By Tina Caparella
It was the first, and if attendance is any indication, it definitely won’t be the last.
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) held the first National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in early February in Palm Springs, CA. Over 500 attendees from all walks of biodiesel life flocked to the event that offered a multitude of presenters, topics, networking opportunities, and even a celebrity appearance.
Scattered among the attendees was a contingent from the rendering industry. Along with representatives from Anamax Corporation, Baker Commodities, Central Bi-Products, Griffin Industries, Rothsay, and West Coast Reduction, were Gary Pearl, Fats and Proteins Research Foundation, and David Kassulke, A.J. Bush and Sons, Australia. All felt the conference was informative and worth attending, providing an oppor-tunity to see firsthand the growing interest in biodiesel, especially fuel produced using rendered fats and recycled cooking oils.
“A great deal of the people who visited our booth [at the expo] were interested in low value feedstocks such as yellow grease and brown grease,” commented Dick Talley, Biosource Fuels.
“The conference was an excellent networking opportunity,” said Ridley Bestwick, West Coast Reduction, Ltd. “I established lots of Canadian and U.S. contacts that are interested in and/or are pursuing biodiesel opportunities. It was a great opportunity to learn about potential customers in another market for rendered products.”
“The benefit of attending is the understanding of the competition,” added Chuck Neece, Central Bi-Products Company. “Even if a renderer is not anticipating production of biodiesel, the information of impacts to the industry and changes in value to the fats and oils will help in marketing for the future.” All were additionally pleased that the conference had a feedstock-neutral tone and were impressed by the number of attendees who were interested in using rendered fats or recycled cooking oil as a feedstock in biodiesel.
Along with renderers and other feedstock providers, attendees included biodiesel equipment and technology providers, marketers, biodiesel users, fleet managers, original equipment manufacturers, government entities, fuel distributors, and all sizes of biodiesel producers.
Pre-Conference Education
Prior to the conference, several workshops provided training on BQ-9000, dealing with the media, and an introduction to biodiesel.
BQ-9000 is a company certification program developed by the National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission (NBAC), an independent committee of NBB that provides two accreditations: one for biodiesel producers and one for marketers. The program ensures biodiesel produced and sold meets American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard D 6751 through audits, company manuals and policies, inspections, and a series of other requirements. While some in the audience felt the program has a few bugs to be worked out, Steve Howell, NBAC chairman, said the committee is encouraging companies to accept the program as it is and will evaluate feedback on a case-by-case basis. He added that, currently, two companies have applied for both accreditations.
During a media training workshop, attendees were encouraged to use “sound bites,” a five-second quote, that are concise, to the point, and memorable. One example given was, “Biodiesel smells like French fries,” which was referenced in the media at least 100 times last year. Attendees were also told that when talking to a reporter, think of who their audience will be, whether it’s the general public or trade industry, be prepared to ask the reporter questions to ensure your message is being heard, and to communicate by also using your body and voice along with your message. A final note for attendees was to “practice, practice, practice” prior to an interview with the media.
During a biodiesel basics session, Josh Tickell, Tickell Media Productions, stated that the biodiesel industry is at excess capacity, with over 50 million gallons of production available compared to only 25 million gallons demanded in 2003.
Celebrity Status
The meat and potatoes of the conference got underway with an opening session that was filled to capacity. Krysta Harden, Gordley and Associates, discussed the energy bill, which is believed to be all but dead at this time. She encouraged everyone to talk to their politicians about biodiesel and the importance of government incentives to encourage use of the alternative fuel. Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association, followed by saying his industry, ethanol, is a “friend” of the biodiesel industry. He shared ethanol’s trials and tribulations, stating that farmer investment is what has driven ethanol. Dinneen recommended that attendees know everything about biodiesel, such as emissions value and lubricity, market the fuel for its air quality benefits, work with customers as a team, and build coalitions with other industries that could support biodiesel, like the transportation and automotive industries. Most importantly, he said, “Be willing to take a risk. Stay focused and don’t lose your enthusiasm. It’s a long game.”
Actress Daryl Hannah and her “biodiesel buddy,” Charris Ford, founder of Grassolean Solutions, LLC, provided an entertaining look at their involvement with the alternative fuel. Hannah uses biodiesel in her personal and ranch vehicles and is a supporter of the fuel, making appearances on various news programs promoting its benefits. Ford has been using biodiesel for the past three years, is one of the original members of a Telluride, CO, biodiesel cooperative, and has been producing and selling the fuel using recycled cooking oil since March 2003.
NBB wrapped up the session by presenting several “Eye on Biodiesel” awards: the Impact Award went to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Inspiration Award was presented to Kent Bullard, Channel Islands National Park; the Industry Partnership Award was given to the Renewable Fuels Association; and the Influencer Award went to Hannah. Harden was recognized for her dedication to the industry and NBB with the Outstanding Service Award.
Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe
A session schedule addressing technical, fuel distribution, policy/regulations, markets, and users all at once occasionally made it difficult for conference attendees to decide just which meeting to attend. The first day’s sessions covered fleet experience, biodiesel cold flow and stability, state policies, biodiesel and your health, fuel standards and quality, new uses for glycerin, and fuel excise taxes.
In a “Biodiesel Goes Public” session, Norma McCusker, Berry-Hinkley Industries, Reno, NV, presented her needs as a fuel distributor. She is an advocate for feedstock neutrality, stating that price and supply are her main concerns when purchasing biodiesel. In a session on legislative case studies, Ralph Turner, professional engineer, said biodiesel is heavily supported in Maine, which is primarily a consumer state with no production, but that in his experience working on the state’s legislative initiative for biodiesel, the general public and federal and state agencies need continual education about the fuel and its quality standard.
