(HONOLULU) – Hawaii has found a new place in the sun. With a local in the White House and clean-energy tech booming, this sunny, windy island state is blossoming into an exotic garden of alternative-power innovation with nearly $1 billion in clean energy projects underway. The aggressive  initiatives are driven by history and necessity.

Wind turbines on Hawaii Island (Photo: Hawaiian Electric Light Co.)

Necessity, because Hawaii gets 90 percent of its energy from imported oil, while its isolation makes it vulnerable to frequent power outages (no neighbors to send in reserves – until wave power is tapped). Not-so-distant history, because native Hawaiian culture is rooted in respect for nature, a vibe that resonates “take no more than is needed and squander nothing that is taken”.

Currently, islanders pay 25 to 55 cents, per kilowatt hour for electricity – three to five times the national average. Gas prices are the highest in the country.

As solar-tech pioneer and Honolulu-based Sopogy founder Darren Kimura puts it, “We only have about 5 to 7 days worth of energy stored here. And if we were cut off, we’d be stuck. Tourists would be stranded, transportation would stop, food would run out. … We have a very small grid here, and power outages aren’t uncommon.”

Kimura, who just won the Blue Planet Foundation’s Honua (meaning “Earth”) Award for Clean Energy, illustrates his point with a lighter note: “Last year in December, President Obama was out here on vacation, and we had a minor incident and lost power to the entire island. Talk about being at center stage and the lights going off. The President’s visiting and at the house where he’s staying, the power goes out. … The unfortunate reality was (driven home) – how fragile the energy grid is here.”

Fortunately, America’s 44th Commander-in-Chief was born and partly raised in Honolulu; he’s probably used to the outages. Kimura guesses it didn’t freak him out too badly.

But there’s been plenty for Hawaiians to ballyhoo in the news lately, besides ‘ownership’ of a President: In January 2008, during her State of the State address, Gov. Linda Lingle told constituents she would make energy a priority. Within a few days, Honolulu had signed the historic Clean Energy Initiative with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), whereby America’s 50th state would shift from a fossil-fuel driven economy to one that buzzed with power from wind, sun, water (and biofuel and geothermal tech and hydrogen fuel…) by 2030. Specifically, the plan calls for Hawaii to get 70 percent of of its power from clean energy – 40 percent from actual renewable power, 30 percent from energy efficiency and consumer conservation.

Since then, several other major policy changes have occurred.

• Last year, the state passed a law requiring all new homes to have solar-heated water. Jeff Mikulina, executive director of Hawaii’s influential Blue Planet Foundation (started by Blue Planet Software founder Henk Rogers) does the energy math: “We’re building about 5,000 homes a year in Hawaii, and most experts say the measure will save four or five barrels of oil, per household per year,” Mikulina says. So…that’s 20,000 to 25,000 barrels per year that we won’t consume.”

• In December 2008, California-based Better Place, an alt-energy outfit, announced it would use Hawaii as a test site in setting up an infrastructure for electric cars (Israel, Denmark, Australia and California are other test sites). The plan, agreed to by Hawaii’s utility service, calls for Better Place to build 50,000 to 100,000 recharging and battery-swap stations by 2012; they will be run using renewable energy purchased from the local utility. Various electric-car manufacturers have expressed interest in the plan, and recently Hawaii’s governor signed a law requiring large parking lots to provide additional space for electric cars by 2011. The state hopes to see 10,000 electric cars on the road by 2014. Experts say Hawaii is an ideal place for them, because travel distances aren’t very far (usually less than 100 miles). It’s a series of islands – eight in all, thank you.

• And most recently, Mikulina – whose name is familiar to many eco-advocates because of his long career with first the Sierra Club’s Hawaii Chapter and now with Blue Planet – points to the Feed-In Tariff, announced by the state’s Public Utilities Commission on Sept. 25th that levels the price-point playing field for alt-energy providers, knocking down hurdles for clean-energy development. (Essentially a feed-in tariff sets a price that utilities must pay to renewable energy providers, removing uncertainties in the market that hinder development.)

So, the groundwork for a clean-energy conversion has be laid, and the sky literally is the limit.

