Analysts F.O. Licht’s have reviewed the study point by point and state: “There are inherent difficulties in calculating the differences in the cost of producing fossil fuels on the one hand and biofuels on the other. Even the study authors warn that it should be noted that these projections are extremely uncertain, and thus the results derived are indicative”.

The analyses continues: “biofuel numbers that the authors use, and which were prepared by the UK’s Department of Transport, are currently subject to revision. This leaves the whole edifice of calculations comparing fossil and renewable fuels on quite shaky ground. Therefore the whole cost of production comparison allows only one conclusion: that a final conclusion is not possible”.

Petrol prices would likely rise

“There is no historical evidence that the introduction of biofuels has resulted in higher fuel prices at the pump. Why would this trend change? Most likely petrol prices will increase if biofuels were removed from the petrol mix. A 2008 Merrill Lynch report found that oil values at that time would have been about $20 barrel higher without the use of biofuels” said Mr. Rob Vierhout, Secretary General of ePURE.

… The studies were paid for by two NGOs campaigning against the development of biofuels but they forget to include the energy reality in Europe. … And vitally, it (ethanol) replaces the need for the most expensive and polluting marginal oil, such as tar sands. “Must we conclude from these studies that Friends of the Earth and ActionAid would actually prefer tar sands over fuel ethanol?” added Mr. Vierhout.  READ MORE and MORE  and MORE (Friends of the Earth)

Growing castor beans for commercial purposes would be illegal under a measure that won unanimous approval Wednesday by a House committee.

Castor beans, which are composed of 50 percent or more oil, are the among the most promising biofuel crops, but they also contain ricin, one of nature’s deadliest poisons, said House Floor Leader Dale DeWitt, author of the measure.

“It would be a very lucrative crop to grow if you were going to go into biofuels,” said DeWitt, R-Braman.

No one in Oklahoma is growing castor beans for commercial purposes, DeWitt said.

However, with a growing interest in them for biofuels, wheat farmers and crop producers are concerned about them being planted and spreading castor and ricin residue into fields, planting and harvesting equipment, storage bins, and trucks and railroad cars used for transporting grain, he said.

…Committee members also voted 17-0 to pass House Bill 2188, which would make it unlawful to transport castor beans in sacks weighing more than 50 pounds. Violators would face being charged with a misdemeanor and could be fined up to $500.  READ MORE

Under the title “Big Oil’s Banner Year,” the Washington-based Center for American Progress on Tuesday, for example, pointed out that the five firms made a fourth-quarter record $137 billion in profits while producing less oil than they did the previous year.

The center said that the oil companies produced 15.6 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter compared to 16.2 million barrels a year earlier. The center also said that the oil giants were sitting on $58 billion in cash reserves while enjoying federal tax reductions they didn’t deserve.

“Instead of using their additional earnings to increase production or investment in alternative fuels,” the report said, the oil companies “used $38 billion, or 28% of annual net income, to repurchase their own stocks and invested in politicians to maintain the policies that led to their enormous profits over the past decade.”  READ MORE and MORE (Center for American Progress)

Jeff Langbehn, executive director of the Lake County Solid Waste Management District, said he lost faith and respect for Earl Powers, CEO of Powers Energy of America, when Powers walked out on board members in the middle of discussions regarding financing for the proposed south county plant.

And the waste district’s new vice chairman, Griffith Councilman George Jerome, said his faith is wavering in Langbehn and other members of the district’s professional staff who advocated the Powers project.

Jerome and fellow waste district board member Rick Ryfa, also a Griffith councilman, said Friday it is time to have discussion about the future of the district’s professional staff now that the trash-to-ethanol plan is in free fall.

Frustrated following the passage of three years since inking a contract with Powers with no results, the waste district board voted Thursday to find Powers in breach of contract.

The board gave Powers 60 days to secure financing, land for the facility and to show other progress toward construction —  things Powers has failed to accomplish since signing the contract with the district in November 2008.  READ MORE

The project is the Japanese company Marubeni, which will invest about 652 million dollars for the construction of two factory. According to the Japanese ambassador to Angola, Ryozo Myoi, the refining plant will have capacity to produce annually 400,000 tonnes of white sugar and 20,000 tons of cane per day fine. 

