An annual scholarship for Minnesota high school seniors has been launched under a new name to honor the memory of a soybean farmer. This year’s scholarships are given in memory of the late father of Mike Youngerberg, senior director of field services for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. Reuben Youngerberg owned a farm in Blue Earth County, where he held …
Anti-Ethanol Blender Pump Amendment Pulled
An amendment offered by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that would have stopped funding for Flex Fuel blender pumps was pulled before it came up for a vote this week. “While the withdrawal of this amendment is an important milestone, we will continue to encourage Congress to oppose any other effort that would erect new barriers to the market,” said Growth …
Reports Blame Speculators for Higher Prices
Two reports released earlier this week concluded that commodity market speculation is largely to blame for increasing prices of food and energy. The reports were issued in advance of the October 18 meeting of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) which placed limits on speculation in a variety of commodities including oil, corn, gold and natural gas. One report …
USDA Plans to Cancel Ethanol Co-Product Report
In a cost-cutting measure, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is planning to cancel the Distiller Co-Products for Feed Survey announced in March slated to be done in January 2012. The report, which was designed to better calculate the use of the ethanol co-product known as DDGS in livestock feed, is one of several that USDA plans to eliminate or …
Solar Executives Discuss Industry Issues
Solar Power International 2011 (SPI 2011) is taking place this week in Dallas and six of the country’s leading solar executives and innovators held a press call this morning from the conference to talk about issues of interest to the industry. Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, says there is tremendous momentum in the solar industry despite backlash from the Solyndra …
Electric Vehicle Sharing Incentive Announced
Xatori Inc., the electric vehicle software company behind the PlugShare app suite, and peer-to-peer car sharing service Getaround have partnered to reward PlugShare members in select communities $50 for sharing their vehicles on Getaround’s car rental marketplace. PlugShare and Getaround announced the financial incentive in honor of National Plug In Day on Sunday, October 16. Eligible communities include the San …
ZeaChem Makes Cleantech 100 List
Cellulosic ethanol developer ZeaChem has been named one of the 2011 Global Cleantech 100 companies. The annual list is produced by Cleantech Group in collaboration with UK’s Guardian News, focusing on companies they believe are likely to make the most significant impact over the next 5-10 years. “ZeaChem is building a portfolio of advanced biofuels and bio-based chemicals derived from …
Bill Would Require New Analysis of 15% Ethanol Blend
A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would mean additional testing for the use of 15% ethanol in regular gasoline. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the legislation to require the Environmental Protection Agency to seek independent scientific analysis on the effects of 15 percent blend ethanol gasoline. Sensenbrenner says he has “serious concerns that the EPA used only …
Cellulosic Ethanol Demo Plant Marks Milestone
Biofuel tech company Coskata marked two years of successful operations at a cellulosic ethanol semi-commercial facility in Madison, Pennsylvania this month. According to company officials, the facility has completed over 15,000 run hours of operation and successfully converted wood biomass and municipal solid waste into fuel-grade ethanol. “The data and operating experience cultivated at this pre-commercial scale facility has conclusively …
Joule Wins Wall Street Journal Award
Joule Unlimited Technologies has received the 2011 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in the Energy category and was also named the Silver award winner across all of the competition’s 16 categories, from more than 600 entries around the globe. “We are honored to be the Wall Street Journal’s choice for the most innovative energy company, and to be recognized …