(U.S. Department of Energy)  U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today(December 16, 2010) the Department is accepting applications for up to $184 million over three to five years to accelerate the development and deployment of new …

(Green Car Congress)  The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking input from industry, academia, and other biofuels stakeholders regarding supply systems and services for the production, handling, storage, transport and delivery of algae via a …

by Damian Carrington (The Guardian)  Scientists raise hopes for a large-scale renewable source of liquid fuel with a simple reactor that mimics plants
A simple reactor that mimics plants by turning sunlight into fuel has been …

by M.S. Swaminathan(The Hindu)  …  On December 26, 2010, which marks the sixth anniversary of the tsunami which caused severe damage in Tamil Nadu and other States, a Salt Satyagraha Memorial Programme is being launched …

(Green Car Congress)  The Nikkei reports that Tokyo Institute of Technology, Takenaka Corp. and other partners are planning to build an offshore pilot plant to grow algae for use in biofuel production. …The wide-ranging project aims …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   …For our 2010 batch of predictions, we give ourselves 6 marks out of 10.
We gave ourselves 1 full mark for predicting the spread of Low Carbon Fuel Standard activity, the …

(AP/The Ledger Independent)  A new program to explore the viability of biofuels is seeking to establish 700 acres of switchgrass fields and is offering financial assistance to Kentucky farmers.
The project follows another that began in 2007 …

By Don Hofstrand (Iowa State University Extension/JoplinStockyards.com)   U.S. energy policy has recently moved into the background due to concerns about the current economic downturn. However, the importance of the two major drivers of energy policy …

By: Sara Krauskopf  (The Science Teacher)  A life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool used by engineers to make measurements of net energy, greenhouse gas production, water consumption, and other items of concern. This article describes an …

(State Journal-Register)  …As a former secretary of agriculture, I know that continuing to encourage the ethanol industry is good for rural America and the entire nation. Ethanol generates jobs, preserves the environment, and protects our …

by Willie Vogt  (Farm Futures)  …Cellana, an algal biofuel research company based in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, is leading a consortium that includes Cornell, Duke University, San Francisco State University, the University of Hawaii and the …

by Nicholas Zeman  (Associated Content/Yahoo!)  Asia’s Largest Ag-Firm Discusses the Global Biodiesel Market
…New Diesel Magazine spoke with an official from Wilmar, on the condition of anonymity, about the implementation of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive …

by Susanne Retka Schill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Miscanthus will see a giant leap in acreage in 2011, thanks to Soperton, Ga.-based Repreve Renewables LLC. The company currently has 500 acres planted in five locations in …

(UPI)  U.S. scientists have uncovered a gene responsible for plants’ key growth characteristics, specifically their density, a finding that could improve agriculture.
Researchers at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Oklahoma say denser plants have more biomass …

(Reuters)  China’s Finance Ministry has retroactively exempted consumption tax on pure biodiesel made from waste animal fats or vegetable oils, and will refund taxes already paid over the last two years.
The policy is backdated to January …

(EurekAlert/University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana)  A newly engineered yeast strain can simultaneously consume two types of sugar from plants to produce ethanol, researchers report. The sugars are glucose, a six-carbon sugar that is relatively easy to …

by Joelle Brink  (Biofuels Digest Asia)  2010 is sure to be remembered as the year Asia’s biofuels boom became self-sustaining. Double digit Asian economic growth, government and private investment, international business collaborations and research networks drove …

by Katie Fehrenbacher  (New York Times/GigaOM)  Biofuels took a step away from the limelight in 2010, replaced by the buzz surrounding electric vehicles. But there were still a variety of policy decisions, and economic milestones …

