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by Sharon Gaudin (Worcester Polytech Institute) Chemical engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are broadening attempts to convert waste into environmentally friendly biofuels, lowering reliance on fossil fuels, cutting the amount of municipal waste going into landfills, and reducing water pollution and unhealthy emissions from petroleum products and landfills. Michael Timko, associate
Massachusetts
January 23, 2020
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … World Fuel Services and World Energy have a World Economic Forum Sustainable Aviation Fuel Program designed to increase SAF availability and supply chain efficiency within the industry. The program will be available in time for business jets traveling to the 50th Annual Meeting of the
January 21, 2020
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(Business Wire) Family owned, veteran operated fuel company Broco Oil has been contracted to provide heating oil for use in Boston’s city-owned buildings, including firehouses, police stations and other municipal facilities. Broco Oil’s ’s heating oil is a B20 Bioheat® fuel blend containing 20 percent biodiesel, a renewable liquid fuel that significantly
December 19, 2019
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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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(Our Transportation Future) Two-Thirds of Registered Voters Support Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Distributors Paying for Pollution; Survey Covers Seven States in Region: CT, MD, MA, NJ, NY, PA and VA. — A new survey from MassINC Polling Group shows that 66 percent of voters in seven Eastern states (Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey,
December 11, 2019
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(Iogen) Threemile Canyon Farms’ Oregon facility is steadily producing renewable natural gas — Iogen Corporation would like to congratulate Threemile Canyon Farms and Equilibrium for the successful opening and operation of Oregon’s only dairy manure renewable natural gas production facility – one of the largest in the US. The facility,
December 5, 2019
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(Bioenergy Insight) Eight biogas projects received awards from the American Biogas Council (ABC) for their ‘outstanding performance and contribution’ to the industry. The winners were announced at the Biogas Industry Awards and Dinner during the BioCycle REFOR19 event in Wisconsin, US on 29 October. Five projects received a 2019 Project
November 5, 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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by Nadja Popovich and Denise Lu (New York Times) Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the United States today and the bulk of those emissions come from driving in our cities and suburbs. The (interactive) map … shows a year’s worth of CO2 from passenger and freight traffic
October 10, 2019
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by Craig LeMoult (WGBH) This is the first story in a three-part series on transportation-related air pollution in the Boston area. Read Part 2 here and Part 3 here. Highways are crucial arteries of our transportation system, but the air pollution from all those vehicles could pose a serious health risk to anyone
October 7, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Wouldn’t it be great if we could boost fermentation of high-toxicity biomass hydrolysates? Well, folks are working on this via enhanced biocatalytic tolerance. At the recent DOE BETO 2019 Project Peer Review, Felix Lam and Gregory Stephanopoulos from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, shared how they
October 4, 2019
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(New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) Governor Cuomo Announces Winners of 76West Clean Energy Competition — Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the six winning companies of the 76West Clean Energy Competition, one of the largest competitions in the country that supports growing clean energy businesses to foster economic
October 3, 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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by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Andrew Davison, founder and owner of Cape Cod Biofuels, was presented an environmental merit award by the U.S. EPA Sept. 10 for his unique biodiesel business model that, as described by the agency, improves the air and water and increases energy and community resilience. Over the
September 18, 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 Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Vermont, representatives from Vanguard Renewables, Middlebury College, Vermont Gas, Goodrich Farm, and the State of Vermont were on hand the other day to celebrate the official groundbreaking for the largest anaerobic digester east of the Mississippi, with Middlebury will be the primary consumer of the
September 17, 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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by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill) Thirteen states filed suit against the Trump administration Friday, arguing it was breaking the law by cutting penalties for automakers that do not meet Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. The suit, led by California’s and New York’s attorneys general, goes after a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule that
August 5, 2019
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by Jonathan Mingle (Yale Environment 360) For decades, small-scale biogas systems have collected methane from landfills, sewage plants, and farms. Now, in Europe and the U.S., the growth of this renewable form of natural gas is taking off as businesses capture large amounts of methane from manure, food waste, and other
July 31, 2019
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(Office of Senatory Ed Markey (D-MA)) Will leverage $35 billion in public funds to fund as much as $700 billion in total investment into projects that support clean energy, reduce emissions — Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), members of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced
July 12, 2019
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(Simmons University) … In order to deliver the highest quality care and education, providers need accurate scientific information about the influence of climate change on diseases, respiratory function, nutrition, and morbidity. Providers are ethically bound to advance health holistically, and with climate change, this means translating information into advocacy. The effects
July 10, 2019
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by Hiroko Tabuchi (New York Times) The opposition to one of President Trump’s most consequential regulatory rollbacks — a plan to weaken pollution standards for automobiles nationwide — widened on Tuesday when 24 governors, including three Republicans, urged the president to abandon his plan. The governors’ plea adds to a chorus of criticism from an unlikely mix
