Somoa has its operational first wind farm. The ‘cyclone proof’ project is located on the Samoan island of Upolu. Home to nearly 75 percent of the population the wind farm will supply 1,500 MWh of power per year, delivering U.S. $475,000 in annual fuel cost savings. The pioneering project in Samoa includes two 55 meters high turbines that can pivot …
Growth Energy’s Model Ethanol Plant
During the Farm Progress Show last week several companies featured some cool technologies and displays featuring agriculture’s role in producing clean energy such as biofuels. One partnership that has been very successful is that between New Holland and Growth Energy. New Holland has very publicly shown its support for ethanol has developed equipment for farmers to more easily harvest their …
BioEnergy Bytes
Pacific Ethanol has announced it has purchased an additional 5% ownership interest in PE Op Co., the owner of the Pacific Ethanol plants, for a total cash purchase price of $6,000,000. The acquisition increased the company’s ownership interest in the Pacific Ethanol plants to 96%. ReneSola Ltd has announced that it will develop a 13MW solar project in Dorset, England. …
Book Review: Renewable Energy- Following the Money
Rainy Iowa days make it a nice time to spend the night reading and this week I finished “Renewable Energy- Following the Money,” by Craig Shields who is the editor of 2GreenEnergy.com, a great “greencentric” blog. I had mixed emotions on the book and let me explain why. The book consists of a series of interviews with various energy expects …
Summit Group Building Brazilian Corn Ethanol Plant
Alden, Iowa-based Summit Group announced a project to build the first modern corn ethanol plant in Brazil during the 2014 Farm Progress Show. The project will consist of a US$140 million ethanol plant near Lucas do Rio Verde in Mato Grosso, a leading agricultural state in west central Brazil and the country’s largest producer of corn and soybeans. The project …
Arrayan Wind Farmed Commissioned in Santiago
The 115 MW El Arrayan Wind farm located 400 km north of Santiago on the coast of Chile has officially been commissioned. El Arrayan Wind connects to the Sistema Interconectado Central’s 220kVm transmission system and is located on approximately 15,320 acres of coastal land on a long-term lease with a single landowner. The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, together with …
BioEnergy Bytes
Officials from Xcel Energy, the EPA, and the Colorado State Land Board joined community solar developer Clean Energy Collective to officially open Denver County’s newest community solar facilities — two state-of-the-art 500 kW solar arrays that make affordable, locally-made clean power available to all Xcel Energy customers, residential or commercial, in Denver County. Developed on a 5-acre site at the …
Fuels America Celebrates Labor Day
Labor Day in America is this weekend and Fuels America is celebrating by highlighting a recent report on American workers in the U.S. biofuels industry. According to the organization, the renewable fuels industry has tremendously grown since the passage of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Today, the sector supports more than 850,000 jobs and generates $46.2 billion in wages. Combined, the …
Iowa GOP Under Fire on RFS Stance
The Iowa GOP is under fire this week from biofuel supporters including the pro-biofuel association, Americans United for Change for its stance on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Iowa Republican Party published on its site that the “perfect world” is one devoid of the RFS and their site actually called for a repeal of the RFS, until today that …
Non-Binding Renewable Target Questioned by IEA
Europe has released it non-binding target for renewable energy at 27 percent by 2030 and in response the International Energy Agency (IEA) has raised the alarm and is asking for a clear and stable framework. According to the IEA’s Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report, the absence of a binding target raises questions about how effective the overall target can be. …