Hawaii Island gets about 30 percent of its power from geothermal (Photo: John Lund, Geothermal Heat Center)

With its sun, wind and surf, Hawaii is ideally positioned for such a sea change. Here, solar energy is a given, wind power a duh, and wave-power possibly just a Hang-Ten away. Not to mention the geo-thermal power contained in all that volcanic activity. In fact, with policy wonks, techno geeks and eco-interests all looking toward the same goal, the Aloha State is poised to become a global force in sustainability, exporting know-how and technology instead of importing fuel and food.

Blue Planet Foundation’s Mikulina and Rogers believe Hawaii can be energy-independent within a decade.

But what, more specifically, makes Hawaii a mecca for alt-fuel seekers while simultaneously making it vulnerable to fossil-fuel peddlers?

“First of all, there’s the geographic isolation of the island,” says Kimura. “We’re one of the most, if not the most, isolated locations in the world. We’re literally in the middle of the Pacific Ocean – 2,500 miles from LA and 4,000 miles from Asia in general… It’s not like it’s convenient to get here (ditto for imported foods and fuels). … We import I’d say 50 to 60 percent of our food, and as a result of that – and importing oil – we export $7 billion of our capital. We spend $7 billion annually for that energy. When you take all of those factors together, the fact is that we have no economic security, and Hawaii needs to move toward an oil-independent, clean energy/fossil-free future. … Also, take into account that the economy here is largely tourist based, and the cost of living is almost two times higher than in  just about every major city in the United States.”

The flip-side, Kimura says, looks better.  “I see two opportunities here. First of all, the opportunity for us to be self-sustaining. We have some of the best wind, some of the best solar, some of the best access to the ocean and to waste-biomass because of our agriculture industry. … All these are natural resources that could be converted into power, or even just fuel for our cars, like biodiesel. I think that’s step one — becoming energy efficient. Step two is exporting our knowledge and our technology. … It might not be mission-critical for others today, but it will be. These problems are magnified in Hawaii, but they become a reality within ten years in other parts of the world. That second point could become a key economic driver for Hawaii.”

All across O’ahu are impressive indicators for the future.

Hickam Air Force Base has a hydrogen fueling station where many of its vehicles – electric-drive vehicles, be they fuel-cell or internal-combustion that burn hydrogen – can fill ‘er up. That was built about three years ago. Now the station is powered by 146 kilowatts of solar power – enough to energize about 30 homes. The 180-watt panels were manufactured and installed by Honolulu based Sunetric. The hydrogen plant itself was a joint venture between the state of Hawaii and the United States Air Force.

Nearer to Waikiki, the historic Punahou School, where President Barack Obama graduated high school, class of ‘79, has green shoots sprouting every which way. The circa-1841 campus is home to one of the most aggressive pushes toward sustainability of any school in the nation. Across 76 acres, 44 school buildings are spread, many with solar panels and other signs of sustainability. But since 2004, Punahou has taken greenness to a whole new level, with the opening of the LEED Gold Case Middle School in 2004-2005, and, now with construction underway on the uber-clean Omidyar K-1 Neighborhood and Tennis Complex, which Punahou hopes will receive LEED Platinum upon its completion in 2010-2011.

In 2006, Punahou’s Case Middle School was named “Greenest School in America” by the GreenGuide. It features waterless urinals, photovoltaic arrays, as well as curricula and field-trips that focus on all elements of sustainability, from eating local food to being socially responsible and community driven, to being environmentally active. Oh, and the vending machines don’t have candy.

Over at Sopogy, the company is, to use surfer lingo, throwin’ some serious heat.

Sopogy's Solar Nova Concentrator (Photo: Sopogy)

Founded by Kimura in 2002 (one of several clean-energy/eco-friendly companies he’s pioneered over the past 17 years), Sopogy introduced a new product yesterday at the Solar Power International Conference and Expo in Anaheim, Calif. – the first commercially available rooftop Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) collector – called the SopoFlare. CSP’s have previously been designed for deserts, or spread across acres and large fields.

“These are about 30 percent cheaper than traditional solar collectors. And the cool thing is that when we launched the product, we had so many hits on our website that it went down. It’s back up now. But people were freaking out!” Kimura said.

But that’s only the beginning, local entrepreneurs say. A number of new projects are coming online – have actually been announced – that amount to almost a billion dollars worth of clean-energy projects in Hawaii. They span the universe of clean energy, from activated carbon to burning sugarcane to create power, to biodiesel projects to Sopogy’s own steam-energy advances, which use mirrors to intensify the energy of the sun, creating steam and then collecting it.

