U.S. Demand for Renewable Power

The U.S. Department of Energy / Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has published a June 2007 chart of the states whose legislatures have mandated that a certain percentage or volume of their electricity will come from renewable sources - wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, tidal, and bioenergy.

This policy is called a "renewable portfolio standard" and it is interesting to note that a federal RPS was considered for inclusion in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). It did not pass because the Southern states would be at a disadvantage meeting the standard because of the lack of wind and solar resources. Should the march of state-by-state standards be implemented throughout the South - like the new RPS for Virginia (enacted April, 2007) and North Carolina (enacted August, 2007) - the bulk of the renewable power would have to come from biomass.

Florida is in full legislative consideration of a large Renewable Portfolio Standard. Their charismatic governor, Charlie Crist, advocates a 20% mandate.

The U.S. Department of Energy's version of the map below is imaged mapped to an expanded description of each state's policy. Their listing includes links to the administering organizations.

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A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is a state policy that requires electricity providers to obtain a minimum percentage of their power from renewable energy resources by a certain date. Currently there are 24 states plus the District of Columbia that have RPS policies in place. Together these states account for more than half of the electricity sales in the United States.

Four other states, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, and Vermont, have nonbinding goals for adoption of renewable energy instead of an RPS.

Summary of State Renewable Portfolio Standards
The following table gives a rough summary of state renewable portfolio standards. Percentages refer to a portion of electricity sales and megawatts (MW) to absolute capacity requirements. Most of these standards phase in over years, and the date refers to when the full requirement takes effect.

*Three states, Missouri, Virginia, and Vermont, have set voluntary goals for adopting renewable energy instead of portfolio standards with binding targets.

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technorati electricity, waste, bioenergy, bioproducts

A scientific assessment of plug-in hybrids

Clean Edge News published a story on a new report that analyzes the benefits of PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Energy Vehicles).

The EPRI-NRDC study represents the most comprehensive analysis of the potential reductions of global warming and other emissions from wide-scale introduction of PHEVs over time. The study addresses the impact that lower-emitting electricity generation can have for increasing these benefits.

How would air quality and greenhouse gas emissions be affected if significant numbers of Americans drove cars that were fueled by the power grid?

A recently completed assessment conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council made a detailed study of the question – looking at a variety of scenarios involving the U.S. fleet of power generation and its fleet of light-duty and medium-duty cars and trucks.

The objectives of this study are the following:
• Understand the impact of widespread PHEV adoption on full fuel-cycle greenhouse gas
emissions from the nationwide vehicle fleet.
• Model the impact of a high level of PHEV adoption on nationwide air quality.
• Develop a consistent analysis methodology for scientific determination of the
environmental impact of future vehicle technology and electric sector scenarios.

The study focused on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and projected changes in power generation technology from 2010 through 2050.

The EPRI Perspective
Policymakers, technology developers, and utility and environmental planners need objective and accurate information to make sound decisions about developing and deploying PHEVs in support of national energy and environmental policy. PHEVs offer the potential for reducing both emissions and fuel consumption, simultaneously addressing the issues of global warming and the nation’s dependence on imported oil. Quantifying these benefits has proved challenging, however, and misinformation has circulated about the environmental performance of PHEVs.

Summary of Results
Because of the significant reduction in emissions from gasoline and diesel fuel use and because caps are in place for some conventional pollutants for the electric power sector, the study finds that in many regions deployment of PHEVs would reduce exposures to ozone and particulate matter, and reduce deposition rates for acids, nutrients, and mercury.

On the other hand, because of assuming no further controls beyond existing regulations for the power sector, ozone levels would increase locally in some areas. Similarly, the direct emissions of particulate matter and mercury would increase somewhat and some regions and populations would experience marginal increases in exposures to those pollutants. However, as explained in the key findings, PHEVs do not increase the U.S. contribution to the global mercury budget over the long term.

Overall, the air quality benefits from PHEVs are due to a reduction of vehicle emissions below levels required by current regulation (due to their non-emitting operation in all-electric mode), and because most electricity generation emissions are constrained by existing regulatory caps. Any additional increase in the amount of all-electric vehicle miles traveled or further emissions constraints on the electric sector would tend to magnify these benefits.

technorati BIOoutput, emissions, electricity, vehicles

GM's "green image" challenge in L.A.

Los Angeles has become a tough car market for General Motors. Toyota sold 50% more Priuses in L.A. last year than all the cars GM sold here combined!

That frank admission was part of the message presented by "good cop" GM North America President Troy Clarke to a small, rapt audience of bloggers at the historic and very scenic HRL Laboratories in Malibu, CA.

GM's corresponding "bad cop" would be Chairman Rick Wagoner who on June 5th at the shareholders' meeting criticized the raising of CAFE standards and the U.S. government's mileage requirements - which, subsequently, were added to the Senate's version of the 2007 Energy Bill. The new legislation mandates increases to average fuel economy by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon for cars, SUVs and pickup trucks by 2020.

Producing cars that will meet the standard aren't the big problem for GM. However, squeezing that kind of economy from SUVs and pick-up trucks will require risky and significant technological redesigns of the propulsion system (considering the weight of the vehicles and loads they are designed to handle) with no assurance that the standards set by implacable public and political expectations won't move again. Since California is GM's strongest market for trucks (with three times as many GM trucks sold in Southern California than cars), the stakes are very high.

Both Clarke and Wagoner insist that the future of the company is tied to a successful transition away from gasoline-powered technology. They contend that GM currently leads all U.S. manufacturers with over 30 vehicle models that are rated above 30mpg.

Their plans for the market is to continue to introduce a number of new hybrid and electric cars over the next decade. Some of these represent new technological approaches to the twin transportation challenges of increasing fuel efficiency while lowering emissions. Most are planned to be flex-fuel compatible, able to run on any blend of gasoline and ethanol.

Author's note - In my opinion all combustion engines produced by GM factories should be flex-fuel compatible because it doesn't cost much to do at the factory ($50-200/vehicle vs. thousands for hybrid technology) but allows the consumer the greatest number of fuel purchasing options (simultaneously depressing prices while reducing fossil fuel dependence). It will solve the chicken/egg dilemma faced by service stations of having enough compatible ethanol vehicles available to justify installing the pumps. And it starts the clock on when we cycle out all gasoline-only vehicles - which some estimate will take 15 years.

