While Iowa might be best known for its large amount of corn and soybeans being turned into ethanol and biodiesel, the Hawkeye State might get into a feedstock more associated with the layer of scum that grows on its many farm ponds. According to this story in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Iowa Power Fund board is looking into funding …
New Web Site Offering Alternatively-Fueled Trucks
There’s a new web site out there that could make it a little easier for truck operators looking to get away from diesel and start running on compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). James Blakely… JB… is a former truck driver, heavy equipment mechanic, and truck sales professional and has put his expertise with the need for …
Westar to Break Ground on Kansas Wind Farm
State officials, as well as company officials from Westar Energy, Horizon Wind Energy and The Empire District Electric Company (from Joplin, Missouri), will be on hand this Friday when the companies break ground on a 200-megawatt wind power farm in Northern Kansas’ Cloud County. This Westar press release says, when the project is completed (anticipated by the end of this …
PA Officials Get Behind-the-Scenes Look at Lake Erie Biofuels
Local and state officials in Pennsylvania have received a first-hand, behind-the-scenes tour of the new Lake Erie Biofuels plant at the site of the former International Paper plant near Erie, PA. This story in the Erie (PA) Times-News says they were impressed with what they saw at the 45-million-gallon-a-year facility: “I must have read a million things about this place, …
SC Bills Fostering Renewable Energy
A trio of bills before the South Carolina legislature are designed to promote renewable energy in the state, as well as conservation by consumers. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell’s (R-Charleston) three bills were presented to a state Senate Finance Committee this week. This story from television station WFMY says the first bill dealt with tax breaks for making home …
Canada Turning Plastic Into Biodiesel
A project north of the border could turn waste plastic into biodiesel. This story from CanPlastics.com says Nova Scotia is investing $20 million in government money in the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company’s expansion project for a biodiesel plastics processing plant for plastic waste. “We are committed to investing in innovative and resourceful companies that contribute to job growth, …
WI Soy Crush Facility Gets $4 Mil Grant
Wisconsin’s first soybean crushing facility is being built… thanks to a $4 million grant from the state. Gov. Jim Doyle handed out the money to farmer-owned Landmark Services Cooperative, which has plans to process 20 million bushels of soybeans each year at the plant: “The soybeans Wisconsin grows so well will stay here in the state, get processed in Evansville …
Biodiesel Carrying 124 Cars at a Time
A ferry carrying 124 cars in Washington State’s Puget Sound has been running on biodiesel since last month, and officials are hoping to expand the green fuel into another transport. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says it’s the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division’s second try in recent years at trying to run ferries with biodiesel: The 124-car ferry …
Flax Finding New Life as Biodiesel Stock
Fifty years ago, you could see acres and acres of flax growing in the southern part of Texas. Today, the crop once grown for vegetable oil, is finding new life as a feedstock for biodiesel. This story from Texas A&M University says the school’s Texas AgriLife Research field trial experiment is testing four varieties of flax seeds: “It’s kind of …
State Grant Helps PA School Buy Biodiesel
A $40,000 grant is helping a Pennsylvania school district go green. The Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant will help the Radnor Township School District purchase nearly 94,000 gallons of B20 biodiesel, as well as helping cover two storage tanks for the green fuel. The district received praise from Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty through her agency’s press release: “Schools, truck …