Now this is interesting. I was reading earlier this morning in Cadillac Desert about how agriculture in many areas is suffering from water issues that include too much salt. The salt damages the soil, kills the crops and ultimately the land is taken out of production. Today, there are over one billion acres of cropland that have been abandoned around …
Three Algae Biofuels Consortia to Share $24 Mil Funding
Three groups researching algae-based biofuels will get a big boost from $24 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Biofuels Digest reports that Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Cathy Zoi made the announcemet at this week’s BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing in Washington, DC: According to Zoi, the selections will support the …
Flying Car Landing In A Driveway Near You
Apparently the FAA works much faster than the EPA – the FAA has just approved the “Flying Car,” also known at the Transition Roadable Aircraft. While the flying car, developed by Terrafugia (ter-ra-FOO-gee-ah), doesn’t currently run on an alternative fuel such as ethanol or biodiesel, it is an “alternative” way to get yourself around town. So here is how it …
World Economic Forum Sees Bright Biofuels Future
A new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) concludes that converting biomass into fuels, energy, and chemicals has the potential to generate upwards of $230 billion to the global economy by 2020, most of that in the United States. The report, produced in collaboration with Royal DSM N.V., Novozymes, DuPont and Braskem, says that the biorefineries industry could supplement …
Biodiesel Has Place in USDA Biofuels Report
While the ethanol industry has been praising the USDA’s report entitled “Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard by 2022,″ there’s plenty in there for biodiesel fans to like as well. The feds are optimistic that biodiesel will be able to carry its share of the overall 36 billion gallons of biofuels goal: The U.S biofuels …
USDA Releasing Report on Biofuels
The USDA is releasing a report on renewable transportation fuels and the role the agency will play in development of those biofuels. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the report comes as the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) gets ready to kick in on July 1st and will require that 36 billion gallons of biofuel per year be in America’s fuel …
High Tech Indy Engines, High Tech Pioneer Corn
It’s going to be a happy Father’s Day for Iowa corn growers and Pioneer Hi-Bred when the Iowa Corn Indy 250 gets underway Sunday. The race is being presented by both organizations again this year. I met Pioneer’s Joe Foresman, Senior Marketing Manager, Biofuels and MarketPoint Resource, during the Kum & Go E-85 pump promotion yesterday. He says the story …
Biofuels Promotions in ND and MN
Lastly, the Frontier Travel Center at 705 Highway 12 in Bowman, North Dakota will hold a promotion from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Friday, June 18 at their fueling station. A $2 discount will be taken off the bill of those flexible fuel vehicle owners who fill up with E85 or the blend of E30. For more information on …
Making the Case for Getting Rid of Biofuels Subsidies
As the biodiesel industry anxiously awaits Congress’ renewal of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit, an energy consulting company that specializes in biodiesel and ethanol operations is actually calling for elimination of these types of credits for all biofuels. This opinion piece in Biofuels Digest from Sklar & Associates makes the case that we don’t have to give the biofuels …
Virent Energy Systems Secures $46.4M in Funding
Today, Virent Energy Systems announced that it has closed its third round of funding totaling $46.4 million. Two of the company’s largest investors, Cargill and Shell, increased their financial commitments as part of this funding round as did all other current investors. The money will be used to advance the company’s efforts to bring to market its BioForming process, a …