operating officer of TRADEX Technologies before and during its acquisition by Ariba Inc. for $5.6 billion in 2000.

The company’s vice president of manufacturing, Stephen P. Shea, ran BP Solar’s manufacturing line for many years. Daniel L. Meier, vice president of research and development, has worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and has run R&D for two other companies.

Other top Suniva management includes CFO James M. Modak and vice president of marketing and sales J. Bryan Ashley.

According to Baumstark, Suniva’s expansion plans have not been hampered by global credit problems.

“We've been fortunate,” Baumstark said recently. “We've picked partners well and have not had to cut back. Having versatility and orders already in place has been very good for us.”

In August, Suniva announced it had solar cell orders from Solon AG of Germany for $500 million through 2012, and some $480 million in orders through 2013 from India’s Titan Energy.

Baumstark added that Suniva executives are currently negotiating with several other companies about additional deals.

"In the next two to three years, we expect the quality-price balance of our product will put us at grid parity at a dollar per watt,” Baumstark said, meaning that power from Suniva cells would cost about as much as buying power from the electric company.

Rohatgi said he will continue to work to make Suniva an important contributor to Georgia’s manufacturing base.

“It’s a very nice feeling to bring in new technology to Atlanta and to Georgia,” he said. “Suniva is the first solar-cell manufacturing company in the Southeast, and we want very much for it to be a complete success.”

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

GT: Reducing CO2 Emissions Through Smart Growth and Technology

A Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning study on climate change, published February 10, 2009 online by Environmental Science and Technology, shows that “smart growth” combined with the use of hybrid vehicle technology could reduce cities’ carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – the principal driver of global warming – significantly by 2050.

According to Brian Stone, associate professor of City and Regional Planning, the research shows that expected levels of CO2 emissions from cars and trucks in 2050 could be reduced back to 2000 levels if the full vehicle fleet was converted to hybrid electric vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius or the soon-to-be released Chevy Volt. This research also found that a doubling of population density in large U.S. cities by 2050 would have a greater impact on CO2 reductions than full hybridization of the vehicle fleet.

Stone’s study looked at 11 major metropolitan regions of the Midwestern U.S. over a 50-year period and took into account three different scenarios: the use of hybrid vehicles and two different urban growth scenarios through which population density was increased over time, a central component of smart growth planning.

“In this study we looked at two general approaches on how to deal with the challenge of climate change,” said Stone. “One approach is to improve vehicle technology and become more efficient. We can use less gas and reduce tailpipe emissions of CO2. The second approach is to change behavior by changing the way we design cities. We can travel less and take more walking and transit trips.”

Stone says he believes it would be possible for virtually all cars on the roads by 2050 to be hybrid electric vehicles, assuming the costs of these vehicles become more competitive with conventional engine technologies. Today’s hybrid electric vehicles can achieve 40 miles to the gallon and higher.

However, even the full hybridization of the national vehicle fleet by 2050 would not meet the CO2 targets identified though the Kyoto Protocol, an international climate change agreement which the United States has signed but not yet ratified. To meet these global targets, CO2 emissions from all sectors on the U.S. would need to return to 1990 levels or lower. According to Stone’s work, meeting this goal in the transportation sector would require a combination of technological improvements and higher density land use patterns in cities.

“If we can help cities to grow in more compact ways, what we call smart growth, it will help reduce emissions even further by allowing people to travel less often, travel shorter distances when they do travel and take advantage of public transit,” said Stone.

The eleven metropolitan regions that were studied include Madison, Wisconsin, Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Ohio, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan and Dayton, OH. In addition to Stone, Dr. Tracey Holloway, Scot Spak, and Adam Mednick also authored the study.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

SEEA Launches Energy Efficiency Competition for Cities in the Southeast

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) today released a Request for Proposals (RFP) from cities and counties in the Southeast to compete for up to $500,000 to create and implement a community energy alliance. The program design is largely based on efforts underway in Cambridge, Mass., Cincinnati, Ohio, New York, N.Y. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This competition is open to cities and counties in SEEA's 11-state region of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The RFP is available for download at www.seealliance.org.

"We are creating a five- to seven-year campaign to achieve unprecedented gas, electricity and water savings by retrofitting homes and other buildings and installing efficient and renewable technologies in homes, businesses, schools and industry," said Ben Taube, SEEA executive director. "When implemented, the program will work toward the goal of saving participants in the winning city 20-40 percent on energy and water bills."

