by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The fact that the US government doubled-down, by allegedly subordinating the loan to investments by a pair of hedge funds, during a Solyndra financial reorganization, is going to cost Energy Secretary a headache when he heads
funding
Back TO HOME'A Woman's Work Is Never Done'
by Barbara Walters (ABC 20/20)Though conspicuous consumption in tough economic times has given the superrich bad press, self-made moguls like ... Lynn Tilton are giving back through various philanthropy and business projects. They're also sharing their surprising stories with "20/20."
October 31, 2011 Read Full Article
BP, Unlilever among Investors Pouring $49M into ZeaChem, Chromatin, Agradis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...There’s a rumor going around the biofuels and biomaterials business that today represents one of the most difficult periods to raise capital. Apparently, the rumors did not reach ZeaChem, Chromatin or Synthetic Genomics, which this
October 26, 2011 Read Full Article
2012: Game on for 13 Biofuels Contenders
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 13 companies. 5 already public – eight filing for IPOs. In the first category, Codexis, Amyris, Gevo, Solazyme and KiOR. In the second category, PetroAlgae, Myriant, Ceres, Mascoma, Genomatica, Elevance Renewable Sciences, Fulcrum Bioenergy and
October 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels, Biomaterials Growing at 3X the Global GDP Rate
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Survey says: Biofuels and biomaterials growing rapidly, seeking new friends, markets ...Biofuels Digest reports that 79 percent of bioenergy executives are more optimistic both about their organization’s prospects for growth and industry growth, than 12 months ago,
October 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae Industry Magazine Interview: Syed Isa Syed Alwi
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) When Syed Alwi speaks about the algae industry, you get the feeling that he really has his finger on what’s going on globally. He gets around, and is a bit of a kingpin in
October 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Uganda: Planned Sweet Sorghum Project to Create 250 Jobs
by Dennis Picco (Esse Community) Up to 250 jobs are expected to be created in Kayunga District, Uganda, after the launch of the Sweet Sorghum Energy Plant. The plant will use sweet sorghum stems as the primary raw material. The $30m (Shs78b)
October 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Are IPOs Signaling Biorefining Market Growth Potential?
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) In an industry that’s working feverishly to commercialize drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels and chemicals to diversify America’s technology portfolio and fuel mix for various on- and off-road applications, access to capital is certainly a critical component
October 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Biomass Project Finance Experts Introduce Aggregation Strategy
by Luke Geiver (Biorefining Magazine) The biomass industry is a new frontier for the team at the Gemstone Group, a renewable energy investment banking firm, and according to Gary Kleiman, founder, his team is looking for opportunities to partner and help
October 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Ryfa to Powers: Show Evidence of Financing for Trash-to-Ethanol Plant
by Marc Chase (Northwest Indiana Times) A Lake County solid waste management official wants to give Earl Powers 90 days to prove he can finance the trash-to-ethanol plant that he pledged more than 1,000 days ago to build. Griffith Town Councilman
October 10, 2011 Read Full Article
BP Biofuels Goes for Full Vertical Integration, in US Cellulosic Ethanol Expansion
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Susan Ellerbusch: Now, at BP there are dozens of BP people who are experts in growing crops design, farm logistics. We are building an agriculture team after having acquired the biotech parts. ...Yes, every move
October 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Tanzania: Sun Biofuels Jatropha Project in Kisarawe Suspended
by Finnigan Wa Simbeye (AllAfrica.com) An ambitious biodiesel project which was allocated over 8,000 hectares of land by Kisarawe district officials in 2008 is in trouble. Employees and casual workers of Sun Biofuels Plc, told Business Standard last weekend that work
October 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Bond Financing: Stern Brothers MD John May
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In financing, Stern Brothers managing director John May said that the majority of advanced biofuels projects were obtaining debt ratings of BBB to single B, which indicated the presence of material technology risk, and that
October 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Financing: Alberti Advisors Principal, Doug Cameron
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In commenting on trends in financing advanced biofuels technologies, Alberti Advisors principal Doug Cameron said that, for seed and Series A rounds, investors generally looked for strong IP, deeply credible, passionate founders; exciting, big disruptive
October 04, 2011 Read Full Article
The Future of Biorefining Policy
