Global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power (Mainstream) has closed a deal to sell its 7.65 megawatt Carrickeeny Wind Farm to IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer. Mainstream has commenced construction of the project which is located in Leitrim in the North West of Ireland and it is expected to be operational in early 2014 at which point IKEA …
Why You Should Not Miss the ACE Conference
The 26th American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Conference is less than two weeks away. The event is being held in Des Moines, Iowa August 26-28th and the conference will be offering great sessions covering issues that are important to the ethanol industry. I asked Shannon Gustafson, Director of Strategic Projects for a brief overview of some of the key issues …
Akash Selects Interneer Software for Biofuels Ops
Houston, Texas-based Akash Energy selected software developer Interneer, Inc. to help the provider of biodiesel and ethanol, as well as petroleum products, automate some business processes. This Interneer news release says the business mobile apps will be used throughout Akash’s distribution chain, from raw material sourcing through distribution to Akash’s retail stations, expected to open later this year: In 2013, …
Corn Oil Biodiesel Adds Arrow to Ethanol’s Quiver
More ethanol plants are squeezing more profits out of the corn they use by recovering more of the oil in the process and turning it into biodiesel. This article from Ethanol Producer Magazine says by the end of the year, as many as 80 percent of U.S. ethanol plants could be recovering corn oil. WB Services is offering ethanol producers …
UK Seeks “Best” Biofuel
According to an article in The Guardian, the United Kingdom (UK) is willing to pay for the best biofuels. The UK government is hosting a competition to come up with the most viable demonstration plants for biofuels made from waste organic materials, such as wood waste or straw. Many groups, especially environmental groups, have begun to lobby in favor of …
IRFA Unveils E85 Wholesale Price Listing Service
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has launched an E85 Wholesale Price Listing Service. The IRFA lists E85 prices from wholesale distributors with the intent of increasing transparency in the marketplace, allowing retailers to review supply options in one location. “The goal of our E85 wholesale price listing program is to assist retailers in providing their consumers with the lowest-cost …
BioEnergy Bytes
How does regulatory and legislative behavior affect RIN values? Is it possible to predict price fluctuations in the current environment? These questions and more will be asked and answered by Tristan Brown, lecturer at Iowa State University and a regular contributor to Seeking Alpha, during the RIN Academy on August 26, in Des Moines, Iowa. Brown co-authored the book, Why …
IBM Launches Wind & Solar Forecasting
IBM has announced the launch of an advanced power and weather modeling technology that will help utilities increase the reliability of renewable energy resources. According the company, the solution, “Hybrid Renewable Energy Forecasting” (HyRef) combines weather predictions and analytics to accurately forecast the availability of wind power and solar energy. This will enable utilities to integrate more renewable energy into …
Record Corn Crop Forecast
Despite a wet spring causing a challenging start to the season, the 2013 corn crop is still looking to break new ground this year, according to the latest USDA production estimate out today. Corn production is forecast at 13.8 billion bushels, up 28 percent from 2012. If realized, this will be a new record production for the United States. Based …
Spanish Biodiesel Plant to Refit for Waste Oils
A biodiesel plant in Spain is being refitted to take more feedstocks to include waste oils, such as used restaurant grease and animal fats. BDI-BioEnergy International AG announced it will retrofit the 31,000-ton-per-year Stocks del valles biodiesel plant: The existing customer Stocks del valles commissioned BDI with the implementation of the RetroFit-program, which takes place in this particular case by …