In my most recent article on Vail’s quest for a biopower plant that would sit on town land at Buzzard’s Park and consume chipped up lodgepole pine trees killed in the ongoing beetle-kill epidemic, I neglected to give kudos to Vail Town Councilman Mark Gordon, who first put a bug in my ear about this project last winter.
Gordon deserves a lot of credit for resuscitating this concept and getting the right people – like paper-products heavyweight Andrew King of Connecticut – involved. Now the town is onboard with Sen. Mark Udall, the Denver Water Board and the U.S. Forest Service in supporting King’s $30 million grant request to the Department of Energy.
This is far from a done deal, but it’s certainly picking up steam, and it’s not too hard to envision one day turning thousands of acres of rust-red and long-dead trees into hot-water heat for lodges and street snowmelt systems in town, as well as producing electricity and selling it to the local co-op, Holy Cross Energy. It’s a project that, according to one solid source, tells me “pencils well” and could provide a working model for hundreds of similar projects around the country.
Of course, the Euros, as usual, are way ahead of us on this one. It was former Vail Mayor Ludwig Kurz who first broached this possibility several years ago. Originally from Salzburg, Austria, Kurz started the sister-resort relationship between Lech, Austria (known as the Aspen of Europe), and Beaver Creek. He has led several trips to Lech, where local officials have been wowed by that resort’s working biomass plant.
What’s interesting is that Kurz is rumored to be considering running for Vail Town Council again having sat out the requisite four years after leaving office due to term limits. So we could see dueling biomass power plant campaigns since Gordon has said he will run for re-election in November.
Regardless of who gets credit, this thing needs to happen. It would be a huge feather in our cap as a resort increasingly known for trying to offset its massive carbon footprint through creative green initiatives. We could become a true eco-tourism destination.
And apparently King (whom I have yet to drop a line to but declined an interview request from the Vail Daily) is the paper-products pit bull who’s making this thing happen, hopefully taking advantage of the perfect storm of stimulus money and new-energy impetus from the Obama administration.
If I only paid a little closer attention to comments on my own site, I’d have seen his name mentioned after a February article I posted on the subject. But just to show the level of national interest in the project, the Huffington Post linked to my most recent story, which first appeared on the Colorado Independent, for whom I am the Western Slope energy correspondent.
Conspicuously absent from the list of supporters in the most recent round of stories is Vail Resorts, which continues to sit quietly on the sidelines, declining public comment until there is evidence of public support for the project.
Vail Resorts is one of the largest buyers of wind credits in the nation but backed away from actually investing in wind-energy production by installing turbines atop Vail Mountain. Biomass represents a chance to jump into the alt-energy game in a big way.
The ski and real estate company last week announced a green initiative to dramatically reduce its $1-million-a-year annual paper budget, but for now will keep printing trail maps skiers and snowboarders can stash in a coat pocket, according to the Vail Daily.
The state’s biggest ski company — owner of Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Heavenly (Calif.), Keystone and Vail — has been on a major enviro-tear the last few years, becoming the 25th largest buyer of wind energy credits in the nation, announcing a billion-dollar green-built (LEED-certified) base village called Ever Vail and dramatically chopping its power consumption.
Aspen Skiing Company officials have been more vocal and politically active on the global-warming front, testifying before Congress and backing green candidates in local rural electric co-op board of directors elections, but Vail has been making major strides under the fairly recent tenure of CEO Rob Katz.
Last year Katz announced “energy layoffs” aimed at reducing by 10 percent the $25 million per year the company spends on energy. Last week he announced the company cut energy consumption by 6.1 percent in the previous year and was on track to meet the 10-percent goal in the coming year. That initiative is far more meaningful than buying wind credits, according to Aspen-based energy consultant Randy Udall.
Vail Resorts did make somewhat of a political statement last year by contributing $500,000 to the Democratic National Convention in Denver but nothing to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. But biomass may be the biggest green statement the resort could make to date, because it’s a chance to offset the extremely power-intensive and somewhat environmentally dubious process of street snowmelt.
And biomass is one of literally hundreds of alt-energy projects coming online every week.
Cow excrement is a proven power source, with a New York company planning to build a $30 million biogas plant in Weld County next year to sell electricity to Xcel Energy, according to The Denver Post.
Now pond scum (algae, to be more precise) is on the cusp of making it as a commercially viable source of oil, according to the Durango Herald. A company growing algae on the Southern Ute reservation in southwest Colorado hopes to produce 2,000 to 2,500 gallons of oil per acre a year.
“We are growing algae and producing oil,” Solix Biofuels Inc.’s CEO Douglas Henston told the paper. “We hope that the transition of the platform to a large-scale, commercial production is right around the corner.”
So why not tap into urine? That’s a question posed by researchers quoted by The Daily Green blog:
“The basic idea here is time-honored electrolysis. It works like this: A molecule of urea (a big part of urine) has four atoms of hydrogen and two of nitrogen. Messy and smelly as it might be, you can attach a nickel electrode to your basic urine pool and produce hydrogen gas to power the world’s fuel cells. Farms could double as energy generators: Unlike us, cows and pigs don’t move around so much (especially when they’re factory farmed) so the urine is easy to collect.