Still, L.A. is a market that relies more on image than on substance. Sometimes that image is the sleek styling and high performance characteristics of the vehicle. However, with the one-two punch of oil addiction and global warming fears, image and status now comes from driving "greener" vehicles - which is why the ho-hum Prius body shape is looking more stylish every day (while Hummer and Suburban owners are ducking accusatory glares from outraged fellow citizens).

So how can GM crack back into the global trendsetting L.A. market? Apparently Troy and GM's local public relations agency, Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L), believes that building non-traditional relationships with bloggers and their audiences is an effective p.r. strategy - á la The Tipping Point. Convince some passionate, funky bloggers of the company's sincerity and it just might infect their audiences - leading to a cascade of positive image-building and sales.

MS&L calls it One Across Marketing:

One Across Marketing is MS&L's signature approach that strives to build a relationship between a consumer and brand. It focuses entirely on the phenomenon of information "wildfires" or "viruses," which are transmitted by word-of-mouth, usually among individuals who "cluster" (often virtually) around issues, shared situations, lifestyle needs, entertainment pursuits, etc. Driven by one-to-one communications, One Across approaches include: epidemic campaigns, E-community mobilization, influencer seedings, vernacular PR, and grass-tops marketing.

I'm not sure what category I fell into but I'm glad it was good enough to get me invited.

During his speech Troy Clarke talked about effective marketing from his personal viewpoint:

We get the opportunity to talk publicly in the auto industry typically at Auto Shows where we have these wonderfully orchestrated backdrops of cars and models. It is a very tailored environment for us to be able to tell our story to alot of press over a short period of time.

I had the opportunity to do something a little different. In Chicago, interestingly, it was still an Auto Show venue but it was outside the Detroit area and I was asked if I would talk to four bloggers. (I did) and in ten to fifteen minutes this dialog broke out which was kind of a public relations first. I turned to my public relations people and said that this feels a lot better to me than the typical interaction. Part of the reason why is that I learned alot.

Some of this stuff was stuff I didn't want to learn. Some people were making comments to me that I hoped that they wouldn't make. But the fact that they made them accomplished more than I expected.

Well here is a piece of advice from this blogger that I would hope GM and MS&L would hear:

In October 19-20 Santa Monica will host its second Alt Car Expo. Last year's event was much more fun and informative about green transportation at a grass roots level than the glitzy L.A. Auto Show across town (see A Tale of Two Auto Shows). Toyota was a huge beneficiary because most of the alternative designs were converted Priuses. GM had a paltry presence at this event (one flex-fuel pickup and a salt-in-wound carcass EV1) and was not even listed as a sponsor. This year none of the Big Three is a listed sponsor - but Honda is. This show is a green opportunity for GM to build bridges with the Southern California market.

One interesting new propulsion approach that Troy focused attention on is being demonstrated by the new Chevy Volt, a 5-seater concept car. Its "E-Flex Drive" always delivers power to the wheels through its battery charged electric engine. However, after the initial plug-in charge is depleted (at about 40 miles) an onboard flex-fuel combustion motor can generate a surplus charge giving the vehicle a potential range of 650 miles between charge and refill. GM is logging votes from consumers who would like to see the vehicle produced and on the showroom floor. The current tally of nearly half a million votes is about 99.5% in favor. I would gladly sign up to be a test driver.

I came away very impressed by the sincerity of the presentation and the approachability of its speaker. Just walking around on a tour, I was able to steal 5 minutes of uninterrupted time with Troy to talk about my pet projects - promoting the 25x'25 Alliance (I gave him a lapel pin), expanded recycling of waste-to-energy, the energy renaissance potential of a depressed paper and pulp industry, and the need to support local regulatory reform efforts in California.

No, we didn't talk about cars, but the kicker is that he echoed my sentiment that all of these facets are necessary parts of the new continuum that will affect the sale of cars in the coming decades. To make green profits on its green product offerings, GM will not only have to develop and deploy new technologies, but will also have to weather the challenges of fickle public opinion, shortages in raw materials and energy supply, strained labor relations, unpredictable world events, and environmentally sensitive regulatory reform.

It's a daunting task for any multi-national corporation. Of the Big Three in America, I'd put my money on GM.

technorati BIOoutput, electricity, biofuels, vehicles, bioenergy

U.S. Congress introduces Federal RPS legislation

Up to now, much of the responsibility for buying renewable energy to replace existing sources is being placed by state legislatures squarely on the back of their electric utilities. Progressive states have been enacting renewable portfolio standards (RPS) which place a set MW quantity or percentage number to be achieved by a specific date (click on chart below to enlarge). According to a recent issue in The Wall Street Journal the utilities used to be highly resistant but some are now realizing that the standards are not as difficult to comply with as they feared.

After several false starts, the federal government is considering similar legislation:

A bill about to be introduced in the Senate would push utilities to generate drastically more of their power -- 15%, compared with the current 2% -- from sources such as wind or the sun by 2020.

The good news is that entrepreneurs and developers who have long held out for capitalization of their innovative technologies, are suddenly finding a ready market to sell to, at a reasonable price.

Obviously, such requirements would have to be filled with different forms of renewable energy depending on which part of the country is involved. Some, like Rick Boucher of Virginia (Democratic chairman of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee) would like coal to be included as long as the carbon emissions are successfully sequestered. Expect this largely unproven technology to receive priority treatment as the voting nears.

Those states that have fewer renewable resources could purchase green tags, aka "Renewable Energy Credits" (RECs), from those states that produce surpluses.

Here are some excerpts from the article published May 25th...

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Senate Pushes Utilities on 'Green' Sources
Proposal to Require Significant Increase Has Broad Support
by John J. Fialka

The Senate proposal, authored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the New Mexico Democrat who is chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, defines renewable energy sources as wind, solar, geothermal, wood chips and other biofuels, as well as various ways to make energy from tides and ocean waves.

So far, state laws, which cover 40% of the U.S. population, haven't made a big difference. The percentage of renewable fuels used in the U.S. has hovered from 2% to 2.5% in recent years and will reach only 5.5% by 2020, when most of the state standards are fully phased in. Dr. Wiser estimates state laws have raised the average consumer's utility bill by 38 cents a month. "Clearly, if you want to expand renewable fuels, something has to be done beyond this," he says.

Backers of the Bingaman legislation think the bill could do the trick.

technorati BIOoutput, emissions, electricity, bioenergy, RECs, sequestration

Amory Lovins - RMI and the Hypercar

The Rocky Mountain Institute is a bastion of knowledge concerning energy efficiency and renewable energy. Much of its expertise focuses on the concept that "a watt saved is a watt earned" demand management can reduce energy expense more dramatically than adding new alternative supply production.

