In a pro-active attempt for the Brazilian ethanol industry to distance itself from ties to deforestation, the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recently announced a legislative proposal called, “The Agro-ecological Zoning of Sugarcane,” that would in essence, “zone” where sugarcane could be grown and harvested throughout the country. The amount of sugarcane grown has increased significantly due to …
Movie Review – “FUEL”
The Sundance award winning documentary, “FUEL” is set to open up in 150 theaters across the U.S. tomorrow. The “FUEL” team will be on hand in New York for the nationwide premiere, which is being hailed by people who have had the opportunity to pre-screen the film as “eye opening,” “insightful,” and “powerful”. The film was directed by Josh Tickell …
1Hour Flex Launched
A new U.S. based company called Alkol, has launched 1Hour Flex, a technology, according to the company, that allows any car to run on any amount of ethanol (E85) or gasoline. The conversion is reported to take less than one hour. The company has its roots based in Brazil where there are more flex-fuel vehicles on the road than anywhere …
Burger King Tests Motion Power Prototype
New Energy Technologies, has successfully tested its MotionPower technology for generating electricity from the motion of cars and light trucks, in conjunction with a Burger King restaurant in Hillside, New Jersey. The durability field-test was conducted between September 3-7th and is one of the last steps needed prior to its commercial launch. “It would be great to generate clean electricity …
Cobalt Biofuels Named a Global Cleantech 100 Company
Guardian News & Media recently announced their Global Cleantech 100 presented by the Guardian. Although this was the first year the list was created, more than 3,500 nominations were submitted. On this year’s list were 55 American based companies including Mountain View, California based Cobalt Biofuels. The list includes companies that are on the forefront of cleantech innovation. Cobalt Biofuels …
Brazilian Sugar Crop Forecasts Dropped
In a follow up to a recent post about the forecasted record sugarcane harvest in Brazil, it appears that this won’t come to fruition. UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, has released today the news that heavy rains in South-Central Brazil, the country’s top sugarcane producing region, caused a drop of 23.8 percent in the volume of sugarcane crushed during …
Book Review – Investing in Solar Stocks
I was going to begin my review with a bad cliche, “solar never sleeps,” but alas it does since it harnesses the energy of the sun. But I couldn’t think of anything else clever so I decided to run with it. This week I reviewed the book, “Investing in Solar Stocks: An Investor’s Guide to Winning in the Global Renewable …
Brazil to Have Record Breaking Sugar & Ethanol Production
Conab has released the results of its national crop survey and reported that the Brazilian sugar and alcohol sector will grind a record-breaking volume of sugarcane this year. Total harvest is expected to reach an estimated 629 million tons, a 10 percent increase over 2008. The increase in production is attributed to both good rains and expanded planted area, which …
Don’t Miss the Cellulosic Feedstock Summit
The 4th Annual Cellulosic Feedstock Summit is being held this year November 16-19 in Washington D.C. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In addition to the keynote, there are three key events taking place. The Finance & Investment Forum – The Forum will convene the cellulosic biofuels industry …
Ex-CEO Arrested for Selling Illegal RINs
The former CEO of biofuel company American Bio-Fuels, based in Abbeville, Alabama, was arrested yesterday for selling illegal Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). Arnesto, “Steve” Sobrado was charged with felony first-degree theft of property. American Bio-Fuels went out of business in June. According to an article published by the Dothan Eagle, the charge was a result of a report made by …