It was a busy day in Washington yesterday as U.S. Secretary Steven Chu announced the issue of a final rule for the Loan Guarantee Program. The revised rule was designed to increase participation from private investors and banks as well as to support more innovative energy technologies. This announcement came on the same day that Chu released another $100 million …
DOE Announces Additonal $100M in ARPA-E Funding
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today an additional $100 million round of funding opportunities for transformational energy research projects that will be made available through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). This announcement was made along side Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in advance of the Copenhagen Climate Conference. In a statement, Chu said, “I am pleased to announce ARPA-E’s …
EPA Determines CO2, Other GHGs Endanger Society
Some of the biggest news to come out of Copenhagen yesterday was the ruling from the Environmental Protection Agency that greenhouse gas emissions are now considered “an endangerment” to society. This ruling now gives the EPA the authority, under the Clean Air Act, to regulate greenhouse gases. This decision could lead to stricter vehicle, manufacturing and power plant emissions – …
American Process Receives $17.9M for Cellulosic Plant
American Process, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia, has received a portion of the funds that were awarded by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Biorefinery Assistance Program – $17.9 million to be exact. The funds will be used to develop a plant that will produce ethanol and potassium acetate, a deicer, from wood waste generated by a local hardboard company, …
Solayme Awarded $21.8 Million for Algal Fuel Project
Solazyme, Inc., which was just named the ‘Top 50 Hottest Company in Bioenegy‘ by Biofuels Digest, announced that it has received a $21.8 million federal grant to build its first integrated biorefinery in rural Riverside, Pennsylvania. The funding was announced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and marks the next step in producing algal based fuel. Research conducted by …
Grant to Help Iowa Plant Produce Biodiesel & Cosmetics
An Illinois company has received a $2.5 million federal grant to put in a demonstration project in an Iowa biodiesel plant that could allow the facility to produce the green fuel and cosmetics. Last month, I told you how Elevance Renewable Sciences of Bolingbrook, Ill., was looking to get some government assistance to put in the $8.1 million project in …
Biodiesel Completes Capitol Christmas Tree Journey
Tomorrow (Tuesday) night will be a magical time in Washington, D.C., as the Capitol Christmas Tree is officially lit. The National Biodiesel Board points out that the 85-foot blue spruce made the 4,000-mile cross-country trip from Arizona to the nation’s capital on a truck fueled with biodiesel … a first for the tradition of the Capitol Christmas Tree that goes …
Book Review – Our Choice
This morning the Copenhagen Climate Conference kicked off. As I mentioned in earlier posts, the two big issues are the reduction of CO2 and the halting of deforestation. As I noted in other writings, there are Climate Alarmists and Climate Skeptics. Climate Alarmists, which Al Gore would be considered, believe that if we don’t curb global warming now, the earth …
Copenhagen VIPS travel in Limos Fueled by Straw
VIPS traveling around Copenhagen during the Climate Conference are not only traveling in style, their limos are fueled with biofuel produced from straw. According to Novozymes, the largest enzyme producer in the world, this is the first time ever a fleet of limos has been fueled with this type of biofuel. The advanced fuel is made from waste biomass, namely …