A bill introduced in the Arizona legislature would help pay the costs of gas stations adding biofuels to their lineups. The Tucson Citizen reports HB 2620, offered by Arizona House majority leader Tom Boone (R-Peoria), will help stations meet the growing numbers of vehicles that can run the green fuels: “We need to make sure Arizonans have cleaner fuel choices …
Homegrown Mustard Biodiesel in Monterey-Salinas Buses
Buses in the Monterey-Salinas, California area could soon be running on biodiesel made from mustard seeds. And what makes this idea even more intriguing is that the transit authority itself will be growing the alternative to the more conventional feedstocks, such as soybeans. This story in the Salinas (CA) Californian says Monterey-Salinas Transit could be helping quell some of the …
PECO Going Green
PECO, an electric and natural gas utility serving 1.6 million electric and 480,000 natural gas customers in the southeastern Pennsylvania and Philadelphia area, is now running all of its 580 trucks on biodiesel. This company press release says the move adds to the 43 hybrid SUVs and seven natural gas powered vehicles the utility is already using. In addition, PECO …
Additional Feedstocks Among Points of Biodiesel 2020
The second edition of Biodiesel 2020: A Global Market Survey has come out, filled with information on which direction the biodiesel industry is headed. This story posted on EarthTimes.org says the biodiesel industry is entering four fundamental transitions: moving from edible feedstocks (soy and palm oils) to non-food feedstocks; moving from production in developed countries’ commercial markets to emerging markets …
Montgomery, AL Turns Cooking Oils Into Biodiesel
Last fall, Alabama Agriculture & Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks and Montgomery, Alabama Mayor Bobby Bright announced a partnership that would make used cooking grease into biodiesel to be run in the city’s vehicles. This week, they cut the ribbon on the new Center for Alternative Fuels Biodiesel Production facility. This Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries press release has more …
Biodiesel Jet Reaches for the Sky
The team that flew a Czech military jet on 100 percent biodiesel last October (see my post from Oct. 16, 2007) has plans to fly a Learjet around the world on the green fuel. Four months ago, Douglas Rodante with chief pilot Carol Sugars at the controls and the team from Green Flight International flew a 40-year old Czech Aero …
Minnesota Researchers Looking at New Oilseeds
Research into additional oilseeds to make into biodiesel is gaining more popularity, especially as the cost for soybean oil, currently the most commonly used feedstock, soars to record levels. Paul Aakre University of Minnesota-Crookston researcher is one of those looking at expanding the field of oilseeds, according to this article in the Dickinson, North Dakota Press: “We are hearing more …
Georgia Legislature Considers Biodiesel Mandate
The Georgia State Legislature is considering a measure that would mandate that all diesel sold in the state would have at least 2 percent biodiesel. This story in the Macon (GA) Telegraph says the bill’s sponsor expects opposition to his bill: Rep. Alan Freeman, R-Macon, said House Bill 1174 would help farmers and agribusinesses in Georgia’s small but growing biofuel …
Ohio Farm Family Opens Biodiesel Plant
I’m a sucker for the grassroots biodiesel projects out there, especially when they include a family of farmers. This story from the Springfield, Ohio News-Sun caught my eye as it is a story of the Purdy family opening its own biodiesel plant on the family farm: Jack Purdy, who has farmed in Woodstock for more than 30 years, now also …
Algae Association Opens New HQ
The National Algae Association has moved into a new headquarters at the group’s Texas location. In a press release e-mailed to Domestic Fuel, the group says the new headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas will serve all areas of the algae industry… touted as the next great feedstock for biofuels: Algae researchers and producers can come together to exchange ideas concerning …