Roof-mounted solar panels on Hall's Warehouse in South Plainfield New Jersey. (Photo: Business Wire)

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

The latest generation of workers in clean technology jobs aren’t all engineers, tech experts and scientists. They aren’t all in Silicon Valley – some are from Detroit or Gary, Ind.

They may come from community colleges or be fresh out of high school.

Even with the aching economy, venture capital is flowing to clean technologies at a rate rivaling biotech and software investments. The Federal government is pushing for smarter, sustainable and alternative forms of power, transportation and energy efficiency.

Around the world – in Europe, India, Japan and, especially, China – clean technology is a growing job market.

Unlike the high-tech bubble in California, these industries are spread out. Along with the financial analysts and system designers, there are jobs for laborers with new skills – biofuel boiler operators, insulation workers for green buildings or solar energy system installers.

Those are some details from a recently released study of jobs in clean technology industries. Clean Edge, a research and publishing company focused on the clean-tech sector since 2000, looked for the first time at the various jobs associated with these fields, as well as the top areas in the country where the jobs are emerging.

“This is a dispersed revolution, not concentrated in one place, like Silicon Valley during the dot.com boom,” said Ron Pernick, an author of the report and co-founder/managing director of Clean Edge.  “It’s in dozens of nodes and places all over the globe. And it’s not just one type of profession, but with all levels of education” and a significant range of jobs.

Wind power has more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs around the globe.

Clean energy jobs are growing faster than other job sectors, according to Pew research cited in the report. In the solar photo-voltaic field alone, there are more than 200,000 jobs (direct and indirect) worldwide. The wind power area, Clean Edge reports, has more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs around the globe.

What is clean tech? Companies that in some way use or produce renewable materials and energy sources, reduce use of natural resources (or improve efficiency), and limit or stop pollution and toxic waste, the report said.

Among the 36 jobs sampled:

• A boiler operator in a biofuel/biomaterial company could receive (with some years of related experience) a median annual salary of $61,000 with either a high school or associate’s degree.
• A building maintenance engineer for a “green” building (also with mid-level experience) might be looking at a median pay level of $43,300, again with a high school or associate’s degree.
• At higher levels, in entry-level jobs that call for a bachelor’s degree, a solar energy system designer ‘s median pay is $42,600, while a smart-grid software engineer’s median  income is $65,500.

(The job/salary information was determined both by Clean Edge and PayScale, a compensation data publisher. A national median means that half of those doing each job are paid more than the median, and half are paid less.)

Even at entry level, a high school grad or someone with an associate’s degree would need to have some specialized training for the tech jobs. On Clean Edge’s job listings, “those energy efficiency jobs, and solar installation jobs, all of these jobs, at the end of the day, on the manufacturing side, on the installation jobs, they are technical jobs,” Pernick said.

While it is true the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose metropolitan area is still number one in the study’s clean-tech job activity list Detroit/Ann Arbor, Mich. is 14^th on the list of 15.

“Detroit is a great example, and they’re having a difficult time as you know,” said Pernick. In Wixom, Mich., a former Ford plant closed in 2007 is a 320-acre facility that has been purchased by Xtreme Power (wind and solar power systems) and Clairvoyant Energy (solar panel manufacturing). They are planning to reopen the plant in 2011 and could potentially employ thousands, the report said.

In West Branch, Iowa, a hydraulic pump maker laid off 130 workers in 2003. Now wind turbines are being built by 130 employees there, and more hires are planned. In Newton, Iowa, an old Maytag plant for home appliances had laid off 1,800 people in 2007. Now, TPI Composites are making wind turbine blades there and have hired 325 people since 2008, the report says. They are aiming at 500 employees by 2020.

And it’s not just new companies on the clean-tech bandwagon: Big firms such as Siemens have 5,500 working in their wind-business division, and BP has more than 2,200 solar employees.

Of all the clean-tech businesses in the world, four are in the U.S., three are in China and three in the European Union, the report said.. The largest is Vestas Wind Systems in Denmark, with 21,100 employees.

Pressure for more efficient sources of industry coincides with large numbers of retiring employees. The result, according to Pernick, can be found in the example of California’s Pacific Gas & Electric. PG&E “is a company reinventing itself. . . . They need to build out their energy intelligence and clean energy integration because of other forces. But as they’re facing a huge shift in their existing labor pool, they are going to hire people trained in those new arenas.”

