California
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Bioenergy > Countries > United States > U.S. states > California
Information about biofuels and bioenergy in the state of California in the United States.
- The role of California with respect to biofuels can be significant, as the state sets independent environmental standards often exceeding those of the United States more generally. Especially relevant is the "Low Carbon Fuel Standard", which mandates reduced carbon dioxide emissions for fuels; if biofuels are produced in a manner that leads to high carbon emissions, including through indirect land use changes, such biofuels may not meet state regulations.
Contents |
Events
- 18-22 February 2010, San Diego: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - Annual Meeting. (Themes: science, sustainability, technology).
- 12-15 April 2010, San Diego: 25th Annual BioCycle West Coast Conference 2010. (Themes: anaerobic digestion, composting, municipal solid waste)
- 31 January - 1 February 2009, San Francisco: 6th Annual Sustainable Biodiesel Summit 2009. (Themes: biodiesel, sustainability)
- 1-4 February 2009, San Francisco: 2009 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo. (Theme: biodiesel)
- 4 February 2009, San Francisco: Western United States RSB Stakeholder Consultation. (Themes: Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, standards, sustainability)
- 3-6 May 2009, San Francisco: 31st Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals (Themes: sustainable fuels, biotechnology)
- 17-19 May 2009, San Diego: 2009 Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show. (Themes: agricultural waste, energy recovery, landfill gas, Municipal Solid Waste, waste)
- 11-12 March 2008, San Diego: Biofuels Integration: The Next Refining Challenge.
- 28-30 May 2008, Sacramento: Joint Forum on Bioenergy Sustainability and Lifecycle Analysis (Themes: bioenergy, sustainability, lifecycle analysis)
- 17-20 June 2008, San Diego: BIO International Convention. (Themes: biotechnology)
- 27-28 November 2007, Sacramento: 2007 AgStar National Conference.
- 6-7 December 2007, Eureka: Woody Biomass Utilization Workshop: Techniques and Economic Considerations for the North Coast
- 18-19 January 2007, San Diego: Biomass Finance and Investment Summit, organized by Financial Research Associates, LLC
Policies
See also United States
- Executive Order S-01-07: establishes a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which "requires fuel providers to ensure that the mix of fuel they sell into the California market meets, on average, a declining standard for GHG emissions measured in CO2-equivalent" gram per unit of fuel energy sold.[1] For more information, see The Role of a Low Carbon Fuel Standard in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Protecting Our Economy (Website of the Governor of California)
- Executive Order S-06-06: establishes "targets for the use and production of biomass products," including "for California to produce a minimum of twenty percent of its own biofuels by 2010 and forty percent by 2020." (Reference: Western Milling Press Release)
- AB32: the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: Regulates emissions of greenhouse gases.
- B100: California Law requires that 100% biodiesel (B100) meet the American Society for Testing and Material Standards. The current ASTM standard for Biodiesel, D-6751-06a, has the standards title "Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels", which means that it can only be sold as a blend not as pure fuel.
- 100% Biodiesel fuel (B100) may only be sold to the public as a neat fuel if the seller has applied for and been granted a variance under the developmental engine fuel provisions of the Business and Professions Code, (Division 5, Chapter 14, Section 13405) and (California Code of Regulations, Title 4, Division 9, Chapter 6, Section 4144.
- Sales are restricted to centrally fueled fleets, at controlled access fueling systems, through co-op organizations or to qualified members of biodiesel users groups.
- This will continue until ASTM issues stand-alone fuel standards for B100 and/or B20 as fuels. (Source: CDFA Department of Measurement Standards)
Publications
- Bioenergy Action Plan for California (PDF)
- A Roadmap for the Development of Biomass in California (Draft)(PDF) Developed by the California Biomass Collaborative working towards the State goals for renewable fuels.
- Creating Markets for Green Biofuels: Measuring and improving environmental performance (pdf) by Brian T. Turner, Richard J. Plevin, Michael O’Hare and Alexander E. Farrell; research report, UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies, April 2007. Details a methodology and policy options for a Green Biofuels Index, which would rank biofuels according to how well they met environmental criteria. This would help create a market for more sustainable biofuels.