Due on May 15, 2009, proposals will be reviewed by an advisory panel of national experts using criteria such as: the depth of community involvement and support; comprehensiveness of the plan, including program design, milestones, and demonstrated understanding of the community's market and energy characteristics; reasonableness of project objectives; and innovation in program design, marketing strategy, technology focus, and financing options. The winning city will be announced on June 20, 2009.

"This program will have a special impact, setting in motion the replication of a national model that has already been recognized for its unique design and potential of making it easy for consumers to save money and energy," continued Taube. "The winning city will make possible unprecedented levels of energy efficiency, create jobs and significantly reduce its carbon footprint."

Additionally, cities applying for the SEEA award will be able to transfer their energy efficiency program initiatives to other funding opportunities such as the economic stimulus packages currently before Congress which include a variety of energy incentive programs such as loan guarantees for energy performance contracts, funding for state government building retrofits, and energy efficiency block grants to cities and counties.

"We are helping to give cities in the Southeast an advantage over those in other regions," said Ben Taube, Executive Director for SEEA. "When Congress passes the stimulus package, cities can expect billions of dollars to help their residents reduce their energy use. This competition gives cities a program plan to efficiently, quickly and fairly allocate those funds."

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

USDA Approves First Ever Guaranteed Loan for Commercial-Scale Cellulose Ethanol Plant

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced last week that USDA Rural Development has approved the first ever loan guarantee to a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. The $80 million loan to Range Fuels Inc., Soperton, Ga., comes from the Section 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill.

"The investment in this facility - which will make cellulosic ethanol from wood chips - has the potential to significantly advance the timetable for second generation ethanol production in this country," Schafer said. "I visited the pilot plant last October and was excited to see how well the technology works. The funding announced today helps the Bush administration fulfill its commitment to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil by developing alternative, renewable energy sources. USDA is proud to work with the private sector to lead this important breakthrough in renewable energy production."

The Biorefinery Assistance Program promotes the development of new and emerging technologies for the production of advanced biofuels - defined as fuels that are not produced from food sources. The program provides loan guarantees to develop, construct and retrofit viable commercial-scale biorefineries producing advanced biofuels. The maximum loan guarantee is $250 million per project. The program is designed to create energy-related jobs and economic development in rural America. The loan to Range Fuels is approved subject to conditions.

The project is expected to produce an estimated 63 jobs. When fully operational in 2010, the plant is expected to produce approximately 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year.

USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development has invested more than $111 billion since 2001 for equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. More than 2 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

GridWise Alliance Releases Smart Grid Jobs Report: 280,000 New U.S. Jobs Tied Directly to Smart Grid Deployment

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a Smart Grid Jobs Report released today by the GridWise Alliance, it is estimated that up to 280,000 new jobs can be created directly from the deployment of smart grid technologies. The report explains that Federal investment in a smart grid could act as a catalyst for these planned and immediate direct jobs as well as spawn many indirect jobs.

The Smart Grid Jobs Report was written by GridWise member company, KEMA, Inc. In addition to the 280,000 direct jobs, the report notes that a smart grid will drive a substantial number of indirect jobs as it enables the deployment of new technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, distributed renewable energy resources such as solar, smart appliances, home automation software and hardware, and wind energy generation. The report does not quantify the number of these indirect jobs. To view the full report visit www.gridwise.org.

"Increasingly a smart grid is seen as a key enabler for the new energy economy and as such, is foundational for the millions of 'green collar jobs' President-Elect Obama is aiming for," says Guido Bartels, Chairman of the GridWise Alliance and General Manager Global Energy & Utilities Industry at IBM.

The report projects that a $16 billion Federal investment in smart incentives over the next four years would drive $64 billion in smart grid related projects resulting in approximately 280,000 new direct positions across various categories. "Over 150,000 of these jobs would be created by the end of 2009 and nearly 140,000 newly created high-value positions would become permanent after a smart grid deployment," explained Ralph Masiello, Sr. VP, Energy Systems Consulting, KEMA, Inc.

"We know first-hand that a smart grid allows our electric infrastructure to be more reliable, resilient, and secure. There is also a growing consensus that a smart grid is one of the critical and necessary enablers for optimizing renewable resources, maximizing energy efficiency, and unleashing the potential of distributed energy storage technologies," said Katherine Hamilton, President of the GridWise Alliance.

