In honor of Rudolph Diesel’s birthday on March 18, 1858, today is National Biodiesel Day! As you might know, the inventor of the diesel engine advocated for the use of vegetable oil (in particular peanut oil) to power his fuel-efficient invention. Today, biodiesel is the manifestation of Diesel’s vision, as it provides a clean source of renewable energy for the …
NativeEnergy, VINCO Team Up for Wind Power
NativeEnergy, a company that sells carbon offsets and renewable energy credits (RECs), has teamed up with renewable energy project builder, VINCO Inc., to get into the wind power business. This press release says the venture will focus on small-scale renewable energy projects, such as family wind farms: “Farmers understand they need to invest something in order to harvest something,” says …
Missouri-Kansas Becoming Green Rivals
When you live in this part of the country, you KNOW how big of rivals Kansas and Missouri are. This hatred goes all the way back to before the Civil War! I’ve even known people who would actually spit after they spoke the other state’s name. Officials at MU and KU have tried to tone down the rhetoric by calling …
Market Forces Force REG to Withdraw IPO
The high price of soybean oil is making it awfully tough on some biodiesel makers. In an unfortunate sign of the times for the biodiesel industry, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group has had to withdraw its attempt at an initial public offering (IPO). CNNMoney reports that “unfavorable market conditions” has forced the company to reconsider what would have been a $150 …
Connecticut Town Considers Biodiesel
The town of Greenwich, Connecticut want to run about 150 of their 300 vehicles in the city’s fleet on biodiesel. Unsure how well that might actually work, officials decided to visit another New England town to see how their efforts had gone. This story in the Greenwich (CT) Times has details: [Elizabeth Linck, the town’s fleet director] and town Purchasing …
Student Wins Honor for Solar Cell Project
An Oregon teenager has been honored for his work on making solar cells more efficiently. Brian McCarthy of Liberty High School from Hillsboro, Oregon placed third and won a $50,000 scholarship in the 2008 Intel Science Talent Search: In his research, Brian McCarthy, 18, from Hillsboro, Oregon, investigated the viability of plastic solar cells as a new option in solar …
U.S. Biodiesel Producers Look to Europe
American biodiesel producers, who are trying to keep their heads above water in a market of rising feedstocks, might have found a way to keep their doors open: send their biodiesel to Europe. This story in the Des Moines (IA) Register says a weak dollar, coupled with American and European incentives, makes biodiesel made in this country cheaper than its …
Wisconsin Trying to Buy Part of MN Wind Farm
The Wisconsin Public Service Corporation is looking to buy half interest of a Southeast Minnesota wind farm. This story on the Finance and Commerce web site says the move is seen as part of Wisconsin’s effort to get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2015: In September 2007, Minneapolis-based wind energy developer National Wind LLC announced that …
Minnesota Looks to Increase Biodiesel Mandate
Hoping to mimic the success its ethanol mandate has brought to that industry in Minnesota, the state is looking at bumping up its 2 percent biodiesel mandate. This story from Minnesota Public Radio says a bill before the state legislature would increase that requirement by 10-fold: “What this does is actually give a signal to industry that they should move …
NBB Names Sustainability Task Force Members
After announcing the formation of its Sustainability Task Force at the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida last month, the group has filled out the nine-member panel. According to this NBB press release, the group, led by Emily Bockian Landsburg of Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel, will work to ensure the biodiesel industry will continue to protect the environment, while producing …