by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Eager to understand the bio investor impact from the EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook – but not crazy about reading 46 pages of dense text and graphics? Our 3-Minute Guide can help. ...We see four key trends. 1. Retail
natural gas
Back TO HOMEBiodiesel Use Up 240% in 2011
by Justin Loiseau (Motley Fool) Alternative and replacement fuels are making moves, according to the most recent data released by the Energy Information Administration on Monday. From 2007 to 2011, traditional fuel use dropped 7.8% to 171 billion gasoline equivalent gallons, while
April 10, 2013 Read Full Article
ARPA-E Launches $20M Project REMOTE – Bioconversion of Natural Gas to Liquid Fuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ARPA-E aims to drive liquid fuel production from abundant, affordable methane — and sees biobased technology as the path forward. In Washington, ARPA-E released its long-awaited funding opportunity announcement for Project REMOTE – Reducing Emissions using
March 27, 2013 Read Full Article
Letter to President Obama on Climate Change: From the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
(Center for Climate and Security) The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAS, recently released a set of recommendations for President Obama on addressing climate change. The top-line recommendations include: Focus on national preparedness for climate change, which can help decrease
March 26, 2013 Read Full Article
Alternative Fuels on the Rise in Wisconsin
by Josh Lintereur (htrnews.com/Sheboygan Press Media) ...There are now about 250 Wisconsin retailers and other businesses offering alternative fuels, such as natural gas, biodiesel, E85, and electric, with more in development, according to Wisconsin Clean Cities, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that
March 18, 2013 Read Full Article
The Surprising Connection Between Food and Fracking
by Tom Philpott (Mother Jones) In a recent Nation piece, the wonderful Elizabeth Royte teased out the direct links between hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and the food supply. In short, extracting natural gas from rock formations by bombarding them with
March 14, 2013 Read Full Article
Group Says U.S. Energy Policy ‘Like an Orchestra without a Conductor’
(Midwest Energy News) To achieve true energy security, the United States badly needs a single federal energy policy and a new White House council to make it happen, retired Marine Corps General Jim Jones said this week at the annual
March 08, 2013 Read Full Article
Report: Flaws in EPA Drilling Pollution Data
by Dina Cappiello (Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle) Limited data and unreliable estimates on air pollution from oil and natural gas production is hindering the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to police the drilling boom, the agency's internal watchdog said in a
March 07, 2013 Read Full Article
Kittiratt Urges Ethanol for Buses
(Bangkok Post) Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong wants new passenger buses in Thailand to run on ethanol instead of natural gas, while PTT Plc assures it can supply the fuel as is needed. Mr Kittiratt made his preference
March 07, 2013 Read Full Article
Hot Sauce! 5 Lessons Louisiana Can Teach Us about Advanced Bayoufuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Louisiana — hot as cayenne pepper in biofuels capacity development, but some cautionary tales there in the sauce. When it comes to the first generation of ethanol and biodiesel-based biofuels, Louisiana didn’t figure much into the
March 07, 2013 Read Full Article
Clean Cities Coalition for Energy Neutral Sustainability
by Josh Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) At a recent Greater Washington Green Cities Coalition (GWRCCC) reception, I had the chance to reflect on many passionate environmentalists who perceive Big Oil/gas companies as blind-eyed industrialists, caricaturizing fossil fuel affiliates as capitalistic
March 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Is Fracking a ‘Bridge’ to a Clean-Energy Future? Ernest Moniz Thinks So.
by Brad Plumer (The Washington Post) When it comes to energy, Ernest Moniz seems to be an “all of the above” guy. President Obama’s new nominee for the Energy Department has heaped praise on everything from solar panels and efficiency to nuclear
March 04, 2013 Read Full Article
Ernest Moniz, MIT Physicist, Nominated as Energy Secretary
by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) ...At MIT, he has directed the school’s Energy Initiative, where he oversaw reports on almost every aspect of energy. And he has been a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Moniz, who
March 04, 2013 Read Full Article
Natural Gas Leaks Come under Scrutiny, Raise Questions on Climate Impact
by Juliet Eilperin (The Washington Post) ... Measuring how much methane gas is leaking from pipes under the District could help answer a key policy question. As natural gas production expands in the United States, do its benefits for the climate far outweigh
March 04, 2013 Read Full Article
Sundrop Fuels Buys 1,213 Acres for Alexandria-Area Biofuels Plant
by Jeff Matthews (The Town Talk) Sundrop Fuels Inc. closed on the purchase of more than 1,213 acres of land in the Rapides Station area Thursday where the biofuels company plans to locate its plant manufacturing "green gasoline." Sundrop Fuels has
March 01, 2013 Read Full Article
Team Up for Energy Victory
by Col. Bill Holmberg (ret.) (American Council On Renewable Energy) “Up with octane, down with aromatics, and embrace the needs of people and nature,” says ACORE’s legendary biomass guru. But less freak-out, more reach-out is needed, he cautions. ...However, certain forces
February 25, 2013 Read Full Article
Weighing Obama's SOTUS Proposal: More Oil Drilling to Fund Clean Energy?