Started in 1982 by Hunter and Amory Lovins, the organization now has 55 employees offering energy, engineering, and efficiency design consultation services. Their website has a special page devoted to explaining RMI's Approach to Energy. But they are not satisfied with merely making recommendations - they are committed to implementing their concepts in significant ways. They work with corporations, municipalities, and energy companies to deploy energy saving technologies for architecture, transit, and utility systems.

One example is their production of the Hypercar® - a fullsize demonstration model that incorporates the use of carbon composites instead of much heavier steel of current manufacture. Their online slide show points out that while 6% of the energy in a car's fuel goes to accelerating the car, less than 1% actually is expended to move the driver. Most goes to moving the car, so that reducing the weight of the car will impact the 2/3 to 3/4 of the fuel use that is weight-related.

The recently redesigned website also features a number of audio and video clips including an appearance by Amory Lovins on The Charlie Rose Show on November 28, 2006. The interchange focused on how the U.S. can eliminate its dependence on oil through market-driven approaches. He talks about RMI's progress in several sectors — including heavy trucks, the military, light vehicles, biofuels, airplanes, and financial — in implementing recommendations made in RMI's book, Winning the Oil Endgame - which has been made available for online download or purchase.

It may have taken 25 years to begin to receive the recognition that the enterprise deserves, but it certainly is well-positioned now to help civilization adjust to a more efficiency-conscious view of energy.

technorati BIOoutput, emissions, electricity, biofuels, waste, vehicles, bioenergy, bioproducts

California's electricity - Phasing out coal

In its headlong rush to take the front line in the fight against Global Warming (California's AB32) the California Energy Commission has approved regulations that limit the purchase of electricity from power plants that fail to meet strict greenhouse gas emissions standards. That has to be considered bad news for neighboring states which have built coal plant facilities specifically to service the insatiable electricity demands of Californians. According to the Los Angeles Times, 47% of the electricity purchased by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power comes from giant coal-fired plants in Arizona and Utah.

The benchmark number that new contracts must meet is 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per megawatt hour. A 2000 study by the U.S. Department of Energy, Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Generation of Electric Power in the United States, shows that the standard means electricity coming from plants that are cleaner than the average natural gas plants of 1999 (1,321 versus coal's whopping average of 2,095 pounds of CO2 per megawatt hour).

There is no discrimination between carbon positive (fossil fuels) vs. carbon neutral sources of energy. There should be because co-firing carbon neutral biostock could ease the blow to existing coal plant operations.

It is important to note that California periodically suffers brown-outs during the summer months and was the victim of the deregulation electricity nightmare of 2000 and 2001. As Wikipedia recounts the tail:

The California electricity crisis (also known as the Western Energy Crisis) of 2000 and 2001 resulted from the gaming of a partially deregulated California energy system by energy companies such as Enron and Reliant Energy. The energy crisis was characterized by a combination of extremely high prices and rolling blackouts. Price instability and spikes lasted from May 2000 to September 2001. Rolling blackouts began in June 2000 and recurred several times in the following 12 months.

That is not to suggest that current legislation is a "result of gaming". However, it is important that compensating power generators be contracted relatively quickly with a clearcut guarantees that the current benchmark does not suffer downward creep that would raise the risks for investors. As we learned in 2001, it is the public that will suffer the possible consequences and pay the ultimate tab of mis-steps of our energy decisionmakers.

Here is a reprint of the press release made May 23, 2007 by the California Energy Commission...

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New Regulations Restrict Purchase of Electricity From Power Plants That Exceed Greenhouse Gas Emission Limits
New Performance Standard to Regulate Power Plants

The California Energy Commission today approved regulations that limit the purchase of electricity from power plants that fail to meet strict greenhouse gas emissions standards. New regulations, as part of SB 1368 (Perata), prohibit the state's publicly owned utilities from entering into long-term financial commitments with plants that exceed 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per megawatt hour.

"Working with the Legislature, the Governor has demonstrated a clear vision with this first-in-the-nation legislation to reduce emissions," said Energy Commission Chairman Jackalyne Pfannenstiel. "His bold leadership is helping to reduce California's carbon footprint by ensuring a clean supply of electricity," continued Pfannenstiel.

The implementation of SB 1368 is part of the Energy Commission's further implementation of AB 32 (Nunez), a landmark bill signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that calls for California to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases by 25 percent by 2020.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, SB 1368 directed the Energy Commission, in collaboration with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Air Resources Board, to establish a greenhouse gas emission performance standard for power plants.

This standard was reached by evaluating existing combined-cycle natural gas baseload power plants across the west and is the same CO2 measurement approved by the CPUC.

Created by the Legislature in 1974, the California Energy Commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency. The Energy Commission has five major responsibilities: forecasting future energy needs and keeping historical energy data; licensing thermal power plants 50 megawatts or larger; promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building standards; developing energy technologies and supporting renewable energy; and planning for and directing state response to energy emergency.

technorati BIOoutput, emissions, electricity, legislation

Tying Energy Efficiency to Renewable Energy

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) has teamed up with the American Council for an Energy-Efficency Economy (ACE3) to make a statement that creating new renewable energy technologies (RE) will not be enough to achieve national and international goals to meet energy demands while reducing our dependence on carbon positive fossil fuel systems. We also have a responsibility to develop energy efficiency (EE) standards and advanced technologies to mitigate the demand for energy and reduce carbon emissions.

This report, while limiting its scope to renewable electricity, does a good job of not only describing the synergies possible between RE and EE, but also provides numerous case studies of progressive state policies, public benefit funding, and corporations who have demonstrated how these synergies can be implemented.

Below are the conclusions of the report. The full report is available for download from the ACEEE website.

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY INVESTMENTS AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PURCHASES TOGETHER ARE "TWIN PILLARS" IN REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS
Bill Prindle and Maggie Eldridge,
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Mike Eckhardt and Alyssa Frederick,
American Council on Renewable Energy

Energy efficiency and renewable energy are the cornerstones of sustainable energy policy. Demand growth for energy must be brought into a sustainable range, so that clean renewable energy technologies can begin to “catch up” with energy demand. If energy demand grows too fast, no supply technology, no matter how clean, will be able to substantially reduce fossil fuel consumption.

