Haiti-based Sonamar, S.A. and Bangalore-based VayuGrid have entered into a partnership to develop BioEnergy Zones across Haiti. These bioenergy pockets will produce renewable energy through elite biofuel trees developed by VayuGrid. The two companies believe the project will deliver social, environmental and economic benefit to the country. The zones will be developed in non-arable land across Haiti to supply biodiesel, …
BioEnergy Bytes
The International Bioenergy and Bioproducts Conference (IBBC) is taking place in Green Bay, Wisconsin on September 18-20, 2013. The focus of the event is to advance biorefineries in the forest products industry. Event topics will include biomass supply and demand, biochemical conversion of biomass, thermochemical conversion of biomass, conversion pathways, and modeling. Registration is still open. Biomass Magazine is offering …
Caltech Announces New Energy Awards
The Resnick Sustainability Institute at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has established an award, called RESONATE, that will honor cutting-edge work that addresses some of the hardest problems in energy and sustainability. The award winners will be announced in the Spring of 2014. The RESONATE Awards will focus on innovative, paradigm-shifting work from individuals at an early stage in …
20 Climate Change Steps for DOE
The Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change recently released a white paper recommending 20 steps the Department of Energy (DOE) should take in carrying out the President’s Climate Action Plan. The recommendations include strengthening specific energy efficiency standards, accelerating the development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies, expanding the use of energy savings performance contracts to save energy at federal …
NextFuels Producing Biofuels from Palm Residue
NextFuels has unveiled its strategy for economically producing transportation and industrial fuels from wet, unprocessed agricultural waste. The underlying technology, which was developed by Shell Oil over several years, will allow NextFuels and its partners to produce bio-based petroleum at commercial scale for $75 to $85 a barrel out of wet biomass that has not been mechanically or thermally dried. …
BioEnergy Bytes
UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global safety science leader, was recently selected as the only foreign testing center for wind turbine generation systems over 750kW by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), a division within the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MTIE). This designation by the Korean MTIE will allow global and local companies to earn not …
India & Australia Renewable Energy Investments Up
India and Australia, powered by policy support from the government, will increase their share of renewable energy projects in the near future, according to the recent report, Asia-Pacific Renewable Energy Policy Handbook 2013, published by GlobalData. In addition, the report finds China will remain the largest market in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the report, Australia’s cumulative installed capacity for …
Senators Call for Big Oil Investigation
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called on the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate possible anticompetitive practices by oil companies that limit consumers access to homegrown renewable fuels such as ethanol. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, Klobuchar, the Chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee, and Grassley, …
Growth in Wind Industry to Boost O&M Market
According to a new report from GlobalData, with wind energy capacity growing at rapid pace, the value of the operations and maintenance (O&M) market is expected to increase from $3 billion in 2008 to $19 billion in 2020. The report finds that more than 191 GW of wind power capacity was added between 2008 and 2012, which has drastically increased …
Solar Panels Being Installed On White House
They say nothing is a secret in Washington, D.C. and it’s no secret that after intense pressure from several environmental organizations including 350.org, solar panels are now being installed on the White House. Some will remember the days when President Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar panels on the storied home back in the late 70s only to have them removed …