State legislatures across the country are considering bills to promote the production and use of alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. In a story in the Beatrice (NE) Daily Sun, the National Biodiesel Board says 35 states have a total of 135 biodiesel-related bills pending… including one in Nebraska that would pay producers 30 cents for every gallon of …
Kinder Morgan Makes Major Biodiesel Investment
Houston-based energy company Kinder Morgan says it will spend $100 million to expand its biodiesel terminals in Houston, New Orleans, and New York City. According to a press release posted on the Kinder Morgan web site, Green Earth Fuels will build biodiesel production facilities at several Kinder Morgan terminals and already has underway an 86 million gallon facility in Houston …
UN Panel Recommends Increased Biofuels Use
The United Nations Foundation has released a report outlining a “roadmap for reducing risks from climate change.” Among the report’s recommendations are “mproving efficiency in the transportation sector through measures such as vehicle efficiency standards, fuel taxes, and registration fees/rebates that favor purchase of efficient and alternative fuel vehicles” and “expanding the use of biofuels through energy portfolio standards and …
Arkansas Legislature Moves Forward on Alt Fuels Incentives
The Arkansas State Legislature’s Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development today approved a measure that will provide $20 million in incentives for alternative fuel development. The Pine Bluff (AR) Commercial reports in this story (about halfway down) that House Speaker Benny Petrus’ bill would split the money with $16 million going to companies to develop the fuels and …
New Biodiesel Plant in the Works in Missouri
Fulton, Missouri… home of Westminster College, which is home of Winston Churchill’s famous “Iron Curtain” speech… could soon be home to Missouri’s newest biodiesel plant. The city’s council has approved a plan to have a 10-million-gallon-a-year refinery on a parcel of land owned by the city. The Fulton (MO) Sun reports local businessman Boyd Ware will serve as the facility’s …
Filling Up on Aquanol
An Idaho inventor/entrepeneur has come up with an engine that runs on aquanol… a mix of 65% ethanol and 35% water. In addition, a diesel engine modified by Mark Cherry, with Automotive Resources, Inc. of Sandpoint, Idaho can run on a 50-50 mix of diesel and water. Cherry says it is a precision-timed catalytic glow plug, which he calls a …
Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
Top state officials will keynote the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Summit on Wednesday in Des Moines. The event will feature the latest news in Iowa’s biodiesel and ethanol industries with a keynote address by Iowa Governor Chet Culver and a special address by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production with 26 ethanol …
Montana Latest to Move Forward on Biodiesel Mandate
The Montana State Senate today voted to give initial approval to a bill that would require all biodiesel sold in the state contain at least 5% biodiesel. This AP story in the Great Falls (MT) Tribune says Senate Bill 432 – a measure sponsored Sen. John Brueggeman (R-Polson) – passed 35-15: Brueggeman said biodiesel fuels can be made from oils …
Big Oil Gets Into Biodiesel
In what might seem like a bit of an ironic twist, oil giant Chevron is getting into the biodiesel business. The California-based company has a 22% share of a 20-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel refinery set to open next month in oil-central Galveston. The Houston Chronicle reports the plant will be one of the largest in the country and marks a change in …
Commodity Classic Time
The 2007 Commodity Classic is upon us. For the first time this year, the annual commodity event brings together the “Big Three” – corn, soybeans AND wheat. The first two have been meeting in a combined event for years, now wheat has decided to join the club. The meeting will have a pirate theme this year, being held overlooking beautiful …