by Jim Snyder (Bloomberg/Renewable Energy World) President Barack Obama's proposal to fund clean-energy research with fees paid by oil and gas producers is renewing a debate over whether the promise of innovation tomorrow is worth expanding drilling today. Obama's "Energy Security Trust"
February 15, 2013 Read Full Article
Fracking Success Hits Biofuels Investment
by Jason Krupp (EIN News) Petrol retailer Z Energy says world oil prices could plunge by almost half in the next five years, as United States oil and gas production booms because of "fracking". Fracking is the hydraulic fracturing of underground
February 15, 2013 Read Full Article
White House Wants $2 billion to Give Cleaner Transport a Boost
by Patrick Rucker (Reuters) President Barack Obama wants Congress to create a $2 billion clean-energy transportation fund using fees paid by oil and gas producers on federal lands, the White House said Wednesday, expanding a plan announced in Obama's State of the
February 14, 2013 Read Full Article
How to Play Cheap Natural Gas
by Jim Lane (BioInvest Digest) All you have to say is “natural gas” and a lot of people in the biobased world turn pale, tremble, and scamper into corners. The cause for anxiety? It seems to be a toxic combination from
February 13, 2013 Read Full Article
The POTUS and His SOTUS: RT@moreofthesame TL;DR
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The SOTUS contained 18 references to energy — more than enough for the Digest to take a close look at what was said, what was not — and the likelihood of all (or any) of the President’s
February 13, 2013 Read Full Article
EU Launches Clean Fuel Strategy
(European Commission) The European Commission today announced an ambitious package of measures to ensure the build-up of alternative fuel stations across Europe with common standards for their design and use. Policy initiatives so far have mostly addressed the actual fuels
February 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Washington Auto Show Policy Day Brings Biofuels Conversation to Capitol Hill
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) “Affordable Mobility: A Roadmap to Energy Efficiency” framed a public discussion of automotive issues for Capitol Hill staff which ranged from fuel efficiency and the new CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards to increasing
January 30, 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
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
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
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
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
EPA Releases Update on Ongoing Hydraulic Fracturing Study
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today provided an update on its ongoing national study currently underway to better understand any potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Results of the study, which Congress requested EPA to complete,
December 21, 2012 Read Full Article
Can Flex-Fuel Cars Put US on the Road to Low Oil Prices?
by Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian) Barack Obama is in the market for creative ways of combating climate change, and Eyal Aronoff thinks he has one – involving the US's beloved motor car Eyal Aronoff identifies himself on his business card as
December 20, 2012 Read Full Article
The Old Switcheroo — the “Now” of Cellulosic Biofuels vs “Five Years Away” in Oil & Gas
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As renewable fuel developers put steel in the ground, oil & gas points to a fossil-based transformation in transportation fuels just “five years away”. Today, it is the oil & gas industry talking in terms of
December 20, 2012 Read Full Article
U.S. States Threaten Lawsuit against EPA over Regulations
by Andrew Hay (Reuters) A coalition of seven eastern states led by New York plans to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to issue new guidelines to curb methane emissions, a greenhouse gas that may be linked to
December 17, 2012 Read Full Article
The New Syngas: New Catalysts, Opportunities for Advanced Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In the biofuels revolution, the primary focus has been not on producing methanol (and, ultimately, gasoline) from syngas, but primarily on the production of ethanol. Three of the major names in the field- LanzaTech,
November 27, 2012 Read Full Article
The Information Source for Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles
(US Department of Energy) The Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) provides information, data, and tools to help fleets and other transportation decisions makers find ways to reduce petroleum consumption through the use of alternative and renewable fuels, advanced vehicles, and
November 27, 2012 Read Full Article
The 2012 Maryland Energy Forum
by Bradley Frieze (Advanced Biofuels USA) On Wednesday, October 3rd, four leading activists for the use of renewable energy sources held a forum at Frederick Community College. This ‘Maryland Energy Forum’ focused mainly on four present energy issues: hydrofracking, coal,
November 26, 2012 Read Full Article
Little Big Tech: Can Fischer-Tropsch Technology Work at Smaller Scale?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) While companies pursue alternatives to Fischer-Tropsch technologies, Velocys is seeking to make F-T work economically with micro-reactors. In last week’s Digest, Robert Rapier aptly stated the challenge in front of XTL technologies – companies whose primary focus is
November 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Gas-to-Liquids: A Risky Investment?