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) ...While some in the industry doubt that a Congress so focused on debt reduction will extend VEETC and the biodiesel tax credit, Greg Jenner, a partner in Stoel Rives LLP’s tax practice, offers a unique
September 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Novozymes Invests in CleanStar Mozambique for Food, Fuel Production
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Novozymes announced its investment in CleanStar Mozambique at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. CleanStar Mozambique, a company founded by Novozymes and CleanStar Ventures, will work with smallholder farmers to implement sustainable farming practices, create
September 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Global Spending on Biofuels in 2011 Will Total $46.63bn Says visiongain Report
(PRLog/visiongain) During 2010-2011, the biofuels market gained increased interest as the price of oil increased rapidly. Many developed countries, such as the US and countries in the European Union, reconsidered their energy policy. On the other side, policy makers were promoting
September 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Uttarakhand to Replicate Kiwi Biofuel Experiment
by Shishir Prashant (Business Standard) Ruchi Soya, an oilseed company, with a Rs 13,000-crore turnover, wants to replicate the experiment done by New Zealand — of using biodiesel as an alternative green fuel from Jatropha plants, to successfully fly airplanes. For this
September 20, 2011 Read Full Article
The A.I.M. Interview: Sandia and DOE's Ron Pate
(Algae Industry Magazine) A Principal Member of the Technical Staff of Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Sandia National Laboratories, serving in the Earth Systems Analysis – Energy, Resources, and Systems Analysis division, Ron Pate has been on M&O Contractor assignment in Washington, DC
September 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Memo to Microalgae, Frankencritters and Biovarmints: Aloha Means I Love You
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Hawaii goes all in on microalgae to provide fuel, food, fiber and power to grow its energy-starved Mid-Pacific economy and fit its environmental values ...Hawaii has no fossil fuel resources of its own. Not to mention
September 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Fixing A Broken Biofuel Incentive Program
by Robert Rapier (Forbes) ...My Plan: Award Direct Per Gallon Subsidies for Oil Displacement Instead of offering grants and loan guarantees for cellulosic ethanol producers — and forcing blenders to pay when they can’t purchase product — simply change the system
September 15, 2011 Read Full Article
California Dedicates $30 Million to Biofuels Expansion
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The California Energy Commission has approved the state's third-year funding plan for the commission's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, allocating $100 million toward the expansion of various alternative fuels and vehicles throughout
September 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Landrieu Secures $1B in Emergency Funding to Restore Flood Protection Infrastructure
(Office of Senator Mary Lnadrieu (D-LA) United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today secured more than $1.26 billion for Louisiana to restore flood protection infrastructure, $30 million to invest in algae biofuel research, and new provisions to strengthen enforcement
September 10, 2011 Read Full Article
ABO Responds to USDA/DOE/Navy Biofuels Investment Promise
(Algae Industry Magazine) The Algal Biomass Organization has voiced its opinion of the US government’s recently announced $510 million biofuels investment commitment over the next three years. Following is their statement: Late last month, three federal departments came together to
September 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Olive Branch in Line for Biofuels Headquarters
by Phil West (The Commercial Appeal) Legislature to consider incentives to land Israeli company's 800 jobs, $1B operation Gov. Haley Barbour wants state legislators to approve $100 million worth of financial incentives to help an Israeli biofuels company establish a headquarters
September 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Next-Generation Renewable Fuels to Play Crucial Role in Canada's Transition to a Bio-Based Economy: SDTC Canada Makes Annual Call for Applications to $500 million
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is issuing its Annual Call for Applications under the NextGen Biofuels Fund™, which was created by the Government of Canada to support the establishment of first-of-kind large demonstration-scale facilities for the production of next-generation renewable
August 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Catching the Sugar Wave
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Not content to let Brazil hog all the glory, three development-stage companies eye sugar-based ethanol feedstocks ...If successful, California Ethanol & Power LLC will be the first ethanol production company bankrolled partially by Brazilian money,
August 23, 2011 Read Full Article
A Constant in Changing Times: One Plant’s Success Story in an Ever-evolving Industry
