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by Jimmy Troderman and Estella Shi (U.S. Energy Information Administration) U.S. production capacity for renewable diesel could more than double from current levels by the end of 2025, based on several announcements for projects that are either under construction or could start development soon. Two factors behind growing U.S. renewable diesel capacity
Montana
February 2, 2023
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by Anna Simet (Biodiesel Magazine) Biodiesel Magazine’s annual production map showed 34 renewable diesel/SAF plants under development, construction or operating in the U.S., as of September. The following includes updates regarding some of these projects. — This fall, Biodiesel Magazine chatted with Mindi Farber-DeAnda, team lead of the U.S. EIA’s
January 29, 2023
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(Roll Call) Aviation accounts for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions — a figure expected to triple by 2050 … Trucking industry representatives have raised concerns that a larger reliance on SAF will take away key feedstocks from biodiesel, an alternative fuel that’s already been used for years. Biodiesel
January 23, 2023
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) Calumet Specialty Product Partners L.P. on Dec. 29 announced that its Montana Renewables biorefinery generated a full month of on-spec renewable diesel production in December and has commenced rail shipments of the product. Montana Renewables commissioned its modified hydrocracker in renewable diesel service on Nov. 5
January 11, 2023
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by Anna Simet (Biodiesel Magazine) Biodiesel Magazine’s annual production map showed 34 renewable diesel/SAF plants under development, construction or operating in the U.S., as of September. The following includes updates regarding some of these projects. This fall, Biodiesel Magazine chatted with Mindi Farber-DeAnda, team lead of the U.S. EIA’s Petroleum
January 4, 2023
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(Show Me Mizzou/University of Missouri) Using part of a $12.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, MU researchers are working with an interdisciplinary group to optimize green energy for aviation use. — While biodiesel and ethanol are two forms of biofuel used to power today’s cars and trucks,
December 14, 2022
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by Jenn Rowell (The Electric) … Montana Renewables will use the proceeds of the bonds to “finance all, or a portion of, the costs of acquiring, constructing, installing, converting, modifying and repurposing infrastructure and improvements…to create a renewable fuels refinery capable of processing renewable feedstocks into sustainable alternatives; a hydraulic expansion
December 6, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) Calumet Specialty Products Partners L.P. is considering plans to ramp up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production at its Montana Renewables biorefinery to as high as 230 MMgy. That facility, currently focused on renewable diesel production, began commissioning this fall. Calumet in February 2021 announced plans to produce renewable
November 16, 2022
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by Robert Zullo (Wisconsin Examiner) Across the country, states are inking agreements with neighbors or striking out on their own to pursue billions in federal funding to set up “hydrogen hubs,” clustered centers for production, storage and use of the gas that many see as a crucial piece of the puzzle
October 27, 2022
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(Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Initiative) The BDO Zone Initiative has issued an ‘A’ rated BDO Zone designation for Libby, Montana for more than 225,000 green tons per year of woody biomass. — Lincoln County Port Authority (LCPA) and Ecostrat are pleased to announce the issue of a new Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO)
October 4, 2022
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(U.S. Grains Council/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Even though aquaculture is one of the fastest growing protein sources in the world, hurdles to worldwide success – including COVID and lack of experience with corn distillers dried grain with solubles’ (DDGS) nutrient composition and digestibility in tilapia populations – have threatened to limit successful
September 29, 2022
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by Susanne Retka Schill (Biodiesel Magazine) Three developers take different approaches to filling the expected surge for demand in oilseeds with crops that promise low GHG scores. — Remember the parable of the mustard seed? Developers of three oilseed crops—relatives in the mustard family—have faith they’ll soon have significant acreages
July 22, 2022
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(Yield10 Bioscience/Biobased Diesel Daily) Yield10 Bioscience Inc., an agricultural bioscience company, announced June 23 an open-enrollment program for growers for contract production of winter camelina. Farms located in Montana and Idaho, as well as southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada, are eligible to participate in the program. Yield10 is offering farmers
July 18, 2022
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(Sustainable Oils/Biomass Magazine) To the applause of onlookers, the ribbon was cut on Sustainable Oils’ new 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art North America headquarters building in Great Falls on June 23. Complete with plant breeding and research labs, the facility currently employs a staff of 13 and works with over 100 U.S.