July 10, 2019
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by John Hanselman (Vanguard Renewables/Biofuels Digest) Renewable natural gas production is a good news story, but how to get there successfully is more complicated than most of us in the business anticipated. At Vanguard Renewables, we entered the renewable energy landscape with two different “eat what you kill” on-farm anaerobic digesters that
July 9, 2019
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by Edwin L. Aguirre (University of Massachusetts Lowell) A team of researchers from UMass Lowell, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and China Agricultural University in Beijing has developed a new, sustainable way of converting wet biological waste into diesel-compatible fuel, using heat and water. The process, called hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), converts
May 31, 2019
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(Acrofan/Renewable Energy Group) Renewable Energy Group (REG) and Broco Oil Company announced today a partnership to provide cleaner fuel options to heating oil dealers in the Northeast. The companies are working together to provide a state-of-the-art blending facility in Haverhill, MA. … The partnership between REG and Broco is an agreement
May 7, 2019
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by Kevin Clemens (Design News) … “We’ve been working for a number of years on ways to make engines for cars and trucks cleaner and more efficient, and we’ve been particularly interested in what you can do with spark ignition [as opposed to the compression ignition used in diesels], because it’s intrinsically
May 1, 2019
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(Worcester Polytechnic Institute/PR Web) Isobutanol has been hailed as a possible green replacement for fossil fuels like gasoline, but producing it has proven difficult and costly. In a paper in Nature Communications, a research team that includes a WPI chemical engineer shows how a novel process may make producing this and
April 19, 2019
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In 2018, young Sunrise leaders put the Green New Deal on the map and permanently changed the conversation on climate policy in this country. The political establishment is scrambling to keep up with thousands of people across the country who are eager to take action and bring the promise of
April 12, 2019
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by Megan Guess (ARS Technica) … Daniel Cohn and Leslie Bromberg, a pair of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published a paper with the Society of Automotive Engineers, suggesting that the best way forward is not to wait for all-electric or hydrogen-powered semis, but to build a plug-in
April 12, 2019
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The two day event will bring together key industry stakeholders from all facets of the hydrogen industry to discuss the required economical and infrastructural innovations for a sustainable future energy carrier. With incredible advances recently in hydrogen it is the best time to explore this booming industry. Join us in
February 22, 2019
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources recently awarded nearly $2.89 million in grants to five infrastructure projects that aim to increase the availability of low-carbon, renewable heating fuels, including wood chips and biofuels. The grants, funded by MDER, are part of the Renewable Thermal Infrastructure Grant
February 21, 2019
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(Project Onramp/Business Wire) Massachusetts Biotechnology Industry Creates First-In-Nation Program to Open Doors to Life Sciences Careers — The leading life sciences organizations in Massachusetts today announced the start of Project Onramp, a new program that matches talented, first-generation students from low-income backgrounds with well-paid summer internships. The internships are intended to serve
February 11, 2019
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy recently awarded nearly $6 million to four projects under its OPEN+ program for the Sensors for Bioenergy and Agriculture cohort team. According to ARPA-E, the team will develop ultra-low energy distributed sensors to improve production efficiency
January 31, 2019
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by Sarah Shemkus (Energy News Network) State lawmakers aren’t waiting for a multi-state partnership to put a price on carbon emissions from cars and trucks. As Massachusetts legislators start their new year, bills calling for carbon fees for transportation are gaining momentum, with many lawmakers and advocates optimistic that a
January 22, 2019
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iGEM’s main program is the iGEM Competition. The iGEM competition gives students the opportunity to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world. Made up of primarily university students, multidisciplinary teams work together to design, build, test, and measure a system of their own design
January 15, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … This week on 60 Minutes, another unlikely character burst onto the national scene, courtesy of one of the lightest technologies profiles ever investigated on 60 Minutes by the otherwise redoubtable Lesley Stahl, who offered up the story of Xyleco, presumably as a proxy for the efforts of the
January 10, 2019
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by Lesley Stahl (60 Minutes/CBS News) Marshall Medoff unveils to 60 Minutes his innovative method of turning plant life into fuel and other useful products — … What (Craig)Masterman helped implement was Medoff’s novel idea of using these large blue machines called electron accelerators to break apart nature’s chokehold on the valuable
January 7, 2019
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … So on this last day of 2018, join the Biofuels Digest in looking back at our most visited and popular stories of 2018. … In today’s Digest, the hottest technologies, aviation developments we only dreamed of, cash out of trash innovations, biogas, cellulosic biofuels, lignin,
December 31, 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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(Green Car Congress) The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a three-year, $1 million grant to a team of researchers led by a UMass Lowell mechanical engineering professor that is working to develop renewable fuel additives from sawdust and other wood byproducts. The project is part of the Department of Energy’s Co-Optima
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 Joshua S Hill (CleanTechnica) The global divestment movement has celebrated an important milestone this week as it now boasts more than 1,000 institutions around the world worth almost $8 trillion which have committed to divesting from fossil fuels. Global grassroots climate movement 350.org announced on Thursday that, with the announcement
December 17, 2018
