Biofuels market to triple from $76 billion to $240 billion by 2020

In a positive outlook for the biodiesel industry, Pike Research, a new cleantech analysis firm headquartered in Boulder, Colo., has predicted robust growth over the long-term for the global renewables market. “The study started out as an assessment of technologies in the biofuels industries, but then it grew into a more of a market analysis,” said Robert McDonald, author of the report.

Growth on the supply side was linked to game changing technologies related to biofuels processing. “In the biofuels world, feedstock is king and any technology that provides additional feedstock is a game changer to me,” McDonald told Biodiesel Magazine. “I think the technology developed by Clayton McNeff [of Ever Cat Fuels in Isanti, Minn.] for making biodiesel from trap grease is one of the developments that is very exciting.”

Recycled greases, however, do not have the same potential that algae or jatropha holds for the biodiesel industry over the long term, the Pike Report said. “They’re planting a lot of jatropha right now, but it will take four to five years to mature, so we’re looking at 2013-2014 before it starts to make an impact,” McDonald said.

Making algae oil for biodiesel production is still a long way off as well and sometimes seems unrealistic despite the intense amount of attention it has received from oil companies, government and the press. It’s still five years out from being commercially viable, a timetable that causes skepticism from critics. “There will be several 18 month cycles before we start seeing biodiesel made from algae [at the commercial scale],” McDonald said. “But there have been too may breakthroughs and too much investment, so it will happen.”

In terms of methodology used to distinguish viable new technologies from the hype associated with renewables, McDonald said he looked for corroboration. For instance, Aurora Biofuels in Florida announced it had found a way to harvest algae oil using the same methods as waste-water treatment plants. Then a few weeks later the research arm of the Australian government made a similar announcement. “That’s what we are looking for,” McDonald said. “When legitimate organizations make similar discoveries independently that seem to corroborate each other, I think it gives credence to the commercial development and growth of the technology.”

While biodiesel growth on the supply side is seen as related to feedstock expansion from new processing capabilities, demand acceleration is linked to government mandates, McDonald said. “Most of the major regional markets already have mandates for use and I think we will see more issued in the near future.”

The Pike Report said that the biofuels market has the potential to triple within the next decade.
www.pikeresearch.com

Solazyme gets $57 M for synthetic biofuels

Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil production company and leader in algal synthetic biology, announced that it has surpassed $76 million in funding, which includes a $57million Series C financing round that just closed. Solazyme uses microalgae biotechnology to produce clean and scalable fuels, “green” chemicals, edible oils and health and wellness products.

Braemar Energy Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the financing round and were joined by other new investors including VantagePoint Venture Partners. All major existing investors participated in the round, including The Roda Group, Harris and Harris Group, and Solazyme Chairman Jerry Fiddler. The round also included new strategic investors in key target markets. All funding has been dispersed to Solazyme and will be used to move the company to commercialization.

"This most recent funding validates the unique value of our oil production platform and adds to our already strong financial position. Solazyme’s mission is to answer the increasing global demand for clean and renewable sources of oil. We offer sustainable and scalable technology that provides unique solutions for addressing four of the largest challenges facing our country and our planet: increasing energy demand, heightened energy security needs, energy related environmental degradation and hunger," said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme.

"Braemar’s mission is to identify and support the most promising alternative energy firms with disruptive technologies that provide meaningful clean energy solutions," said William Lese of Braemer Energy Ventures. "Solazyme’s renewable oil and advanced biofuels technology is leading the industry on the path to commercialization and will be cleanly powering our vehicles with renewable fuels that fit within the existing infrastructure."

"Solazyme has proven itself as a pioneer in the advanced biofuels space, by being the first to do many things including scale-up, production and road testing of a variety of advanced biofuels that can simultaneously meet current U.S. fuel specifications while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 80%," said Chris Schaepe, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Dan Miller from The Roda Group added, “We are proud to have been an investor in Solazyme since the early seed round, and we are increasingly excited about sizeable opportunities for Solazyme’s renewable oils in all markets from fuels, to cosmetics to nutritional oils.”

