The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research will hold a hearing today to review the future of next generation biofuels. Subcommittee chairman Tim Holden (D-PA) will preside over the hearing, which will include testimony from U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, as well as representatives from several companies involved in exploring new technologies and new feedstocks for biofuel …
Brazil Moves Up Biodiesel Mandate Schedule
Already a world beater in ethanol use, Brazil is getting aggressive in the amount of biodiesel it will burn. Right now, diesel users in the South American country are required to run on a 4 percent biodiesel blend. Last week, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva upped the ante to 5 percent by 2010… three years ahead of schedule. …
Algae Biodiesel Maker Updates Progress
Algae-biodiesel maker PetroSun, Inc. has released reports on the progress of three keys areas for the company: the domestic algae-to-biofuels program, algae derived co-products and alternative energy programs: D.O.E. Integrated Biorefinery Proposal (DE-FOA-0000096) The D.O.E. Integrated Biorefinery oral presentation was completed on October 15th by the University of Arizona-led team that included Texas A&M, Los Alamos National Lab, Air Liquide, …
Biodiesel Tour Bus Gets Free Fillup
You can’t beat free… unless you’re also getting renewable, clean-burning biodiesel. Well, the world’s first environmentally sustainable tour bus was able to get a free fillup of B100, pure biodiesel, at Innovation Fuels’ New York Harbor bioefinery: “The Permibus” – the world’s first environmentally sustainable tour bus complete with an interior garden perpetuated by worms, live chicken farm, multidimensional composting …
Bioeconomy Conference to Focus on Biofuels Future
Land grant universities around the Midwest are joining together to hold simultaneous state conferences to discuss biofuels and the future of renewable energy. The 2009 Bio eConference – “Growing the Bioeconomy: Solutions for Sustainability” – will be held on December 1 through a network of co-host sites that will be “sharing content through high-speed communication systems to promote agriculturally-based sustainable …
Growth Energy Promotes Blender Pumps at NACS
Growth Energy was at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) show in Las Vegas last week promoting the benefits of mid-level ethanol blends and blender pumps to retailers. I spent a few minutes with Phil Lampert, the Vice President of Market Development with Growth Energy. There were between 25,000-30,000 participants ranging from retailers, equipment manufacturers, jobbers and distributors, very …
Conference in Omaha for Ethanol Lab Managers
There are 7 speakers with topics ranging from fermentation management to proper sampling techniques. Additional sponsors are Novozymes, Mettler, Metrohm, and EMD Chemicals. Attendance is expected at over 100 lab managers and related professionals from the fuel ethanol industry. To register for the conferenece, click here.
Patrick Hessini Joins Avant Energy as VP
Patrick Hessini has joined the Minneapolis-based Avant Energy team as Vice President. Hessini’s main role will be to lead Avant’s consulting business and help to develop additional innovative energy projects and programs. According to Avant Energy president Derick Dahlen, “Patrick enhances our ability to help municipal and cooperative utilities, educational institutions and corporations achieve their energy management goals.” Hessini joins …
WSI & Enva Partner on WindCast IQ
Weather Services International (WSI), in conjunction with Genscape’s Enva, have launched WindCast IQ, the first wind generation forecasting service designed for energy traders. Wind Energy has seen a big boost with the move to alternative energy and has become the fastest growing source of power generation in North America. However, along with growth comes growing pains, and the increase in …