By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Solar energy project extending onto Edwards Air Force Base becomes Kern’s largest

A new solar energy project combining almost 2 million photovoltaic arrays with more than 120,000 batteries has become the largest installation of its kind in Kern County. The $2 billion Edwards Sanborn Solar and Energy Storage Project, 57 percent of which is located on the northwest corner of Edwards Air Force Base, began generating 807 megawatts of electricity late last year for clients including every Starbucks location in Southern California. A ribbon-cutting took place last week at the military base east of Rosamond.

When the project’s energy storage component comes fully online later this year, it will be capable of delivering 3,287 megawatt-hours for a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 megawatts, according to the project’s New York-based developer, Terra-Gen Inc. The project stands out as the biggest in a county known for its extensive solar-power assets. The second-largest, according to Director Lorelei Oviatt of the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, is the battery-less Berkshire Hathaway Energy Solar Star straddling Kern and Los Angeles counties.

“Only in America, can we take barren land, embrace the power of the sun and create an engineering marvel,” Brig. Gen. William Kale, Air Force Civil Engineer Center commander, said in a news release. “So, take the time to reflect, see the great work that was done and understand the significance of this project and what it can lead to. Hopefully, this is just the spark.”

The military base will not receive power from the project, but it will benefit from added power-grid resiliency expected to reduce the area’s risk of blackouts of brownouts, said Vice President Simon Day, head of solar development for Terra-Gen.

The U.S. Air Force will also receive almost $76 million in lease revenue after signing in November 2018 what’s known as an enhanced-use lease covering 2,600 acres classified as under-utilized at the base. The project’s other 2,000 acres are situated on land owned by Terra-Gen north of the base.

Day said that, during the 35-year term of the lease, the project will pay $135 million in property taxes. That does not include $22 million in sales taxes paid to Kern County or $11 million in sales taxes paid to the state.

Not all of the 17 entities receiving energy from the project have been disclosed. But besides Starbucks, Day said, buyers include a well-known grocery store chain, the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the Clean Power Alliance, which provides renewable energy to customers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Construction on the project employed 890 union workers paid wages totaling $315 million during a period of about two years, Day said. He noted that not one reportable safety incident took place during the more than 1 million construction hours involved.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/solar-energy-project-extending-onto-edwards-air-force-base-becomes-kern-s-largest/article_71b009b0-a800-11ed-ab92-1f26b22d6482.html

By Faughn Energy • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Solar energy project extending onto Edwards Air Force Base becomes Kern’s largest

A new solar energy project combining almost 2 million photovoltaic arrays with more than 120,000 batteries has become the largest installation of its kind in Kern County. The $2 billion Edwards Sanborn Solar and Energy Storage Project, 57 percent of which is located on the northwest corner of Edwards Air Force Base, began generating 807 megawatts of electricity late last year for clients including every Starbucks location in Southern California. A ribbon-cutting took place last week at the military base east of Rosamond.

When the project’s energy storage component comes fully online later this year, it will be capable of delivering 3,287 megawatt-hours for a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 megawatts, according to the project’s New York-based developer, Terra-Gen Inc. The project stands out as the biggest in a county known for its extensive solar-power assets. The second-largest, according to Director Lorelei Oviatt of the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, is the battery-less Berkshire Hathaway Energy Solar Star straddling Kern and Los Angeles counties.

“Only in America, can we take barren land, embrace the power of the sun and create an engineering marvel,” Brig. Gen. William Kale, Air Force Civil Engineer Center commander, said in a news release. “So, take the time to reflect, see the great work that was done and understand the significance of this project and what it can lead to. Hopefully, this is just the spark.”

The military base will not receive power from the project, but it will benefit from added power-grid resiliency expected to reduce the area’s risk of blackouts of brownouts, said Vice President Simon Day, head of solar development for Terra-Gen. The U.S. Air Force will also receive almost $76 million in lease revenue after signing in November 2018 what’s known as an enhanced-use lease covering 2,600 acres classified as under-utilized at the base. The project’s other 2,000 acres are situated on land owned by Terra-Gen north of the base.

