Advanced BioFuels USA – Truly Sustainable Renewable Future

Aviation Biofuels: “Are You Getting on Board?” Lufthansa Remarks

by Aino Siirala (Advanced Biofuels USA) In his presentation at DOE’s Biomass 2012, Joachin Buse (Vice President Aviation Biofuels, Lufthansa German Airlines) claimed that aviation biofuels have the strongest impact on mitigation of climate change. He illustrated that it is technically

January 15, 2013 Read Full Article

Algarve University Develops Bio Ethanol Using Carobs

(The Portugal News Online) Researchers from the University of the Algarve have presented a pioneering research project in which bio ethanol was produced from carobs. Researcher Maria Emília Costa from the Centre of Marine and Environmental Research at the University of

January 15, 2013 Read Full Article

Give Ethanol Critics "the Finger".... Join ACE's Grassroots Letter Writing Campaign

(American Coalition for Ethanol) Want to help fight the misinformation campaign against E15 blends that is being put out there by the American Automobile Association (AAA)? Do you want to help let people know how E15 blends can benefit consumers and

January 15, 2013 Read Full Article

Biofuels: Between a Rock and a Green Place

by Kylie Schultz (The International) With the possibility of an oil crisis on the horizon, a scramble for renewable and sustainable energy sources is underway. In recent years, plant-based fuels known as biofuels have emerged as possible replacements for the non-renewable

January 15, 2013 Read Full Article

Seaweed-Based Ethanol Technology Gets Boost in Vietnam

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bio-Refinery Begins Operations Turning Co-Cropping into Fuels, Chemicals Deep in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam a small bio-refinery is converting seaweed into protein, fuel-blendable alcohol, and a bacterial soil product. It is part of a

January 15, 2013 Read Full Article

4 Reasons Why Canada Is Becoming a Biofuels Hotspot

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Strong biofuels flight results, advances in algae, new commitments in venture capital and revived interest from the Canadian Navy. Biofuels are off to a fast start in 2013 in Canada. Canada’s been known for years

January 15, 2013 Read Full Article

Canada May Try Biofuels in Navy Ships

(CBC News/The Canadian Press) The federal government is soliciting proposals for how it might use biofuels to replace traditional diesel in Royal Canadian Navy vessels — assuming the price is right. "Naval vessels and platforms have traditionally operated by the use of

January 15, 2013 Read Full Article

Five Questions with Tom Brutnell

by Jeffrey Tomich (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) ...A local hub for biofuels research is the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Creve Coeur. Much of the biofuels work there is funded by the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, a scientific center established

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

New Fuel Blend Creates Stir in Industry, Yakima Valley

by Phil Ferolito (Yakima Herald-Republic) A newly approved gasoline blend that contains more ethanol is causing a stir among automakers and fuel retailers, who say the industry isn’t ready for the change. They fear the new fuel will become an industry

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

ACE Compares AAA's E15, Low-Octane Fuel Responses

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The American Coalition for Ethanol has reacted to the American Automobile Association’s criticism of E15 by comparing and contrasting the organization’s response to E15 with that of its response to the sale of 85 octane

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

Vinema Plans $354 Million Brazil Grain-Ethanol Projects

by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Vinema Biorefinarias do Sul Ltda., a Brazilian biofuel company, plans to spend 720 million reais ($354 million) building the nation’s first six ethanol-fuel mills that use grains as raw material. ...The plants will be built in

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

Bill Would Get Rid of Florida's Ethanol Mandate

by Troy Kinsey (BayNews9.com) ...Republican representative Matt Gaetz is filing a bill to do away with Florida’s ethanol mandate. ...“It's not the final solution to our energy needs, but it certainly can supplement our energy needs. If a choice is between

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

The Market and Mother Nature

by Thomas Friedman (New York Times) Whenever I hear the word “cliff,” I am reminded of something that President Obama’s science adviser, John Holdren, used to say about how we need to respond to climate change because no one can

