Biodieselmagazine.com. The Energy Information Administration reintroduces its monthly biodiesel production report The EIA released its monthly biodiesel production report last Friday for “the first time in a long time,” as the agency put it.
The report was last issued in October 2010, with data through December 2009. Afterwards, as discussed in a previous blog entry about discrepancies in EPA’s EMTS data and the EIA’s figures, which the latter obtained from the Census Bureau for part of last year, then from its short-term forecasts for the rest of the year until EIA was able to make the monthly production data available again. When Biodiesel Magazine reported on the difference in the yearly figures from both entities, the EPA had not yet sent Green Diesel LLC its Notice of Violation—the third such NOV to EPA-registered “producers” following NOVs to Clean Green Fuels and Absolute Fuels—for generating more than 60 million invalid RINs between July 2010 and July 2011.
Biodieselmagazine.com. The U.S.
EPA issued a Notice of Violation to Houston-based Green Diesel LLC April 30 for generating more than 60 million invalid biomass-based diesel (D-Code 4) renewable identification numbers (RINs) under the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS2) program. The opening of the investigation into Green Diesel LLC follows EPA last fall charging Maryland-based Clean Green Fuel LLC and Texas-based Absolute Fuels LLC for fraudulently producing biomass-based diesel RINs. In its NOV, EPA stated that D-Code 4 RINs generated by Green Diesel LLC beginning at least July 16, 2010—just two weeks after the renewable fuel standard (RFS2) final rule became effective—through and including July 15, 2011, are invalid.
The notice goes on to say that the company violated the law by generating RINs without producing the requisite volume of renewable fuel and by creating or transferring to another person RINs that are considered invalid. Clean Renewable Fuels. Biodieselmagazine.com. The founder of Pittsboro, N.C. -based Piedmont Biofuels has been recognized with the National Biodiesel Board’s 2011 “Biodiesel Researcher of the Year” award. Rachel Burton received the award at a ceremony held in Kansas City, Mo. The award, which focuses on the technical advancement of biodiesel, has traditionally gone to scientists at federal laboratories or universities.
Burton has received the award in honor of her work in enzymatic catalysis. According to information released on the award, the process developed by Burton stands to open up the biodiesel industry to a large variety of new feedstocks that have not previously been considered useable for fuel production. Burton began manufacturing biodiesel in 2002. According to Piedmont Biofuels, the co-op commissioned the first enzymatic biodiesel plant of its kind in the U.S. in July 2011. Burton has also delivered technical papers and lectures on sustainable biodiesel production, enzyme catalysis and other scientific breakthroughs. CRIMSON Renewable Energy. Biodieselmagazine.com. After sitting idle for two years, Crimson Renewable Energy LP has successfully completed recommissioning and start-up of its 25 MMgy biodiesel production facility in Bakersfield, Calif., with initial product lots certified and shipped Nov. 1.
According to CRE president Harry Simpson, the company recently reconfigured the plant to process a variety of low-grade raw materials like used cooking oil, yellow grease and inedible animal fats in order to help its customers meet their California Low Carbon Fuel Standard compliance obligations, which calls for a reduction of the state’s transportation carbon footprint by 10 percent over the next decade. So far during the restart, Simpson said CRE primarily has been using used cooking oil from about a half dozen suppliers within California.
He added that the plant recently began introducing some soybean oil in an effort to meet the lower cloud point requirement for its customers during the winter months approaching.