As we recently recognized the 40th anniversary of the Arab Oil Embargo, which back then, showed how vulnerable the U.S. was working under foreign petroleum, one of the leaders at the nation’s biodiesel leader says his industry’s green fuel is a pathway to break the Big Oil monopoly. In this piece for the political blog, The Hill.com, Renewable Energy Group …
Farmers Harvesting Biomass for Project LIBERTY
Farmers are now harvesting and delivering cob bales for the 2014 opening of Project LIBERTY in Emmetsburg, Iowa. Project LIBERTY is POET-DSM’s 20 million-gallon-per-year biorefinery currently under construction. When the facility begins production, it will use corn crop residue – cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk – as the primary feedstock to produce cellulosic ethanol. With the 2013 harvest season …
BioEnergy Bytes
OwnEnergy has announced the sale of its Two Dot Wind Farm to NJR Clean Energy Ventures. Two Dot will be the 4th wind farm OwnEnergy has brought to shovel-ready status and sold. The Two Dot Wind Farm is located in Montana, 93 miles east of Helena, and is expected to create 40-60 temporary jobs during its construction phase and according …
Hitachi Zosen Membrane Increases Ethanol Efficiency
Greenbelt Resources Corporation, under its subsidiary Diversified Ethanol Corporation, has announced the selection of Hitachi Zosen Corporation as a collaborator on its ethanol dehydration module. Greenbelt has successfully integrated the zeolite ceramic membrane innovation from Hitachi Zosen to achieve a higher purity ethanol through a more efficient extraction of residual moisture. After a global search, Greenbelt said it chose the …
Fossil Fuels Still Dominate Energy Consumption
According to new Vital Signs Online trend report released by Worldwatch Institute, coal, natural gas, and oil accounted for 87 percent of global primary energy consumption in 2012. This occurred as the growth of worldwide energy use continued to slow due to the economic downturn. The analysis shows the relative weight of these energy sources keeps shifting, although only slightly. …
RIP E10 Blend Wall
On the heels of surging E15 and E85 sales, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has declared the so-called E10 blend wall dead. Recent calls to modify the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), say IRFA, have centered on the myth that it is impossible to sell blends above 10 percent ethanol (E10), but actual retailer sales data proves otherwise. “All …
New Agreement to Bring EV’s to the Road
There is a new multi-state cooperative agreement to put more than three million battery-electric vehicles (EV), plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel-cell-electric vehicles on U.S. roads. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), joined representatives from California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont to announce an agreement to promote the accelerated adoption of zero emissions passenger cars, …
InfraCal 2 Analyzer Offers Better Biodiesel Features
A new analyzer will give biodiesel producers more and better features for the industry. This piece from Biodiesel Magazine talks about the new InfraCal 2 Analyzer, recently introduced by Wilks, that provides better repeatability, multiple calibrations, unlimited data storage, optional internal battery pack, touch screen display and password protection for instrument settings for biodiesel in diesel measurements. The InfraCal 2 …
Biodiesel Tops 1 Billion Gallon Mark
New numbers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that biodiesel has once again broken the 1-billion-gallon mark. Biodiesel production hit 140 million gallons in September, pushing the year-to-date biodiesel total of nearly 1.1 billion gallons, the third year it has reached that milestone. The news was welcomed by the National Biodiesel Board: “This is a tremendous achievement that is …
Does Farm Size Matter?
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ”What is most important to you when buying food?” Given the economy, it’s only fitting that price won out in our poll, but also tied with whatever you’re hungry for. Guess it just depends on your mood! Our poll results: · Price – 29% · Whatever I’m hungry for – 29% · Organic – …