Energy efficiency and renewables thus must go hand in hand in any clean energy future. Fortunately, pursuing them jointly offers several important synergies over pursuing one to the exclusion of the other, such as:

• Lower total energy cost—A combined efficiency/renewables resource portfolio is typically less expensive than a renewables-only portfolio, and also generates greater total resource impacts;

• Better timing—Efficiency can typically be deployed quickly, achieving important impacts in the near and mid terms; renewables can take longer to deploy, but may ultimately deliver larger resource impacts;

• Electricity price stability—Efficiency and renewables provide complementary price hedges in power markets, by both moderating demand and diversifying fuel sources;

• Electric system reliability—Energy efficiency can reduce peak demand, reducing the risk of blackouts, while renewables diversify generation sources, and both efficiency and renewables can provide locational benefits in the form of distributed generation; and

• Regional resource balance—While renewables’ availability varies from region to region, energy efficiency is consistently available in end-use sectors across the country. Pursuing both efficiency and renewable resources in tandem thus makes it easier to attain national energy resource targets in any given state.

technorati BIOoutput, electricity, renewables, efficiency

BIOoutput 101: The BioTown Sourcebook

For anyone who desires a simple introduction to the current range of potential BIOoutput products, I suggest a careful reading of a brief technical overview document called The BioTown, USA Sourcebook of Biomass Energy (released in April, 2006). It was written for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture by scientist and fellow blogger, Mark Jenner, PhD. who has his own website called Biomass Rules.

Below you can see an overview graphic that charts where bioconversion products (highlighted in blue) fall in proper context for addressing BIOstock, BIOconversion, and BIOwaste issues. For this reason, I offer a similar 101 abstract treatment in each of my BlogRing blogs.

This BioTown sourcebook is the official inventory on local energy use, available biomass fuels and emerging technologies for Reynolds, Indiana. As such, it can serve as an inventory template for any similarly focused study of a medium-sized rural community. It greater importance is its microcosmic view of rural communities as decentralized, sustainable entities that possess more than enough biomass to service their own energy needs.

Part of the report is devoted to an accounting of the existing energy demand in BioTown: transportation fuels, electricity, and natural gas. As the author states:

The bottom line is that as the cost of fossil fuel-derived energy continues to roughly double every five years, the value of biomass energy makes excellent economic sense. Agricultural commodity prices have remained competitively low for decades. Historically, if the supply of corn, beans, or even hogs is below demand, more are grown the next year – keeping commodity prices low.

At right is a broad "list of product categories from the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement" drafted in 2003 (click to enlarge). "This federal rule-making process was part of a federal policy to procure supplies that made from bio-based material and meet specific criteria." Those criteria are spelled out as percentages of minimum biobased content necessary to qualify. It demonstrates the incredibly broad range of applications the output of bioconversion processes can be applied to.

This report is not a utopian call to return to rural, communal living. It is, instead, an affirmation that there are many biomass resources available and technologies in development to provide environmentally clean bioenergy alternatives to the existing fossil fuel energy paradigm. Rural communities can develop expertise and marketable output best suited to their own resources and industries. Urban communities can develop some technologies that are relevant to the diversion of trash from landfills.

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The BioTown, USA Sourcebook of Biomass Energy

BioTown, USA is Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniel’s, bold approach to develop local renewable energy production, create a cleaner environment, find new solutions to municipal/animal waste issues, and develop new markets for Indiana products – all at the same time. BioTown, USA is quite simply the conversion of Reynolds, Indiana from a reliance on fossil fuels to biomass-based fuels. With the implementation of BioTown, USA, a template will be set that simultaneously promotes Indiana energy security, rural development, profitable agriculture and a green, thriving natural resource environment.

The only conclusion that can be made is that BioTown, USA is profoundly thermodynamically and technologically viable. Reynolds, Indiana used 227,710 million BTUs (MMBTU) in 2005. White County annually produces over 16,881,613 MMBTU in undeveloped biomass energy resources. That is 74 times more energy than Reynolds consumed in 2005.

BioTown, USA is a concept whose time has come. This Sourcebook and subsequent BioTown reports will serve as vital stepping stones to the implementation of BioTown, USA and subsequent bioeconomic rural development opportunities across Indiana and the nation.

technorati BIOblog, BIOoutput, electricity, biofuels, bioenergy, bioproducts

Clean and Efficient Biogas Fuel Cells

What will be the next technological breakthrough in clean electricity generation? Some say "biogas fuel cells." Here are parts of an article from the Biopact Blog about biogas fuel cells that explains what makes them so revolutionary.

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Biogas fuel cell delivers heat and power: the world's cleanest and most efficient energy system?

A milestone development in Germany is taking us towards what is probably the most efficient and cleanest energy system imaginable: biogas powered fuel cells.

In Europe, biogas is being developed on a large scale for the production of fuels for stationary power generation (to be used in natural gas plants), as well as for the transport sector (earlier post). It is being fed into the natural gas grid on a large scale (earlier post) or in dedicated pipelines supplying cities (earlier post), while some are creating real biorefineries around it that deliver green specialty chemicals, fuels and power (earlier post). The green gas can be made by the anaerobic fermentation of biomass, either obtained from dedicated energy crops (such as specially bred grass species or biogas maize), or from industrial, municipal or agricultural waste-streams. Of all biofuels, biogas delivers most energy per hectare of crops. It is also the least carbon intensive production path, with some biogas pathways actually delivering carbon negative bioenergy (earlier post). In Germany, some project the potential for biogas to be so high that it might replace all natural gas imports from Russia (earlier post).

Meanwhile, new fuel cells are being developed that do not require hydrogen to function, but that work on all common types of biofuels, from biomass-based syngas to ethanol and biogas. The latter fuel path is far more feasible for large-scale power generation than hydrogen, the production of which is inefficient, very costly and not very clean (if derived from fossil fuels; in case the hydrogen is made from biogenic processes and biomass, it is renewable and carbon-neutral, but currently, biohydrogen production is not very efficient). Now combine the efficiency of these fuel cells - which is far higher than power plants using combustion engines - and the low carbon footprint and efficiency of biogas production based on organic waste, and we have what is probably the cleanest and most efficient large-scale energy system currently in operation on earth.

"Utilising biomass to produce energy by digestion and a fuel cell not only improves energy efficiency, but also protects the climate and points the way to the future", as district administrator Maier said in praise of this intelligent and exemplary approach to municipal energy projects. The overall efficiency of the fuel cell for generating electricity and heat is 70%, which is accompanied by a dramatic reduction in emissions of harmful substances. These values cannot yet be achieved using other approaches.

technorati BIOblog, BIOoutput, emissions, electricity, biofuels, waste, bioenergy

California's Transportation Action Plan targets 2020

In California, it's all about the cars. Government leaders and consumers alike are questioning what steps they can take and what can they buy that will help ease oil dependence and toxic emissions that come from their vehicles.

