The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have reached a settlement with a Utah-based company that was alleged to have generated more than 7.2 million invalid renewable fuel credits worth more than $2 million. This news release from the EPA says Washakie Renewable Energy, LLC generated the Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs, from the …
Biodiesel Imports Drop 36% in 2014
The amount of biodiesel and renewable diesel being imported into the U.S. dropped 36 percent in 2014 compared to the record-level year in 2013. This article from the Energy Information Administration says uncertainty about the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and no late-year influx of volumes from Argentina were two main factors in this decline. The strongest drivers of the resurgence …
Sens Wyden, Risch Intro Geothermal Energy Bill
Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, have introduced legislation to encourage geothermal energy production on public lands. Coined the Geothermal Production Expansion Act, the bill would prevent speculative bidders from driving up the price of leases for developers seeking to use the land for geothermal projects. The bill streamlines the federal geothermal leasing program by allowing for the …
Solar Goes to Space
Solar has gone to space. SolAero Technologies has announced that 32 of its SolAero solar panels populated with high-efficiency triple-junction ZTJ solar cells are powering the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission spacecraft that launched successfully on March 12, 2015 aboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The MMS will study magnetic …
BioEnergy Bytes
Solectria – A Yaskawa Company, has announced the introduction of its Rapid Shutdown (RSD) Combiner for single-phase inverters. This RSD Combiner option offers a complete solution to NEC 2014, Article 690.12 requiring rooftop installations to de-energize conductors outside of a 10 foot boundary from the array. “Analysis of Public Policies that Unintentionally Encourage and Subsidize Sprawl,” written for the New …
MIT Climate CoLab Seeks World Changing Ideas
Earth Day is April 22, 2015 but climate change is on many minds year round. This week Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate CoLab announced twenty-two contests that seek high-impact ideas on how to tackle climate change. A project of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, the Climate CoLab is attempting to harness the knowledge and expertise of thousands of …
Proposed Oregon Biomass Plant Seeks Energy Buyer
A proposed biomass plant in Oregon is getting closer to getting off the ground, if it can just find a buyer for the energy it produces. This article from The Columbian says the city of La Pine could get a wood-burning power plant. “It’s just been on hold due to market conditions,” said Rob Broberg, president of Biogreen Sustainable Energy …
NY Considers State Biodiesel Heating Oil Mandate
A measure before the New York state legislature would require biodiesel to be mixed into every gallon of heating oil sold in the state. This article from The Legislative Gazette says the bill would set a 2 percent mandate and start no later than July 1, 2016 if it is passed. Bill A.6070 is sponsored by Assemblyman Steven Englebright, D- …
Hawaii Trans Director Commits to 20% Biodiesel
Hawaii’s head of its state transportation department is committing his agency to using a 20 percent blend of biodiesel, B20. This article from Big Island Now says State Transportation Director Ford Fuchigami made the remarks as he, Governor David Ige and Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui toured Pacific Biodiesel’s refinery this week during Biodiesel Day. “We are committed to convert all …
Solar Impulse 2 Takes to the Skies
Solar Impulse 2 has set off on a 35,000-kilometer journey around the world, powered only by solar energy. Schindler, a leading global elevator and escalator provider, is one of the project’s four main partners and welcomed the aircraft as it stops over at the Mandalay International Airport in Mandalay, Myanmar. The Solar Impulse 2 is a single-seater aircraft made of …