Government Renews Promise on Renewable Fuel

Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent announced today that the Canadian Government is moving ahead with the requirement for an average two per cent renewable content in diesel fuel and heating oil.

This announcement was further to one made September 10, 2010 when Jim Prentice, environment minister at the time, publicized the requirement for five per cent renewable content in gasoline, which came into effect December 15, 2010. At that time Minister Prentice advised “Canada will implement a requirement for two per cent renewable content in diesel fuel and heating oil, subject to successful demonstration of technical feasibility under the range of Canadian conditions, which would be put in place by an amendment to the Renewable Fuels Regulations.”

Today, Minister Kent advised that “After positive results, we are moving forward with this requirement which will result in further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately in cleaner air for all Canadians.”

A report on the Technical Feasibility of Integrating an Annual Average 2% Renewable Diesel in the Canadian Distillate Pool by 2011 was issued by Natural Resources Canada in October 2010.

Reducing emissions in the transportation sector is a key component in the Government’s plan to achieve Canada’s target of reducing total greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020. In addition to the Renewable Fuels Regulations, the Government has also finalized regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles and is working to do the same for heavy-duty vehicles.

As well as reducing emissions, the new regulations help Canada’s farmers. According to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz “The new renewable fuel content in biodiesel and heating oil will give our farmers another market for their crops and demonstrates how agriculture can contribute to reducing Canada’s environmental footprint.”

Transitioning to transit

More Canadians are taking transit. How many more? According to the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), about 14 per cent more. Over the five years from 2004 to 2008, the number of regular service rides increased to 1.83 billion per year from 1.6 billion. That’s about five million Canadians per day riding transit. The increase from 2007 to 2008 alone was 63.8 million rides. That’s about 175,000 Canadians per day.

Now, the cynics will say this increase has been fuelled by the cost of downtown parking in Canada’s major cities, or even a lack of downtown parking in Canada’s major cities.

But we like to think it’s about concern for the environment. One bus full of people is the equivalent of taking 45 cars off the road. Consider this – if your round-trip commute is 32 kilometres, and you decide to take the bus every day and leave your car at home, you’d reduce of CO₂ emissions by 2.8 tonnes per year. This means the 45 cars replaced by a bus would represent a reduction of about 126 tonnes. And that’s only 45 cars.

But wait, there’s more

Today’s transit technology is a lot cleaner than the smoke-belching buses of yesteryear. According to the CUTA, clean diesel technology, a combination of more efficient fuel injection, particulate filters and catalytic converters used in conjunction with ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel, has reduced exhaust particulate matter 90 per cent since 1993. Ultra low sulphur diesel fuel has less than 15 parts per million sulphur.

Another innovation is biodiesel, fuel produced from oilseeds, vegetables or animal fat. It’s not really a new concept. Rudolf Diesel had vegetable oil in mind as a fuel when he invented the diesel engine in the 1890s. But for most of the engine’s history, it’s been run on petroleum-based fuels. Biodiesel can be blended with conventional diesel without major modifications. Common blends are B5 (five per cent biodiesel and 95 per cent conventional diesel) an B20 (20 per cent biodiesel and 80 per cent conventional diesel). Saskatoon Transit reported a 7.2 per cent reduction in GHGs using B5 with a canola-based biodiesel additive.

Perhaps the biggest boost to clean transit is the hybrid bus. Like hybrid cars, hybrid buses have two power sources: an internal combustion engine (usually diesel) and an electric motor that runs off batteries recharged by the diesel engine and regenerative braking. The electric motor gets the bus moving, and once underway, the diesel engine kicks in. At top speed, only the diesel provides power. The advantages of hybrid buses include about 30 per cent less fuel consumption and correspondingly fewer emissions.

Bus fleets in most major Canadian cities are a mix of clean diesel, biodiesel and hybrid buses and any remaining conventional gasoline or diesel buses are being replaced with their cleaner cousins.

So for a two-pronged assault on emissions, leave the car at home and take the bus.

