Due to the continued success of the KidWind Challenge events, KidWind, a leader in clean energy education, has announced the inaugural National KidWind Challenge. The event will take place at the USA Science & Engineering Festival, on Saturday, April 26, 2014 in Washington D.C. The KidWind National Challenge will bring together student teams to compete for the National KidWind Challenge …
BioEnergy Bytes
Taylor High School, located in Taylor, Texas, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the installation of the school’s new renewable energy system. The new renewable energy system consists of a 33-kilowatt solar array and a 1-kilowatt wind turbine, with an integrated computer monitoring system. This project was initiated as a result of the school’s Beginners Learning Alternative Designs for Energy …
New Report Supports E15
A new analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) finds no “meaningful differences between E15 and E10 in any performance category.” The NREL analysis reviewed 43 studies on the effects of E15 on engine durability, emissions, and other factors, including a controversial study by the Coordinating Research Council’s (CRC). Regarding that study in particular, NREL found “…the conclusion that …
Singapore Micro-Grid to Use Biodiesel, Solar
Residents of an island of Singapore will be getting their electricity from a micro-grid powered by biodiesel and solar. Channel NewsAsia reports that about 30 residents and businesses on Pulau Ubin will be using the cheaper, cleaner power. It is part of a test-bed by the Energy Market Authority to assess the impact of intermittent energy sources, such as solar, …
Darling Buying Another Renderer for Biodiesel
On the heels of last week’s announcement that Darling International Inc. is buying a Canadian renderer to gain feedstocks for products, including biodiesel, the Texas-based company is now acquiring a Dutch renderer to gain even more biodiesel-possible stocks. Darling says the nearly $2.2 billion deal with Vion Ingredients could close as early as this coming January. Vion Ingredients’ global network …
Canada to Create Wind Energy Growth Plan
During the Wind Energy Across Canada meeting this week, the Industry Leaders Panel during the plenary session agreed that the country’s wind energy industry is well positioned to build on its rapid growth to date and strong prospects for the next few years. However, for this to happen, there is a need to define the policy framework that will inform …
Pennsylvania Says No to Renewable Energy as Climate Solution
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it would not recommend the state’s Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC) debate or vote on a plan that considers increasing the state’s renewable energy law, the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS). The DEP also said that it would not be including information in Pennsylvania’s next Climate Action Plan …
BioEnergy Bytes
Hydro Dynamics, Inc. of Rome, Georgia has announced that it has been granted a patent, U.S. Patent Number: 8,430,968) covering its Shock Wave Power Reactor (SPR) cavitation technology for ethanol yield enhancement. The Patent covers the application of the SPR cavitation reactor to provide ethanol yield enhancement in the fuel ethanol industry. SPR technology uses the pressure fluctuations produced by …
UPS Ups Its LNG Game
UPS is once again increasing its commitment to liquified natural gas (LNG) with plans to invest nearly $50 million to build an additional nine LNG fueling stations bringing the total number of stations to 13. Four were announced in April of 2013 and these stations should be operational by the end of 2014. The enhanced LNG fueling infrastructure will support …
SGB Gets Financing to Turn Jatropha into Biodiesel
A California-based biofuel maker has lined financing to grow jatropha to turn into biodiesel in Guatemala. This news release from SG Biofuels (SGB) says the company inked a deal with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the debt financing of a 25,000 acre Jatropha bioenergy project that is estimated to cost about $76 million. “The IDB’s decision to accept the …