Articles in Montana
(Biological Sciences Curriculum Study) Teacher-collaborators will field test a 3-credit, online, graduate-level course designed to enhance teachers’ knowledge and practice related to energy concepts. The course is titled Energy: A Multidisciplinary Approach for Teachers (EMAT). Teacher-collaborators and …
by Tom Lutey (Billings Gazette) When it was first promoted as a biofuel source perfect for the Montana plains, camelina looked to many like a weed. Seven tough years later, its persistence is being tested.
Acres planted …
by Sepp Jannotta (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) A Bozeman biofuels startup is partnering with Montana State University to turn a fungus discovered in the highly acidic hot springs of Yellowstone National Park into sustainable energy.
The discovery …
(Capital Press) Researchers already know how to turn algae into fuel. The challenge is how to make that profitable.
A group from the University of Toledo is trying to make the process more efficient and says …
(ACORE) The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) released the 2012 edition of its report, Renewable Energy in the 50 States, as an interactive, online resource. Compiling updated financial data, resource potentials, market and policy …
by Heidi Gaiser (Daily Interlake) The four partners of Clearwater Biologicals are working to turn a crop popular in the Bronze Age into a 21st-century source of fuel and nutrients — and they are beginning …
by Tim Leeds (Havre Daily News) A standing-room-only crowd filled a newly re-opened building at Montana State University-Northern to hear dignitaries and university representatives talk about the latest addition to its cutting-edge alternative fuels laboratory.
…The …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s a year of low congressional approval and not much congressional action. But every election is an important one, and there’s lots of unfinished business from this past cycle. Here are …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) In the face of increasing calls to waive the nation’s Renewable Fuel Standard, biofuel industry stakeholders today announced a major new communications campaign to educate consumers and policy makers about the …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Jon Strunk reports that over the last two months, University of Toledo (UT) researchers have won $4 million in nationally competitive awards from the federal government to explore ways society can benefit …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Despite low levels of publicity, North Dakota and Montana are making great strides in bioeconomy development – with a combination of strong R&D, feedstock abundance and some hot processing technologies.
…The …
by Wayne Risher (The Commercial Appeal/Equities.com) Mid-South Community College officials are betting East Arkansas has what it takes to be a leader in alternative fuels: Fertile fields, a world-class transportation hub, and, as of this …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Section 9011 of the Farm Bill – the Biomass Crop Assistance Program – USDA deploys $9.6M in new investments in bioenergy crops as questions revolve around the program’s future and …
(OPISNet.com) It’s been a long time coming, but ethanol now dominates the U.S. gasoline blending landscape. The number of wholesale terminals supplying only conventional clear gasoline for truck loadings has trimmed down to just nine …
by John Maday (Drovers Cattle Network) A couple weeks ago, we ran an article titled “Feeding the biofuels beast,” which documented a University of Montana study suggesting current production methods and policy for biofuels are unsustainable. The …
by Kay Rossi (KRTV.com) MSU-Northern’s bio-diesel product is available commercially for the first time for engines in Havre.
With the possibility of more distribution in the future, the school’s Bio-Energy Center is working to …
(Montana State University) Researchers at Montana State University-Northern have developed a process to convert camelina oil to jet fuel and other high-value chemicals. MSU has applied for a U.S. patent and research is ongoing.
Using a …
by Jason Bacaj (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) …(Mark) Kozubal found the fungus could survive in an acidic habitat with a pH of 6, an acidity level similar to cow’s milk. What was really amazing, though, was …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) The USDA’s Risk Management Agency has developed a pilot program to insure camelina. The program, which will be available in selected counties in Montana and North Dakota for the 2012 …
by David Goldberg (Transportation for America) …To fill gaps in service, Opportunity Link two years ago led the creation of North Central Montana Transit.
NCMT is miraculous for a number of reasons.
First, it offers fixed-route service. Many …
by John Daly (OilPrice.com) Biofuel sources currently under development include algae, jatropha and camelina. Of the three, camelina is increasingly emerging as the frontrunner in attracting initial investment worldwide, as global demand for aviation fuel …
(US Department of Agriculture) The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina beginning with the 2012 crop year. Camelina is an oilseed crop …
by (Chron.com) An Illinois investment company that bought an old container manufacturer west of Missoula hopes to turn the 3,200-acre site along the Clark Fork River into a magnet for green jobs.