Day said that, during the 35-year term of the lease, the project will pay $135 million in property taxes. That does not include $22 million in sales taxes paid to Kern County or $11 million in sales taxes paid to the state.

Not all of the 17 entities receiving energy from the project have been disclosed. But besides Starbucks, Day said, buyers include a well-known grocery store chain, the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the Clean Power Alliance, which provides renewable energy to customers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Construction on the project employed 890 union workers paid wages totaling $315 million during a period of about two years, Day said. He noted that not one reportable safety incident took place during the more than 1 million construction hours involved. He noted Terra-Gen has almost three dozen operations and maintenance staff stationed in Mojave.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/solar-energy-project-extending-onto-edwards-air-force-base-becomes-kern-s-largest/article_71b009b0-a800-11ed-ab92-1f26b22d6482.html

By Faughn New Developments • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Kern Community College District unveils California Renewable Energy Laboratory

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Local officials and educators celebrated Wednesday the creation of the California Renewable Energy Laboratory. The facility is made possible through $50 million in state funding, which Assemblymember Rudy Salas says he secured in the latest budget. Local educators say the facility will put the Kern Community College District in a position to lead the way in terms of technology development and workforce training. The energy lab’s purpose, in part, is to develop a framework to keep cutting edge, high paying jobs in Kern County. The facility will include centers of excellence for carbon management, microgrid technology and clean transportation.

https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/kern-community-college-district-unveils-california-renewable-energy-laboratory/

By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

How ‘solar canals’ could help California reach sustainable energy goals

TURLOCK, Calif. — Amid intense heat waves that strained the California energy system this month, attention has been placed on efforts to build on renewable energy in the country’s most populous state. At the state level, California is gradually taking steps to run on carbon-free electricity by 2045, and legislation pushing for that calls on retail and state-run electricity sold to come from renewable sources. The transition has reached the automotive industry, with recent legislation pushing for more electric vehicles to be sold and the slow phasing out of sales of gasoline-powered cars. Large investments in clean energy infrastructure will be needed to meet California’s renewable energy goals, but some, like the state’s oldest irrigation district, are getting creative in how to get there. Irrigation districts are tasked with the distribution and management of water that has beneficial uses like agriculture or drinking.

Last year, a study published in Nature Sustainability by researchers from University of California at Santa Cruz along with UC Merced found that it may be possible to tap into the network of public water delivery canals as a way to both conserve water and advance the state’s renewable energy efforts. The researchers studied the concept of “solar canals,” which includes assembling a canopy of solar panels to prevent evaporation while also generating electric energy. The idea is being put to the test in an experiment called Project Nexus. Brandi McKuin, the lead researcher on the study and current assistant project scientist at UC Merced, said the amount of evaporation from canals in California varies by location and time of year. Placing solar panels over the water channels would not only help reduce a percentage of evaporation, but could also boost energy production, she said, since water cools slower than land.

For now, Project Nexus is starting small and is mainly a test of whether the research can hold true in practice, McKuin said. But the project views the state’s canals as a gold mine for not just energy, but information that can inform future energy projects. Those involved are going in with more questions than answers. The research suggests that covering all of California’s canals – spanning roughly 4,000 miles – with solar panels could save up to 63 billion gallons of water and generate 13 gigawatts of renewable power annually. One gigawatt is equal to the energy consumption of 100 million LEDs, or as others put it, enough to power 750,000 homes.

Other benefits include reducing weed growth in the canals and replacing diesel-powered irrigation pumps with solar-powered engines, which lessens the impact on air quality from nitrogen oxide and tiny particulate matter given off by the diesel pumps. While the solar canal idea is new for the region, it’s a sign that “out-of-the-box” ideas are worth exploring to meet the state’s renewable energy capacity, McKuin said. But she said more research is needed, as well as policy, to drive new types of solutions. “There isn’t a single silver bullet solution to our water crisis,” McKuin told the PBS NewsHour. “California is facing a challenging water future, and it’s our job as researchers to find solutions wherever we can, and solar canals is just one of the solutions that can contribute to drought resilience for the state.” The project has a $20 million backing in the state’s current budget, and construction is expected to be completed in 2023.

