by Sarah Wurzbacher (Penn State Extension)  The Association of Warm-Season Grass Producers (AWSGP) has had a busy year, and now voices market optimism for perennial grass products.
One of the group’s primary efforts from the start has …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Today (September 20, 2017), U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has selected eight projects to negotiate for up to $15 million in total DOE funding to …

by Pam Radtke Russell (Engineering News Record)  From Seattle to Cape Cod, see what’s being done at 18 different locations  —  … In this special report, Engineering News-Record’s team of editors and reporters look at …

by Scott Miller (Clemson University) Clemson University scientists have received a federal grant to evaluate the effectiveness of producing biofuels to mitigate climate change.
Quantifying the net impact that growing biomass feedstock for biofuel has on local temperature …

by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com)  Blue Ridge Biofuels (BRB) started as a way for one business to make its own sustainable diesel fuel – now they provide clean burning biodiesel for customers all over Western North Carolina.
The …

(National Biodiesel Board)  America’s Advanced Biofuel powers energy independence and clean energy  —  As the nation celebrates its independence, American-made biodiesel is powering fleets across the country and supporting more than 64,000 jobs throughout the …

by Graham Abbott (Ganjapreneur)  Shortly after the close of South Carolina’s legislative session earlier this month, Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill legalizing the cultivation and sale of industrial hemp, according to a report by …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Last December , the U.S. Department of Energy announced it would support the country’s 10th Manufacturing USA Institute with $70 million over five years, subject to federal appropriations. Another $70 million is …

(South Carolina Promise Zone)  Thunderbolt Biomass, Inc., a manufacturer of wood pellets from sawmill residuals, is launching new processing operations in Allendale County, according to news releases. The company is planning to invest $6 million …

by Robert Walton (Utility Dive)  The Sierra Club says six states have proposed legislation this year that would add to the cost of owning an electric vehicle, worrying clean energy advocates who say owning emissions-free …

by Laura Parker (National Geographic)  Ten times a year, the Naval Station Norfolk floods. The entry road swamps. Connecting roads become impassable. Crossing from one side of the base to the other becomes impossible. Dockside, floodwaters …

(U.S. Department of Agriculture)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced four grants totaling more than $13.6 million to combat a scourge on the nation’s citrus industry, …

(Iowa State University)  Iowa State University will bring its expertise in biorenewable technologies and pilot plant operations to the country’s 10th Manufacturing USA Institute.
The recently announced advanced manufacturing institute is dedicated to improving the productivity …

by Roger Real Drouin (Yale Environment 360)  A steady increase in sea levels is pushing saltwater into U.S. wetlands, killing trees from Florida to as far north as New Jersey. But with sea level projected to …

(StartUp Compete)  Even though sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) has been rated as a very healthy alternative to potato, there are very few convenience foods available from the vegetable type of sweetpotato compared to potato. Despite being …

by Brady Dennis (The Washington Post)  The real estate data firm Zillow recently published a research analysis that estimated rising sea levels could leave nearly 2 million U.S. homes inundated by 2100, a fate that …

by Valerie Volcovici (Reuters)  Rising sea levels due to hurricanes and tidal flooding intensified by climate change will put military bases along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast at risk, according to a report …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In South Carolina, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities relaunched a revitalized wood bioenergy facility database and mapping tool. The site is the most comprehensive database of its kind …

by Gene Zaleski (The Times & Democrat)  … SCDA (South Carolina Department of Agriculture) spokeswoman Stephanie Sox says consumers will still be able to purchase ethanol-free gasoline at an octane of 90.

