I remember being at an airport as a kid (or a 34 year old man...) and seeing the moving walkways between terminal. As a kind of joke, I’d like to walk on the walkway moving in the opposite direction to see if I could keep up with people moving in my direction of travel. I’d walk at a brisk pace but I’d make no progress - my legs moving swiftly and my face contorted in a grimace of determination. But no matter how fast I walked, I’d make no progress. This is the same feeling I get when I think of our nation’s “progress” with curbing greenhouse gases (GHG) and averting climate change. With our nation’s leader withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this year and, recently, passing a tax bill that will slow down the New Energy Economy, environmentalists and businesses trying to make a difference in protecting our planet are expending a tremendous amount of effort but are coming up against a wave of backward inertia.
Further complicating matters, some renewable technologies are starting to come under fire as being more harmful to the environment than their conventional counterparts. For example, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which mandated biofuel to be mixed into the nation’s gas supply in the form of corn ethanol, was once touted as being the nation’s savior from foreign oil influence and curber of GHG, and is now being examined to be reduced in scope or scuttled altogether due to new report which states that RFS does more harm than good. However, there is hope. Some companies are looking to 2nd generation biofuels to shore up the issues with traditional biofuels and refute the arguments against renewable sources of fuel. But before we look to the future, let’s examine how we got to into such a precarious position with our planet.
A Brief History of Energy
The production of fire and fuel has a storied history transcending culture and history. In Greek mythology, man was given the gift of fire from the Titan Prometheus which enabled the human population to progress and develop complex civilizations. This deed was in direct opposition to Zeus’ orders and Prometheus was sentenced to an eternity chained to a rock while having an eagle chew out his liver each and every day. In Norse mythology, Loki gains the secret of fire from an eagle in exchange for parts of a sacrificed oxen. The actual origin of man’s controlled use of fire goes back over a million years ago in Africa. The Oldowan hominid sites in the Lake Turkana region of Kenya shows oxidized patches of earth to a depth of several inches which some scientists point to fire control.
Flash forward to the industrial revolution where human beings accelerated technological development of energy production from fossil fuels which literally fuel our economy today. The hazards of the emissions given off from these fuels have become evident with climate change and have given rise to the search for alternative fuel sources. One of these sources gained popularity in the early 2000s as a clean, renewable form of fuel to replace or supplement our fuel supply for transportation - biofuels.
What Are Biofuels Anyhow?
Biofuels are fuels produced through contemporary biological processes instead of the more familiar conventional fuel produced from geological processes. The most common biofuels, also referred to as 1st generation biofuels, are sourced from corn and soy, plants that are carbon based and can be replenished relatively quickly. These 1st generation biofuels arose in the early 2000s with a federal mandate for refiners (the RFS) to blend an increasing amount of biofuel into conventional gasoline across the nation. The intention was to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil while propping up America’s sluggish corn and soy industry all whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions to stave off climate change.
However, according to a paper published by the International Energy Agency in February of 2010, these 1st generation biofuels have been increasingly “coming into question over concerns such as reported displacement of food-crops, effects on the environment and climate change.” The overall consensus is that the net lifecycle of GHG emission reduction must become more efficient for biofuels while also being socially and environmentally sustainable. “Most people don’t know it, but 1st generation biofuels are actually worse than fossil fuels”, says Robert Anderson, Co-Founder & CEO of SmartChoice Renewables - a renewable energy company which specializes in 2nd generation biofuels amongst other renewable energy initiatives. “Looking at the carbon footprint from start to finish - from planting the seed in the ground, running a tractor, facilitating the seed through the growth process, including the costs of carbon from the equipment for harvesting, the process of turning the corn into oil, the oil into corn alcohol, and so on, the carbon footprint adds up to an appreciable amount that I don’t think people are aware of.”
What’s The Solution?
How can we power our economy while still being socially and environmentally responsible if 1st generation biofuels won't suffice? Well, like what our parents did before us with respect to climate change, you move the problem to the next generation. 2nd generation biofuels, also known as lignocellulosic feedstock, are fuels largely from non-food plant materials in the form of virgin biomass, waste biomass or energy crops. Waste fats, oils and greases from food preparation can be used to produce these 2nd generation biofuels from the waste biomass.
2nd generation biofuel from waste biomass is of particular interest because it has the potential to divert a large amount of waste we’re generating in the US and around the world from landfills into producing a 100% direct replacement for petroleum fuels (gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel). The process of producing transportation fuels from waste biomass is remarkably similar to that of the conventional refining process. “You take the feedstock, put it through an impurity extraction process, then put it through the same conventional refining process as petroleum fuels and you get products that is the same or better than crude oil products,” says Robert. Instead of simply extracting an energy source from below our feet in the form of petroleum, we have the potential to source the fuel from something that we are discarding anyhow - grease from restaurants, hotels and the like. The technology is available to process this feedstock into 100% direct replacements to petroleum fuels and we certainly have no shortage of available feedstock.
Why Aren’t We Doing This Right Now??
In short - politics and big oil malfeasance. The renewable tax credit has lapsed in the US and has not been renewed. Without the tax credit, many biofuel companies are going out of business because their business models were built around these tax credits. However, SmartChoice Renewables is using a different business model so as not to depend on outside sources to survive in the renewable energy market. “We’re using a combinatorial business model which combines different industry business models to have the potential to produce our product at double digit profit margins which is unheard of in the commodity market,” says Woody Woodbury, Co-Founder & President at SmartChoice Renewables. “We’re working with an international logistics and wholesale company to sign an offtake agreement for the purchase and distribution of our fuels and the chief development officer remarked that we had created the Holy Grail when it comes to biofuel production .”
Even with a new business model, 2nd generation biofuels are experiencing significant resistance from big oil companies. Which makes sense - they don’t want these 100% direct replacements to get to market, biting into their cushy profit margin. These oil companies have spent decades and billions of dollars building pipelines, refineries, tanker fleets and gas stations. The last thing they want to see is their infrastructure become obsolete. Their arguments largely surround the detriments of 1st generation biofuel and the perceived (although incorrect) notion that 2nd generation biofuels aren’t market ready. The irony of the matter is this - big oil is actually investing billions of dollars in renewable energy including biofuel. Acquisitions, capital stakes and project investments by major oil companies in clean energy deals reached 44 last year which is more than double the year before. “These big oil companies actually understand the inherent value in biofuels because they know their current business model is not sustainable for the future,” Robert asserts. “Most of these companies think the transition to renewables wouldn’t happen until 2050-2060 whereas the reality is that the transition is happening much faster.”
SmartChoice Renewables is set to build refineries in Nevada, Scotland, and the UAE, producing a combined output of more than 22 billion gallons per year in 2nd generation biofuels. Their first refinery in Nevada is poised to be up and running by 2021 with the other two facilities projected to come online in 2023. SmartChoice is one of but a few companies taking the lead in recognizing the potential of 2nd generation biofuels to, not only reduce the waste we generate, but to fuel our economy with renewable energy. Climate change is happening and a lot of the world is largely ignoring the impending destruction of the only home we have. We, as citizens of the Earth, have an obligation to do everything we can to protect our planet. We have the means and the motivation. The only obstacle we have left is overcoming the backwards inertia of the way we’ve always done business. Let’s educate each other on the promise and the possibility of a clean, renewable, sustainable future. A future we’ll be proud to have created by taking action today.