It’s officially called the A-10 Thunderbolt II, but to the men and women who wear the blue of the U.S. Air Force, it is affectionately called the Warthog … and it’s real beauty will come in its upcoming test of biomass-based jet fuel. Air Force News Service says a test pilot will attempt to fly an A-10 on a blend …
Pennsylvania Biodiesel Heating Oil Mandate Considered
Pennsylvania residents might soon take the chill off their cold winter nights (and cool spring, summer and fall days and nights) with a dose of biodiesel. This post from Heatingoil.com says a new bill introduced in the state legislature by Sen. Ted Erickson would require heating oil to be blended with biodiesel, as well as lowering the sulfur content in …
Final Hearing on Cape Wind Project Brings Fireworks
There was no “on-the-fence” for the proponents and opponents who turned out for what could be the last public hearing on a proposed wind project off the coast of Cape Cod. The Springfield (Mass.) News-Sun reports that the hearing before the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation could be the culmination of a nearly 10-year-old fight over the plan by …
Biodiesel-Powered Ford Truck to Get More Powerful
After announcing its 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty truck will be compatible with B20 (see my post from Feb. 26, 2010), it looks like the auto maker now wants it to be the most powerful in its class. This post from PickupTrucks.com says Ford is about ready to power-up its all-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel engine to best GM’s …
Biodiesel Incentive to Wait At Least Until Mid-April
Although it has a broad base of support across the country (unlike a certain health care measure that 60+ percent of Americans don’t favor), renewal of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive seems that it will have to wait at least a month at the earliest before Congress will get to it. This article from Reuters says with Congressional recesses …
Kinder Morgan Inks NJ Biodiesel Terminal Deal
Kinder Morgan, one of the nation’s pioneers in biofuels by pipeline development, has signed a 30-year deal with Carteret, New Jersey to turn 14 acres of brownfields into a biodiesel storage and processing facility. This article from NJToday.net says the project will have connections to some regional pipelines: Adjacent to Kinder Morgan’s existing facilities, the project will make use of …
NBB: Biodiesel Supports World Water Day
Today is World Water Day, and the National Biodiesel Board is tapping into the environmental day of recognition to illustrate just how water-thrifty the renewable fuel really is. In an NBB piece, the group’s sustainability folks point out that fresh water is helped along by biodiesel’s green nature: By switching to renewable fuels, like biodiesel, we help ensure future access …
Acres for Biodiesel, Ethanol Feedstocks to be Big
If the biodiesel makers ever get the $1-a-gallon federal tax credit back, the industry could have plenty of feedstock for the green fuel come fall. This Bloomberg article posted in the Wichita (KS) Eagle says U.S. farmers are expected to plant their largest soybean crop this year: Soybean plantings will rise 2.1 percent to 79.111 million acres from a record …
Wind Power Faces New, Tough Opponent in US Military
Wind energy has faced some opposition, mostly against people who are afraid their oceanfront views will be obscured by windmills seven miles offshore, but now it has a pretty tough opponent in the U.S. military. This article from BiofuelsWatch.com says the military is raising concerns about wind farms disrupting military radar arrays: The primary military concern about wind farm development …
Green Energy Benefits from Recession
While parts of the renewable energy sector have had some tough times lately … biodiesel with the loss of the federal tax credit, ethanol with the food vs. fuel fight, the economic downturn and the tightening of the credit markets … it seems green energy has actually benefitted from the recession. Well, at least in the area of new ideas. …