While oil prices have been slashed by more than half since summertime highs of nearly $150 a barrel and gas prices have plummeted as well (hey, I’m not complaining about $2.40/gallon gas I just bought tonight), it’s no reason to let up on the drive to expand alternatives, such as ethanol and biodiesel. This story in the Chattanooga (TN) Times …
Biodiesel, Solar Could Gain in Volatile Market
The stock market has been on a roller coaster ride lately… down hundreds of points one day, up hundreds the next. But in this article from Reuters, Jeffrey Sohl, the director of the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire and a professor of entrepreneurship at the university’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics, says some alternative …
School Buses Run on Biodiesel for 10 Years
The first school district in the country to run its buses on biodiesel is celebrating 10 years of driving on the green fuel. This feature from the National Biodiesel Board explains that Medford Township School District in New Jersey first started using biodiesel when Director of Operations and Technology for the Medford Township Board of Education Joe Biluck applied for …
Oklahoma to Host Biofuels Conference
The state of Oklahoma is set to host its third annual biofuels conference. Governor Brad Henry will host GROW: The Oklahoma Biofuels Conference, November 12-13 in Oklahoma City at the Skirvin Hotel conference center. The conference is touted as a chance to appeal to a broad range of attendees including: biofuel producers, marketers and retailers; end users, including public and …
Cal’s Prop 10 Looks to Promote Alt Fuels
Voters in California are being asked to approve a $5 billion bond measure that is designed to help spur the growth of alternative fuels in the state. This story in the Sacramenta Bee outlines some key points in Proposition 10: WHAT IT WOULD DO • Authorizes $5 billion in bonds, about $2.9 billion of which would go toward rebates of …
Big Oil Helps WA Biodiesel, Ethanol Standards
No, that’s not a typo in the headline. This story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says some of the world’s biggest oil companies are working to help the state of Washington put its 2 percent biodiesel and ethanol requirements into effect. Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to open a biodiesel blending terminal in Spokane by late November, the company’s first in the …
Ethanol, Biodiesel Pipelines Moving Fuel in Southeast
One of the problems ethanol and biodiesel have had is how to get their product from areas of production to areas of consumption. Pipelines help conventional, petroleum-based fuels, so it’s only natural that biofuels would need to adopt similar technology. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP has announced successful testing of ethanol through its 16-inch, 195-mile Central Florida Pipeline (CFP) system …
More on Schafer at Farm Foundation
As promised, I’ve got some more material for you from Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, who addressed attendees of the Farm Foundation’s Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Impacts Conference in St. Louis, Mo. Schafer praised Farm Foundation’s long commitment to promoting the free-form type of discussion and debate we saw at this just-concluded conference of state and federal …
Credit Crisis Hot Topic at Farm Foundation Conference
The recent credit crisis in the country was certainly a hot topic of conversation at today’s Farm Foundation Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts Conference here in St. Louis, Mo. Cole Gustafson, a biofuels economist with North Dakota State University, says the current credit issues is going to make financing any venture a challenge, but he says …
Schafer Tells Farm Foundation to Get Ready for Breakthroughs
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer has just finished addressing the folks attending the latest Farm Foundation’s Transition to a Bioeconomy Conference going on in St. Louis, Mo. Schafer reminded the crowd how hard the current administration has worked to promote the biofuels field in this country, and thus, how hard it had worked to help the farmers who are …