by Robert Rapier (Biofuels Digest) ...Oxford Catalysts claims that with natural gas at $3.89 per million BTU (MMBTU), they can produce diesel for $1.57 per gallon. But I would caution investors in this situation. Without a doubt the technology is
November 18, 2012 Read Full Article
Venter: Biofuels 'Dead' without U.S. Aid
by Bradley J. Fikes (North County Times) Famed genomics researcher J. Craig Venter, who is working to develop biofuels from photosynthetic algae, acknowledged this week that alternate fuels are “dead” unless the federal government mandates their use with a carbon
November 01, 2012 Read Full Article
Biofuels Companies Drop Biomass and Turn to Natural Gas
by Kevin Bullis (MIT Technology Review) The high cost of making biofuel from cellulosic sources is prompting a new strategy. Calysta Energy, a recently unveiled startup based in Menlo Park, California, plans to make diesel fuel that costs half as much
October 30, 2012 Read Full Article
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING: Data-Heavy Project Aims to Move Methane Emissions Research beyond 'He Said, She Said'
by Gayathri Vaidyanathan and Saqib Rahim (E&E Publishing/Energy Wire) A team of academics, natural gas companies and environmentalists is hoping to pull a crucial environmental issue from the jaws of polarization and controversy -- and start moving it into the realm
October 24, 2012 Read Full Article
Sundrop Fuels Plant Said to Be on Track in Rapides Parish
by Billy Gunn (TheTownTalk.com) ...Not quite one year ago, Louisiana Economic Development chief Stephen Moret and local economic development officials announced that Sundrop Fuels would locate its biofuels plant at a site off Interstate 49 north of Alexandria. The company plans
October 24, 2012 Read Full Article
The Flaring of Energy Freedom
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...If you were watching the second Obama-Romney presidential debate ..., or heard about it, it might have struck you as significant that the two remaining candidates for the most powerful job on the planet spent
October 23, 2012 Read Full Article
The Greening of Petronas: Oil Giant Signs with LanzaTech to Turn Waste CO2 into Sustainable Chemicals
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In Malaysia, LanzaTech and the Malaysian national oil company, Petronas, announced they will work together to accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies to produce sustainable chemicals from carbon dioxide (CO2) and natural gas. ...The good
October 16, 2012 Read Full Article
France to Close the Door on Shale Gas Exploration
(EnergyMarketPrice) Speaking at the opening of an environmental conference in Paris, the French President François Hollande announced he has rejected several applications to begin extracting natural gas and oil from shale using hydraulic fracking practice, which uses a high-pressure mixture
September 19, 2012 Read Full Article
Renewable Biogas: Next RFS Darling or Marginal Fuel?
by Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest/Pike Research) ...The Toilet Bike, though, brings to light questions around the broader potential for biogas as a renewable transportation fuel, an application that has been gaining increased attention in recent years. Still, biogas fuel’s broader market
September 12, 2012 Read Full Article
Obama Fuel-Economy Rule Gives Sweeteners To Honda, Tesla
by Angela Greiling Keane (Bloomberg) Honda Motor Co. (7267), which last year complained that a proposed fuel-economy rule was unfair to non- U.S. automakers, got a boost when the final version added extra credits for sellers of natural gas-powered vehicles. Honda,
August 29, 2012 Read Full Article
Key Senate Biofuels Critic under Fire over Nat-Gas Fuel Earmarks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Arch-critic of the cost of military biofuels — Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe — comes under scrutiny over earmarks for natural gas-based military fuels that cost 29 times more than conventional fuels. In Washington, the battle over
July 31, 2012 Read Full Article
Hybrid, Hyperlocal: 5 Paths of the New Fuel Economy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...We think that the emergence of a long-term, low-cost natural gas source will ultimately break production of fuel and chemicals into five key streams. Long chain molecules. Winning? Bio-based. These are the long molecules primarily used
July 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Biofuel Start-Up Opts for Natural Gas Fuel Conversion
by David Worthington (SmartPlanet.com) The allure of cheap nature gas has altered the course of a New Jersey biofuel start-up’s path to commercialization. Shale gas will serve as Primus Green Energy’s (PGE) bridge fuel until it shifts to biomass feedstocks. PGE today
July 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Coskata Switches Focus from Biomass to Natural Gas; to Raise $100M in Natgas-Oriented Private Placement