(Bloomberg)  China, the world’s biggest grains user, has started an anti-dumping investigation into U.S. shipments of dried distillers’ grains, an animal feed ingredient, adding to tensions in ongoing trade disputes.
The government will probe for unfair trade …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Today, we’ll reach into the mailbag and voicemail box and shed some light on topics both important and bizarre, in our occasional “Biofuels Fact or Fiction” series.
Q. Will the USDA …

by Dave Dreeszen  (Sioux City Journal)   The South Sioux City Council on Monday agreed to issue $25 million in revenue bonds to help finance the proposed Nature’s BioReserves plant at the Roth Industrial Park…  The 60-million-gallon-per-year …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  The National Research Council has proposed to the National Academies to appoint a committee to examine the promise of sustainable development of algal biofuels, identify potential concerns, unforeseen sustainability challenges and unintended …

by Dave Rodman   (NASCAR)  NASCAR is trying to make pit road safer in all three of its national tours in 2011 as the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series will now adopt the refueling system …

by George Will (The Washington Post)  Cowlitz County in Washington state …approved construction of a coal export terminal from which millions of tons of U.S. coal could be shipped to Asia annually.
Both Oregon and Washington …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel)  According to former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, Americans will be paying $5 per gallon for gas by 2012 due to growing demand for oil, tighter supplies and inadequate responses …

by Luke Geiver  (Biodiesel Magazine)  Confined Animal Feeding Operations and algal biomass may have a unique link that could help move algae-to-energy developments closer to commercialization. Why? According to Thomas Byrne, president and CEO of …

(Futures and Commody Markets News)  Proposed legislation would create or extend a diverse array of federal programs necessary to help advanced biofuel producers secure financing for construction of first-of-a-kind projects.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) thanked …

(Newsvine/Just4ThePlanet)   When we think of the brand Shell, we see a global group of energy and petrochemical companies in more than 90 countries and territories. We do not associate the Shell brand with Biofuels or …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  According to Texas A&M University’s Robert Burns, writing in the Western Farm Press, Texas AgriLife Research engineer Dr. Alex Thomasson has developed an optical-electronic sensor to automatically measure algae growth stages and …

(Green Car Congress/FavStocks)   A study by a team at the German Aerospace Center (Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) identified autothermal reforming in combination with a water gas shift reactor as the preferred option for …

(Walta Informatin Center)  The (Ethiopian) Ministry of Water and Energy said that 18 investors and enterprises with over 3 billion birr combined capital have been engaged in biofuel development.  
Ministry Public Relations and Communications Directorate Director, …

(Khabrein) A new Swiss Study by the federal office of power and environment assured that the so-called “second generation of Biofuels” has good chances for the environment and development as well.
“Second generation biofuels impress, because of …

by Mychal Wilmes   (Agri News/Post-Bulletin)  …The conservative and liberal think-alikes want to kill the ethanol tax credit for different reasons. The liberals say that ethanol, at best, is environmentally neutral. The conservatives argue is that …

(NewsGuide)  Conversion of biomass to fuel requires several steps: chemical pretreatment to break up the biomass – often dilute (sulfuric) acid, detoxification to remove the toxic chemicals required in pretreatment, and microbial fermentation to convert the …

(The Forum of Fargo-Morehead)   The use of a specialized sugar beet to produce ethanol could be a breakthrough in weaning the industry off corn. An announcement a few days ago of plans to build a …

by Robin Braverder (Politico)  …Cory Gardner (Colo.) — Like many of his colleagues, this newcomer with strong agricultural ties hopes to advance “hearty oversight” of the EPA from his new perch on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
On …

by Mathew Murphy (The Sidney Morning Herald)  …NSW and Queensland’s attempts to increase the local ethanol industry are being stymied by the federal government’s planned reduction in excise for foreign ethanol from 38¢ to 25¢ …

by Cynthia Barnett (Florida Trend)   Some Florida businesses are squeezing a trickle of fuel from algae, claiming they can help power the world. But right now, a few expensive drops in the bucket are all they …

by  Fiona Harvey   (Financial Times)  …Green Biologics, an unlisted company, has signed deals with two Chinese biochemical businesses – Guangxi Jinyuan Biochemical and Lianyungang Union of Chemicals.