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Near Hastings, a community of about 25,000 people nestled amid the seemingly endless corn fields of south-central Nebraska, Chief Ethanol Fuels Inc. has been steadily churning out ethanol since late 1984. The oldest dry-mill
August 23, 2011 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: NASA's OMEGA Scientist Dr. Jonathan Trent
(Algae Industry Magazine) NASA scientist – the inventor, heart, and soul of the OMEGA system (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae) – Dr. Jonathan Trent received his PhD in biological oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He went on to
August 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Hawaii Biofuels Option Could Prove Costly
By Sophie Cocke (Honolulu Civil Beat) Two contracts for locally-produced biofuels, aimed at supplying a portion of the state’s electricity needs, are under consideration by the Public Utilities Commission, and more are expected. But the cost of the energy to
August 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Abengoa Announces DOE Offer of Conditional Commitment for $133.9 Million Loan Guarantee to Build Inaugural Biomass Plant in United States
(Abengoa/PR NewsWire) Abengoa today announced that its subsidiary, Abengoa Bioenergy, has been selected by the US Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office to receive an offer of a conditional commitment for a $133.9 million federal loan guarantee for the construction of
August 19, 2011 Read Full Article
HPCL Bio Fuel to Start Sugar Production in Bihar Soon
by Shishir Sinha (The Hindu Business Line) What could be seen as a revival of the sugar industry in Bihar, HPCL Bio Fuels Ltd will start producing sugar and ethanol from the coming sugar season starting October. HPCL Bio Fuels Ltd is
August 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels USA Is Disappointed in White House Plan for National Security Drop-In Biofuels Investment
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) As a tie-in to President Obama’s current bus tour promoting his job creation plans, the White House has issued a press release promoting a three-year $510 million dollar plan to fund “drop-in” biofuel
August 16, 2011 Read Full Article
The A.I.M. Interview: Dr. Richard Sayre
by Jonathan Williams (Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. Richard Sayre keeps his plate full as both the Director of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and as the CTO of the high
August 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Town Hopes for Trash-to-Ethanol Plant, but Frustrations Mount
by Marc Chase (NWI.com) What had been all excitement regarding a possible economic boon for this south Lake County town is turning into some frustration and deflated spirits, according to one Schneider official. Town Council President Richard Wright said he still
August 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Company Buys, Plans to Reopen NextDiesel Plant
by John Mulcahy (Daily Telegram/LenConnect) A New York-based company has bought the closed NextDiesel plant in Adrian and plans to reopen it to produce biodiesel fuel. ...EnerVation Advisors is preparing to clean the plant’s tanks and make other preparation for reopening,
August 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Canada's SDTC Funds Four Biodiesel, Biorefining Projects
by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine) The Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s SD Tech Fund invested $53 million in 17 new clean technology projects across Canada in the areas of agriculture, transportation, mining and energy. Of those 17, four directly went to
August 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Financing as Innovative as Clean Energy Technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Financing of clean energy got you down? The Green Bank clears a key Senate hurdle, and Bank of America chairman Chad Holliday helps explain why that’s important Last month, amidst the brouhaha of the US debt
August 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Hankinson Ethanol Plant Installing Demo-Scale Anaerobic Digester
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Hankinson Renewable Energy LLC, a 120 MMgy ethanol plant in Hankinson, N.D., is in the process of starting up an anaerobic digester to produce 54 MMBtu of biogas a year, according to David Rein,
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Trash-to-Fuel Company Enerkem Raises Another $30M
by Matthew Lynley (Green Beat) Enerkem, a company that specializes in converting unusable waste into ethanol and other chemicals, announced today that it has raised $30 million in an extension of its most recent funding round. Enerkem converts household garbage and leftover
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Terrabon, Inc. Awarded $9.6 Million by Logos Technologies to Produce 6000 Liters of Renewable Jet Fuel for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
(Terrabon, Inc.) Terrabon, Inc., a Houston-based bioenergy company, announced today that it has been awarded a $9.6 million, 18-month contract by Logos Technologies to design a more economical and renewable jet fuel (BioJet TM ) production solution for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
July 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Analysis: Cellulosic Ethanol Industry Struggles to Take Off