Eye on local, statewide benefits

The idea of solar canals struck a chord with the Turlock Irrigation District, which operates about 90 miles north of Fresno. The agency provides both water and electricity – a rare operation in the state. mMost irrigation districts just deliver seasonal water to farms and communities, but the Turlock Irrigation District is one of eight “electric balancing authorities” in the state, which help maintain “consistent electric frequency” of the grid, according to the California Energy Commission. The Turlock district’s venture into electric utility began in 1923 after the Don Pedro Dam was built at the Don Pedro Reservoir in the foothills east of the city of Turlock, giving the district an opportunity to generate its own electricity. The following year, the district supported more than 3,000 customers with electricity. Today, nearly 250,000 customers are provided electricity by the district.

The largest balancing authority in California is the Independent System Operator, providing 80 percent of the state’s power load. During the heat wave in early September, which brought record triple-digit temperatures to much of the West, the California ISO issued a Flex Alert to cellphones calling on consumers to conserve energy by shutting down appliances in order to avert an energy shortage. mThe Turlock Irrigation District also saw historic energy peaks, but it did not issue similar urgent calls to conserve energy, said Josh Weimer, a spokesperson for the district, mainly because the district has been able to carefully manage its own water and power distribution, as it has always done in its 135-year history.

However, in recent years, the district, like many other agencies, has had to reconsider how much water it is able to deliver to its customers as it faces the increasing challenges of drought and heat. Sustained drought in the West has led to dwindling water supply in recent years, leaving key reservoirs like Lake Mead at historically low levels. The growing uncertainties that come with climate change are hitting in many places and pose tough questions about California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack, where the irrigation district’s water begins to form. Forecasts suggest the Sierra will have less snowpack in coming years due to the effects of greenhouse emissions, and rainstorms have the potential to be wetter than usual. Those events could have effects downstream for communities. “We’re not left out of being impacted by a change in climate and multi-year consecutive drought,” Weimer told the NewsHour.

It’s why the idea of placing solar panels over roughly two miles of its more than 250 miles of canals in the middle of California seemed worth exploring, Weimer said. His district could use more water to grow walnuts, peaches and almonds and feed its dairy industry in addition to examining an idea that could potentially improve the district and state’s energy supply. And though the district will be the first in the nation to jump into the solar canals idea, “it’s worth changing the status quo and how we operate our system because of the potential benefit,” Weimer said. The solar canal study suggests conserving water in the canals could reduce groundwater pumping and lead to fewer deserted fields due to water shortages. Communities in the San Joaquin Valley have routinely dealt with unreliable water supply from drought and over pumping. The state’s Department of Water Resources supports the project, and if the test run at the Turlock Irrigation District is able to produce the intended results, the agency will be a crucial body to extend the project to the state’s water systems. “As California prepares for a possible fourth dry year, the state is excited to examine new ways that will improve water conservation, provide a clean energy resource, and build drought resilience,” Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water Resources, said in a statement.

Origins of the idea

Inspiration for placing solar panels over canals came from a similar project in Gujarat, India, in 2014. The developers of Project Nexus and founders of Solar AquaGrid LLC commissioned the study of solar canals with support from Texas-based NRG Energy and Bay Area-based Citizen Group. The India project informed U.S. researchers. Jordan Harris, co-founder and CEO of AquaGrid, said the new solar canals can use 50 percent less raw material than the India project, in addition to allowing for more space around the panels for easy maintenance. Project Nexus will include various solar canopies designed for the shapes and sizes of different canals within the experiment to study the impact of each type of canopy, Harris said.

The Turlock district’s operation as a water and electricity provider gave the founders of AquaGrid extra interest because searching for land to build solar farms can be expensive and difficult. Placing solar panels over existing waterways and property is not only cost-effective but removes the possibility of building on unused land that could negatively impact the environment. Solar farms take up a large area, and sometimes the problem is finding enough space to construct them. “There simply isn’t enough land to build that much solar and wind,” Harris said. “So, the idea of looking at already disturbed space [like] in every rooftop, every parking lot and 4,000 miles of canals and reservoirs, is a huge opportunity to solve problems.”