July 11, 2022
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by Zack Budryk (The Hill) Seventeen Republican state attorneys general on Friday announced a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allowing California to set its own vehicle emissions standards. The lawsuit alleges EPA Administrator Michael Regan violated the Constitution’s doctrine of equal sovereignty by allowing California an exemption from the Clean
May 16, 2022
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by Nicholas Kusnetz (Inside Climate News) As companies propose storing carbon dioxide in depleted oil fields or saline aquifers, some states are putting themselves on the hook for future problems with the projects. — As states rush to enact rules and regulations for the underground storage of carbon dioxide, a key
May 2, 2022
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by Clark Mindock (Law360) A Texas-led group of states is slamming the Biden administration’s push to strengthen greenhouse gas standards for auto emissions, telling the D.C. Circuit on Monday it must intervene and stop a purported federal war on fossil fuels. The 14-state coalition headed by Lone Star State Attorney General Ken
March 1, 2022
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by Will Thurmond (Emerging Markets) Renewable Diesel & Sustainable Aviation Fuels 2030, Vol 2. (249 pages, September 2021) provides a detailed analysis and outlook for low-carbon feedstock availability, and a feasibility assessment for technology commercialization pathways in sustainable aviation fuels and low-carbon renewable diesel production. INTRODUCTION AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
February 10, 2022
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(The Fish Site) Researchers with Montana State University have been awarded a series of grants totalling $6.4 million to identify ways algae can be used for biofuels and other products as it removes carbon dioxide from the air. — Building on more than a decade of MSU research on the
January 25, 2022
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by Amy Mayer (Agri-Pulse) A minor oilseed may be poised to take on a larger role as climate-smart policies emphasize low carbon fuels and the soil health benefits of cover crops. Camelina is seen by some as a cover crop that recoups a farmer’s investment because it can be harvested instead
December 29, 2021
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(Sustainable Oils, Inc./Business Wire) Facility will provide added grain handling convenience and flexibility for Sustainable Oils and its camelina growers in Montana — –Sustainable Oils, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX:GCEH), today announced the company has purchased 45 acres in Havre, Montana. The company is close
November 23, 2021
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(Calumet Specialty Products Partners/PR Newswire) — Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: CLMT) (“Calumet”) today announced a series of strategic transactions in connection with its Renewable Diesel business. The transactions establish Montana Renewables, LLC (“MRL”) as an unrestricted pure-play renewables subsidiary of Calumet. MRL has closed on a $300 million convertible debt investment from funds
November 23, 2021
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by Ron Kotrba (Biobased Diesel Daily) Global Clean Energy Holdings Inc. is relocating headquarters for its camelina feedstock subsidiary Sustainable Oils Inc. to a new facility in Great Falls, Montana, where its crop-innovation programs, commercial-grower support, and executive and administrative activities will be consolidated. Migration to the new site is expected
October 12, 2021
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(Emerging Markets Online) New study! Renewable Diesel & Sustainable Aviation Fuels 2030, Vol 2. (249 pages, August 2021) focuses on low-carbon feedstock availability, technology pathways for low carbon renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation production. Renewable Diesel & Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) 2030 covers four key areas: 1) renewable diesel producer case studies
August 26, 2021
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(Office of Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)) U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and 16 of his colleagues sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging the EPA to mitigate the harm imposed on consumers and refiners by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)’s unachievable mandates. In their letter, the
August 25, 2021
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(Calumet Specialty Products Partners/CISION) Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: CLMT) announces that the Partnership and the Honorable Governor Greg Gianforte are holding a formal ribbon cutting ceremony today at the plant. This event will celebrate the delivery of the first seed oil feedstock to be used in the production of renewable diesel fuel.
August 24, 2021
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by Amy R. Sisk (Bismark Tribune) Representatives of a Richardton ethanol plant appeared before state regulators Thursday seeking a permit to store carbon dioxide captured from the facility underground, the first hearing of its kind to take place in North Dakota as the state’s energy industry looks to rein in
August 13, 2021
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by Phil Drake (Independent Record) Calumet Montana Refining in Great Falls says it will spend nearly $200 million to convert some of its crude oil output into renewable diesel fuel processing, with plans to integrate local farms and ranches and produce 10,000 barrels of the new feedstock product per day
August 6, 2021
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by Ron Kotrba (Biobased Diesel Daily) Global Clean Energy Holdings Inc., the project developer retrofitting a petroleum refinery in Bakersfield, California, into a renewable diesel plant scaled at 230 million gallons a year, provided preliminary financials for the second quarter as well as an update on camelina development by its
August 3, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Lignin 20-30% of plant/wood biomass is the key to a successful biorefinery that would make both biofuels and bioproducts said Mark Thies from Clemson University in this BETO Peer Review slide guide that dives into the lignocellulosic biorefinery today, a better way to fractionate and
June 25, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed into law legislation enabling the sales of 15 percent ethanol blended fuel (E15) in Oregon. Under current law, Oregon requires that gasoline sold for use in motor vehicles be blended with up to 10 percent ethanol (E10). The new legislation sets 10 percent
June 24, 2021
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by Timothy Puko (Wall Street Journal) Defense of ventures has helped Biden’s relationships with some Western lawmakers — Biden administration lawyers are defending oil and mining projects approved under the Trump administration, benefiting ConocoPhillips , Rio Tinto PLC, BHP Group Ltd. and others at the expense of environmental and tribal groups
