Biomass commodities include recovered wood and paper, food crop residues, plant and animal waste and any woody, herbaceous or agricultural byproduct, including substances like distillers dried grains – a byproduct of ethanol production.

Ethanol itself is an agricultural commodity for CSX with its own dedicated rail service called EthX – Express Ethanol Delivery. The EthX  rail system east of the Mississippi is massive, particularly weighted in the Midwest to Northeast. There is an EthX direct rail line from Chicago through Jacksonville, Orlando and ending at Port Everglades.

Image via Tree Hugger - A Discovery Company

Whether or not ethanol is part of the green energy sphere is a topic open to debate, especially as it applies to corn-based ethanol. I’ve always been a supporter of biodiesel and advanced algal or cellulosic-based biofuels. But, second generation biofuel technology is still a long way from economic viability, so rely on corn we must: 90 percent of petroleum products in the U.S. are blended with ethanol.

But I digress.

CSX, along with Houston-based Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners and Tampa Port Authority, announced on Sept. 19th a joint venture to develop the first ethanol train-to-pipeline distribution system in the country. TPA is building new rail track and support infrastructure to allow CSX to transport ethanol from Midwest producers to Kinder Morgan’s Tampa Terminal via CSX subsidiary TRANSFLO terminal services. KM is modifying existing pipeline to accommodate ethanol (denatured alcohol) for its blending terminals at TPA. The joint operation is expected to be completed by Sept. 2012.

As an aside, KM’s 104-mile central Florida ethanol pipeline between Tampa and Orlando was the first pipeline in the country to provide commercial ethanol deliveries via pipeline. It became fully operational in 2010.

Jacksonville Market

I was going to expand on the CSX Tampa project but was diverted to ethanol distribution in my own backyard. Chevron, BP and Hess have terminals on the St. Johns River. Shipping petroleum and ethanol product (sorry CSX) is cheaper by oil tanker. All have private piers with blending facilities on site.

Jacksonville-based Gate Petroleum owns 225 service stations and convenience stores in six Southeastern states. The company is a gasoline distributor. It purchases gasoline and ethanol to blend in a variety of ways, dependent on market. My buddy Robert “Buzz” Hoover, Gate V.P. of Petroleum Supply, tells me that Gate uses Kinder-Morgan’s blending facilities in Tampa for its stores in Central Florida.

The company struck an exclusive long-term arrangement with BP to use the Amoco  (which BP acquired when they merged in 1998) terminal facilities and blends E10 gasoline on adjacent property it owns on Hecksher Drive, for distribution to the Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia markets. 

Gate Biofuels, Inc. had planned to develop and operate a 55 million-gallon petroleum and renewable fuels terminal in 2008, but was unable to a negotiate a 200-foot easement with the adjoining property (on Heckscher Drive).  The terminal would have supplied, blended and stored petroleum, ethanol and biodiesel for its gas stations and petroleum customers (Fuel Services division) throughout its operating region.

As the major oil companies became the dominant suppliers of blended gasoline, it wasn’t cost effective for Gate to continue with plans for a terminal elsewhere. The long-term arrangement with BP does give Gate a competitive edge in the market, so the story ends well.

Meanwhile, I haven’t forgotten about the advanced biofuels and biomass mentioned earlier in this post. …

JACKSONVILLE — CSX Corp. said about itself, “Environmental stewardship is a top priority throughout CSX’s operations and management.” Or rather it said so in a Sept. 20th press release  announcing the company had received the highest score for an industrial company in Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) 2010 Standard & Poor 500 Report. CSX was among five industrial companies included in the Global Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI).

CSX’s score is based on greenhouse gas emissions, emissions reduction targets, and risks and opportunities associated with climate change. The CPLI recognized 48 Global S&P 500 companies that have made a commitment to good corporate governance with respect to climate change disclosure practices.

This is a grand environmental accomplishment for CSX at the global macro level, which is perhaps more than is applicable for this article. But CSX is a Jacksonville-based company, so it is certainly worth noting. At the regional level, though, CSX’s BioEnergy division is in the business of carbon reduction.

Wood pellets product picture, Georgia Biomass

To over simplify, the division’s product is rail transport for woody (cellulose) biomass pellets used in lieu of coal for power generation. Beyond that is a CSX team committed to developing the complicated domestic and international supply chains for bio-energy markets. 

Incidentally, a CSX BioEnergy informational conference for its customers and potential customers wraps up today on Amelia Island (that’s not something I’m supposed to mention but did anyway.)

UPDATE — Oct. 4th:  Held in Amelia Island, Fla., the Bioenergy Summit focused on supply chain challenges, energy portfolio transformation, and regulatory updates. The summit included a presentation by Chuck Leavell, author of multiple publications on environmental issues and acclaimed musician. Other speakers included Gunnar Tinjar, Head of Biomass Upstream for the German Utility RWE Innogy; William A Johnson, owner of Biomass Consulting Services; Rick Boyd, Manager of Fuel Operations for Dominion Generation; Dr. Kenneth Mitchell, Special Assistant to the Air Programs Division Director for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4; and Niel Barnard, Managing Director of London based International Woodfuels Europe.    

The largest CSX partnering project to date is with Savannah-based Georgia BioMass facility in Waycross, Ga. According to Georgia BioMass, the plant is the largest wood pellet plant in the world. It began operations in May and CSX unit trains are expected to transport as much as 750,000 tons of wood products annually from the plant to the Port of Savannah for export.

Savannah-based Georgia Biomass, LLC  is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RWE Innogy, which is a wholly-owned renewable energies company of Ruhr, Germany-based RWE – one of Europe’s five leading electricity and gas companies.

