Electronics giant Sanyo and renewable energy company Coenergy are teaming up to build one of the East Coast’s first and largest solar energy plants that will treat and transport water for Aqua Pennsylvania, a public water and wastewater utility, serving more than 3 million residents in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Indiana, Florida, Virginia, Maine, …
China & U.S. Companies to Build Wind Turbine Plant
Two powerful renewable energy companies are combining efforts to build a new wind turbine plant in the U.S. TMCnet.com reports that the venture between Chinese company A-Power Energy Generation Systems, Ltd. and the U.S. Renewable Energy Group, or “US-REG,” will build highly advanced wind energy turbines for renewable energy projects throughout North and South America and comes on the heels …
Canadian Pacific Trains to Test Biodiesel
Locomotives north of the border will be testing biodiesel to see how well the green fuel works in cold weather conditions. Canadian Pacific will test four locomotives running on biodiesel on some lines between Calgary and Edmonton: The pilot project will evaluate the cold weather application of biodiesel in real world conditions. It is the first cold weather use of …
Duke Energy Uses Stimulus Bucks for Wind Batteries
A $22 million grant … thanks to the federal Stimulus Bill … will help Duke Energy research using batteries to store wind energy from a Texas wind farm. This story from UPI says the North Carolina company will match the U.S. Department of Energy grant to design, build and install batteries for the storage of wind energy from its Notrees …
Northern States Get More Options for Winter Biodiesel
Some places in the Upper Midwest will see a bit more biodiesel next winter. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says that petroleum distribution company Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. has agreed to install winter biodiesel blending equipment at its Sioux Falls terminal, making more biodiesel available in the South Dakota-Southwest Minnesota region … and that pleases ag officials in both states: …
Track the Capitol Christmas Tree’s Biodiesel Journey
As you might remember from my post earlier this month, this year’s Capitol Christmas tree is making its approximately 4,000-mile trip from Arizona to Washington, D.C. fueled with biodiesel. Now you can track the trek of the two trucks (besides the 85-foot blue spruce, they’re also hauling nearly 10,000 handmade ornaments and 80 companion trees that will be placed in …
Power of the Sun to Harvest Hydrogen
A Massachusetts company is working on developing a cheap catalyst that will separate water molecules to harvest the hydrogen for home use. This story from Greentech Media says Sun Catalytix wants to use solar power to unlock the molecules. If successful, the process could open the door for sources of water that are less than perfect: Conventional means of extracting …
Clemson Gets $98 Mil for Wind Research
South Carolina’s Clemson University is getting $98 million in federal funds for wind energy research that is expected to create hundreds of wind energy jobs and make the area a center for wind research. This press release says the school’s Restoration Institute and its partners have received a $45 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as …
Biodiesel Makers Worry About Hit During Tax Break Wait
Biodiesel producers are worried the wait for the renewal … or even worse, the failure of renewal … of a crucial tax credit, set to expire in just more than a month, could be a death knell for the industry. The Houston Chronicle reports that despite efforts already underway in the U.S. House and Senate to renew the $1 per …
Biodiesel Maker Tries New Technology to Score Credit
A biodiesel maker is hoping that a new process will help it pry open some tight credit markets the biofuels industry has been facing lately. This story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune says that BioCat Fuels will use a process from its sister company, Minnesota-based EverCat Fuel, which has patented a process that converts waste fats and oils into biodiesel …