June 2, 2021
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … What is the overall demand and market like? What about feedstock innovations? Are there clear technology winners? In today’s Digest, some new facilities, some conversions, some increased capacity, what are the key trends we are seeing in renewable diesel, what might the future
April 19, 2021
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by Alexander C. Kaufman (Huffington Post) Industry-designed bills to silence climate protests are under consideration in Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota and Montana. More are likely to come. … (Dawn) Goodwin was at this river crossing near Palisade, Minnesota, to protest the construction of the energy company Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline, a
February 22, 2021
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(Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P./CISION PR Newswire) Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (“Calumet” or the “Partnership”) (NASDAQ: CLMT) today provided an update to the Partnership’s strategic and business progress. Highlights: Closed the $70 million sale leaseback transaction for fuels terminal assets at the Shreveport refinery Planning to retain and focus investment in high-growth
February 19, 2021
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by Jeff St. John (GreenTechMedia) The Intermountain and ACES projects may be the start of a regionwide green hydrogen generation and transmission network. — Out in Utah, a coal-fired power plant supplying electricity to Los Angeles is being outfitted with natural-gas-fired turbines that will eventually be able to run on hydrogen,
November 19, 2020
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by Martin Wahl (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) This is the first in a series of articles being prepared by Lee Enterprises Consulting experts addressing opportunities and concerns for the growing hemp and cannabis industries. Topics will include cultivation, feedstock management, project financing, offtake agreement processing and product development with a focus
October 26, 2020
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(Bioenergy Insight) The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected 12 organisations and projects to receive around $3 million (€2.55 million) in funding to help reduce food loss and waste and divert food waste from landfills by expanding anaerobic digestion (AD) capacity in the US. The project types chosen for
October 6, 2020
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by Reagan Colyer (Montana State University News Service) A research team led by faculty in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture received $5.1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy designed to explore camelina, an oilseed with the potential to be an alternative biofuel and multi-use crop. The MSU team, led by Chaofu
October 1, 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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(Department of Energy) Studies Will Focus on Improving Crop Productivity and Resiliencen — Today (July 28, 2020) the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $68 million in funding over five years for basic research aimed at making bioenergy feedstock crops more productive and resilient. “One key requirement for sustainable bioenergy
July 29, 2020
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by Tim Lee (ABC News) …Victorian grain grower David Jochinke, who participated in the trials, said the prospect of pioneering a biofuel was exciting. “To have a product that needs very little refining, is biodegradable, is a bio-energy, is a bio-fuel, is something that displaces petroleum, something that’s been traditionally used
June 11, 2020
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(The World Bank and Guidehouse) … As a result, we saw increased attention and efforts to address climate change around the world. More than 70 countries have committed to working toward net zero emissions by 2050 and to enhance their international climate pledges under the Paris Agreement. How these government
June 9, 2020
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by Scott Richman (Renewable Fuels Association) Yesterday (February 27, 2020), a group of senators wrote a letter to President Trump regarding the January 24 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that found the EPA improperly exceeded its statutory authority in exempting three refineries from the Renewable Fuel
March 2, 2020
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by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Following the first summer driving season during which the sale of E15 was allowed, there are still areas of the country where it’s not an option for consumers. But, Chris Bliley, vice president of regulatory affairs for Growth Energy, believes it’s only a matter of
November 11, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected 35 projects totaling $73 million for bioenergy research and development support. Funded through the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, these projects will help reduce the price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower,
October 2, 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 Anne James and Marshall Swearingen (KSEN) In an effort to improve the feasibility of a renewable energy source, Montana State University researchers are exploring a potential breakthrough in producing biofuel from algae. Backed by a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the research team — which includes scientists
February 18, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk and Chris Prentice (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) a financial hardship waiver this year temporarily freeing its Montana refinery from U.S. biofuel laws, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Exxon, which reported earnings of almost $20 billion in
December 20, 2018
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by John Hageman (The Dickinson Press) A new refinery has been proposed for oil-rich western North Dakota, prompting questions from a local township chairman. AIC Energy Corp. filed an application earlier this month with Williams County planning and zoning officials. It described the so-called “Bakken Oil Refinery” as a 28,000
December 7, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) When it comes to Blue Marble’s coordinates in the bioeconomy star-field, think advanced flavorings made from seemingly impossible materials. Most recently we reported that Missoula’s Masters of Metamorphosis this past summer released a highly sought after U.S. and E.U. Natural version of bacon dithiazine (bacon flavor ingredient)
August 6, 2018
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(University of Portsmouth) A new family of enzymes has been discovered which paves the way to convert plant waste into sustainable and high-value products such as nylon, plastics, chemicals, and fuels. The discovery was led by members of the same UK-US enzyme engineering team which, in April, improved a plastic-digesting enzyme,
