Butamax has received another patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) number 7,910,342 entitled “FERMENTIVE PRODUCTION OF ISOBUTANOL USING HIGHLY ACTIVE KETOL-ACID REDUCTOISOMERASE ENZYMES.” The patent was awarded to protect a key step in the company’s biobutanol production pathway using genetic constructs with highly active enzymes. This is one of several patents that Butamax has been awarded for …
It’s Almost Planting Time
The latest ZimmPoll results are in. So your answer to the question, “When will planting season start this year?” is as follows: 37 percent say later than average, 36 percent say at the five year average (late March) and 27 percent say sooner than average. I’m guessing that some of those “sooner” folks are already out in the field! Our …
Juhl Wind Completes Wind Project in Minnesota
Juhl Wind has completed a utility scale wind project in Meeker County Minnesota near the city of Atwater. The Danielson Wind Project, which is estimated to produce 19.8 megawatts (MW) of wind energy per year, cost nearly $42 million. The project was built in conjunction with the Adams Wind Project, also a 19.8 MW wind project and located in Meeker …
CHOREN Makes Progess on Biofuel Plant
Rainer Bomba, Undersecretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, visited CHOREN’s Beta plant at Freiberg in the German state of Saxony. His purpose of the visit was to discuss the progress of CHOREN on producing sustainable advanced biofuels and their role in achieving climate protection targets. “Last year, the Beta plant completed several campaigns …
Hawaiian Electric Company & SunPower Sign Solar Deal
Hawaiian Electric Company and SunPower Corporation have announced an agreement for SunPower to sell solar photovoltaic (PV) power to Hawaiian Electric for 20 years under a fixed price contract. The power will be generated from a 5 MW solar farm that SunPower will design, build and operate at Kalaeloa in West Oahu. The agreement still needs approval from the Hawaii …
“Keep It Fresh” Tour Kicks Off
Today is World Water Day and Green For All, an environmental non-profit organization, has partnered with SIGG USA, the maker of reusable aluminum water bottles, to kick off the “Keep It Fresh” public education campaign as part of the 2011 Campus Consciousness Tour. The campaign features hip-hop superstar Wiz Khalifa. The campaign kicked off today and ends on Earth Day, …
GRFA Highlights Biofuel Reduction on GHGs
The World Biofuels Markets conference has kicked off in Rotterdam, Netherlands and the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) is taking the opportunity to highlight the positive influence ethanol production is having on reducing global greenhouse gas (GHGs) reductions. A third party consulting firm, (S&T)2 Consultants Inc. has produced data that shows estimated world ethanol production for 2011 will reduce global …
Grassley Hopes to Avoid Vote on Ethanol Tax Credit
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is hoping to avoid a vote in the Senate on the amendment introduced last week by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that would repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). Grassley said today during his weekly agricultural media conference call that there are two ways the vote can be avoided. “Either talking him out of it, …
3rd Party Certification For Sustainable Biofuels
Led in part by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) has launched the first global third-party certification system for sustainable biofuels. To be certified “sustainable” the fuel must meet a set of environmental, social and economic principles and criteria set forth by the group. The certification process takes place online and there are online tools …
Dyadic Introduces Advanced Biofuels Enzyme
Biotech firm Dyadic International has introduced a new advanced biofuels enzyme at this week the World Biofuels Markets exhibition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. According to the company, AlternaFuel® CMAX™ has proven to be effective in converting multiple forms of biomass into fermentable sugars which is the critical step in the production of cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels and biochemicals …