In order for ethanol-free gasoline to …

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the DOE’s ARPA-E TERRA projects seek to accelerate the development of sustainable energy crops for the production of renewable transportation fuels from biomass. To accomplish this, the projects …

(Longview News Journal)  Kinder Morgan is halting work on the $1 billion Palmetto Pipeline after Georgia lawmakers approved a one-year moratorium on permits for petroleum pipelines in the state.
The Texas-based energy company said in a …

by Keona Gardner  (TCPalm)   … Indian River Bio Diesel is seeking city approval to operate a plant that would process 250,000 gallons of its product a month in the now-vacant Egan packinghouse, 1103 N. Second …

by Katherine Grandstrand (McClatchy/Vehicle Service Pros)  A South Carolina college professor has procured a patent for a product that changes the way biofuels react to the elements.
That product could make the fuels more popular in cold …

(Donald Danforth Plant Science Center/EurekAlert!)  The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced that it will be part of a major collaborative research project to improve sorghum’s productivity under resource-limited conditions. The research should lead to …

(Fuel Cells Works)  … “Because of the way it is produced, the hydrogen supplied to BMW is sustainable with only a small carbon footprint incurred during shipping,” said Dave Read (Business Development Manager – Hydrogen Fuel Markets). “The …

(B3C Fuel Solutions)  B3C Fuel Solutions, LLC, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly solutions for ethanol and bio-fuel related problems, was awarded two patents for its FUEL LIFE technology, including patents for fuel preservation technology (Patent …

by Timothy Cama (The Hill)  Four centrist Senate Republicans are banding together to call for policies to protect the environment.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) describe the …

by Lauren Klamm (Source)  Colorado State University is one of 10 institutions in a $13.8 million research grant to improve sorghum as a sustainable source for biofuel production. … Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, …

by Warren Woodrow Carothers (The State)  In his Sept. 18 letter, “Renewable fuel standard doing more harm than good,” U.S. Rep. Tom Rice says ethanol emissions are 33 percent higher than with gasoline. He is …

by Gillian Klucas (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)  … The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will lead a $13.5 million, multi-institutional research effort to improve sorghum as a sustainable source for biofuel production.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, this …

by Ian Winner* (Optimus Technologies/special guest author for Advanced Biofuels USA)  Grease Collection Overview  —  When we talk about grease, what do we mean? Grease can refer to yellow grease, choice white grease, edible or …

by Diane Cardwell (New York Times)  For years, tire industry executives, as well as government officials and scientists, have sought a domestic source for natural rubber to escape the price fluctuations of imports and, more …

by Sarita Chourey  (SavannahNow.com/Savannah Morning News)   A biofuels company that has been sizing up South Carolina’s wood waste potential will not build a biofuels operation in the state, according to a statement Tuesday from Colorado-based …

TERRA projects seek to accelerate the development of sustainable energy crops for the production of renewable transportation fuels from biomass. To accomplish this, the projects uniquely integrate agriculture, information technology, and engineering communities to design …

(Danforth Plant Science Center)  Understanding key phenotype-to-genotype associations will enhance efforts
to bring products to market  —  The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced today it was awarded an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Six projects land major multi-year awards for Project TERRA, Tramsportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture
In Washington, ARPA-E announced awards totaling $30 million for projects seeking to accelerate the development of …

by Scott Miller (Clemson University)  A new public-private partnership led by Clemson University and a worldwide biomass and bioenergy producer will research the use of crops that can both open new markets for South Carolina …

by Tonya Maxwell (Greenville Online)  Groundwork for a proposed underground pipeline is beginning in South Carolina, one that would carry fuel from Florida to a tank farm near Belton, where company officials expect to construct …

by Tim Sklar (Biofuels Digest)  Looking to turn vicious project financing cycles into virtuous cycles?  This case study in developing a small-scale Bio-LNG plant offers cautionary tales and a way forward.
In July 2014, Biofuels Digest …

(U.S. Department of Energy )  The Energy Department announced today $6 million for 11 projects aimed at improving potential buyers’ experiences with alternative fuel and plug-in electric vehicles, supporting training, and integrating alternative fuels into …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Engineered High Energy Crop (EHEC) Programs …

by Paul Bledsoe (The Washington Post) A dramatic 40 percent drop in oil prices since June has prompted new discussion aboutraising the long-static federal gasoline tax and has many states considering gas tax hikes as well. …

(South Carolina Department of Commerce/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A processor and convertor of wine and beer waste into fuel-grade ethanol and livestock feed is establishing operations in Marion County. Quality Farms is investing $1.9 million resulting in the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Sklar & Associates is a South Carolina based consulting firm now specializing in Biofuels project development. … S&A is actively engaged in development of a biorefinery converting 360,000 dry tons per …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … To complement the efforts of our Sponsors and CAAFI Executive Director Steve Csonka my focus is on implementing State initiatives on the East Coast in partnership with USDA / DOE …