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

Environmentalists Urge Obama to Block Keystone XL and Act on Climate Change

by Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian) After a strategy of 'climate silence' during president's first term, activist groups signal intent to be more vocal in next four years More than 70 environmental groups called on Barack Obama to take the lead on climate change on Monday,

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

Pennsylvanians Angry about Plans to Ship Gas Overseas

by Alexandra Duszak (PublicIntegrity.org) When Pennsylvanians agreed to a massive increase in natural gas drilling in the state, they were told that the economic benefit would outweigh any potential risk to the environment. The drilling employs a controversial technology known as

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

EU to Revive Debate on Minimum Energy Tax Levels

by Barbara Lewis (Reuters) EU officials are to debate a new set of tax proposals to promote clean fuel and erode fiscal advantages that have made diesel relatively cheap, a document seen by Reuters showed. ...Ahead of a working party meeting on January

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

Colonialism and the Green Economy: Villagers Defy Pressure to Forfeit Farms for Carbon-Offset

by Daniel C Marotta and Jennifer Coute-Marotta (Truthout) All names are fictitious as sources requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. Anonymity and people's requests that no pictures be taken were prerequisites for attaining interviews. No one wanted to go

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

China Set for Renewable Energy Boom

(Eco-Business.com) ...In its study entitled, “China Renewable Energy” released this week, it said that there are three key drivers behind the continued interest in renewable energy in China: its increasing demand for electricity; reduction in use of coal for energy

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

USDA Announces Investments in Bioenergy Research and Development to Spur New Markets, Innovation, and Unlimited Opportunity in Rural America

(US Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a state-of-the-art bioindustrial facility at Renmatix today, where he announced $25 million to fund research and development of next-generation renewable energy and high-value biobased products from a variety of biomass sources. "USDA's

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

Algae.Tec Gets Green Light for $12.15 million from Australian Government

(Algae.Tec/PR NewsWire) Algae.Tec today announced approval from the Australian Government for an AU$12.15 million cash refund on Australian and overseas development expenditure for the financial year 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2015. The terms of the payment allow for an

January 14, 2013 Read Full Article

Could Formula One Racing Cars Influence Family Cars of the Future?

(Balkans.com) ... It seems unlikely but motorsport engineers and specialists from around the world have been discussing just that at the 2013 Race Tech World Motorsport Symposium. McLaren and Caterham Formula One racing teams, plus Audi Sport and Drayson racing were among

January 13, 2013 Read Full Article

Blue Sun Reinvests Biodiesel Tax Credit Revenue into Technology

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) ... Blue Sun Biodiesel CEO Leigh Freeman said his company will immediately invest payments from credits earned in 2012 to advance its next-generation biofuel technologies. ...Specifically, Blue Sun is investing in a new enzymatic processing technology at

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

Biodiesel Experts Int'l Rolls out New Enzymatic Skid Processors

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Biodiesel Experts International has unveiled its new, fully automated, skid-mounted enzymatic biodiesel processing system. After two years of development work to hone the process and build the first unit, the firm is now working to

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

Renewable Fuels Legislation Crib Sheet

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ... Legislation can be hard to digest and so the law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy created a “crib” sheet, or alert, giving a brief overview of how the Act will impact current and future projects

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

D.C.’s Clean-Energy Conundrum

by Paul Dickerson and Thomas Burton (Reuters/Mintz Levin) ...Clean technologies are likely to be the next great industry and economic success story. Whether that happens in the United States or not is up to us. ...Yet there is a clear role for

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

Step in Right Direction to Sustainability

(Ashville Citizen-Times) Thanks to an innovative program aimed at helping North Carolina become more self-sufficient when it comes to energy, Asheville’s popular Biltmore Estate, that venerable bastion of the region’s travel and tourism industry, soon may become a source for

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

Momentum Builds after Second Annual Civic and Small-Xcale Biofuels Convening

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina) The Biofuels Center received incredibly positive feedback from its 13 December 2012 event, Civic and Small-scale Biofuels Statewide: A Second Annual Convening of Civic, Production, and Agency Parties. The event, held at North Carolina A&T State