News
- Lawsuit: LCFS violates US Constitution, 4 January 2010 by Todd J. Guerrero in Ethanol Producer Magazine: "In a case that will be closely watched throughout the country, Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association recently filed suit in federal district court alleging that California’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) violates the federal Constitution."
- "Adopted by the California Air Resources Board in 2009, the LCFS is intended to reduce California greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuels used in California by an average of 10 percent by the year 2020. Carbon intensity is a measure of the direct and indirect GHG emissions associated with each step of a fuel’s full life cycle – the 'well-to-wheels' for fossil fuels and 'seed-to-wheels' for biofuels."
- "For corn ethanol, indirect land use changes are a significant source of additional GHG emissions....Given the LCFS’ requirement of reduced carbon intensity, it’s not difficult to see that corn ethanol will be severely disadvantaged in California."
- "In its lawsuit, the trade groups assert that the LCFS stands as an obstacle to Congress’ intent in adopting the Environmental Security and Independence Act of 2007," which "exempted existing corn ethanol producers from claiming or demonstrating GHG reductions." The lawsuit also alleges that the LCFS violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which concerns interstate commerce, in particular because it requires calculating land use changes that occur mainly outside the state.[2]
- Dead Forests to Fuel Vehicles, 15 September 2009 by CleanTechnica: "The University of Georgia Research Foundation has developed an innovative way to turn dead trees into a liquid fuel and has licensed it to Tolero Energy in California. We could be driving on our dead forests as soon as 2010."
- "Infestations of the mountain pine beetle have devastated forests in the western United States and Canada, killing over 40 million acres of pine trees. As the trees decompose and decay, they release millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, and the devastation has created a significant and dangerous fire hazard in the western forests."[3]
- Calif. Approves Nation's 1st Low-Carbon Fuel Rule, 24 April 2009, New York Times by the Associated Press: On 23 April 2009, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the specific rules and carbon intensity reference values for the low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) that will go into effect on 1 January 2011. The ruling included the controversial indirect land use impacts of biofuels.
- See also CARB's Press Release about this ruling, and the reactions from the US corn ethanol industry, UNICA's Brazilian sugarcane ethanol industry, Canadian officials regarding their Alberta oil sands, and the US oil representatives.
- Corn Ethanol Industry Attacks California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, 8 March 2009 by GreenBiz.com: "The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released proposed regulations for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard last week to reduce transportation fuel emissions 10 percent by 2020. By requiring fuel providers to sell cleaner fuels, regulators expect about 20 percent of fuel used in the state will be supplanted with alternatives, such as biofuels, hydrogen and electricity."
- The "new rules are already facing stiff resistance from the corn ethanol industry, which is urging CARB to reject its staff's recommendations and arguing the new rules unfairly penalize ethanol using unproven science."
- "At issue is the CARB staff's recommendations to include greenhouse gas emissions from indirect land use change in the calculation of biofuel carbon intensity, even though similar impacts aren't used in the intensity calculations of other fuels."[4]
- Biofuel stakeholders opposed to the selective enforcement of Indirect Effects in California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (Letter, PDF file), 2 March 2009. About 130 individuals from the corporate, academic and public sectors have signed a letter to California's Gov. Schwarzenegger to express their concern about the fact that Air Resources Board (ARB) "staff continues to push a regulation that includes an indirect land use change (iLUC)(...) only being enforced against biofuels in the proposed LCFS." Continue the debate on the RSB special iLUC page!
- Emeryville Biofuel Institute Dedicated, 2 December 2008, by the San Francisco Chronicle:
- "The new Emeryville facility, funded for five years with $135 million from the Department of Energy, has recruited renowned scientists, as well as graduate and postdoctoral students, to take on the toughest obstacles in creating new biofuels by using modern genomics and molecular biology, robotics and mass spectrometry, chemistry and materials analysis."
- Jay Keasling "said the institute's leading scientists consult with representatives of nine companies a couple of times a year about its research. He also plans to bring in entrepreneurs who can help identify positive technology and build the business case for taking a specific technology to market."