July 3, 2018
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by Julie Harker (Brownfield Ag News) Mixed prairie grasses that are used in Conservation Reserve Program lands did not live up to their potential as biomass crops for cellulosic biofuel production, in an eight-year study. D.K. Lee, associate crop science professor at the University of Illinois, tells Brownfield most of the CRP
February 21, 2018
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) The latest data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that gasoline consumed in 30 states and the District of Columbia in 2016 contained more than 10 percent ethanol on average, breaking through the so-called E10 Blend Wall. That compares to 2015 when the national average ethanol
February 5, 2018
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by Siddharth Vodnala (Washington State University News) Researchers from Washington State University, along with those from Oregon State University and the University of Montana, have recently devised refined methods to estimate the amount of forest residue — the leftovers from trees after logging — that is available for wood-based biorefineries to
October 26, 2017
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(University of Wyoming) Agricultural economists at the University of Wyoming will generate models of what economies in the Upper Missouri River Basin might look like if raising biofuels and carbon capture technologies were implemented. UW is part of the four-year, $6 million National Science Foundation project working with Montana State University
October 9, 2017
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(Algae Industry Magazine) Toledo, Ohio, has certainly seen its share of unwanted algae over the past years. Now, a new research program is looking toward the potential of turning that algae into useful products. The University of Toledo was recently awarded nearly $2.4 million by the United States Department of
September 15, 2017
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by David Erickson (Missoulian) … Formed eight years ago, the company (Clearas Water Recovery) has developed a patented process to use algae to remove nitrogen and phosphorous from public wastewater treatment plants, keeping waterways from being inundated with the compounds that starve fish and plant life of oxygen. In turn,
July 7, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The DOE completed an illuminating workshop on Carbon Capture and Sequestration with relation to algae-based technologies, and The Digest has prepared a selection of key slides presented by AquaFiber, Pacific Northwest National Lab, University of South Florida, Algenol, Montana State University, University of Toledo, NREL,
June 29, 2017
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(American Society of Agronomy/Biomass Magazine) A new study, led by Augustine Obour at Kansas State University, looks at how three varieties of camelina perform when grown in two different regions within the Great Plains. The end goal is to find the camelina variety that performs best in each location or
Missoula’s Masters of Metamorphosis: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Blue Marble Biomaterials
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) When it comes to Blue Marble’s coordinates in the bioeconomy star-field, think advanced flavorings made from seemingly impossible materials. Most recently we reported that Missoula’s Masters of Metamorphosis this past summer released a highly sought after U.S. and E.U. Natural version of bacon dithiazine (bacon flavor ingredient)
May 18, 2017
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by Robert Walton (Utility Dive) The Sierra Club says six states have proposed legislation this year that would add to the cost of owning an electric vehicle, worrying clean energy advocates who say owning emissions-free vehicles should be incentivized rather than taxed. States with new EV-fee bills include Indiana, South
February 24, 2017
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(LiveMint) India has complained against the US at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for what it calls illegal subsidies and domestic content requirements for the renewable energy sector in eight American states, even as the Donald Trump administration pursues a Buy American, Hire American policy. According to New Delhi’s complaint reviewed
February 7, 2017
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(Montana State University/Biomass Magazine) A Montana State University scientist has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to research ways to improve the usefulness of camelina, an ancient crop that the modern world has come to value as a potential source of alternative
January 20, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Montana, Blue Marble Biomaterials will become the first biomaterials company to utilize Regulation A+, a type of equity crowdfunding regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will offer equity shares to the public. Regulation A+ differs from other popular crowdfunding methods, such as Kickstarter.
November 30, 2016
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by Evelyn Boswell (Montana State University) A regional interdisciplinary team led by Montana State University has received $6 million to develop new innovations at the intersection of food, energy and water systems while training the next generation of scientists. The four-year grant from the National Science Foundation will allow MSU,
November 4, 2016
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( USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station/Biomass Magazine) A set of newly published studies evaluated nearly 40 years of data on the impacts of biomass utilization on soil, tree, and plant recovery and found minimal impact using certain forest harvesting techniques. The experiments, initiated in 1974, were conducted by
October 7, 2016
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by Gary Schaff (Billings Gazette) … My target is consumer issues. Ethanol is high octane (115) and is used to take low-octane gasoline and make it higher (value enhanced). Thus, it is an octane enhancer. It stretches our refinery fuel supply and lessens the energy needed to make higher octane fuels.
September 19, 2016
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The USDA recently announced $7.4 million in grants will be awarded to 76 small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research program to support research related to food security, natural resources and agricultural issues. … Bioenergy related awards include: Infinite Energy LLC: Infinite Energy
September 19, 2016
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) … Mr. (Mark) Perry suggests (without any scientific support or a single citation) that ethanol expansion has somehow led to “destruction” of prairie in the Great Plains, but says not a word about the land and water impacts of the same region’s runaway fracking boom.
