Arkansas is hoping to become a leader in cellulosic ethanol production.
According to a story in the Advance Monticellonian, Congressman Mike Ross (D-AR) recently assembled a panel of biofuels experts at the University of Arkansas at Monticello to discuss how Southeast Arkansas can play a part in it in the future of cellulosic ethanol.
Ross said, and Southeast Arkansas is “wellpoised to become a national leader” in the field of cellulosic ethanol.
Toward that end, Ross said, he has introduced the American Made Energy Act of 2008. The bill, which has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Readiness, “promotes the development of homegrown biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power through expanding research and development, extending tax credits, and providing grants and loan guarantees to produce these new technologies on a large scale,” Ross said. The legislation, he noted, would invest $3.8 billion in alternative and renewable energy, an amount which he said that the U.S. would spend in only ten days fighting the Iraq war.
Wisconsin’s first soybean crushing facility is being built… thanks to a $4 million grant from the state.
A ferry carrying 124 cars in Washington State’s Puget Sound has been running on biodiesel since last month, and officials are hoping to expand the green fuel into another transport.
Fifty years ago, you could see acres and acres of flax growing in the southern part of Texas. Today, the crop once grown for vegetable oil, is finding new life as a feedstock for biodiesel.
“It’s kind of like we’re coming full circle,” said Dr. Gaylon Morgan, small grains researcher and member of the Texas A&M AgriLife project team. “Flax was grown on about 400,000 acres during that time and Texas AgriLife Research had an active flax breeding program.
“Schools, truck drivers, small businesses and families across the commonwealth are feeling the pressure of higher fuel bills on their budgets and wallets,” said McGinty. “Switching from conventional fuels to homegrown biofuels will help break our addiction to foreign oil, bring down costs, strengthen national security, and grow our economy.
Roe explains that Coskata combines both biological and thermochemical processing and can use a wide variety of feedstocks, from wood chips, weeds and non-food crops like miscanthus, to even human waste and carbon-heavy garbage like tires.
Sales of alternative fuel vehicles in the United States, including flex-fuel and hybrid electric, reached 1.8 million last year, about 250,000 more than in 2006.
According to officials, the site has been electronically energized and the turnover of individual systems to start-up and operating teams has begun so that the functional capabilities of each system can be tested. In total, more than forty separate systems will be evaluated over approximately the next three months.
Spirits were high for driver Ryan Hunter-Reay at the start of the race where he had qualified for sixth pole position. After ten laps behind the pace car in the rain, the field opened up and Hunter-Reay spun out, dropping him down to 23rd.