Green Power Generators unveils dedicated biodiesel gensets for entertainment industry

Green Power Generators, a new company specializing in custom built biodiesel fueled generators, today announced it made available a new line of generators designed to dramatically reduce carbon emissions in both small and large-scale events and productions. Derived from biological sources such as vegetable oil, biodiesel fuel is safe to handle and as biodegradable as sugar.

GPG has chosen to highlight designs first for members of the entertainment industry, but the generators will be of equal interest for any business that involves high energy consumption. To make its case, GPG refers to a 1998 biodiesel lifecycle study, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, concluded biodiesel reduces net carbon dioxide emissions by 78% compared to petroleum diesel.

Quick Facts about the biodiesel generators:

• GPG generators feature Cummins Tier-3 engines that meet the most stringent emissions standards set forth by the EPA. Only 1% of generators currently used are Tier-3.
• generators are rated to operate smoothly in high and low temperatures.
• feature Movie Quiet design utilizing a three-stage insulation process for sound reduction.
• analog engine controls with individual digital meters for amps, voltage and hertz allow for reliability and ease of operation.
• GPG’s generators feature Dual-Redundant voltage regulators with a changeover switch. If one regulator fails, the user can switch over to a second regulator within seconds.
• electric priming feature that allows the engine to be primed of fuel within minutes.
• variable speed hydraulic fan drive utilizing synthetic hydraulic fluid allow for a reduction in change intervals.

In its annual report card issued in November 2006, the UCLA Institute of the Environment put the film industry number two behind the Aerospace industry on the list of industry pollution offenders in California. The potential benefits of GPG’s new generators for the industry are welcomed by environmental experts.

Generators are the biggest polluters on sets, at concerts and events, and we wanted to change that. We hope to pioneer a change in the way we do things in Hollywood, and beyond. We have already been embraced by several environmental non-profits who will help us encourage all large scale productions to use clean burning fuel. - Tomer DeVito, co-founder of GPG and a television commercial and music video producer.

According to Alton Butler, co-founder of GPG and president of Line 204 Studios, GPG’s parent, the industry standard tier-2 diesel engines are not qualified to burn biodiesel. The available industry standard diesel-engine generators can burn only up to 5% bio-diesel (B5). Burning a higher percentage risks losing operators to lose the warranty on the genset. Currently productions don’t have an option for burning cleaner fuels:
energy :: sustainability :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biodiesel :: generator :: greenhouse gas emissions :: entertainment industry :: Hollywood ::

According to Debbie Levin, president of the Environmental Media Association, "Very few options exist for producers who want to reduce the emissions on their sets. GPG presents a formidable option that should be a no-brainer not only for Hollywood but for any industry that outsources power."

GPG has their own supply of biodiesel fuel, as well as transportation, utility and re-fueling trucks that run on fuel from the same source, ensuring that all measures are taken to prevent unnecessary carbon emissions.

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FPL Energy teams up with Citrus Energy to make cellulosic ethanol from citrus waste

FPL Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group, today announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Citrus Energy, LLC, of Boca Raton, Florida, to develop a commercial scale biorefinery that will convert citrus waste to cellulosic ethanol.

The ethanol plant will be owned and operated by FPL Energy and is expected to produce 4 million gallons (15m liters) of ethanol per year. It will be located on the grounds of a local Florida citrus processor.

Citrus Energy’s mission is to develop fuel ethanol that minimizes environmental impact and cost by using citrus waste and other biomass. FPL Energy, as the largest renewable energy generator in the U.S., is the ideal partner. - David Stewart, president of Citrus Energy

FPL Energy says that ethanol from citrus peel could result in a new Florida industry producing over 60 million gallons of fuel per year, which could replace about one percent of Florida’s annual gasoline consumption. Florida has 100 million citrus trees on 700,000 acres yielding around 5 million tons of citrus waste per year.

Citrus Energy recently received a US$2.5 million grant to study “Fuel Ethanol Production from Citrus Waste Biomass” [*.pdf], from the Florida government under its 'Renewable Energy Technologies Grant Program' (earlier post).

The feedstock
Typically citrus processing waste is dried into citrus pulp pellets (CPP) and fed to cattle. But production of CPP requires a large capital investment by the processor with a negative return on investment. The CPP losses are borne by the main product from citrus, orange or grapefruit juice.

Citrus processing waste, a pectin, cellulose and soluble sugar rich mixture of peel, segment membranes and seeds is thus available at no cost and in large volumes with potentially no transportation costs. This waste citrus biomass stream will be used as a cellulosic ethanol feedstock. According to Cirtus Energy, citrus waste feedstock can produce ethanol at significantly lower cost than corn feedstock and is the most economically attractive and technically feasible of the potential cellulosic feedstocks.