Energy in Canada #1

A STRONG PARTNERSHIP
Canada is the largest, safest and most secure supplier of energy to the United States. From supplying natural gas to developing fuel cell technology, Canada is vital to ensuring North America’s energy security.  Read More

THE HYDROGEN HIGHWAY AND BEYOND
Canadian researchers are world leaders in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. This innovation is being shared with our southern neighbour through various government and private partnerships.  Read More

CAPTURING CARBON TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
Through the Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership, 80 U.S. and Canadian stakeholders are working together to make carbon dioxide capture and storage a viable option for combating climate change.  Read More  In 2008 the Centre for Energy in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted the ninth cross-border forum on energy issues. Seventy-five participants, including academics, policy makers and industry representatives assessed the importance of carbon capture and storage to Canada and the United States in developing resources and addressing climate change. The Centre for Energy sat down with the seven panelists who led the discussion at the forum. The interviews give listeners a technical, environmental and social perspective on carbon capture and storage. Listen In

POWERING A NATION
In 2007, Canada exported over $3.1 billion in electricity to the United States. An increasing portion of this electrical energy is being sourced from renewable sources, such as hydropower and wind power. Read More

FROM FOOD TO FUEL
Producers on both sides of the border are exploring the many sources of and uses for bioenergy. In 2008, Canada had 16 ethanol plants and four biodiesel plants operating or under construction, with a total capacity of 1.9 billion litres per year. Read More

The power of green

Pond power: an idea whose time has scum?

Pun aside, something many swimming pool or aquarium owners know well – algae – could become a critical source of renewable energy.

Its green potential, literally and figuratively, was outlined at the 5th annual Canadian Renewable Fuels Association summit by Daniel Oh, chief operating officer of Renewable Energy Group. Headquartered in Ames, Iowa, REG accounted for some 22% of U.S. biodiesel production last year, most of it from tried and true sources.

REG has unveiled “scalable commercialization technology” for refining large volumes of algae-based biodiesel, enabling the company to partner with almost any algae-oil supplier.

The concept’s potential was first identified three decades ago, but interest waned when energy prices fell. The focus now, Oh said, is “fairly near term” and he expected “important” volumes to be flowing within five years and that while its initial contribution to the overall biofuels mix would be “small”, it has the potential “to accelerate rapidly” as the biofuels industry distanced itself from the food-versus-fuel controversy.

Oh said customer recognition is critical to early adoption of biofuels and that uniformly high quality, regardless of the feedstock source, is equally important. He said both the heavy equipment and petroleum sectors have been quick to recognize the economic and environmental advantages of biodiesel.

Algae’s potential is enhanced by the fact that it generally is done at low temperature and pressure and that, unlike sources such as corn, a “crop” can be harvested in a week or two rather than once or twice a season. “We’re getting a lot closer than people think,” Oh said.

Biofuels’ financial catalyst

Vicky Sharpe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, laments the fallout from “absolutely appalling” news media coverage of first-generation agricultural biofuels which suggested that any gains were at the expense of food production.

Acknowledging a backlash that undermined government and public support, she nevertheless is adamant that public funding equal to or in excess of private investment is crucial to research, development and exploitation of biofuels’ huge potential.

“It does require public money,” Sharpe told the 5th annual Canadian Renewable Fuels Association summit. “It is not a commercially viable opportunity just yet.”

Founded in 2001, her organization is a government-led not-for-profit foundation which supports development and demonstration of clean technologies. It operates a $550 million SD Tech Fund in support of projects that address climate change, air quality, clean water and clean soil. More important to the renewable fuels sector, its $500 million NextGen Biofuels Fund, announced in the 2007 federal budget, supports the establishment of “first-of-kind large demonstration-scale facilities” for second-generation production from non-edible sources.

Sharpe, who has a doctorate in microbiology and chemistry, told summit delegates that the U.S. has the strongest commitment to biofuels and is the only country which distinguishes between first- and second-generation fuels. That said, she expects the U.S. to achieve little more than half of its “really high” production goals. President George W. Bush has called for the use of 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels, including biofuels, by 2017.

In contrast, Canada’s legislated goals – mandated by amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act which were passed by Parliament last summer – begin with a requirement of 5% average renewable content in gasoline by 2010 and then 2% in diesel and heating oil by 2012, subject to a successful demonstration. Gasoline-powered vehicles have been able to burn up to 10% ethanol in gasoline since the 1980s and many diesel-engine manufacturers warrant the use of 5% or higher biodiesel blends. One of the main attractions of biodiesel is that it generates 93% more energy than is required to make it, according to the American National Standards Institute.

When in introduced the draft legislation as bill C-33, the government said its proposals would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by about four megatonnes. That’s equal to taking nearly a million vehicles off the road.

