by Dimana Doneva (Carbon Herald) Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced on May 12 the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies (CREST) Act. The new legislation directs the Departments of Energy and Interior to put in place new research programs and evaluate the feasibility of CO2 removal and storage pathways,
Maine
(BDO Zone) Ecostrat is pleased to announce that Peaks Renewables has joined the BDO Zone Strategic Alliance as a partner in the Project Group. BDO Zone Strategic Alliance Partners include some of the leading companies in the bioenergy industry that help de-risk biobased project development in BDO Zones. “Peaks is thrilled to be joining
April 26, 2023
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(Office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME 1st)) Farming has always been a risky business. But today, extreme weather events and trade wars are creating challenges that threaten food production and jeopardize farmers’ livelihoods. We must work to keep farmers on the land and in business. We know that climate change impacts
March 28, 2023
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by Julie Harris (Bangor Daily News) Lincoln has agreed to a 20-plus-year lease with a biofuels refinery that wants to produce wood-based heating fuel at the former Lincoln Pulp and Tissue mill site. Biofine Developments Northeast plans to invest more than $100 million in the first phase of a multi-stage project
March 27, 2023
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(Bioenergy Insight) University of Maine researchers have devised a roadmap to recruit more women into the forestry industry, and particularly the bioenergy sector. The team, led by Abigayl “Abby” Novak, a master’s student in forest resources at the BioEnergy Lab of the School of Forest Resources (SFR), found that attracting and
December 1, 2022
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by Dan Brown (DG Fuels) DG Fuels, LLC (“DGF”), an emerging leader in drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”) production, announces the execution of a long-term lease agreements with the Loring Development Authority for 1,240 acres of contiguous land in Aroostock County, Maine. The land, which is part of the former Loring
November 14, 2022
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Here are the 50 Hottest Project Development & Deployment Spots in the Advanced Bioeconomy for 2022, as selected by the Digest’s editors. READ MORE
October 28, 2022
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by Hannah LaClaire (Press Herald) The fermentory, which makes cider, kombucha and mead, may soon be acquired by Maine Standard Biofuels, which recycles cooking oil into heating fuel. — … But their respective founders, Eli Cayer and Jarmin Kaltsas, said it makes perfect sense. The two companies have always shared an
September 8, 2022
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by John Bleasby (Daily Commercial News) … When projected over 10 years between 2022 and 2032, it found considerable advantages with advanced diesel technology, particularly when using renewable biofuels, as compared to an electrification strategy. The study found using low-carbon renewable bio-based diesel fuels available today would result in a three
September 7, 2022
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(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a $200,000 grant to the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA) to support anaerobic digestion technology in 11 states in the Northeast, New England the Mid-Atlantic, including New Jersey and New York. NEWMOA has partnered with the Northeast Recycling
August 31, 2022
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(Renewables Now) New York governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced that Maine and Rhode Island have joined a big consortium led by New York that is working on a proposal to become one of at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs planned in the US. Up to USD 8 billion (EUR
August 26, 2022
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by Struan Coleman , Tobias Dewhurst, David W. Fredriksson, Adam T. St. Gelais, Kelly L. Cole, Michael MacNicoll, Eric Laufer, and Damian C. Brady (School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine) To keep global surface warming below 1.5 °C by 2100, the portfolio of cost-effective CDR technologies must expand. To
July 26, 2022
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by Currey McCullough (RFD TV) Just this morning (July 19, 2022) on a call with ag reporters, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said he and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar are sending a letter urging the EPA to increase volumes of biodiesel and renewable diesel. “Adding more homegrown fuels to the nation’s
July 20, 2022
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by Manuel Quiñones (E&E News/Politico Pro) “Our bipartisan bill would spur research and development for carbon removal technologies, as well as accelerate the commercialization of innovative carbon removal solutions to help make them more affordable,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). — Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Washington Democratic Sen. Maria
June 20, 2022
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The Seagriculture Conference USA 2022 gathers top speakers, who will share their know-how within seaweed for feed, food, offshore cultivation, biorefinery of seaweed and much more. The two-day program will go into the many different applications of seaweed that exist now and will combine plenary sessions with interactive poster presentations,
June 2, 2022
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by Marc J. Rauch (The Auto Channel) The April announcement by Joe Biden that E15 would be allowed to be sold year-round set off a frenzied spate of new attacks on the good fuel…the clean fuel…the 100% domestically produced fuel: ETHANOL. TV and radio stations all over the country have been
April 27, 2022
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by Alex Brown (PEW Stateline) … The state’s permitting process involves nine different agencies, and the paperwork is so burdensome and time-consuming that few people bother. “There’s a lot of people who are interested in seaweed farming, take a look at that [permitting] flowchart, and decide there’s just no functional way,”
March 31, 2022
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(Aerospace Testing International) aine, USA-based rocket developer bluShift has performed the first full-scale test of its hybrid, biofuel rocket engine. As shown in the video …, the test of the Modular Adaptable Rocket Engine for Vehicle Launch (MAREVL 2.0) fired the engine at partial power for five seconds. Future tests will
March 8, 2022
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by Julia Bayly (Bangor Daily News) … The 2018 farm bill may have legalized hemp production, but it’s going to take language in the 2023 farm bill to remove lingering red tape regulating the crop. Those regulations stem from laws governing production of marijuana and, according to hemp growers, cast an unfair net
February 23, 2022
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by Dan Gearino (Inside Climate News) This 1970s Minnesota Farmers’ Uprising Tried to Block One. What Can it Teach Us? As the country moves toward a massive build-out of transmission lines, a decades-old rebellion offers a way through potential opposition. — If the United States is to make a transition to clean
January 4, 2022
