Renewable Energy Group’s New CEO: C.J. Warner
by Jim Lane
In Iowa, white smoke has emerged from the Renewable Energy Group (REGI) conclave: Tesoro EVP and former Sapphire Energy CEO C.J. Warner has been named chief exec of Renewable Energy Group, at a pivotal moment for biodiesel in Washington and around the world and amidst a boom for renewable diesel like the world has never seen.
REG has been making good progress with Wall Street under interim CEO Randy Howard and its share price has been on the rise, and the plants have been humming along nicely churning out hundreds of millions of gallons of biodiesel and the liquid gold...
Making Cash From Rice Trash
by Jim Lane
In our three-part series this month on utilizing waste resources, we’ll turn to rice straw, which is a major headache for Chinese and Indian emissions. Praj and Gevo are working hard on perfecting a technology to address this.
Specifically, in the past month, Gevo (GEVO) also executed an agreement with Praj to develop jet fuel and isooctane from rice straw and other feedstocks. Gruber noted that “we believe this second-generation technology combination has great potential to address India’s rice straw burning problem and related air pollution, while generating low-carbon hydrocarbons for jet fuel and gasoline. Praj is a leader...
Rentech’s Wood Saw Hits a Knot
by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week Rentech, Inc. (RTK: NYSE) revealed plans to idle its wood pellet production facility in Wawa, Ontario Canada. To operate efficiently the plant requires additional repairs and upgrades beyond the replacement of conveyors that was completed in Fall 2016. Beside the fact that the additional repairs were not included in the regular capital budget, Rentech management has apparently determined the expenditure is not economic given profits from Wawa. When Rentech reports financial results for the fourth quarter ending December 2016, shareholders will be treated to an asset impairment charge for the Wawa facility....
Biofuel Industry Reacts To EPA New Renewable Fuel Standard
Yay or Nay for EPA? RFS Volumes out for 2020, Biodiesel for 2021 – What’s the reaction from industry?
by Jim Lane
What’s the reaction from industry? Coal for Christmas?
Should Santa bring coal for EPA’s stocking this year? Do the biofuels and agriculture industries think the EPA just put coal in their stocking? Is it thumbs up or thumbs down from biofuel industry advocates on last week’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency renewable fuel volumes? What about the exempted volumes?
The Ruling – Rotten or Respectable?
First, a bit on the EPA ruling that establishes the required renewable volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for...
The Hydrogen Problem
Jim Lane HydroMan may do his hydrogen-shift thing via water, at will – but outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we have some hydrogen issues. Psst! Like cutting out a fossil hydrogen dependency for many biofuels. But, new pathways ensure that the status hydroquo may not last for long. A numbers of readers responding to “Biofuels from a raging fireball” (on research work with the raging fireball, Pyrococchus furiosus, to make biofuels and renewable chemicals from hydrogen gas and CO2) raised the question, where is all the hydrogen going to...
Biofuels & Biobased Earnings Roundup: Gevo
by Jim Lane
The Top Line. In Colorado, Gevo (GEVO) reported Q2 revenues of $9.4 million compared with $7.5 million in the same period in 2017. During the second quarter of 2018, revenues derived at the Luverne Facility related to ethanol sales and related products were $8.8 million, an increase of approximately $2.0 million from the same period in 2017. This was primarily a result of increased ethanol production and distiller grain prices in the second quarter of 2018 versus the same period in 2017. Non-GAAP cash EBITDA loss in the three months ended June 30, 2018 was $2.6 million, compared...
Velocys: A Key To Advanced Biofuels At Scale
Jim Lane Four new technologies approach scaled operations, all with one element in common – Velocys (VLS.L) technology on the back-end. Why Velocys, why now? The Digest investigates. In Oklahoma, Southeast Oregon, Eastern Ohio, and a site near London we’re about to see the commercial-scale debut of Velocys technology, a smaller scale gas-to-liquids processing technology that converts natural gas or biomass into premium liquid products, such as diesel and jet fuel. In this case, specifically designed for smaller scales, resulting in standardized modular plants that are economic, easier to ship and faster to install, at lower risk,...
Rentech Retrenches
by Debra Fiakas CFA Clean energy solution provider Rentech, Inc. (RTK: NYSE) is scheduled to report second quarter 2012 results the first week in August. Usually the seasonally strong period, this year the June quarter has shareholders sweating. That is because the warm weather conditions sent farmers out into fields earlier than usual to prepare fields. Orders for fertilizer products from Rentech’s East Dubuque, Iowa facility were coming even before the end of the March quarter. The net effect was to pull sales forward. The question now is whether June will now present...