by Tom Doggett (Reuters) ...Despite years of research, testing and some hype, the next-generation ethanol industry is far from the commercial success envisioned by President George W. Bush in 2006, when he pledged so-called cellulosic biofuels would be "practical and
July 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Vegetable Oil Fuels Biodiesel Production Company in Florida Keys
by Cammy Clark (The Miami Herald/Sun Sentinel) Vegetable oil once used at Florida Keys restaurants and backyard fish fries is being processed into green fuel for trucks, tiki torches and a 53-foot sailboat that offers eco tours to the coral
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
The A.I.M. Interview: Martin Sabarsky, Cellana's CEO
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Martin Sabarsky was promoted to President and CEO of Kona, Hawaii-based Cellana in April of 2011. He now has the challenging and, if all goes well, rewarding job of escorting Cellana into
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Is China for You? The Opportunities, the Risks, the Way
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...A combination of industrial biotech know-how, an array of biomass feedstocks (particularly lignocellulose), a strong and growing domestic market, and ready access to scale-up debt for scale-up through China’s steadier project finance system – well,
July 22, 2011 Read Full Article
The Sugar Rush: Dow, Mitsui Revive Major Renewables Project in Brazil
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In Brazil, Dow Chemical has teamed with Mitsui in a JV that will produce ethanol and bioplastics from sugarcane, which the companies are saying will be the world’s largest biopolymers investment. The project will produce DOWLEXT
July 20, 2011 Read Full Article
US Energy Department Celebrates Loan Guarantee Successes as Stimulus-Supported 1705 Program Comes to Close
by Jonathan Silver (Department of Energy/Biofuels Digest) ...the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) has been extremely busy, committing or closing 19 additional financings of clean energy projects – including one of the country’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol
July 20, 2011 Read Full Article
REG Files for $100M IPO: The Complete Digest Analysis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...A successful IPO would cap a remarkable comeback for biodiesel from the depths of “The Troubles” in 2008-09. It’s a second time through for REG: the company filed for a $150 million IPO in 2007,
July 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignol Energy Says U.S. Gov't Will Phase out Funding for Ethanol Pilot Project
(Canadian Business) Lignol Energy Corp. says its demonstration project to show the commercial potential of producing ethanol from plant cellulose no longer qualifies for up to US$30 million of funding from a U.S. government biofuels program. The Vancouver-based company said Friday
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Fuel - Crude Thoughts
(IATA) Challenges in the jet fuel supply chain are intensifying, making investment in biofuels essential ...(T)he airline industry fuel bill rose more than 11% to $139 billion in 2010, equivalent to 26% of operating expenses. ...How airlines manage fuel is therefore
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels 2.0
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The rise of themochemical biofuels, the power of markets, and the anarchic essence of energy development ...The “failure” of cellulosic ethanol is a failure of the policy framework, I said. It was suicidal to pass legislation that
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
$70M Approved for Ethanol Plant
by Bob Moser (The Advertiser) Lacassine Syrup Mill will be joined by nation's first sugar-to-ethanol facility Bonds worth $70 million to help build the nation's first sugar-to-ethanol plant in Lacassine passed a first step of approval Monday by the Louisiana Public
July 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuel Startup Sundrop Fuels Lands $175M Investment, Mostly from Chesapeake
(Denver Business Journal) Colorado biofuel startup Sundrop Fuels Inc. on Monday announced it will get $175 million in new investment, with the lion’s share coming from natural gas company Chesapeake Energy Corp. ...Chesapeake said it plans to fund the investment by
July 13, 2011 Read Full Article
County Offers Incentives to Lure Chemtex
by Chris Berendt (The Sampson Independent) A $160 million ethanol biofuels plant would bring 65 new jobs and an opportunity for Sampson County to position itself on the forefront of alternative energy technology as the site of the first plant of
July 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Australia’s Carbon Tax Debuts: Carbon Sunday, or Black Sunday?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Aussie government debuts carbon tax scheme and $10Bn cleantech fund; who’s happy, who’s howling? In Australia, the federal government launched plans for a $23 per tonne tax on carbon, which will affect the country’s 500 largest
July 12, 2011 Read Full Article
House Rejects Republican Study Committee Cuts to Energy Subsidies
by Pete Kasperowicz (The Hill) The House on Monday night rejected an amendment proposed by the Republican Study Committee that would have cut $3.25 billion from the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, effectively gutting the Department of Energy's alternative energy funding
