Canadians seem to be willing to use ethanol and biodiesel… if they can get the green fuels. This story in the Vancouver Sun says there are only TWO E85 ethanol pumps in the country, and biodiesel seems to be available mostly just for farmers and large fleets. But some groups are trying to change that: The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association …
Pennsylvania Gets First Ethanol Plant
BioEnergy International was the first to break ground in Pennsylvania and construct an ethanol plant. Pennsylvania will be home to a new Bionol Clearfield biorefinery. BioEnergy International, LLC announces ground breaking for the Bionol Clearfield LLC, 100 mgpy corn ethanol biorefinery under construction in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The corn and cellulosic pilot plants to be built in Clearfield are core to …
Ethanol Fires Up LPP Gas Turbines
LPP Combustion has successfully created a way to operate gas turbines using ethanol. The company says their operation offers another alternative for clean, renewable energy. LPP Combustion, LLC, using its patented LPP Combustion System, has recently demonstrated natural gas-level emissions from bio-derived ethanol (ASTM D-4806) during gas turbine combustor testing. Emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate …
Industry Optimism
The chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association is excited about the developments in cellulose technology for the future of the ethanol industry. “And we fully believe that many of these technologies will in fact be proven to be economically viable on a commercial scale,” said Chris Standlee, who is executive vice president of Abengoa Bioenergy in St. Louis. He says …
NFU Gets Behind Renewable Energy Bill
The National Farmers Union is pledging its support to an energy bill seen as friendly to biofuels, while praising Democrat leaders who back the bill. This story on CattleNetwork.com says National Farmers Union President Tom Buis lauded Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel for backing the bill designed to spark wind and …
Governors to Discuss Energy Future
A clean energy future will be the main topic of discussion when nearly 50 governors from across the nation and several U.S. territories meet this weekend in Washington, D.C for the 2008 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting. According to a press release on the group’s web site, biofuels will be a big part of the discussion titled “Securing a …
Blender Pumps Now Available
Fuel pump supplier Gilbarco has introduced the industry’s first alternative fuel blending dispensers. Designed to blend ethanol or biodiesel with standard fuels, the new 3+1 and 3+0 blenders have Weights & Measures approvals. The alternative fuel blenders are part of the Gilbarco® Encore® S product line, which includes the industry’s most comprehensive selection of dispensers for alternative fuels. The Ethanol …
Ethanol Pipeline to East Coast in the Works
What you see above could be the biggest boost to ethanol in this country: a pipeline that will move ethanol to the East Coast of the U.S. at a transportation cost on par to what petroleum now enjoys. Magellan Midstream Partners and Buckeye Partners, both in the fuel transport business, put out this press release saying they are looking into …
POET Funds ISU Research
POET is helping to fund research at Iowa State University into starch for ethanol production in the hopes of finding starches to further improve the efficiency of POET’s patent-pending BPX™ process. BPX is a raw starch hydrolysis that converts starch to sugar and then ferments to ethanol without the use of heat. It is utilized in 20 of POET’s 22 …
Back Over a Barrel
This post was on Corn Commentary yesterday: The price of a barrel of crude shot up to $110.10 today before closing at $100.01, driven by fear despite evidence of good supplies and falling demand, illustrates the tightrope the United States walks in terms of energy security. A refinery explosion in Texas over the weekend and fear that OPEC will decide …