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/U.S. News and World Report) … Indeed, it’s fairly obvious that (Mark) Perry’s yarn is simply intended to shift attention away from the real culprit behind destruction of prairie in the Great Plains – oil and natural gas. A 2015 study by researchers from the University of
by Hillary Borrud (The Oregonian) Supporters of Oregon’s controversial low-carbon fuels mandate, newly approved last year, hailed it as a chance to grow a local biofuels industry and reduce drivers’ reliance on imported fuel. But six months into the program, a review by The Oregonian/OregonLive has found, much of the
August 15, 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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(Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) Ross McCurdy, a science teacher from Ponaganset High School in Glocester, Rhode Island, has flown to Santa Monica, California, and back in a 1980 diesel-powered Cessna 182 owned by a New Jersey flying club using a 50-50 mix of Jet A and Camelina plant-seed oil,
May 4, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Benchmark tests prove higher volumes than initial forecast; plant receives “Recommended” rating after first customer audit In Montana, Rivertop Renewables, a Montana-based novel chemicals company, announced it exceeded the nameplate capacity of its first commercial production facility during benchmark testing. At full capacity the plant,
March 31, 2016
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(Environmental Protection Agency) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced eight contracts to small businesses to develop innovative technologies to protect the environment, funded through EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. “The green technologies that these SBIR companies are developing will help us address some of today’s most pressing
February 29, 2016
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(NorthernAg.Net) The Montana Farm Bureau is closely following the “Rural Route to the White House,” U.S. presidential election coverage produced and distributed by Agri-Pulse. The American Farm Bureau is officially the exclusive sponsor of this coverage. This effort will convey to readers Farm Bureau’s support of farmers and ranchers being
January 26, 2016
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(US Department of Agriculture/PRMediaRelease) Carinata Producers Need to Make Insurance Decisions Soon — USDA’s Risk Management Agency today announced that producers in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota can insure carinata by written agreement under the canola and rapeseed insurance plans. Producers must submit a written agreement request to their insurance
January 19, 2016
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(Algae Biomass Organization) Six student scientists were presented with the fourth annual Young Algae Researcher Awards earlier this month for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering at the 2015 Algae Biomass Summit, the official conference of the Algae Biomass Organization (ABO). More than 120 posters were accepted this year, representing a wide
October 22, 2015
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by Jesse Sokolow (Frequent Business Traveler) Alaska Airlines announced a new partnership with Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance, or NARA, that is aimed at furthering the production and use of alternative jet fuel made from leftover tree limbs and branches after a forest harvest. Alaska says it plans to conduct a
August 25, 2015
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(Energizing Arkansas) A nonprofit is trying to grow camelina, which can be combined with vegetable oil to produce an alternative fuel source, to encourage economic and biofuel development in DeWitt. Tami Hornbeck made the best of it during a recent field day in DeWitt, where consultants, financers, farmers and educators gathered to get a look at a plant
August 5, 2015
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by Jacquelyn Prestegaard (Algae Industry Magazine) Livestock scientists see microalgae’s potential as a sustainable, high-energy feedstuff as well as a protein supplement. Among those scientists are Dr. Megan Van Emon, Assistant Professor at Montana State University, Dr. Daniel Loy, Professor of Animal Science at Iowa State University and Dr. Stephanie Hansen,
August 5, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … If they handed out Platinum and Gold certification to scientific papers as we do with recorded music, “Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass” would be a multi-platinum chart-busting monster. This 2004 survey, completed by staff led by Gene Petersen (now a DOE Project officer) and
May 4, 2015
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by Brent Shrum (The Western News) Libby is the top choice for a company looking to build a $46 million plant that would use new technology to turn forest debris into 5 million gallons of liquid fuel per year, but there’s a catch. Federal regulations governing the tax credits that would
April 30, 2015
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by Keele Smith (KBZK) Cheap gas prices have been in the headlines recently, but there’s a greener fuel being made in our own back yard. A Bozeman-based group is using other people’s waste and taking off. “Restaurants will have this and they will dump their used fryer oil into here.