The conversion process
The project's competitive advantage is based on technology which allows the ethanol production process to take advantage of a feedstock where the primary costs of growing, harvesting, and collection are supported by the existing product stream.

Comprehensive research, conducted largely at the USDA/ARS Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory (Citrus Lab) in Florida provides the technical background for the proposed bio-refinery. The key step is conversion of citrus (primarily orange and grapefruit) processing waste to a mixture of glucose, fructose, galacturonic acid, arabinose, galactose, and xylose by hydrolysis using a mixture of commercial pectinase, cellulase, and beta-glucosidase enzymes. The soluble sugar content in processed citrus waste increases from 23 to 62 percent through this enzymatic hydrolysis process. Fermentation of the sugars is done using traditional brewers yeast and the resulting "beer" has the ethanol separated and converted to fuel grade ethanol using a distillation and dehydration process:

According to Citrus Energy, the economic and environmental advantages of this process are:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: cellulosic :: citrus :: Florida ::

1. Feedstock is available at the plant at no cost with no transportation costs.
2. The feedstock is processed immediately with no requirement for storage.
3. Unlike lignocellulosic feedstocks, this cellulosic process is commercially viable in the short term.
4. Rural economic development including local energy expenditures; cleaner fuel; and rural employment.
5. No toxins produced. The acid or high temperature pre-treatment used in conversion of other cellulosic feedstocks for ethanol production can cause toxins which raise environmental concerns.
6. Reduced foreign oil dependence and improved trade deficit.
7. Energy Security through domestic fuel source; local energy security.
8. Less combustion related emissions of global climate change (greenhouse) gases.
9. Environmental protection and improvement including less toxic emissions than fossil fuels.
10. 10. Biodegradability of ethanol leaks and spills when compared to MTBE.

Citrus Energy sees itself as strategic player in the cellulosic ethanol opportunity because of the following factors:

• A citrus waste feedstock that allows an economically attractive cellulosic ethanol revenue stream to be the basis for broadening the feedstock supply to energy crops.
• The ability to raise funds for new cellulosic ethanol opportunities based on a profitable business and proven economic and technical success in cellulosic ethanol production.
• A four month window (the citrus off-season) to use the enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and distillation equipment at the production facility as a large scale experimental operation for energy crop research. This capital equipment is available at no cost as the financial burden is being carried by the citrus ethanol product.
• An opportunity to have significant state and federal funding assistance to grow the energy crops on the tens of thousands of acres of phosphate mined lands that require remediation to be returned to food production agriculture. This could allow Citrus Energy to continue in its "no cost/low cost" biomass feedstock model.

FPL Energy is an energy supplier utilizing clean fuels such as natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear to generate electricity. It is the U.S. leader in wind energy with 49 wind facilities in operation in 15 states. It is a subsidiary of FPL Group, (NYSE: FPL) one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services with annual revenues of nearly $16 billion. FPL Group's principal subsidiary is Florida Power & Light Company, one of America's largest electric utilities, serving 4.4 million customer accounts in Florida.

Picture: citrus peel waste like this will beused for ethanol production rather than cattle feed, its current use. Credit: Bill Widmer.

References:
Cirtus Energy: “Fuel Ethanol Production from Citrus Waste Biomass” [*.pdf].

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E.ON UK submits application for 25MW biomass plant

E.ON UK, an arm of German energy giant E.ON, announces it has submitted a scoping statement to build a £60 million (€89.2 /US$123.2 m) dedicated biomass power station in Sheffield. Rated at 25MW, the new renewable energy plant would produce enough power for around 40,000 homes by burning a combination of recycled wood and specially grown energy crops such as willow or tropical elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum).

This is the second of E.ON UK's biomass developments, with construction nearing completion at the UK's largest dedicated biomass power station at Steven's Croft near Lockerbie in Scotland. That plant is rated at 44MW, generating enough electricity to power 70,000 homes (earlier post). The company started testing the facility yesterday. Besides building dedicated biomass power plants, E.ON also co-fires biomass at two of its coal power stations.

The Sheffield plant would displace around 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year - the equivalent of taking more than 20,000 cars off the UK's roads each year - and is expected to create 20 full-time jobs.

[...] biomass development is a great opportunity to make a contribution to the Yorkshire and Humber Region's target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2010. It's through projects like this that we can change the way that we produce energy in the UK, helping keep the lights on at the same time as reducing the impact we have on our environment. And it's not just the environment that will benefit - we're expecting there to be a number of benefits to the local community in terms of new jobs and investment in the area. - Dr Nilton Chan, E.ON UK Project Developer

In addition to the displacement of carbon emissions, the company is investigating the potential for supplying renewable heat to neighbouring commercial and industrial establishments, further strengthening the project's efficiency:
energy :: sustainability :: climate change :: coal :: co-firing :: biomass :: bioenergy :: energy crops :: United Kingdom ::

The scoping statement has been submitted to statutory consultees, including Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, and outlines the proposed project including the potential environmental impact of the new development.