President-Elect Obama and key Senate and House leaders have frequently mentioned a smart grid as an economic and infrastructure booster. The GridWise Alliance, with 70 members from all across the energy value chain, believes that a smart grid is essential to achieving goals for integrating energy from renewable resources and energy efficiency technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

"A smart grid will enable a transformed electric supply sector and related job creation; incentivize a strong domestic market for U.S. smart grid technology firms; and create high value permanent positions in the energy economy," concludes Hamilton.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Grassroots to Hold Obama to Clean Energy Promises: 67 Groups in 28 States Urge President-Elect to Act Now

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Barack Obama campaigned on the need to create a clean-energy economy in the United States. Today, 67 grassroots organizations in 28 states sent a letter to the President-Elect to let him know that they intend to support the goal of clean energy, underscoring that this does not include taxpayer investment of so-called "clean coal" technology or unsafe nuclear power.

The joint letter organized by theCLEAN.org (http://www.theclean.org/) and the Civil Society Institute outlined 10 needed steps for short-term economic stimulus/job creation and additional movement to a clean-energy economy. The nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute think tank is an action-oriented research and community organizing center based in Massachusetts. CSI is a convener of a collaboration of grassroots organizations around the U.S. that are organized as TheClean.org.

The joint letter states: "We write to support your stated goals to invest in clean energy and to lead the country toward a new energy economy that will address global warming, stimulate near- and long-term economic prosperity and help ensure our national security. As you made clear in your Presidential campaign, and in statements since, a strong economy for the United States is dependent on energy efficiency, investment in clean, renewable energy technologies, investment in new energy infrastructure, and training of our workforce to transit from old energy technologies to new technologies. The benefits to the United States are clear. For every $1 million spent on clean energy 18 jobs will be created as opposed to the 7.5 jobs created per million dollars on old energy technologies ..."

The 10 steps outlined by the 67 grassroots organizations are as follows:

-- Direct the Department of Energy to build a robust EHV transmission system to provide capacity to transfer power (including wind) from one region in the United States to another;

-- Support $45 billion in immediate direct government spending for public building retrofits, expansion of mass transit, freight rail and smart grid systems;

-- Encourage homeowner use of renewable energy technologies by enacting a tax credit of $7500 for the installation and/or use of energy efficiency saving devices such as solar heating, windmills and PV to generate electricity;

-- Support $500 billion in investment in renewable energy over a 10-year period, including transiting to a new digital electricity grid;

-- Support the enactment of a renewable electricity standard of 30% by 2020, 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2050;

-- Support the extension of the production tax credit for wind projects for 10 years;

-- Support an economy-wide cap and trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 and auction carbon allowances to finance a transition to a clean energy economy, making the funds available for investment and infrastructure costs;

-- Support the enactment of domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers, and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere;

-- Support tax credits for cars using hybrid and clean diesel technologies graded on miles per gallon efficiencies. $1500 and $3000 tax credits respectively established for cars obtaining 30 and 40 miles per gallon; and

-- Enact a moratorium on building nuclear power plants and coal fired plants in order to transit to a clean, energy efficient economy while at the same time phase in renewable and energy efficiency technologies that eliminate fossil fuel usage and nuclear power by 2050.

Civil Society Institute President and Founder Pam Solo said: "We see the agenda outlined in our letter as relevant to both short-term policies that should be part of an economic stimulus that can also build toward a new, clean energy economy. CLEAN is determined to advance the public education and involvement on these issues from the grassroots up! It is our firm conviction that it will take a concerted and coordinated grassroots mobilization to realize the serious changes being proposed by the President. While there are numerous national groups weighing in on the policy direction of the Obama Administration, very few look at what is possible from outside the Beltway. In this letter, we offer our support for the needed bold steps and the assurance of the kind of grassroots pressure that will make it possible for these steps to become the policy of the nation."

Solo noted that The Civil Society Institute has sponsored pioneering work on how near-term transitional steps for moving the U.S. toward a new energy economy. These 11 related reports can be found at http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/csiresearch.cfm. In May 2008, CSI sponsored a report by ACEEE on the economic/job-creation benefits of energy efficiency titled "The Size of the U.S. Energy Efficiency Market: Generating a More Complete Picture" (#E083).

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Marilyn Brown Briefs Policymakers on Solar Energy

Public Policy Professor Marilyn Brown spoke Monday to a luncheon briefing at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., about solar power. Brown, a professor in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, was one of three guests invited to give their views on the current state of solar technology, the probable future of these devices and potential barriers to implementing them.