A session on new markets for biodiesel drew a sizeable crowd, where Mike Ruffatto, North American Power Group (NAPG), Ltd., explained the future need for 60 to 90 million gallons of biofuels for a new electrical power plant being constructed in Bakersfield, CA. He said NAPG will be making a substan-tial investment in the biofuels indus-try and faces a challenge to develop a reliable and consistent supply.
The second day of the conference opened with Shelley Launey, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), discussing the Clean Cities alternative fuels program, a public/private partnership sponsored by DOE. Currently, 80 Clean Cities coalitions cover 60 percent of the U.S. population and have displaced an estimated 181 million gallons of petroleum fuel.
“Biodiesel has become a full partner in the Clean Cities coalition,” Launey stated. “I think the industry has shown without a doubt that it’s here to stay and make a contribution to the American fuels industry.” One area she encouraged more participation from the biodiesel industry was in submitting proposals for Clean Cities grants.
Tickell returned to present a trailer of a biodiesel documentary film he is producing. “Fields of Fuel” is slated to broadcast on the Discovery Channel later this year to 227 million viewers internationally in 50 countries and 20 languages.
“It’s the biggest commercial ever for biodiesel fuel,” Tickell commented. Funding for the project is coming from the Discovery Channel, a theatrical distribution company, and private industry.
The day’s selection of concurrent sessions again proved challenging on choosing just one: simpler and better testing methods; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act; an administrator’s perspective on biodiesel; engine testing; cold weather blending and storage; biodiesel on the farm; and biodiesel and the environment.
A session on the home heating oil market identified the main hurdle as being the lack of consumer knowledge on “bioheat,” which is a blend of heating oil and processed methyl esters. Speaker Lewis DeRosa, PetroHedge, said the majority of the home heating oil market is localized in the northeast where there is stiff competition from the natural gas industry. He projected the potential market in New England for a five percent blend of biodiesel with heating oil to be 115 million gallons per year.
Original equipment manufacturers explained their position on biodiesel, beginning with Jim Snider, Daimler Chrysler, who said his company supports the fuel but would like to see some standardization in biodiesel blends before they will warrant the fuel for use in their engines. Mike Jones, General Motors (GM), stated that GM supports the use of biodiesel as a means to reduce vehicle emissions and petroleum consumption and has approved the use of B5 (a blend of five percent biodiesel with 95 percent petroleum diesel) in the Duramax 6.6 liter diesel engine in 2004 models. He pointed out that B20 is not currently approved for use in GM diesel engines and an ASTM standard for this blend would be needed in order for GM to move forward with validation efforts.
According to Scott Ruhlen, Ford also endorses fuel blends that contain no more than five percent biodiesel in their 2004 diesel models and reiterated that manufacturers need a specification for blends such as B20 to ensure quality standards are met.
“In the end, we’re responsible for what comes out of the tail pipe,” he commented, adding that manufactur-ers want some history with biodiesel use to ensure the fuel is reliable.
“We’re all working towards it,” he stated. “It’s just going to take a little while longer.”
Small Producers Speak Out
The conference’s last day began with an international look at biodiesel. The European Union’s well-established industry is currently producing 285 million gallons per year and is marketed differently in each member state. In Canada, projections are that biodiesel production will reach 132 million gallons by 2010. The country has taken a neutral position on feedstock, technology, and end use with challenges including the quantity, quality, cost, and reliability of the feedstock supply. Currently, yearly feedstock supplies include 7.1 million tons of canola, 2.7 million tons of soybeans, and 600,000 tons of rendered products. In Australia, canola and mustard seed are the major feedstocks used in biodiesel production.
Four sessions wrapped up the conference, addressing emerging production technologies, the energy title of the farm bill, performance, and small producers. In the small producer’s discussion forum, Joe Jobe, NBB, emphasized that the board supports and advocates the production of high quality ASTM standard biodiesel regardless of batch size. He did, however, discourage home biodiesel production due to safety issues with ethanol.
One area of discussion focused on health and environmental effects testing, which is required by EPA for producers to register their fuel. Jobe stated that producers could either conduct their own testing or become a member of NBB and use the board’s Tier I and Tier II test data, which initially cost the board $2 million. Many small producers in attendance, including “grass roots” producers who make up a large sector of the biodiesel industry, voiced their concerns that the $5,000 minimum NBB membership fee is too costly in relation to their production amount, which for some is only several thousand or several hundred thousand gallons per year. EPA defines a small producer as under 10 million gallons. Others supported NBB’s position that membership be required to access the board’s testing data.
Because of the number of issues that were raised at the small producers forum, the NBB Governing Board agreed during its meeting following the conference to re-activate the small producers working group. The working group will be charged with addressing those issues for discussion at the summer NBB meeting in Washington, DC. Current members of the working group in-clude Russ Teall, Biodiesel Industries, Graham Noyes, World Energy Alternatives, and Jacques Sinoncelli, Bio-Energy Systems, LLC.
Also addressed at the governing board and membership meeting were the 2005 industry priorities. The top four program priorities are: 1) nation-al energy initiatives; 2) state energy initiatives; 3) original equipment manufacturer development; and 4) 2007 Engine Testing and Technology Development Program.
The 2007 Engine Testing and Technology Development Program was determined to be a very high industry priority because it will provide industry matched funds to do critical engine testing on advanced diesel technology in collaboration with engine companies and the DOE. The board also agreed that a special level of effort will be needed to help raise the funding for this substantial new program, since funding for core functions or existing top priorities must not be reduced at this time. According to NBB, successful implementation and completion of this program over the next three years will be necessary to ensure that biodiesel will have a place in future diesel engine platforms.
Biodiesel Bulletin - April 2004 Render