It is also a state of "killer apps" - on the hunt for that rare but exhilarating solution that addresses old problems with revolutionary new solutions. The Toyota Prius has become the freshest breath of air within the past three years but it is only a way shower, not a solution.

What is needed is coordination toward a gradual replacement technology paradigm - not only new cars, but new fuels and fuel infrastructures.

Here is a press release from CalSTEP about their recently published plan for addressing these multi-faceted and interlinked issues.

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CalSTEP Unveils Action Plan to Boost California’s Energy Security, Leadership in New Transportation Fuels and Technology
Assembly Speaker Targets Key Recommendations for Action


Sacramento, Calif. – Against a backdrop of advanced vehicles and lower-polluting fuels, the California Secure Transportation Energy Partnership (CalSTEP) today unveiled a comprehensive set of actions geared toward increasing California’s transportation energy efficiency and alternative fuel use by 2020. The CalSTEP Action Plan, developed through research, analysis and consensus-building over the past eighteen months, aims to grow the economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

CalSTEP is a diverse partnership of industry, government, academic and non-profit leaders from automakers to conservation groups. The multi-year Action Plan targets three key areas where the state can take action to secure its energy future: increasing vehicular efficiency; diversifying the state’s fuel supply; and reducing the overall need to drive. The CalSTEP plan makes ten key action recommendations to achieve the overall goals of reducing petroleum use by 15 percent, and increasing alternative fuel use to 20 percent.

With the release of its ten-point Action Plan, CalSTEP also launched the plan’s implementation, welcoming the immediate support of California Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Núñez and other legislative proponents for specific recommendations in the plan.

“I applaud the serious efforts of this diverse group to craft these recommendations for California’s energy future,” said Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-46th District). “California must be the leadership state in developing new transportation technologies and cleaner fuels. I will introduce legislation this Spring to specifically launch one of its recommendations – to create a California program to support alternative fuels and efficient vehicle development and use.”

technorati BIOblog, BIOoutput, emissions, biofuels, vehicles, bioenergy, bioproducts

Electric cars - a boost for biofuels?

Wouldn't the introduction of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles mute the booming demand for biofuels over the long haul? Not according to the French automaker Renault in a recent article posted on the Biopact Blog.

Biofuels contribute less than 3% of current fuel usage in the U.S. It could grow considerably before challenging fossil fuel dominance or the gradual introduction of electricity as an energy source. However, the increased reliance on electricity could actually insure that biomass and biofuels provide a longterm alternative. That is because so much electricity is generated using fossil fuels that even if biomass is not being converted into biofuels for the gas tank it is still likely to become the primary alternative fuel source for electricity generation.

Reliance on electricity for vehicle power could also negatively impact the future use of hydrogen as vehicle fuel since the infrastructure for biofuels and electricity are essentially already in place.

Below are excerpts from the article that should be read in its entirety from the original source...

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Why electric cars and plug-in hybrids mean a boost to bioenergy

French automaker Renault announced yesterday that it will roll out an electric vehicle in 2010 aimed mainly at European fleet markets.

Besides this project, Nissan has also launched a series of programs aimed at speeding up the introduction of 'plug-in hybrids'. GM and Mitsubishi are going electric too, as are a whole series of small manufacturers who are producing electric specialty vehicles, such as light-duty vans, urban mini-cars or heavy-duty trucks.

Despite marketeers' insistence, none of these vehicles are "zero emissions" per se, for the obvious reason that electricity -- just like hydrogen -- is merely an energy carrier, not an energy source. You need a primary energy source to produce the electricity these vehicles' batteries will consume. At the 'tailpipe', electric cars are clean, but this doesn't hide the smokestacks that pump out CO2 at the point where the electricity they use is generated.

The question then becomes: which of these clean primary energy sources is most viable over the long-term?

Renault, for one, considers bioenergy to be the most versatile, most competitive and most universally applicable source for power generation. Biomass is solar energy converted into plant matter that can be transported, distributed and managed in a flexible manner.

Unlike photovoltaic and wind power, biomass can be used everywhere and 24 hours a day. A staggering diversity of energy crops exists that can be used to grow biomass adapted to local agro-ecologic circumstances: from drought-tolerant perennial crops in semi-deserts and grass species in the subtropics, to trees in peri-arctic environments.

The advantage of biomass as the primary energy source for electricity generation is the fact that it can be traded internationally, unlike photovoltaic and wind-power which are locally rooted and can be used economically only under optimal conditions (strong winds in specific locations or ample sunshine). If you want to transport solar energy over long distances, you can only do it by embedding it in biomass; that way, you can ship it over oceans to markets where it fetches the best price. This is impossible with electricity derived from wind or photovoltaics.

The increased attention for electric cars may also signal the final blow to the much hyped 'hydrogen economy'. The main reason why hydrogen is such an unfeasible option for the future, is that it has the disadvantage that the gas is costly to produce, difficult to store and not easy to transport or distribute. The hydrogen economy requires the construction of an entirely new, trillion-dollar infrastructure consisting of pipelines, storage facilities and special hydrogen stations where end users can refill their gas-tanks. This may take ages to build. The electric infrastructure on the contrary already exists. To function as the power instructure for transport, all it needs is some grid-extension and the construction of public recharging outlets.


technorati bioenergy, PHEV, plug-in, hybrid, electric, flex-fuel, ethanol, automobile

A Tale of Two Auto Shows

Friday's opening of the international Los Angeles Auto Show will feature the usual leggy models draped across carnauba-waxed chassis. It will showcase the usual engine housings, gleaming under spotlights, and futuristic dashboards twinkling like front-yard Christmas displays.

So begins veteran reporter Dan B. Wood of the Christian Science Monitor in his well-written review of Press Day at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Promoted as a tribute to the green turn the automobile industry is taking, the MPG ratings told the true story of this show - very few automobiles rated above 34 HWY. The buzzword was "power" not "efficiency" - style and glitz over substance. Hybrids were on display but pimped out rides like the Suzuki Xbox with its front and back game screens stole the imagination. Impractical concept sports cars abound at each manufacturer's booth at the expense of reminders about global warming and the oil crisis. In my opinion, GM did not focus adequate attention to their pricy Live Green/Go Yellow campaign publicized with great fanfare less than one year ago.