Under the deals – expected to be worth about £10m …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The technologies are, in many cases, ready to scale. Coskata CEO Bill Roe declared a year ago now that “Coskata is open for business, ready to scale,” but the financiers we …

by Beata Mostafavi    (Flint Journal/MLive.com)  Just two months after the government allowed more ethanol in gasoline, the ongoing debate about how the greener fuel affects older cars continues to be studied in Vehicle City.
The Department of …

by Mark Sweney   (The Guardian)   A complaint to the advertising watchdog by Guardian columnist and environmental campaigner George Monbiot has caused a national press ad claiming biofuels offer a sustainable alternative to oil to be banned.
The …

by Allison Dowd  (Winnepeg Free Press)  The City of Brandon is saying goodbye to its biodiesel processor.
Getting the proper licensing from Manitoba Labour to run the processor proved too expensive and time-consuming, said Rod Sage, Brandon’s …

by Robert Behre  (The Sun News)  As Janice Ryan-Bohac looks on, Jonathan Edwards steers straight over a long row of dying vines while his tractor’s rear chain digger unearths sweet potatoes as big as bowling balls.

These …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …But there’s another boundary, right around 374 degrees C of temperature and 218 atmospheres of pressure. At that point, the boundary between liquid and gaseous phase water disappears, and what …

(IStockAnalyst/Cedar Rapids Gazette)  U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack thinks soon-to-be announced federal grants for cellulosic ethanol plants are helping boost flagging ethanol support in Congress.
Vilsack said the government plans to announce measures in …

In the India, CJP is set to hold Global Algae Biodiesel World India Programme 2011 in India from APRIL 5 to 6 , 2011. CJP’s Global Algae World India 11 focuses on the entire algae …

(Algae Industry Magazine)   …(W)e decided to go right to the experts and see what was on their minds over this past year. It’s pretty easy to do this in the Internet Age. Through analytics we …

(Europa.eu)  An EU-funded collaboration between universities and industry is overcoming limitations in current technologies to develop new bioethanol engines.
Driven by the need for more sustainable and less polluting sources of energy, the European Union is now …

(PR-Inside)  Hunt Global Resources Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tombstone Technologies Inc., (OTCBB: TMCI) announced today (December 23, 2010) that its BioSolutions Division has launched an exclusive research and product development project with Carbon Green Inc, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Biofuels Digest reports that 80 percent of bioenergy executives are more optimistic both about their organization’s prospects for growth  and industry growth, than 12 months ago, and that confidence about industry …

by Tom Tanton (Hawaiian Star Advertiser)  Hawaiian Electric Co. has announced plans to build a facility to convert palm oil into biodiesel. The biodiesel will contribute badly needed and affordable fuel for the utility to provide …

(Mission NewEnergy)  Mission NewEnergy Limited, a vertically integrated biodiesel producer and one of the world’s largest Jatropha plantation companies, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with JOil (S) …

by Nalin Viboonchart (The Nation(India))  US science company Dupont is working on a 10-year investment plan for Thailand, saying it does not want to miss the opportunity to expand in one of Asean’s key drivers …

The SSEA is a global organization whose purpose is to promote and develop the use of sweet sorghum, a renewable and sustainable resource, for processing into ethanol and other bio-derivatives. The objectives of SSEA are:

To …

by Cary Blake (Western Farm Press)   A growing U.S. agricultural biomass industry can help meet the catapulting energy and fuel demands of a global population that the United Nations predicts could reach 9 billion by 2050.  “We …

by Bill Jones (San Francisco Chronicle)  …Separating fact from fiction in the ethanol debate is not easy. “Food versus fuel” is a nice catch phrase, but worldwide, biofuel production accounts for less than 1 percent of …

by Jessica Naudziunas  (NPR / KBIA / Harvest Public Media)  …Starting next season, NASCAR will use a 15 percent ethanol-gas blend. It has a bit more ethanol than E10, which many gas stations today offer …

by Kathleen Masterson   (NPR / WOI / Harvest Public Media)   …And according to USDA data, meat now costs as much as 12 percent more than last year.  …But let’s get out of the kitchen for …

(Innovations Report)  An effort to increase biofuel production has led scientists to discover genes in yeast that improve their tolerance to ethanol, allowing them to produce more ethanol from the same amount of nutrients.
This study, published …