Ultimately, Harris said he hopes a project like Project Nexus in California’s Central Valley will help reimagine the way people think of canals and other infrastructure in the move toward renewable energy. He added the state’s engineering of thousands of miles of canals that divert water to major cities and industries will have a chance to adapt to the changing climate conditions, if the project were expanded. If California were its own country, it would have the fifth-largest economy in the world, but Harris said such prosperity can’t continue if the environment is ignored. “In our quest to satisfy human needs, we’ve often been irresponsible, and built big cities where there aren’t the natural resources, so we figure out how to bring the resources. I think there’s a way to honor the landscape and the land, and show responsibility and respect, and I think that’s what this type of innovation can do,” Harris said.

 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/heres-how-californias-canals-could-advance-the-states-renewable-energy-goals

By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

SEE INVESTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) has invested $9 million in a solar farm that is now powering its Madera, California manufacturing facility. The solar panels, which sit on 11 acres of company-owned land adjacent to the facility, are expected to help reduce energy spend at this site by $1 million annually. The 265,000 square foot plant, which manufactures BUBBLE WRAP® brand original cushioning, SEALED AIR® brand Korrvu® retention and suspension packaging, mailers, and other solutions, will have 98% of its electricity powered by the solar field. “The installation of these solar panels contributes to SEE’s overarching sustainability strategy and advances our transition to net-zero carbon emissions in our operations by 2040. Through these solar panels, we are advancing our use of renewable energy, lessening the energy intensity of operations and reducing the company’s greenhouse gas emissions,” said Emile Chammas, SEE’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are on a journey to leave our world better than we find it and the completion of this project is an important milestone in the strategic investments we’re making to achieve that goal.”

SEE partnered with TotalEnergies (which recently acquired SunPower Commercial and Industrial Solutions) to design and install the 3.5-megawatt ground mount solar project, which includes 8,975 solar panels, along with a 770 kW/3,080 kilowatt-hour battery storage system. “TotalEnergies is proud to be SEE’s energy transformation partner as they invest to achieve ambitious sustainability targets,” said Eric Potts, vice president of TotalEnergies Distributed Generation USA. “Renewable energy is a business priority for both of our companies, so we are thrilled that this project will deliver long-term benefits to SEE’s Madera facility while advancing global progress toward carbon neutrality.”

Over the course of the first year, the solar project will help avoid 4,982 metric tons of carbon dioxide and 72,172 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 15 years, which is equivalent to:

  • Greenhouse gas emissions from more than 15,000 passenger vehicles driven for one year
  • The carbon dioxide emission from annual electricity use for more than 14,000 homes
  • Carbon sequestered by nearly 1,200,000 tree seedlings grown over the course of a decade

 

About SEE

Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) is in business to protect, solve critical packaging challenges, and make our world better than we find it. Our automated packaging solutions promote a safer, more resilient, and less wasteful global food supply chain, enable e-commerce, and protect goods transported worldwide. Our globally recognized brands include CRYOVAC® brand food packaging, SEALED AIR® brand protective packaging, AUTOBAG® brand automated systems, BUBBLE WRAP® brand packaging, SEE Automation™ solutions and prismiq™ smart packaging and digital printing.

SEE’s Operating Model, together with our industry-leading expertise in materials, engineering and technology, create value through more sustainable, automated, and digitally connected packaging solutions. We are leading the packaging industry in creating a more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable future and have pledged to design or advance 100% of our packaging materials to be recyclable or reusable by 2025, with a bolder goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions in our global operations by 2040. Our Global Impact Report highlights how we are shaping the future of the packaging industry. We are committed to a diverse workforce and caring, inclusive culture through our 2025 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion pledge.

SEE generated $5.5 billion in sales in 2021 and has approximately 16,500 employees who serve customers in 114 countries/territories. To learn more, visit sealedair.com.


