DF Cast: Recycling Materials to Grab the Sun’s Power

John Davis

Solar energy holds great promise for this nation: it’s practically always there, it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases, and it’s free. But production of the materials used to capture the power of the sun is not always a green proposition … and they’re certainly not free! That’s where BioSolar comes in. The Los Angeles area-based company has found a way to …

Audio, Domestic Fuel Cast, Solar

NBB: No Long-Term Biodiesel Tax Extension this Year

John Davis

The National Biodiesel Board seems to be conceding defeat for a long-term extension of the the biodiesel blender tax credit … but the group seems to be holding out hope for a one-year extension of the incentive set to expire after Dec. 31, 2009. The U.S. House has already passed the tax extender package in H.R. 4213, which included a …

Biodiesel, Government, NBB

Researchers Turning Sugar Beets into Biofuels

John Davis

Researchers believe they have found a way to turn sugar beets into a low-cost biofuel, thanks to the development of an enzyme that speeds up the process. A press release from Atlantic Biomass, a Frederick, Maryland, biotech-biofuel company focused on developing cutting-edge systems to produce advanced biofuels from sustainable, non-food biomass, says work with Hood College has produced a thermostable …

biomass

Land Lease Moves Minnesota Community Wind Project

John Davis

A 20,000 acre land lease is helping move forward a community wind project in Minnesota. Root River Energy and managing partner National Wind have announced they have secured the 20,000 acres in Mower and Fillmore Counties in Southeast Minnesota. This press release from National Wind says the land represents about two-thirds of the leased acres needed to develop up to …

Wind

New Jersey Station Celebrates Anniversary of Biodiesel

John Davis

The first commercial service station in New Jersey that offered biodiesel is celebrating the first anniversary of that historic event. As you might remember from my post last year, it was an early Christmas present for the area around Maplewood, New Jersey as Woolley Fuel became the first in the state to offer Biodiesel to the public. Proprietor Norm Woolley, …

Biodiesel

PowerPellets Touted as “Coal from the Farm”

John Davis

It could become the next great fuel source from the agricultural community. A Nebraska-based biomass supplier and manufacturer has debuted a product it touts as “Coal from the Farm.” Next Step Biofuels, Inc. has launched PowerPellets, a green fuel made from corn stover – all the leaves, cobs and stalks leftover after the corn is harvested – that burns like …

biomass

Audi Tells Obama, “Forget Plug-Ins, Think Biodiesel”

John Davis

The top executive at Audi’s U.S. offices says American political leaders need to think less about plug-in electric vehicles and more about vehicles that run on biodiesel, as well as standardizing the rules for biodiesel. The Detroit News reports that Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen made the remarks at Washington, D.C.’s National Press Club, where he told the …

Biodiesel, Car Makers, Government

Airlines Agree to Buy Renewable Jet Fuel

John Davis

Fourteen major airlines from the United States, Mexico, Canada and Germany, led by the Air Transport Association (ATA), have agreed to buy up to 750 million gallons of renewable jet fuel and diesel derived from camelina and produced by Seattle-based AltAir Fuels. This AltAir Fuels press release says the green fuel will be produced from camelina oil obtained from Montana-based …

biofuels

Wind Works Acquires Interest in 80 MW of Wind Power

John Davis

Canadian-based Wind Works Power Corp. has acquired half interest in six wind energy projects in Ontario with a total capacity of 80 megawatts. This company press release says Wind Works Power will have the option to up those interests to 100 percent: “With these 6 new projects, we now have a total of 15 wind energy projects in Ontario totaling …

Wind

New Holland Biodiesel Machine Wins Tractor of the Year

John Davis

If you’ve been a reader of Domestic Fuel for any amount of time, you know how big of a supporter of biodiesel our friends at New Holland have been. Their efforts and qualities are being noticed around the world as New Holland’s T7070 Auto Command tractor has been tapped as Tractor of the Year at Agritechnica, the world’s largest show …

Biodiesel, New Holland