While it might have a past deeply rooted in petroleum, attendees of the Oklahoma Biofuels Conference in Oklahoma City this week were told renewable energy has a huge future in the Sooner State. This story from Forbes says a huge wind corridor in the western part of Oklahoma, along with perennial native grasses for biofuels, gives the state a great …
SF Auto Show to Feature Biodiesel, Hydrogen & More
Luxury vehicles, exotic new rides, and the latest in domestic developments are all part of any auto show. Add to that list the environmentally-friendly aspects of a new car at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle|SF Gate.com 51st Annual International Auto Show. This story from the Chronicle has the green details about the week-long event slated to start on November 22nd: …
EPA Publishes Biodiesel Facility Environmental Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published environmental regulatory rules and requirements for the construction and operation of biodiesel production facilities. In a press release, the agency says it’s a user-friendly manual for the 176 biodiesel plants in operation nationwide: Region 7 Administrator John B. Askew said, “We are taking steps to provide useful tools to help biodiesel facilities comply …
Harnessing the Wind Without a Breeze
One of the knocks against wind energy is that you don’t have power if you don’t have wind. Well, an energy company in the Upper Midwest might have the solution. This story from the Minneapolis (MN) Star-Tribune says Xcel Energy Inc. has teamed up with the state of Minnesota and a Virginia-based technology firm to test the first battery in …
Colorado Firm Building Algae-Biodiesel Plant
A Fort Collins, Colorado biofuel company will build an algae-biodiesel plant on an Indian reservation in southern Colorado. Solix Biofuels has announced it has raised $10.5 million in funding with another $5 million commitment from investors to build the facility on 10 acres on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. This story on Colorado.com has details: The plant will be jointly …
Big Sky Professor Discovers Biodiesel-Producing Fungus
A trip to a Patagonian forest (that’s in South America) has produced the latest development in the biodiesel game. Dr. Gary Strobel from Montana State University has found the endophytic fungus, Gliocladium roseum — a hydrocarbon-producing fungus he found growing in a tree in Patagonia — has been shown to produce many of the same hydrocarbons found in diesel. This …
Cal Company Produces Sugarcane Biodiesel
A California biotechnology company has opened a biodiesel plant that makes the green fuel from sugarcane. This story from Cleantech.com says Emeryville, Calif.-based Amyris Biotechnologies opened the first of its two pilot plants in its home state with plans to open four commercial-sized plants in Brazil in the next couple of years: The 2.4 million gallon-capacity pilot plant in Emeryville …
‘No Thanks’ to $1 Million Biodiesel Grant
It’s not very often that you hear about a biodiesel firm turning down $1 million in the form of a government grant, but a green fuel maker in Pennsylvania seems to have some practical reasons for saying “thanks, but no thanks” to the money. This story from the Binghamton (NY) Press & Sun-Bulletin says Alternative Fuels Inc. turned down the …
Pipeline to Move Ethanol Across Florida
The new Central Florida Pipeline will soon get its first customer as Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners starts shipping ethanol through the 106-mile pipe from the Port of Tampa to its terminal near Orlando International Airport. This story in the Orlando Business Journal says this will take 40 fuel trucks a day off the road: Although the pipeline was already …
Vestas Fueling NW Wind Enegy Development
A major maker of wind turbines has announced a major order for a wind farm in the Pacific Northwest. Vestas-American Wind Technology, the Portland, Oregon subsidiary of the Danish wind turbine giant Vestas A/S, has announced in this press release that it has received an order for 22 units of the V80-2.0 MW wind turbine for Puget Sound Energy’s Wild …