(AZOCleantech)   IHS, a pioneering leader providing critical data and insight, has published its first study comparing process designs and the financial side for the production of 30 million gallons per year of biodiesel from three …

by S.C.  (TeatroNaturale International)   The Commission published today (December 22, 2010) a report on indirect land use change related to biofuels and bioliquids. The report acknowledges that indirect land use change can reduce greenhouse gas …

(Renewable Energy Magazine)  Compact Contractors for America (CCA) has developed a dry process biofuel from algae which the company hopes will power military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles such as Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk in the not …

by Teis Jensen  (Reuters)  Industrial enzymes producer Novozymes does not expect a major breakthrough for second-generation bioethanol in the United States for another four to five years, a senior executive said on Wednesday.
Novozymes’ marketing director …

by Ann Perry (Hoosier Farms)  The benefits of using barley for bioenergy production don’t stop at the gas pump, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) studies.
Scientists with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have found that …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Cellulosic ethanol costs rapidly decline, barriers are surmountable
The race to commercial viability for cellulosic ethanol may be coming to a close, according to a Boston Consulting Group report. Alternative …

by Michael Devine  (Biodiesel Magazine)   …Now more than ever, the oilheat industry must recreate its brand image. Integrating biodiesel into the existing petroleum infrastructure provides the oilheat marketer a new, improved liquid fuel for the …

(Biodiesel Magazine)  …(Ed) Hegland, (soybean grower from Minnesota, served as the NBB chairman for the past 3 years): One thing discussed at the November board meeting was the need to re-launch and redefine biodiesel as …

(National Sorghum Producers)  National Sorghum Producers and the Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association (SSEA) are happy to announce a formal collaborative agreement between the two organizations.
While NSP and SSEA have worked together in the past, the …

by Kassia Micek (The Courier of Montgomery County) Instead of trying to get rid of that slimy, green substance that habitually grows in water, Lone Star College-Montgomery students are are growing large amounts of the organism …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … The USDA’s Sarah Biddleman speaks in terms of “standing up a biofuels industry” like a pop-up children’s book, in that all the pieces have to rise up, in the right …

by Bruce V. Bigelow (Xconomy.com)  The U.S. military’s interest in developing algae biofuels dates back at least three years, when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began to assess the technical capabilities needed to produce …

(Los Alamos National Laboratory) … Gaining insight to more efficiently convert plant biomass into biofuels
LANL scientists and University of New Mexico collaborators discovered chinks in the armor of lignin, the component of plant cell walls that …

by Alison Lowe  (The Tribune)  Bahamas Waste’s biodiesel production has been delayed after the company discovered used cooking oil donated for conversion was “in far worse shape” than expected.
Having expected the first batch of biodiesel to …

(Washington State Department of Natural Resources)  …DNR today announced that the University of Washington, School of Forest Resources was selected as part of the research team to study the supply prospects of Washington’s working forests. It …

by Frank Morris (NPR / KCUR)   …  Factoring in dramatic technical advances in both fields, most researchers figure that corn ethanol now delivers an energy gain — of about 40 percent.
“But that’s not really good enough,” says …

by Jeffrey Decker (FlightGlobal)    Commercial production of jet biofuels could find authorisation in December under fuel specification amendments being considered by certificating body ASTM International.Enormous investments and economies of scale are far behind testing that …

by Matt Cunningham (How Stuff Works)  …The myriad of factors that go into the food-versus-biofuel equation are complex and vary from situation to situation. While one region’s farming infrastructure, climate and fuel use may make …

by Dana Hull (Mercury News)  …For reluctant fliers like Mellor, the recession has brought a bit of good news. It has pushed airlines to find ways to save money on jet fuel, by far their …

(GreenAirOnline.com)  Following the recent announcement that Lufthansa is set to become the world’s first airline to use biofuels on commercial flights, it has emerged that Finnair is also in discussions with the same biofuel supplier, …