July 12, 2011 Read Full Article
European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEE–F)
(European Commission) On 1st July 2011, the Commission launched a new European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEE-F) as part of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR). It will allocate around EUR 146 million from the EEPR (3.7% of the total EEPR envelope) towards
July 05, 2011 Read Full Article
GI Joe, Funding Man from Head to Toe: The DoD and Drop-In Biofuels at Scale
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As the Defense Department looks at its options to directly jump-start drop-in biofuels production at scale, we look at the Defense Production Act – the rationale, the process, the funding, and energy’s role In Washington, a
July 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Led By DoD, Federal Government Hoping To Fund Biorefineries
by Yuliya Chernova (Wall Street Journal) The Department of Defense, an emerging market force in biofuels, is working on a new program to finance non-petroleum fuel production, in collaboration with the departments of energy and agriculture, according to people familiar
July 01, 2011 Read Full Article
The Jobless Recovery, Biofuels, Eency-Weency Balance Sheets, and You
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership – ho-hum, you say, and I think I hear you yawning. ...“Invent here, make elsewhere” is a failed industrial policy, according to a PCAST report, “Ensuring Leadership
June 30, 2011 Read Full Article
New Research Facility Recovers Value from Waste, Lowers Emissions
(City of Edmonton, Enerkem, Alberta Innovates) Plug-and-play pilot plant and lab to convert waste to biofuels and value-added chemicals Edmonton is now home to one of the world’s most sophisticated waste-to-biofuels research facilities, thanks to a partnership between Alberta Innovates – Energy and
June 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Brazil Seeks to Boost Stagnant Ethanol Industry
by Inae Riveras and Brian Winter (Reuters) Brazil's government unveiled new financing and other incentives for sugar cane ethanol production on Monday, vowing to work closely with the private sector to boost production in an industry that has struggled recently
June 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Tobacco Funds Give Danville Boost
by Tara Bozick (GoDanRiver.com) ...Other projects receiving tobacco commission money: ...• The commission approved $490,000 for Piedmont BioProducts in Gretna to improve its biofuel-making process, which will lead to the company’s first commercial bio-refinery in Gretna Industrial Park. READ MORE and MORE and
June 01, 2011 Read Full Article
The Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, Day 3: What Would You Say You Do Here?
by Will Dalen Rice (Earth Science Erratics) ...The final day of the conference was all about being “feedstock agnostic” in terms of what you give to your genetically engineered, “proprietary organisms.” This was the really cool day where they all
May 31, 2011 Read Full Article
DEINOVE Achieves the First Key Milestone in the DEINOL Project and Receives €1.6 Million from Oseo
(DEINOVE) Oseo has validated the first key milestone in the DEINOL project (on the production of second-generation ethanol using Deinococcus bacteria) with Deinove and its partners. As a result, Oseo has paid Deinove a second tranche of €1.6 million in funding. DEINOVE,
May 31, 2011 Read Full Article
ESF Produces ‘Next Generation of Biofuels’
(SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry) Researchers work to make biobutanol from sustainable resource: wood ...(S)cientists at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) are researching ways to turn wood into sustainable biobutanol. Researchers in the college's Department of
May 26, 2011 Read Full Article
World Economic Forum Report Identifies Biofuels as the 'Game Changer' to Achieve Aviation Emissions Targets
(GreenAirOnline) An aviation sustainability report from the World Economic Forum finds that achieving the industry’s target of halving its carbon emissions by 2050 will be a significant challenge given an 85 per cent CO2 emissions reduction gap. This is despite
May 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Appropriations Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill
(US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee) The House Appropriations Committee today (May 23, 2011) released the subcommittee draft of the fiscal year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which will be marked up in the Agriculture Subcommittee tomorrow. The legislation continues the
May 24, 2011 Read Full Article
European Commission Funds Global Project to Produce Ethanol, Biodiesel and Bioproducts from Algae
(PR-Inside) Nine partners from seven countries have joined in an innovative project to show that ethanol, biodiesel and bioproducts can be produced from algae on a large scale. The BIOfuel From Algae Technologies (BIOFAT) project, largely funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework
May 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Scheub Says $600 Million Committed to Ethanol Production
by Bill Dolan (Northwest Indiana Times) Lake County Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Merrillville, announced Thursday that an out-of-state investment firm is committing $600 million to the construction of trash-to-ethanol production. "The groundbreaking will be sometime after Memorial Day. The festivities will be