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by Liam Sigaud (American Consumer Institute) … These subsidies overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy. Tesla buyers, for example, had an average household income of $293,200 in 2013. A study in 2015 found that electric Ford Focus buyers had an average household income of $199,000. By contrast, the median household income in the U.S. in 2015
December 11, 2018
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by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … “There’s a very tight window between today and June 1,” says Brian Jennings, CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol. “The big-picture goal is for the proposed rule to be out for public comment and for EPA to wrap up a final rule prior
December 6, 2018
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by Marianne Lavelle (Inside Climate News) Democratic election victories raised the odds of climate change policies succeeding, activists and analysts say. A national plan was also just floated in Congress. — At least seven state governments are poised at the brink of putting a price on climate-warming carbon emissions within the next
December 3, 2018
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by Jennette Barnes (The Standard-Times/Herald News) A Canadian waste-to-ethanol company is looking for its first U.S. location, and the SouthCoast is on the list of possibilities. Montreal-based Enerkem confirmed to The Standard-Times Friday that it has been speaking with local officials and with waste hauler ABC Disposal about using material generated by ABC’s
December 3, 2018
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(Georgetown Climate Center) In November 2017, member jurisdictions from the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) began a public conversation inviting stakeholder input on the opportunities, challenges, and benefits of a modern, low-carbon transportation system, and what policies catalyzing these benefits might look like. Between March and August 2018, TCI hosted a series of
November 14, 2018
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by Timothy Cama (The Hill) Voters in Washington state on Tuesday rejected a proposed carbon tax that would have been the first such levy in the nation. The policy would have been an effort to fight climate change by mandating that companies using or selling fossil fuels pay taxes equal to $15 per metric ton
November 7, 2018
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For over 20 years the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo has connected top applied research and early-stage innovations from universities, labs, and startups with industry end-users and prospectors. The 2019 TechConnect World Innovation event includes the annual SBIR/STTR Spring Innovation Conference, Spring Defense TechConnect, the TechConnect Technical Program –
October 26, 2018
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For over 20 years the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo has connected top applied research and early-stage innovations from universities, labs, and startups with industry end-users and prospectors. The 2019 TechConnect World Innovation event includes the annual SBIR/STTR Spring Innovation Conference, Spring Defense TechConnect, the TechConnect Technical Program –
October 26, 2018
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For over 20 years the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo has connected top applied research and early-stage innovations from universities, labs, and startups with industry end-users and prospectors. The 2019 TechConnect World Innovation event includes the annual SBIR/STTR Spring Innovation Conference, Spring Defense TechConnect, the TechConnect Technical Program –
October 26, 2018
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(World Energy/Globe Newswire) $350 million investment will result in 306 million gallons of annual production — World Energy, a global leader in low-carbon transportation fuels production, announced today a $350 million investment over the next two years to complete the conversion of its Paramount, California facility into one of the cleanest
October 25, 2018
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(Growth Energy) Growth Energy and Prime the Pump announced Cumberland Farms as the newest E15 retail partner to join the Prime the Pump program. Massachusetts-based Cumberland Farms will begin offering E15 at more than 120 of its stores in the Northeast United States. The sites will be spread across Reformulated Gasoline
October 19, 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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(Dunkin’ Donuts) Actress and Coffee Enthusiast, Olivia Wilde, Incorporates Her Personal Style into the Home That Runs on Dunkin’ — For years America has run on Dunkin’, and today Dunkin’ Donuts® Coffee at Home is bringing that slogan to life in New York City with the Home That Runs on Dunkin’, the tiny home powered
October 5, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A biorefinery that will produce 16 MMgy of cellulosic ethanol and 120,000 of lignin pellets is set to break ground in Spiritwood, North Dakota, in the spring of 2019. The facility, under development by New Energy Blue, will feature Inbicon technology. The proposed plant, known
September 25, 2018
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(University of Minnesota) A team of energy researchers from the University of Minnesota and University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered that molecular motion can be predicted with high accuracy when confining molecules in small nanocages. Their theoretical method is suitable for screening millions of possible nanomaterials and could improve production of
September 17, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it will award 42 projects a total of $80 million to support advanced vehicles technologies research. Approximately $10.1 million of that funding will support six projects focused on the co-optimization of engines and fuels. “Improving the affordability of
September 14, 2018
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RNG Energy Solutions and Philadelphia Energy Solutions Partner to Form Point Breeze Renewable Energy
(Philadelphia Energy Solutions) RNG Energy Solutions (RNG Energy) and Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and Marketing LLC (PES) announced today that they have completed and executed several contracts including a long-term renewable natural gas sales agreement and site lease agreement to build a state-of-the-art anaerobic digester facility. The facility will be named
August 30, 2018
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(Greater Lawrence Technical School) Superintendent John Lavoie is pleased to announce that Greater Lawrence Technical School received a $160,000 grant from the Baker-Polito Administration to implement a clean energy program as part of their STEAM curriculum. GLTS is just one of three schools statewide to receive the allocation from the Massachusetts Clean
August 3, 2018