It is hoped that a full planning application will be submitted to the council later this year, following the completion of initial design activities and environmental studies.

If the project gets the green light, construction is expected to start early in 2009, with the first power being produced in 2011.

Local people will get the opportunity to learn more about the proposed development at a public exhibition planned for later in the year.

In addition to Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, statutory consultees include Darnall Ward, English Nature, English Heritage, Environment Agency, Groundwork Sheffield, Sheffield Wildlife Trust, Highways Agency, South Yorkshire Forest Partnership, Tinsley Forum and Yorkshire Forward.

E.ON is co-firing biomass alongside coal at two of its power stations, building the UK's largest dedicated biomass power station in Scotland and owns the largest traditional hydro power station in England and Wales. The retail business, branded Powergen, is a leading energy supplier in the UK, with around 8.5 million electricity and gas customer accounts, both domestic and SME.

Picture: a stand of elephant grass. Pennisetum purpureum is a species of grass native to the tropical grasslands of Africa. It is a tall perennial plant, growing to 2-4.5m tall (rarely up to 7.5 m), with razor-sharp leaves 30-120 cm long and 1-5 cm broad. It has a very high productivity and has received considerable research attention because of its potential as a dedicated biomass crop.

References:
E.ON UK: E.ON UK gets the ball rolling on biomass power station at Blackburn Meadows in Sheffield - July 18, 2007

E.ON UK: Next stages of testing to be undertaken at E.ON's Steven's Croft biomass power station - July 19, 2007

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ESV Group signs 60yr lease for major biofuel storage and logistics facilities at Terneuzen port

Now that the EU is accepting the vision that it will have to import biofuels, the need for 'bioports' is becoming more tangible. The Netherlands and Belgium, with their many sea ports, are preparing for the creation of such logistical hubs that will import, store, process and distribute solid and liquid biofuels and bioenergy feedstocks (earlier post and here).

In this context, the ESV Group plc, a logistics, trading and biofuel farming company, announces it has signed a sixty year lease agreement with the Port Authority of Zeeland Seaports and Exploitatiemaatschappij Schelde Maas Beheer BV on 98,000 square metres of land in the port area of Terneuzen.

Via ESV Bio-Africa Lda, the group has recently started establishing a 11,000 hectare jatropha plantation in Mozambique. The vegetable oil that can be used as a biodiesel feedstock is meant for exports to the EU.

These activities are yet another indication that Africa's biofuel potential is beginning to be recognized. By 2050, the continent can yield more than 400 EJ of sustainably produced biofuels, without threatening forests or the food, fuel and fiber needs of rapidly growing populations (earlier post). Consequently, a large potential for global bioenergy trade has been identified by researchers (more here).

ESV's lease in the Netherlands, at the Axel Plain, allows for:

• the Zeeland Sea Ports Authority development of a 200 metre quay for vessels of maximum length of 180 metres and maximum draft of 11.5 metres
• a separate jetty for tanker barges and coasters
• storage and logistic facilities for a minimum of 600,000 metric tons throughput of vegetable oil, ethanol and clean minerals per year with an overall storage capacity of 176,000 cubic metres for vegetable oils, ethanol and clean minerals per year

Additionally, ESV will have a first right of refusal on an initial 30,000 square metre plot of land adjacent to the Axel Plain. The Company expects the facility to be operational by mid 2009. According to Masoud Alikhani, Chairman of ESV, Terneuzen is strategically excellently positioned to provide a central hub for supplying the European biofuel market:
energy :: sustainability :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: trade :: logistics :: port :: Mozambique :: Netherlands ::

The facility will not only provide the Northern European access point for shipping in vegetable oil from ESV's own production projects but also for other biofuel suppliers both within and outside of Europe.

ESV was established as a logistics and trading company and is in the process of re-positioning itself as a major provider of raw vegetable oil for supply to the emerging European biodiesel industry, the European Union having targeted its biodiesel requirements for 2010 as 10.2 million metric tonnes. ESV currently has substantial business interests in farming and farming logistics. Its main operations are conducted through:

• A purchase agreement with Agri-Ukraine Ltd, Cyprus who operates a substantial 12,000 hectare farming operation in Poltava;
• A management agreement with Dnipro Cargo Ltd, Cyprus whereby ESV Group Plc manages a grain terminal at Kherson sea port, a strategically located facility on the Black Sea; and
• ESV Bio Africa Lda which is developing a major jatropha plantation in Mozambique for the production of raw vegetable oil.

References:
ESV Group plc: Mozambique biofuel project.

Port of Zeeland - Terneuzen and Vlissingen, website.

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