Three acres of farmland in northern Iowa could soon be home to a 3-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that the Mt. Valley biodiesel refinery, using grease, soy, sunflower seeds in a closed-loop, emissions-free facility, will be the first of its kind for the Hawkeye State: “The land here has always been very productive,” [Byron] Tweeten, chairman …
Pennsylvania Biodiesel Heating Oil Mandate Considered
Pennsylvania residents might soon take the chill off their cold winter nights (and cool spring, summer and fall days and nights) with a dose of biodiesel. This post from Heatingoil.com says a new bill introduced in the state legislature by Sen. Ted Erickson would require heating oil to be blended with biodiesel, as well as lowering the sulfur content in …
Biodiesel-Powered Ford Truck to Get More Powerful
After announcing its 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty truck will be compatible with B20 (see my post from Feb. 26, 2010), it looks like the auto maker now wants it to be the most powerful in its class. This post from PickupTrucks.com says Ford is about ready to power-up its all-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel engine to best GM’s …
Biodiesel Incentive to Wait At Least Until Mid-April
Although it has a broad base of support across the country (unlike a certain health care measure that 60+ percent of Americans don’t favor), renewal of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive seems that it will have to wait at least a month at the earliest before Congress will get to it. This article from Reuters says with Congressional recesses …
NY Senator Supports Biodiesel Not Ethanol
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (NY-D) visited New York’s only commercial biodiesel producer last month to assure them of his support for the federal tax incentive for biodiesel. “The dollar tax incentive assures us that we are competitive with regular diesel fuel right now. The federal government subsidizes the petroleum industry as well, so if we lose our incentive, we lose …
Kinder Morgan Inks NJ Biodiesel Terminal Deal
Kinder Morgan, one of the nation’s pioneers in biofuels by pipeline development, has signed a 30-year deal with Carteret, New Jersey to turn 14 acres of brownfields into a biodiesel storage and processing facility. This article from NJToday.net says the project will have connections to some regional pipelines: Adjacent to Kinder Morgan’s existing facilities, the project will make use of …
NBB: Biodiesel Supports World Water Day
Today is World Water Day, and the National Biodiesel Board is tapping into the environmental day of recognition to illustrate just how water-thrifty the renewable fuel really is. In an NBB piece, the group’s sustainability folks point out that fresh water is helped along by biodiesel’s green nature: By switching to renewable fuels, like biodiesel, we help ensure future access …
Acres for Biodiesel, Ethanol Feedstocks to be Big
If the biodiesel makers ever get the $1-a-gallon federal tax credit back, the industry could have plenty of feedstock for the green fuel come fall. This Bloomberg article posted in the Wichita (KS) Eagle says U.S. farmers are expected to plant their largest soybean crop this year: Soybean plantings will rise 2.1 percent to 79.111 million acres from a record …
Biggest Biodiesel Plant in Canada to Start Construction
When it’s finished, it will produce nearly twice as much biodiesel as the entire country of Canada produces now and will supply our friends to the north with one-fourth of their increasing national demand by 2012. The Edmonton Journal reports that the Bio-Street plant in Vegreville will begin construction later this year … just in time for Canada’s 2 percent …