Biofuels Digest Anniversary issue: 10 Most Overlooked Stories for 2008-09
Today, Biofuels Digest celebrates its 2nd anniversary with a special look back at “10 Most Overlooked Stories” for 2008-09
1. E15 ethanol and the EPA waiver. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said that, since January of 2008, cattle feeders have lost a record $5.2 billion in equity due to high feed costs and economic factors which have negatively affected beef demand. Meanwhile the Growth Energy waiver request for E15 has now ended its comment period and moves to EPA review. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), the nation’s largest ethanol advocacy association, filed comments with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on behalf of nearly 1500 grassroots members nationwide and submitted a petition signed by 7000 individuals in support of the approval of E15. Meanwhile, 46 organizations signed a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson opposing the waiver permitting E15 blending.
Digest readers showed more interest in advanced biofuels than the ethanol debates, but the Renewable Fuel Standard locks both first and second-generation fuels together under one mandate.
2. The reorganization of oil’s interests in bioenergy. Signs have been popping up all year that the oil industry was rethinking bioenergy. BP unwound its partnership with D1 in jatropha, and accelerated on butanol in partnership with Dupont; Valero and Sunoco picked up ethanol plants on the cheap. Total invested in Gevo. Shell advanced with Codexis. The industry fell over with shock when ExxonMobil announced a $600 million investment in algae R&D, but a little-read item from last December presaged a big year for Big Oil and biofuels. The move by BP Solar’s CEO to head up Virent might have been seen as a sign that both Shell and BP were getting out of other renewables and placing their bets on biofuels.
3. Bioenergy fires. When the “Complete Training Guide for Ethanol Emergency Response” was released by the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition this month, it was a popular read. Less so were reports throughout the year on biofuel fires. Reports on a 114-car ethanol train derailment in Illinois and a 50,000 gallon ethanol tank exploding in Florida remind us that ethanol fires are unique, and uniquely dangerous.
4. Indirect Land Use Change. The Digest had one sure way to drive down reader interest in 2008-09 : write about indirect land use change and the ongoing efforts to define it and penalize the biofuels industry for creating it. The industry woke up on the issue after the California Air Resources Board virtually banned corn ethanol from the state after applying ILUC penalties, and after biodiesel nearly found itself thrown out of the Renewable Fuel Standard after the EPA applied it in its RFS2 draft. “A common sense theory of indirect land use change” got some attention for applying historical data to the story. News that Greenpeace says biodiesel demand not a significant driver of Amazon deforestation was generally overlooked.
News that some of the leading lights in ILUC and among biofuels academics had co-authored a definition of “Beneficial Biofuels” did not get much attention. Only 15 readers clicked through to see it – compared to more than 10,000 who clicked through on the top individual stories of the year. A story on the impact of rising caloric and grain consumption in the US and falling rates of Amazon deforestation did not attract much attention either. One article that nearly made the top 10: TIME magazine’s “hate journalism” piece, charging that Congress intends to encourage planetary peril with biofuels policy, and adding that EPA’s proposal on indirect land use change was rigged . Good news that salt-friendly crops could be key to 63 billion gallons in ethanol from non-foodstock land, didn’t get much attention either.
5. India. Biofuels Digest special correspondent Joelle Brink has been doing an outstanding job all year of covering India’s triumphs and challenges in bioenergy. None of her stories have quite made the top 10, but they are all well worth a read. Here’s a favorite: A Tale of Two Biofuels Models: US and India.
6. Godware. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA) is seeking research proposals for “Physical Intelligence” or “godware”, biochemical systems that can “self-organize” into organic fuel cells, or hydrocarbons from atmosphere, sunlight and water. That’s interesting. Where will it lead?
7. Destiny, FL. The first master planned sustainable city in the US, will be base for pyrolysis, gasification as well as bioenergy crop cultivation. It’s a fascinating concept that is ahead of its time and deserves a look.
8. Water. Articles about the water footprint of biofuels, pressure on aquifer systems, and both good news and bad news in water usage are generally not big “reads” in the Digest. Watch out – water is the new gold.
9. Aviation biofuels. Jet biofuels headed for flight certification in 2010, says Boeing in a June report. Aviation stories have been popular in the Digest – but stories on the fast approach of certified aviation biofuels are worth another look.
10. Advanced engines. When Ford Motor said it could add 40 percent efficiency to its EcoBoost engine using ethanol, it raised some interest from readers. Ethanol injection systems are a subject one can’t know enough about – especially those who find themselves defending ethanol against the charge that it reduces fuel economy. The new technology uses a separate ethanol tank to inject small amounts of ethanol, which boost power through ethanol’s higher octane and provide more oxygen for the complete burning of fuel.
Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter
Subscribe FREE to the world's most-widely read biofuels daily. Enter your email in the box below,
Related Stories
Hot Topics
The Hottest 50 Companies in Bioenergy
Latest algae-to-energy news
Latest jatropha news
Latest Waste-to-energy news
Entry Information
Filed Under: News & Financial Analysis
Post a Comment | Trackback URL
You must be logged in to post a comment.