"Since 2001 VantagePoint Venture Partners has focused its CleanTech efforts on identifying and investing in the leading company in those sectors best addressing the issues of natural resource limitations, climate change and energy independence," said Stephan Dolezalek, Managing Director and CleanTech Group Lead, VantagePoint Venture Partners. "The potential role of algae in achieving these targets has long been clear, but it has taken a while for a definitive category leader to arise. We believe that Solazyme has now emerged as the preeminent player in the algal biomaterials and biofuels sector.”

Solazyme’s unique renewable oil production process grows algae in the dark in an industrial fermentation process, where the algae are fed non-food biomass and industrial byproducts including a wide variety of cellulosic materials and low-grade waste glycerol which are converted by the algae into oil. This allows the company to produce oil cleanly and economically in a controlled, large-scale process. Solazyme is currently producing thousands of gallons of oil in commercial scale facilities and has produced in-specification fuels including renewable diesel, biodiesel and jet fuel. Solazyme’s first fuel, SoladieselTM, has been successfully road tested as an unblended fuel (100%) for thousands of miles in a variety of unmodified vehicles. Additionally, Solazyme’s process is the first bridge from non–food carbohydrates and industrial waste streams to edible and renewable oils. This technology has already been shown to produce high quality oils for a multitude of purposes across a variety of industries.

Launching of European Algae Biomass Association

The European Algae Biomass Association will be officially launched during the first EABA Conference–General Assembly to be held June 3-4 in Florence, Italy.

The University of Florence and the European Biodiesel Board, together with number of major stakeholders in the EU algae sector, have announced the launching of the association. The EABA was founded to foster synergies among science and industry, while cooperating with decisionmakers for the promotion of development in research and technology in the field of algae.

Algae and aquatic biomass are increasingly raising the interest of the scientific community, industry representatives and political decisionmakers as they represent one of the most promising renewable sources for a wide range of third-generation low-carbon applications in the field of renewable energies, biofuels (including jet fuels), nutrients, pharmaceuticals, animal feed or biobased products (bioplastics, biocosmetics, etc.).

In all these sectors, algae and aquatic biomass hold the potential to achieve a real revolution toward a fully sustainable economy. Algae have the potential to grow and produce impressive amounts of biomass using for instance sea water (a virtually unlimited raw material) and reduced surfaces (even of unproductive land) where a bioreactor or a pond can be installed to grow algae. This could be feasible today, but a number of technical, legal and scientific obstacles still need to be solved to bring down the final price of algae biomass to an economic level and to produce a fully reliable quality product. This needs to be improved, while avoiding over-enthusiastic announcements and promoting efficient and responsible research. This is the objective of the newly founded EABA, which aims to support the efforts of the various actors in the algae sector in order to make this happen. The development of research toward an algae industry deserves today to be supported as a priority in light of the major challenges Europe is facing to reduce greenhouse gases, improve energy supply security and promote technological excellence.

EABA members and supporters constitute a large and solid group of major stakeholders inside and outside of the EU, within academia, political and industrial decisionmakers, including the European Commission, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization, the EBB, the University of Florence, the Ben-Gurion University in Israel, the Imperial College in London, the University of Wageningen and the companies Roquette and Diester in France, Repsol in Spain, Neste Oil in Finland, SBAE Industries in Belgium and many others, who will participate and contribute to the EABA conference.

http://www.eaba-association.eu

Keeping Up the Power Shift: Senate Set to Take Second Stab at Energy Bill

Bits and pieces of information are coming in today indicating that the Senate is gearing up to take a second stab at passing an energy bill later this week.

After failing to pass the full energy bill passed by the House last week, Senate leaders negotiated over the weekend to seek a compromise that would net the bill the crucial 60 votes to overcome a Republican-led filibuster threat.

It appears they are nearing that compromise and a second attempt to end debate and pass the bill is scheduled for Thursday, December 13th. If it passes the Senate, the bill will return to the House for passage on Friday before heading to President Bush's desk. Whether or not the President will veto a bill expected to save Americans billions at the pump and on their utilities bills at a time of record high gas prices remains to be seen...

Word has it that the renewable energy standard has been dropped from the bill and that the bill will include a stripped down package of tax incentives for renewable energy. The final makeup of that tax package is still under negotiation and details are sparse, although it is expected to include a two-year extension of critical credits for renewable energy generation, enough to get us into a new President's term and a new Congress.

Clearly losing the renewable energy standard, which would have required large utilities to acquire 15% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, is a major disappointment (although Reid has pledged to try to pass it as a stand-alone bill in 2008).