May 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Brazil: Attitude before Altitude, Part 3
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In part 3, we look at 12 companies and compare and contrast the Brazilian and US paths to advanced biofuels. Does Brazil have a “must emulate” model? ...What we found is a stable, straightforward system of
May 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Sen. Bingaman Eyes Committee Vote on Clean-Energy Agency
by Ben Geman (The Hill/E2Wire) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is planning a committee vote before Memorial Day on legislation that would create a federal “Clean Energy Deployment Administration” to jump-start the commercialization of green
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Next-Generation Biofuels Panel Discussion
(Milken Institute Global Conference) With oil prices spiking and concern over climate change growing, biofuels hold tremendous appeal. But they must overcome considerable hurdles. Further process and technology refinements are needed to ensure that biofuels make a significant dent in
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Mexican Biofuels Seen Meeting 3% Blending Target In 2012
by Ivan Castano (Renewable Energy World) "I think it can be done," says Raul Felix, climate change and renewable energy practice coordinator at Baker & McKenzie in Mexico City. "However, Pemex is going to have to pay much more to make [supply]
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Push Becomes Weapon in Colombia's War on Narco-Traffickers
by Nathanial Gronewold (New York Times/Greenwire) ...Government support for biodiesel has spurred a robust demand for palm oil that has put 50 percent more income into the pocket of farmer Misael Monsalve Moreno. He is almost finished replacing his family's
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Request for Proposals – Biofuel Supply
On April 29, 2011, Hawaiian Electric issued a request for proposals (RFP) to supply up to forty-two (42) million gallons of sustainably produced, renewable biofuel per year to fuel the Kahe Generating Station (KPP) for a term of two (2)
May 02, 2011 Read Full Article
USDA Rural Development Invites Applications for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects
(US Department of Agriculture) Agricultural Producers in Non-rural Areas are Now Eligible, Funding May Be Used for Flex-Fuel Pumps Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today (April 14, 2011) invited agricultural producers and rural small businesses to apply for loans and grants
April 15, 2011 Read Full Article
US Navy Spartan Energy Ethos Means Biofuels (Four Commercial-Scale Biorefineries) and Energy Efficiency for the Fleet and the Country. For How Long? In Perpetuity ...
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) On April 12th at the Navy League’s 2011 Sea-Air-Space Exposition, the leaders of the US Navy’s 50% petroleum reduction by 2020 program honed in on what it means for the Navy and for
April 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Next-Gen Biofuel Depends on Subsidies, Senate Told
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Even as President Barack Obama renewed his push for next-generation biofuels, an industry official warned that cuts in biomass subsidies could discourage farmers from providing corn residue and other needed feedstocks. If farmers “see the
April 04, 2011 Read Full Article
State Alliance to Pump $200,000 into KU Biofuels Lab
(CheckBioTech) The Kansas Alliance for Biorefining and Bioenergy (KABB) announced its investment Tuesday, of $200,000 in the Biofuels Testing Laboratory at the University of Kansas. The Biofuels Lab is a $1.2 million initiative to develop a full suite of testing facilities
March 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Will the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Be Chopped by Congress, as US Falls to 3rd in Cleantech Investment?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, 34 cleantech CEOs, are trying to make sure the DOE doesn’t drop its loan guarantee program despite threats of budget cuts from Congress. Signatories to the letter include Abengoa Bioenergy EVP Christopher
March 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Alt Energy Groups Ask Congress to Support DOE Programs
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) A multitude of leading energy trade associations today wrote to Congressional leaders with a request for Congress to maintain support and funding for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) including the Loan Guarantee Program. The program, in
March 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Builders Erect Cellulosic Ethanol Plant at Port of Morrow
by Dean Brickley (East Oregonian) Zea-Chem’s cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant is more than one-third finished. Builders erected three 40,000-gallon fermentation tanks this week and continued bolting together the steel structure for the two-story operations building. Excavation began last fall, and contractors poured
March 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Sustainable Development Technology Canada's Round 19 Accepting Statements of Interest Until April 20th
