While all elections are important, this year’s promises to have some real implications for rural America. That’s why Farm Foundation is holding a forum about a week after the polls close, and we know WHO is in office to explain WHAT they might do as as far as agriculture, food and rural policy, including renewable energy, is concerned. The forum …
DF Cast: Candidates Debate Domestic Fuels
It’s less than a week before election day, and President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney are vying for every vote they can, including those people interested in energy issues in this country. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from Obama and Romney as they made their pitches about their domestic energy policies during the …
DF Cast: Fuels America to Combat RFS Waiver Talk
A new coalition forms to fight back against the push against the Renewable Fuels Standard… a fight prompted by the drought and the pressure the drought is causing on the most common feedstock for ethanol, corn. During a recent news conference, former congressman and now CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization… or BIO… Jim Greenwood was one of the leaders …
Ag Secretary Highlights Biofuels During US Ship Visit
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack went aboard the USS Monterey at the Naval Station Norfolk to highlight the commitment the military is making to advanced biofuels. He was joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Energy for Navy Tom Hicks. “Developing the next generation of advanced biofuels for our nation’s military is both a national security issue and aneconomic issue,” …
Iowa Teacher Gets Ethanol Rocks Boost
The National Corn Growers Association gave an Iowa teacher a bit of a lift in its Ethanol Rocks video contest, an effort to highlight corn ethanol in this country. Mediapolis High School ag instructor and FFA Advisor Alaina Holdgrafer picked up an NCGA backpack filled with goodies, including a Sony HandyCam and a lot of information about ethanol at the …
New Billboard Touts E15 to Iowa Motorists
A new billbord courtesy of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association introduces E15 to motorists in in Marion, Iowa. This IRFA news release says the new billboard will go up at Linn Co-op Oil Company, the first EPA-approved retailer in Iowa to sell E15 for 2001 and newer vehicles, SUVs, and light-duty trucks. “We’re excited that we’re only a week away …
Teaming Up to Use ShockWave Biodiesel Reactor
Biodiesel maker World Energy has teamed up with Hydro Dynamics, Inc., makers of ShockWave Power Reactor (SPR) technology to expand the commercialization of the SPR technology. This Hydro Dynamics news release says the two companies hope to apply the technology worldwide. Harnessing the power of cavitation, the ShockWave Power Biodiesel Reactor drives the transesterification reaction to completion in seconds. In …
Teen Cites Family in Winning Biodiesel Essay
A Minnesota teenager has cited personal family ties in her winning essay on biodiesel. Morgan Dahl, a 2012 graduate of Greenbush-Middle River High School, won first place in the Reuben Youngerberg Memorial Biodiesel Essay Scholarship, an annual scholarship open to all high school seniors in Minnesota. In her essay, Dahl talked about being raised on a family century farm and …
“Forever Young” Switchgrass for Cellulosic Ethanol
Scientists at the USDA might have found a way to keep switchgrass forever young and better for cellulosic ethanol. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist Sarah Hake, working with University of California-Berkeley plant geneticist George Chuck, found that taking a gene from corn called corngrass and inserting it into switchgrass keeps the grass always in a juvenile form that doesn’t flower, …
CBD Energy, Westinghouse Solar Announce Projects
Australia-based CBD Energy Ltd. has announced it is getting into the renewable energy businesses in the U.S. The move comes after the company revealed its proposed merger with Westinghouse Solar, Inc., and its technologies and services will be debuted during the upcoming Solar Power International conference, Sept. 10-13, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. “CBD Energy’s pending merger with Westinghouse Solar offers …