The fact that the Senate has had such difficulty passing an energy bill with strong support for clean, domestic renewable energy is a clear sign that we've got a lot of work ahead of us to keep up the Power Shift! We need to work hard to ensure that political realities change over the next year to closely match what real reality demands of Congress!

However, it still looks like an energy bill well worth passing is heading for a vote tomorrow and it's time again to get on the phone and urge your Senators to get the job done and pass a clean energy bill!

The bill heading for a vote is expected to include:

• The first increase in fuel economy standards in 30 years, up to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. These provisions will save American families $700 - $1000 per year at the pump, with $22 billion in net consumer savings in 2020 alone.


• The best energy efficiency standards in U.S. history, including new efficiency standards for lighting, appliances and boilers and incentives for home weatherization and industrial energy efficiency. The bill also directs the federal government to be a leader in energy efficiency with cutting-edge, efficient building practices and lighting in all federal buildings.


• A "Green Jobs" provision that creates an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program to train a quality workforce for “green” collar jobs -- such as solar panel manufacturer and green building construction worker -- created by federal renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. This program will provide training opportunities to our veterans, to those displaced by national energy and environmental policy and economic globalization, to individuals seeking pathways out of poverty, to at risk youth and to those workers in the energy field needing to update their skills.


• A biofuels standard that requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, including at least 21 billion gallons that come from advanced biofuels that do not rely on corn or other edible feedstocks. While the expansion of corn-based ethanol raises environmental, economic and justice concerns, advanced biofuels using inedible biomass or even algae could displace significant amounts of oil and help decrease greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.


• Some clean energy tax package. The House version of the bill included $21 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy, energy efficiency and plug-in hybrid vehicles, financed in part by reinvesting $13.5 billion in unnecessary tax subsidies for Big Oil in the clean energy technologies of the future. The final Senate version will likely include a smaller tax package but should retain critical renewable energy tax incentives that will ensure the industry can continue to grow, providing more and more clean, domestic renewable energy for America.

So call your Senators today and urge them to finish the job and pass a clean energy bill tomorrow! The future prosperity of this country depends on the success of the clean, domestic energy technologies of the 21st Century, and this bill is a critical first step towards unlocking a clean energy revolution.

You should feel free to let your Senators know you were disappointed that they couldn't pass the House version of the energy bill, but tell them you expect them to still pass a strong bill tomorrow, including critical tax incentives for renewable energy generation.

So what are you waiting for? Get on the phone...

Pelosi Cobbles Together Strong Energy Bill - Heading for Showdown in Senate

After long hours of negotiations that have stretched long into the night for the past week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems to have cobbled together a deal that will send a strong energy bill out of the House, likely Thursday.

Rumors last month that essentially every major provision but increased fuel economy standards might get stripped from the bill followed by long weeks of speculation have given way today to confirmation that the energy package heading for a House floor vote tomorrow will include some version of every major clean energy provision under consideration: a 35 mpg CAFE standard, a biofuels standard, and in a surprise turn, both a 15% by 2020 national renewable electricity standard and a $21 billion tax package for clean energy sources.

The passage of the bill, expected tomorrow in the House, will be a major victory for Speaker Pelosi, who has fought hard to advance a strong energy bill to the floor over opposition from Republicans, industry and even influential members of her own party - namely influential Michigan Congressman John Dingell.

Even after securing passage in the House, the bill will be heading towards a tough vote in the Senate where opposition from ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee, Pete Domenici (R-NM) will mean the bill will require a filibuster-proof 60 votes to secure passage. And it won't end there: President Bush has re-iterated threats to veto the bill if it includes certain provisions, including a renewable electricity standard and tax provisions financed by ending subsidies for the oil and gas industry.

Details on the components of the energy package below. But first, a look at the tumultuous - and still-unfolding - saga of the 2007 Congressional Energy Bill.

The Energy Bill's Saga

After some Senate Republicans blocked a formal conference committee to reconcile the two version of the energy bill passed by the Senate and House this summer (see previous posts here and here), Democratic leaders opted to move forward without a formal conference. They have instead been meeting in closed sessions to hammer out details on what provisions are in and what are left on the cutting-room floor. They concluded those negotiations late last night and have referred a full bill to the House floor for a vote sometime Thursday.

