As Iowa Governor Chet Culver wants to make the Hawkeye State the renewable energy capitol of the world, one legislator says he will propose legislation to achieve that goal. This story on WHO-TV (Des Moines) says Senator Jack Hatch says he will propose a 20 percent renewable energy standard for the state when legislature comes back together during the next …
Biodiesel Blender Holds Open House in Iowa
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) was among those attending a a grand opening and open house this week at Magellan Midstream Partners’ biodiesel blending facility in Mason City, Iowa. This article in the Mason City Globe Gazette says the new facility is the first biodiesel blending system located inside a petroleum terminal in Iowa: “This is a perfect example of …
Benefuel Unveils New Fats-to-Biodiesel Plant Plans
Chicago-based biodiesel refinery builder Benefuel, Inc. will build the world’s first industrial-scale biodiesel refinery that uses a novel solid catalyst to convert low-grade fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel. The 10-million-gallon plant is to be built in Seymour, Indiana in conjunction with Seymour Biofuels. This company press release says the plant will eliminate the need for water in the refining …
PA Opens 45 MGPY Biodiesel Plant
Pennsylvania has opened a 45-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant on the shores of Lake Erie… hence the company name Lake Erie Biofuels. This press release from the State of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection says the plant will help the state shed its $30-billion-a-year foreign energy dependence while putting more people to work: “The opening of this facility also shows that companies …
Part of Diesel Pool to be Saved for Biodiesel
A bi-partisan piece of legislation has been introduced that will dedicate some of the nation’s diesel supply to biodiesel. The Biodiesel Promotion and Quality Assurance Act of 2007, sponsored by U.S. Representatives Baron Hill (D-IN), John Shimkus (R-IL), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD) and Sam Graves (R-MO), puts aside some of the 60 billion gallons of …
Biofuel Capital of Missouri
While I was on my way to do some field work this weekend I passed this sign driving into Audrain County, MO. Since all you’re going to see is fields of corn and soybeans (mostly now harvested) it’s easy to see why they can make this claim. The county is also the home to a multiple biofuels production facilities.
Bio Trekker Selling Idea of Biodiesel RVs
As you might remember from my post a couple of months ago, freelance writer and biodiesel advocate Ty Adams from Bozeman, Montana was making his way across the country in his biodiesel-powered RV. This latest installment of his adventures sees him in Tacoma, Washington where he has joined exhibitors at the Tacoma Fall RV Show. But this story in the …
Brown Going Green
Shipping giant UPS has announced that 366 of its ground support vehicles at its worldwide air hub in Louisville, Kentucky will be running on biodiesel. This story in the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal says the shipper is getting a federal grant to get this project off the ground: A $515,000 federal grant is offsetting some of the cost of building the …
Announcing WIREC 2008
The United States will host the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference March 4-6, 2008. The conference, which has been held previously in Bonn and Beijing, is an opportunity for government, private sector, and non-governmental leaders to jointly address the goal of advancing renewable energy. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky hosted stakeholders in the renewable …
Biodiesel Measures Clear Senate Committee
The Senate Finance Committee has approved the Heartland, Habitat, Harvest and Horticulture (4-H) Act of 2007… a measure containing energy tax provisions considered very important to continue the integration of the biodiesel industry into the domestic energy supply. Those measures include an extension of the federal biodiesel tax incentive, that is set to expire at the end of 2008, through …