John Hofmeister will be headlining the 21st Annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC) next February 15-17, 2016 in New Orleans. Hosted by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Hofmeister is the founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy, former president of Shell Oil Company and author of “Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk from an Energy Insider. The NEC …
BioEnergy Bytes
SolarCity and Temecula Valley Unified School District are together installing a six megawatt solar and energy storage project across 19 schools and the district’s administrative office. The project, which includes energy storage systems at five sites, required no upfront investment and is expected to save the district more than $520,000 within the first year of operation alone, and $35 million …
Ethanol Production with Enogen Tops 1B Gallons
There are now 16 ethanol plants using Enogen corn according to Syngenta. When combined, the plants have a production capacity of more than 1 billion gallons of ethanol per year. In addition, Syngenta says there are also in talks with a number of other plants to begin using the only biotech corn designed specifically to improve ethanol production. Last year, …
Virginia School Reviving Algae-to-Biodiesel Operation
A Virginia farm that grew algae for biodiesel has been shut down, but researchers at a nearby university are helping the operation produce the green fuel from the green slime again. This article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch says Old Dominion University is working on the issue and hoping to make it commercially viable. Patrick G. Hatcher, an Old Dominion University …
Alliance BioEnergy Converts Coastal Hay to Sugar
Ek Laboratories, located in Longwood, Florida, has achieved a 63 percent conversion of Coastal Hay, at commercial scale, into fermentable sugars in less than 30 minutes. The Alliance BioEnergy Plus subsidiary used it licensed and patented mechanical/chemical CTS (Cellulose to Sugar) process. According to Ek Laboratories, unlike most cellulose to sugar technologies, their CTS process does not use liquid acids, …
Gravity Renewables + St. Lawrence U Ink Hydro Deal
Gravity Renewables is going to connect St. Lawrence University, located in Canton, New York, to around 4.3 kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean hydropower per year with a new agreement. The renewable, clean energy source will provide St. Lawrence University with reliably prices clean power that will help them get nearly 100 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. “Several years …
Will Steger Wilderness Center Renewable Showcase
Will Steger, a globally renowned climate expert, has announced a major milestone toward the completion of the Will Steger Wilderness Center, that will be used as a leadership retreat center. The facility now features a stand-alone, carbon free power system that will provide electricity to buildings and workshops throughout the site located outside of Ely, Minnesota near the protected Boundary …
BNEF: Wind, Solar Competing with Fossil Fuels
According to a new analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), this year has seen a shift in the generating cost comparison between renewable energy and fossil fuels. The report, “Levelised Cost of Electricity Update,” for the second half of 2015 based on extensive data and global projects shows that onshore wind and crystalline silicon photovoltaics – the two most …
BioEnergy Bytes
Renewable Energy Group (REG) has announced that one of its subsidiaries has received approval from a Mississippi court to purchase certain equipment at the KiOR Columbus, LLC production facility. Under the approved asset purchase agreement, REG Synthetic Fuels, LLC paid $1.5 million, plus certain expenses related to equipment preparation, to acquire various physical assets at the Columbus, MS plant, including …
Nebraska Firefighters Train on Safety with Biodiesel
Firefighters across the country have been getting special training to work with renewable fuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol. One example is in Beatrice, Nebraska, where local firefighters are working with the Duonix Biodiesel plant. This article from the Beatrice Daily Sun says they want to make sure they are ready when the plant goes into production later this year. …