But will Americans who don’t like the idea of public funding for new ventures object to stimulus money for clean tech businesses?

“The government has a history of highly subsidized and deregulated energy sources. Coal, nuclear, oil – they’re all highly subsidy-dependent and regulatory dependent. Time has changed, they don’t create a lot of jobs in those industries (non-renewable), they are not providing energy independence,” Pernick said.

That said, Clean Edge’s report offers five models for publicly financing clean-tech jobs.  Some have interesting precedents in American history. The Green Bank (officially the Clean Energy Development Administration) proposal is moving through the U.S. House and Senate and receiving bipartisan support. The bank could fund lots of renewable energy, energy efficiency and pollution reducing businesses and leverage lots of private investment as well. In the 19^th century, the report says, the government supported private enterprise – the building out of America’s railroads.

Another blast from the past for clean tech support could be a form of “Victory Bonds,” similar to the War Bonds sold to support World War II efforts, the study said. The World Bank and a Scandinavian bank helped raise more than $350 million for “green bonds” in 2008.

Another public-financing idea is the production of more Federal bonds that offer bondholders a tax credit (to some extent) in lieu of interest payments. The report also speaks about Federal loan guarantees and city-administered loan funds — where homeowners could borrow money to be more energy efficient (solar energy cells on their roofs, for example), then repay the loans over a long time via property taxes or utility bills.

Clean-tech companies and financing options are spread across the country, so there will be competition. However, “there are so many players . . . you can try to put together a great package to attract a company (in New York, for example) and they just may end up in Texas or Colorado or Oregon. There’s no way to divine who’s going to get the deal.

“The good news is they (cities) have a chance to get it, and the bad is that there’s a lot of competition,” Pernick said.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Before the recession put a stranglehold on most every investment, clean technology was hot. Nearly 80 percent of all the venture capital spent in 2008 went to clean, green investments. The industries slumped for much of 2009, but now investors are returning to clean industries.

Regular Americans are curious about these clean tech companies, too, and they’re asking their financial advisers about them, according to one survey.

What is clean tech? It refers to technologies made without generating significant pollution, which produce products that can replace non-renewable energy sources, like oil, and make us more energy-efficient. Think solar cells and wind-generated power, hybrid or electric cars, green buildings, desalinated water and a “smart grid” that will help businesses and home owners to connect with new sources of power, like wind farms and giant desert photovoltaic installations

To give it an extra push, the government’s stimulus package has set aside about  $100 billion for clean, green products and industries. With that boost, venture capital is starting to flow again.

Considering clean-tech investing? We asked some of the best minds in the business to offer tips, advice and bits of wisdom:

Dallas Kachan Cleantech Group

What parts of clean tech are rebounding?

“The earliest sectors to rebound are tied to energy-efficiency and smart grids. The technologies are well understood and simple, quick and easy to deploy. Energy efficiency technologies are the low-hanging fruit,” said Dallas Kachan, managing director of Cleantech Group.  “By becoming more efficient we negate the need for more (energy) generation. . . there is a broad realization that over the last year you get high returns to pursue energy efficiency.”

Kachan’s company is among the most widely read sources of trade news, daily business and developments in the clean technology arena.

So far, solar deals and biofuels have gotten the lion’s share of clean tech investments. Some predict now that energy-efficient technologies will be the next hot commodities.

Are these industries solid?

“These technologies are ready for prime time. They weren’t ready 30 years ago. The timing wasn’t right in the ‘70s. They are no longer considered “alternative” technologies,” said Ron Pernick, co-founder of Clean Edge, a major market research and publishing firm focused on clean technologies since 2000. Clean Edge guides companies, investors and even governments with information about “trends, opportunities and challenges.”

“Globally, biofuels, wind and solar were a $116 billion industry last year,” Pernick said. The predictions for those three sectors? “They will be more than $300 billion in a decade.”

Now, big businesses are stepping into the clean-tech arena, Pernick said. Reports say that General Electric has sunk billions of dollars into wind power, and Applied Materials has put money into solar power.  Xerox, Kimberly-Clark and Walmart  are all putting substantial money into clean tech.

How quickly will these clean tech businesses grow?