While the hundreds-of-pages long bill includes scores of smaller provisions, including some excellent new energy efficiency provisions, four major provisions were at the center negotiations - and speculations - this past week:

A 35 mile-per gallon fuel economy standard (35 mpg CAFE) for cars and light trucks, the first increase in fuel economy standards in 30 years. The energy bill passed by the Senate included a 35 mpg CAFE provision while the House version did not. Senior Michigan Democrat and House Energy Committee Chairman, John Dingell had opposed the Senate version of the CAFE provision, pushing for a weaker update to CAFE standards.

A large biofuels requirements (a renewable fuels standard or RFS) that mandates billions of gallons of ethanol, biodiesel and other biofuels for use in U.S. cars and trucks. The Senate bill included a 36 billion gallon by 2022 biofuels standard, including 21 billion gallons from "advanced" biofuels like cellulosic ethanol. The House version had no renewable fuels title.

A 15% by 2020 renewable electricity standard (RES) requiring large electric utilities to acquire 15% of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal energy by 2020. The Senate narrowly failed to pass a RES this summer, while the House succeeded in passing a standard for the first time in history.

Finally, a multi-billion dollar package of tax incentives for clean energy funded by ending subsidies and closing royalty loopholes enjoyed by the oil and gas industries. During the first "100 days" push, House Democrats passed a $32 billion tax package while the Senate again narrowly failed to pass a tax package; the House energy bill passed this summer did include a $16 billion tax package.

The fuel economy provisions were the source of contention between Speaker Pelosi and Energy Chairman Dingell, who has been a key advocate for the auto industry and fought the 35 mpg CAFE standards.

The latter two provisions were the source of the most conflict between Democrats and Republicans, and between the House and the Senate, and have drawn veto threats from President Bush.

Although of questionable environmental character, the biofuels package, in contrast, is widely seen as the political "glue" that holds the bill together, drawing in "farm state" Republican moderates.

All this led to much speculation and anticipation over the course of what was a very secretive negotiation process, as small bits of information leaked of closed negotiation chambers and rumors spread.

Veil of Secrecy Parted To Reveal Strong Energy Bill

In the end, the bill heading to the House floor will be stronger than many - perhaps most - speculated, including some version of all four major provisions:

The bill includes a 35 MPG fleetwide CAFE standard, although it retains the "flex fuel vehicle loophole" that Detroit automakers exploit to help turn gas guzzling SUVs into 35 mpg machines on paper. The loophole is decreased in later years though. The CAFE standard also keeps separate standards for cars and light trucks/SUVs, potentially leaving the SUV loophole intact. Pelosi has issued assurances though that the seperate standards will still amount to a 35 mpg fleetwide average across all cars, light trucks and SUVs.

Also in the bill is a large biofuels standard, although details are still emerging on the renewable fuels title.

The bill includes the 15% by 2020 renewable electricity standard passed by the House earlier this year, although there have been some small modifications made (a lower price cap on the costs of compliance for example). Like the version passed by the House, utilities can meet up to 4% of the standard with energy efficiency (which I suppose makes it a 11% RES and 4% efficiency standard, although some utilities may opt for more than 11% renewables). The bill does not conflict with the 25 renewables standards already enacted by states.

Finally, in a surprise to many, the bill will include a $21 billion tax package which will be financed in part by ending $13 billion in subsidies for the oil industry. A provision in the original House bill to close unintended loopholes in offshore oil and gas royalty agreements was not included in the new bill.

The bill also includes a number of other provisions intended to advance America towards a clean energy future, including strong new energy efficiency standards and a "Green Jobs" provision intended to create 3 million new skilled jobs in the clean energy economy.

Speaker Pelosi's summary of the bill can be found here.

The Saga Continues... Showdown Looms in the Senate

While the energy bill is expected to pass the House, where simply majority rules, it's fate in the Senate is still unclear. A "supermajority" of 60 votes will be required to move the bill in the Senate past Republican opposition in the form of a filibuster threat, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he is unsure whether or not he has the needed 60 votes.

If the bill cannot secure passage in the Senate in it's current form, speculation is that Democrats will begin stripping provisions from the bill until 60 votes can be earned. What the bill looks like at the end of that process is still unclear, and the possibility of a presidential veto looms over the whole thing (sounds pretty familiar...).

