Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) renewed his commitment to Congress renewing the biodiesel tax incentive… while he took a shot at the Grocery Manufacturers Association for what he says is a smear campaign by the group against biofuels. Grassley’s comments come on the heels of Tuesday’s vote, when the U.S. Senate came up just eight votes short of cloture to end …
Biodiesel Helping Fuel “Dump the Pump Day”
This coming Thursday is national “Dump the Pump Day,” a day when drivers are encouraged to use public transportation instead of their own vehicles to save money and fuel. Some of those folks will be running on biodiesel, as many communities use the green fuel to run their buses. One such community is Springfield, Missouri, which runs 1.2 million miles …
Biodiesel Cleared for Case Construction Equipment
Heavy equipment manufacturer Case has approved the use of B20 biodiesel for more than 85 percent of its products. This company press release says this follows Case’s move two years ago to give B5 the OK, the first construction equipment maker to do so: “Case is proudly leading the construction industry to help lower customers’ fuel costs and make a …
Biodiesel On Its Way to Standard Approval
Biodiesel has cleared an important hurdle as it passed a vote that will establish standards for the green fuel. The Subcommittee E of ASTM International, a group that establishes standards for a variety of things including fuels, has voted to recommend the passage of finished specifications for biodiesel blends. This press release from the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) says this …
Mississippi State Turning Sludge Into Biodiesel
Researchers at Mississippi State University are working on a project that will turn wastewater sludge into biodiesel. And to help them out, the Environmental Protection Agency has given the school $200,000 toward the project. This story from the Starkville (MS) Daily News has more: “The research and development of sustainable energy technologies can translate into both economic and environmental success,” …
Midwest Flooding Causing Hit to Ethanol & Biodiesel
Flooding in the Midwest is dealing a hard blow to ethanol and biodiesel production on two fronts: 1. direct production of the green fuels, and 2. feedstock production. This story from the Truth About Trade & Technology web site says the high waters have shut down several plants in flood-ravaged Iowa: At least five small to midsize ethanol plants have …
US-EU Biodiesel War About to Heat Up
The fight between American and European biodiesel makers is heating up. European biodiesel producers are urging the European Union to hit U.S. biodiesel with punitive fines as the EU is set to open anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into imports of the green fuel from the United States. This story from AFP says this comes after the European Commission started looking …
Investment Banks Bank on Alternative Energy
A growth sector focused investment bank is hosting its annual Alternative Energy Conference today at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York. The Thomas Weisel Partners one-day event will focus on the opportunities and challenges of the Alternative Energy industry for 2008 and the future. The conference will showcase presentations from over 30 established and emerging public and private companies, …
Alternative Energy Incentives Hit Snag in Senate
A bill that would have extended and boosted the producer-incentive tax breaks on a host of alternative energy sources, including wind, solar, biodiesel, clean-coal and other projects to help spur alternative energy development, has been stopped in the U.S. Senate… for the time being. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), would have extended the $1-a-gallon producer tax incentive …
Solazyme Algae-Biodiesel Meets Standard
As we told you yesterday, Solazyme’s algae-based biodiesel now meets the strict American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D-975 specifications… the first algal-biodiesel to meet the standard set for all regular diesel. Today, the San Francisco-based synthetic biology company put out its own press release: In a 100% blend, SoladieselRDTM has been road tested in a factory standard 2005 …