Some farmers in Canada are having trouble getting biodiesel to run their farm equipment, so they’re trying to make their own. According to this story in the Owen Sound (Canada) Sun Times, a group of farmers got a $10,000 grant and they were able to make do-it-yourself biodiesel refineries for about $600 each, which they recently demonstrated in their home …
Blue Sky Joins Ranks of Biodiesel Makers
Oakland, California-based Blue Sky Bio-Fuels, Inc. has sent out its first shipment of biodiesel. This story from the East Bay Business Times says the biodiesel is going to fuel school buses in the area: Blue Sky, an 18-month-old Oakland company that manufactures biofuel from waste restaurant kitchen grease, formed a partnership with the city of San Francisco’s Greasecycle program to …
Tobias Out as Imperium Chief
In a bit of a surprise over the weekend (sorry, just now catching up from the Christmas holiday), Martin Tobias is out as chairman and CEO of Imperium Renewables… replaced by company co-founder John Plaza as CEO and Nancy Floyd as chairman. This story on C|Net News Green Tech Blog says tight times for the biodiesel industry might have prompted …
Tennessee DOT Giving Grants to Promote Biofuels
Tennessee’s Department of Transportation plans to hand out $1 million in grants to help promote biodiesel and ethanol at gas pumps along the interstates in Tennessee. This story in the Chattanooga (TN) Times Free Press says one of the first Green Island Corridor grants is going to a station in Cleveland in the southeast part of the state: Tom Robertson, …
Cheaper Biomass Power in Alabama
More power customers in Alabama soon could be enjoying lower power bills, thanks, in part, to a decision by that state’s public service commission to approve a renewable energy rate decrease. This story in Birmingham (AL) Press-Register says the decrease will go to customers who support what has been an obscure program to support an Alabama Power Company coal/biomass project …
The Year of Ethanol
The ethanol industry has come a long way this year and a large part of the renewable fuel’s success is unquestioningly a result of the concentrated efforts of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. Looks like all that hard work paid off. Agrimarketing magazine named ethanol the Agrimarketing Product of the Year. EPIC’s Reece Nanfito says the late accomplishments of …
Measuring Up the Candidates
So you say you haven’t heard enough from the 16 candidates running for President? There’s just not been enough media coverage for your tastes? OK, so maybe you think you’ve heard enough about the crowd (especially if you’re living in Iowa or New Hampshire), but you do need some information to make an informed decision, right? Especially when it comes …
VeraSun Gets Two For One
VeraSun Energy has broken ground on a new Oil Extraction Facility in Aurora, South Dakota. The new facility will use technology that enables the large ethanol producer to generate two renewable fuels from one kernel of corn. VeraSun Energy Corporation, one of the nation’s largest ethanol producers, today announced that it began work on an oil extraction facility at its …
Biodiesel Plants Employing Modular Designs
In a world of tight margins, biodiesel producers are looking for an edge that will help them maintain their profitability. That edge might come in the form of modular designs for their refineries. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says a compact modular plant design using proven techniques can improve biodiesel plant economics and help the construction or expansion process, while …
Mexico Turns Sights Toward Biodiesel
Mexico, a big producer of petroleum, could be getting into the biodiesel business. This story from Reuters says a new biofuel law that kicks in next year will encourage the production of biodiesel from crops like beets, yucca root, and sorghum, possibly solving some of the food-versus-fuel debate Mexico has been going through: “Mexico could develop biodiesel faster than ethanol,” …