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) The Biden administration on Tuesday finalized a reversal of a rule issued under then-U.S. President Donald Trump that sought to pre-empt California’s vehicle emissions regulations. The Department of Transportation said it was issuing final rules rescinding the Trump action, which sought to bar the most populous state
December 23, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Melanie Loyzim suspended the permits for the New England Clean Energy Connect, a controversial 145-mile transmission project that would deliver hydropower from Quebec into New England. The suspension of the permits comes after 59 percent of Maine voters rejected
November 24, 2021
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(E&E News) The Transportation and Climate Initiative — a cap-and-trade program covering cars in three Northeastern states and the District of Columbia — was abandoned last week after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) pulled the plug on the program. The announcement represents the latest
November 23, 2021
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(Orbex/SpaceRef) The carbon footprint of launching the new Orbex Prime space rocket will be up to 96 per cent lower than comparable space launch programmes, a new scientific study has revealed. Prime is poised to become one of the most environmentally friendly orbital launch vehicles ever built, benefiting from the use of
October 22, 2021
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(SoCalGas) The reactor is part of a $5 million project funded by the Department of Energy — SoCalGas’ biomethanation reactor system will be used to help produce renewable energy as part of a power-to-gas demonstration. This system will be installed at an anaerobic digester facility in Clinton, Maine in early 2023.
October 19, 2021
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by Julia Bayly (Bangor Daily News) Approximately 67,000 fixed-tilt, bifacial panels will comprise a solar farm under construction at the Eastern Piscataquis Industrial Park in Milo. There is growing concern that development of solar farms will come at the expense of crop producing farmland. — There is a finite number of
October 18, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Energy) Projects align with administration’s new goal of decarbonizing the aviation sector by 2050 – – As part of a White House roundtable to launch the Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Grand Challenge to decarbonize the aviation sector by 2050, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $64.7 million in funding for projects focused on producing cost-effective, low-carbon biofuels. These investments will advance technologies to create replacements for petroleum fuels used in heavy-duty forms of transportation, like airplanes and
September 10, 2021
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by Lia Russell (Bangor Daily News) The town of Lincoln may see a refinery for a wood-based heating fuel move onto its former mill site. Biofine Developments Northeast Inc. said Thursday it had reached a tentative agreement with Lincoln and Lincoln Lakes Innovation Corp. to open a multi-phase biofuels refinery development on
August 2, 2021
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(ReNewsBiz) Avangrid has submitted green hydrogen project concepts on the US east and west coasts in response to the Department of Energy’s request for information (RfI). The green hydrogen project concepts are in the states of Connecticut, New York, Maine, Oregon and also on the US Gulf Coast in the south-west. The
July 8, 2021
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Planning a family trip to the beautiful Maine coast this summer? Why not have your kiddos also learn about the wonderful world of algae! The University of Southern Maine and Maine Robotics is hosting the first ever Algae Camp. In collaboration with The Algae Foundation, this 4-day camp for kids 12-16
June 30, 2021
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(Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)) U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) led a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging the Biden administration to address languishing applications under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program, including moving forward with allowing renewable electricity made from biomass to
June 17, 2021
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by Harun Asad (Environment & Energy Leader) In a U.S. first, the state of Maine has passed legislation – bill LD99 – directing the $17 billion Maine Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) to divest $1.3 billion from fossil fuels within 5 years and directs the Treasury to do the same with other state
June 11, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Things move faster these days, and in the past 24 hours, we’ve had 10 different Worlds shaken to their foundations by events taking place around the world and within the Circular Economy. 1. United States announced as Chair of multilateral Biofuture Platform In Brazil, the United
May 27, 2021
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by Oliver Milman (The Guardian) Joe Biden’s administration, seeking deep cuts to planet-heating emissions, is facing pressure to take a previously unthinkable step: declare the end of the internal combustion engine in the US. Washington state has moved to call time on the age of gasoline and diesel cars, with the legislature
May 4, 2021
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by Jane O’Brien (BBC News) Snow swirled and a biting wind sent temperatures plummeting to several degrees below zero as the Stardust 1.0 made its debut at a former military base in Maine. … But after several delays and as the Sunday afternoon light waned, Stardust finally lifted off, becoming the
February 2, 2021
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by C. Thatcher Carter (Times Record/Press Herald) Despite technical setbacks early on, the Brunswick-based company successfully launched its first rocket around Sunday afternoon. — Despite frigid weather and early technical difficulties, Brunswick’s bluShift Aerospace Inc., made history Sunday afternoon when it launched its prototype rocket, Stardust 1.0. The company became the
February 1, 2021
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by Anne Berleant (Ellsworth American) Delta Thermo Energy will be the new owner of Coastal Resources of Maine, the waste-to-biofuel facility in Hampden that has had a dramatic, if short, history since opening in April 2019. The facility closed in May of 2019 and was subsequently placed in receivership. “We’re very
January 21, 2021
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by Alice Keefe (WMTW) … BluShift had planned to launch the rocket from the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, but the launch was scrubbed Friday afternoon. The rocket launch will likely be rescheduled to Tuesday or Wednesday. WMTW spoke with bluShift about its unique rocket on Thursday. “This
January 15, 2021
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(Transportation and Climate Initiative of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States) TCI-P will invest $300 million every year to modernize transportation, improve public health and combat climate change — The governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and the mayor of the District of Columbia announced today that theirs will be the
December 21, 2020
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by Anne Berleant (Ellsworth American) Among the discussion topics for members of the Municipal Review Committee (MRC) board of directors at a meeting on Nov. 29 were a draft of the group’s 2021 budget and news of a prospective buyer of the Hampden waste-to-biofuel facility, which has been closed since May.
