The American Petroleum Institute (API) filed a brief with the Supreme Court this week regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of a blend of E15, 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline. API claims that the ethanol fuel blend has been shown to damage millions of cars on the road. “E15 could leave millions of consumers with broken down …
United Signs Biofuel Agreement with AltAir
Flying giant United Airlines signs an agreement with aviation biofuel provider AltAir Fuels to buy 15 million gallons over three years with options for more of sustainable aviation biofuel to be used on flights from Los Angeles starting in 2014. This United news release says the move is expected to cut greenhouse gases from the flights in half: With United’s …
RFS Hearing – Study in Hyprocrisy
The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements held a hearing to discuss the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS),”Up Against the Blend Wall: Examining EPA’s Role in the Renewable Fuel Standard.” While many were on the witness list, none actually worked in the biofuels industry. The ethanol industry was quick to …
Corn Growers React to Rice Climate & Corn Study
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is questioning the results of a recent study from Rice University and University of California that looked 40 years ahead at farming and climate change. The study finds corn ethanol has water issues that outweigh potential reductions in tailpipe emissions. In response, NCGA is saying they need to go back to the “research table”. …
World Prepares for the Power of Global Wind Day
People around the world will participate in hundreds of activities to discover the power of wind energy during Global Wind Day on June 15. This news release from the European Wind Energy Association says there will be a wide variety of things going on … from concerts to boat trips … as well as a big push through social media …
Prediction: Demand for Solar PV Will Rise
According to the latest NPD Solarbuzz North America PV Markets Quarterly, demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in the U.S. is forecast to grow significantly during 2013 and post another record high of 4.3 gigawats (GW). In addition, solar PV demand from the U.S. market now contributes over 12 percent of annual global demand compared to just five percent three …
ICM & NCAT Sign Software Deal
ICM has signed a software development and marketing agreement with Houston, Texas -based NCAT, Inc. to co-develop and market the Inseo Suite line of software services. ICM has been granted exclusive rights to market the first release to Inseo Suite, the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Module, to the biofuels and alcohol manufacturing industry worldwide The Inseo Suite application utilizes NCAT’s …
Pacific Ethanol Providing Corn Oil for Biodiesel
An Idaho ethanol plant is producing distillers corn oil that could go in to biodiesel production. Pacific Ethanol Inc. announced that it is using ICM Inc.’s Advanced Oil Separation System™ to get the corn oil at its 60 million gallon a year Magic Valley, ID plant. Neil Koehler, the company’s president and CEO, stated: “Corn oil is a high value …
Climate Change Raises Stakes on US Biofuels Policy
According to a new study by Rice University and the University of California at Davis, if the climate continues to evolve as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.S. stands little to no chance of satisfying its current biofuels goals. The study, published in journal Environmental Science and Technology suggests that in 40 years, a hotter planet …
IKEA Adds More Solar to Stores
IKEA has added another solar installation to one of its stores, this one located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 122,000 square foot PV array consists of a 1,015 kW system, built with 4,228 panels. The system is estimated to produce 1,330,000 kWh of solar power each year. This solar installation is the 39th for IKEA in the U.S. increasing its …