February 17, 2015
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(American Farm Bureau Federation) The crop demand outlook for the 2014/15 marketing year is a mixed bag, according to Patrick Westhoff, director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. Westhoff gave attendees of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show a glimpse into how
January 14, 2015
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) On Jan. 8, Gevo Inc. issued an update of operations at its Luverne, Minnesota, plant, reporting that the facility produced more than 50,000 gallons of biobased isobutanol in December. The company also recently announced the transfer of its common stock listing. Gevo began side-by-side operations
January 9, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Contract manufacturing agreement with DTI speeds Rivertop’s time to market for its novel performance chemicals In Montana, Rivertop Renewables announced that it has begun construction of its first commercial plant, located at DanChem Technologies’ facility in Danville, Virginia. DTI, a custom manufacturer of fine and specialty
December 11, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … A couple of years ago, the combination of a great lifestyle and a highly promising technology lured Mike Knauf to the Bitterroot Mountains and to Rivertop Renewables. You probably know him from his many years at Genencor and then as one of the top guys
September 15, 2014
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(Montana State University) Montana State University is the lead institution on a new $10 million, four-year project to form a research center focused on innovative energy research. The Biological Electron Transfer and Catalysis (BETCy) Energy Frontiers Research Center (EFRC) will be based at MSU. Participants from seven institutions will form
July 9, 2014
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(US Department of Agriculture) Farm Bill Implementation Continues at Brisk Pace with Universities and State Cooperative Extension Programs Now Set to Help Educate Farmers Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is awarding $6 million to universities and cooperative state extension services to develop
June 3, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Rivertop to accelerate commercialization of novel, sustainable chemicals for consumer products and industrial applications. How does an early-stager get to the next level? Try a hot anchor product, innovative technology, and the right connections. In Montana, Rivertop Renewables, a Montana-based producer of novel chemicals derived
April 14, 2014
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(National Biodiesel Board) Before you lift that green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, why not select one that comes from a “green” brewery? Many breweries throughout the U.S. and Canada have robust sustainability initiatives that include using biodiesel. One example is a company whose flagship Pale Ale brew even has a
March 14, 2014
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(Virtual-Strategy.com) Changing the way the world looks at the source of hydrocarbons for biofuels and sustainable green chemicals, Endophytics LLC announces a new technology platform in Bozeman, Montana that is receiving attention from many throughout the industry. Endophytics, LLC recently announced their fungal biotechnology platform at the Harvesting Clean Energy
March 4, 2014
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by Sepp Jannotta (MSU News Service) … Robin Gerlach is the MSU professor coordinating research into the production of oil-producing algae, as well the feasibility of commercial-scale biofuel production based on microbes discovered in Yellowstone National Park. Part of a multi-institutional project funded by a grant through the Sustainable Energy Pathways
December 31, 2013
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by Martiin Kidston (Missoulian) If 1 ton of woody debris can produce 50 gallons of fuel, how many gallons of fuel could 42 million acres of dead and dying forests produce? Funded by a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a consortium of five universities, joined by
December 26, 2013
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(Washington State University) … NARA (Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance) is developing regional aviation biofuel solutions, since the aviation industry is in need of a viable and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. IDX’s specific role within NARA was to propose a supply chain in the Western Montana Corridor, a region reaching from
November 27, 2013
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by Bruce Finley (Denver Post) The federal government is launching a $10 million, five-year project to tap overgrown and beetle-ravaged Western U.S. forests as a new source of non-oil liquid fuel that could power cars, warships and airliners. The Colorado State University-run research — to be announced Wednesday in Denver
November 8, 2013
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by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a new campaign featuring print and TV ads taking aim at E15 and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The ethanol industry responded and Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association said that Big Oil’s latest campaign is
July 16, 2013
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(Biological Sciences Curriculum Study) Teacher-collaborators will field test a 3-credit, online, graduate-level course designed to enhance teachers’ knowledge and practice related to energy concepts. The course is titled Energy: A Multidisciplinary Approach for Teachers (EMAT). Teacher-collaborators and their students will take part in a research study designed to measure the effects of
by Sepp Jannotta (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) A Bozeman biofuels startup is partnering with Montana State University to turn a fungus discovered in the highly acidic hot springs of Yellowstone National Park into sustainable energy. The discovery — a fungus pulled from a geyser basin in 2009 and now dubbed MK7
February 22, 2013
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(Capital Press) Researchers already know how to turn algae into fuel. The challenge is how to make that profitable. A group from the University of Toledo is trying to make the process more efficient and says coming up with a solution may help the environment, too. The idea is to
November 27, 2012
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(ACORE) The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) released the 2012 edition of its report, Renewable Energy in the 50 States, as an interactive, online resource. Compiling updated financial data, resource potentials, market and policy information in one easily-accessed, online format, the report is intended to be an executive summary
November 12, 2012
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by Heidi Gaiser (Daily Interlake) The four partners of Clearwater Biologicals are working to turn a crop popular in the Bronze Age into a 21st-century source of fuel and nutrients — and they are beginning the process here in the Flathead Valley. Duane Johnson, Jim Coolidge, Tim Birk and Bob