(Science Blog)  In the minds of many, Miscanthus x giganteus is the forerunner in the race of viable feedstock options for lignocellulosic bioenergy production. But researchers believe “putting all their eggs in one basket” could be …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  How will the new leadership impact ethanol policies?
Some strong ethanol advocates lost in the November election, including Earl Pomeroy and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, acknowledges Bob Dinneen, president of the …

by Ben Lefebvre (Wall Street Journal)  Several major U.S. oil refiners said Tuesday that they won’t sell gasoline containing 15% ethanol despite recent government authorization for fuel makers to start distributing the fuel blend.
Valero Energy Corp., …

by Jenny Mandel (New York Times/Greenwire)  An appeals court rejected a challenge today (December 21, 2010) by petroleum industry groups to U.S. EPA’s biodiesel blending requirements, in a move affirming the agency’s implementation of the renewable fuel …

(BIOLYFE)  The BIOLYFE project aims at improving critical steps of the second generation bioethanol production process and at demonstrating the whole supply chain, from feedstock sourcing via fuel production to product utilisation. The main result will …

(POET)  New analysis outlines jobs, economic output of Project LIBERTY work
POET’s Project LIBERTY will generate as much as $37.8 billion in economic activity over 20 years and could employ more than 2,800 people, an independent analysis …

by Joan Delaney (The Epoch Times)  Biodiesel made from waste coffee grounds and flax oil solves the ‘food for fuel’ dilemma, says manufacturer.
Spotting a thin layer of oil around the edges of a cold cup of …

Where “East meets West” in the rapidly expanding application of industrial biotechnology. Highlighting recent advances in biotechnology for bioenergy, biobased products, manufacturing and processing. Technical tracks, plenary sessions and private one-on-one business partnering meetings.  READ …

The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing is the world’s largest industrial biotechnology event for business leaders, investors and policy makers in biofuels, biobased products, and renewable chemicals. Entering its eighth year, the event …

by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register)   The ethanol industry needs to stop its infighting to preserve its government support beyond next year, says Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia.
“We can’t stand any more division within biofuels,” said Grassley, …

by Jonathan Fahey  (AP/Salt Lake City Tribune)  … After seven decades of mostly uninterrupted growth, U.S. gasoline demand is at the start of a long-term decline. By 2030, Americans will burn at least 20 percent less …

(Biotechnology Industry Organization/MarketWire)  A newly introduced bill will authorize the Department of Defense (DOD) to continue its leading role in helping to commercialize next generation biofuels. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today thanked Rep. Jay Inslee …

by Steve Gelsi and Jeffry Bartash (MarketWatch)   Blend of 15% ethanol may cause problems, group warns
A trade group that includes automotive giants Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. has joined forces with other vehicle and …

Now in its 4th year, European Biodiesel has established itself as Europe’s premier event dedicated entirely to the biodiesel industry and European Biodiesel 2011 will be taking place on 15-16 June in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, …

by Charles Abbott and Timothy Gardner (Reuters)  U.S. ethanol makers face a battle over reforming subsidies next year after current incentives are rolled over in the tax package signed into law by President Barack Obama on …

(CSPNET.com)  Mr. Pete’s in Brunswick, Ga., teams up with Clean Fuels Foundation
Protec Fuel has announced the opening of an E85 pump in Brunswick, Ga. Mr. Pete’s is the first station to have Protec Fuel’s imaging …

by Adrian Higgins (The Washington Post)  …But a push to add another 50 percent to the ethanol content of some automobile fuel has opened a barrel of worms. Automakers say they don’t know how it …

(Western Farmer-Stockman)  A life cycle analysis of the carbon footprint of camelina-based biojet fuel concludes that the renewable fuel reduces CO2 emissions by 75% compared with conventional petroleum-based jet fuel.
A pee-reviewed paper published in Environmental Progress …

by Misty Maynard  (Maysville Ledger-Independent)  A multi-year pilot project researching the possibility of using switchgrass as a biofuel is drawing to an end, but a new program is seeking to establish 700 more acres of switchgrass …

(The Himalayan Times)  Two community forests of Kanchanpur district have started growing Jatropha (Sajeevan) from which biofuel can be produced.
Basanta Community Forest and Sri Krishna Community Forest are into sajeevan farming with the technical and financial …