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

The Political Implications of America's Oil & Gas Boom - James Kwak Interview

by James Stafford (OilPrice.com) ... To help us look at these issues and more we managed to speak with the well known economist James Kwak. James is an associate professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law. ...In the interview James

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

Record Expansion for Kum & Go

by Marianne Wilson (Chain Store Age) ... New Kum & Go stores feature an increased focus on sustainability. “All of our new store prototypes since 2011 are submitted for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] certification,” Krause said. Currently, 17

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

U.S. Energy Initiatives to Setup Its First Biodiesel Facility in California

(U.S. Energy Initiatives) U.S. Enerby Initiatives Corp announced that is has signed a Letter of Intent to form a Joint Venture that will provide the tools, experience and support to build several small scale biodiesel plants in California featuring Methes

January 12, 2013 Read Full Article

U.S. Biodiesel Producers Gain from Tax Reinstatement   , RIN Integrity Programs

by Janet McGurty (Biofuels Digest) ...Larger producers of biodiesel like Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland get a higher price for their RINs than the producers with smaller balance sheets. For producers outside of the largest, integrated tier, RINs can fetch

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

7 Bleeding-Edge Technologies Unlocking Mighty Value in the First-Gen Ethanol Fleet

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The most popular technologies that are targeting the corn ethanol fleet? 1. Feedstock switching. Sorghum as the new corn? ... 2. Advanced extraction and yield technologies. ... 3. Advanced enzymes. ... 4. Enzymes in corn. ... “These enzymes accumulate in

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Investing in Biofuels and Biobased Intermediates

by Jim Lane (BioInvest Digest) ...What exactly are they? As the name suggests, they are products made from renewable sources that are not sold directly into the end-user market but are, instead, sold to other manufacturers who refine, upgrade, blend,

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Engineered Bacteria Make Fuel from Sunlight

(University of California-Davis) Chemists at the University of California, Davis, have engineered blue-green algae to grow chemical precursors for fuels and plastics — the first step in replacing fossil fuels as raw materials for the chemical industry. "Most chemical feedstocks come

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

No End in Sight to Rwanda’s Wait for Biodiesel Plant

By Kabona Esiara (The East African) A biodiesel project that was seen as one of Rwanda’s solutions to its high energy bill has run into trouble. The government launched the pilot biodiesel and bioethanol production plant in Mulindi in Kigali in

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Incbio and DC Biofuels Have Signed an Agreement for the Supply of a 7.5 MGY Biodiesel Plant

(Incbio) Incbio, has just secured an agreement to supply DC Biofuels with a 7.5 million gallon per year (28.000 MT/year) Biodiesel plant. It will incorporate Incbio’s ultrasonic reactors, as well as solid catalyst acid esterification technology, to produce Biodiesel from

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Up, Up and Away: Aviation Biofuels Players Start Building Capacity

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Now – it’s all about organizing sustainable, affordable feedstock and building capacity. And, airlines providing capital for the first commercial projects — to ensure that capacity building reaches levels in line with the industry’s self-imposed

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

ENEnergy Gets Ethanol, Butanol Project Support from Australian Government

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, ENEnergy Australia (ENA) announced approval has been received from the Australian Government for its first project in Northern Australia under the R&D tax incentive scheme. The project approval covers the development of a

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

LSU AgCenter to Open Pilot Biofuels Plant Jan. 25

(The Town Talk) The LSU AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute plans a Jan. 25 opening for a pilot plant designed to produce biofuels and biochemicals from agricultural crops and byproducts. The centerpiece of the AgCenter's sustainable bioproducts initiative, the plant focuses on

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

The Biggest Biofuels Myths, DeMythtefied

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) When headlines run dire, ask yourself: are they real? In today’s Digest, we give you a guide to managing the myth minefield — and the roaring trade in disinformation about biofuels, feedstocks, and social

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Don’t Believe Everything You Read. Fact check on NYT’s Guatemala Corn/Ethanol Story

