According to a new analysis of food, energy and corn prices conducted by John Urbanchuk of LECG, LLC, “rising energy prices had a more significant impact on food prices than did corn.” In fact, rising energy prices have twice the impact on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food than does the price of corn, according to the report. “Energy …
Contentious Energy Bill Stalls in U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate has hit an impasse over a proposed energy bill that makes larger allowances for alternative energy, in particular, wind power, than previous energy bills. This AP story from Forbes.com says Democrats had hopes for an early vote on the measure, but Republicans were against many of the measures in the omnibus bill: The impasse over renewable fuels …
Palm Oil Biodiesel Considered for Hawaii
Blue Earth Biofuels, which is building a 40-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel refinery with capabilities to go to 120 million gallons, has gotten the green light from the Hawaiian legislature to move forward with the project. But, this article in BizJournals.com, says the company that will buy the biodiesel for electric production, Hawaiian Electric Co., will host a series of meetings with the …
Experts Warn of Ethanol Glut
Some experts are warning that the rapid growth in ethanol production could outpace this country’s ability to use it, possibly causing a glut of the alternative fuel. This story in the Los Angeles Times says possible distribution issues won’t help the matter: “It’s going to be a little bit of a bumpy ride, I think, but in the long run …
Riders on Udall Bus Tour Give Thoughts
The other day, I told you about about how the Morris K. Udall Foundation was making its annual cross-country trip promoting environmental and Native American issues and how this year it is doing under biodiesel power (see my post from June 12th). The Philadelphia Enquirer caught up with the group at one of its first stops after leaving Washington, DC: …
Greening Waste Management
While garbage trucks clean up our trash, too many times the trucks themselves have been polluting the environment through their emissions. According to this Reuters story, a growing number of cities, including New York and San Francisco, are switching their garbage trucks to the greener fuel fleets to cut soot and greenhouse gases… without any extra costs: “The greening of …
SunOpta Gains Major Cellulosic Ethanol Investor
Cellulosic ethanol maker SunOpta has received a $30 million investment from international financing firm BlackRock. More details of the plan issuing non-dividend bearing, convertible preferred shares was announced in a company press release: Murray Burke, President of SunOpta BioProcess Inc. commented, “This financing represents a strong endorsement of our technology and leadership position in cellulosic ethanol. Proceeds will be used …
Hydrogen-Powered BMW to London Deputy Mayor
A BMW Hydrogen 7 car… which, of course, runs on hydrogen with its only exhaust being water… was given to Deputy Mayor of London and London Hydrogen Partnership Chair, Nicky Gavron, to raise awareness to what a great alternative energy source hydrogen is. This article (and the picture shown above) are from a web site called Fuel Cell Works.com. The …
County on Long Island Going to Biodiesel
Suffolk County, New York is switching all of its 439 public works trucks to run on biodiesel. The move comes as neighboring Nassau, switched its 270 trucks to the biofuel as of the first of this year. According to this story in Newsday, officials unanimously approved the move for the end of next year. The switch comes after both counties …
First Ethanol Co-product Report Due Soon
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set June 29th as the date for its first-ever report on how livestock producers are using ethanol co-products for cattle and hog feeds. This from the USDA’s web site: The report, entitled Ethanol Co-Products Used for Livestock Feed, will highlight results of a survey conducted by NASS with the support of the Nebraska Corn …