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The LSX World Congress USA combines plenaries, workshops, panels, a two-track global investment showcase, fireside chats, therapeutic roundtables, an IPO bootcamp and one-to-one meetings to give life science companies everything they need to enable more effective partnering, investment, planning and strategic growth. USE Code ABU10 to save 10%. READ MORE
August 2, 2018
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by James Temple (MIT Technology Review) Air travel, shipping, and manufacturing are huge sources of carbon that we lack good options for addressing. — … But a new paper in Science offers a stark reminder that there are still huge parts of the global energy system where we simply don’t have affordable ways of halting
July 11, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The meanest, nastiest, ornierest, heat-seeking organism ever found that munches biomass and other microbes that got a booster via the DOE’s $40M grants for advanced microbes R&D. And aromatics without the mess, a sky-vacumming organism and much more. As we reported last week here, the U.S.
June 28, 2018
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by David Fridley and Richard Heinberg (Renewable Energy World) The headline of this article was composed simply by rephrasing the title of a popular recent piece in The Atlantic — “Climate Change Can Be Stopped by Turning Air into Gasoline” — as a question. That article, reporting on research by Harvard professor David Keith
June 20, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Yield10 Bioscience is an agricultural bioscience company focusing on the development of disruptive technologies to produce step-change improvements in crop yield for food and feed crops to enhance global food security. Experts forecast that food production must be increased by over 70% in the next 35 years to feed
June 6, 2018
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Exploring Biodiesel (XBX) is a series of regional, one-day seminars designed to educate those in the industry on the benefits and opportunities surrounding biodiesel. The National Biodiesel Board, in partnership with several industry sponsors, has announced a series of regional, one-day seminars designed to educate fuel wholesalers, distributors, retailers, marketers,
May 21, 2018
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by Ariana Eunjung Cha (Washington Post) … In a paper published Monday in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension, researchers reported that children of mothers who were exposed in their third trimester to higher levels of fine particulate pollution — the tiny airborne matter that causes haze in many cities around the world
May 15, 2018
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by Sarah Tan (WCAI) Kelp farming is on the rise around the Cape and Islands, as more growers are finding reasons to love this ocean crop. From researchers like Scott Lindell at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who want to farm the crop for biofuel, to shellfishermen in Chatham who want to sell it to
May 14, 2018
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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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(Braskem/WebWire) Braskem expands strategy for the future of renewable chemicals — Braskem (B3: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6; NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK), the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas and the worldwide leader in bio-polymers, announced today its expanded focus on the research, development and commercialization of chemicals and materials sourced from renewable
April 24, 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 Sean Flynn (Newport Daily News) Newport Biodiesel LLC saw a big jump in demand for its product at the beginning of the year when a Massachusetts regulation took effect that requires a minimum 10 percent biodiesel component of all home-heating fuel sold in the state. “Overnight, it changed the
April 11, 2018
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by Sharon Gaudin (Worcester Polytechnic Institute/Biomass Magazine) Funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is creating a better way to convert waste food into biofuels that are environmentally friendly, a project that would have an impact on global problems like crude oil
April 4, 2018
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(Ethanol Producer Magazine/Tufts University) Researchers at Tufts University have created a genetically modified yeast that can more efficiently consume a novel nutrient, xylose, enabling the yeast to grow faster and to higher cell densities, raising the prospect of a significantly faster path toward the design of new synthetic organisms for industrial
April 4, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) According to BIO, the global economic value today of the biobased economy – including industrial biotechnology, renewable chemicals and polymers, biofuels, enzymes and biobased materials – is $355.28 billion. And looking at the new USDA Indicators report and other sources, BIO estimates that the United States generates
March 30, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ag-Grid Energy has a vision to convert agricultural and organic waste into renewable energy, compost and support local area practices that lead us towards a sustainable environment. The company intends to finance, build, own (jointly), operate the waste to energy conversion facilities in US, and has
March 19, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We’ve been covering some important movements in the design and performance of yeast in recent weeks, including the arrival of Novozymes’ Innova drive strains. Most of the activity has been focused on 1G ethanol fermentation. But it’s been known for a long time that engineering a
by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) As debate rages on about whether the price of biofuels credits in the Renewable Fuel Standard are putting small refiners out of business, a little-known analysis by a Harvard University economics professor last summer said the best way to reduce the price of those
February 6, 2018
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by Natasha Geiling (ThinkProgress) Currently only one state in the country has an economy-wide cap on carbon. These states want to change that — Lawmakers from nine states announced on Wednesday that they would be forming a coalition to help pass carbon pricing at the local level, citing the importance of state-level policies
February 1, 2018
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Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts, a new report from MIT Sloan professor John Sterman supports the growing argument that burning wood pellets for power is worse for the climate than burning coal, because of the short-term effects and the “potentially irreversible impacts that may arise before the long-run benefits are realized.” “Because
January 30, 2018