Michael Kanellos Greentech Media

“Don’t expect a quick payoff,” said Michael Kanellos, editor-in-chief of Greentech Media, a leading online-media company. He suggested lowering your sky-high expectations. “Software companies can take off like a rocket because consumers can download applications for free and good ones travel by word of mouth. Twitter went from a few users to millions.

“But most green-tech applications – like energy-efficient appliances or solar panels – have to be manufactured. That costs money, which slows adoption,” he said.

In other words, “If Google had to go on your roof, install a bunch of glass plates and charge you $20,000 before you even started searching, you’d switch to Yahoo,” Kanellos said.

What about green mutual funds?

There may be safety in numbers, and clean/green mutual funds could provide extra comfort for mom-and-pop investors. Morningstar provides its members with research and analysis of the market, including tracking of 23 actively managed (and 15 exchange-traded) funds that are considered “green.”

“Somebody who wants to invest in green mutual funds should be aware of the various types of funds out there that are marketed as ‘green,’ said David Kathman, a Chicago-based analyst of mutual funds for Morningstar. A fund that consists of many start-ups is a riskier bet than one with a broader mix.

“Another group is ‘best of breed’ green funds, he said. “These look much more like regular core mutual funds in that they typically own well-known stocks, but within each sector they look for stocks with the best green profiles and environmental records,” Kathman said.

If you’re thinking about a mutual fund, study the prospectus for their “green” criteria or sustainability goals and the areas of green industry where they focus.

Like any other investment, looking for solid cash flows, stimulus money and diversified portfolios are important. A solid track record is as important with “clean” mutual funds as it is with any other fund.

Don’t just think American. Think globally

“Clean tech is not just an American phenomenon. There are very important deals and commercialization in . . . China and the Middle East,” said Clean Tech’s Kachan.

The clean-tech field also is making strong headway in South Korea, Japan, the European Union and India. “Governments around the world . . . are looking to create jobs, be energy-independent, meet stringent requirements for carbon and other emissions, said Clean Edge’s Pernick. “Governments are taking this seriously.”

In the third quarter of this year, Europe received much more clean-tech financing than America.

China is the world’s third largest economy, and they are aggressively looking for cleaner, more efficient energy. One report points out that China has doubled its ability to use wind-generated power over the past four years.

Camelina sativa, a member of the mustard family, is an oilseed crop that is proving to have a great industrial potential in the near future. Studied throughout the entire process, from planting to plane, Camelina has shown to be one of the more promising alternatives to petroleum jet fuel, according to a study  done at Michigan Technological University.

The oil from Camelina, can be converted and used as an alternative fuel source, say MTU researchers, who conducted the research study in collaboration with Honeywell’s UOP and Targeted Growth.  The findings showed an “80% reduction in GHG emissions for “Camelina Green Jet” compared to petroleum jet (fuel),” said David Shonnard, Robbins Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering on Tuesday.

There are many benefits to Camelina. It is a dry-land crop that can be grown in rotation with wheat, which increases the health of the soil. “After a Camelina crop the land is returned ‘rested’ and ready for another 3 or 4 years of wheat cultivation,” said Shonnard. Camelina requires minimal input as well, so the cost of production is significantly lower than other alternative fuel crops. “Camelina is a short season crop (85 to 100 days) and is frost tolerant so it can be planted early,” said David Shonnard. While Camelina is not a food crop, the excess oil also can be used as feedstock for animals.

For right now, Camelina is primarily cultivated in eastern Washington, Montana, and the Dakotas. As demand increases, Camelina has the potential to be grown in many other dry-land locations, as well as areas that are not currently cultivated for crops.

Camelina oil is compatible with today’s existing fuel infrastructure, so there would be no necessary changes that needed to be made. Even though an exact schedule for commercial production is still unknown, the recent advances being made in biofuel are proving to be promising.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Solano County, Calif., is getting its first bio-fuel station with the opening Thursday at Plaza Oliver Valero in Fairfield. The station will have two renewable biofuels, E85 ethanol and B5 biodiesel, which are considered cleaner burning and less expensive than comparable gasoline and diesel fuels.

Biofuels (definition) are fuels made at least partially from renewable biological sources such as corn, soybeans, or vegetable oil. E85 ethanol and B5 biodiesel are both low carbon fuels consistent with California’s new Low Carbon Fuel Standard and both are clean burning fuels that result in lower Greenhouse Gas vehicle exhaust emissions. Many current vehicles are capable of operating on less expensive, cleaner burning E85 ethanol and B5 biodiesel with no modification.