In striking contrast, fifteen miles away in green-and-proud-of-it Santa Monica a different tone was set. The first day of the Alt Car Expo brought car enthusiasts, environmental activists, politicians, celebrities, and families out to see a vision of the future test-driven on the tarmac, displayed in a hanger, and forecast in the seminar room. Many of the hybrids featured plug-ins and were rated at 100+ MPG. Several cars were all electric including one solar-powered Prius with solar cells embedded in its roof.

Star Sighting!
Emblematic of the difference of these two shows was one of the last EV-1 automobiles in public existence. In defiant red, this non-functioning but fully loaded martyr of auto history - the star of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" - had to be hauled to this site on a flatbed truck and manually pushed into position. Hopefully this is not the eventual fate of the American auto industry. The only GM presence at this show was a GM Avalanche flex-fuel pick-up truck - neither Ford nor Chrysler had any presence at all.

In addition to the wide variety of vehicles on display during Media Day, attendees were able to visit the exhibition booths of about sixty-five vendors and organizations. Spotted in the crowd were auto legend Lee Iacocca, environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr., former L.A. Councilmember and urban plannerMichael Woo, and CA Assemblymember Fran Pavley, author of numerous emissions capping bills in California.

It was in the seminar room that speakers provided the pulse of the show - defining current environmental and business conditions, advocating a broad range of solutions, and making predictions for the future. More than one "railed against machine" including former Cal/EPA director Terry Tamminen who blasted the oil and automobile industry for their feckless stewardship of our energy and transportation needs. But all spoke about the possibilities of the future given the ingenuity and coordination of effort between industrialists, consumers, environmentalists, and political leadership. The consequences of inertia couldn't be more clear - unstable geopolitics, global warming, cultural friction, decaying infrastructure, energy price gouging, commuter standstill. The status quo is not an option.

James Woolsey's Presentation
Former CIA Director James Woolsey is a staunch advocate for advancing national security and public health by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. He gave the most engaging and reasoned presentation of the expo. I recorded his address and have paraphrased those portions dealing directly with the issues of this blog.

"We have vulnerabilities in our electricity grid that we need to fix... fortunately it is here for us to fix." "Not so with oil. Because the infrastructure is outside of the United States, it is susceptible to forces we are unable to control." He said that if terrorists for whatever reason were successful at destroying sulfur clearing towers in Saudi Arabia, it would interrupt production for years that would likely raise oil prices to around $200 per barrel. "That's devastating..." Centralization of oil reserves in the Middle East also enables them to drive down the cost of oil to bankrupt competition if they so please. It is not a free enterprise system - it is under OPEC control.

"What can we do? I think there are a number of alternatives. One that should not be on the front burner is hydrogen." The expense of infrastructure alone could approach $1 Trillion and there are other hurdles. A second set of options includes increased drilling, oil extraction, or coal to liquid conversion. But you would have to capture the carbon. This does not solve the problem of dependency on hydrocarbons.

BIOconversion
"Two things I think are the most interesting and promising in the short term." First is biomass and/or waste conversion to ethanol or other biofuels. Diesel fuels can also be made from agricultural waste. These are essentially carbon-neutral. "You are not digging up the carbon from beneath the ground." You are recycling carbon that is already a part of the above ground carbon cycle. We are not talking about a single process. We are talking about moving away from hydrocarbon and moving to carbohydrates. This would help national security in several ways including helping the rural areas of the country.

In addition, if we use cheap feedstock like municipal solid wastes for these biorefineries, we make it extremely hard for OPEC to undercut our cost of manufacturing fuels - which enhances national security.

Plug-in hybrids
"The final technology I think is promising is plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)" The American public will be attracted to having the option of running their vehicles on electricity at 1-2¢ per mile vs. 10-20¢ per mile for gasoline. If you drive less than 20 miles per day, you may not need to use the gasoline/ethanol/biodiesel stored in your gas tank for long periods of time. "If you use ethanol (E85) in place of gasoline on a car that gets 100+miles per gallon, you are effectively getting roughly 500+MPG of gasoline."

"For those who say that don't get excited by any of this in the short term - they need to look at the possible mutually reinforcing effect of using renewable fuels and plug-in hybrids... If instead of spending $1 Trillion on hydrogen infrastructure we spend $50 per new car to make it flexible-fuel compatible with ethanol we have, I think, we have some exciting possibilities before us and not too far in the future."


technorati bioenergy, PHEV, plug-in, hybrid, electric, flex-fuel, ethanol, automobile

Carbon credits traded online

Welcome to the world's first online community for households and businesses to get paid for reducing the carbon emissions from their everyday energy usage.

With that lead-in we now have an online mechanism for buying and trading carbon credits. Or at least we will with the near future - you can register now but the full service will not be operational until v1.0 testing is complete and v1.5 is released some time in the Spring of 2007.

Below is a proposed (non-functioning) calculator interface for the new service.


This is a harbinger of things to come as the social costs of various industrial, residential, and infrastructural solutions start being valuated by a universal system of carbon credits.

Here is the company's press release from October 4, 2006:

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Kiwis create world's first website that pays you to save energy.

A New Zealand company has applied to patent Celsias.com, the world's first online community that allows regions, businesses or community groups to be paid for reducing the carbon emissions from their everyday energy use.

Celsias.com is based upon a fast growing global economy that recognises energy savings, or carbon credits, as a form of currency.

"With Celsias.com you can now track, create and trade this new currency on the internet," explains Celsias director, Nick Gerritsen, "it's the first system in the world that allows you to do this all in one place."

Celsias.com is expected to go live in early 2007.

"We believe it very much has the potential to follow in the footsteps of eBay, Google and Skype," comments Gerritsen.

How does Celsias.com work? Businesses or communities can go online, enter their energy expenses each month, for example electricity, and the company they buy from, and the Celsias.com system will automatically calculate their total Ã…ecarbon footprintÃ…f, or how much carbon dioxide they are releasing into the atmosphere.

"You can create a carbon footprint for your home, your business, your community group or any other entity. You can then create carbon credits for yourself by learning how to reduce your energy use and by using our search service to find more energy-efficient products and services. You can then put your carbon credits on the Celsias.com trading system and when someone buys them, you get paid. It's that easy," explains Gerritsen.

Gerritsen adds that carbon credits can be traded internationally among Celsias.com registered members. Registration is free and traders only pay for success.

"Up till now no-one else has provided an end-to-end solution where you can get paid to play your part in solving the climate change crisis," he adds.

Currently, only large organisations have been able to enter the carbon emissions management market. Small to medium businesses and communities, which represent up to 40% of the global energy market, are excluded because they lack the tools and support to join in.

