Clean Power Plan a ‘victory’ for Algenol

The CEO of an innovative Lee County-based company is thrilled with the Clean Power Plan rule formally announced Monday by President Barack Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Paul Woods called it a “massive victory” for Algenol Biofuels, a biotech business with headquarters off Alico Road that has pioneered a process which uses algae technology to produce ethanol, as well as gasoline, jet and diesel fuels.

Woods, Algenol’s founder, gave The News-Press an exclusive, informal tour of the property Friday.

The Clean Power Plan is intended to target climate change by reducing carbon pollution from power plants. The final plan sets standards to reduce C02 emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. The plan has been in development for years under the Clean Air Act, an act of Congress that requires the EPA to take steps to reduce air pollution.

Under the final plan outlined Monday, states must meet carbon emission reduction standards, based on their individual energy consumption. The biggest emitters face the biggest reductions, so Florida is among the states that will have to make the biggest cuts. There is a lot of flexibility in the route states can take to meet the standards, and there are incentives for early adoption.

Proponents say it is necessary to take action to help protect the environment and the health of future generations, while critics contend it will put people out of work and raise electric bills. Even before the rule was announced, many states announced plans to fight it.

The revised plan for the first time recognizes the value of carbon capture and utilization — the cornerstone of Algenol’s technology — as a method for utilities to reduce emissions from electricity production. The language most relevant to Algenol appears on pages 1,157-1,158 of the 1,560-page plan.

“We really are the most viable economic solution in that,” Woods said.

An EPA analysis, he said, recognized Algenol’s method reduces the carbon footprint by just under 70 percent compared to gasoline.

“They explicitly added algae-qualified technology and we’re the only algae-qualified technology,” Woods said of the final rule. “We’re now included as a key part of the portfolio to bring solutions and buying down the cost of having that done.”

The CEO revealed that Algenol has signed agreements with an undisclosed utility that will allow the company to buy C02 from that utility. Woods said that’s going to result in savings to the utility’s customers.

“Instead of carbon mitigation costing jobs and costing more on your electric bill, because of the way this rule was written, electric customers can benefit,” he said.

Woods also revealed that Algenol is close to finishing the analysis of where it will expand in Florida.

“There are a lot of wins coming up for Florida customers,” he said.

Not everyone is happy about the Clean Power Plan, which is a divisive political issue. Jeb Bush called it “irresponsible and overreaching,” for example, while Marco Rubio said it will “hurt our economy badly.”

Woods doesn’t take kindly to such remarks, adding that Algenol has reached out to both candidates and hope they come for a visit.

“It’s really disappointing that you have two Florida presidential campaigners that don’t realize that the highest tech in the world is actually in their own backyard,” he said.

Algenol recently won the Presidential Green Chemistry Award for Climate Change and the Global Leadership in Biofuels award from PLATTS.

“Their statements are wrong,” Woods added, referring to Bush and Rubio. “It doesn’t raise electric rates, it actually lowers them. It will produce thousands of jobs in Florida. We are the global leader. Come to Algenol, learn the details.”

Algenol has deployed a demonstration module in India and has plans to develop projects in China. It was part of a delegation of American companies on a business development trade mission in April that visited Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China. That effort was led by the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy.

“The technology development around the world has really kicked off,” Woods said.

Connect with this reporter: email clogan@news-press.com or follow on twitter @caseylo

FPL deal

Florida Power & Light plans to spend $520.5 million of ratepayers’ money to buy a coal-fired power plant in Jacksonville that it would close within two years. The deal, which has drawn a challenge from a group representing large energy users, must still be approved by state regulators. If such a deal occurs and the plant closes, it would be a stride toward meeting the Clean Power Plan standards.