“Okefenokee Area Development Authority (OADA) did an outstanding job working with CSX Regional Development, European customers, the State of Georgia, and Ware County officials to make this significant economic development happen,” said Clark Robertson, CSX assistant vice president-regional development. “It will bring needed jobs to Ware County, and help position Georgia as a leader in the renewable fuels business.”

Georgia Pine, image Georgia BioMass

“CSX was very pleased to be selected as the rail carrier for this new venture,” Robertson said. “Given the abundant forest assets in the region, we are hopeful that other firms may be encouraged to join in the production of wood products for renewable energy and take advantage of our excellent rail network. We offer considerable expertise in the transportation of renewable fuels, including bio-diesel and ethanol.”

I anticipate further updates from CSX BioEnergy because, yes, the region abounds in cellulosic assets. Meanwhile, bio-diesel and ethanol are considered agricultural commodities at CSX,  with departmental news of its own to follow…

The GCED presented a Letter of Agreement (LOA) to sell  a combined 40 megawatts (MW) of county-generated wind power to two electric power purchasers: Midwest Energy, an electric (end-user) utility at 15 MW and 25 MW to Sunflower Electric Power Corp., a wholesale electricity cooperative. The  LOA  is in front of  Sunflower’s Board of Directors – Schweitzer anticipates approval soon.

The  agreement means big business for Graham County. It’s been a long road for GCED to reach this point, but the question“What does a county, with less than three people per square mile, do to attract  commerce to the northwest corner of Kansas?” is answered. (from Hill City, Kan. – Wind Power 101 ) Since then, Jacksonville-based WECC LLC and GCED have developed an intricately woven government - business technical and marketing relationship which began at the 2008 Kansas Wind & Renewable Energy Conference in Topeka.

Wind turbine - courtesy WECC

GCED engaged WECC’s consulting services for a multi-faceted meteorological (met), economic assessment, and environmental study. The year-long met study documented the county’s wind  ’profile’ with specialized software which gauges wind speed, direction and seasonal changes for optimum placement of wind turbines.

An Economic Feasibility Study (EFS) was  correlated with this data and included demand vs. production analysis and computation of return on investment. WECC”s study is a complex technical analysis – an full overview is available here. WECC identified optimum placement for turbines on 20 separate properties.

In the  20 years that I’ve been in rural county development, WECC is the most responsive consultant I’ve  worked with. They make every effort to understand the community – Schweitzer

Landowner acceptance of 150-foot wind turbines is unpredictable based on individual land use.  Schweitzer, with WECC LLC, held town hall meetings to explain the benefits of a wind farm to the community – excitement grew and all 20 land-leases were signed.

Illinois-based Xciting Energy,  a wind farm developer, signed onto the project. Xciting owns land in Kansas with capacity for another 300 megawatts of electricity generated through wind-power.

The coordinated efforts of GCED, WECC and Xciting plus power transmission access made Graham County an attractive and viable megawatt producer. Sunflower and Midwestern attended a Graham County coordinating  ’summit’ convened in June and contacted Graham County shortly thereafter with need specifications.

Sunflower currently purchases megawatts from two other wind farms in Kansas – Gray County Wind Farm (25 miles west of Dodge City) and Smoky Hills Wind Farm (20 miles west of Salinas). Midwest Energy is a purchaser of electricity through utility-scale wind farms and small individual turbines.

2010 Kansas Wind & Renewable Energy Conference

Wayne Hildreth, Executive Managing Partner of  WECC LLC, considers Schweitzer a visionary in building alternative-energy infrastructure. Together the two brought the project from “From beginning to wind” (as Hildreth likes to say).

The  project has, in effect, created  a new business model for the company with a complete focus on full-service consultation and execution.  In fact, GCED and WECC are sharing booth space at the 2010 Kansas Wind & Renewable Energy Conference, as an example of what is, indeed, an intricately woven government business partnership.

Again, further updates as updates arrive …

Sunflower has postponed final decision until their November Board meeting…we [WECC LCC] are anxiously awaiting their decision.

The Japanese discovered the secret of turning cows into solar space satellites.

The station is slated to use 4 square kilometers of solar panels to generate 1 gigawatt of power, enough to power 294,000 homes, according to this report from Bloomberg.

Unfortunately, there are an estimated 47 million households in Japan, according to the CIA’s World Factbook.

IN RELATED NEWS –

HTV/H-IIB Successfully Launched!!

“The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Demonstration Flight aboard the H-IIB Launch Vehicle Test Flight (H-IIB TF1) at 2:01:46 a.m. on September 11, 2009 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Tanegashima Space Center. The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 15 minutes and 6 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the HTV Demonstration Flight was confirmed.”

[The launch is relevant to Jacksonville because NASA is in Cocoa Beach - a couple of hours south on I-95. NASA - TV is linked from JAXA's  Web site.]

Not Space Cows

MEANWHILE –

The Los Angeles Times reported Oct. 13, 1985:

The Soviet Texas:  Cattle Drives, Space Station, Heavy Industry – In the Wild, Wild East, Kazakh Cowboys  Still Ride the Range

LOS ANGELES – The Kazakhs, a Turkic-Mongol people who trace their roots back to the 13th Century, were once nomads who roamed the range with horses and livestock.

The horse still is celebrated in Kazakh folklore and dances. In the big farmers’ market at Alma Ata, horse meat is sold for the equivalent of about $2.10 a pound and mare’s milk, known as kumiss , is also available.

Independent Frontier Spirit

The republic “is something like Texas,” said a Soviet official who has lived in the United States. “They are both places where cowboys and cattle played an important historical role and they both retain a lot of the independent frontier spirit.” …

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