October 29, 2012
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by Tim Leeds (Havre Daily News) A standing-room-only crowd filled a newly re-opened building at Montana State University-Northern to hear dignitaries and university representatives talk about the latest addition to its cutting-edge alternative fuels laboratory. …The center houses the oil presses and equipment used to convert oilseeds to fuel, as
October 26, 2012
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s a year of low congressional approval and not much congressional action. But every election is an important one, and there’s lots of unfinished business from this past cycle. Here are nine friends of energy independence and advanced bioenergy that find themselves in tight races. In
October 3, 2012
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by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) In the face of increasing calls to waive the nation’s Renewable Fuel Standard, biofuel industry stakeholders today announced a major new communications campaign to educate consumers and policy makers about the benefits of renewable fuel to America’s economy, energy security and environment. The new coalition – Fuels
September 27, 2012
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(Algae Industry Magazine) Jon Strunk reports that over the last two months, University of Toledo (UT) researchers have won $4 million in nationally competitive awards from the federal government to explore ways society can benefit from algae’s hunger for phosphorus-rich wastewater, such as that which grows on the shores of
September 14, 2012
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Despite low levels of publicity, North Dakota and Montana are making great strides in bioeconomy development – with a combination of strong R&D, feedstock abundance and some hot processing technologies. …The bioeconomy has been getting a move on in the Peace Garden State, too. To
September 4, 2012
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by Wayne Risher (The Commercial Appeal/Equities.com) Mid-South Community College officials are betting East Arkansas has what it takes to be a leader in alternative fuels: Fertile fields, a world-class transportation hub, and, as of this week, a research, development and training facility dedicated to renewable energy. As college officials dedicated
August 28, 2012
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Section 9011 of the Farm Bill – the Biomass Crop Assistance Program – USDA deploys $9.6M in new investments in bioenergy crops as questions revolve around the program’s future and effectiveness. Is BCAP important? Will it survive? How will it change? In Washington, Agriculture Secretary
June 14, 2012
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(OPISNet.com) It’s been a long time coming, but ethanol now dominates the U.S. gasoline blending landscape. The number of wholesale terminals supplying only conventional clear gasoline for truck loadings has trimmed down to just nine out of about 325 rack locations in the United States, according to the latest OPIS
March 23, 2012
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by John Maday (Drovers Cattle Network) A couple weeks ago, we ran an article titled “Feeding the biofuels beast,” which documented a University of Montana study suggesting current production methods and policy for biofuels are unsustainable. The article drew a number of comments, several of which disputed the study’s findings without presenting
March 22, 2012
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by Kay Rossi (KRTV.com) MSU-Northern’s bio-diesel product is available commercially for the first time for engines in Havre. With the possibility of more distribution in the future, the school’s Bio-Energy Center is working to educate the public about the fuel. Students, faculty, and staff gathered on Tuesday to
March 8, 2012
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(Montana State University) Researchers at Montana State University-Northern have developed a process to convert camelina oil to jet fuel and other high-value chemicals. MSU has applied for a U.S. patent and research is ongoing. Using a continuous-flow process at low temperature and pressure, the technology yields butane, pentane, gasoline, diesel,
February 15, 2012
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by Jason Bacaj (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) …(Mark) Kozubal found the fungus could survive in an acidic habitat with a pH of 6, an acidity level similar to cow’s milk. What was really amazing, though, was when he took it out of the glucose solution. “When I dried it out, it
January 23, 2012
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by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) The USDA’s Risk Management Agency has developed a pilot program to insure camelina. The program, which will be available in selected counties in Montana and North Dakota for the 2012 crop year, will have a sales closing date of Feb. 1, 2012. The camelina plan
December 30, 2011
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by David Goldberg (Transportation for America) …To fill gaps in service, Opportunity Link two years ago led the creation of North Central Montana Transit. NCMT is miraculous for a number of reasons. First, it offers fixed-route service. Many rural transit services are “on demand” – covering the vast distances separating communities
December 23, 2011
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by John Daly (OilPrice.com) Biofuel sources currently under development include algae, jatropha and camelina. Of the three, camelina is increasingly emerging as the frontrunner in attracting initial investment worldwide, as global demand for aviation fuel for passenger flights is now more than 40 billion gallons annually. Camelina has a number
December 6, 2011
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(US Department of Agriculture) The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina beginning with the 2012 crop year. Camelina is an oilseed crop with the potential to create new renewable energy markets in the United States, generate rural
December 5, 2011
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by (Chron.com) An Illinois investment company that bought an old container manufacturer west of Missoula hopes to turn the 3,200-acre site along the Clark Fork River into a magnet for green jobs. …The site has officially been renamed “M 2 Green,” and signs touting the opportunity for biofuels, bioenergy and wood-pellet
September 7, 2011
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by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Although veteran research scientist at Montana State University, Dr. Keith Cooksey, describes himself modestly as a biochemist that works with microorganisms, his algal biofuel-driven discoveries from the ’80s and ’90s are still considered state of the art, and continue to influence the work of
August 23, 2011