December 3, 2020
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(Insider NJ) Groups Push For “Strong Safeguards and Guarantees for Overburdened and Underserved Communities” in 12 TCI States & DC; Need for State Leadership Seen As U.S. Formally Abandons Paris Climate Agreement. — The largest and most diverse collection ever of health, community, business, transportation, environmental and other groups have come
November 12, 2020
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Please join us on Friday, November 13, 2020, on Zoom, for “The Future Belongs to Maine: Opportunities in the Bioeconomy”—our not-to-be-missed investor webinar on Maine’s growing bioeconomy. Friday, November 13, 2020 9 to 11 am EST Via Zoom — Link to be provided This webinar will provide a discussion forum and
October 13, 2020
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(Houston Chronicle) Using current and past Census data, Stacker tracks the way the American farming industry has changed over the past century. Over the past century, American farming has changed dramatically. Crops with long histories like tobacco are still prevalent throughout the South, while many farmers across the country are now
September 5, 2020
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by Sam Lehr, David Cox and Mike Alaimo (RNG Coalition/Biomass Magazine) Renewable natural gas (RNG) has become an increasingly important part America’s push toward clean energy sources and technology. — … Renewable natural gas (RNG) has become an increasingly important part of this future as a proven way to reduce
August 29, 2020
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This session is designed for anyone interested in learning more about trucks, construction and farm equipment use in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, DC. The live session will explore
July 21, 2020
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by Michael Bates (NGT News) The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has adopted a first-in-the-world rule – the Advanced Clean Truck regulation – that requires truck manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and vans to electric zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024. By 2045, every new truck sold in California will be zero-emission. …
June 30, 2020
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by Kate Cough (Ellsworth American) Coastal Resources of Maine, the $70-million waste and recycling facility in Hampden, shut down in late May after an expected $14.7 million in funding fell through. The closure forced the 115 member towns that send their waste there to landfill their trash until the plant reopens.
June 18, 2020
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(University of Maine) Incentivizing both sequestration and avoidance of emissions— using a carbon rental or carbon tax and subsidy approach — versus only a carbon tax encourages protection of natural forests by valuing the standing stock, according to a new study led by Georgia Institute of Technology. In their study, the
April 17, 2020
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by Ike Levine, Tiffany Cannis and Marissa Nalley (Algae Industry Magazine) In these turbulent times, when many educational programs are in limbo, we wondered what is happening to algae education? For a perspective, we asked leaders of the Algae Foundation how they are tracking the past and planning for the
March 30, 2020
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(Biotechnology Innovation Organization) Maine is speeding up its transformation to a 21st-century, biobased economy with the passing of the Renewable Chemicals Tax Credit, which will foster the production of environmentally friendly innovations—like renewable chemicals and biobased products. “In order to address the climate challenge, we must shed our reliance on
March 20, 2020
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(Office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)) Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), comprehensive legislation that sets a bold vision of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. agriculture by the year 2040. “Farming has always been a risky business, but unpredictable, extreme weather patterns are creating
March 4, 2020
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by Parris N. Glendening (Washington Post/Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute) When President Trump attempted to eliminate California’s more stringent fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks, local elected officials cried foul — and not just in California. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
February 27, 2020
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“The Future Belongs to Maine: Opportunities in the Bioeconomy”—our not-to-be-missed investor summit in Portland, Maine, on the state of Maine’s growing bioeconomy. WHAT: This full-day conference will provide an open forum to discuss the bioeconomy in Maine today as well as its future evolution. You’ll see an overview of innovative technologies to
February 3, 2020
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The Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) will have its annual Algal Culturing Course from: Saturday, May 9 through Friday, May 15, 2020; Travel days should be Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 16, 2020. The course will be held at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Research and
January 31, 2020
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The states participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) have released a Draft Memorandum of Understanding to establish a regional cap and invest program to transition to a more sustainable, resilient, low carbon transportation sector. Also released were initial projections of the potential economic and public health benefits such
