Virgina-based Greenhouse Gas Services, a company that invests in and develops projects that reduce greenhouse gases, announced today that it has acquired Toronto-based StormFisher Ltd. StormFisher operates projects in North America focusing on turning food or agricultural byproducts into natural gas and electricity. As part of the deal, StormFisher investor Denham Capital is now an investor in Greenhouse Gas Services …
Book Review – Crude World
Yesterday I declared this the Week of Oil. While the Obama administration is calling for more green jobs and support of the clean tech industry, it is also calling for more research on ‘clean coal’ and more off-shore drilling. It’s these last two items that really seem to fire people up so I decided it was high time I learned …
Petra Solar Announces $40M Growth Financing
Solar energy is not just for roofs. Petra Solar, a company that specializes in pole mounted solar systems for utilities, announced that it has raised $40 million in funding to be used for expansion initiatives. Current investors in the company participated in this round including Element Partners, Blue Run Ventures, OnPoint Technologies (U.S. Army’s Venture Fund) and Kuwait’s National Technology …
California’s Love Affair With Oil
Last week, the Southern California Association of Governments turned down $11 million in stimulus money for Pearson Fuels to install 55 E85 stations. Huh. And this shortly after the expanded rules were announced for the Renewable Fuels Standard not to mention the Low Carbon Fuel Standard that went into effect on January 1. What would cause the most notorious state, …
Going Green Can Save You Green
Last week, I wrote a story regarding President Obama’s executive order for the federal government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent by 2020. One goal of this program is to get other companies to follow suit, but many companies don’t know where to start. Enter the Hondo Green Assessment Tool (HGAT). To learn more about how companies can …
Ethanol Plants Can Be Biorefineries
The Next Generation Bio-Based Chemicals Summit is taking place in San Diego this week and Poet’s Vice President of Commercial Development, Scott Wishaar, will be discussing how new ethanol co-products can help ethanol plants become true biorefineries. Wishaar is participating in the panel discussion, “Perspectives of Biorefinery Owners and Development on the Bio-Based Chemicals Value Chain” taking place on Wednesday, …
EPA Deems Sugarcane Ethanol an Advanced Biofuel
Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed in its expanded rules of implementation for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), that ethanol made from sugarcane is considered an advanced biofuel that lowers greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by more than 50 percent. Specifically, EPA’s calculations show that sugarcane ethanol from Brazil reduces GHG emissions compared to gasoline by 61%, using a 30-year payback …
Obama Announces Steps to Boost Biofuels
It’s a busy day for the federal government. Here is what has happened today. The EPA has released its expanded rules for the Renewable Fuel Standard, The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) that would provide financing to increase the conversion of biomass to bioenergy, and the President’s Biofuels Interagency Working …
Corn Ethanol Gets Boost Under Expanded RFS
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made an upwards revision today when releasing the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard. They gave corn-based ethanol a 21 percent advantage over conventional gasoline, more than what was originally slated. This new revision also qualifies all corn ethanol, including existing and new production, for the conventional biofuels targets in the RFS. “While we’re pleased that the …
Ethanol Poised to Create Jobs in Expanded RFS
This afternoon, Growth Energy responded to the Environmental Protection Agency’s expanded Renewable Fuels Standard, that will create the platform for reaching 36 billions gallons of biofuels by 2022, and specifically praised the Obama administration and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “Growth Energy commends the Obama White House and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for recognizing the value of domestic ethanol both as …