Article Archive for August 2009
by Jerry Warner and P.W. Singer (Brookings Institution) … Underlying this effort are two complementary objectives. First, a significant percentage of the overall reduction in baseline energy will come from the department converting from petroleum …
by Peter W. Singer (The Washington Examiner) … Our Department of Defense is the largest consumer of energy not just in America, but the world. It burns more petroleum in the course of its operations …
by Jeff H. Hassannia (Diversified Energy Corporation) … Instead of forecasting the likely costs for capital and O&M for a given architecture and its reported yield, let’s assess what a project would require in order to …
By Rob Fisher, Forrest Jehlik (Circle Track) Shortly after the first installment of Circle Track’s Project G.R.E.E.N. hit the newsstand it became apparent that the project had a multitude of different dimensions, all of which can …
by Dave Vander Griend (Ethanol Across America) …As commodity prices have returned closer to norms prior to the dramatic speculation-driven increase, we need to take a deep breath and understand the truth. We are meeting …
by Brian Maffly (Salt Lake Tribune) For the past several years, detergents and agricultural runoff have turned Logan’s five wastewater lagoons into a phosphate-filled soup, posing a menace to sensitive wildlife habitat downstream and racking …
(Latin American Herald Tribune) The Mexican government said it will invite tenders next month for a contract to produce 176 million liters (46 million gallons) of ethanol for use as a transport fuel, part of …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst recently granted a biofuels startup company, Anellotech, exclusive global rights to the university’s catalytic fast pyrolysis technology developed by chemical engineer and …
Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the selection of 25 cost-share projects under the Clean Cities program that will be funded with nearly $300 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects will …
by Laurent Lardon, Arnaud Helias, Bruno Sialve, Jean-Philippe Steyer and Olivier Bernard (Environmental Science and Technology) This paper provides an analysis of the potential environmental impacts of biodiesel production from microalgae. High production yields of microalgae …
by Nicholas Zeman (Biodiesel Magazine) The National Biodiesel Board said last week that the Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act, a piece of legislation introduced to the U.S. Senate last week by Sens. Charles …
The World Refining Association is pleased to announce that the 4th Annual Biofuels Conference. With uncertainty and volatility sweeping across the biofuels industry senior leaders from international oil majors, refineries, Biofuel plants and policy makers …
EFIB 2009, co-organised by EuropaBio and IntertechPira, will feature 50 leading speakers who will assess the prospects for industrial biotechnology and biobased products in Europe. It will commence with 2 parallel pre-conference seminars, followed by …
Brazil is a global leader in the production and use of sugarcane based ethanol or ethyl alcohol. What can the Caribbean learn from Brazil’s long-term solution-based approach to the oil crisis which hit Brazil in …
The event is jointly organized by the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and the ABIC Foundation with support from …
To be held in Stockholm as part of Sweden’s EU-Presidency, World Bioenergy – Clean Vehicles & Fuels 2009 promises to be a truly unique business occurrence. World Bioenergy – Clean Vehicles & Fuels is a …
Trends Impacting Global Fuels A Hart Energy Conference READ MORE
The main objective of the Summit is to provide an improved up-to-date understanding of the next generation feedstocks and technologies in Algae Biofuel Industry. The Summit will be an excellent platform to disseminate information regarding …
Join industry experts, specialists and leading researchers from multiple disciplines to discover how wood biorefinery can shape the next generation of value-added forest products. This year’s event promises a unique, multi-disciplinary look at the rewards …
The strong policy for increasing renewables and especially bioenergy continues in the European Union. The European Union Commission presents a renewable energy roadmap for the year 2020, proposing a mandatory target of 20 % renewable …
In Honduras, BEI International has demonstrated its mechanical harvesting of jatropha at Agroipsa Farm in Choluteca, Honduras this month, harvesting 550 hectares. “If your field conditions are accommodating you can harvest about one hectare per …
by John Petersen (Alt Energy Stocks) … We’ve all heard the mythology that PHEVs will save users buckets of money by using cheap electricity instead of expensive gasoline. The hard reality is that none of …
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA (Alt Energy Stocks) Biochar, or amending soil with biomass-derived carbon, shows great potential to improve the productivity of soils, as well as to increase the utilization of fertilizers by plants, …
… (Christian Aid’s report)Growing Pains urges governments to adopt a new vision on biofuels, seeing them as a force for rural development in poor countries, rather than a silver bullet solution to climate change.
‘Christian Aid …
Attend the upcoming International Bioenergy and Bioproducts Conference (IBBC) and learn how others are successfully harnessing this emerging technology. Learn what’s working and what’s not, and how others in the industry are going forward.
