In a setback to the regulated utility model, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a power purchase agreement (PPA) between the city of Dubuque and Eagle Point Solar does not violate state law. Regulated utility companies had fought the arrangement, claiming to have exclusive rights to sell to customers in their service areas. On Friday, July 11, 2014 Iowa’s …
Offshore Wind Fastest Growing Power Sector in Europe
Offshore wind energy development in Europe is the fastest growing power sector with 4.9 GW of new capacity under construction according to the European Wind Energy (EWEA). The 4.9 GW will be comprised of 16 commercial offshore wind farms under construction. During the first six months of 2014, 224 new offshore wind turbines totaling 781 megawatts were fully connected tot …
#51 Eric Jones Wins American Ethanol 200
Erik Jones driver of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports held off Brad Keselowski Racing’s Ryan Blaney for the win of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 200 sponsored by Enogen. Jones said during Victory Lane, “Glad we could get out and command the race and bring it home.” Jones led 131 of the 200 …
Syngenta Donates $108K for Flex Fuel Infrastructure
During the American Ethanol 200 presented by Enogen taking place at the Iowa Speedway today, Syngenta announced that they are donating $108,000 to the renewable fuels industry to make flex fuels more widely available. The funds will be used for flex fuel pump infrastructure to help bring more mid-level ethanol blends such as E15 and E30 along with E85 available …
BioEnergy Bytes
Plug Power Inc. recently participated in the recent grand opening of Ace Hardware’s first all hydrogen material handling fleet at the company’s newly constructed Wilmer, Texas warehouse. In addition, Ace has ordered further GenDrive units for another distribution center being built in West Jefferson, Ohio. The Export-Import Bank of the United States is providing a $64.5 million direct loan to …
Wind Energy Faces Challenges
According to a new paper, “Challenges for Wind Energy’s Future,” although a negligible player in electricity generation, wind energy comes at an exorbitant taxpayer expense. In addition, the report finds that the wind industry faces several likely “insurmountable” challenges to becoming a dependable part of America’s energy portfolio. Author Merrill Matthews, Ph.D., discusses in the paper that while wind itself …
UCR Helps Solar Energy Get a Boost
A recent article published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters by University of California, Riverside (UCR) chemists looks at the research focused on “singlet fission,” a process in which a single photon generates a pair of excited states. This 1->2 conversion process has the potential to boost solar cell efficiency as much as 30 percent. In addition to improving …
ACE Panel Focuses on Int’l Ethanol Opportunities
The 27th Annual Ethanol Conference is fast approaching and this year a key focus will be examples of expanding international ethanol markets. American Coalition for Ethanol’s (ACE) conference will take place on August 4-6, 2014 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Shannon Gustafson, ACE director of strategic projects, says the panel will focus on the international sales and marketing opportunities that are available …
Ethanol & Corn Production Up, Food & Gas Prices Down
Growth Energy is attacking the myth that ethanol production increases food prices. Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy notes that time and again, Big Oil, big Food and special interests are attacking the ethanol industry and placing blame on them for rising food prices. “But when you look at the facts, nothing could be further from the truth. Recently, there …
BioEnergy Bytes
SunEdison, Inc. has announced a new project that will install 159 kilowatts (kW) of solar PV micro-grids with battery storage in six remote Indian villages, which will bring electricity to, and thereby improve health and education for, 4,875 off-grid people. Working with the Government of India’s Rural Electrification Corporation and the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam state agency, SunEdison will …