- "Anna Palmisano, associate director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science for Biological and Environmental Research, said the institute in Emeryville is on 'the front lines of the next green revolution.'" [5]
- UCLA Researchers Modify E. Coli to Produce Efficiently Higher-Chain Alcohols for Advanced Biofuels, 2 January 2008, from Green Car Congress. UCLA researchers have developed strands of the bacteria which can produce alcohols from glucose that have energy densities closer to gasoline than more traditional biofuels.
- San Francisco Fleet is All Biodiesel from the New York Times, 14 December 2007. The mayor of San Francisco announced that the city has completed a year-long project to convert its entire vehicle fleet to biodiesel created from midwestern soy oil.
- Farmers eye oilseed plants for biodiesel, 25 April 2007, by Associated Press, reports that farmers in California are investigating growing crops for biofuel, such as canola "on unproductive land that can't support higher-value produce" or "as a cover crop that might improve soil quality between more profitable plantings of berries or leafy greens."
- Even if successful, however, the economic benefit may be limited, as the article stated: "A typical biodiesel crop could earn California growers a maximum of $200 an acre each year — far less than their current average annual yield of $2,000 an acre, said Robert Van Buskirk, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy."
- Company brings in High-Yield Trial Rice Straw Harvest; Targets Cellulosic Ethanol Production for 2007 20 November 2006, from greencarcongress.com. Colusa Biomass Energy Corporation has completed its first ever rice-straw harvesting operation in California, the US' second-largest rice producer. It collected 6,800 tons of rice straw with an average yield per acre harvested of over 4 tons/acre, compared to previous assumptions of 2.5 tons/acre. The higher yields significantly reduced the amount of acres necessary to be harvested in order to reach CBEC’s target volume of rice straw. Colusa will turn the rice straw into ethanol at its plant, which is due to be finished in 2007.
- Wastewater Plant Turns Kitchen Grease Into Biogas 21 Nov 2006 from WaterandWasteWater.com. Chevron Energy Solutions and the City of Millbrae, California have completed new facilities at Millbrae's Water Pollution Control Plant that uses inedible kitchen grease from restaurants to naturally produce biogas for generating renewable power and heat to treat the city's wastewater. The grease and other organic matter will produce enough biogas at the plant to generate about 1.7 million kilowatt hours annually, which will meet 80 percent of the plant's power needs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.2 million pounds annually.
Organizations
Governmental organizations
- The Bioenergy Interagency Working Group: The Working Group is charged with developing California's Bioenergy Action Plan and is composed of state agencies with important biomass connections.
- Agencies involved:
- Air Resources Board
- California Energy Commission
- California Environmental Protection Agency
- California Resources Agency
- Department of Food and Agriculture
- Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
- Department of General Services
- Integrated Waste Management Board
- Public Utilities Commission
- State Water Resources Control Board
- Agencies involved:
Nongovernmental organizations
- California Biomass Collaborative A group of academics, NGO and governmental participants, based out of the University of California - Davis that "plans to administer a comprehensive statewide collaborative program in scientific research and innovation, technology development, demonstration, and deployment, and education and training, to support and integrate efforts of the State in advancing efficient, safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound biomass systems."
- Biodiesel in the City of Davis The biodiesel page of the Davis community wiki, with additional links to the Davis Biodiesel Users Group and the Davis Biodiesel Users Google Grouppage.
- Biodiesel Council of California An alliance of producers, consumers, and distributors that are committed to the use of B100 biodiesel.
- Southern California Biodiesel Users Group A voluntary registry of B100 biodiesel users, which allows its members to purchase B100 biodiesel under current State law. See policies on this page.
Research organizations
- The California Biomass Collaborative is hosted by the University of California - Davis.
- The Bioenergy Research Group is hosted by the University of California - Davis.
Companies
- Cilion Inc. - headquartered in Goshen, California.
- Khosla Ventures
- Colusa Biomass Energy Corporation. Is building a factory to make cellulosic ethanol from rice straw, which will be commissioned in 2007.
- Energy Alternative Solutions Inc. EAS is building a biodiesel plant using waste vegetable oil and restaurant tallow as a feedstock in central California.
Notes
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