Wisconsin’s first soybean crushing facility is being built… thanks to a $4 million grant from the state. Gov. Jim Doyle handed out the money to farmer-owned Landmark Services Cooperative, which has plans to process 20 million bushels of soybeans each year at the plant: “The soybeans Wisconsin grows so well will stay here in the state, get processed in Evansville …
Biodiesel Carrying 124 Cars at a Time
A ferry carrying 124 cars in Washington State’s Puget Sound has been running on biodiesel since last month, and officials are hoping to expand the green fuel into another transport. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says it’s the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division’s second try in recent years at trying to run ferries with biodiesel: The 124-car ferry …
Flax Finding New Life as Biodiesel Stock
Fifty years ago, you could see acres and acres of flax growing in the southern part of Texas. Today, the crop once grown for vegetable oil, is finding new life as a feedstock for biodiesel. This story from Texas A&M University says the school’s Texas AgriLife Research field trial experiment is testing four varieties of flax seeds: “It’s kind of …
State Grant Helps PA School Buy Biodiesel
A $40,000 grant is helping a Pennsylvania school district go green. The Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant will help the Radnor Township School District purchase nearly 94,000 gallons of B20 biodiesel, as well as helping cover two storage tanks for the green fuel. The district received praise from Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty through her agency’s press release: “Schools, truck …
Duel Fuel Strategy for Gulf
Gulf Ethanol Corporation is pursuing a dual biofuel development strategy focused on processing feedstocks for ethanol in the U.S. and manufacturing biodiesel in Central America. Company officials say they will mainly focus on using its technology to develop non-food feedstocks for ethanol manufacturers in the United States. In Central America, Gulf will utilize feedstocks, such as palm oil, for the …
Growing Oil in the Texas Desert
While finding oil in the hot, dry regions of Texas might not be something new, how one company is going about it certainly is. Last September, I told you about Valcent Product’s algae-growing operation that has the potential of producing 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year for every acre. That compares to corn’s 30 gallons per acre from corn …
Former Imperium VP Joins Harris Group
International engineering firm Harris Group, which has a stake in the alternative energy game, has named former Imperium Renewables Vice President Mark Warner as the company’s director of the program management services. A company press release says Warner’s experience with Imperium will serve him well at Seattle-based Harris Group: Mr. Warner led the effort to build the largest biodiesel production …
Government Dispels Biofuels Myths
A new paper from the U.S. Department of Energy tries to put to rest some of the myths that still swirl around biofuels. The document, posted on the DOE web site, takes on some of the most-often repeated arguments against renewable energy with solid facts: MYTH: In terms of emissions, biofuels emit the same amount as gasoline or more. FACT: …
Report: World Biofuel Demand Will Continue to Skyrocket
A study by the Freedonia Group Inc. says that demand for biofuels throughout the world will grow by 20 percent a year to 92 million metric tons in 2011. This article from the International Business Times says the Cleveland-based industry research firm says the demand will increase despite the current food-versus-fuel and environmental debates: Market expansion will come from a …
Farm Foundation to Host Carbon Footprint Forum
Farm Foundation, a non-profit group that works as a catalyst for farm policy discussion, is holding a forum on the lifecycle carbon footprint analysis of biofuels, this coming Tuesday, April 8 from 9 am to 11 am in the First Amendment Lounge of the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Speakers providing opening comments will be: * Bruce McCarl of …