After a ribbon cutting Thursday, Plaza Oliver Valero will celebrate the grand opening Saturday and Sunday. The station is located at 1009 Oliver Road, just off Interstate 80 near Chuck E. Cheese’s.

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The skies are getting cleaner thanks to efforts made by Continental Airlines in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation/CFM International, and Honeywell’s UOP. In early January of this year, Continental Airlines conducted the first biofuel demonstration flight by a commercial carrier in North American. Wednesday, Continental Airlines said it was “very pleased” in announcing its analysis of the flight.

The 90-minute test flight, taking off from, and then returning to, Houston, successfully completed many necessary flight operations. Engine 1 operated on 100 percent jet fuel, while Engine 2 of the Boeing 737-800 operated on a blend of 50 percent jet fuel and 50 percent biofuel. The biofuel was made from a combination of algae and jatropha plants, which do not impact food harvests, water resources or contribute to deforestation.

While reducing the amount of traditional jet fuel used was an accomplishment because it potentially reduces dependency on crude oil — the use of biofuel provided an even greater benefit in lessening air pollution.

“Overall life cycle greenhouse gas emissions related to using a biofuel like the one used on our demonstration flight are estimated to be reduced by 60 percent to 80 percent as compared to traditional jet fuel,” said Susannah Thurston, Corporate Communications Manager at Continental

“We are very pleased with the findings of the demonstration flight,” Thurston said Thursday.

As far as when travelers can expect biofuels to be used on commercial flights, Susan Gross with UOP Communications expects it to be another three years. UOP expects to receive the licensing rights at the end of this summer. It will then take an approximate two-and-a-half years until the fuel is produced in commercial quantities and widely used.

In regards to the cost of biofuel in comparison to traditional jet fuel, Susan Gross says “at this time, we are unable to predict the actual cost.” There are two large factors when computing the cost of the biofuel, 85% is directly related to the cost of the products used and 15% is the cost of refining the fuel. The refining cost will stay the same. For example, the two alternatives used in the Continental demonstration flight, algae oil and jatropha plants, are more expensive than crude oil at this time. UOP hopes that with increasing demand for alternative fuels, more plants will be harvested and the prices will be comparable.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Solazyme Inc., a Bay Area algal fuel company, has won the San Francisco Business Times’ Bay Area Green Business Award for Renewable Energy  Fuels.

The awards, presented June 11, recognize the Bay Area’s clean technology companies. A panel of area experts judged more than 200 nominations in 14 categories. Judging took three months.

“The San Francisco Bay Area is the heart of Green Technology innovation, we are proud to be selected for this honor, recognizing the work we’ve done in bringing renewable oil production and algal fuel to commercialization,” said Jonathan Wolfson, chief executive officer of Solazyme, in a statement. “This award further demonstrates the importance of our technology and research and recognizes our position in the industry during this critical time for our environment and for energy security.”

For more information about Solazyme, which was founded in 2003 with headquarters in South San Francisco, see this story on Green Right Now. The companies microbial conversion process converts algae into an oil that can replace fossil petroleum or plant oils in a range of products, serving as biofuels and also as components of household cleaning supplies, cosmetics and foods (it’s edible).

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — You’ve probably heard of wheels powered by biodiesel, favored by indie rock bands, gardeners, and other greenies who want to save the world, one tank of used cooking oil at a time. These veggie-fuel fanatics can pull their trucks up to the local burger joint and haul away excess deep-fryer fat, which they take home and convert to usable fuel. But did you know scientists in university research labs and start up companies are using precision, high-tech gene splicing technology to figure out how to mass-produce biofuel from pond scum?

One such algae pioneer is Harrison Dillon, president and chief technical officer of South San Francisco renewable energy startup company Solazyme, Inc. Dillon, a PhD geneticist with training in patent law on the side, is leading his team of highly skilled technicians to discover, and create, conditions under which algae will produce oil for food, cosmetics and fuel.

The first stop on my Solazyme tour was the parking lot for a ride in the company’s biodiesel-powered Jeep.

More from GRN
Facts about Solazyme

“We have as a main business strategy to make transportation fuels that are compatible with the existing fuel infrastructure at every step of the way,” said Dillon. With backing from Chevron, as well as other financiers and development partners, Solazyme has been revving up its biodiesel, renewable diesel and jet fuel-making operation for five years now.