(Midlands Biofuels/Biodiesel Magazine)  ATP-SC LLC and Midlands Biofuels jointly announced an innovative collaboration to grow biocrops, produce, sell and utilize solid and liquid biofuels, and to expand the state’s bioeconomy, starting in Allendale, S.C., and …

(Governor Terry McAuliffe)  Governor McAuliffe Announces 40 New Jobs in Russell County
Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today (October 29, 2014) that Appalachian Biofuels LLC will invest $3.5 million to establish its headquarters and enzymatic biodiesel production …

(GSA Business) The S.C. Clean Energy Business Alliance will host two meetings this week as part of a $150,000 federal grant program aimed at linking economic development officials in Colleton and Clarendon counties with industrial biofuel companies.
The first …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  The Renwicks of South Carolina, owners of Winnsboro-based Midlands Biofuels, persevere through the biodiesel industry’s instability with ingenuity, passion and teamwork. This is their story.
What do an emergency room medical …

by Chuck Crumbo   (GSA Business)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded two grants totaling $150,000 to the S.C. Clean Energy Business Alliance aimed at developing transportation biofuel investments for commercial and military use.
The alliance, which …

(GreenvilleOnline) Officials at Clemson have released 21 new crop varieties that will help meet the needs of farmers growing food, fiber and fuels needed by South Carolina’s economy.
These varieties include four Roundup Ready varieties of soybeans …

(University of Maryland/PR Newswire)  A team of four students from the Georgia Institute of Technology developing a new electrical power grid technology with an Internet-like control architecture won the third annual ACC Clean Energy Challenge and the Department of …

(University of Maryland/Yahoo! News)  The $100K ACC Clean Energy Challenge, a business plan competition supported by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) encouraging students from universities in the southeastern United States …

Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  The uses of glycerin – crude, USP-grade or otherwise – and other byproducts from biodiesel production are virtually limitless. Profiled here is the glycerin and coproduct research of three Next Generation …

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina)  Celebrating 25 years at N.C. State University, the N.C. Solar Center continues its commitment to outreach, demonstration, and deployment of technology and policy solutions for a sustainable energy future. One  …

Agriculture and forestry are the two leading industries in South Carolina with the Coastal Plain counties along Interstate 95 being the breadbasket of the State.
The mission of the BioEnterprise Summit is to enhance agribusiness and …

(Clemson University)  Clemson University researchers focusing on switchgrass as a renewable fuel source are looking to fungi and bacteria — nature’s specialists in decomposing plants and animals into elements that can be reused to support …

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)  The nation’s 28 National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR) are experiencing the negative effects of human and climate-related stressors according to a new NOAA research report from the National Ocean Service.
The national study, Climate Sensitivity …

(Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute/PR NewsWire)  The $100K ACC Clean Energy Challenge, a business plan competition supported by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) encouraging students from universities in the southeastern United …

by Roy Robertson (Southeast Farm Press)  • Steve Kresovich is part of a team of USC researchers looking for crops that can be adapted to less productive and often under-utilized South Carolina soils.
• The end …

(Associated Press/The State)  Clemson University researchers are joining with a commercial forestry company to try to figure out what variety of poplars are best to make biofuels.
ArborGen planted four species of poplars last year at …

(US Department of Agriculture)    Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $10 million in research grants to spur production of bioenergy and biobased products that will lead to the development of sustainable regional systems and help …

by Vince Jackson (Independent Mail)  Commercial algae grower said process could someday recycle municipal sewer sludge
Members of the Pickens County Municipal Association learned this week that biofuels produced from algae could provide needed revenue streams …

by Jamie Satterfield (Knoxnews.com)  Every month in the Southeast, thieves rob Griffin Industries of $1.6 million.
So why does Mike McCombs struggle to get law enforcers to care? Because what law enforcement sees as greasy waste …

