As schools gear back up for another year, many of them will run their buses on biodiesel. This story in the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Press cites the Kenowa Hills School District and the success it had with biodiesel: In January, three of the district’s 40 buses were equipped with special filters to burn the biodegradable fuel average of 8 miles …
Chesapeake Biodiesel Plant Gets Unanimous Approval
Following up on a story I told you about yesterday, the Chesapeake, Virginia Planning Commission has voted 7-0 to in support of building a 320-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant. This story in the Virginian-Pilot says the advisory vote will be taken into consideration by the Chesapeake City Council next month when a final decision is made on the half-billion-dollar project. The commissioners …
Minnesota Looks to Go to 20% Biodiesel
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has announced a new initiative to move his state from using two percent to 20 percent biodiesel by 2015. The announcement comes on the heels of yesterday’s word he wants Minnesota to use 20 percent ethanol by 2012 (see Chuck’s post from August 8th). According to HometownSource.com, Pawlenty will bring the proposal before the state legislature …
Washington State Agency Approves Wind Energy Project… Again
A proposed 65-turbine wind farm in Central Washington State has been given the green light for construction… again. The Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project got a recommendation from the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council for the goveror to OK the project in March. But Governor Christine Gregoire asked the council to consider the feelings of some neighbors in …
Vermont Gets First Biodiesel Plant
The Green Mountain State has taken its first step to being a green fuel state as Vermont gets its first biodiesel mixing plant. This story on the WPTZ-TV (Plattsburgh, NY) web site says it opened at the Robinson Oil Terminal at Essex Junction, Vermont: The Robinson Oil Terminal makes biodiesel by mixing traditional home heating oil with vegetable oil. The …
Chesapeake Biodiesel Mega-plant to go to Commissioners’ Vote
A proposed $532-million, 320-million-gallon biodiesel refinery… one of the world’s largest… is up for a vote before the Chesapeake, Virginia Planning Commission tonight to decide if the project will move forward. But this story in the Virginian-Pilot says even if the commission approves the plan, there are issues over the developer securing the land: Developer Smiling Earth Energy LLC and …
Ohio to Get First Ethanol Plants
Ohio has been laying a big, fat goose egg when it came to ethanol production, but that could all change soon… in a big way. The Buckeye State has been lagging behind many of its Midwestern neighbors in the number of ethanol plants, such as Indiana and Illinois with 10 plants each, producing 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol for the …
Cruise Line Buys Biodiesel
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has agreed to buy 15 million gallons of biodiesel this year… and another 18 million gallons a year for the next four years… to run some of its cruise ships from Seattle-based biodiesel giant Imperium Renewables. This story in the Seattle Times says Royal Caribbean has four ships based out of the Pacific Northwest port: “We …
80 MGPY Indiana Biodiesel Plant Ready to Break Ground
Indiana Clean Energy, LLC is getting ready to break ground on a $90 million, 80-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant in the next couple of months (see the artist’s rendering). The project is the first biodiesel plant for the Frankfort, IN-based company and comes nearly two years after the company was founded. This story on the WTHR-TV web site says it came down …
Wind Powering Iowa State Fair
Usually, when you see the big wheel at the fairgrounds, it’s carrying people to dizzying heights with bright colored lights. But this year, the Iowa State Fair has another big wheel… this time, powering all those rides. MidAmerican Energy has put up a 133-foot wind turbine at the fair’s Wind Energy Education Center. This article in Wallace’s Farmer says it …