The luncheon was hosted by the American Chemical Society’s Science and the Congress Project and was co-hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX). Julia Hamm of the Solar Electric Power Association and Nate Lewis of the California Institute of Technology also spoke to the gathering.

Brown is one of Georgia Tech’s most sought after experts on energy policy. In addition to informing national leaders about energy policy, she is also the author of Georgia Tech’s quarterly energy sustainability index, the EnergyBuzz (www.gatech.edu/energybuzz).

She joined Georgia Tech in 2006 after a distinguished career at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. There she held various leadership positions and led several major energy technology and policy scenario studies. Recognizing her stature as a national leader in the analysis and interpretation of energy futures in the United States, Brown remains affiliated with ORNL as a Visiting Distinguished Scientist.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

New Ad Campaign Distorts the Reality of Clean Coal Technology

/PRNewswire/ -- (Statement by ACCCE Vice President for Communications Joe Lucas regarding a new advertising campaign sponsored by the RealityCoalition.org - a group comprised of the Alliance for Climate Protection, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club)

"I'm surprised that a coalition of environmental special interest groups has placed ads doubting the existence of clean coal technologies.

"For over 40 years, private industry, academia, and the federal government have been working in partnership to bring new technologies to the marketplace that reduces the environmental footprint of using coal to generate electricity. Those who doubt the existence of clean coal technology need only to look at the 70% improvement in the environmental efficiency of America's coal-based electricity fleet measured by emissions of criteria and hazardous air pollutants regulated by federal and state clean air act laws per unit of energy produced. But this is only part of the story.

"In our America's Power campaign (americaspower.org) we have consistently talked about the need to invest in advanced clean coal technologies to ensure that we can capture and safely store CO2 emissions at coal-based power plants both here at home and around the world. While this remains a complex and challenging task, anyone who is skeptical about the progress that is being made on this front would only need to visit the U.S. Department of Energy's website (Clean Power Initiative) at http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/cleancoal/ to get a better appreciation and understanding of the industry's commitment to this cause.

"We join President-elect Barack Obama in calling for additional funding for advanced clean coal technologies to ensure that we meet the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time enjoying the benefits of relying upon coal, our most abundant domestic energy resource, to meet future energy needs.

"I would have hoped that the environmental special interest groups that are sponsoring this new ad would support such an effort, but they have obviously chosen a different path."

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Cleaner Coal Technology Key to the World’s Energy Future

(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Energy and the University of Wyoming today announced an agreement to further cleaner coal technology, making coal-fired power generation more viable in America. Under the agreement, GE and the university will develop the High Plains Gasification Advanced Technology Center to accelerate the commercial use of cleaner coal technology.

In the United States, coal supplies more than 50 percent of the country’s current electricity generation and it plays an important role in meeting the nation’s energy needs. Coal is an abundant, low-cost, domestic, natural resource that continues to be a significant part of America’s energy mix.

Wyoming is uniquely positioned in the nation’s energy landscape and has vast coal resources capable of supporting a substantial portion of the nation’s energy needs. The state produces approximately 40 percent of all of the coal used in the United States to generate electricity.

The new center will include a small-scale gasification system that will enable researchers from GE and the university to develop advanced gasification solutions for Powder River Basin and other Wyoming coals. The research is expected to expand the range of coals that can be used with GE’s integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technology for power plants. The facility is expected to be operational by 2012.

To create a path forward for coal, future climate change policy will be needed to incentivize the deployment of already-available low carbon technology and to foster further improvements that will bring down the cost of carbon capture and sequestration.

“This project underscores the commitment of both the University of Wyoming and GE to work toward U.S. energy independence and plan for future energy needs,” said Steve Bolze, president and CEO of GE Energy’s Power & Water business. “We believe that our country’s energy and environmental policies should promote a balance of available, reliable, cleaner and low-cost energy. The use of cleaner coal technology helps create jobs, support economic growth and positively impacts the environment.”

GE is a world leader in IGCC technology and has been at the forefront of IGCC technology since the Coolwater project, a 120 MW technical demonstration IGCC project started in 1984. GE's IGCC technology also has operated at the 250 MW TECO Polk I station in Florida for more than 12 years. Today, GE offers a 630 MW IGCC reference plant that produces 75 percent less SOx, 33 percent less NOx, 40 percent less particulate matter, uses 30 percent less water and offers 90 percent mercury capture, compared to a traditional pulverized coal plant.

