A mix of electrically powered and biodiesel and E85 ethanol fueled vehicles lead the list for the Automotive X Prize. This story from Consumer Reports says the $10 million prize will go to the team that makes a production-ready car that gets 100 mpg or the energy equivilant AND is sold at a profit for a reasonable price: “The teams …
Biodiesel Nabs Disney More than Mickey-Mouse Prize
Disneyland has picked up California’s highest and most prestigious environmental honor… thanks in part to biodiesel. This press release posted at Reuters.com says the resort has won the 2009 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA), recognizing “individuals, organizations and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership for voluntary achievements in conserving California’s resources, protecting and enhancing the environment and building …
Open Ponds Could Be Key to Algae-Biodiesel Production
Rising feed prices for catfish farms and the rising Chinese market are bad news for those in the South, as more than 320,000 catfish pond acres could be up for grabs. But where one door closes, another opens, as a possible glut of open-air ponds could provide a boon for those looking to raise algae for biodiesel. To explore the …
DF Cast: Study Shows Biodiesel’s Energy Balance
Last week, we told you new research shows how green biodiesel is. I finally got a chance to catch up with National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe to talk a little bit about this important study… and what it will mean as the Environmental Protection Agency considers a new Renewable Fuels Standard, RFS-2. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel …
REG to Supply Hawaiian Generators with Biodiesel
Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group has inked a contract with Hawaiian Electric Company to supply the utility with 400,000 gallons of biodiesel for the company’s new Campbell Industrial Park Generating Unit. This press release from REG says the biodiesel maker will produce the green fuel from used cooking oil and waste animal fat for testing on the 110‐megawatt combustion turbine generator: …
Company to Auction Ethanol, Biodiesel Equipment
What’s a loss for some ethanol and biodiesel producers could be a big gain for others looking to expand or get into the green fuel business. A pair of auctions… one in Nebraska and the other in New Jersey… by Maas Companies will offer some brand-new, out-of-the-box ethanol and biodiesel production equipment. Carelton, Nebraska is the site of the Altra …
DF Cast: Mixing Ethanol and (Bio) Diesel
You can’t burn ethanol in a diesel engine. Nope. Just not done. Like mixing oil and water. But what if you added more water to the ethanol? And came up with a way to mix the hydrated-ethanol blend with the diesel… or better yet, biodiesel… right at the point of ignition? Ahhh… then you’d have something that National Corn Growers …
Company Developing Algae Farm & Power Plant
Renewed World Energies Corp. is working on turning a 5 acre site into an algae biomass farm that will make biodiesel as well as producing electricity at Georgetown, South Carolina with hopes of being in production by late next year. Biodiesel Magazine reports that 3 to 4 acres of photo-bioreactors are planned to produce algae-based fuels to generate electrical energy: …
Biodiesel Could Be Ultimate Solar Power
A new study shows that the ultimate form of solar power could be biodiesel. Researchers at the University of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have released a study that shows that for every unit of fossil energy needed to produce biodiesel, the return is 4.5 units of energy. And the National Biodiesel Board points out that soybean-based biodiesel …
Project Looks to Link Wind, Solar Projects to Rest of US
One of the big knocks against solar and wind energy is the lack of infrastructure to connect the power generated in remote areas of the American West with the large population centers back east. But a project in New Mexico could change that. GreenBeat reports that state’s governor has unveiled a plan to build a massive electric transmission station in …