“This is a totally standard, unmodified diesel vehicle here,” Dillon said as we climbed into the truck. “The tank has nothing but “Soladiesel” in it.”

“There’s essentially no market risk to selling these fuels. In other words, if we can make them at the right price, we will be able to sell as much as we can make,” he continued, revving the engine for emphasis.

Dillon predicts his company is two to three years away from being able to produce and sell its renewable transportation fuels at a price that’s competitive with fossil fuels.

As the Jeep’s diesel engine purrs, Dillon compares Solazyme’s algae oil products to cellulosic ethanol, which, as he said, has gotten a lot of buzz in renewable fuel circles.

“Different from ethanol, you can put our oil through a pipeline. Different from ethanol, you can put it through a gas station – you don’t need a special pump. Different from ethanol, you don’t need a flex fuel car with a special engine; you can put it into a 30-year-old diesel Mercedes if you want to,” Dillon said.

After our drive around the parking lot, we head inside and don safety googles to tour Solazyme’s laboratories. Sleek, state-of-the-art machines hum and whirr. Beakers, test tubes and Petrie dishes hold algae in every shade of green, from bright chartreuse to muck brown. They’re standing in incubator-like compartments, or being gently jiggled on moving plates under heat lamps. White-coated technicians wielding eyedroppers or turkey basters extract different-colored liquids from the algae samples.

“This is where we do everything we do here as a biotech company,” Dillon explained.  “We screen algae, we grow algae, we genetically engineer algae, we extract oil, we process oil: the whole nine yards.”

Source: Solazyme

Related video: Solazyme unveils renewable biodiesel derived from algae

Commuters who place their alternative-auto hopes on biofuels but are frustrated by the fuels’ limited availability may soon have a new option: skipping the hunt for a local filling station and instead using a pump of your own.

The E-Fuel Corporation is well underway in pre-marketing efforts for a large appliance that could sit near your house or in the garage and, with the press of a button and the addition of a “feedstock” composed of table sugar and ethanol yeast mix, brew up your own ethanol. The cost has been quoted as somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 per gallon, though the machine itself lists for ten grand (or about seven thousand dollars after federal tax credits).

All the “MicroFueler” needs is a level surface where there’s connection to power, water, and wastewater — “just like a washing machine,” in the words of product designer Floyd Butterfield. It has a nozzle just like the one at the corner gas station, albeit one with a 50-foot hose attached for better range, and may be more compatible with your current vehicle than you think. The company’s FAQ assures prospective customers that “all cars can use up to 100% ethanol if equipped with a proper conversion kit, which is widely available,” but also notes that the MicroFueler can be set to blend its 100% ethanol with gasoline, at any ratio, to meet a particular car’s needs.

We have to admit we were tempted to give up on the MicroFueler early in the year, as it had been over half a year since a press release, there was no phone number listed at the web site (or on that last press release, which promised MicroFueler shipments “will begin in the fourth quarter of 2008″), and attempts to contact the company through an email form went unanswered for a month. But then came a CNN item suggesting the company is approaching roll-out (the web site now says pre-orders will start being filled in the second quarter of 2009), and this month the company’s website announced a brand-new partnership with the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, which intends to start making fuel from the spent yeast left over after the brewing process. Currently, Sierra Nevada sells 1.6 million gallons of that stuff per year to farmers for use as dairy feed.

E-Fuel CEO Tom Quinn has long promoted the fact that breweries, bars, and restaurants are particularly well suited for the MicroFueler, which can use discarded booze to make even cheaper fuel. But he clearly isn’t stopping there: In promotional materials, he compares the device’s introduction to the launch of personal computers, saying it’s a “paradigm shift” that places formerly industrial processes in the hands of everyday people.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Corn-based ethanol, once a star on the alternative energy scene, has fallen from favor in the past year, battered by reports that raising corn for fuel raids the world’s pantry and that corn ethanol has a heavier carbon footprint than originally thought.

Many now argue over whether the US should continue to grow corn for fuel or make the switch to grasses that can be grown on less desirable land, with fewer pesticides and fertilizers, or use plant waste to make fuel.

Now a new debate looms: Should the US allow genetically altered corn to be grown for use as biofuel?

The Union of Concerned Scientists wants to stop that genie before it leaves the bottle, because it believes that genetically modified corn will inevitably mix with and contaminate corn grown for food products.