January 29, 2020
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The bioeconomy is kickstarting 2020 with a flurry of innovations, like a millennial entrepreneur who developed a method to convert invasive toxic algae commonly called “rock snot” into various materials including paper, fabric and bioplastic. Another entrepreneur developed thermal insulation made from sisal, a plant found
January 3, 2020
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by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Modeling by Georgetown Climate Center’s Transportation and Climate Initiative of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States released Tuesday showed potential for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, pollution reduction, job creation and public health benefits. The anticipated program is designed around auctions of credits by member states
December 18, 2019
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(Transportation and Climate Initiative/Georgetown Climate Center) The bipartisan group of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic jurisdictions that make up the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) today invited public input on a new draft proposal for a regional program to establish a cap on global warming pollution from transportation fuels and invest millions
December 17, 2019
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(Biofuels International) Rainforest Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Infinity Biofuels for the licensing of patented technology to produce bio-gasoline from biomass across the Americas. The MoU is for a technology framework for North America, South America and the Caribbean Islands (the Americas), under which Rainforest Energy
December 13, 2019
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by Tux Turkel (Press Herald) Wind and other renewables produce excess power that could be used in the state’s natural gas pipeline system. — … The transmission lines connecting Maine’s far-flung renewable generators to the regional electric grid sometimes are too weak to carry all their power. When that happens, grid
December 4, 2019
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by Meg Robbins (Morning Sentinel) After more than a year of delays, the Hampden-based trash-to-fuel plant is processing trash from 115 Maine communities, and hopes to see that number climb. — The long anticipated trash-to-fuel facility in Hampden met its contract with more than 100 municipalities at the beginning of November
December 3, 2019
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by Marc S. Reisch (Chemical & Engineering News) Despite a spotty track record, companies keep trying to convert trash into energy, fuels, and chemicals — … Local press reports noted weather-related construction delays, a challenge to the plant’s environmental permits, and difficult markets for recycled materials. Those delays point to
October 31, 2019
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by Eric Wolff (Politico’s Morning Energy) A bipartisan group of a dozen northeastern and Mid-Atlantic governors are considering a plan to impose a gas tax to fund investment into mass transit, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and other infrastructure improvements in an effort to ween themselves from fossil fuels. Pro New
October 23, 2019
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Join us to feel hopeful and inspired as we honor extraordinary leadership for health and justice. At this not-to-be-missed Celebration, internationally recognized environmental justice leader, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, the winner of this year’s prestigious Frank Hatch Environmental Health Leadership Award, will inspire you. Now vice president of Environmental Justice, Climate, and
October 10, 2019
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by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) “Nothing has been decided yet about the treatment of biofuels” or renewable fuels in the proposed program to cap transportation emissions in 13 Northeastern US jurisdictions, according to the chair of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) Leadership and Workgroup, Kathleen Theoharides, Secretary, Massachusetts Executive
October 2, 2019
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(Transportation and Climate Initiative/Georgetown Climate Center) Jurisdictions participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) have made available a framework for a draft regional policy proposal to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from transportation, and are encouraging interested individuals and organizations to provide feedback on the draft framework through the TCI portal. This high-level framework
October 1, 2019
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(New England Fuel Institute /Biodiesel Magazine) The Northeast’s heating oil industry has resolved to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050. This ambitious goal was set at the Northeast Industry Summit held during the 2019 Heating & Energizing America Trade Show at the Rhode Island Convention Center. The industry’s resolution
September 18, 2019
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by Ron Kotrba (Biomass Magazine) Biogas producers struggling to generate revenue from their digestate may find an opportunity to turn this around through the American Biogas Council’s Digestate Standard Testing and Certification Program. — … Exeter Agri-Energy was formed to run two anaerobic digesters built at Stonyvale Farm in 2011.
