San Francisco has become the largest city in the country to convert its entire fleet of diesel vehicles to biodiesel, hitting the green goal a month ahead of schedule. This press release from Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office says it will cover more than 1,500 vehicles including MUNI buses, several fire engines, ambulances and street sweepers, among others: “Every city bears …
Soybean Price Boom Fueled by Biodiesel
Analysts believe soybean prices could rise to all-time highs in 2008 as demand for beans as feedstocks for biodiesel and foodstocks for the Chinese take center stage. This analysis from Reuters says China’s production and irrigation problems are just part of the increased demand for the U.S. crop that, in previous years, had lost ground to corn going to ethanol: …
Connecticut Gets First Biodiesel Station
Connecticut, known for its bedroom communities for commuters heading into New York City, has its first station for those commuters wanting to fuel up with biodiesel. This press release says Governor M. Jodi Rell cut the ribbon on the first public-access retail biodiesel station in Connecticut at the Berkshire Country Store in West Cornwall: “Today marks a true milestone for …
A Green Christmas in Hershey
The twinkling Christmas lights glistening off the new fallen white snow this season at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pennsylvania will be powered by a green fuel: biodiesel. This press release from Hershey’s says the lodge is using a local company to turn its old kitchen grease into biodiesel: Hershey Lodge will use biodiesel made by recycling its used cooking …
Biodiesel Summit to Feature Imperium Chief
The Biodiesel Finance & Investment Summit, January 14th-16th, 2008 in New York, NY, will feature Martin Tobias, the president of biodiesel giant Imperium Renewables, as one of three keynote speakers. Joining Tobias will be James W. Eiler, Managing Director, First National Investment Banking and Gene Gebolys, President and CEO of World Energy Alternatives. The summit’s web site invites those interested …
Chocolate Biodiesel Truck Heads to Timbuktu
A truck that runs on biodiesel made from waste chocolate and that I featured during a post on November 15th has left England for Timbuktu in Africa. This update from the Environment News Service says the trip is designed to raise public awareness about biofuels and their potential to ease the impact of climate change: Andy Pag of London and …
Oregon Biorefinery Looking at $500 M Financing Deal
Officials with Inland Pacific Energy Center of Stanfield, Oregon are looking at a $504 million financing deal from an undisclosed European source. This story from the East Oregonian news web site says the deal will go to finish a 96-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant, 120-million-gallon ethanol plant, and feed mill project: Bob Doughty, project manager for the Inland Pacific Energy Center, said …
CO2 from Coal Burning to Help Grow Biodiesel
Two Australian companies are joining forces to use the carbon dioxide from burning coal to grow algae… and then turn that algae into biodiesel. This article on C|Net.com has more details about this truly green idea: Linc Energy and Bio Clean Coal announced the creation of the company last week and said they would spend $1 million over the next …
Biden Calls for Energy’s “Apollo Project”
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden (D-Delaware) has unveiled a five-year, $50 billion energy plan akin to the Apollo project that put men on the moon during a campaign stop in Iowa. This story in the Des Moines Register says Biden’s plan will use a combination of alternative energy production and conservation: “The innovative capacity of the United States of …
Media Invited to Ride in Challenge X Vehicles
General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy have invited the media to ride in the vehicles participating in the Challenge X Competition… a multi-year engineering competition that has 17 university teams from across North America in a real-world engineering experience to develop GM vehicles in the company’s global vehicle development process. The idea is the teams will create advanced …