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Coskata, looking at CAPEX opportunities, political uncertainty, and the investor climate — switches to an “all natural gas” feedstock strategy. Initiates a $100M private placement, puts Alabama project on hold. In today’s Digest, we look
July 20, 2012 Read Full Article
In Groundbreaking Milestone, Primus Green Energy Alternative Gasoline Powers Car in Test Drive
(Primus Green Energy) The test drive of an automobile fueled with 93-octane gasoline made from natural gas and biomass was the highlight of a dedication ceremony for Primus Green Energy's new $7 million demonstration plant at the company's Hillsborough, N.J.,
June 26, 2012 Read Full Article
EdeniQ, NREL, Aemetis, Kent Bioenergy among Winners of California Clean Energy Grants
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, the California Energy Commission approved funding of $23,110,015 for projects that will advance the development of green fuels, and the installation of fueling stations. The awards are provided through the Energy Commission’s Alternative
June 14, 2012 Read Full Article
Perception vs Reality: The 8 Most Common Biofuels Myths
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Attacks from the usual opponents are generally in the form of statements that sound vaguely scientific, or fact-based. Often with a scientist in tow. Beware. Not every person in the business of meat or breakfast
June 08, 2012 Read Full Article
EU Revises Horizon 2020 Programme to Make Gas a Green Fuel
(Power-Technology.com) Gas has been reclassified as a green source of power by Horizon 2020, an €80bn European Union programme unveiled last year, which could have serious repercussions for the renewable energy industry. According to a document seen by the Guardian, a
June 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Can Natural Gas Help Stop Global Warming?
by Editorial Board (The Washington Post) Will natural gas hinder the fight against global warming? ...But extracting and transporting all that natural gas, which is mostly methane, also results in fuel leaks. When methane leaks, it has a shorter-lived but much
April 16, 2012 Read Full Article
Gasoline’s Comeback in the Bio-Based Era: 5 Cleantech Companies Vie for Green Gasoline Breakthroughs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...But in the past two years, five technologies have emerged that are focused on renewable gasoline (along with some others that have the capability of producing gasoline-like fuels but are focused primarily on diesel or
March 20, 2012 Read Full Article
US Celanese Eyes World Markets for Its Fuel Ethanol
(ICIS.com) US-based acetyls producer Celanese is looking at markets worldwide for its hydrocarbon-based ethanol, an executive said on Wednesday. Celanese's recently developed technology, TCX, allows it to produce ethanol from natural gas or coal by using acetic acid as an intermediary, according to a recent patent. READ MORE
March 08, 2012 Read Full Article
Oil Prices, Gas Prices and Domestic Production
(US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources) Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, has a well-deserved reputation for focusing on facts. He worries about the many myths surrounding gasoline prices, oil prices and domestic production. Today, on
March 08, 2012 Read Full Article
How Not to Lose an Energy Policy in 10 Days
by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/Biofuels Digest) BIO’s industrial biotech czar says that governments should resist attempts to derail the commercialization of advanced biofuels, and not be beguiled by the Solyndra Syndrome In 2011, consumers spent a record $481 billion on gasoline ,
March 07, 2012 Read Full Article
The Methanol Alternative to Gasoline
by Tom Ridge and Mary E. Peters (New York Times) Opinion: President Obama recently called the United States the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” and asserted that it was time for our oil-dominated transportation fuel market to open the door
February 24, 2012 Read Full Article
Alliance between Natural Gas Industry, Environmental Groups Fractures
by Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) Just four years ago, shale gas king Aubrey K. McClendon told shareholders of Chesapeake Energy that “finally, we made some new friends this year.” The chief executive sketched a vision of working hand in
February 20, 2012 Read Full Article
House Proposal Would Raise Gas Tax and Some Vehicle Fees
by O. Kay Henderson (RadioIowa) Iowa’s gas tax would be eight cents per gallon higher by April, 2014 under a proposal that has cleared a five-member House panel. The bill also calls for new yearly fees for hybrid vehicles and for
February 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Startup Takes Wood Pellets in, Turns out 'Biogasoline'
by Martin LaMonica (CNET) For a new crop of biofuel companies, ethanol is out and "biogasoline" is in. One of them is Primus Green Energy, which plans to open a demonstration plant by the end of the year that will convert wood