September 13, 2019
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(Transportation and Climate Initiative/Georgetown Climate Center) On Tuesday, July 30, more than 300 community members, transportation, environmental and social justice advocates, business and industry representatives, and state and local officials participated in the Transportation & Climate Initiative workshop on Low-Carbon Transportation Investments, Strategies, and Outcomes in Baltimore, Maryland. At the workshop
August 15, 2019
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(Summit Utilities Inc./Biomass Magazine) Summit Utilities Inc., the parent company of Summit Natural Gas of Maine Inc., announced May 23 a new renewable natural gas (RNG) program aimed at supporting the local economy and fighting climate change. The program outlines three steps the company is taking to build a sustainable energy
June 6, 2019
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by Dino Grandoni (Washington Post) The Green New Deal may be floundering in Washington. But it is alive and well in left-leaning states and cities across the country. From Maine to California, Democratic politicians have begun adopt the Green New Deal brand — a progressive movement to dramatically tackle climate change over the next decade
June 3, 2019
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by Meg Robbins (Morning Sentinel/PressHerald) The plant started taking in waste last week even as key officials from the group representing towns’ interests in the facility have stepped down. — The Fiberight waste-processing facility in Hampden accepted its first loads of municipal trash last week, a year after its expected opening and
May 31, 2019
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(Office of Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)) Legislation allows the use of biomass waste from certain federal lands in the making of renewable fuels — U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today introduced bipartisan legislation to allow the use of biomass from certain federal lands needing ecological restoration in the making of
May 24, 2019
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by Paul Dwyer (WABI TV) Lawmakers discussed a bill Wednesday aimed at encouraging investment in bio-biased manufacturing to create jobs, bring more business into Maine, and help fight climate change. The bill, sponsored by Assistant House Majority Leader Ryan Fecteau, (D) Biddeford, would create a tax credit for creating renewable products
May 17, 2019
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(Solutions from the Land) … The swelling momentum of state leadership pushing forward climate issues and solutions, as well as growing engagement with the challenges of climate change on Capitol Hill, shows there is a surging opportunity for stakeholders from the ag and forestry sectors, which are among the biggest industries
May 15, 2019
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by Clay Gordon (News Center Maine) Maine Standard Biofuels collects grease and refines it into bioheat, biodiesel and other bioproducts — … Used cooking oil is being repurposed, and in its refined state is powering engines, cars, trucks, even ferries, and heating homes. Maine Standard Biofuels was founded in 2006 after Jarmin
May 10, 2019
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by Meg Robbins (Morning Sentinel) The plant started taking in waste last week even as key officials from the group representing towns’ interests in the facility have stepped down. — The Fiberight waste-processing facility in Hampden accepted its first loads of municipal trash last week, a year after its expected opening and
May 7, 2019
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by Michael Shepherd (Bangor Daily News) Gov. Janet Mills issued her first veto on Thursday, rejecting a bill that passed the Maine Legislature without roll-call votes and would ban the sale of gasoline containing more than 10 percent ethanol that likely isn’t being sold in the state right now. The Democratic
May 3, 2019
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by Brian Kahn (Earther) Maine’s AFL-CIO, which represents more than 40,000 members, just threw its weight behind a version of the Green New Deal introduced to the state’s legislature last month. That makes Maine’s bill the first piece of Green New Deal legislation anywhere in the U.S. to get AFL-CIO backing, something the
April 17, 2019
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(PR Web/Maine Standard Biofuels) Maine Standard Biofuels is headed to the big city. On April 16, the Portland-based biofuels pioneer will be in New York City to showcase its new green cleaning products—as well as its cutting-edge biofuel-conversion process—at an event hosted by sustainable seafood purveyor Luke’s Lobster. — Since launching in
April 12, 2019
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(Algae Biomass Organization) The National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences will be offering two courses this year that may be of interest to ABO members looking to enhance their culturing and identification skills: The Algal Culturing Course will be ideal for graduate students,
March 29, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Douglas B. Rivers, PhD,from Sunflwr Consulting and a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting offers this illuminating overview and more READ MORE
February 28, 2019
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by Marina Bowie (Biobased Maine) According to the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (1990-2016), the transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to U.S anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, at 28%. Of the 28%, aircraft transportation contributes 9% of emissions. Luckily, biobased technology companies have found ways to convert
February 26, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ensyn produces a biocrude from forest and agricultural residues using its proprietary thermal technology. Dr. Robert G. Graham, Founder and Executive Chairman of Ensyn gave this illuminating overview of their growth in RFO, advancement in refinery co-processing, and start-up of a new 10 million gallon/year production facility
January 17, 2019
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(Maine Technology Institute) MTI will award up to $1.5 million in grants to challenge winners, for one or more projects. — The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) has announced a request for responses to the Emerging Technology Challenge for Maine’s Forest Resources. The goal of the challenge is to deploy a forest industry
December 24, 2018
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(National Biodiesel Board) In keeping with the spirit of the season, five biodiesel users have unveiled new vehicle “wraps” that are helping to share their stories of sustainability and emissions reductions with area residents from Maine to the Midwest. “Our annual biodiesel vehicle wrap program provides matching funds to help biodiesel
December 19, 2018
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Nine States and D.C. to Design Regional Approach to Cap Greenhouse Gas Pollution from Transportation
(Transportation and Climate Initiative/Georgetown University Climate Center) A coalition of nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia today announced their intent to design a new regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels, and invest proceeds from the
