renewSOUTH

A briefing from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University seeks policy changes that "place a greater emphasis on food prices and greenhouse gas reductions," which would in turn encourage a "transition away from current feedstocks toward those that do not reduce our ability to produce food." The report offers two biomass options that can facilitate breaking the food and fuel link: (1) Capturing biomass that is currently treated as waste or is a co-product of existing production processes and (2) Growing biomass on land that is not suitable for food production or to grow the biomass without using land at all (algae, for example). The report also offers three policy options that would further encourage the use of non-food biomass:

• Placing a hard cap on ethanol made from corn and on biodiesel made from refined vegetable oil.
• Target tax credits and fuel standards depending on the impact each biofuel feedstock has on food prices.
• Fund further research programs for biofuel feedstocks.

The full briefing can be found here.

The Energy Information Administration has released the International Energy Outlook 2008. The Outlook projects 50 percent growth in energy use between 2003 and 2030. It also projects a 50 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions during the same period with current policy regulations. The EIA attributes this growth to "robust economic growth and expanding populations in the world's developing countries." While the report does project a 2 percent increase in hydroelectricity and renewable energy use, coal and natural gas consumption also increase by 2 and 1.7 percent. To learn more, read the press release and the full report.

Reuters is reporting that "about 12 small to midsize biodiesel and ethanol plants have declared bankruptcy in recent months." The bankruptcies come as prices for corn and soy (primary feedstocks for corn ethanol and biodiesel plants) are hitting record highs. In addition, high costs of contruction, tight credit markets, and high costs for transportation are also factors. While smaller companies are hit the hardest, larger firms with "their diversification, efficiency plants, and access to cheap train transportation for distributing ethanol" are better protected from the recent surge in production costs.

The Pew Center on Global Climate Change offers users interactive maps describing energy and climate change policies in each of the U.S. states. Map topics include:

• Climate Action
• Energy Sector
• Transportation Sector
• Building Sector
  

Maps can be found at their website.

In May 2008, the Brookings Institute released their report Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America. The report quantifies transportation and residential carbon emissions in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in 2000 and 2005. According to the report, "Residential density and the availability of public transit are important to understanding carbon footprints, as were the carbon intensity of electricity generation, electricity prices, and weather." Metro areas east of the Mississippi were relatively worse in GHG emissions. And the South particularly, had the largest carbon footprints of any region in both 2000 and 2005. In addition to system-wide changes, such as pricing carbon, establishing and RFS, and increasing R&D, the report also offered more particular suggestions for reducing GHG emissions in metro areas. These policy options included:

• Promoting more transportation choices;
• Introducing more energy-efficient freight operations;
• Requiring home energy cost disclosure when selling and "on-bill" financing;
• Using federal housing policy to create incentives for energy and location efficient decisions; and
  
• Issuing a metropolitan challange to induce innovative solutions.

The full report can be found here.

ASTM, the American Society for Testing and Materials, has approved specifications for B20 biodiesel. Approval of these specifications allow for auto and engine manufacturers to be confident that they are receiving a biodiesel product that meets quality standards. Steve Howell, Chairman of the ASTM Biodiesel Task Force, said,

"The new ASTM specifications for B6-B20 blends will aid engine manufacturers in their engine design and testing processes to optimize the performance of vehicles running on biodiesel. The new specifications will also help ensure that only the highest quality biodiesel blends are made available to consumers at the retail pump."

According to the National Biodiesel Board, the approved specifications include:

• Changes to the existing B100 biodiesel blend stock specification (ASTM D6751)
• Finished specifications to include up to 5% biodiesel (B5) in the conventional petrodiesel specification (ASTM D975)
• A new specification for blends of between 6 percent biodiesel (B6) to 20 percent biodiesel (B20) for on and off road diesel.

More information can be found at the National Biodiesel Board's press release.

Texas A&M's Agricultural and Food Policy Center analyzed the effect of ethanol on Texas food and feed in April 2008. The report found that "the underlying force driving changes in the agricultural industry ... is overall higher energy costs, evidenced by $100 per barrel oil." Oil prices have gone from $35 per barrel in 2005 to over $100 per barrel in 2008. Other findings include:

• Rising energy costs has led to higher costs of production for corn producers, resulting in fewer corn acres planted.
  
• Food items like bread, eggs, and milk have higher prices unrelated to ethanol or corn prices, but are a result of higher world demands.
• The livestock industry has borne the cost of higher corn prices for feed and have yet to be able to pass those costs on due to the structure of the industry.

The full report can be found here.

Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Secretary of Agriculture Edward Schafer teamed up to respond to Senator John Bingaman's questions regarding ethanol's impact on food prices and gasoline prices. The letter can be found here and a DOE fact sheet showing how biofuels has helped keep gas prices lower can be found here. 

The Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) is ready to graduate the nation's first four-year degrees in renewable energy systems. The program focuses on the uniqueness of managing renewable energy systems. According to Converge Magazine,

The renewable energy management systems degree requires basic knowledge in engineering, electrical circuits, motors and generators, thermodynamics, heat transfer and the language of computers. This is preparation for specialized courses in photovoltaics (solar energy research and technology), wind, biomass (the recycling of biological material), hydropower and geothermal energy development.

To learn more, visit the program website and the news story at Converge Magazine.

Alabama's Gulf Coast Energy is ready to begin producing ethanol from waste wood as soon as next month. The demonstration plant will use gasification technology on wood waste and turn it into ethanol. The demonstration plant plans to eventually scale up to a commercial capacity of 45 million gallons per year. More information can be found here.