Gerritsen says Celsias.com is unique in many ways. It is the only service to plug into a range of existing accounting software packages to automate energy expenditure data collection for carbon footprint collection; it is the only peer-to-peer global carbon credit trading service that does not require intermediaries; it is the only carbon credit trading platform with no minimum trading volume and it has the only search engine to make it easy to trade in the world's most energy efficient products and services.

So will carbon credits be valuable? This year the carbon credit trading market is forecast to be twice as big as the Google advertising market and grow 10 times as fast. And once the Kyoto Protocol commitment period comes into force from 2008-2012, many governments and businesses worldwide will need to buy surplus carbon credits to meet their agreed emission targets.

The international free market sets the price for emission units or carbon credits. In a recent deal between Meridian Energy and the Netherlands Government, however, the price was set at NZ 10.50 a unit. But the price fluctuates and has been up at NZ 50.00 a unit earlier this year.

Celsias.com also enables anyone (a business, a community group, a school) to set up their own carbon market to aggregate carbon credits for their members _ and derive revenues from this activity - much like eBay's "power sellers".

"Our core goal is to assist our members to create as many carbon credits as possible. Celsias.com will, in effect, pay them to save the world," comments Gerritsen.


technorati greenhouse, global warming, bioenergy, environment, investment, carbon credits

Hybrids Plus claims 100+ MPG

What is the most direct way to decrease our reliance on gasoline? Create vehicles that achieve very high mileage on little or no gasoline. One company, Hybrids Plus, is converting off-the-shelf Toyota Priuses into plug-in versions that demonstrate how close we are to greatly multiplying vehicle MPG.

James Fraser of The Energy Blog ran a story recently about the delivery of a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) to the Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management.

Taking a stock HEV-2 Prius (see below) and converting to a PHEV-30 rated Hybrids Plus Prius broadens our concept of what can be accomplished with emerging car technology. If a normal Prius gets 50 MPG, a plug-in version of the same car gets over 100 MPG. It is my view that all cars should be made flex-fuel compatible, including PHEVs. If a PHEV-30 was operating as a FF/PHEV on E85, it could reach approximately 500 miles for each gallon of gasoline that it consumed (blended with 5 gallons of ethanol).

Typically it takes 40 months for a car to go from concept to release (the Pinto is an example of what happens if you try to rush that schedule). If it takes 3 years to realize these obvious benefits, let's start building demand for production of FF/PHEVs NOW!

Here is some background information - courtesy of the Hybrids Plus website:

HEVs
All HEVs (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) presently produced are ultimately just gasoline cars. They do reduce emissions, and they may improve fuel efficiency (compared to an equivalent, non-hybrid car). However, they are fueled exclusively by gasoline.

PHEVs
A Plug-in Hybrid car, in contrast, can also be fueled by electricity from an electrical outlet. Initially, a PHEV uses less gas than an HEV, because it can draw energy longer, from its larger battery. For example, a Toyota Prius' 50 mpg efficiency can be improved to about 100 mpg when operated as a PHEV. Eventually, when that storage of electrical energy is depleted, a PHEV is no more efficient than an HEV.

EV distance
HEVs and PHEVs are rated by how far they can go just on electricity stored in their batteries. For example, a stock Toyota Prius is an HEV-2, meaning that its battery holds enough energy for about 2 miles. A Hybrids Plus Prius conversion is a PHEV-30, meaning that its battery holds enough energy for about 30 miles.

Note that a Prius PHEV must still use some gasoline because, by design, its gas engine must operate when going 35 mph or more.


technorati bioenergy, PHEV, plug-in, hybrid, investment, flex-fuel, ethanol, automobile

Ford Should Build Flexible Fueled, Plug in Hybrids

From the Ford Bold Moves: Documenting the Future of Ford website comes a point/counterpoint set of two articles soliciting reader opinions on whether Ford should focus its immediate attention on developing flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid technology or fuel cells and hydrogen.

If you read an article posted here April 3, titled Plug-in Partners National PHEV Initiative you'll already know this blog's answer to that question. It is good to read an expert's opinion on the subject. Below are some excerpts:

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Ford Should Build Flexible Fueled, Plug in Hybrids
by David Morris

When Ford introduces its flexible fueled Escape hybrid, two-thirds of the technological foundation for an oil free future will be in place. The final piece? Enabling the grid system to recharge the hybrid's batteries.

Today's hybrids reduce gasoline consumption by 25-30 percent. That is a worthy achievement in its own right. But plug-in hybrids could decrease gasoline consumption by 50-80 percent. Why? Because electric motors are inherently more efficient than internal combustion engines, and because only 4 percent of our electricity is generated by oil.

Add an engine powered by biofuels and Ford could virtually eliminate the use of oil in its vehicles.

Biofuels have their own Achilles heel. The planet could grow only enough plant matter to supply 25-30 percent of our transportation energy, no matter what the feedstock.

A plug-in hybrid with a biofueled engine overcomes this shortcoming. Electricity will become the primary propulsion force. The amount of engine fuel can drop by two-thirds, or more. Sufficient land area is available to grow the biomass needed to supply 100 percent of this reduced consumption, without diminishing our food supply.

A flexible fueled, plug-in hybrid strategy could yield dramatic short-term results. The electricity distribution system is in place. The nation has sufficient off-peak electricity capacity to power more than 20 million vehicles without building a single new power plant. Converting a Ford Escape to a plug-in hybrid does not require technological breakthroughs.

Six million flexible fueled cars are currently on the road. The incremental cost to Ford of making a flexible fueled car might be as little as $100. Such a tiny cost should encourage the government to require all new vehicles be flexible fueled starting in 2009.


technorati bioenergy, PHEV, plug-in, hybrid, legislation, flex-fuel, automobile

Plug-in Partners National PHEV Initiative

Flex-fuel vehicles can run on gasoline or ethanol or any blend in between. But the liquid fuel MPG is not very good. Hybrid cars can extend the MPG of an automobile by substituting electricity generated within the car in place of liquid fuel - but you need to run the car on fuel to build up the charge. Plug-in cars run on electricity alone without fuel and can be recharged overnight - but their range is not very good.

Why not build and buy Vehicles that are Hybrids that you can Plug-in for an Electric charge, but that are flex-fuel compatible? The consumer can then choose between the greatest range of options. That's the vision of a group called Plug-In Partners and they are mounting a National Campaign to get automobile manufacturers to build the PHEV cars. Read their Campaign Overview below.