December 18, 2018
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by Charles Eichacker (Bangor Daily News) The company developing a state-of-the-art waste processing facility in Hampden says the project will probably be completed by the end of March — nearly a full year after the facility was supposed to begin receiving waste from more than 100 Maine towns and cities. Officials
November 21, 2018
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by Beth Brogan (Bangor Daily News) … Eventually, that rocket, powered by a proprietary bio-derived, carbon neutral rocket fuel formulation, will leave Earth, carrying small satellites — “cube sats” — into space. Eventually, the rocket would be able to carry 50 kilograms of satellites. Founded by Maine native Sascha Deri, bluShift
November 7, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Why the attention? Some of it in the most recent data and news regarding commercial status. TCat-8 has operated for over 2,000 hours with continuous catalyst circulation including a fluid bed reactor, catalyst stripper, catalyst regenerator, quench tower, and recycle compressor. The pilot plant is operating mass balance
October 25, 2018
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by Edwin L. Aguirre (University of Massachusetts Lowell) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a three-year, $1 million grant to a team of researchers from UMass Lowell, the University of Maine and Florida-based Mainstream Engineering Corp. to develop renewable fuel additives made from “woody biomass” – particularly sawdust from sawmills. “The
October 5, 2018
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by Marianne Lavelle and Dan Gearino (Inside Climate News) Governors have the power to set the agenda on renewable energy or throw up roadblocks to its progress. It’s become an issue in several races this year. — Some of the most consequential elections for climate policy this fall could be the 36 governor’s
September 28, 2018
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by Dave Songer (Bio-Based World News) “The milestones and professional growth I’ve achieved in this role are above and beyond what I could have accomplished in academia within the same time frame.” Fiberight is a UK- and US-based small and medium-sized enterprise that’s developed technology to recover value from municipal solid
July 6, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … First, let’s start with the latest from the Maine Technology Institute, which just announced a request for information regarding emerging forest industry technologies, with the goal of accelerating matchmaking to connect the most viable, commercially-relevant forest industry technologies with Maine. A precursor to MTI’s
June 18, 2018
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(Biobased Maine/Maine Technology Institute) The Maine Technology Institute is collecting publicly available information on technologies that could be deployed within Maine’s forest industry. The purpose of this RFI is to encourage technology companies to submit preliminary information on their technology and related value proposition to MTI by July 20, 2018. Information
June 14, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In these top 20 projects, we usually say that we are using waste, but really we are converting something from a state of waste to a state of value — and that’s not just good for the project owners in question, it’s good for every stakeholder
by Raphael Orlove (Jalopnik) Our emissions standards are probably the biggest booster to automotive performance in the past half century, making our cars not only more eco-friendly but more powerful, too. Trump has been trying to cut it all down, but now California and 16 other states suing to stop him. … …
May 1, 2018
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by A.J. Higgins (Maine Public) Members of the Municipal Review Committee (MRC) said Wednesday that it will work with communities that are uncomfortable with an interim plan to temporarily send their municipal solid waste to a landfill until the new Hampden Fiberight plant is operational. Blue Hill Selectman Jim Schatz said
April 26, 2018
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by Benjamin Storrow (E&E News) … Transportation emissions threaten to undercut blue states’ climate goals, raising questions about their ability to lead U.S. climate efforts at a time when the federal government is rolling back environmental regulations. Emissions from cars, trucks and other mobile sources are on the rise nationally.
April 18, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ensyn uses its patented and proprietary RTP fast thermal technology to convert wood residues and other non-food, cellulosic biomass to liquid biofuels. Ensyn has had continuous commercial operations for more than 25 years. Its technology has produced over 37 million gallons of renewable fuels and chemicals
April 13, 2018
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by John D. Forcier (Forcier Consulting Engineers/Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … Besides increasing the electrical output from 1MW to 3MW, we increased the thermal output from 3.7MM btu/hr. to 10MM btu/hr. of hot water for process heat and heating of several nearby structures. We also added more organic by-products including increasing animal
February 1, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Fiberight is a privately held company founded in 2007 with current operations in Virginia, Maryland and Iowa. The company focuses on transforming post-recycled municipal solid wastes and other organic feedstocks into next generation renewable biofuels, with cellulosic ethanol and renewable compressed natural gas as core products.
January 12, 2018
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by Alex Acquisto (Bangor Daily News) The company behind a state-of-the-art solid waste disposal facility in Hampden designed to convert trash into biofuel has secured enough funding to begin operations in May. Craig Stuart-Paul, CEO of Maryland-based Fiberight LLC, announced this week that his company has secured $70 million for a municipal solid waste
January 8, 2018
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(University of New England) The United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the University of New England was awarded a three-year, nationally competitive research grant for $1,321,039 from DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). DOE awardees are part of a new program called “Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources
October 18, 2017
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … Regardless of which side of the fence you are on, the chopping continues and there are literally tons of wood waste left behind that doesn’t get used up, but we can all agree we should do something with that waste. Today, we look at
October 2, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Yes, ARPA-E has unveiled its latest moonshot and is investing $22M in Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources — also known as MARINER. The projects that comprise ARPA-E’s Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources (MARINER) program seek to develop the critical tools to allow the
