A biodiesel plant in Eastern Arkansas near the towns of Helena-West Helena on the Mississippi River is set to open April 1st… after nearly two and a half years of planning and building. This story in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette says the plant will be able to produce 40 million gallons a year… making it Arkansas’ largest biodiesel plant: “We …
Westport-Kenworth Building LNG Trucks
Semi-truck manufacturer Kenworth is teaming up with Westport Innovations… a maker of engines that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, and hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG)… to build trucks that run on LNG. A Westport press release says that they will begin producing Kenworth T800 LNG trucks at the Kenworth manufacturing plant in Renton, Washington, …
Algae Biodiesel Running at Sundance
While the movie “Fields of Fuel” is giving people plenty to talk about regarding biofuels at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah (see Cindy’s Jan. 24th post), some are putting the talk into action. This blog posting on Wired.com says California-based biotech firm Solazyme is driving around the festival in a car running on its own algae-based biodiesel called Soladiesel: …
Long Beach Looking at Biodiesel
The City of Long Beach, California might be the latest municipality to join the ranks of those that are switching their fleets to biodiesel. The Long Beach Gazette reports the city is trying to reduce its carbon footprint: The City Council directed City Manager Pat West to investigate the feasibility of using biodiesel to power its 361 city-owned trucks, large …
GE Inks $1 Bil Wind Energy Deal
GE Energy has agreed to deliver $1 billion worth of wind turbines to Chicago-based Invenergy LLC for projects in North America and Europe. In this article posted on the Business Review website, says GE cites it as the biggest commitment ever for wind turbines in one year: Under the deal, GE Energy, based in Atlanta, will deliver 400 of its …
WI Governor Proposes Energy Independence Plan
Wisconsin’s governor is proposing an aggressive plan to make his state a leader in renewable energy. From the text of Gov. Jim Doyle’s speech, he has called for lawmakers to approve his strategy to increase his state’s homegrown power through the Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund: Over the next 10 years Wisconsin will invest $150 million to help our businesses, our …
SD Biodiesel Tax Break Moves Forward
A plan to cut state fuel taxes for biodiesel is moving forward in South Dakota’s legislature. This story from Forbes says the state Senate’s State Affairs Committee voted unanimously to move Governor Mike Rounds’ plan to the full Senate: The bill would cut the 22-cent-a-gallon tax on diesel to 20 cents for diesel fuel that contains at least a 5 …
Biodiesel Put to Extreme Cold Test
Temperatures are typically pretty cold this time of year in Canada, so there’s no better place to put biodiesel through Canada’s most extensive cold-weather, on-road demonstration test of biodiesel. The move is being applauded by the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association in this press release: Over sixty trucks will be put to the test by Climate Change Central, an Alberta government …
X Games Even Greener
ESPN’s Winter X Games 12 is set to begin on Wednesday, and organizers say, despite the mountains of snow, it will be greener than ever. It’s not global warming taking its toll… it’s green fuel. This story on SupercrossKING.com says ESPN has made the competition one of the most environmentally-sound action sports events ever by featuring biodiesel for its fuel: …
Biodiesel U. Giving a Green Education
Dan Goodman is preaching, and his disciples are students who spread the word even further. But he’s not a minister at a pulpit. He has a non-profit venture called Biodiesel University that gives students hands-on experience producing the renewable fuel, while educating consumers on the benefits of biodiesel. This feature story in the Washington Post says he works with college …