E. coli to Help Brew Biodiesel
A group of federal researchers has figured out how to better extract biodiesel from biomass using a microbe that most of us try to avoid in our food. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has announced that researchers have engineered a strain of E. coli bacteria that can extract an advanced biodiesel directly from biomass: “The fact …
Grassley Looks for Biodiesel Credit Renewal in Feb.
One of the biggest advocates for renewal of the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel blender’s tax incentive looks for renewal of the credit sometime next month. Agriculture.com reports that Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has been working with the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus to get it restored very soon: “It would be my hope that we would have this …
DF Cast: Ethanol, Biodiesel Industries Optimistic on 2010
The new year brings in new hope, and it’s no different for the ethanol and biodiesel industries in this country. You couldn’t blame the folks who make biofuels in the U.S. if they just wanted to forget about 2009 … especially when you consider the fights over food versus fuel, delays of regulatory implementations that would have helped both ethanol …
Students’ Biodiesel Processor to Help Haiti
A school in Chicago is finishing up a $3,000, solar-powered biodiesel processor that will be sent to Haiti. This story from Chicago Public Radio says a team of 10 girls from the private, Catholic, all-girls Mother McAuley High School have put the processor together in hopes of sending it to the small town of Pichon, Haiti to provide the town …
Biodiesel-based Bioheat Warming New Hampshire
A chilly night in New England, but some of the good folks of Manchester, New Hampshire are warm and breathing easier thanks to the biodiesel-blend of heating oil known as Bioheat. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says the Portsmouth, NH-based Simply Green Biofuels has partnered with M.L. Halle Oil Service Inc. to bring the green heat to homes: M.L. Halle …
Obama Talks Clean Energy But Little About Renewables
If renewable energy advocates had hoped for a big mention during Pres. Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address, they probably are walking away from tonight’s speech feeling a bit left out. While the president did make quick mentions of solar, biofuels and clean energy, Obama did not unveil any grand plan to use renewable energy to help move …
Biodiesel, Ethanol Part of Illinois Sustainability Award
Biodiesel and ethanol, along with some gas/electric hybrids, are credited with helping the Illinois Department of Transportation win a sustainability award in that state. This press release from IDOT says the agency made exceptional progress in 2009 in a statewide effort to become a more sustainable agency and win the Green Government Award from the Illinois Green Government Coordinating Council: …
Propane Buses to be Tested in Minnesota Cold
Some students in Minnesota will soon be breathing easier on their way to school … no, not because they won’t be hit up with that big algebra test. A school in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is testing propane in one of its buses. The Star-Tribune reports that Eastern Carver County school drivers have been testing the propane bus to see …