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Plug-In Partners National PHEV Initiative - Campaign Overview

Plug-In Partners is a national grass-roots initiative to demonstrate to automakers that a market for flexible-fuel Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) exists today.

Our National Campaign will demonstrate the viability of this market by:
• Garnering support in the form of online petitions and endorsements by cities across the country
• Procuring “soft” fleet orders
• Developing rebates and incentives

Who Are “Plug-In Partners”?

The partners envisioned in this campaign are local and state governments, utilities, and environmental, consumer and business organizations. These entities can Become a Plug-In Partner and join the Founding Plug-In Partners in support of the national campaign.

Online Petitions

All Plug-In Partners are invited to participate in petition efforts. Petitions are a way for individual citizens and organizations without fleets to make their voice heard in demonstrating a PHEV market among individual consumers. The national campaign will track signatures accumulated from programs across the country through reporting to the Plug-In Partners web site. A template petition form is provided in the Plug-In Partners Packet.

“Soft” Orders From Government and Business
A template “soft” fleet order form is provided in the Plug-In Partners Packet. The Plug-In Partners National Campaign will track vehicle commitments through a Reporting option, so to be added to this web site. This will allow us to present automakers with a “soft” order for sedans, vans, SUVs and other vehicles by specific governmental and business entities. Those making fleet order will agree to strongly consider purchasing flexible fuel plug-in hybrids if they are manufactured. There is no financial commitment involved in making a "soft" fleet order.

Endorsements
Endorsements also lend a voice by demonstrating organizational support for the commercial production of PHEVs and promoting plug-ins to its membership.
An endorsement could be several forms:

• City Council or County Court resolutions
• Legislative resolutions
• Statements of support from local or national environmental, consumer or other groups

Endorsements will be reported to this web site, where a list will be maintained along with membership totals of the endorsing organizations. To date, the production of flexible fuel PHEVs is widely supported by a large number of national groups—environmental and consumer— as well as groups focused on the national security and economic viability of our country.



technorati bioenergy, PHEV, flex-fuel, hybrid, legislation, automobile

CALIFORNIA: Gov. Schwarzenegger's Biofuels Executive Order

Conversion technologies (CTs) promise to solve both environmental and fossil fuel problems by completing the cycle between waste and energy. With this Executive Order (S-06-06) issued April 25th, Governor Schwarzenegger clearly understands the link. Furthermore, he is ordering his state agencies and commissions to meet specific targets in the production and use of biofuels.

This important message is not getting print space in California newspapers nor other media. Why? As a culture have we become numb to solutions as we stare into the headlights of problems?

I invite other bloggers to comment - and get the word out.

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EXECUTIVE ORDER S-06-06
by the
Governor of the State of California

WHEREAS, abundant biomass resources from agriculture, forestry and urban wastes can be tapped to provide transportation fuels and electricity to satisfy California's fuel and energy needs; and

WHEREAS, ethanol is a renewable transportation biofuel that California consumes more than 900 million gallons a year which is approximately 25 percent of all the ethanol produced in the United States; and

WHEREAS, California produces less than five percent of the ethanol it consumes; and

WHEREAS, biomass fuels, including ethanol produced from cellulose and bio-diesel produced from a variety of sources, can reduce the state's reliance on petroleum fuels and work to lower fuel costs for consumers; and

WHEREAS, in the Hydrogen Highway plan, the state has invested $6.5 million to support a network of more than 16 filling stations and a growing fleet of cars and buses that run on this clean fuel of the future; and

WHEREAS, biofuels can be a clean, renewable source for hydrogen; and

WHEREAS, biofuels offer greenhouse gas reduction benefits; and

WHEREAS, biomass as a source of energy has the potential to power more than three million homes or produce enough fuel to run more than two million automobiles on an annual basis; and

WHEREAS, biomass is a renewable resource which currently contributes two percent of the state's electricity mix, or nearly 1,000 megawatts of the state's generating capacity and is one of the options needed to achieve the State Renewables Portfolio Standard requirements; and

WHEREAS, improvements in the use of waste and residues from forests and farms for energy production can actually decrease the greenhouse gas emissions associated with biomass decomposition that otherwise would occur; and

WHEREAS, harnessing California's biomass resources to produce energy and other products is good for the state's economy and environment and contributes to local job creation; and

WHEREAS, the increased use of biomass resources contributes solutions to California's critical waste disposal and environmental problems, including the risk of catastrophic wild fires, air pollution from open field burning, and greenhouse gas emissions from landfills; and

WHEREAS, sustained biomass development offers strategic energy, economic, social and environmental benefits to California, creating jobs through increased private investment within the state.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENGGER, Governor of the State of California, by virtue of the power invested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the State of California, do hereby order effective immediately:

1. The following targets to increase the production and use of bioenergy, including ethanol and bio-diesel fuels made from renewable resources, are established for California:

a. Regarding biofuels, the state produce a minimum of 20 percent of its biofuels within California by 2010, 40 percent by 2020, and 75 percent by 2050;

b. Regarding the use of biomass for electricity, the state meet a 20 percent target within the established state goals for renewable generation for 2010 and 2020; and

2. The Secretary for the California Resources Agency and the Chair of the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission ("Energy Commission") shall coordinate oversight of efforts made by state agencies to promote the use of biomass resources; and

3. The Air Resources Board, Energy Commission, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Public Utilities Commission, Department of Food and Agriculture, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Department of General Services, Integrated Waste Management Board, and the State Water Resources Control Board shall continue to participate on the Bioenergy Interagency Working Group chaired by the Energy Commission; and

4. The Energy Commission shall coordinate with other responsible state agencies to identify and secure federal and state funding for research, development and demonstration projects to advance the use of biomass resources for electricity generation and biofuels for transportation; and

5. The Energy Commission shall report to the Governor and the State Legislature through its Integrated Energy Policy Report, and biannually thereafter, on progress made in achieving sustainable biomass development in California; and

6. The California Air Resources Board is urged to consider as part of its rulemaking the most flexible possible use of biofuels through its Rulemaking to Update the Predictive Model and Specification for Reformulated Gasoline, while preserving the full environmental benefits of California's Reformulated Gasoline Programs; and

7. The California Public Utilities Commission is requested to initiate a new proceeding or build upon an existing proceeding to encourage sustainable use of biomass and other renewable resources by the state's investor-owned utilities; and

8. As soon as hereafter possible, this Order shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given to this Order.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have here unto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this the twenty-fifth day of April 2006.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Governor of California


technorati biofuels, greenhouse, California, legislation, ethanol, Schwarzenegger, pollution