In addition to providing a cleaner alternative for power generation, IGCC is well-suited for carbon capture. Carbon capture technology is in use in GE’s industrial gasification applications around the world today. IGCC technology will offer cost and efficiency advantages for carbon capture and storage, once clear policies and regulations are in place to support storage and an economically viable value is established for carbon.

Although IGCC technology is relatively new, gasification is more than a century old. The process uses pressure, heat and steam to convert carbon-based materials like coal into a synthesis gas (syngas) that has a variety of uses including the production of chemicals or fertilizers and power generation.

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia

DOE Announces Additional Steps in Developing Sustainable Biofuels Industry

Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman and Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer today (October 7, 2008) released the National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP). The Plan, developed by an interagency board co-chaired by DOE and USDA, outlines specific action areas and goals toward achieving renewable fuels production targets. Secretary Bodman also announced additional steps the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is taking to support the development of a sustainable biofuels industry: research to enable increased use of biofuels, deployment of cellulosic biorefineries, and biofuels research and development.

“The challenge is to find ways to go farther and to go faster – we must progress to the next level,” said Secretary Bodman. “That means we must accelerate the development and deployment of next generation biofuels, fuels made from cellulose, algae and from other non-food products as well as fuels compatible with our existing energy infrastructure including renewable diesel, green gasoline and bio-butanol.”

Increasing the Use of Biofuels
U.S. consumers already use E10, gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol, in conventional vehicles and other engines. In order to meet the goals set forth in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, however, the U.S. will likely need to use higher blends of ethanol in conventional vehicles. To assess the potential impacts of higher blends of ethanol such as E15 and E20, gasoline blended with 15 and 20 percent ethanol, on conventional vehicles and other gasoline engines, DOE initiated a testing program in August 2007.

A preliminary report released today by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provides results available to date from testing E15 and E20 on 13 vehicles and 28 small non-road engines, including lawn equipment and generators. The information reported today, along with data that will be collected over the course of this broad test program, will help determine whether higher blends of ethanol can be effectively used in conventional vehicles. The report showed that most of the regulated emissions with E15 and E20 were within the normal test variation, and no statistically-significant change was detected. While the data collected to date is encouraging, particularly with regard to regulated emissions, additional studies are needed on a wider range of vehicles and engines

Supporting Deployment of New Technologies
The deployment of cellulosic biorefineries is a critical pathway to meeting renewable fuels production mandates. Today, DOE announced additional funding with POET, LLC of Sioux Falls, S.D. This commercial-scale cellulosic biorefinery project was originally announced by Secretary Bodman in February 2007; today an additional phase of funding was announced. POET received $3.7 million in the first phase of funding under a cooperative agreement that covers initial design, permitting, and preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation. Today in the second phase the Secretary announced POET would be awarded an additional award for up to $76.3 million in federal funding, subject to annual appropriations. Today’s funding supports final design, construction, and commissioning of the project to develop an economically viable cellulose-to-ethanol biorefinery that employs alternative energy technologies will be co-located at POET’s Emmetsburg, Iowa ethanol plant and will use corn cob, and potentially corn fiber, to increase plant production of ethanol by up to 25 million gallons per year. Subject to annual appropriations, DOE’s total investment in the POET project is up to $80 million, with an expected total project cost of nearly $200 million.

Pyrolysis Oils Projects
While supporting deployment and increased biofuels usage, DOE continues to focus on research and development of advanced biofuels technologies. Today, DOE announced the selection of five advanced biofuels projects up to $7 million, subject to annual appropriations. The five projects selected will develop cost-effective, environmentally friendly ways to convert non-food feedstocks into stabilized pyrolysis oils. These biologically-derived oils are generated through the rapid heating of biomass, for the ultimate production of transport fuel. Pyrolysis oils offer the potential of a greenhouse-gas neutral, renewable, and domestically produced alternative to petroleum-based fuels.

Five advanced biofuels projects received negotiation of awards:

UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.) With partners: Ensyn Corp, DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colo.), DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, Wash.) and USDA-Agricultural Research Service.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Blacksburg, Va. and New Brunswick, N.J.) With partner: Rutgers University.
Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa and Houston, Texas) With partner: ConocoPhillips.
RTI International (Research Triangle Park, N.C. and Decatur, Ill.)With partner: Archer Daniel Midland Co.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Amherst, Mass.) With partner: Renewable Oil International.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

ExxonMobil's Methanol to Gasoline (MTG) Technology Selected for Synthesis Energy Systems’ Coal to Liquids Projects

BUSINESS WIRE --ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) today (September 29, 2008) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Synthesis Energy Systems (SES) that provides SES the option to execute up to fifteen Methanol to Gasoline technology licenses in their global operations. SES has chosen to assign the first license to a project near Benwood, West Virginia.