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) Here is a fact check of the January 6th New York Times article “As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs” by Elisabeth Rosenthal: NYT: In the tiny tortillerias of this city, people complain ceaselessly

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Chisumbanje Ethanol Set for Mandatory Blending

by Brian Chitemba (The Independent) The Chisumbanje Ethanol Project is set to resume production on Monday after the adoption of recommendations of the inter-ministerial committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara. ...After a series of visits and meetings, the cabinet

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Delayed Flowering Results in up to 50 Percent Increase in Biofuel Crop Yield

(Nanowerk.com) Researchers working on the biofuel crop Miscanthus sacchariflorus, commonly known as Asian Elephant Grass, have shown that delaying flowering in the plant can result in a 50% growth increase.The discovery could have important implications for biofuel production, leading to higher

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Biodiesel Tax Credit Not Expected to Spread Alternative Fuels in Region

by Tom MacDonald (NewsWorks.org) ... Norm Woolley of Woolley Fuel Company in the North Jersey suburb of Maplewood has been pumping the alternative fuel for four years. He says most of the diesel he pumps now contains a mixture of 30

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

The Cellulosic Biofuels Tipping Point

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As cellulosic biofuels reach commercial-scale, is the tipping point for wide deployment near – and will it be based on breakthroughs in capex, opex or yield? Actually, it may be feedstock costs, in the end. ...What

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

E85 Availability Boosted in Nebraska, California

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Nebraska now has about 80 flex-fuel pumps with the addition of two new ones at the Stop N Go in Hartington, Neb., and in California, Pearson Fuels just received a grant to install

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

How The Fiscal Cliff Bill Might Void Your Car's Warranty

by Pete Bigelow (AOL Autos) Legislation could widen use of E15 fuel blend, which automakers say can corrode your engine Thanks to the fiscal cliff bill signed into law last week, a blend of fuel that contains more ethanol could soon

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Maine DEP Working on Plan to Ban Gas Blends with More than 10 Percent Ethanol

by Matthew Stone (Bangor Daily News) The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is preparing to wade into a national debate surrounding gasoline blends made up of more than 10 percent ethanol. The state agency is at work on a bill

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

A Look at DuPont Biofuel’s Work on Cellulosic Ethanol and Butanol

by Robert Rapier (Consumer Energy Report) ...DuPont is currently engaged in two major projects to commercialize advanced biofuels. The first is a 30 million gallon per year corn stover-fed facility in Nevada, Iowa. DuPont has been working on this technology for about 10

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Analysis of 100 Percent Biofuel Tested in Flight by NRC Reveals Reduction in Emissions

(National Research Council Canada/Aviation.ca) Results from the world’s first civil flight powered by 100 percent biofuel released by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) show that the biofuel used in the flight last October is cleaner than and as

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Does the Biodiesel Tax Credit Change the Advanced Biofuels Landscape?

(FarmDocDaily) ...The RFS for 2013 is expected to require a minimum blending of 1.28 billion gallons of biodiesel and 2.75 billion gallons of all advanced biofuels. The difference between the minimum biodiesel requirement and the minimum total requirement is referred

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

A Busy Year for Alt Fuels, Thanks to Congress

by Anya Litvak (Pittsburgh Business Times) Rick Price is gearing up for a busy year, thanks, in part, to Congressional compromise. As executive director of Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities, a group that works to promote alternative transportation fuels, Price’s job was made a notch

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Visits Renmatix for Commissioning of Plant-to-Sugar BioFlex Conversion Unit

(Renmatix/Sacramento Bee) Building on success in hardwood, Philadelphia-based Renmatix adds on-site capability to convert multiple local and international feedstocks to cellulosic sugar Renmatix, the leading manufacturer of cellulosic sugars for biobased chemical and fuel markets, welcomed Secretary Tom Vilsack, leader of

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Lower Nitrogen Losses with Perennial Biofuel Crops

