EcoEngineers has been awarded a State Energy Program Formula grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) to conduct a feasibility study of waste-to-energy projects in Iowa. The grant will enable EcoEngineers to evaluate the economic and technical feasibility of converting biogenic waste streams from Iowa’s agricultural, livestock and industrial operations and municipal solid waste into renewable natural gas (biogas). …
DOE Awards $60M in Solar Projects
Energy Secretary Moniz has announced $60 million in funding to support innovative solar energy research and development. The awards are part of DOE’s SunShot Initiative and will help lower the cost of solar electricity, advance seamless grid integration and support a growing U.S. solar workforce. “The tremendous growth in the U.S. solar industry over the past few years is helping …
More Oil from Plants Could Increase Biodiesel Output
Government scientists have found the genes that increase the oil production in plant leaves, and that could increase the amount of biodiesel that can be squeezed out of plants. This news release from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory says finding a way to enhance that oil expression in those parts of the plant could have significant implications …
Biodiesel Board Asks for Your Letter of RFS Support
Our friends at the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) are asking for your letter of support of the Renewable Fuels Standard. NBB has launched a letter-writing campaign to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discourage the agency from cutting the amount of biomass-based diesel in the RFS: As a supporter of the U.S. biodiesel industry, I want to express my alarm …
Crowdfunding Campaign to Connect Schools to Solar
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has launched a unique crowdfunding campaign to support a new initiative to help schools purchase and install rooftop solar systems. The crowdfunding campaign – a first for NRDC – initially seeks to raise $54,000 through the site Indiegogo to help three to five to-be-determined schools move forward with solar rooftop projects. At least one …
Arkalon Ethanol Signs Up for Enogen
Arkalon Ethanol, LLC based in Liberal, Kansas has signed an agreement with Syngenta to use corn that features Enogen trait technology. The ethanol plant will begin to use the trait, replacing its liquid alpha amylase, following the 2014 corn harvest. “We are excited to announce this agreement with Arkalon Ethanol and we’re confident that Enogen technology is a solution that …
New Funding to Develop Advanced Biofuels Projects
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of $181 million to develop commercial-scale biorefineries or retrofit existing facilities with appropriate technology to develop advanced biofuels. The Biorefinery Assistance Program was created through the 2008 Farm Bill and is administered by USDA Rural Development. It provides loan guarantees to viable commercial-scale facilities to develop new and emerging technologies for advanced biofuels. …
Ethanol Sweet Spots – Part II
Yesterday, DF featured an article on “Must Know Ethanol Trends” that came out of Christianson & Associate’s, PPL (C&A) Biofuels Benchmarking 2012-13 Annual Report. In addition to identifying important trends for the industry, the report also identified some “sweet spots” for the industry. John Christianson, partner with C&A, said running a good business is the first thing and being as …
Ethanol Production & Crush Margins Improve
According to forecasts published in Biofuelscan, a daily report from Platts that covers the global biofuels industry, U.S. ethanol production data, to be reported on October 23, 2013 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), ethanol production for the week ending October 18, 2013 was 861,000 barrels/day (b.d). This number would show an increase of 0.58 percent from last week’s …
BioEnergy Bytes
Dyadic International has announced that it has entered into agreements with all of its outstanding promissory note holders to extend their maturity dates to January 1, 2015. The convertible portion of the debt, representing $6.8 million of the total $8.2 million outstanding principal, may be prepaid by Dyadic at any time in whole or in part, without penalty, after March …