|
| |
| Maryland Newsline |
Politics
|
| Maryland Revs Up for
Alternative Fuels Market
Maryland Newsline Friday, Dec. 15, 2006 LAUREL, MD. - For about five days in July, the Fort Meade Service Center ran out of E85, a blend of ethanol and gasoline. Its Illinois ethanol supplier could not keep up with widespread demand, said manager Joseph Fraundorfer. "It’s not that we were remiss in looking at the level that we [had] left," Fraundorfer said. "But the supplier had such a heavy demand that they couldn’t provide it to us" fast enough.Proponents of alternative fuels for cars and trucks argue that they’re better for the environment, decrease dependence on foreign oil and create a new market for agriculture. But the limited supply of the fuels and the cost of importing them from out of state have prevented the market in Maryland from taking off.
In-state production is key to decreasing the cost for consumers. And having enough in-state fueling stations when those prices go down is also important. Maryland is making a start with alternative fuels known as biofuels, which include biodiesel, made from soybean oil, and ethanol, derived from corn. Currently the state has only one biodiesel production plant and no ethanol plants. “Once they come to Maryland, transportation costs will go down, and the cost of E85 will be less expensive,” said Lauren Robbins, program manager for transportation alternative fuels for the Maryland Energy Administration. More biofuel production plants may be on the way.
In the Works Suna Sariscak, a section head in the Air Quality Permits program at the Maryland Department of the Environment, said that one company has received an air quality permit to build a biodiesel plant in the state and two additional companies applied for air quality permits to build ethanol plants. Among the latter is Ecron SP, an alternative fuels company based in Annapolis, Md., which intends to build an ethanol facility in Sparrows Point, Md. “We have a very firm belief that ethanol needs to be manufactured where it is consumed,” said Ecron SP CEO Boris Maslov. He said the company’s target for beginning construction on a production facility is the first quarter of 2007, depending on the availability of labor and materials. Maslov estimated the cost of the project at $200 million and said it would create 60 to 70 permanent jobs and 300 jobs during construction. “It’s good to keep money in the country and build your own economy,” he said. The company plans to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol yearly, which Maslov estimated would supply almost enough ethanol to use as a gasoline additive for consumers in Baltimore County and City. But many more plants would be needed to support ethanol as a fuel, he said. “It would take 20 plants like ours" to produce enough E85 for the state, Maslov said. In the last year and half to two years, six people had expressed interest in building ethanol plants, including the two who have applied for permits, said Andrew Gosden, deputy director of the Office of Special Programs at the Maryland Department of the Environment. Sariscak noted that two smaller companies are interested in building biodiesel plants but, because of their size, are not required to receive air quality permits before construction. Interest in biofuel production also comes from farmers who hope to gain a new market for their corn and soybeans. "If a farmer invests in ethanol production, they can gain money both from selling a crop and from production of a product," said Lynn Hoot, executive director of the Maryland Grain Producers Association. She said the association is working on opportunities for farmers to invest in an ethanol project. Existing Sources Any new plants built would join the only other biofuels producer in the state, Maryland Biodiesel in Berlin, Md. That plant started production in June, producing 1,500 gallons of biodiesel daily, said CEO James Warren. Some of that gets distributed through Warren's other business, Cropper Oil Co. Inc. It's also sold at an on-site station in B20, B50 and B99 blends, along with regular gasoline and diesel fuel. The station is one of seven biodiesel fueling stations open to the public in the state. Maryland Biodiesel supplies biodiesel for the State Highway Administration, Worcester County government vehicles and other equipment, private contractors that run Worcester County school buses, and the National Park Service. Serving fleets of vehicles helps support the industry and can sometimes spur it on. That’s what happened with the Fort Meade Service Center, one of three E85 stations in the state open to the public. It supplies fuel for the Department of Defense’s Fort Meade vehicles, as well as to other consumers. “The [federal] government approached us because they wanted the alternative fuels, and they paid for the tank, they paid for everything pretty much on the station” for E85 use, said Jon S. Bevan, co-owner of the Fort Meade Service Center. That kind of support can be crucial. “It’s hard to put in new stations unless you have a fleet to support it,” said Jill Hamilton, president of Sustainable Energy Strategies Inc., and a consultant to both the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board and the National Biodiesel Board. She said that many small business owners who own stations can’t afford the investment of installing a biofuels facility. Installing a new fuel tank and fuel dispenser can cost on average between $100,000 to $150,000, depending on various factors, said Paul Robertson, president of Tanks Direct, which has installed seven E85 and two biodiesel systems in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Bevan said that his station would not have installed the E85 pump on its own. “There’s just not enough demand off the general public, because the price isn’t compatible. I mean, you’re looking at three bucks a gallon [for the alternative fuel], and regular’s $2.25,” Bevan said. Helping small businesses to get more competitive rates for the fuels is one reason why there needs to be a greater supply on the East Coast, Hamilton said. Building Momentum Efforts to build awareness of biofuels and to nudge service centers to sell them are underway. A promotional effort at the Fort Meade Service Center next month will involve giving away free E85 fuel cards to members of the general public with flexible fuel vehicles, said Hamilton. The effort is sponsored by the Maryland Energy Administration, the Maryland Grain Utilization Board and General Motors, she said. The Maryland Energy Administration is also providing incentives for commercial gas stations to install biofuel pump facilities. It announced a biofuels grant program in November to provide grants of up to $12,500 for installing either an E85 or a B20 pump -- or up to $30,000 to install both. “If we put in 10 projects, that would double the biofuels infrastructure of the state,” Robbins said. Both types of facilities can also benefit from a federal tax credit, which gives businesses a 30 percent credit for the cost of installing them. Building these facilities now ensures that Maryland will be ready when more biofuels are produced in the state. “We’re trying to get all of our ducks in a row for when that magic moment happens,” Robbins said. Copyright © 2006 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalismm
|