(EurekAlert!/University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) Perennial biofuel crops such as miscanthus, whose high yields have led them to be considered an eventual alternative to corn in producing ethanol, are now shown to have another

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

BenchMark Energy Corporation and Energy Partners LLC Launches New Glycerin Logistical Distribution Division

(Yahoo!/BenchMark Energy Corporation) BenchMark Energy Corporation through its subsidiary Energy Partners LLC is pleased to announce it has launched a new division named Energy Partners Logistics and Transportation Management. Mark Bateman, CEO of BenchMark Energy states, "With the progressive expansion in the

January 11, 2013 Read Full Article

Methane Leaks Erode Green Credentials of Natural Gas

by Jeff Tollefson (Nature) Losses of up to 9% show need for broader data on US gas industry’s environmental Scientists are once again reporting alarmingly high methane emissions from an oil and gas field, underscoring questions about the environmental benefits of the

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

State Building Changes Ordered to Avert Flood Damage

by Timothy B. Wheeler (Baltimore Sun) Declaring that Maryland's coastal areas are increasingly at risk from a rising sea level, Gov. Martin O'Malley has ordered state agencies to weigh the growing risks of flooding in deciding where and how to construct

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

Biofuels Cause Pollution, Not as Green as Thought - Study

by Alister Doyle (Reuters) Green schemes to fight climate change by producing more bio-fuels could actually worsen a little-known type of air pollution and cause almost 1,400 premature deaths a year in Europe by 2020, a study showed on Sunday. The report

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

Biofuel - The New Wizard of Aus?

(Visual.ly) The race to produce a sustainable, scalable form of biofuel has become ‘wacky’ – literally. There are articles printed daily heralding the latest method of producing fuel, be it converting whiskey waste, recycling cooking oil or scooping algae from

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

Tax Credits Are a Valuable Tool in the Biofuels Policy Toolbox

by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/Biofuels Digest) It is not often I disagree or take issue withBiofuels Digest; however, the recent article and analysis on cellulosic tax credits left out some key points. There are a number of policy tools to help

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

Fungi, the Rodney Dangerfield of Biofuels

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Now, yeast is a fungi, but fungi as a Kingdom is a lot broader than our friend yeast and, like Rodney Dangerfield, it been getting, by and large, no respect, no respect. Researchers have for

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

Iowa's Second E15 Retail Station Opens in Fredericksburg

(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has announced that Fredericksburg Coop in Fredericksburg, Iowa now offers E15 as a registered fuel to 2001 and newer vehicles, joining Linn Coop Oil in Marion, to become Iowa’s

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

CARD Analysis Considers Outlook for RINs in 2013, 2014

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development recently published a policy brief on the outlook for ethanol and conventional biofuel renewable identification numbers (RINs) through 2014. The brief was written by economics

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

Greenhouse to Utilize CO2, Waste Heat from Adjacent Ethanol Plant

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Across the road from Greenfield Ethanol-Chatham, construction on Truly Green greenhouses is ongoing. The innovative project will utilize the waste heat and CO2 from the 195 MMly ethanol plant in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, to

January 07, 2013 Read Full Article

Future of Green Racing in US Unclear after 2013

by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) The future of the American Le Mans GreenX ChallengeTM in particular and Green Racing in general is uncertain past the 2013 racing season. On Friday, January 4th 2013, NASCAR GRAND-AM and American Le Mans (ALMS)

January 06, 2013 Read Full Article

Sustainability Trends to Watch for in 2013

by Pat Lorentz (Shelton Group) It’s a new year! So after you’ve headed to the gym, put down your smokes, taken up a new hobby and willed yourself to stick to your resolutions for a few days, take a look

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

USDA's Senior Energy Advisor Explains BCAP after Cliff Deal

by Luke Geiver (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Biomass Crop Assistance Program may have been extended through 2013 with the passing of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, but the program’s usefulness in the coming year is still uncertain. Although

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

Ethanol Tax Breaks to Help Later than Sooner

by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) The extension of a $1.01 per gallon tax credit for cellulosic ethanol will help the fledgling industry later this year or in 2014 when plants now under construction in Iowa come on line, the