IBBC …
… Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI) and Central Electric Power Cooperative (CEPC) are partnering with Lincoln University and Missouri University of Science and Technology to grow algae using the carbon produced by a coal-burning power …
by Ann Davis and Russell Gold (Wall Street Journal) The biofuels revolution that promised to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil is fizzling out. Two-thirds of U.S. biodiesel production capacity now sits unused, reports the …
Doug Newman, Ethanol Trade Analyst for the US International Trade Commission, has provided tables and a presentation which summarize amounts of ethanol imports to the US by source location and tariffs paid, along with a …
U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Energy announced at the end of July that they would be accepting applications for a program that will make direct payments in lieu of tax …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Biodiesel Magazine) Early tests by Australia’s CQUniversity researchers show promise for a new biodiesel feedstock – the native Australian Beauty Leaf Tree. The wild tree grows well throughout coastal areas of …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Microbiogen, an Australia-based developer of non-genetically modified yeast, recently announced it has secured a $2.5 million government grant. The grant, which was awarded under the Australian government’s $15 million …
… (C)ultivation of microalgae may contribute decisively to tomorrow’s energy supply. For energy production from microalgae, KIT scientists are developing closed photo-bioreactors and novel cell disruption methods. … Professor Clemens Posten, directs this research activity …
by Scott Stearns (Voice of America News) Africa is central to the worldwide growth in biofuels, with Dutch, American, Swedish, Japanese, German, and British firms all competing for farmland to grow the next generation of …
by Doreen Hemlock and Jaideep Hardikar (South Florida Sun-Sentinel) The neatly planted rows of jatropha trees in Delray Beach are sprouting round, green fruit that can be crushed into oil to run diesel engines. Teri …
(Discover) … Synthetic biology experts say that re-engineered microorganisms may take on all sorts of jobs. For now, gene researchers are particularly excited about using energy-producing microbes as single-celled refineries for ethanol, biodiesel or other …
Interest in thermochemical conversion of biomass into synthesis gas is gaining ground.
Syngas is the building block to create all chemicals in the petrochemical industry, but the most ultimate and demanding application is its use as …
by Joanne Ivancic Although U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu claimed to “(emphasize) the Department’s commitment to developing near-term, clean energy technologies while allowing small businesses (to) take part in the new industrial revolution that the …
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that $37 million in funding from the Recovery Act will be made available to qualified small businesses through the Department’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology …
From the report: … Objective independent studies now emerging on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 suggest that the costs to the agriculture and forestry sectors from its cap and trade provisions …
Section 1705 of Title XVII authorizes the Secretary of Energy (“Secretary”) to make loan guarantees under this section, notwithstanding Section 1703, for only three categories of projects that commence construction no later than September 30, …
by Aimee Pianosi (NapaneeGuide.com) In a white cloud of pollen, 43 acres of hemp was harvested from Hartacre Farms last Tuesday. Herb Hart grew the crop in partnership with Performance Plants Inc. of Kingston, as …
by Colin Bettles (FarmWeekly) WestPetro, the proposed ethanol production plant to be built in East Rockingham, changed ownership last week. The Oswal Group, who built the Burrup fertiliser plant, has decided not to proceed with …
The Scripps Photobiology Group has been hosting a series on the commercialization of algae, with a focus on the possible production of biofuels from algae. The purpose of this forum is to exchange information and …
(Biodiesel Magazine) The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup racing series had just passed the half way point at press time, when race organizers, drivers, and fans alike acclaimed this biodiesel-powered “green racing” series an utter …
by David Runk (AP) Researchers at Michigan State University are working to turn the rutabaga into an oil-producing powerhouse that could make the turnip-like vegetable a better source of biofuel than other food crops. The …
by Toba Suleiman (This Day) Ekiti State Governor, Segun Oni, has donated 15,000 hectares of land to Chinese investors handling the ethanol project at Oke-Ayedun, Ikole Local Government area of the state, for cassava plantation. His …
(Newswise) Engineers at Ohio State University have found a way to double the production of the biofuel butanol, which might someday replace gasoline in automobiles. The process improves on the conventional method for brewing butanol …
by Michael Kanellos (Greentech Media) Five years ago it was easy to divide up companies trying to make fuel out of algae. There were only a handful in the market and all were in and …
The 2009 International Conference on Thermochemical Conversion Science will take place at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers in downtown Chicago. The focus of the program, presented through 25 scientific papers and 50 posters, will …
by Barney DuBois (BioBasedNews.com) … Sorghum – and particularly sweet sorghum – seems finally prepared to emerge from behind the dense biomass shadows it casts with its giant 15-foot stalks! Sweet sorghum – a resilient …