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … But pulp and paper markets have taken big hits. Headlines have centered around damaged balance sheets that make it difficult to modernize or expand, mothballed plants, bankruptcies, job losses that have struck hard at northern Maine’s forest-based economy. … An indeed, a renaissance has been
September 12, 2017
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by Dawn Gagnon (Bangor Daily News) If all goes to plan, a $69 million waste-to-energy plant planned for Hampden will be up and running by April 1, 2018, according to the partnership that is building it. Sargent Corp. began earth work at the site on July 5 and foundation construction is
July 25, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Where Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto joined the mayors of more than 175 cities in a rebel yell that has been heard nationwide since President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords last Thursday. Peduto said: “As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you
June 5, 2017
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by Tux Turkel (Portland Press Herald) ‘The biggest obstacle now is financing,’ says Stephen Fitzpatrick, president of Biofine Technology LLC, which is partnering with UMaine on a pilot plant at the site. — The former Old Town Fuel and Fiber mill here could become the site of a $60 million
May 4, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) News this week arrived from Canada that Enerkem has received the lowest carbon intensity value ever issued by the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines for its ethanol product under the Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements Regulation. The confirmed carbon intensity is a
April 26, 2017
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by William Strauss (FutureMetrics/Biomass Magazine) … The recently released paper by the Chatham House is a study that contains many inaccurate statements about the use of wood for energy. Those statements are presented as facts, or as uncontested conclusions. This article will focus on the study’s discussions that pertain to the
April 5, 2017
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by Madeline St. Amour (CentralMaine.com) The decision by a Superior Court justice marks the end of the Fiberight project’s last legal battle and one of its major hurdles. — A Maine Superior Court justice on Wednesday affirmed state environmental permits for a controversial solid waste plant that would serves dozens
March 28, 2017
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by Darren Fishell and Nick Sambides Jr. (Bangor Daily News) Investors seeking to build a biofuel refinery that they say would employ more than 100 people at the former Great Northern Paper Co. mill site were granted a temporary restraining order on Tuesday preventing the razing of buildings vital to the
March 7, 2017
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by Darren Fishell (Bangor Daily News) The company EMEP LLC wants to buy the shuttered East Millinocket paper mill to build a biorefinery that it said would be a centerpiece of a larger $240 million plan for biomass energy parks in the region. In a loan guarantee application to the
March 6, 2017
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At ABLC 2017, Maine’s Born Global Challenge named Core Biofuels, DMC, CRI, D4 Energy Group, Concord Blue, Ark Power Dynamics, NuFuels, Visolis, Phytonix, Renmatix and Sweetwater Energy as the first set of prequalified companies — a second round of companies will be announced after the Statements of Concept and Cooperation have been
March 6, 2017
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by Tex Turkel (Portland Press Herald) Ensyn Corp., which makes heating oil from wood waste, already supplies Bates College and needs more customers before it can build a plant here. — A Canadian company that turns leftover wood from forestry operations into heating fuel has begun supplying Bates College in
February 21, 2017
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by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Erie, Pennsylvania-based biodiesel producer Hero BX announced a new business enterprise Jan. 12, the Hero BX-branded Bioheat program. Bioheat is a blend of biodiesel and heating oil in varying concentrations. Hero BX’s new program offers heating oil retailers the opportunity to carry the Hero BX
(Algae Industry Magazine) Marine algae have the power to simultaneously fuel vehicles, recycle carbon dioxide, and provide nutrition to animals and humans,” said Ira A. Levine, a tenured Professor of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Southern Maine in the US and a Fulbright Distinguished Chair, in an
January 2, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … the most innovative public-private policies are likely for some time to proceed out of regions, provinces and states. In some ways, in the United States the forces arrayed against the Renewable Fuel Standard will end up with something far worse — a patchwork of state-by-state
December 27, 2016
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(Algae Industry Magazine) Scarborough, ME-based laboratory instrumentation manufacturer, Fluid Imaging Technologies (FIT), has announced that it is accepting applications for the FlowCam® Student Equipment & Travel Grant for Algae Technology Research. The grant is open to graduate students and senior undergraduate students studying advanced uses of algae for biofuels, nutraceuticals,
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ensyn uses its patented and proprietary RTP fast thermal technology to convert wood residues and other non-food, cellulosic biomass to liquid biofuels. Ensyn has had continuous commercial operations for more than 25 years. Its technology has produced over 37 million gallons of renewable fuels and chemicals
December 1, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For some time in The Digest, we have examined the problem of matching capital to projects. As Ecostrat’s Jordan Solomon observed at ABLC Next a few weeks back, “the vast majority of projects are given junk ratings, if they can get rated at all”. And
November 30, 2016
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by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) The city of South Portland, Maine, began a pilot project Oct. 24 in which select city vehicles will run a 20 percent blend of biodiesel (B20) for a full year “to test the efficacy of the fuel in all conditions, including during the coldest months,”
November 2, 2016
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(Waste Management World) US waste and recycling firm, Fiberight, has broken ground a new facility waste to biofuel facility in Maine. — US waste and recycling firm, Fiberight, has broken ground a new facility waste to biofuel facility in Maine. The company, which currently operates a demonstration facility in Virginia,
November 2, 2016
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by Suzi Thaye (Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper) David Stapp’s invention is “fuel-agnostic” — … It’s a nice spot for CEO Stapp to concentrate on his pet project, the Peregrine Turbine, a jet engine that can run solely on biofuels, but will work also work quite well on conventional fuels like diesel fuel and
October 5, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, Mercurius Biorefining has furthered its partnership with UC Davis to develop first-of-its-kind technology for production of furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA). While current approaches to the commercialization of FDCA use fructose as a feedstock, the Mercurius-UC Davis process operates from raw biomass. Early cost estimates