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

Biofuel Market for Switchgrass Fails to Materialize

by Larisa Brass (KnoxvilleBiz.com) Van Shaver got into the farming business by planting switchgrass on 90 acres in Loudon County for a brand new biofuels market. This year's crop will be fed to his cows. Four years after the state launched a

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

Energy Department Awards $10 Million to Develop Advanced Biofuels and Bio-based Products

(Department of Energy) As part of the Obama Administration's all-of-the-above strategy to develop every available source of American energy, the U.S. Department of Energy today announced more than $10 million to five projects in California, Washington, Maryland, and Texas that

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

5 Biofuels Trends for 2013

by Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest/Pike Research) ...The Retreat of Oil Majors ... Trend: Oil Majors double down on “Golden Age of Gas” while narrowing investments across the advanced biofuel space. ... Mind the Gap ... Trend: Although installed biorefinery production capacity is expected

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

Sweetwater Energy, Ace Ethanol Sign Landmark Cellulosic Ethanol Deal

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) $4/gallon capex, low opex, $15 million upfront. Existing offtakers. Cellulosic RINs. Expandable. Product diversification. Operating next year. What’s not to like? ...There’s a side door opening into cellulosic ethanol. Costs you very little up front, payback

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

Green Star to Build Algae Facilities in China during 2013

(Algae Industry Magazine) ...In October 2012, the Green Star delegation (which included Biotech Research, Inc.) was received by high level local and central government representatives in the Chinese province of Jiangsu. Video of these negotiations was broadcast on national TV

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels in the United States

by Bradley Frieze (Advanced Biofuels USA) Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera and Dr. Mark Jones of the National Academy of Science Division on Earth and Life Studies gave a public webinar on November 27th, 2012 about the sustainable development of algal biofuels

January 04, 2013 Read Full Article

BioGrace - Extending Its GHG Calculation Tool

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) In the project BioGrace (I) running from 2010 to 2012 a greenhouse gas (GHG) calculation tool was developed for liquid biofuels. The project BioGrace-II now aims to harmonise GHG calculations for electricity, heating and cooling from biomass. The

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Study Shows Policy, Not Economy, Drives Future Carbon Reductions

(Center for Climate Strategies) Existing Local, State, and Federal Policies — Not Cheap Natural Gas or Economic Downturn — Identified As Largest Driver Behind Declining Carbon Emissions Projections 20 New Federal, State, and Local Actions Also Identified to Advance Jobs, Energy,

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Alabama Inventors Patent Algae Extraction Method

(Algae Industry Magazine) Streamline Automation, of Huntsville, Alabama, has been assigned a patent (8,303,818) developed by four co-inventors for a “method and apparatus using an active ionic liquid for algae biofuel harvest and extraction.” The co-inventors are Roberto Di Salvo,

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Taiwan Pursuing Microalgae Bioenergy

(Algae Industry Magazine) Edwin Hsiao reports in Taiwan Today that the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Pingtung County, in southern Taiwan, has just released the results of a joint microalgae bioenergy development program, which aims to replace diesel

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Chlamydomonas Shown to Break Down Cellulose

(Algae Industry Magazine) Douglas Main reports on OurAmazingPlanet that researchers at Germany’s University of Bielefeld have discovered that when the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtiiis deprived of carbon dioxide, it can cannibalize other plants’ materials. According to the scientists,this is the first time

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Driving Algae Sustainability

by Mary Rosenthal (Biomass Magazine) Just a few weeks ago, the National Research Council released its report on the sustainability of biofuels derived from algae, affirming the potential of our industry to meet global fuel challenges in a sustainable manner. The

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

The Beltway Biochemist: Valerie Reed

by Tim Portz (Biomass Magazine) Valerie Reed, acting manager for the U.S. DOE Biomass Program, is leading a federal government initiative of nearly $200 million to expedite the commercialization of next-generation, biomass-based fuels and chemicals. With investments being made in