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by Fabio Caiazzo, Akshat Agarwal, Raymond L Speth and Steven R H Barrett (Environmental Research Letters) Contrails and contrail-cirrus may be the largest source of radiative forcing (RF) attributable to aviation. Biomass-derived alternative jet fuels are a potentially major way to mitigate the climate impacts of aviation by reducing lifecycle CO2 emissions. Given
January 25, 2018
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(Science Daily/Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)) A new EU regulation aims to shrink the environmental footprint of biofuels starting in 2021. But a scientist thinks we should go one step further and take into account all compounds produced at biorefineries, not just biofuel. And he has developed a model for
January 24, 2018
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(Algae Industry Magazine) … In September, the US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $22 million in grants to fund projects for marine biomass farming for production of commercial products, including feedstock for domestic transportation fuels. The funding was provided through the Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E) for 18 projects
January 3, 2018
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by Gerald B. Silverman (Bloomberg) Motor fuel could be the next target for controlling greenhouse gas emissions in the Northeast, as seven states that have already clamped down on power plants train their sights on the transportation sector. The states are considering a new cap-and-trade program modeled after the Regional Greenhouse
(Phys.Org/Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory) The production of biofuels from plant biomass is a highly promising source of energy, but researchers are trying to find microbes that readily degrade recalcitrant lignin found in plant biomass. Recent comprehensive genomic and metabolomic analysis of a known lignin-degrading bacterium provides insight into how this degradation
December 22, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … When it comes to fungi, their ability to break even the most recalcitrant of hardwoods down is well-documented and anyone who has spent a day in a rainforest knows it. But there’s rot and there’s rot when it comes to fungi. That is, there’s white
December 5, 2017
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(Union of Concerned Scientistst) Statement by Ken Kimmell, Union of Concerned Scientists — Leading environmental, health, scientific and business organizations today applauded the announcement by seven states and Washington, D.C. of plans to develop a regional policy to reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector. The move was endorsed today by the
(New England Power Generators Association) NEPGA letter – with the Acadia Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists – calling for a regional approach to lowering transportation emissions in a market based manner. READ MORE Excerpts from letter: We, the New England Power Generators Association and regional
(CapeCod.com) The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods hole has received a grant to develop innovative cultivation and harvesting technologies for year round production of seaweeds in tropical and subtropical U.S. Waters. The award is one of 18 projects funded by an arm of the federal Department of Energy. Termed the Mariner
November 2, 2017
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Do you know a female Middle or High School STEM teacher in the Boston area? The U.S. Department of Energy would like to welcome teachers to apply to participate in the second annual C3E science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers’ workshop on November 17 at the Museum of Science. This
(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) In the future, our homes and vehicles could be powered by fuel made from seaweed grown at large-scale offshore farms. Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are working to help make that scenario a reality sooner with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research
October 9, 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
(U.S. Department of Energy) Today (September 20, 2017), U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has selected eight projects to negotiate for up to $15 million in total DOE funding to optimize integrated biorefineries. These projects will work to solve critical research and developmental challenges encountered
September 21, 2017
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The BIO International Convention brings together the most innovative thinkers and leaders in biotechnology. Our education program covers a wide variety of diverse and timely topics relevant to the biotechnology industry and appropriate for many professional disciplines, including: healthcare, intellectual property, environmental issues, business development, digital health, and more. For
September 19, 2017
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BIO 2018 in Boston, MA next June 4-6 will bring together the most innovative thinkers in biotechnology. The BIO International Convention is hosted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than
September 19, 2017
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by Devin Henry (The Hill) Massachusetts regulators released details of a new plan Friday to tackle greenhouse gas emissions in the state, in accordance with a state law and court order. The rules rely on a clean energy standard, carbon dioxide emissions limits for the transportation and energy sectors, and
August 17, 2017
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(U.S. Department of Justice) An Acton couple was arrested today and charged with defrauding the U.S. Treasury Department of more than $50 million in tax free energy grants as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Christopher N. Condron, 45, and Jessica Metivier, 41, were charged in
August 15, 2017
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by Pam Radtke Russell (Engineering News Record) From Seattle to Cape Cod, see what’s being done at 18 different locations — … In this special report, Engineering News-Record’s team of editors and reporters look at how Tangier and other coastal communities around the country are tackling problems, including erosion, subsidence
August 11, 2017
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by Bobby Magill (Climate Central) Massachusetts is considering a plan that would classify wood pellets and other tree products as sources of renewable energy, allowing the logging industry to contribute to the state’s climate goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions. However, research shows that burning biomass for energy can actually make
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry today (July 17, 2017) announced $40 million in Department of Energy awards for the establishment of four DOE Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs), which will provide the scientific breakthroughs for a new generation of sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts and bioenergy.