"Professor Geraldine Botte of Ohio University is working on the technology in miniature, but thinks it could be scaled up for commercial applications. According to a Discovery account, ‘A fuel cell, urine-powered vehicle could theoretically travel 90 miles per gallon. A refrigerator-sized unit could produce one kilowatt of energy for about $5,000 [a rough estimate].’”
Seriously, cow pies, pee, algae, beetle-killed trees. It all should be on the table these days, and the massive enviro-degradation of oil shale production should be off the table once and for all, unless it can be proven to consume dramatically less water and conventional power.
August 4, 2009
August 3, 2009
Biocentric Energy Holdings Negotiating Exclusive Manufacturing License With Asian Corporation
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA--(Marketwire - August 3, 2009) - Biocentric Energy Holdings, Inc. (
Biocentric President Dennis Fisher today announced the company is in serious negotiations for the exclusive licensing of the closed loop photobioreactor system, with an Asian country. The terms of the negotiations, the licensing fee and the country in question are to remain confidential at this time. Mr. Fisher also indicated the exclusive licensing fee for the entire country was a significant amount and that a consummated contract is anticipated during August 2009.
Company COO Mr. Dennis Shen returned from China earlier this week and confirmed the Teaming agreement with Zhenxing Co was fully executed, and the company is now able to leverage the resources in China to design and manufacture certain components for Biocentric's global operations.
Following updates for the production and ALGAE harvesting for the company's onsite closed loop Photobioreactor system. The 1800 square feet closed loop Photobioreactor is fully operational and the initial harvest of the ALGAE culture is expected sometime next week. The company plans to produce a Biodiesel sample product from this initial harvest and initiate lab testing of the Biodiesel fuel samples to calculate the emission reductions of a diesel engine operating on the ALGAE based Biodiesel fuel. The results of the test will be made available by Press Release and the company's website.
Mr. Shen will be returning to China in the second week of August to finalize additional negotiations.
Dennis Fisher, Company President, today commented, "Emerging Green Companies today released a 3 part interview on their website which is a detailed introduction to how ALGAE is produced, harvested and the products' end use contributing to a future all 'Green' environment."
Relevant Links & Articles
http://emerginggreencompanies.com/home/?page_id=124
Biocentric Energy Holdings, Inc. is dedicated to the development of new technologies as well as acquiring and fostering companies with innovative technologies designed to provide unique and effective green energy solutions for the 21st century. Along with the cultivation of important relationships and partnerships with synergistic entities, Biocentric Energy has devoted substantial time and effort in research and development in order to bring a range of innovative green alternatives to the marketplace.
Safe Harbor Statement: This release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as BEHL or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements herein that describe the Company's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.
See this release in video format
http://vodnewswire.com/vodnewswire/news/biocentric-energy-20090731/
Algae: Promising fuel
Exxon has launched a $600 million project to turn algae into gasoline. Hurrah. We hope this green research helps break America's dependency on foreign oil.
Exxon teamed up with Synthetic Genomics -- which decoded human DNA -- in hope of giving America a whole new energy source, and also eliminating some of the climate-wrecking carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels. Like all green plants, algae consume CO2 and emit oxygen.
In Huntington, two entrepreneurs, Matt Sabin and George Bauer, created American Algae Growers Corp. in hope of producing fuels. They want to obtain waste CO2 from West Virginia coal-fired power plants and pump it into vats of rapid-growing algae, which can be turned into biodiesel gasoline.
Until now, America has focused mostly on turning corn into ethanol fuel. But this wastes valuable food -- while algae isn't otherwise needed. Further, an acre of corn produces only 80 gallons of fuel, while an acre of algae vats could produce 15,000 gallons.
Worldwide resistance to polluting fossil fuels is growing. Many nations are seeking clean energy through wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, nuclear, biomass and other sorts of power. We hope algae -- including some produced by the start-up Huntington firm -- someday contributes to the transition.
Algae Biofuel Alternative Energy Deals
By James Rickman, CEO - SVS LLC
The algae sector is getting more attention recently as a top contender to what is now commonly referred to as a ‘third-generation’ biofuel. The reasoning could lie in the fact that previously, very little information was provided on algae used as a biofuel feedstock. As research increases, so does the level of interest and investment.
Recently, we siginificant investment into the "algae biefuel' market including; ExxonMobil (XOM) has partnered with biotech company Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) to research and develop next generation biofuels from photosynthetic algae.
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company has entered into a research and development alliance with SGI, a privately held company focused on developing genomic-driven solutions and founded by genome pioneer, Dr. J. Craig Venter, to develop advanced biofuels from photosynthetic algae that are compatible with today’s gasoline and diesel fuels. The initiative would require ExxonMobil to spend more than $600 million, including $300 million in internal costs and potentially more than $300 million to SGI.