This approximate 7,000 barrel per calendar day unit will be based on commercially proven MTG technology which incorporates improvements since the technology was originally commercialized by ExxonMobil 20 years ago in New Zealand.

MTG converts crude methanol directly to low sulfur, low benzene gasoline that can be sold directly or blended with conventional refinery gasoline. Although the original application of the MTG technology processed methanol from natural gas, the same technology can be used for methanol from other sources such as coal, petcoke or biomass. The SES projects will gasify the coal, convert the synthetic gas to methanol, and then convert the methanol to gasoline via the MTG process. Conversion of coal to gasoline through gasification and methanol conversion is one way to significantly reduce the potential pollutants from coal, including the reduction of SOx emissions and the capture of CO2.

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia

New UGA Biomass Technology Dramatically Increases Ethanol Yield from Grasses and Yard Waste

University of Georgia researchers have developed a new technology that promises to dramatically increase the yield of ethanol from readily available non-food crops, such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrass—and even yard waste.

“Producing ethanol from renewable biomass sources such as grasses is desirable because they are potentially available in large quantities,” said Joy Peterson, professor of microbiology and chair of UGA’s Bioenergy Task Force. “Optimizing the breakdown of the plant fibers is critical to production of liquid transportation fuel via fermentation.” Peterson developed the new technology with former UGA microbiology student Sarah Kate Brandon, and Mark Eiteman, professor of biological and agricultural engineering.

The new technology features a fast, mild, acid-free pretreatment process that increases by at least 10 times the amount of simple sugars released from inexpensive biomass for conversion to ethanol. The technology effectively eliminates the use of expensive and environmentally unsafe chemicals currently used to pretreat biomass.

The technology is available for licensing from the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., which has filed a patent application.

Inexpensive waste products—including corn stover or bagasse, the waste from corn and sugar cane harvests, fast-growing weeds—and non-food crops grown for biofuel, such as switchgrass, Napiergrass and Bermudagrass, are widely viewed as the best sustainable resources for ethanol made from biofuels.

“Using non-food crops that can be grown on marginal lands, like grasses, and fibrous waste streams like corn stover, is important because of the ongoing food-versus-fuel debate,” said Peterson. “When agricultural crops, such as corn or potatoes, are grown for biofuels production, the cost of the starting material may fluctuate greatly because of competing demands for food and feed. The trade-off with using a biomass like grasses is that grasses are harder to break apart than corn or potatoes, and the cost of making the same fuel, like ethanol, rises.”

Developing an efficient, cost-effective process to convert the fibrous stalks, leaves, and blades of plant wastes into simple sugars is the biggest challenge to bio-based ethanol production. Thick, complex plant cell walls are highly resistant to efforts to break them down.

Currently, woody biomass requires soaking under high pressure and temperatures in expensive, environmentally aggressive bases or acids before it is subjected to enzymes that digest it, producing simple sugars. The harsh pretreatment solutions subsequently must be removed and disposed of safely. They also cause formation of side products that can slow down the conversion of the sugars into ethanol.

In contrast, the environmentally friendly UGA technology eliminates the expense of harsh pretreatment chemicals and their disposal, and the formation of side products is minimal.

“The new technology has commercial application for the biomass industry, including producers of sugar cane, corn, switchgrass, Napiergrass and other woody biomass crops,” said Gennaro Gama, UGARF technology manager responsible for licensing this technology. “It may also help renewable energy and biofermentation companies—and local governments.

“By allowing for the use of myriad raw materials, this technology allows more options for ethanol facilities trying to meet nearby demand by using locally available, inexpensive starting materials,” he added. “This would greatly reduce the costs and carbon footprint associated with the delivery of raw materials to fermentation facilities and the subsequent delivery of ethanol to points of sale. Local production of ethanol may also protect specific areas against speculative fluctuations in fuel prices.

“It’s easy to imagine that this easy-to-use, inexpensive technology could be used by local governments, alone or in partnership with entrepreneurs, to meet local demand for ethanol, possibly using yard waste as a substrate,” he said.