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by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) The railroad is already considered one of the most environmentally sustainable and efficient ways to transport freight. Although most railways address fuel efficiency in terms of gallons-per-mile rather than miles-per-gallon, the sheer volume of cargo that can be moved by a single train results in
August 23, 2011
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(The Record) Farm officials, hoping to get California farmers to plant as much as 25,000 acres of camelina, an oilseed, for a biomass start-up project are offering incentives to growers in San Joaquin County and other areas of the Central Valley and Southern California. Camelina, which grows on marginal land,
August 23, 2011
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the creation of four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in six states to expand the availability of non-food crops to be used in the manufacturing of liquid biofuels. USDA has allocated approximately $45 million for contracts
July 29, 2011
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by Joan Melcher (BioCycle) Closed loop system utilizes gasification, algae ponds and anaerobic digestion to convert wood waste to a variety of products, including biofuel, biogas and a soil amendment. Michael Smith is supervising the first commercial-scaleGreen Power House at the F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. near Columbia Falls,
July 19, 2011
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Over at Blue Marble, think spent waste grains from the alcoholic beverage distillation process, and spent coffee grounds. Generally, these are materials that pile up in landfills. By contrast, at Blue Marble’s first commercial facility, using these unloved, unwanted materials, they began running the fermenters
June 29, 2011
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(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program will be conducting detailed biennial peer review meetings of its activities throughout the first half of 2011. The process will begin with platform reviews of the Program’s six technology areas between February
June 24, 2011
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Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S. As part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a total of $47 million to fund eight research and development projects that will
May 6, 2011
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(Climate Solutions) Alaska Airlines, The Boeing Company, Port of Seattle, Port of Portland, Spokane International Airport, and Washington State University have initiated a strategic stakeholder process to develop a “Flight Path” (action plan) to produce sustainable aviation biofuel in the Pacific Northwest. The first regional assessment of its kind in
May 5, 2011
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by Tom Lutey (Billings Gazette) Camelina, the biofuel that five years ago Gov. Brian Schweitzer called his new girlfriend, now struggles for a planting date with Montana farmers. “The biggest challenge of all is the price of wheat,” Schweitzer said Thursday. With wheat prices historically high, there’s no incentive to mess with
April 29, 2011
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by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) AE Advanced Fuels Keyes Inc. is aiming for the future. At the same time the company is working to restart a 55 MMgy ethanol plant located in Keyes, Calif., it announced approval of a $1.88 million matching grant to build a 1 MMgy pilot
April 28, 2011
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by Kay Rossi (KXLH.com) …Five years ago, Montana State University-Northern received $800,000 in grant funding for infrastructure and staffing for a new biofuel lab at the MSU-N Bio-Energy Center Now the nationally-certified facility performs a variety of functions, from researching and developing bio-diesel fuel to testing fuel and emissions.
March 25, 2011
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by Terri Adams (The Prairie Star) The Central Agriculture Research Center (CARC) near Moccasin, Mont., uses 600 acres of land to test cropping systems, plant varieties, soil fertilities and other issues that affect producers in central Montana. Chengci Chen, an associate professor of cropping systems with Montana State University, has
February 21, 2011
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by Darren Goode (Politico) With Republicans controlling the House and ramping up oversight and investigations of the Obama administration, focus at least initially in the next Congress will be on the Senate to lay a potential pathway for legislative compromise on energy and environmental policy. …Oil-state lawmakers will continue to
February 5, 2011
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(National Institutes of Health/Department of Plant Sciences, Montana State University) An endophytic fungus of Persea indica was identified, on the basis of its anamorphic stage, as Nodulosporium sp. by SEM. Partial sequence analysis of ITS rDNA revealed the identity of the teleomorphic stage of the fungus as Hypoxylon sp. It produces
January 4, 2011
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(Algae Industry Magazine) From Dan Boyce at Montana State University comes word that researchers there have found a way to get four times as much biofuel from a given amount of algae by adding baking soda, a concentrated source of carbon dioxide, to the algae. “Our grad student Rob Gardner has
November 12, 2010
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by Shelley Ridenour (Daily Inter Lake) Whitefish-based Algae Aquaculture Technologies has received a $350,000 grant from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to build a commercial algae greenhouse that converts waste wood chips into organic fertilizer. The 5,500-square-foot greenhouse will be constructed on the grounds of F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber
November 3, 2010
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The Montana Ener-Tech Alliance will present its first event on Tuesday, November 16 at 3:30PM at Front Street Station in Butte. Margaret McCormick, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Seattle-based Targeted Growth, Inc. will speak about biofuel research and opportunities that are available to Montana’s grain farmers and energy entrepreneurs. “Montana
October 21, 2010
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(MSU News Service) Algal biofuel production could double in yield and in far less time, thanks to a chemical trigger discovered at Montana State University. The chemical trigger is a well-timed dose of bicarbonate, a low-cost, easy-to-use chemical, similar to common stomach antacids. These results were presented on the first
October 8, 2010
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by James Cartledge (BrighterEnergy.org) As the Senate debated and ultimately failed to pass reforms in the military this week, two Senators from Montana introduced legislation to boost markets for biofuel. Sens. Max Baucus and John Tester’s bill, American Security and Freedom Fuels Act of 2010, proposes to grant powers to the
September 27, 2010
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