Texas is used to having companies bidding for off-shore energy rights in the Gulf of Mexico, but this time it’s the wind, not oil, fueling the process. This story in the Dallas Morning News says its a new process for almost everyone involved: This is the first time in the U.S. that leases for offshore wind production are being put …
Fighting Fire with… Biodiesel
Firefighters in Charlottesville, Virginia will be rushing off to fires, running their fire engines on biodiesel. This story from WCAV-TV quotes Charlottesville Fire Chief, Charles Werner as pointing out the benefits of the green fuel: [T]he fire department is changing [its] larger vehicles to run on biodiesel 20. Which means that 20% of the diesel is now an alternative fuel. …
Canada Pledges Half-Billion Dollars to Renewables
In a move that can only be seen as a bold one to boost renewable fuels north of the border, the Canadian government has pledged to put $500 million into development of fuels from renewable sources. This story from The Canadian Press says the money is going to be put in a development fund managed by Sustainable Development Technology Canada: …
Maryland to Buy More Green Vehicles
Officials in the state of Maryland have pledged to buy more vehicles that run on ethanol and biodiesel and triple the number of hybrids in the state’s fleet by 2011. This story in the Baltimore (MD) Sun says the Board of Public Works, which approved the policy, is welcoming the news as a way to make Maryland more eco-friendly: “Even …
POET Prepares For Indiana Grand Opening
Ethanol producer POET is getting ready to open yet another ethanol plant… this time, a 65-million-gallon-a-year facility near Portland, Indiana. When at peak capacity, the plant will use 22 million bushels of corn a year and join POET’s network of 20 plants (plus seven more in progress) in five states, making POET the the largest dry mill ethanol producer in …
Oklahoma… Where the Wind Powers Tulsa Town
OK, I’m not quite ready to pen lyrics for a wind energy version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Oklahoma, but I think it’s pretty cool that the state’s plentiful wind could become as common of a fuel source as the finite amount of petroleum that comes from the ground. This story in the Tulsa (OK) World says that city is …
Canadian Corn Farmers Get New Ethanol Market
Monsanto’s Gro-Ethanol Program, in conjunction with GreenField Ethanol, is giving corn farmers in Ontario a new market. This story posted on Marketwire.com says the program will encourage the corn to go to, of course, ethanol: The Gro-ethanol program, unveiled today at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, invites Ontario’s farmers to grow corn seed containing Monsanto traits, specifically for the ethanol market. …
Nebraska Economist Cites Needs for Ethanol Mandates
A University of Nebraska economist warns of the perils the ethanol industry faces if Congress does not approve new mandates for use. The Sioux City (IA) Journal says a new report, titled “Understanding Ethanol Plant Economics: Will Boom Go Bust?”, says ethanol plants will see their profits disappear over the next four years unless the new mandates prop up demand. …
Researchers Find Biodiesel Exhaust Healthier than Diesel
Australian researchers have found that diesel exhaust does much more damage to people’s health than does biodiesel’s exhaust. This article from Science Daily says the professors at Deakin University have confirmed what many of us around biodiesel have known for a long time… that biodiesel exhaust is much easier to breathe: Associate Professor Leigh Ackland, Associate Head of Deakin’s School …
Talkin’ Biodiesel
To whet your appetite for the upcoming International Congress on Biodiesel (as if you needed anything else to get you excited about the green fuel!), the organizers of the November gathering in Austria are offering a new podcast. The programs will feature several different topics from covering the science and the technologies of biodiesel… part of this year’s theme… from …