Website Information

We routinely post important information for investors on our website, sealedair.com, in the Investors section. We use this website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investors section of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by such words as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “assume,” “could,” “should,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “potential,” “seek,” “predict,” “may,” “will” and similar references to future periods. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding expected future operating results, expectations regarding the results of restructuring and other programs, anticipated levels of capital expenditures and expectations of the effect on our financial condition of claims, litigation, environmental costs, contingent liabilities and governmental and regulatory investigations and proceedings. The following are important factors that we believe could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements: global economic and political conditions, currency translation and devaluation effects, changes in raw material pricing and availability, competitive conditions, the success of new product offerings, consumer preferences, the effects of animal and food-related health issues, the effects of epidemics or pandemics, including the Coronavirus Disease 2019, negative impacts related to the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions, export restrictions and other counteractions thereto, changes in energy costs, environmental matters, the success of our restructuring activities, the success of our merger, acquisition and equity investment strategies, the success of our financial growth, profitability, cash generation and manufacturing strategies and our cost reduction and productivity efforts, changes in our credit ratings, the tax benefit associated with the Settlement agreement (as defined in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K), regulatory actions and legal matters, and the other information referenced in the “Risk Factors” section appearing in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as revised and updated by our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statement made by us is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

https://www.sealedair.com/company/media-center/press-releases/see-madera-renewable-energy

By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Aemetis Completes 20 Miles of Biogas Pipeline and Receives Merced County Approval for Final Stage of Main Pipeline Construction

Aemetis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTX), a renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company focused on below zero carbon intensity products, today announced the completion of 20 miles of biogas pipeline and approval for construction of the remaining biogas pipeline in Merced County, California.  Construction of the 39-mile main biogas pipeline is on schedule for completion in Q4 2022. “Issuance of the Phase Two Pipeline permit and construction of the main pipeline in Merced County is a very significant milestone for the Aemetis Biogas RNG project,” said Andy Foster, President of Aemetis Biogas, Inc. “California and Merced County recognize that the adoption of dairy biogas as a negative carbon intensity fuel to replace diesel in heavy trucks and buses is essential if we are to make strides to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. Aemetis continues to rapidly deploy the infrastructure necessary to connect our network of dairy digesters and increase the production of carbon negative dairy renewable natural gas.”

This project milestone allows the installation of biogas pipeline in Merced County for construction of a pipeline for a total of 39 miles from the Aemetis ethanol plant in Keyes, California to dairies in Stanislaus County and Merced counties. The pressurized pipeline conveys conditioned, pressurized biogas from dairies to the Company’s centralized gas cleanup facility and the Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) interconnection system to inject renewable natural gas (RNG) into the gas utility pipeline. At the Keyes plant, the biogas is upgraded to negative carbon intensity RNG for use as a transportation fuel in cars, trucks, and buses. The RNG is either delivered into the PG&E utility pipeline located onsite at the Aemetis ethanol plant, dispensed to trucks at fueling stations across California or at the RNG fueling station being built at the Aemetis plant.

Previously, Aemetis announced that it received approval for the biogas pipeline from the Merced County Board of Supervisors for the Phase Two pipeline, as well as an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the entire pipeline project, the key approval necessary to meet the permitting requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) prior to pipeline construction. The CEQA approval confirms that mitigation measures in the biogas project will avoid or mitigate any impacts on the environment. The Company completed the permitting for 20 miles of biogas pipeline in Stanislaus County in August 2021 to connect dairies to the Aemetis biogas cleanup facility at the ethanol facility. The initial four-mile Phase 1 pipeline project was completed and commissioned in the third quarter of 2020 in conjunction with the completion of the Company’s first two dairy digesters, and the 20 miles of Stanislaus County pipeline has now been completed.  Additional pipeline will be added to connect digesters to the main biogas pipeline.

Once complete, the Aemetis biogas digesters and clean-up facility will produce more than 1.65 million MMBtu of RNG each year. Aemetis received a negative -426 Carbon Intensity pathway for biogas from the company’s first two dairy digesters, which is currently being utilized as process energy at the ethanol facility. When built, the system will eliminate emissions from approximately 1 million cars per year and eliminate about 5 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year. The pipeline project and the $12 million biogas cleanup facility are funded in part by a $4.2 million grant from the California Energy Commission.

