The American Wind Energy Association is calling on Congress to enact a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). Leaders from the AWEA will join with Congressmen Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Udall (D-CO) on Tuesday, July 31st at 10 a.m. at the U.S. Capitol to call for wider support of the amendment that would require power companies to use 20 percent renewable …
Hydrogen-powered Portable Generator
A Houston-based company is working on a briefcase-sized portable generator that runs on water… or more accurately, hydrogen. Trulite’s KH4 takes water and turns it into hydrogen to put out 150-200 watts of power. Not quite enough for a house, but as this article on C/Net.com points out, it’s enough to recharge power tools or a laptop or even run …
Green… and Safe
An ethanol plant in Kansas is the first in the nation to win a U.S. government award for a safe working environment. The White Energy ethanol plant just outside of Russell, Kansas won the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) SHARP award for “upholding high standards for workplace safety and health.” This article from the Hays (KS) …
Company Introduces On-site Biodiesel Tester
Companies worried about the quality level of biodiesel they’re selling… or buying… can now use a biodiesel testing kit that fits into a brief case. In fact, the Kittiwake Biodiesel test kit comes in a sturdy, aluminum case to make it easier to take anywhere. This press release posted on the ThomasNet Industrial NewsRoom web site says the kit can …
Wind Association: Level Field with Solar Incentives
The American Wind Energy Association says wind power is not getting the government incentives that solar power enjoys… and that’s keeping wind energy from enjoying the same level of private home and business growth that photovoltaic systems now have. In a report by the AWAE titled “Small Wind Turbine Global Market Study” featured in this story from NewRules.org, the association …
Ethanol Corn Shortage Subsiding
The corn shortage earlier this year, brought on by the unprecedented increase in interest in ethanol, seems to be easing a bit. This story from Forbes says an expected giant corn crop this year should make up for all the corn going into ethanol production: Ethanol producers have been squeezed by rising costs lately. Corn prices skyrocketed as demand from …
Biodiesel Bike Goes for Record
You might remember this motorcycle from the National Biodiesel Board Conference in February (and my post from January 30th). The folks from the Oakland, California-based The Crucible… a non-profit educational collaboration of arts, industry and community… will attempt to break the world speed record on a motorcycle when they try to crank their machine up to 160 miles an hour …
Biofuels Bring Left and Right Together
Ethanol and biodiesel are experiencing what some are calling a “gold rush” as the biofuels have seen dramatic jumps in usage… and investors… to the green technology. This column from Renewable Energy Access.com says, in the U.S., tax incentives have helped grow the biodiesel market by a whopping 1000 percent in just a two year stretch between 2004 and 2006: …
US Steel to Roll on Biodiesel
US Steel is expanding its use of biodiesel, first at its Gary, Indiana plant and then at other US Steel facilities across the country. This story from the Gary (IN) Post-Tribune says the company started fueling 85 of its trucks at the plant with biodiesel in April, and that will expand to its entire 150-vehicle fleet next August: The company …
RFA Offers Ethanol Firefighting Video
The Renewable Fuels Association has released a video to help first responders in case they have to fight an ethanol-fueled fire. The educational video, titled “Responding to Ethanol Incidents,” gives firefighters and ethanol plant operators important information on proper materials needed to fight potential ethanol incidents. Much of the information in the video was gained during testing of different kinds …