Domestic Biodiesel Production Plummets

One of my Top 10 Energy Stories of 2009 involved the actions taken by the EU against U.S. biodiesel producers. U.S. tax dollars had been generously subsidizing biodiesel that was being exported out of the U.S. European producers couldn't compete against the subsidized imports, so the EU effectively cut off the imports by imposing five-year tariffs on U.S. biodiesel.

This was a big blow to U.S. biodiesel producers, and was one of the factors leading to a disastrous 2009 for U.S. biodiesel production. How disastrous was 2009? Per the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), here are the statistics from the past 6 years of biodiesel production:

2004: 25 million gallons

2005: 75 million gallons

2006: 250 million gallons

2007: 450 million gallons

2008: 700 million gallons

2009: 300-350 million gallons (estimate)

The NBB also reports that domestic biodiesel capacity is now operating at only 15%. There have been a number of stories in the past few days covering these developments:

Bad start to 2010 after 'rough year' for entire biofuel industry

A federal tax credit that provided makers of biodiesel $1 for every gallon expired ...

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This month, the European Commission published development roadmaps for seven key low carbon technologies. Thy relate to wind, solar, bioenergy, CCS, nuclear technologies, as well as smart grids and energy efficiency, for the period 2010 and 2020.

In 2007, the EU adopted a Strategic Energy Technology Plan. It set out a vision for Europe to become a global leader in a range of low-carbon technologies. The roadmaps have been developed by the Commission in consultation with the relevant industries, and attempt to describe, step by step, how each technology should develop over the next decade in order to fulfil the vision of the SET Plan. Development in each technology area is backed by a a public-private partnership known as a European Industrial Initiative.

There is a long-standing policy debate over how best to spur innovation in low-carbon technologies. One option is to let markets ‘pull’ technology development along. According to this reasoning, if governments ensure there is a credible price for CO₂ and other greenhouse gases, then companies will start to develop new technologies with lower emissions in response to this market signal. The other ... read more >>

New Scientist has an article on the EU's draft "strategic energy plan" and its vision of renewable energy and smart grid enabled cities - EU plans 30 cities to lead world on "smart" energy.

Europe will select 30 cities to pioneer "smart" electricity grids and space-proven insulation as it seeks to lead the global race for green technology, a draft European Union document shows. ...

The project envisages 25 to 30 "smart cities" -- highly insulated cities that glean energy from their waste and the sun and wind overhead and channel it down to the electric cars, trams and buses in the streets below.

In more smart grid news, EcoGeek reports that the Boulder, Colorado smart grid is now operational - World's First Smart Grid City Is Now Operational

Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity project in Boulder CO is the first operational installation of a smart grid for electrical power in the world. This is a city-wide installation, rather than the kind of long-distance distribution system that many people think of when discussing a national smart grid, but both will be necessary components for an upgraded electrical infrastructure.

The SmartGridCity project also included automating three of four ...

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Photo credit _Beat_【ツ】

Well, the EU thinks it takes 27 countries to change the light bulb. And they may well be right.

Today the EU brings into force a ban on frosted and incandescant lightbulbs of 100W and over. This is the first part of a program to completely phase out incandescent light bulbs in the EU by 2012. According to the EU announcement, as a result of this

EU citizens will save close to 40 TWh (roughly the electrictity consumption of Romania, or of 11 million European households, or the equivalent of the yearly output of 10 power stations of 500 megawatts) and will lead to a reduction of about 15 million tons of CO2 emission per year.

However, this message doesn’t appear to be getting through to many of the EU citizens with many reports of people hoarding 100W lightbulbs across Europe. ...

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Europe’s wind energy trade association has revealed new research showing that the wind farm industry has weathered the financial climate successfully over the last year.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) says that 8,600 Megawatts (MW) of new wind energy capacity will be installed in the European Union countries during 2009. Assuming each turbine is rated 2MW capacity this means an additional circa 4,300 wind turbines generating green electricity across Europe.

The installation figure equates to an annual growth rate of 1% when compared to 2008 figures. In 2008 a total of 8,484 MW was installed making wind energy the largest source of new electricity generating capacity in the EU.

The additional wind energy capacity from 2009 will take the EU’s total installed capacity to 73,535 MW, up from 2008’s 64,935 MW.

Christian Kjaer, EWEA Chief Executive said: “I am pleasantly surprised by the research results. They show that the underlying demand for wind energy technology is currently strong enough to make up for project delays caused by many banks’ continued reluctance to provide project finance...

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