(US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service)  …Of the five regions, the Southeast has the greatest natural capacity in the continental United States, with sufficient sunshine, soils, water, and other natural resources to produce more …

(CoStar Research)  South Carolina Firm To Test Commercial Viability of Algae-based Biofuel Process at Former Textile Dye-Manufacturing Site
Later this month if all goes as planned, Renewed World Energies (RWE), an alternative energy development company based …

(Argonne National Laboratory)  Nanoparticles synthesized from noble metals such as ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver (Ag), osmium, iridium, platinum, and gold (Au) are attracting increased attention by researchers around the world looking for advances in such …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Most of the stories we write at the Digest on the subject of biofuels feedstocks fall into the well-established realms of normal. But every once in  a while, a feedstock …

By Caroline Baity (Daily Gamecock)  Program aims to offset fuel cost, turn profit    Thanks to two grants worth a combined $89,090, USC’s Sustainable Carolina program now has the ability to turn all that greasy oil …

Where:  Spartanburg Community College
Health Sciences Building − Community Room
800 Brisack Rd.
Spartanburg, SC 29303
Times: 9:00 am − 2:00 pm or
5:30 pm − 10:00 pm
Register: www.rfa.traincaster.com
Who Should Attend:

Emergency Responders
Fire Departments
EMTs
Local Emergency Planning Committees
Police
Safety Managers   READ MORE

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  …Development on innovative heating solutions will continue, but several unique heating systems are already in operation at plants across the U.S. In North Carolina, Patriot BioDiesel LLC has installed a …

(Univerisity of Chicago/Energy Policy Institute at Chicago)  By all outward appearances, former South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis is a conservative’s conservative.
…At a lecture sponsored by the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC), Mr. Inglis said …

by Ann Perry (US Department of Agriculture)  Work by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that farmers in the Southeast could use the tropical legume sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) in their crop rotations …

by Gene Zaleski (The Times and Democrat)  …Orangeburg County (South Carolina) Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson said while there are challenges in alternative fuel production, they can be overcome. He remains bullish on alternative …

by Matt Soberg (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Lincoln Energy Solutions will nearly triple its ethanol and biodiesel transportation services, increasing its current fleet to 16 tankers with seven additional units scheduled to arrive by year end. …

(University of Tennessee)  Center to coordinate woody biomass production and utilization studies
The Center for Renewable Carbon, a program of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, has been named by the USDA as a recipient …

by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine)  Selling direct can improve a small-scale producer’s bottom line
…Aside from producing biodiesel, however, producers are faced with unpredictable swings in feedstock price and availability as well as fees associated with …

(Clemson)  By looking to Mother Nature for solutions, researchers have identified a promising new binder material for lithium-ion battery electrodes that not only could boost energy storage, but also eliminate the use of toxic compounds …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA and DOE have awarded 10 grants totaling $12.2 million to spur research into improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy …

(Co-Generation and On-Site Power Production)  …Queensland wants to be a Pacific leader in biofuels. That’s the message Premier Anna Bligh has delivered at a biotechnology conference in Washington.
She’s says Queensland researchers are bidding to supply …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  At the International Biomass Conference and Expo last week, Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac attracted a lot of attention carrying around a sweet potato the size of a newborn baby.
Ryan-Bohac is president of CAREnergy, …

Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S.
As part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced …

by Adam Pinsker (MidlandsConnect.com)  A South Carolina State University professor is leading a team of engineers and economists on a three-year study into how to make biofuel cheaper.
Professor Jae-Dong Hong says one of the biggest …

by Coral Beach  (The Packer)  U.S. Foodservice officials plan to fuel trucks at their Columbia division in Lexington, S.C., with biodiesel made from used vegetable oil that the company originally sold to customers in the …

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 …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  …Letterman was doing a special featuring giant vegetables and North Charleston native and horticulturalist, Janice Ryan-Bohac, was selected to showcase her 15 pound sweet potato. She did, only she threw a few …

by Carlton Purvis  (SCNow.com)   Native grass burns cleaner than coal and promotes wildlife.
The Pee Dee Research and Education Center announced the next step in its study of switchgrass as an alternative energy source during its annual Pee …