|
Home
History
Stakeholders
Meeting Minutes &
Agendas
Fuel & Vehicle Information
Upcoming Events
Associated Links
What You Can Do Today
National Clean Cities
Web Site
Contact Us
|
April 2007 Newsletter
|
Yellowstone-Teton Clean
Energy Coalition Newsletter
|
Annual Meeting in Jackson May 24
|
|
Please join Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy board members and
stakeholders in Jackson, WY on Thursday, May 24th from noon to
4 P.M. for the coalition's annual meeting. The meeting will be
held in the Jackson Town Hall at 150 E. Pearl Ave.
In addition to elections and an update of coalition
activities, help plan strategy for projects on which the
coalition will focus during the coming year; share your
successes and challenges with conservation of petroleum,
alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles; hear
suggestions from local leaders for mobilizing communities and
officials to become part of the movement to reduce consumption
of fossil fuels; see and test drive the 2007 Honda Civic
Hybrid.
If you would like to be considered for any of several board
vacancies, please notify Coordinator Sandy Shuptrine at the
email or phone below. She can also answer any questions you
may have.
|
Biodiesel Update, Jackson Seminar
|
|
|
Porter Broughton has sent out notice that
his B100 tank in the Winter Business Park in Driggs is open
again for business. Porter cautions users to be sure to check
the "gel jars" at the tank to determine how much regular
diesel should be splash blended with the biodiesel. The
weather remains chilly in Teton Valley and drivers should be
aware that B100 will gel more quickly than petroleum diesel.
Remember that Jackson has a new biodiesel
outlet at the Phillips 66 station, across the highway from
Albertson's. Distributor Kevin Lee is blending the biodiesel
for weather conditions so you do not need to worry about
gelling. Pacific Pride, Belgrade, MT and the Colter Bay
Convenience Store and Marina in Grand Teton National Park
continue to offer biodiesel blends to the public.
Dodge has announced that it will warranty
B20 use for its 2007 models. Beyond 2007 will depend on the
outcome of the recent bidding for The Chrysler Motor
Corporation, the Dodge parent company.
To its credit, the National Biodiesel
Board has stepped up and is working hard to establish solid
guidelines and standards for the national biodiesel product.
Enough problems have surfaced across the country, especially
in winter, that the national standard for biodiesel, ASTM
6751, needs clarification and, more importantly, enforcement.
Gasoline and diesel fueling have become so routine in the U.S.
that a new product such as biodiesel with its living,
breathing characteristics will require a new set of handling
standards to maintain quality. More on this as summer 2007
proceeds.
Many thanks to Jim Evanoff, Kevin Lee of
Conrad & Bischoff Distributors and Vic Lindeburg of Grand
Teton National Park for sharing their insight and experiences
with biodiesel at the March 1 Biodiesel Seminar in Jackson.
Teton County and the Town of Jackson were well represented and
showed serious interest in both Parks' experience with the
fuel. It is very likely that biodiesel will be appearing in
more public sector fleets within the region in the next two
years.
|
Air Quality, Carbon 'Footprint'
|
|
On the Federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided
that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority and
responsibility to regulate carbon emissions into the
atmosphere. This should bode well for efforts to improve
vehicle mileage and emissions over the coming years.
Within our coalition region, the Teton County, WY board of
Commissioners and the Jackson Town Council have jointly
appointed an Energy Efficiency Advisory Board which is
recommending a local goal of reducing the carbon footprint by
10% by 2010. The 10x10 goal is believed to be achievable and
provides a good relatively short term target for getting
started. While the board is just getting organized, it is
expected that a task force on fuels and transportation will be
setting finite goals and measuring progress. This action has
been led by new commissioner, Ben Ellis, and Mayor Mark Barron
who signed the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement early this
year. Coordinator Shuptrine is serving on the board.
|
Cellulosic Ethanol in the News
|
|
Ethanol produced from forest waste
Experiments to produce ethanol from biomass such as forest
waste (limbs, leaves, needles and the residue of logging)
have been ongoing since the 1980s. They are now at a
near-commercial production stage with the entry into the
market of Vinod Khosla, the sometimes-controversial
entrepreneur from California's Silicon Valley. Khosla's
venture capitalist group has funded a multimillion dollar
venture in Soperton, GA to use proprietary technology to
produce ethanol from forest waste. Range Fuels of Colorado
will build a plant that uses a two-step process to create
synthetic gases from the waste, then ethanol from the gas.
No enzymes are required. The illustration is from the
website and depicts the two steps in the process with
explanations of each. Range Fuels, Inc. was awarded a $76
million DOE grant for the project. See www.rangefuels.com.
Closer to home will be the Iogen plant to be built at
Shelley, ID near Idaho Falls. This 18 million gpy (gallons
per year) operation will utilize ag residue--corn stover,
wheat, barley and rice straws, and switchgrass. The plant is
expected to consume some 700 tons per day of biomass. Iogen
was awarded an $80 million grant.
|
Quick Notes
|
|
Your vision and perseverance have paid off! Committed
stakeholders have been the key in establishing Streamline bus
service in the Bozeman-Big Sky corridor and in adding Jackson
to Driggs service for the START bus system. Coalition
congratulations to those who have been instrumental in
offering alternatives to single occupancy vehicles within the
region. We're hoping more communities join the system(s)
soon.
NOT a used car pitch BUT the coordinator's 2005 Honda Civic
Hybrid is available with 31,500 miles on it. Fully equipped,
exceptional mileage and performance. Contact Sandy if
interested. Do you have a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle
you would like to pass along? Let us know and we will mention
it in the next newsletter.
|
|
Join our list |
|
Coming Events
|
|
Sat, April 28--Jackson,
WY. 10 am to 5 pm ECO Fair; Teton Science School's, Journey
School Campus. Exhibits, workshops, speakers. Coalition
representatives will participate.
Mon-Tue, May 14-15--Wenatchee,
WA. Power UP! Electrifying Transportation AVI (Advanced
Vehicle Innovations) Summit. Hybrids, electric vehicles, PHEVs.
www.plugincenter.com (AVI
is one of Coalition tech support Jake Lodato's projects.)
Thur, May 24--Jackson,
WY. Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition Annual Meeting.
12 to 4 pm, Jackson Town Hall, no-host lunch
available.
Sun-Tue, June 10-12--Big
Sky, MT. 17th Annual EPAC Conference.
www.ethanolmt.org
Saturday, July 14--Livingston,
MT. Eighth Annual Sustainability Fair. City Park, all day,
exhibits, demonstrations and programs. The Coalition will be
represented.
Tue-Fri, Sep 11-14--Big
Sky, MT. Yellowstone Greening Conference. Environmental
stewardship, regional sustainability, Waste Not recycling,
etc.This conference celebrates Yellowstone's 135th anniversary
and is sponsored by: The National Park Service, Headwaters
Cooperative Recycling, Montana DEQ, Region 8 Environmental
Protection Agency, USFS, Corporation for the Northern Rockies,
Delaware North Parks and Resorts at Yellowstone and Xanterra
Parks and Resorts.
www.yellowstonegreening.com
|
|
Sincerely,
Sandy Shuptrine
Coordinator, Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coaltion
sandyshuptrine@wyom.net (307) 733-6371
Box 1954, Jackson, WY 83001
|
|
|
|
