The Brazilian Innovation Agency, FINEP (Research and Projects Financing), and Brazil’s National Development Bank have entered into a new partnership to promote bioethanol development, providing up to $540 million in financing to the country’s biofuels sector to promote innovation in the field of bioethanol. The funding will be invested in technology projects over the next three to four years, which …
ZeaChem Breaks Ground on Biorefinery
Biomass refinery developer ZeaChem broke ground last week in Boardman, Oregon for a 250,000 gallon-per-year facility that will eventually be used to turn wood and other feedstocks into cellulosic ethanol. The plant will initially use ZeaChem’s technology to produce ethyl acetate, which the company says is a salable chemical intermediate and precursor to cellulosic ethanol. With a grant from the …
Importance of Biofuels in Rural Revitalization
The expansion of biofuels will play a significant role in the revitalization of rural America, according to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Why not create biofuel refineries and renewable energy plants that create jobs and markets for a product that otherwise might not be valued as much,” said Vilsack during a Rural Summit in Missouri on Thursday. “Why not …
Challenges Undermine Clean Energy Future
“If we refuse to take into account the full costs of our fossil fuel addiction — if we don’t factor in the environmental costs and the national security costs and the true economic costs — we will have missed our best chance to seize a clean energy future.” That is what President Obama said in his speech at Carnegie Mellon …
Growth Energy Takes Ethanol Message to DC Metro
Capitol Hill commuters will be hard pressed to miss the message that ethanol is America’s clean fuel as they travel the DC metro system this month. Starting at the foot of the escalator with a 10’x12′ floor mat with oil-soaked boot prints and the words “No beaches have been closed due to ETHANOL spills…. America’s CLEAN fuel,” the entire Capitol …
Ethanol Plants Improve Efficiency
Ethanol plants continue to increase in efficiency. A new University of Illinois at Chicago study of facilities that produce most of the nation’s ethanol found that the energy needed to make a gallon of the corn-based fuel decreased on average by about 30 percent within the past decade. The study, conducted by Dr. Steffen Mueller at the Energy Resources Center …
Brazil Revs Up Sugarcane Ethanol Campaign at Indy 500
Indy car drivers from several countries extolled the virtues of sugarcane ethanol from Brazil in ads that aired during the telecast of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. The parade of Indy spokesdrivers in two 30-second Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) television ads that debuted on Sunday include Ryan Hunter-Reay, who briefly served as spokesman for the U.S. ethanol industry …
Everyone Wins in Ethanol Border Battle
Everyone was declared a winner in a Minnesota-Wisconsin border battle this week between two fuel retailers on opposite sides of the St. Croix River. The promotional event on Thursday featured a rush-hour special where both stations sold E85 (85 percent ethanol fuel) at an 85 cents per gallon discount from 4-6 pm. The promotion was supported by the Minnesota Corn …
House Passes Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension
In a voting frenzy today prior to the Memorial Day recess, the U.S. House of Representatives has extended the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit that expired Dec. 31, despite indications even late yesterday that the vote would be delayed until June. The extension, which was part of a package that includes continued unemployment benefits and other tax breaks, would keep the …