With the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Energy Information Association (EIA), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) all reporting potential inabilities to issue reports vital to the proper functioning of the commodities and energy markets, Genscape is leveraging its vast proprietary network to ensure transparency and efficiency to all market participants. The company has announced that it will provide a complimentary “Daily Power Reactor Status Report” to backstop the NRC’s “Power Reactor Status Report” as a public service. Genscape physically monitors and captures hard data at 82% of the nation’s nuclear power generation facilities, meaning that output data does not rely on surveys, estimates or third-party sources.- Amyris, Inc. announced that its farnesene plant in Brazil has achieved the production run rate of 1 million liters over a 45-day period. The Amyris production facility, located adjacent to the Paraiso sugarcane mill in Brotas, Sao Paulo in Brazil, began commercial operations at the beginning of 2013 and had all six fermentors running in July to align with commercial volume needs. Amyris’s farnesene is a renewable hydrocarbon molecule addressing growing demand in a broad range of applications, from diesel and jet fuel to high-performance materials.
- Groundbreaking has begun on the $19 million Fairfield wind farm that will include six utility scale turbines standing 398-feet tall, with a combined total of 10 MW of generating capacity. The Fairfield Wind project is jointly owned by Foundation Windpower and WINData. During construction, the project is expected to employ 50 to 60 workers. Foundation Windpower has already inked a power purchase agreement with NorthWestern Energy, which will begin accepting electricity from the turbines in 2014. Fairfield Wind may have the distinction of being one of the last wind energy projects initiated in Montana under the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) program and is expected to be operational by June of 2014.
- AmeriPride Services Inc., a supplier of linen and uniform rental services in North America, has announced the launch of a pilot program that will test three new types of alternative fuel vehicles in an effort to positively impact the environment and assess the impact on the company’s overall operations. Compressed natural gas (CNG), propane and plug-in electric vehicles will be tested this fall and throughout the upcoming year.
