Liquid Fuel: The Holy Grail of Biomass

Imagine a world where the conflict in the Middle East doesn’t determine the price of filling up your car in America. According to Sundrop Fuels, it could be a reality sooner than you think.

Image courtesy of Waste Management World. 

Although only in business for three years, Sundrop Fuels is already making big strides in the advancement of “green gasoline.” Based in Colorado, the company produces advanced biofuels by gasifying cellulosic feedstock. The result is a clean renewable form of fuel that can be used in combustion engines, such as automobiles. 

And now Sundrop has a site for its inaugural facility. The company announced on Nov. 22, 2011 that it has purchased 1,200 acres of land near Alexandria, La. to build its first production facility. Aiming to be running at full speed by 2014, Sundrop Fuels estimates it will be able to produce close to 50 million gallons of “green gasoline” annually.

Unlike similar projects in the liquid fuel experiment, Sundrop Fuels hasn’t received federal loans to subsidize its project. The state is allowing the sale of tax-exempt private activity bonds and will offer standard performance-based incentives for the 150 new jobs the plant will bring to Alexandria, but both of these initiatives involve no risk to the taxpayer. This comes as a relief to many who are familiar with the $156 million loans the now-defunct Range Fuels received for its failed project in Mississippi.

So where is the money coming from for this $450-500 million facility? Chesapeake Energy Company became a 50 percent stakeholder in the company in July with a $155 million investment. Oak Investment Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have also made $20 million investments and hold spots on the company’s Board of Directors.

While the forward motion on the project is exciting, many experts in the industry feel we are still at least a decade out from seeing any measurable results. The recent announcement of Range Fuel’s bankruptcy also serves as a reminder that we are still in the pioneering stages of this industry.

Better BTU Take: Big bets by big guys makes this a project worth following. 

Sundrop Fuels Press Release

Waste Conversion Congress on the West Coast

The Better BTU boarded a plane headed west on Monday, headed for San Jose, Calif. and the Waste Conversion Congress. Taking place at the Convention Plaza Hotel and billed as a "thought leadership conference and an unbiased forum" we are excited to hear from experts in our rapidly growing field.

But don't miss us too much! We're tweeting live from the conference and will be posting reports and our thoughts on what we're learning twice a day on a blog we set up specifically for the occasion!

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Taylor Made

Jim Taylor (left) with Sen. Charles Schumer D-N.Y.
 on Dec. 6, 2010. Courtesy: MIDHUDSONEWS.CO

The construction on Taylor Biomass Energy’s 20-megawatt  biomass gasification plant in Montgomery, N.Y. is a project that has been over a decade in the making for company president and CEO Jim Taylor.

Taylor, who owns and operates Taylor Recycling, has been looking for a way to expand its capabilities. Running a gasification plant next door allows Taylor to process wood waste, C&D waste and MSW – enough to power approximately 27,000 homes in New York.

With the help of a $100 million loan guarantee from the U.S. DOE, pending due diligence, and the ability to utilize a 30 percent federal grant (Recovery Act, 1603), Taylor and his team were able to break ground on their vision on Dec. 6, 2010.

Biomass Magazine reports that start-up and commissioning of the facility is slated for the last quarter of 2012. Although an article from The Times Herald-Democrat written in late 2005 discusses Taylor’s plan to build gasifiers on 20 different locations, there is currently no information on the gasification system on the Taylor Biomass Energy website (www. taylorrecycling.com).

Building the first on his own site solves the problem of “who wants to go first.” With a $50 million price tag, investors want to see results before they lay out the funds.

“The pressure’s on to get one of these up and running,” Taylor is quoted in the Times Herald-Democrat article originally published on Oct. 2, 2005. “It’ll be a huge success when we get this first one operating.”

Taylor, who has been a large player in the movement to dispose of all the debris that was left over from the 9/11 attack, has been in communication with influential members of the New Orleans community about building a gasification plant down South to help expedite the Hurricane Katrina cleanup.

But of course, it all depends on getting the first one up and operating. Better BTU is interested, and will continue to bring you updates.