Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group has had to lay off 45 percent of its workforce in the company’s home state, due to the failure of Congress to renew the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax credit. REG is expected to meet with two key members of Congress, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), at REG facilities in each of the …
Siemens to Provide Cape Wind Turbines
Siemens will be the supplier of 130, 3.6-Megawatt (MW) turbines for Cape Wind, America’s first planned offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts … if the project is ever built. This Cape Wind press release says Siemens will also open a U.S. Offshore Wind office in Boston: “We are pleased to be working with Siemens which is a market …
Biodiesel Focus of GM, DOE Study
General Motors has announced a five-year partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to study using jatropha plants for biodiesel. UPI reports that the test sites in India will look at whether jatropha can produce enough oil for the green fuel: Farms with more than 200 acres of the drought-resistant, non-edible plant will host life-cycle studies near GM plants in …
DOE: Biodiesel Will Help Cut Oil Production
A leading analyst for the U.S. Department of Energy says world oil production could go down starting 2011. This article from Heatingoil.com says while the forecast from Glen Sweetnam, the director of the International Economic and Greenhouse Gas Division at the Energy Information Administration (EIA), credits a reduction in investment for most of the decline, the presence of biodiesel will …
Nissan’s Electric Leaf Undercuts GM Volt’s Price
In the race for a profitable electric car, Nissan might have just raced out to a big lead. The Japanese car maker has announced that its Leaf electric car will sell for $32,780 … well below GM’s Chevy Volt’s sticker price of $40,000. When you include the $7,500 federal tax credit (which the Volt would also be eligible for), that …
Ohio Pols Look to Increase Lake Erie Wind Turbines
A pair of Ohio politicians is looking to advance offshore wind energy projects in Lake Erie. This press release from Gov. Ted Strickland says the governor was joined by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown(D-OH) and Cleveland leaders to unveil Brown’s legislation to advance offshore wind turbines in freshwater bodies like Lake Erie and to hear Strickland’s update on state efforts to …
Researchers Check “Green-ness” of Algae-Biofuel
The assumption is that algae-based biofuels are better for the environment. But, as they say, the proof is in the pudding. And researchers are all about proving things. This article from the Fort Collins (CO) Coloradoan says a pair of mechanical engineering professors from Colorado State are testing to see what gases come from burning algae oil: “What are the …
Buckeye Wind Project Given Green Light, But…
Fifty wind turbines could soon be turning, cranking out green power in East Central Ohio’s Champaign County … but there are some caveats. This story from Springfield (OH) News-Sun says the Ohio Power Siting Board has given Everpower Wind Holdings Inc. the green light for the Buckeye Wind Project, which will be one of the first utility-scale wind projects in …
Camelina to Produce 1 Bil Gallons of Biodiesel by 2025
A market research and advisory firm is predicting that camelina will be the feedstock for a billion gallons of biofuels a year by the year 2025. In their new report, entitled “Camelina Aviation Biofuels Market Opportunity and Renewable Energy Strategy Report,” researchers at Biomass Advisors say the non-food energy crop will be producing biofuels for the aviation and biodiesel sectors, …
Northern Iowa to Get New Biodiesel Plant
Three acres of farmland in northern Iowa could soon be home to a 3-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that the Mt. Valley biodiesel refinery, using grease, soy, sunflower seeds in a closed-loop, emissions-free facility, will be the first of its kind for the Hawkeye State: “The land here has always been very productive,” [Byron] Tweeten, chairman …