Thus far the oil supermajor has invested more than $1.5 billion over the past five years on activities that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions including technologies to improve automobile efficiency like tire liners, advanced fuel-economy engine oil, light-weight automobile plastics, and an improved lithium battery separator film for hybrid electric cars. However, now we are seeing increases accross the board in "algae, palm oil and other" alternative energy crops.
Several large energy companies like Boeing (BA), Shell (RBS.A) , ConocoPhillips (COP) , BP PLC (BP) and Chevron (CVX) are also investing in algae biofuels including alternative jet fuels.
There are now three publicly traded "Algae Biofuel" companies. PetroSun (PSUD.PK) and more recently OriginOil (OOIL.OB) and PetroAlgae, (PALG.OB) have also gone public. PetroAlgae is also the industry high flyer, and is doing some interesting work growing duckweed.
Additionally, the U.S. DARPA has provided $35 million to San Diego-based companies SAIC (SAI) and General Atomics to pursue the creation of algae-based jet fuel. You might also find interesting updates in my recent article; "Sustainable Bio-Fuel Aviation Performs Well".
We have seen the implementation of a new technology, BioGauge™, developed by International Energy, Inc. The technology is able to quickly determine the accumulation of bio-oil and other valuable compounds in microalgae, which is predicted to catapult the importance of algae in the biofuels commercial sector.
US-based bioenergy company OriginOil announced in May that it developed an extraction method to help transform algae into a competitive transport fuel. The company plans to commercialize the patent-pending solution for use by others in the algae industry.
In addition, cities are even jumping on board to utilize algae in order to meet energy demands. Electricity sources in Venice, Italy will be diversified by using algae in order to produce 50% of the city’s electricity needs. The city – famous for its canals – will turn its algae problem into a solution by utilizing the third generation biofuel by producing electricity from two types of algae that can be found regularly growing over the seaport and clinging to ships.
Other developments include U.S. retailers such as grocery-store chain; The Kroger Co. (KR), discount retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and warehouse store BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ) are increasingly selling blended discount gas to draw customer traffic and boost sales in other departments.
Keep an eye on India's manufacturing of Jatropha blended biofuels; the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 37%. The oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. It burns with clear smoke-free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. The by-products are press cake a good organic fertilizer, oil contains also insecticide.
Few advantages of Jatropha are:
Jatropha is adapted to a wide range of climates and soils.
It can grow almost on any type of soil whether gravelly, sandy or saline and thrives even on the poorest stony soils and rock crevices.
It is a drought resistant perennial living up to 50 years.
It is significant to point out that, the non-edible vegetable oil of Jatropha curcas has the requisite potential of providing a promising and commercially viable alternative to diesel oil since it has desirable physicochemical and performance characteristics comparable to diesel. Cars can be run with Jatropha curcas without requiring much change in design.
For more information on sustainable industries, copywriting, media content, and search engine optimization services contact (503) 621-4953 or visit www.sustainablevirtualbiz.com
August 2, 2009
SunEco signs algae-based truck fuel deal
California-based algae expert SunEco Energy has tested biodiesel from algal oil produced at its demonstration plant in Chino, California in the trucks of transportation logistics company J. B. Hunt. The biodiesel was tested in a B20 and a B50 blend and produced an 82% reduction in particulate emissions with no loss of power.
The company is now constructing the world’s first commercial-scale algal oil plant in a converted fish farm in Imperial Valley, California, and is seeking funds to scale up the technology in other plants around the world.
Following the tests, J. B. Hunt is interested in becoming a large-scale purchaser of the fuel: ‘Our initial experience with their algae-based biodiesel is promising, and we are excited about the opportunity to work with SunEco Energy to move towards a lower cost, less carbon intensive, and more secure energy supply for our business,’ says Gary Whicker, vice president of J. B. Hunt’s engineering department.
SunEco’s proprietary process is based on modifications to the environment of naturally occurring strains of algae that stimulate them to produce more oil. SunEco’s management had been dealing with algae for over 20 years from an environmental remediation standpoint and claims that this expertise allows it to manipulate the organism’s behaviour.
The company is now constructing the world’s first commercial-scale algal oil plant in a converted fish farm in Imperial Valley, California, and is seeking funds to scale up the technology in other plants around the world.
Following the tests, J. B. Hunt is interested in becoming a large-scale purchaser of the fuel: ‘Our initial experience with their algae-based biodiesel is promising, and we are excited about the opportunity to work with SunEco Energy to move towards a lower cost, less carbon intensive, and more secure energy supply for our business,’ says Gary Whicker, vice president of J. B. Hunt’s engineering department.
SunEco’s proprietary process is based on modifications to the environment of naturally occurring strains of algae that stimulate them to produce more oil. SunEco’s management had been dealing with algae for over 20 years from an environmental remediation standpoint and claims that this expertise allows it to manipulate the organism’s behaviour.
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