February 15, 2012 Read Full Article
Bombshell Study: High Methane Emissions Measured Over Gas Field “May Offset Climate Benefits of Natural Gas”
by Joe Romm (ThinkProgress.org) Air sampling by NOAA over Colorado Finds 4% Methane Leakage, More Than Double Industry Claims How much methane leaks during the entire lifecycle of unconventional gas has emerged as a key question in the fracking debate. Natural gas is mostly
February 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Coskata, INEOS Bio Settle Lawsuit: Coskata Revises S-1
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest--scroll down) Moving over to Coskata, the company recently revised its IPO documentation to reflect a settlement of its lawsuit with INEOS Bio, which reflected a trade secret dispute. From the revised S-1: “On January 12, 2012, the parties
February 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuels Standard Modification Attempts Unnecessary
(Farm Futures) Hartwig says legislation is attempt to eliminate RFS altogether. Congressman Pete Olson, R-Texas, recently introduced the Domestic Alternative Fuels Act of 2012. The measure seeks to modify the renewable fuel standard to include ethanol and other fuels produced from
February 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Natural Gas vs. Energy Innovation
by Kate Bechen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The production of ethanol is a complex, energy intensive process. Critics often cite the energy usage of ethanol plants and the wastes produced by the production of ethanol, especially corn-based ethanol, as lessening the
January 30, 2012 Read Full Article
The Downside to America's Fracking Frenzy
by John Mathews (The Globalist) ...Today it is no longer evil oil companies riding roughshod over ranchers in Texas, but shale gas prospectors riding over communities' rights wherever they drill — in the Antrim shale (Michigan), the Barnett shale (Texas),
January 27, 2012 Read Full Article
Earthquakes, Water Pollution and Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Fracking - Strike Number Three?
by John Daly (OilPrice.com) ...While U.S. energy companies began fracking for gas in the late 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in 2005 after the administration of President George W. Bush exempted fracking from regulations under the U.S. Clean Water
January 24, 2012 Read Full Article
RFA Critical of Effort to Include Fossil Fuels in RFS
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is rejecting the notion that greater efforts need to be made to include fossil fuels in the nation’s fuel supply. Specifically, the RFA is very critical of efforts by Texas Republican Rep.
January 19, 2012 Read Full Article
A Plan for the Future of Biofuels in America or The Real Economics of Fuels (Bio and Otherwise)
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) In last days of the 2011 session the US Congress, with a job approval rating of 11% , cancelled the VEETC ethanol subsidy and dropped the tariff on Brazilian ethanol imports. These major events
January 19, 2012 Read Full Article
Want Cheap Biofuel? A Startup Makes It with Natural Gas
by Kevin Bullis (MIT Technology Review) Virent says supplementing biomass with fossil fuel could increase yields and lower costs. Virent, a biofuels company based in Madison, Wisconsin, has developed a potentially inexpensive way to make gasoline and other valuable chemicals out
January 18, 2012 Read Full Article
LUFT: Market-Based Future for Ethanol
by Gal Luft (The Washington Times) ...At current oil prices, ethanol is more costly than gasoline while the alcohol fuel methanol, primarily made from natural gas, is cheaper than gasoline on a per-mile basis. But the comparative per-mile economics of
January 18, 2012 Read Full Article
Troubled Ethanol Plant Looks to Sell Water for Fracking
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Idled ethanol plant Bionol Clearfield LLC is working to get approval to sell some of the water it would be using for ethanol production to sell to the natural gas extraction industry for
December 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Stover for Power—Not Just Biofuels
by Kris Bevill (Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine) Partnering to produce energy from stover could be an attractive option for corn ethanol plants. In mid-July, right around the time the area’s corn crop was beginning to mature and farmers could start
November 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Sundrop Announces $450M Biofuels Project in Louisiana
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Colorado, Sundrop Fuels announced that they have agreed to purchase about 1,200 acres of land near Alexandria, Louisiana to build their first plant. Using forest waste and hydrogen from natural gas, their plant will produce
November 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Natural Gas Threatens Biofuels?