 

About Aemetis

Aemetis has a mission to transform renewable energy with below zero carbon intensity transportation fuels. Aemetis has launched the Carbon Zero production process to decarbonize the transportation sector using today’s infrastructure. Aemetis Carbon Zero products include zero carbon fuels that can “drop in” to be used in airplane, truck, and ship fleets. Aemetis low-carbon fuels have substantially reduced carbon intensity compared to standard petroleum fossil-based fuels across their lifecycle.

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a renewable natural gas, renewable fuel and biochemicals company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative technologies that replace petroleum-based products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Founded in 2006, Aemetis has completed Phase 1 and is expanding a California biogas digester network and pipeline system to convert dairy waste gas into Renewable Natural Gas. Aemetis owns and operates a 65 million gallon per year ethanol production facility in California’s Central Valley near Modesto that supplies about 80 dairies with animal feed. Aemetis also owns and operates a 50 million gallon per year production facility on the East Coast of India producing high quality distilled biodiesel and refined glycerin for customers in India and Europe.  Aemetis is developing the Carbon Zero sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel fuel biorefineries in California to utilize distillers corn oil and other renewable oils to produce low carbon intensity renewable jet and diesel fuel using cellulosic hydrogen from waste orchard and forest wood, while pre-extracting cellulosic sugars from the waste wood to be processed into high value cellulosic ethanol at the Keyes plant. Aemetis holds a portfolio of patents and exclusive technology licenses to produce renewable fuels and biochemicals.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events or other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements relating to the development and construction of the biogas pipeline, biogas digesters, our compliance with governmental programs, and our ability to access markets and funding to execute our business plan.  Words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “showing signs,” “targets,” “view,” “will likely result,” “will continue” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions and predictions and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.  Actual results or events could differ materially from those set forth or implied by such forward-looking statements and related assumptions due to certain factors, including, without limitation, competition in the ethanol, biodiesel and other industries in which we operate, commodity market risks including those that may result from current weather conditions, financial market risks, customer adoption, counter-party risks, risks associated with changes to federal policy or regulation, and other risks detailed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and in our subsequent filings with the SEC.  We are not obligated, and do not intend, to update any of these forward-looking statements at any time unless an update is required by applicable securities laws.

https://www.aemetis.com/aemetis-completes-20-miles-of-biogas-pipeline-and-receives-merced-county-approval-for-final-stage-of-main-pipeline-construction/

By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Local ag waste prized as fuel source, carbon for storage

To the lingering question of what to do with woody ag waste and other forms of Central Valley biomass, carbon scientists and investors agree on an answer: gasify it, sell some of the byproduct as fuel and bury the leftover carbon deep underground. Doing so would produce a net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions while forestalling pollution from open burning and even preventing groundwater contamination if some of the waste involved is manure. What’s more, the whole process appears to be a moneymaker, thanks to a growing market for both hydrogen and carbon credits. At a symposium on carbon capture and storage Friday at Cal State Bakersfield, great hope was placed in the process, referred to during the inaugural meeting as BiCRS (pronounced “bikers”): bioenergy with carbon removal and storage. Two such projects have been proposed in Kern, but neither has taken more than early steps toward development. Expectations are that considerably more money will be invested as part of a wider push to capture and sequester carbon. Other means include removing it from smokestacks and pulling carbon dioxide straight out of the atmosphere.

Energy Program Chief Scientist Roger Aines at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory told Friday’s audience BiCRS is a “clear winner” in combined economics and environmental benefit, as long as the biomass used is low-moisture and the carbon is not allowed to return to the atmosphere. If done right, he said, BiCRS results in an overall decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Aines dismissed the idea of merely burying biomass, as is sometimes done in local almond orchards, because he said it continues to emit methane. He said a better option is injecting it deep underground to keep it there permanently. He noted the process works with everything from almond shells to forest waste. Biomass used to be a greater producer of energy in the Central Valley than it is now. Utilities contracting for cleaner power found that other renewable sources of electricity beat the cost of most biomass plants. Plus, environmental justice groups have targeted them as significant producers of particulate air pollution. Gasification works differently. It does not combust but super-heats waste feedstock to break it down into gases like hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The process puts out much less air pollution.