October 3, 2016
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by Jacqueline Weaver (Ellsworth American) With all of the attention focused on climate change, anything that reduces carbon emissions is bound to be seen in neon. The lights are bright over at Coastal Energy, where owner Alan Joseph is using enzymes to convert waste vegetable oil into biofuel with a very
September 19, 2016
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by Faith DeAmbrose (The Weekly Packet) Owners of the Orrington-based trash-to-energy facility Penobscot Energy Recovery Company have filed suit in Kennebec County Superior Court against the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, seeking to overturn the issuance of licenses for the operation of its direct competitor, trash-to-biofuel plant Fiberight. According to
August 23, 2016
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by Christopher Burns (Bangor Daily News) … The alternative fuel revolution has so far belonged to corn, but efforts to develop a wood-based biofuel, particularly jet fuel, from Maine’s abundant timberland got a boost last month when the U.S. Department of Defense announced a $3.3 million investment into ongoing research at
August 22, 2016
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(U.S. Economic Development Administration) U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt Erskine today announced the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) will invest more than $4 million to help diversify and grow the Maine economy, which includes new funds designed to aid the forest sector. During an
August 5, 2016
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by Katie Fletcher (Biomass Magazine) … This past April, Maine enacted a resolve establishing the 13-member commission. Members include two from the Senate and three from the House of Representatives. Four members are appointed by the president of the Senate, including a commercial wood harvester who supplies biomass, a representative of the
August 2, 2016
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by Valerie Volcovici (Reuters) Rising sea levels due to hurricanes and tidal flooding intensified by climate change will put military bases along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast at risk, according to a report released on Wednesday. Nonprofit group the Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed 18 military installations that
by Josh Schlossberg (The Biomass Monitor) A white paper by a bioenergy industry consulting firm critiques a recent letter sent to Congress by 65 U.S. scientists opposing a carbon neutral “biomass” amendment to an energy policy bill, saying the letter includes “flawed logic,” “factual errors,” and “hyperbolic language.” Carbon Neutrality William
August 1, 2016
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by Janine Finnell (Advanced Biofuels USA/Leaders in Energy) I attended the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) “Bioenergy 2016: Mobilizing the Bioeconomy through Innovation” conference held in Washington DC from July 12-14, 2016. There were 17 breakout sessions on topics including bioenergy jobs; startup companies pitching business propositions to investors; advanced feedstocks;
July 26, 2016
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by Madeline St. Amour (CentralMaine.com) The Department of Environmental Protection issued the permits after finding no ‘credible, conflicting technical information’ that merited a public hearing. The Department of Environmental Protection has issued the final permits for a first-of-its-kind waste management plant in Hampden that would convert trash from more than
July 21, 2016
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By Rick Santorum (Americans for Energy Security and Innovation/Bangor Daily News) … Energy security goes hand in hand with national security, and every barrel of oil we import from the Middle East and Venezuela puts more money in the pockets of corrupt regimes that hate everything for which we stand. …
July 19, 2016
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by Doug Berven (Portland Press Herald/POET) Gov. LePage and his allies need to look at the facts before alleging that there’s a link between the fuel additive and Maine’s drug crisis. … Most importantly, ethanol replaces petroleum-based toxins such as benzene, toluene and xylene. In fact, many states require an
July 8, 2016
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by Scott Thistle (Portland Press Herald) Ralph Stevens, a retired mechanic who says ethanol emissions may have caused the state’s opioid crisis, and a legislator persuade Paul LePage to order a study of the additive. A retired mechanic from South Berwick who believes ethanol in gas may be to blame
July 1, 2016
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(Portland Press Herald) The governor tells the DEP and CDC to cooperate on a study of the health impacts of the gasoline additive. — Gov. Paul R. LePage has issued an executive order for state agencies to study the health effects of emissions produced by the combustion of gasoline that
June 21, 2016
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by Kevin L. Raye (Bangor Daily News/Down East Strategies) Yet our forestry sector is in serious trouble, as mill closures and job losses reverberate through Maine’s economy. The urgency of finding innovative new uses and new markets to maximize the economic productivity of our forests is indisputable. Fortunately, this challenge
May 13, 2016
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by Andy O’Brien (The Free Press) … With PERC out of the picture, two nonprofits are bitterly competing for thousands of tons of midcoast waste. In one corner is the Municipal Review Committee, a municipal cooperative serving PERC’s 187 user communities and governed by representatives of its member towns. After determining
April 8, 2016
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(White Mountain Biodiesel) NBB member White Mountain Biodiesel, LLC announced today that it has begun the expansion of its plant in North Haverhill, NH. The expansion, which will occur over the next two years, will include a 10,000 square foot addition to its existing facility and the installation of 1,186,000
February 29, 2016
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the USDA has highlighted the economic impacts on rural communities bioenergy investments have made in a new report looking at the $1.1 billion granted for renewable energy through 15,678 individual awards between 2009 and 2015. Rural Energy for America Program guaranteed loans and
January 29, 2016
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Press Release: Advanced Biofuels USA Files Comments on Transportation and Climate Initiative: Calls for Extension of Program to Aviation, Trains, Marine/Maritime, Agriculture, Rocket Launches and Natural Gas
(Advanced Biofuels USA) Advanced Biofuels USA suggests an expansion of transportation emissions reduction in the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) proposed Draft Model Rule (TCI-P) in public comments filed today. Currently, the proposed emission reduction program is limited to on-road fossil-derived motor gasoline and diesel fuel. Advanced Biofuels USA argues