(Sustainable Development Technology Canada) SDTC’s SD Tech Fund™ invests in late-stage development and pre-commercial demonstration of clean technologies by Canadian companies. The Statement of Interest (SOI) is an initial application used for preliminary screening and is subject to a competitive review
March 25, 2011 Read Full Article
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard Signs Bill to Boost Ethanol Industry, Development Loans
by Chet Brokaw (AP/The Republic) Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed into law Thursday a measure aimed at boosting ethanol sales at South Dakota gas stations and providing extra money for economic development loans. ...The ethanol measure was proposed by the governor and
March 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Budgets & Biotech: Congress Urged to Continue Supporting Advanced Biofuels
(BIOtechNOW) Industry leaders point out that biotech-enabled advanced biofuels spur job growth and reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. Three leading biotechnology trade groups are urging Congress to protect important bioenergy program funding. In a Feb. 25 letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
USDA Seeks Applications for Renewable Energy Funding, Loan Guarantees
(US Department of Agriculture) Funds Will Help Win the Future by Spurring Investment to Increase the Production and Use of Renewable Energy Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is seeking applications to increase the production and use of renewable energy
March 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Evaluating a Biomass Refinery
by Rowley Tedlock (Kleinfelder) and Richard Holder (Jason Associates/Renewable Energy World) Detailed environmental evaluations consider alternatives and the effect of developing a cellulosic ethanol plant with a power generation component. The Abengoa Bioenergy Biorefinery of Kansas (ABBK) in Hugoton, Kansas,
March 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Who’s the Boss? The Salt-Water, Fresh-Water Divide in Agricultural Research
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Reporter Bob Brooks followed up on the Digest’s story on phosphorus reserves with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, asking about opportunities with and research in aqua farming and salt-water tolerant species. “USDA’s scope is limited to
March 08, 2011 Read Full Article
UK's Carbon Trust Funding Cut by 40%
by Damian Carrington (The Guardian) Cuts to the government's low-carbon agency will cancel grants to biofuel projects and cause dozens of redundancies The government's leading low-carbon agency has had its funding cut by 40%, causing the cancellation of grants to a major
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Vinod Khosla on Biofuel Feedstocks
by Vinod Khosla (GreenTechMedia) Imagination is in shortest supply when it comes to agronomic econometrics that extrapolate the past instead of inventing a new future. Part II: Feedstock. Feedstock cost, environmental impact and even its politics are critical variables. With each
February 06, 2011 Read Full Article
BioJet Receives $1.2 Billion Funding Facility
(BioJet International Ltd.) BioJet International Ltd. announced that it has received a US $1.2 Billion funding facility from Cayman based Equity Partners Fund SPC. The funding structure is a 3 year facility, further terms of the funding were not disclosed. BioJet
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Go West, Young Biofuels Entrepreneur
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...California remains the heartland of technological innovation and there is no place on earth where ideas go farther, faster, and find more support from academia, the science establishment, and venture capitalists. (Let us not mix
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
BAAC, Bangchak to Grow Oil Palm Trees
(Bangkok Post) The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) and Bangchak Petroleum Plc have teamed up to grow oil palm for a biodiesel project. The state bank will allow the oil company to lease 1,200 rai of degraded tangerine orchards
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Valero Invests in Mascoma, Signs Cellulosic Ethanol Offtake Agreement; Inks LOI for up to $50M in Equity
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Hampshire, Mascoma announced that Valero Energy has joined as an investor in the company. Further, Mascoma, Valero, and Mascoma’s operating subsidiary, Frontier Renewable Resources, (jointly owned with J.M. Longyear) have signed a non-binding letter
January 13, 2011 Read Full Article
The Elusive Green Economy
by Joshua Green (The Atlantic) It feels like 1977 all over again: economy in the doldrums, crisis in the Middle East, and a charismatic new Democrat in the White House preaching the gospel of clean energy. Can Obama succeed where
January 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Much-Touted Cellulosic Ethanol Is Late in Making Mandated Appearance
by Dina Fine Maron (ClimateWire/New York Times) ...U.S. EPA figures indicate that in the second half of 2010, not a drop of cellulosic ethanol -- a much-touted fuel that taps the sugars from farm wastes and other non-food sources of
January 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Quantum Leap for the Q Microbe: Qteros closes $22 Million in New Financing; Global Partnership with Praj