The ethanol plant will have a capacity of production estimated at 40 000 kiloliters per year, processing 200 kiloliters per day of anhydrous alcohol and extra neutral alcohol.   READ MORE

Fuel blend analysis is important as the use of biodiesel as a diesel additive has increased dramatically over the past few years and will likely continue to increase. For fuel blenders, this means an added challenge to avoid an incorrect blend that could lead to regulatory fines, loss of customer confidence and damage to equipment.

Portable infrared analyzers such as the InfraCal Biodiesel Blend Analyzer offer a simple, accurate and low cost solution to on-site blend testing at locations such as the blending rack. The resulting costs of an incorrect blend can far out way the modest cost of an on-site biodiesel blend analyzer. With many already in use at petroleum terminals and by regulatory agencies, the InfraCal Biodiesel Blend Analyzer has proven to be a reliable tool to ensure blend accuracy.  READ MORE

Let’s not lose sight of a critical fact: America’s enemies are bleeding this nation’s economic strength through terrorism and guerilla-style military confrontation, and by exploiting its need to import petroleum, with the related costs of military protection for its points of origin, its production and transport.

…The five big oil companies have made something approaching $1 trillion in profits over the past ten years, and yet, the Republicans in Congress resist the repeal of even as little as $2 billion of their annual incentives, while systematically stripping the emerging renewable energy industry of the financial assistance it needs to cross the valley of death—among other things, extending the time it will take for the industry to achieve its Congressionally-mandated goal of producing 21 billion gallons of advanced non-food derived biofuels.  Might this be because the oil & gas industry spent $145 million on lobbying in 2011?

…In 2011, after recycling, California put more than 30 million tons of post-recycled municipal waste into landfills. The organic materials in this waste stream contain the energy equivalent of approximately 60 million barrels of crude oil.

California’s legislature recently increased the state’s mandate for recycling from 50% to 75%.  To comply with its recycling mandates, the waste industry is exporting a substantial portion of the state’s recyclables to China, Nigeria and India, where there is no regulatory oversight, but in California these materials count as recycling the moment they leave the docks.   READ MORE

In Part I, today, we look at the performance of the six IPOs to date in the aftermarket, the Ceres IPO which is ready to price its IPO tonight, and look towards the IPO queue at important changes in Coskata’s recent filings.

In Part II, tomorrow, we look at how Ceres performed, we’ll have an update on Amyris, and we’ll look at the other companies in the IPO pipeline – Myriant, PetroAlgae, BioAmber, Elevance, Genomatica, Enerkem, Mascoma, and Fulcrum Bioenergy.

…In the IPO window that opened in April 2010 with Codexis’ successful IPO, six companies in the biofuels and renewable chemicals sector have gone public, and as a class they are between 8 and 61 percent off their IPO price.

…Since then (last spring), most of the companies have stayed entirely in line with their original plans, as expressed to their investors in there pre-IPO road shows and beyond, and most have stayed in line with their technical and economic targets and on their growth curve. Market reaction? They got crushed.

Accordingly, we can see the current price environment as more of a measure of the public’s appetite for risk (like, about zero), than as a verdict on the technologies and companies themselves. READ MORE

Ethanol’s chief benefit is environmental.  …Last summer, there were no smog alerts in the GTA and 5.5 million Canadians breathed easier. Ethanol was a major factor in cleaning the air above Canada’s biggest metropolis.

A lesser-known fact is that the smaller, lighter car engines with high horsepower coming on to the market today require a higher-level octane gasoline. The traditional way to increase octane is to boost the level of aromatics in the fuel, specifically benzene, toluene and xylene. All three of these compounds are carcinogenic. The alternative method of increasing octane is to add ethanol, which has an octane of 114 and delivers plenty of extra power. That’s why Indy and NASCAR racers use ethanol.

Ethanol also reduces the price of gasoline at the pump. With about 15 billion gallons of ethanol in the North American gasoline pool today, gasoline is about 10¢ cheaper per litre in Canada and about 40¢ cheaper per gallon in the United States.  READ MORE

“I think it’s going to be a chaotic spring, with huge price increases in some places,” says Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service, who expects average prices to peak at $4.05 nationally, although he and other industry trackers say prices could be sharply higher in some places, such as Chicago.

…Refiners also switch from winter formulations to more expensive seasonal formulations to meet stringent environmental standards, which can tack on 15 cents a gallon, says Brian Milne of energy tracker Televent DTN.

…“Higher demand, Iran, lost refining capacity are all potential problems,” Milne says. “We’ll get over $4 a gallon, but it’s going to be tough to sustain that level. People will drive less.”