Olympian High School and Sweetwater Union High School District, located in Chula Vista, California along with SunPower Corp. are celebrating the installation of 9.3 megawatts of high efficiency SunPower solar power systems at 21 district schools. The district estimates that the systems may offset about 60 percent of its utility grid demand. EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp. announced that its joint …
DOE Annouced $15M to Integrate Solar on Grid
The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $15 million in funding to help integrate distributed, on-site solar systems into the electric grid. During the last 18 months, more solar has been installed than the 30 years prior, and since President Obama took office, the amount of solar installed has increased more than thirteen-fold from 1.2 GW i 2008 to nearly …
SAE Paper Calls Out EPA’s Ethanol Emissions Testing
A new study from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has called the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) E15 emission testing “flawed”. Others agree with the findings including the Urban Air Initiative (UAI) and the Energy Future Coalition (EFC). The SAE reviewed EPA models that are used to determine emissions from various fuel blends, known as “match blending”. The procedures were …
Register Now for 9th IRFA Summit
Registration is now open for the 9th annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit and Trade Show. The event will take place January 27, 2015 at The Meadows Conference Center located at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa and is free and open to the public. Click here for registration and sponsorship information. With ongoing discussion over renewable fuels policy, the 2015 Iowa …
Solenis Receives Corn Oil Extraction Patent
Solenis has received a U.S. patent (Patent No. US 8,841,469 B2) for the use of chemical additives to improve the separation of corn oil. In addition to yielding more corn oil, the company says its corn oil extraction aids, which are marketed as Dimension corn oil extraction aids, also reduce solids in the oil, resulting in a cleaner, higher-quality oil. …
U.S. Bank & Microgrid Solar Aid Nonprofits
More than 50 nonprofits in and around St. Louis, Missouri now have access to renewable energy due to the help of U.S. Bank and Microgrid Solar. The two companies (U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation– USBCDC is the actual funder) are financing the installation and operation of up to 120 solar PV projects to benefit 56 nonprofit organizations. Each 25 kilowatt …
BioEnergy Bytes
Virent and the PlantPET Technology Collaborative (PTC) announced that the parties have signed an Expression of Interest that provides individual members of the PTC an option on preferred access to Virent’s 100% plant-based BioFormPX paraxylene (PX) to be produced at the company’s first industrial manufacturing facility. The plant-based PX, when combined with existing PET technology, allows manufacturers to offer customers …
OnForce Solar Completes Solar Landfill Project
OnForce Solar has completed what the company says is the first of its kind solar landfill project in the state of New York. The 2.364 MW solar array was built on 13 acres of decommissioned, capped landfill in West Nyack for the Town of Clarkstown. The solar farm will generate 2,800,000 kilowatt hours of clean energy per year and is …
Italy Binds Biofuel Targets
Italy has passed a law that will set the way for national binding targets. The news comes on the heels of talks by the European Union (EU) on what, if any, binding renewable energy targets should be in place. The official degree as published in the “Gazzetta Ufficiale” states that fuel suppliers will be obligated to blend fuel: at least …
DuPont to Sit on RFA Board
DuPont will now be sitting on the governing board of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The company has been an associate RFA member for more than 10 years and has now upgraded its membership as its first cellulosic ethanol plant is in its final stages of construction. The biorefinery will be co-located next to Lincolnway Energy in Nevada, Iowa and …