A South Carolina company has a patent pending on a new method for growing, harvesting and extracting oil from microalgae, promising dramatic cost savings and greater yields over existing algae production technologies. Renewed World Energies (RWE) says company president Richard Armstrong and chief technical officer Tim Tompkins have come up with a system efficiently remove nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide …
World Wind Potential Much Higher than Estimates
A new study says the potential of wind energy around the world is much higher than what either wind industry groups or government agencies have been estimating. This story in the New York Times says a Harvard University study shows that the U.S. could end up being the big leader in wind power: Using data from thousands of meteorological stations, …
Fairmont Hotels Making Own Biodiesel
One of the leaders in lodging is working on becoming a leader in sustainable green energy. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has announced that it will be recycling its used kitchen grease into biodiesel to power its hotels worldwide: As part of the brand’s focus and commitment to sustainability, more than 22 Fairmont locations worldwide are reducing their waste disposal costs …
Biodiesel Cop Car Maker Picks Three Factory Finalists
A car maker that plans to build the world’s first police car designed from the ground up specifically for law enforcement officers and that will happen run on biodiesel has narrowed its choices to three states for its factory. This press release from Carbon Motors Corporation, a new homeland security company, says Georgia, Indiana and South Carolina are finalists for …
Biodiesel Racing Series Featured in Car & Driver
Neat article I just read in Car and Driver about the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series, which features young drivers (16 to 26 years old) driving practically identical VWs running on a 5 percent biodiesel blend. Writer Mark Gillies got to take one of cars out during an actual qualifying run at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Columbus: …
Biodiesel Not on Agenda for US-EU Trade Talks
Just as the European Union was extending for five years the temporary duties the EU has slapped on American biodiesel, you would think would be the time the U.S. Trade Representative would want to talk about the protectionist tariffs with his European counterpart. Nope. Ambassador Ron Kirk had bigger fish to fry when he met with European Union Trade Commissioner …
Congress Urged to Fund Wind Energy
Congress is being urged to make more money available for wind-energy research. This story from the Abilene Reporter News says that Andrew Swift, director of the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech, made the case for a federal proposal to pump $200 million a year into research and development for wind power: “I believe if research and …
Bill Promotes Use of Natural Gas in Vehicles
Legislation introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) could get more natural gas-powered vehicles on the road. This article from The Mainstreet Business Journal says the bill is a follow-up to Hatch’s measure a few years ago: “In 2005, as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, I was able to get the CLEAR Act …
Educating the EPA About Biodiesel
Some folks in Missouri are trying to educate the government (I know, I know) about the possible implications of a rule that could hurt the biodiesel industry. As many of you are aware, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a rule change to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that would basically leave soybean-based biodiesel out of the RFS… putting …
High School Biodiesel Team Gets Funds for Research
While we here about millions of dollars going to big renewable energy programs, it’s nice to hear about a few bucks going to some small, grassroots efforts. A high school biodiesel program from New Hampshire known for beating some colleges in energy competitions has received $5,000 from an anonymous donor. This story from the Nashua (NH) Telegraph says the Merrimack …