Stay tuned (and call your Senators!).

Legislative Shenanigans Underway on Congressional Energy Bill

As Democrat and Republican leaders maneuver, negotiate, and deal on the Congressional Energy Bill this week, there appears to be some nefarious shenanigans underfoot and a possible cave-in on support for renewable energy in process. Now might be time to call your Senators and Representatives...

Energy Bill Shenanigans

First, Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) is working to strip the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) title out of the Senate Energy Bill and attach it wholesale to the Ag Bill currently under debate in the Senate. Domenici claims he's just trying to save the RFS from the potentially floundering Energy Bill, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says he's got more sinister motives.

According to lots of folks, including Reid, Domenici is really trying to kill the Energy Bill with this move.

Remember that Domenici was the man who led the filibuster in the Senate that blocked both the Renewable Electricity Standard and the tax package that would have shifted billions in unnecessary royalties and closed loopholes to provide $32 billion in tax incentives from the oil and gas industries to fund clean, renewable energy.

As David Roberts at GristMill writes,

"The RFS is one of the key planks holding support for the energy bill together, bringing in some midwestern Republicans to compensate for the auto and oil Dems that have bailed [due to fuel economy standrd increases and the shift in subsidies from oil to renewables]. If the RFS falls out of the energy bill, the coalition falls apart."

So by pulling out the Renewable Fuels Standard, Domenici seems to be trying to pull the plug on the embattled Energy Bill. Without the RFS, and the farm-state Rs it brings along, the Energy Bill is unlikely to get the 60 votes necessary to pass filibuster in the Senate (likely led - again! - by Senator Domenici).

And as if that's not bad enough, Mr. D. is also trying to tack on his beloved massive loan guarantee for new nuclear power plants to the Ag Bill.

Yeah, "what do nukes have to do with agriculture?" Well, not much, but Domenici plans to try to make it germane by calling the federal loan guarantees "loan guarantees for renewable fuel facilities." Then in a bit of wonderful D.C. trickery, the amendment lumps nuclear power plants within the list of eligible "renewable fuel facilities." Nice one Pete.

The loan guarantees, which total $50 billion in the Senate version of the Energy Bill, would essentially put John and Jane Q. Taxpayer on the hook for any loan defaults by new nuclear power plant developers. The guarantees are necessary because no sane investment bank would finance a new nuclear power plant given the risk and uncertainty in permitting a new nuke.

So when Wall Street won't foot the bill for new nukes, let's put our taxpayers on the hook, or at least that's Senator Domenici's philosophy here. Good thing nuke developers have never defaulted on loans before ... oh wait!

All part of retiring Senator Domenici's legacy of fighting renewable energy. He can't retire soon enough, if you ask me.

Possible Cave-in on Renewable Energy Brewing

So, with influential Republicans working to kill the fragile coalition supporting the Energy Bill, embattled Democratic leaders are considering jettisoning the support for renewable energy in the House version of the Energy Bill.

According to rumors flying around D.C. and across the blogosphere, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid are considering stripping the 15% by 2020 Renewable Electricity Standard (or Renewable Portfolio Standard) and the $32 billion tax package for renewable energy from the Energy Bill in order to try to keep increased fuel economy standards in the bill.

Stripping the RES and the tax title would mean Dems had been forced to cave on just about everything that President Bush has complained about and Senator Rs had fought against.

The 35 mpg by 2020 increase in CAFE standards is critical, especially at a time when oil is trading at nearly $100 per barrel. However, the support for clean, homegrown renewable energy in the Energy Bill is equally critical and the Democratic Leadership needs to be clear that the RES and tax title are not ballast to be thrown overboard in stormy waters.

It's time to send Pelosi, Reid and your own reps and senators a clear message that the Energy Bill must include all three provisions: increased fuel economy standards, a renewable electricity standard, AND a tax package for clean, renewable energy.

Let President Bush veto a critical energy bill at a time of record high energy prices and explain that to the American people. Let House and Senate Rs explain why they blocked efforts to save Americans energy and money, help kick our oil addiction, invest in clean, homegrown, renewable energy sources and put America on a path to a sustainable and prosperous energy future.

But DO NOT cave in.

This isn't the "change" we voted for in November 2006, and we'll be voting for new leaders in 2008 if our current set can't get the job done.