by Carrin Hall (Energy Digital) As the natural gas industry targets vehicles, what will happen to biofuels development? Clean Energy Fuels, a leading natural gas provider in Seal Beach, has teamed up with Quarles Petroleum Inc. to bring customers alternative fuel,
November 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Subsidy Foes Sponsor $64,000 Per Truck Natural gas Subsidy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Recently, it became clear what fuel Rep. Boren did like in his truck, natural gas, when the Oklahoma congressman co-sponsored legislation that would pay American truck owners up to $64,000, per vehicle, for converting their fueling
November 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Jobe, Huber Kick off Northeast Bioheat Workshop
by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine) The biodiesel and oilheat industries have a long-standing history working alongside each other respectively serving the home heating needs of their customers, particularly in the Northeast, and delivering clean-burning Bioheat was the sentiment echoed by
October 13, 2011 Read Full Article
FuelChoiceNow’s FFV Statement and Focus on Methanol for Cars Needs Correction Says Advanced Biofuels USA
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Correction posted 9/22/11. The nonprofit educational organization, Advanced Biofuels USA, advocates for the adoption of renewable sustainable advanced biofuels as an energy security, economic development, military flexibility and climate change/pollution control solution. In addition,
September 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Turning Waste into Inexpensive, Green Fuel
(University of California-Riverside) Two grants will allow further development of steam hydro-gasification process that turns waste from food, yards and other sources into transportation fuels or natural gas Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CERT) at
September 16, 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
New USGS Marcellus Shale Anaylsis Drastically Cuts DOE Estimates
by David Hughes (Post Carbon Institute) This week the USGS released anew assessment of gas resources in the Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin. The report is a reasonable effort by the USGS to sort out some of the wheat from the
August 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Celanese to Make Low-Cost Ethanol From Gas if U.S. Policy Changes
by Jack Kaskey (Bloomberg) Celanese Corp. (CE) would make low-cost ethanol for U.S. motorists using natural gas if policy makers end subsidies for corn-based production and amend the law that allows only renewable sources of the fuel additive. Celanese can make
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Wyden Act Promotes Alternative Fuels
(MyCentralOregon) Legislation introduced by Senator Ron Wyden and Michigan's Debbie Stabenow to promote the implementation of viable alternatives to oil passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday. Wyden said the Alternative Fuels Vehicles Competitiveness and Security Act will increase
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Open Fuel Standard Legislation Is Bad for the Environment; Bad for Biofuels
(Advanced Biofuels USA) Shale Natural Gas Does Not Belong in Pro-Environmental Legislation A new legislative analysis by Advanced Biofuels USA concludes that the Open Fuel Standard (OFS) is bad for advanced biofuels and will add to environmental damage if passed and
June 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Is the Open Fuel Standard Good for Advanced Biofuels or for the USA? Don’t Think So!
by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) A proposal called the Open Fuel Standard (OFS) has recently been included in a number of bills (HR 1687 is one example) submitted for consideration by the US Congress. These OFS provisions go beyond
June 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Why It’s Wrong to Agree with the Malthusians about Ethanol
by Robert Zubrin (Pajamas Media) Rising food prices are the result of rising oil prices, not a growing market for ethanol. ...There is not a fixed amount of grain in the world. Farmers produce in response to demand. The more customers,
May 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Making a Great Fuel Even Better
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) How replacing natural gas with biomass as feedstock for methanol production can improve biodiesel's already good environmental footing The vast majority of methanol produced today is sourced from natural gas, but this has not always been
May 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Open Fuel Standard Introduced in House, Sponsorship Growing
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., imagines a world where consumers could drive up to the pump in a standardized vehicle and choose - be it biofuels, methanol, coal-to-liquid fuel or gasoline, depending on the best
May 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Q&A with Matt Roberts, Owner of RS Fuels Store Owner Looks to Make Alternative Fuels a Part of Company’s Offerings
by Jay Marks (NewsOK.com) Q: RS Fuel recently opened a convenience store at 3330 W Memorial Road offering compressed natural gas and E85 ethanol. Why did you think it was important to offer those alternatives to your customers? A: It
April 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Study: Gas from ‘Fracking’ Worse than Coal on Climate
by Ben Geman (The Hill) Cornell University professors will soon publish research that concludes natural gas produced with a drilling method called “hydraulic fracturing” contributes to global warming as much as coal, or even more. The conclusion is explosive because
April 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Lott, Dorgan, Jones, Reilly form Bipartisan Policy Center Energy Project
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, former Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), former National Security Advisor General Jim Jones (Ret.) and former EPA Administrator William K. Reilly announced they will lead the new Bipartisan Policy Center
April 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Methanol Greener than Ethanol
by Gerry Calhoun (DNJ.com) ...Methanol, processed from natural gas, is an alcohol, like ethanol, but it needs no extensive lands for cultivation, no distillation, no transportation and thus is far more environmentally friendly. Any car that can burn gasoline with