Sharpe expects most of the earlier biofuels targets to be met from first-generation sources and that capital investment in the $8-13.5 billion range is “roughly what we’re looking at.” The scale of the investment was such that governments, oil companies, other industries and the capital markets “obviously need to play an important role” and that international capital was “absolutely” necessary “to get the job done.”

Price could be a hurdle for second-generation biofuels, which Sharpe said are coming in at about $1.60-$1.80 per litre. They needed to be closer to $0.50-$1.20/l to be practicable. “We have momentum (and) we have to build on it, but let’s not over-promote.” Doing so, she said, generates cynicism.

Since its inception, SDTC has become a “very positive story” in that some $200 million has been invested in 16 companies with a “very good range of capability.” STDC mitigates its exposure by committing up to 40% of a project’s costs to a cap of $200 million, the investment being repayable from cash flow once a project is viable.

The foundation currently is reviewing the latest applications for NextGen funding. “The future of biofuels lies in cellulosic ethanol and next-generation biodiesel, produced from non-food feedstocks that do not encourage land-use changes,” Sharpe said in announcing the call for applications. “The projects that SDTC wants to support . . . will bring cellulosic ethanol and next-generation biodiesel one step closer to market and help secure Canada’s position as a world leader in the renewable fuels industry.”

Biodiesel tackles winter cold

Biotechnology is supposed to be cleaner and more efficient – but what if it’s not better?  

Consider biodiesel.   As with ‘regular’ diesel, biodiesel doesn’t like the cold.  It crystallizes into waxy balls, clogging the filter. When it gets really cold, it can gel to the point that it won’t flow or pour.

Regular diesel does this too, but it’s far more resilient than biodiesel.  For anyone who lives where it can and does get really cold, this challenge makes biodiesel a LOT less practical. But with Ottawa pressing to implement new standards for renewable fuels in the near future, including two per cent renewable content in diesel by 2012, the pressure is on to beat the winter chill.

Leading the way, Climate Change Central launched the Alberta Renewable Diesel Demonstration. Started in 2006, ARDD is a multi-stakeholder project involving the combined efforts of both the federal and provincial governments, petroleum refiners, fuel blenders and distributors, primary diesel users and commercial carriers. It’s purpose: testing vehicles and diesel as temperatures as low a minus-44 degrees

ARDD is testing new techniques and biodiesel additives. One such technique involves first heating the oil, then cooling it to near freezing, allowing the saturated fats to crystallise and sink to the bottom. The clear oil on the top is used to make winter biodiesel.

That improved winter biodiesel is combined with additives to make it work when it’s really, REALLY cold, like Winnipeg cold.  Two kinds of renewable diesel are blended into ultra-low sulphur diesel: fatty acid methyl ester and hydro-treated renewable diesel. 

So far the results look promising with test fleets showing no signs of the ill-effects of biodiesel.

Green cake?

The way of the future lies in green cake. Sounds like a line from Dr. Seuss, but it’s how the music industry is using their position as social icons to demonstrate the need for change. And Cake, the ultra-cool band behind such hits as No Phone, Short Skirt Long Jacket, and Never There, is doing just that.

Cake uploaded video onto their fan site of the installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof of their Sacramento recording studio. The band announced  that their next album album will be recorded exclusively with solar energy.

 

This isn’t an isolated feel-good story, either. The greening of the music industry is a growing trend that advocates hope becomes the standard.  The CLIF GreenNotes program is a perfect example, not just because it grew by five artists recently, but because their program is based on supporting eco-conscious artists.  

GreenNotes helps musicians integrate environmentally friendly touring practices. GreenNotes funds artists to use biodiesel, sell organic cotton shirts, print on recycled paper and soy ink, stock backstage with locally grown organic produce, and buy renewable wind credits to offset their remaining carbon footprint.

GreenNotes has helped their musicians reduce their carbon emissions by 25 percent, eliminated the use of more than 2,900 pesticides, and offset 2.2 million pounds of carbon.

Bigger names are getting into the act, too.  The Barenaked Ladies will be using biodiesel, buying carbon offsets, recycling and ditching disposables.  In addition to spearheading the “Vote for Change Renewable Energy Project”, Pearl Jam has a Carbon Portfolio Strategy that includes using biodiesel on tour. 

If such notorious sybarites as musicians can change their tune, maybe other industries can follow their act.