High crude oil prices are prompting more soyoil to be bought… with the idea that soyoil would be turned into an alternative to all that foreign oil: domestically made biodiesel. This Dow Jones Newswires story posted on the Missouri Ruralist web site breaks down the rise and what caused it: November soybeans settled 10 1/4 cents higher at $9.87 and …
Biofuels Helping Fuel Cargill’s Profits
Ethanol and biodiesel are making “modest” contributions to ag products giant Cargill’s profits… according to numbers released by the U.S.’s largest agricultural company. This story in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the company reports fiscal first-quarter profit rose 83 percent as more soybeans and corn were processed and the company was able to successfully hedge higher grain costs: Cargill benefited from …
Canada Building First Canola Biodiesel Plant
Ground has broken on a 50-million-gallon-a-year canola biodiesel refinery northeast of Edmonton, Alberta… the first large-scale canola biodiesel plant in Canada. This story on Canadian Press says the Canadian Bioenergy refinery will be built next door to a canola crushing facility… on the province’s refining and pipeline hub: “We are building a state-of-the-art facility capable of producing a large quantity …
U.S. Consumers Support Renewable Fuels
Ask the American public about renewable fuels and odds are you’ll get two thumbs up. At least, that’s what a poll conducted by Harris Interactive found. A new poll conducted by Harris Interactive(R) shows overwhelming American support for expanding renewable fuel options with nine in 10 U.S. adults (88 percent) agreeing the U.S. should pursue renewable energy sources. The poll, …
Biofuel to Hit the Skies
From the coverage we’ve provided on energy.agwired.com so far, I think it’s safe to say biofuels are continually gaining traction with ground transportation and machinery. So, it seems quite natural that air travel would be the next frontier for biofuels. Yahoo!News reports that Virgin Group CEO, Richard Branson plans to fuel one of his jets with biofuels in 2008. Here’s …
Texas Cuts Biofules Incentives
Surprise, surprise… petroleum giant Texas has cut some of the state’s incentives to biofuels makers. The Dallas Morning News reports that lawmakers in the state legislature removed funding for biodiesel and ethanol because some complained that they were competing with the state’s petroleum industry. But some lawmakers see the move as short sighted: Rep. David Swinford, a Republican lawmaker from …
Canola Biodiesel Plant Opens in North Dakota
The U.S.’s first wholly-owned canola biodiesel plant has opened near Velva, North Dakota. The ADM plant is right next to ADM’s crushing facility and will produce 85 million gallons of biodiesel when it’s fully operational. This article from the Minot (ND) Daily News says the grand opening attracted company officials, local, state, and federal officials: “This is an exciting time …
Iowa Lawmaker Proposes 20% Renewable Standard
As Iowa Governor Chet Culver wants to make the Hawkeye State the renewable energy capitol of the world, one legislator says he will propose legislation to achieve that goal. This story on WHO-TV (Des Moines) says Senator Jack Hatch says he will propose a 20 percent renewable energy standard for the state when legislature comes back together during the next …
Biodiesel Blender Holds Open House in Iowa
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) was among those attending a a grand opening and open house this week at Magellan Midstream Partners’ biodiesel blending facility in Mason City, Iowa. This article in the Mason City Globe Gazette says the new facility is the first biodiesel blending system located inside a petroleum terminal in Iowa: “This is a perfect example of …
Benefuel Unveils New Fats-to-Biodiesel Plant Plans
Chicago-based biodiesel refinery builder Benefuel, Inc. will build the world’s first industrial-scale biodiesel refinery that uses a novel solid catalyst to convert low-grade fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel. The 10-million-gallon plant is to be built in Seymour, Indiana in conjunction with Seymour Biofuels. This company press release says the plant will eliminate the need for water in the refining …