July 19, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) One of the more striking outcomes from the DOE Bioeconomy 2017 conference in Washington DC was confirmation of the demise of Joule Unlimited. “We had a lot of prospects last year,” former CEO Brian Baynes told The Digest, “but those new investor prospects walked away,
(Penn State News) Slowed as much by extremely low oil prices as supply-chain and technological challenges, the effort to integrate biofuels into the nation’s aviation fuel supply is nonetheless progressing, according to a researcher in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Sustainable jet fuel continues to represent an important component of
June 30, 2017
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by Debbie Sniderman (Ethanol Producer Magazine) KnipBio, a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, has developed a series of microbes that converts low-cost feedstocks into premium, nutritious, single-cell proteins that are an alternative to fishmeal in aquaculture. Its fermentation process yields a protein flour that is laden with immunity-boosting, pigment-enhancing carotenoids to produce healthier,
June 2, 2017
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by William Delahunt* (Special to Advanced Biofuels USA) Washington, D.C. is full of advocates. Some are very effective champions for important causes, but others get sucked into the maelstrom of competing special interests. Lately, I’ve seen a lot of the latter type represented among those who claim to serve boating enthusiasts
June 2, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What is different about a Low Carbon Fuel Standard — as compared to a Renewable Fuel Standard? There are 4 primary differences. 1. An RFS creates a standard, and any fuel that meets that standard can compete in that market. … 2. An LCFS sets
May 11, 2017
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by Charles Komanoff (Huffington Post) The Carbon Tax Center is out with a new report timed to the surging climate movement. We surveyed all 50 U.S. states (and Washington, DC) to identify the ones with the most favorable conditions for enacting a statewide carbon tax. Joining the report is a
May 8, 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 Ron Kotrba (Biomass Magazine) U.S. imports of biomass-based diesel hit extreme heights in 2016, fulfilling a third of the consumption market, driving the domestic biodiesel industry to more actively seek counteracting measures to protect its own investments. — The U.S. imported nearly three times more biodiesel and renewable
April 5, 2017
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(California Air Resources Board) CARB votes to move forward with greenhouse gas reductions and zero emission programs through 2025; action sets the table for accelerating programs post-2025 — Today (March 24, 2017) California re-affirmed its commitment to clean air, protecting public health and continuing the fight against climate change when
March 27, 2017
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David C. Walmsley Rob Bailis, and Alexandra-Maria Klein (Environmental Science & Technology) Despite setbacks, interest in Jatropha cultivation remains high. This study addressed the question to what extent Jatropha cultivation has replaced specific vegetation and land use types and how the existing areas are managed. Major forms of land use
March 13, 2017
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by Erika Tan* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Let me introduce myself – my name is Erika Tan, and I’m a current sophomore attending Freehold High School in New Jersey. If someone had told me at the beginning of this year that I would be writing an article for a nonprofit biofuel
(Low Carbon Fuels Coalition) Massachusetts is currently conducting a rulemaking that could provide the basis for a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) type program in Massachusetts. The Low Carbon Fuels Coalition (LCFC) has been actively participating in the rulemaking and promoting the inclusion of an LCFS. Specifically, the LCFC is
February 23, 2017
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Helping the forest products industry make better decisions. — Join industry colleagues in Boston for the Thirty Second Annual RISI North American Conference. This is the premier forum to immerse yourself in all aspects of the forest products industry. Discover how RISI’s deep industry expertise will help you understand the
February 16, 2017
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by Anne Trafton (MIT News) MIT engineers have genetically reprogrammed a strain of yeast so that it converts sugars to fats much more efficiently, an advance that could make possible the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel. The researchers, led by Gregory Stephanopoulos, the Willard Henry Dow Professor
February 15, 2017
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by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) Half of U.S. states blended more than 10 percent ethanol, RFA’s president and CEO points out in his View from the Hill column — Reps. Bill Flores, R-Texas, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced legislation during the last Congress that would cap ethanol blends in
January 25, 2017
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by Gene Gebolys (World Energy/Biodiesel Magazine) … Trying to make a living in biodiesel for two decades now, the hard way is about the only way it happens. … 2016 was a breakthrough year for the biodiesel industry, and for World Energy. We brought our third and fourth biodiesel plants online to