If the process is used on manure, such as is produced in large quantities at local dairies, it avoids methane emissions and keeps nitrates out of local groundwater, which would reduce risks of cancer, fetal growth retardation and other negative health outcomes, Lawrence Livermore staff scientist Kim Mayfield noted at Friday’s symposium. Still, more research is needed to document the complete and complex carbon lifecycle of BiCRS, said Deputy Director Colin Murphy at the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy. He emphasized the concept has been greeted with some skepticism by California’s Spanish-speaking communities and others living in agricultural and industrial areas. His recommendation was for better engagement with such communities.

One project proposed in Kern would gasify local ag waste and turn it into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The latter byproduct would be stored permanently in concrete or injected into a depleted or nearly depleted oil or gas reservoir. Southern California-based Mote says it has begun preparations on a $100 million facility outside Bakersfield that would capture 150,000 metric tons of CO2 yearly starting as soon as 2024. The startup expects to sell hydrogen for use by heavy-duty trucks in the Central Valley. It would also cash in on federal tax credits, revenue from sales of carbon credits and state incentives. Speaking at Friday’s symposium, Mote co-founder and CTO Josh Stolaroff said the project’s economics allow it to gather biomass across a wider radius than conventional biomass power plants. BiCRS is also a relatively large job creator per dollar of investment, he said.

The other BiCRS project that has been disclosed publicly in Kern would work differently. It would produce methane for injection into a local natural gas pipeline for use as transportation fuel. CO2 from the process would be injected underground, while the carbon-rich byproduct biochar could be used in different ways, such as a soil amendment or water filtration or odor-absorber. Frontline Bioenergy LLC, the Iowa-based technology company behind the proposal, wants to build the plant in McFarland and employ about 50 local residents. It has estimated the plant would gasify about 300,000 tons per year of nut shells and other local ag waste and produce the natural gas equivalent of 22 million gallons of gasoline, plus 125 tons per day of biochar.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/local-ag-waste-prized-as-fuel-source-carbon-for-storage/article_e292237e-c88c-11ec-a8ba-e372047a3983.html

By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Biodiesel refinery celebrates expansion that makes it largest of its kind in Western U.S.

A clean-energy project two years and more than $40 million in the making got a proper christening Thursday as Denver-based Crimson Renewable Energy Holdings LLC celebrated an expansion that cements its position as the largest producer of ultra-low carbon biodiesel in the Western United States. The company’s 11-year-old biodiesel plant along Millux Road a half-hour south and west of Bakersfield can now process an extra 13.3 million gallons per year of biodiesel made primarily from recycled cooking oil, trap grease and rendered animal fats. Its total capacity is now close to 50 million gallons per year, or about 3,300 barrels daily. Crimson’s expansion, supported by the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and funded in part by a $9.4 million grant from the California Energy Commission, builds on Kern County’s profile as the state’s leading producer of renewable energy and biofuels. Not only can the 56-acre plant process more materials than before, but it can also refine a wider variety of feedstocks from across the West, such as brown grease. “You can think of this as a kind of specialized recycling facility,” said President and CEO Harry Simpson of plant operator Crimson Renewable Energy LP. He added that there is no other facility like it in the country.

Biodiesel is generally blended with petroleum fuels on a 20 percent basis to reduce emissions of fine particulates and greenhouse gases. It is primarily used to fuel tractor-trailers traveling through the valley. For properly equipped vehicles, it can be used 100 percent in place of conventional diesel fuel. On Thursday, the plant literally hummed with activity under towering cylindrical tanks and two massive structures of intertwined pipes, vents and valves. Men in hardhats kept dozens of visitors on strict safety protocols amid a mildly pungent odor. CEO Markus Dielacher at the Austrian-based company that helped design and build the project, BDI BioEnergy International, said a plant with similar capabilities opened in January in Hungary, and another is planned for Belgium. The only byproduct is glycerine, which he said can be used in industrial applications. State officials commended Simpson and his company for helping California make progress toward its 2035 goal of carbon neutrality.