Syngenta, a multi-national agriculture company that has readied a new genetically modified corn intended for ethanol production, disagrees. The company has applied for permission to sell its corn seed in the US, telling officials that it would control where the crops are grown so that the GMO corn would not mix with the food supply.

“Corn Amylase will be produced and managed in such a way as to avoid the product entering the broad commodity grain streams,” the company says in a position paper. It proposes that the corn be handled in a “closed look type system” that would contain the grain and further promises that it will complete “full-scale trials” and discussions with industry stakeholders before putting the corn on the commercial market. The company is targeting the US market, but would apply for import clearances into other markets.

The newly developed “Corn Amylase” contains a new protein that breaks down corn starch under high temperatures and could reduce the cost of ethanol production, according to Syngenta. The company suggests in the position paper that the product also could boost crop yields (though it doesn’t offer a figure). In addition, it reports that a “detailed economic study” shows that Corn Amylase could reduce the energy, chemicals and water currently required to grow corn for ethanol.

The non-profit UCS, however, says that growing other types of plants for biofuel use would still be more efficient than growing row crops like corn.  The group is asking the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to exercise due diligence on the Syngenta request before de-regulating its use.

“We should be moving away from corn for ethanol and trying to get it from non-food crops; get it from switch grass instead of corn, and cellulose instead of food crops,” says Dr. Jane Rissler, a plant pathologist with the UCS who has been working on biotechnology issues for the past 25 years including a stint with the EPA.

These second-generation biofuels take less of a toll on the land, produce fewer greenhouse gases and don’t displace cropland for food production, she said.

The first commercial air test flights using biofuels took to the sky earlier this month: First Air New Zealand, then Continental Airlines gave us a glimpse of a greener way to fly with a biofuel test flight on Jan. 7 at Bush Continental Airport in Houston.

Next up: Japanese Airline, JAL has announced a demonstration flight using a Boeing 747-300 powered by biofuel set for Jan. 30 in Tokyo.

Jennifer Holmgren is General Manager of Renewable Energy & Chemicals for Honeywell’s UOP, a refining technology developer which partnered with Continental on its landmark project. One week later, she was a keynote speaker at Petrotech 2009, an international oil and gas conference hosted by the Indian government, on the topic of emerging technologies (the conference ends Thursday).

We asked Holmgren to elaborate on the development of biofuels for commercial airlines.

Q. What factors are coming together for these test flights to be happening at this particular time?

A. The aviation industry is motivated to find a solution and diversify its fuel supply. We are all eager to prove that a sustainable biofuels solution exists and could make an impact to commercial aviation as soon as 2012. Today the technology to convert biological resources to fuel exists, and technology to cultivate and process various sustainable feed stocks is nearer than many think.

Q. How long until sustainable raw materials will be available in a quantity that makes biofuel viable for commercial aviation?

A. We believe that sources like jatropha and camelina (non-edible, oilseed crops that require little to no irrigation and can be grown in areas food crops won’t grow) will be available in commercial scale quantities within the next three years. Technology to produce algae in commercial scale quantities is a little farther out – more like eight to 10 years. Events like the Continental flight help to keep motivation and momentum around developing these technologies and are gathering the data that will be needed for aircraft certification.

Q. As your business and others wait for those markets to turn, what kinds of things will you be trying to accomplish in the intervening years?

UOP is working to develop a complete portfolio of technology for renewable energy and chemicals. We have already introduced and licensed a process to produce green diesel fuel and are also leveraging a joint venture with the Canadian business Ensyn to offer technology and equipment to convert second-generation biomass like forest and agricultural wastes into oil for power generation, heating fuel. The joint venture will also accelerate research and development for technology that will convert this pyrolysis oil into transportation fuels like diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.

Q. You have said production levels (for biomass jet fuel) could reach hundreds of millions of gallons per year by 2012. What are some of the ways companies will ensure that overall environmental impact of production and delivery is minimal?

A. The UOP renewable jet fuel process is modeled after traditional hydroprocessing technology that has been used in refineries for more than 50 years to produce transportation fuels. Emissions from the renewable process are comparable to the tradition petroleum-based process. The key to realizing greenhouse gas emission reductions is the use of sustainable second-generation feedstock sources. The source for the fuel must be cultivated and harvested in manners that do not tax valuable food, land or water resources.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media