January 23, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The company manufactures custom, high-quality, synthetic DNA used by scientists to construct genes, pathways, genomes and organisms that will enable the next generation of breakthroughs in biology. Word came through this week that Gingko BioWorks will acquire Gen9. Founded by pioneering scientists in fabrication, genetics,
January 23, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Recently, Ginkgo BioWorks announced the launch of their next generation foundry, Bioworks2. With 125,000 square feet and an 6X expected increase in capacity compatred to BioWorks 1, Bioworks2 represents a step change in what is possible for organism design. The company, which has raised a monstrous amount
January 23, 2017
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by Anne Trafton (MIT/Biomass Magazine) MIT engineers have genetically reprogrammed a strain of yeast so that it converts sugars to fats much more efficiently, an advance that could make possible the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel. The researchers, led by Gregory Stephanopoulos, the Willard Henry Dow Professor
January 20, 2017
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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Highlighting Advanced Biofuels USA’s work on a feasibility study of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore energy beet project proved to attract many visitors and a bit of buzz at the Keystone Farm Show, “The Farm Show for Farmers,” in York, Pennsylvania from January
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts we have had more signs of the pivoting underway in the advanced bioeconomy with the news that Metabolix is changing its name to Yield10 Bioscience and will focus on developing disruptive technologies for step-change improvements to crop yield to enhance global food security.
by John D. Forcier (Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc./Biofuels Digest) Most trash and recycled waste materials are being processed on a regional basis to maximize the economy of scale. There have been various attempts to gather and process organic waste materials utilizing similar methods, but the challenges are far from resolved.
January 3, 2017
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(U.S. Department of Energy) Today, the Energy Department (DOE) announced up to $7 million for eight universities to accelerate the introduction of affordable, scalable, and sustainable high-performance fuels for use in high-efficiency, low-emission engines. Under the Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Co-Optima) initiative, DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office and Vehicle Technologies Office are collaborating to maximize
December 29, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Recently, Ginkgo BioWorks announced the launch of their next generation foundry, Bioworks2. With 125,000 square feet and an 6X expected increase in capacity compared to BioWorks 1, Bioworks2 represents a step change in what is possible for organism design. The company, which has raised a monstrous amount
(Bentley University/PR Newswire) Bentley University research fellow Michael J. Walsh leads study finding algae food to have potential to mitigate climate change — Scientists affiliated with the Marine Algal Industrialization Consortium have published a research article demonstrating the potential of using microalgae (algae) to significantly mitigate greenhouse gas emissions if
(CapeCod.com) The town will receive $150,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Sustainable Materials Recovery Program/Organics Capacity Project. … Yarmouth’s efforts to disposing grease trap waste by generating it into biofuel will directly benefit from the funding. Technology which does that converting will be purchased with the money. READ
November 23, 2016
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by Kari Lydersen (Midwest Energy News) … The prospects for cellulosic ethanol becoming a commercially available clean transportation fuel could also hinge on yeast’s ability to ferment corn stalks, switchgrass, wood chips or other fibrous feed stock. The same strain of yeast typically used to brew beer and bake bread
(Center for American Progress) Carbon taxes and emissions trading systems, once considered political moonshots in the battle to combat carbon emissions, have found purchase in Canada, Mexico, and parts of the United States, raising the possibility that carbon pricing could span the continent. The Center for American Progress released an
November 4, 2016
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by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) South Hadley, Massachusetts-based heating oil and propane delivery company Fuel Services Inc. has begun to offer what it calls B5 UltraClean, a blend of ultra-low sulfur heating oil, 5 percent biodiesel and UltraGuard Advanced Fuel Treatment, which contains stabilizers, organic dispersants, detergents, a corrosion inhibitor
November 2, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Joule is advancing a production platform for Liquid Fuel from the Sun, expected to eclipse the scale, productivity and cost efficiency of any known alternative to fossil fuel today. Its transformative Helioculture platform directly and continuously converts sunlight and waste CO2 to infrastructure-ready diesel, ethanol
October 24, 2016
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by Kevin G. Hall (McClatchyDC) Hillary Clinton’s campaign chief once opened doors at home and abroad for an alternative energy firm whose investors include a Vladimir Putin-supported Russian company. These ties were highlighted last week when Donald Trump’s campaign alleged that John Podesta, a former chief of staff to Bill
October 20, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The factories of old — a technological wave that swept in with the Industrial Revolution — these were inorganic manufacturing centers, and they are now the wave of the past. They used a suite of lifeless fossil ingredients and mechanical, lifeless manufacturing techniques. They might
