German Biodiesel Taxes Open Opportunity for US Company

John Davis

An increase in taxes on biodiesel in Germany is expected to decrease that country’s production of the green fuel. But since Germans’ appetites for biodiesel are unlikely to be lessened, an American company sees the tax hike as a chance to move into the large European market. This press release from Global Earth Energy, Inc. says there’s opportunities in the …

Biodiesel, International

Plenty to See & Do at Biodiesel Conference

John Davis

Got a reminder in my e-mail today about the upcoming National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, Feb. 1-4, 2009, in San Francisco. There will be a ton of things to see and do, ranging from hearing Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer Melissa Etheridge talking about how biodiesel has inspired her… to information on the sustainability efforts being made in the biodiesel industry. …

Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference

Big Investment for Corn-Oil Biodiesel

John Davis

GreenShift Corporation has announced it has received a $38 million investment to produce 20 million gallons per year of biodiesel from corn oil, squeezed from the corn used in ethanol plants. This release posted on MarketWatch.com says GreenShift use the money to build twelve corn oil extraction facilities and to expand the capacity of GreenShift’s NextDiesel biodiesel refinery in Adrian, …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Biodiesel Board Congratulates Vilsack Nomination

John Davis

The National Biodiesel Board continues to like what it sees when it comes to the incoming Obama Administration. The primary advocacy group for the green fuel sent out congratulations to former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack who was nominated to serve President-elect Obama as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture: Following the announcement, Joe Jobe, the CEO of the National Biodiesel …

Biodiesel, Cellulosic, Government, Indy Racing

Green Jobs Fuel US Employment Future

John Davis

Nothing like high fuels prices this past summer to really jumpstart the domestic job market in the U.S… at least in the alternative energy sector. This article from the Examiner.com offers a pretty interesting look at how biofuels, wind and solar are growing jobs in this country that seem to be safe from being outsourced somewhere overseas: Maritza Schäfer is …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News, Solar, Wind

Montana Biodiesel to Fuel Japanese Airliner

John Davis

Last week, I told you about how Continental Airlines will be the first commercial airliner to use algae-biodiesel to fuel a flight shortly after the New Year. Now, according to this story from the CBS television affiliates in Montana, a Japanese airline will test one of their commercial jets with biodiesel made from camelina in Montana: Scott Johnson, manager of …

Biodiesel

Obama’s Ag and Interior Choices are Pro-Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

According to media reports, President-elect Obama will announce former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack as his choice for secretary of agriculture at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday. Obama also plans to announce his nomination of Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar as interior secretary at the same news conference. Vilsack served two terms as governor of Iowa from from 1998 until 2006 …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, News, politics

Obama Picks Please Biodiesel Board

John Davis

President-elect Barack Obama continues to fill his incoming administration with picks that seem to please the biodiesel world. The National Biodiesel Board has sent out congratulations to Dr. Steven Chu, who has been tapped to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy; Carol Browner, who was named to the new position of White House Coordinator of Energy and Climate Policy(commonly …

Biodiesel, Government

Alt Energy Bills Await MI Gov’s Signature

John Davis

Bills addressing biodiesel and biomass are on Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s desk, waiting for her signature to help make the state a national leader in alternative fuel production. This story from The Bay City (MI) Times has details about some of the bills: • Dedicating five new Alternative Energy Renaissance Zones for facilities that use cellulosic materials for fuel production, …

Biodiesel, biomass, Government, Legislation

NH Getting Biodiesel Refinery with Another on the Way

John Davis

New Hampshire is getting a couple of biodiesel refineries… one in Nashua and one in Keene… that will make the green fuel from used grease. This story from WCAX-TV says Batchelder Biodiesel Refineries in Nahua is hosting a grand opening of its first refinery on Wednesday, while Keene’s refinery will open its refinery early next year: The facility will convert …

Biodiesel