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Qteros and Praj will collaborate on a highly focused, multi-year development program with the objective of rapidly developing and commercializing Process Design Packages (PDPs) that enable cellulosic ethanol production using Qteros’ Q Microbe-enabled CBP platform
January 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Florida Algae-preneurs - Making Fuel from Algae
by Cynthia Barnett (Florida Trend) Some Florida businesses are squeezing a trickle of fuel from algae, claiming they can help power the world. But right now, a few expensive drops in the bucket are all they have to show. On 1,000
December 28, 2010 Read Full Article
Researcher Has New Energy Solution
by Robert Behre (The Sun News) As Janice Ryan-Bohac looks on, Jonathan Edwards steers straight over a long row of dying vines while his tractor's rear chain digger unearths sweet potatoes as big as bowling balls. These are not meant for anyone's
December 27, 2010 Read Full Article
POET Cellulosic Ethanol Efforts Could Have Nearly $38 Billion Impact on Iowa
(POET) New analysis outlines jobs, economic output of Project LIBERTY work POET's Project LIBERTY will generate as much as $37.8 billion in economic activity over 20 years and could employ more than 2,800 people, an independent analysis claims. A report done by Impact
December 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Drop-In Biofuel Developer Dorsan Joins ATI-Clean Energy Incubator
(University of Texas at Austin) The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), a not-for-profit unit of The University of Texas at Austin, announced today that Dorsan Biofuels, Inc., joined as a member company of the ATI-Clean Energy Incubator. Dorsan uses proprietary technology to create
December 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Remarks by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Biofuels as Prepared for Delivery at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.
(EIN News/USDA) ...USDA announced assistance under the Recovery Act for 334 broadband expansions designed to reach more than 6 million people and 250,000 businesses in rural and remote areas. ...By launching the USDA led effort "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food"
October 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Easing Lignocellulosic Biofuel Production
(RenewableEnergyFocus.com) Following the discovery of the genes of two enzymes that toughen plants, researchers aim to breed non-food crops that require less processing, energy and chemicals to convert them into biofuel. ...Lead Researcher, Professor Paul Dupree, says: “There is a lot
September 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Breaking the Chains: 6 Solutions for Ending Dependence on Foreign Oil
by Lewis Reynolds (Politics Daily) America doesn't have to depend on overseas sources for one of its most vital national needs. A move toward energy independence, aside from creating as many as 14 million new jobs, can help rebuild our
September 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Negative Carbon Gasoline's Cool Planet Biofuels Funded
(The Alarm Clock) Camarillo, CA-based Cool Planet Biofuels has raised $3M as part of a $8M Series B funding round, according to a filing by the firm today. Source of the new funding was not announced, however, the firm is
September 07, 2010 Read Full Article
A New Start: NREL Aquatic Species Program
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) Ten years after NREL’s Aquatic Species Program was shut down, a similar initiative began and now is thriving in its algae research, which includes the evaluation of CO2 recycling. Between 1978 and 1996, the Aquatic Species Program at
September 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Oil Spill Mars UC Berkeley's BP-Funded Research
(AP) BP's catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is fueling opposition to the University of California, Berkeley's research partnership with the British company, with activists on the famously liberal campus demanding a severing of ties. The oil giant gave UC
August 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Future of Cellulosic Ethanol Remains Uncertain
by Mark Steil (Minnesota Public Radio) The idea of a biofuel made from something other than food was one of the stars of both the Bush and Obama administration's energy programs, but the future of cellulosic ethanol is in doubt. Cellulosic
May 03, 2010 Read Full Article
The Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment Awards over $5.1 Million to 24 Energy Projects at the University of Minnesota
(University of Minnesota) The Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) recently awarded over $5.1 million to 24 renewable energy research and demonstration projects at the University of Minnesota. The selected projects focus on a wide-range of topics including solar
April 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Testimony of Energy Secretary Steven Chu before the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
(January 21, 2010) ...It is imperative that government provide R&D funding, especially at the front end when private investments would not recoup the full value of the shared social good or when a new technology would displace an embedded way