Milestone for Gas-to-Liquids Fuel Plant
Syntroleum Corp (SYNM) commemorated the successful production of more than 140,000 gallons of ultra-clean fuels at its gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuels plant at Port of Catoosa, Oklahoma. The plant also manufactured 60,000 gallons of additional products, such as syncrude. Gathered to mark the occasion were representatives from Syntroleum, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Marathon Oil Company and Integrated Concepts and Research Corporation (ICRC).
Aviation Biofuels: The Year of the Tree
by Jim Lane
When the world’s leaders for sustainable aviation fuels have a general meeting the week before the COP24 global climate sessions (this year in Poland), you can bet that the focus will be breaking the “You Can Have Two out of Three Conundrum” of aviation fuels. Which is to say: affordable, available at scale, and sustainable, pick any two of the three.
Fossil fuels are (usually) affordable and always available at scale. Sustainable jet fuels that are available at scale have generally not been affordable to date, and affordable sustainable fuels have been mostly explored at bench scale, so...
Aviation Biofuel Overview
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
The aviation industry contributes about $2.7 trillion to the world’s gross domestic product. It may seem like a big number, but that is only 3.6% of the world’s wealth. Aviation may be a minor player in terms of creating wealth, it is a big culprit in climate change. Flying around the world accounts for as much as 9% of humankind’s climate change impact. Indeed, compared to other modes of transportation, flight has the greatest climate impact.
The negative impact of carbon emitted by aircraft is made even worse by the fact that the emissions point is mostly at cruising altitudes high...
Velocys Thinking Big with Microreactors
by Debra Fiakas CFA Keep the applause down! Contain your enthusiasm for yet another biomass- or gas-to-liquids company. Over the past several weeks I have written about a number of privately-held developers of one technology or another intended to produce a drop-in renewable fuel from biomass or natural gas. There are more, In this post we check in on Velocys (VCL: London), which stands out from the rest as a public company. No matter that it's technology looks like that of the very next renewable fuel company, it is accessible to minority investors. Until recently Velocys was...
War With Iran? Buy Alternative Energy Stocks.
September is starting out as the month of speculation about a massive three day air strike on Iran. Is Bush ready to attack Iran while our troops are still trying to stabilize both Afghanistan and Iraq? In February, administration officials were denying it. The preparations now going on could simply be the stick part of a negotiating strategy; the bad cop to Russia's good cop. But Bush's chances of successful cooperation with Putin could be better. What if? If Bush does launch a massive three day air strike on Iran, what will that mean for alternative energy stocks? I...
Corn Fractionation Improving Ethanol Production
Ethanol and isobutanol producer Gevo, Inc. (GEVO: Nasdaq) is installing equipment in its Luverne, Minnesota plant to improve efficiency in corn processing. The company is leasing a proprietary corn fractionation or slicing process developed Shockwave, LLC based in DesMoines, Iowa. The new equipment is intended to increase by-product output, including feed protein products and food-grade corn oil. With sales of more valuable by-products Gevo expects to improve overall profit margins. Shareholders can expect to see results after the first quarter 2019, when the equipment installation is expected to be complete.
Shockwave keeps a low profile with no corporate website and no one to answer phone calls. However,...
EPA Reneges on Trump’s Biofuels Deal
by Jim Lane
“EPA Reneges on Trump’s Biofuels Deal”, said the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association in reacting to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s new plans for fulfilling federal renewable fuel requirements. EPA released a proposed supplemental rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard today, and the bioeconomy is up in arms, and the outrage is centered in farm country, once a Trump bastion of support.
“IRFA members continue to stand by President Trump’s strong biofuels deal announced on Oct. 4, which was worked out with our elected champions and provided the necessary certainty that 15 billion gallons would mean 15 billion gallons, even after...
Betting On Renewable Diesel: Valero or Darling?
Valero Energy (VLO: NYSE) recently disclosed ongoing discussions to expand its renewable diesel production to a second plant that would be built and managed by its Diamond Green Diesel joint venture with Darling Ingredients (DAR: NYSE).
The proposed plant that would be located in Port Arthur, Texas and turn out 400 million gallons of renewable diesel and 40 million gallons of naptha per year. As a food by-products processor Darling has easy access to low-cost used cooking oils and animals fats that serves as the feed stock for Diamond Green’s renewable diesel production.
Valero management has cited increasing global demand for low- to no-carbon...