Executive Director Richard Corey of the California Air Resources Board said about half the state’s greenhouse gas emissions come from petroleum. But achieving the state’s climate goals won’t be as easy as suddenly switching to electric vehicles, he said: Biodiesel will be an important part of the solution. “The fact of the matter is, you can’t electrify everything,” Corey said. “We’re going to be on liquid fuels for quite some time.” Crimson employs 72 people, together with one of its sister companies nearby, Delta Trading LP, which handles and stores petroleum and renewable fuels coming in by railroad.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/biodiesel-refinery-celebrates-expansion-that-makes-it-largest-of-its-kind-in-western-u-s/article_cf5fd0a0-bc46-11ec-87de-5bf9d8e1b0ae.html

By Faughn Commercial • New Developments • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

30 million sq ft ‘carbon management’ business park coming to Kern thanks to federal energy grant

One of the great challenges of our time is what to do with all that carbon in the atmosphere. On Tuesday, Kern County stepped forward with the seed of an answer. Or, multiple answers, as the case may be. One answer is to put it deep in the ground. Carbon sequestration, it is called. But there may be more solutions, and on Tuesday Kern County officials announced an innovative and potentially game-changing approach to discovering them. An approach that might be an example not just to California but the world.

Kern County, with help from the U.S. Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,  and other partners, will develop a 30 million square foot, 4,000 acre business park dedicated to dealing with carbon  – a natural byproduct of fossil fuels and other emissions and the central culprit in climate change. And powering the whole thing – a 30,000 acre solar farm on land no longer viable for agriculture. The Clean Energy and Carbon Management Business Park in west Kern – still in the very early stages of development – is intended to be the home of private sector investment in new carbon management technologies, from Direct Air Capture to Green Hydrogen. All five county supervisors along with three key county administrators gathered Tuesday to make the announcement. Supervisor Zack Scrivner’s district includes much of the county’s oil fields. “This process will include a stakeholder process with our partners and community,” he said, “in understanding what types of industries and jobs could be a reality in just the next few years.”

Renewable energy brought $60 billion of private and public investment to the county over the last 15 years and the hope is that the business park can do it again. If any of this sounds vague, that’s because much of it is. The purpose of the research grant is to help Kern and its several partners – among them Cal State Bakersfield, the Kern Community College District,  and the City of Bakersfield – in the development of clean carbon management  industries. Kern County wasn’t the only local government making announcements about our energy future. The City of Bakersfield and the Kern Community College District made a separate announcement Tuesday afternoon about a Department of Energy research grant of their own – part of the same Local Energy Action Program – designed to help communities create plans that reduce local air pollution, increase energy resilience, and lower both utility costs and energy burdens. Bakersfield and Kern County are two of the inaugural 22 jurisdictions around the country receiving these DOE grants, funded by the Biden administration’s $1.3 trillion infrastructure bill.

 

https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/30-million-sq-ft-carbon-management-business-park-coming-to-kern-thanks-to-federal-energy-grant/

By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Merced dairy turning cow manure into renewable energy

A Merced dairy is converting cow waste into renewable energy. Eileen Martinho works for Maas Energy Works and tells us how it’s done. “This is a dairy digester cluster project, where each dairy is a digester on their facility,” she said. “Then, they are sending methane gas from their digester, which is the purpose of the digester, is to collect the methane gas off of the manure.” After the manure is collected from thousands of cows, a special contraption called a Digester is used to help create renewable natural gas or “biomethane” before it’s sent back through a pipeline to one central location.

Local dairy producer Alex Dejager was hesitant when he was first approached about this project, not knowing the benefits or what it would turn into almost two years later. “Maas Energy came to us, basically knocked on our door and said we have a big dream of doing a project out here to capture emissions from 15,16 different dairies in one little area, pipeline it all to on essential area and basically move that gas to PG&E, and we kind of all laughed at him,” he said.

Approximately 55 percent of California’s methane emissions come from dairies and livestock and after learning more about the good this project can bring, Dejager quickly became involved and he believes more California farmers will have to do the same to stay financially sustainable. “If you think of one milking cow, it equates to taking one car off the road each year,” Martinho said. Although this natural gas will be cleaner, the cost of energy is not expected to decrease anytime soon. “In general, we are trying to lower the cost of the rates for our customers, RNG and this type of project is going to make it more efficient for us to develop cleaner fuels in the future,” says Janisse Quinonez with PG&E.