Ethanol Standard Important for Second Generation Fuels
A Senate panel heard testimony Thursday that a reduction in the Renewable Fuel Standard would hinder progress toward next generation biofuels. Deputy Assistant Energy Secretary Steven Chalk told the Senate Environment and Public Works clean air subcommittee that keeping the current RFS policy in place is “critical to ensuring growth in all parts of the biofuels supply chain, from feedstocks, …
Where to Grow Alternative Energy
The world faces a daunting task in replacing what’s known as the “cubic mile of oil” consumed worldwide each year. But like any gargantuan task, it all starts with small steps. To help those small steps grow into sustainable replacements for our dependence on petroleum, this article from Forbes has some suggestions where the most fertile ground in the U.S. …
Rocket Scientists Seek New Wind Energy Sources
Scientists with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are using nearly 10 years of satellite information to figure out where is the best place on the oceans to put up wind energy turbines. This UPI story says they’re using NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite to search for homes for offshore wind farms: QuikSCAT, launched in 1999, continuously tracks the speed, direction …
Algae-Biodiesel Nears Commercial-Scale in New Mexico
Researchers at a facility in New Mexico have reached a significant milestone in their hopes of producing biodiesel from algae. This story from the Carlsbad (NM) Current Argus has details: The Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management recently harvested commercial-scale quantities of algae from its test salt water ponds located at New Mexico State University Agriculture Science Center in …
G8 Leaders Support Non-Edible Biofuels Development
G8 leaders meeting in Japan this week pledged to promote clean energy and carbon trading to curb greenhouse gas emissions and recognized the importance of sustainable biofuel production. The heads of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. said they will work to develop science-based benchmarks and indicators for biofuel production and use. The leaders also …
From Ethanol Plants to Potted Plants
A team of Agriculture Department researchers may have found a new use for a by-product of ethanol production – controlling weeds in potted plants. Rick Boydston and his team with USDA’s Agriculture Research Service recently completed a study on the use of dried distillers grains, or DDGS, as a weed deterrent in container-grown ornamentals. The study was published in the …
USDA Not Horning in on Livestock Feed
A federal ag department researcher says the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not trying to take the by-products of biofuels out of the livestock feed system… just trying to find more uses for what’s leftover after biodiesel and ethanol are produced. This story from redOrbit.com says Kurt Rosentrater wants to assure livestock producers that his studies on using dried distillers’ …
Pickens Picks Wind for US Energy Plan
Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens is choosing a decidely non-petroleum source as the solution for America’s energy woes: wind power. As you might remember from my post on May 20th, Pickens has invested $2 billion in a 667 turbine wind farm in Texas. Now, he wants to translate that passion for wind to the rest of the country. This story …