…The site has officially been …
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Although veteran research scientist at Montana State University, Dr. Keith Cooksey, describes himself modestly as a biochemist that works with microorganisms, his algal biofuel-driven discoveries from the ’80s and …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) The railroad is already considered one of the most environmentally sustainable and efficient ways to transport freight. Although most railways address fuel efficiency in terms of gallons-per-mile rather than miles-per-gallon, …
(The Record) Farm officials, hoping to get California farmers to plant as much as 25,000 acres of camelina, an oilseed, for a biomass start-up project are offering incentives to growers in San Joaquin County and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the creation of four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in six states to expand the availability of non-food crops to be …
by Joan Melcher (BioCycle) Closed loop system utilizes gasification, algae ponds and anaerobic digestion to convert wood waste to a variety of products, including biofuel, biogas and a soil amendment.
Michael Smith is supervising the first …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Over at Blue Marble, think spent waste grains from the alcoholic beverage distillation process, and spent coffee grounds. Generally, these are materials that pile up in landfills.
By contrast, at Blue …
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program will be conducting detailed biennial peer review meetings of its activities throughout the first half …
Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S.
As part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced …
(Climate Solutions) Alaska Airlines, The Boeing Company, Port of Seattle, Port of Portland, Spokane International Airport, and Washington State University have initiated a strategic stakeholder process to develop a “Flight Path” (action plan) to produce …
by Tom Lutey (Billings Gazette) Camelina, the biofuel that five years ago Gov. Brian Schweitzer called his new girlfriend, now struggles for a planting date with Montana farmers.
“The biggest challenge of all is the price of wheat,” …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) AE Advanced Fuels Keyes Inc. is aiming for the future. At the same time the company is working to restart a 55 MMgy ethanol plant located in Keyes, Calif., …
by Kay Rossi (KXLH.com) …Five years ago, Montana State University-Northern received $800,000 in grant funding for infrastructure and staffing for a new biofuel lab at the MSU-N Bio-Energy Center
Now the nationally-certified facility performs a …
by Terri Adams (The Prairie Star) The Central Agriculture Research Center (CARC) near Moccasin, Mont., uses 600 acres of land to test cropping systems, plant varieties, soil fertilities and other issues that affect producers in …
by Darren Goode (Politico) With Republicans controlling the House and ramping up oversight and investigations of the Obama administration, focus at least initially in the next Congress will be on the Senate to lay a …
(KRTV.com) Plans for a wheat and barley based ethanol plant near Malmstrom Air Force Base first began 20 years ago. Although Montana Advanced Biofuels nearly started construction in 2006, the project was stalled by financing …
by Richard Ecke (Great Falls Tribune) …A proposed Great Falls ethanol plant would be the country’s first to use wheat and barley to create ethanol, according to developer Gary Hebener of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Project officials …
(National Institutes of Health/Department of Plant Sciences, Montana State University) An endophytic fungus of Persea indica was identified, on the basis of its anamorphic stage, as Nodulosporium sp. by SEM. Partial sequence analysis of ITS rDNA …
(Algae Industry Magazine) From Dan Boyce at Montana State University comes word that researchers there have found a way to get four times as much biofuel from a given amount of algae by adding baking soda, …
by Shelley Ridenour (Daily Inter Lake) Whitefish-based Algae Aquaculture Technologies has received a $350,000 grant from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to build a commercial algae greenhouse that converts waste wood chips into organic fertilizer.
The …
The Montana Ener-Tech Alliance will present its first event on Tuesday, November 16 at 3:30PM at Front Street Station in Butte. Margaret McCormick, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Seattle-based Targeted Growth, Inc. will speak about …
(MSU News Service) Algal biofuel production could double in yield and in far less time, thanks to a chemical trigger discovered at Montana State University.
The chemical trigger is a well-timed dose of bicarbonate, a low-cost, …
by James Cartledge (BrighterEnergy.org) As the Senate debated and ultimately failed to pass reforms in the military this week, two Senators from Montana introduced legislation to boost markets for biofuel.
Sens. Max Baucus and John Tester’s bill, …