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Petrobras Helps Launch Fish Oil Mechanical Extraction Equipment

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Following an October partnership between Petrobras Biofuel and the Brazilian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture to intensify research into producing biodiesel from waste fish oil, Petrobras Biofuel recently participated in the release of “Machine Biopeixe,” equipment to

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Brazil Doubles Down on Biofuel

by Vinod Sreeharsha (IEEE Spectrum) Later this year, northeastern Brazil will host one of the most ambitious biofuel experiments ever. There, in the small town of São Miguel dos Campos, surrounded by sprawling sugarcane fields, a commercial-scale ethanol plant is expected to start operating in

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

BRAZIL: BP Invests in Higher Flexibility Ethanol

by Fernando Calmon (Just-Auto) ...BP Biofuels (a subsidiary of the BP oil company) has decided to pour in US$345m at Usina Tropical in Edeia, state of Goiás in the country’s mid-west. The move will create 7,600 direct and indirect jobs by

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Advanced Biofuels USA Volunteer Posts Fossil Fuel Subsidies Petition --- Add Your Voice

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Bradley Frieze, a student at Hood College in Frederick, MD and Advanced Biofuels USA volunteer has posted a petition to stop funding of oil subsidies. The petition is on MoveOn's SignOn web site. At Advanced

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

University at Buffalo Incubator Program Welcomes Seven New Companies in 2012

(Niagara Frontier Publications) From algae-based renewable energy to a restaurant point-of-sale app, new incubator clients are developing or marketing a range of technologies The University at Buffalo's business incubators welcomed seven new tenants in 2012, including companies working in Western New

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

The Force: The Cellulosic Biofuels Tax Credit Is Back, but Is It Really Needed?

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Finding it hard to explain to taxpayers why the PTC is needed, for the jump to cellulosic biofuels lightspeed, or to ward off predatory fossil-fuel evildoers? ...So, although the “fiscal cliff” tax rate deal didn’t directly

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Farm Bill Contains No Mandatory Funding for Energy Title Programs

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...The bad news is, all mandatory funding for energy title programs were stripped from the farm bill at the last moment. “The programs have lived, but they don’t have money,” said Lloyd Ritter, co-director

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Iowa Gains Second E15 Station

(Brownfield Ag News) ...Fredericksburg Coop in Fredericksburg becomes the second station to offer the blend of gasoline and 15 percent ethanol to owners of 2001 and newer vehicles. ...Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says it’s good to “get

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

Crystal Flash Named as Exclusive Dealer of Alternative Autogas in Michigan

by Stephen Kloosterman (The Holland Sentinel) The Grand Rapids-based Crystal Flash Energy is now the exclusive dealer in Michigan for autogas, an alternative fuel. ...Autogas, a liquefied version of propane, can run in mechanically modified gas engines, and a number of

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

New Year Means New North Carolina Laws

by Israel Balderas (FoxCharlotte.com) Silly or serious, the first day of 2013 means a new set of state laws in North Carolina. They range from child care protection to stealing old restaurant grease. Here's what you need to know to stay

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

David Lester, CERT Executive Director & Visionary Tribal Leader Passes

(BioJet) It is with great sorrow that BioJet notes the passing of David Lester, Council of Energy Resource Tribes Executive Director and BioJet Advisory Board Member. For the past several years, David has been the Visionary behind the CERT-BioJet initiative now

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

ABO Clarifies Algae Producer Credit in “Fiscal Cliff” Legislation

(Algae Industry Magazine) According to the Algae Biomass Organization, as part of the bi-partisan “Fiscal Cliff” legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on January 1, 2013, algae-derived fuels are, for the first time ever,

January 03, 2013 Read Full Article

API Mounts Another Attack on RFS, Ethanol Industry Fights Back

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Less than two weeks after the U.S. EPA denied the request to waive the renewable fuel standard (RFS), the American Petroleum Institute is calling on Congress to repeal it. During a press call Nov. 27, Bob Greco, API