September 30, 2016
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by Doug Berven (POET/Boston Herald) Jonah Goldberg’s column parrots the tired talking points of the oil industry (“Research proves ethanol’s only useful to pols,” Sept. 5). Ethanol is a clean-burning, American-made biofuel that is lowering greenhouse gas emissions while improving engine performance for drivers across the country. According to researchers at
September 23, 2016
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by Bill Delahunt (Coastal Angler) … There is a lot to like about ethanol. It displaces cancer-causing chemicals in gasoline like benzene. It replaced MTBE, which polluted drinking water throughout the 1990s. Just this year, ExxonMobil was required to pay millions for the delivery of clean water to a local elementary school in
September 12, 2016
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(Phys.Org) The cost and environmental impact of producing liquid biofuels and biochemicals as alternatives to petroleum-based products could be significantly reduced, thanks to a new metabolic engineering technique. … The fuels and chemicals are often produced using microbes to convert sugars from corn, sugar cane, or cellulosic plant mass into
August 5, 2016
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) Three U.S. states plan to unveil new lawsuits against Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) on Tuesday tied to the automaker’s sale of diesel vehicles with emissions-cheating software, even after they announced settlements with the German automaker in June. Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh said in a news
July 19, 2016
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by Megan Greenwalt (Waste 360) With municipalities increasingly collecting organic waste, finding ways to convert that waste into clean energy is a hot topic in the solid waste industry. A multitude of techniques are in use or being developed, including aerobic and anaerobic digestion, as well as other methods for converting organic
June 2, 2016
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(AZO CleanTech) MIT professor of chemical engineering and a biofuels expert, Kristala Prather has her own dimension about the concept of biofuels renaissance. She had an open discussion with a group of undergraduates at the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) on April 25 regarding the future of biofuels, the obstacles they
June 2, 2016
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by Gerald Kutney (Lee Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … From the time of the caveman until the early Industrial Revolution, biofuels – namely wood and the advanced biofuel of the day, charcoal – reigned supreme. Both fossil fuels and biofuels originate from biomass. The major difference between them is that fossil fuels are sequestered
(University of Massachusetts Amherst) The University of Massachusetts today became the first major public university to divest its endowment from direct holdings in fossil fuels. The decision was made by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of the UMass Foundation, a separate not-for-profit corporation that oversees an endowment
May 26, 2016
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by Keith Goldberg (Law 360) Massachusetts’ top court on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s decision backing the state’s approach to greenhouse gas regulations, saying the state’s climate change law requires officials to craft rules that establish annually decreasing limits on multiple greenhouse gas emissions sources and the state’s use of other
May 18, 2016
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GTCbio’s 7th Biobased Chemicals: Commercialization & Partnering Conference will be held on July 7-8, 2016 in Boston, MA. This two-day conference brings together top representatives who are engaged in establishing a major transformation in the global chemical and energy industries – from petroleum to biobased. The conference will look to examine
May 16, 2016
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(Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC/Biomass Magazine) The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC celebrated the opening of its green energy facility in Freetown, Massachusetts, on April 15, just in time for Earth Day. The innovative facility will convert inedible food from its Stop & Shop New England stores into
May 13, 2016
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(National Biodiesel Board) Harvard University & NJ’s Medford Township Public Schools Reduce Carbon Emissions with America’s Advanced Biofuel — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) honored two long-time biodiesel leaders for their outstanding commitment to the environment, which includes a carbon reduction strategy fueled by biodiesel. The EPA recognized Harvard
May 13, 2016
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(U.S. Department of Agriculture) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the joint investment of $10 million towards research that will drive more efficient biofuels production and agricultural feedstock improvements. These awards were made through the
May 9, 2016
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(Joule/BusinessWire) EPA Qualifies Joule Ethanol Under Clean Air Act — Joule, the pioneer of drop-in liquid fuels from recycled CO2, today announced major accomplishments in the first quarter of 2016 that are accelerating the commercialization of environmentally sustainable ultra-low carbon fuel. These advancements include EPA approval of Joule’s Sunflow®-E ethanol process
April 8, 2016
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