BeetleGo
TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Lesseeee... Minnesota decided to mandate a bio blend of 2% in all the diesel fuel it sells. Infrastructure ramps up, but can't even achieve universal B02 without screwing it up, so ...what? The state backs down and shugs it shoulders? Can't be done? Nope. This isn't some 80's "Oh-we-can-do-it-with-electric-cars-and-solar-panels-if-we-really-try!" volley. The issue described in the article below is not insurmountable and is not described as such. The fact that B02 is viewed as a credible target which can overcome these immediate obstacles is a huge change from how this topic was treated even just a year ago. The back pressure that is building toward alternative fuels, specifically biodiesel, is clearly increasing.
The fact that Minnesota is insisting on a STANDARDS-BASED fuel supply also conveniently draws attention to its importance and bodes well with respect to driving (automotive) product support.
One thing is certain, Minnesota will have many lessons to teach other markets, and not just domestic ones either. This is a global issue. Demonstrating that this CAN be done is huge (and exciting, isn't it?). Not only does it tackle this current issue with ramping up to a mere B02 it genuinely acts as a test case for 'scary' gelling issues in northern markets, as if B02 would ever be a problem.
Buy hey, there are a lot of people out there to sell.
<font color="blue">http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20051102:MTFH81512_2005-11-02_23-45-50_N02230752:1</font>
Note how Ms. Ingwersen gets all the basic facts right - this in itself is an improvement over even a year ago. My, what a coupla hurricanes can do.
(Sorry, but true)
<font color="green">By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Minnesota, the first U.S. state to require that diesel contain a portion of clean-burning biodiesel made largely from soy, has temporarily suspended the law due to quality problems, a state official said on Wednesday.
The 10-day suspension went into effect on Friday, said Bruce Gordon, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. He said the quality problem involved soy-based biodiesel that was delivered for blending with regular diesel.
"It didn't meet the specifications," he said.
Minnesota in September required diesel fuel sold in the state to contain at least 2 percent soy biodiesel.
The state's move was part of a worldwide drive to encourage use of "green" fuels, and came as Americans were hit by soaring gasoline prices, which topped $3 a gallon in many parts of the country after hurricanes Katrina and Rita stalled production at the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The surge in energy costs has renewed U.S. consumer interest in alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol, made from such crops as corn and sugar cane and blended with gasoline to reduce tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks.
Industry experts said the problem in Minnesota was temporary. "We are in a phase of growth. We look at this as one of the typical start-up glitches you might have as an industry," said Steve Howell, technical director of the National Biodiesel Board, which promotes biodiesel use.
The problem emerged on Thursday at the Flint Hills Resources refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota. The plant, one of two refineries in the state, buys soy biodiesel and blends it with petroleum diesel to meet the state's 2 percent rule.
"We tested a truck and tested our tank, and realized it was off-spec. So we stopped selling that evening and notified the state," said John Hofland, a spokesman for the refinery.
Flint Hills Resources is a wholly owned subsidiary of privately held Koch Industries Inc.
The same problem later emerged at other diesel fuel terminals around the state, Hofland said.
"It's my understanding that it wouldn't have been a safety or a driveability concern. But the state statute sets out various specs you need to meet," Hofland said.
The soy biodiesel failed to meet a flashpoint specification, a measure of unreacted methanol in the fuel. High concentrations of methanol can cause engine problems.
By state law, biodiesel must have a flashpoint of at least 130 degrees Celsius, but some of the blended fuel reaching the Minnesota marketplace fell between 105 and 120 degrees, the National Biodiesel Board's Howell said.
A flashpoint of 100 or higher is safe, but the industry raised the minimum to 130 degrees as a precaution due to variability in testing methods, Howell said.
Biodiesel consumption by the end of 2005 is projected to reach at least 50 million gallons, double that of 2004, according to the National Biodiesel Board.
Relaxing the state requirement allows refiners and terminals to release un-blended diesel into the state, Gordon said. It also allows distributors and retailers to sell un-blended diesel in Minnesota if the biodiesel blended product is unavailable, he said. </font>
Do we have club members from Minnesota online? Your comments should be interesting.
~BG
Edited to add question mark to title...
The fact that Minnesota is insisting on a STANDARDS-BASED fuel supply also conveniently draws attention to its importance and bodes well with respect to driving (automotive) product support.
One thing is certain, Minnesota will have many lessons to teach other markets, and not just domestic ones either. This is a global issue. Demonstrating that this CAN be done is huge (and exciting, isn't it?). Not only does it tackle this current issue with ramping up to a mere B02 it genuinely acts as a test case for 'scary' gelling issues in northern markets, as if B02 would ever be a problem.
<font color="blue">http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20051102:MTFH81512_2005-11-02_23-45-50_N02230752:1</font>
Note how Ms. Ingwersen gets all the basic facts right - this in itself is an improvement over even a year ago. My, what a coupla hurricanes can do.
<font color="green">By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Minnesota, the first U.S. state to require that diesel contain a portion of clean-burning biodiesel made largely from soy, has temporarily suspended the law due to quality problems, a state official said on Wednesday.
The 10-day suspension went into effect on Friday, said Bruce Gordon, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. He said the quality problem involved soy-based biodiesel that was delivered for blending with regular diesel.
"It didn't meet the specifications," he said.
Minnesota in September required diesel fuel sold in the state to contain at least 2 percent soy biodiesel.
The state's move was part of a worldwide drive to encourage use of "green" fuels, and came as Americans were hit by soaring gasoline prices, which topped $3 a gallon in many parts of the country after hurricanes Katrina and Rita stalled production at the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The surge in energy costs has renewed U.S. consumer interest in alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol, made from such crops as corn and sugar cane and blended with gasoline to reduce tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks.
Industry experts said the problem in Minnesota was temporary. "We are in a phase of growth. We look at this as one of the typical start-up glitches you might have as an industry," said Steve Howell, technical director of the National Biodiesel Board, which promotes biodiesel use.
The problem emerged on Thursday at the Flint Hills Resources refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota. The plant, one of two refineries in the state, buys soy biodiesel and blends it with petroleum diesel to meet the state's 2 percent rule.
"We tested a truck and tested our tank, and realized it was off-spec. So we stopped selling that evening and notified the state," said John Hofland, a spokesman for the refinery.
Flint Hills Resources is a wholly owned subsidiary of privately held Koch Industries Inc.
The same problem later emerged at other diesel fuel terminals around the state, Hofland said.
"It's my understanding that it wouldn't have been a safety or a driveability concern. But the state statute sets out various specs you need to meet," Hofland said.
The soy biodiesel failed to meet a flashpoint specification, a measure of unreacted methanol in the fuel. High concentrations of methanol can cause engine problems.
By state law, biodiesel must have a flashpoint of at least 130 degrees Celsius, but some of the blended fuel reaching the Minnesota marketplace fell between 105 and 120 degrees, the National Biodiesel Board's Howell said.
A flashpoint of 100 or higher is safe, but the industry raised the minimum to 130 degrees as a precaution due to variability in testing methods, Howell said.
Biodiesel consumption by the end of 2005 is projected to reach at least 50 million gallons, double that of 2004, according to the National Biodiesel Board.
Relaxing the state requirement allows refiners and terminals to release un-blended diesel into the state, Gordon said. It also allows distributors and retailers to sell un-blended diesel in Minnesota if the biodiesel blended product is unavailable, he said. </font>
Do we have club members from Minnesota online? Your comments should be interesting.
~BG
Edited to add question mark to title...