Less than two weeks after Air New Zealand took to the air in a flight powered by jatropha-based biodiesel, American carrier Continental Airlines has used a combination of the the weed and algae to fuel one of its 737s. This story from the Los Angeles Times has details: The two-hour test flight over Houston, where the carrier’s headquarters is located, …
Biodiesel, Ethanol Friend Leaving Senate
U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, a longtime friend of renewable and clean energy efforts, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2010. During his nearly 40 years of elected service as Missouri’s State Auditor, the state’s youngest governor and a U.S. Senator (which he served an amazing four, six-year terms), Bond has been a great advocate for green fuels. …
Biodiesel Board Gets New Spokesperson
The National Biodiesel Board is welcoming a new face to its great communications team. This NBB press release announces the addition of Jessica Robinson, a veteran communicator, as the group’s Senior Communications Specialist: Robinson has been involved in the communications industry for more than a decade, most recently serving as Press Secretary for Missouri Governor Matt Blunt when the state …
Study on Biodiesel Antioxidant Treatment Completed
Ames, Iowa-based biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group Inc. and nutritional ingredient manufacturer Kemin Industries Inc. have finished a study and released the esults of a multi-feedstock biodiesel oxidation. Biodiesel Magazine reports that for 10 weeks, the companies performed a detailed analyses of oxidative stability characteristics in pure biodiesel (both B100) made from soybeans and a combination of vegetable oil and …
Biodiesel, Ethanol Part of Northeast Low Carbon Fuel Standard
Eleven states in the Northeastern United States have agreed to a Low Carbon Fuel Standard, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and other energy uses. Biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, are part of that plan. This press release from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection says the key is all the states working together: In June, Governor …
Solar Leads Record Year of Green Investment
While it might have been a tough year for most investments on Wall Street, venture capital funding into alternative energies really took off in 2008, setting records. This story posted on CNET News quotes a Cleantech Group report that says those investments jumped to $8.4 billion, a 38 percent increase from the previous year: Solar investments helped drive the growth, …
Iowa Biodiesel Plant Ready to Go Back On Line
A biodiesel plant in Iowa should be back on line later this month after a fire last fall idled the 10-million-gallon-a-year facility. This story from the Iowa Independent says Nova Biosource Fuels’ Clinton County Bioenergy Plant has been repaired after the September 30, 2008 fire: “The repairs to the damaged equipment are now completed at a cost of less than …
Santa Cruz Making Fryer to Fuel Biodiesel
The city of Santa Cruz, California has teamed up with several partners to make biodiesel. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says the U.S. EPA, the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transportation District, biodiesel producer Energy Alternative Solutions Inc., the California Restaurant Association, waste oil collector Salinas Tallow Co. and the city of Santa Cruz are making locally sustainable biodiesel: The Ecology Action …