In the growing field of biomass conversion to fuel there’s a plant that Mississippi State University thinks will help farmers and all Americans. It’s Giant Miscanthus and you can follow it on Twitter @GiantMiscanthus. They’ve actually licensed the product which is Freedom Giant Miscanthus that’s being marketed by Sunbelt Biofuels LLC. On the show floor at AG CONNECT Expo last …
Another Exciting Year for Ethanol
2010 promises to be another exciting year for ethanol, according to Matt Hartwig with the Renewable Fuels Association. “Like the last two, three, four years in the industry, 2010 promises to fulfill on excitement,” he says in this edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast. That includes work on extending the blenders tax credit, increasing the ethanol blend level, implementing the …
Southeast Poised to be Leader in Energy Crops
The Southeast is poised to be the leader in energy crop production according to University of Florida Associate Professor and energy crops expert Dr. John Erickson. He has been focusing on research of perennial grasses, mostly C4 grasses in his work with the Agronomy department. These can include sugarcane, energycane, elephant grasses, miscanthus, giant reed, switchgrass and sorghum. In terms …
Transmission Challenges Slow Wind Energy Success
The wind energy industry enjoyed some success during 2009 despite the economic down-turn and the difficulty of obtaining private investment dollars. There are currently 31 gigawatts of wind in production throughout the U.S. that has reduced carbon dioxide emissions and water use. New projects have increased economic development and tax revenue and 35,000 new green jobs were created according to …
XsunX Develops Wafer-thin Solar Cell
A California maker of photovoltaic cells has developed a process that makes the solar energy catchers wafer thin, while also trimming the production costs significantly. XsunX, Inc. has announced the development of a fully-functional CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium di Selenide) thin-film solar device. I caught up with XsunX Chief Operating Officer Joe Grimes, who told me that they have pioneered …
DF Cast: Bring a Friend to the Biodiesel Conference
The 2010 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo is just around the corner, going on February 7-10 just outside of Dallas at the Grapevine Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, and you’ll be able to bring a friend for free. CEO of the National Biodiesel Board Joe Jobe says, with federal legislation and rules pending, this is an event anyone in …
AG CONNECT Expo Preview
ZimmComm New Media is the social media sponsor of AG CONNECT Expo. This is the new show being produced by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. I’ll be there all next week covering the activities mostly on our AgWired website. Cindy will be joining me mid week and we’ll post information of interest to the renewable fuels industry right here. I …
DF Cast: Green Limo Offers Rides in Style on Biodiesel
It’s New Year’s Eve, and many people will be stepping out on the town, riding in style in a limousine. But some folks will be able go green while they go swanky, thanks to Seattle’s first eco-friendly limo service, Seattle GreenLimo. During this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk to company president Kevin Williams, who has four limos …
Ethanol Report on E85 GPS Application
If Santa is bringing you a new Garmin or TomTom GPS for Christmas, you can use it to find E85 fuel for your Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) to get you over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house this holiday season. We’ve already told you about the new applications available from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), one for …
DF Cast: Recycling Materials to Grab the Sun’s Power
Solar energy holds great promise for this nation: it’s practically always there, it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases, and it’s free. But production of the materials used to capture the power of the sun is not always a green proposition … and they’re certainly not free! That’s where BioSolar comes in. The Los Angeles area-based company has found a way to …