Oil company giant ConocoPhillips is teaming up with food giant Tyson to start selling biodiesel. According to this article on CNet News.com, the project would combine a plentiful resource Tyson has… animal fat… with a seemingly plentiful ConocoPhillips resource… money: Tyson formed a renewable-energy division last year. The company generates about 2.3 billion pounds of animal fat a year in …
NBB Says IRS On Side of Big Oil
As we close in on income tax deadline day, biodiesel advocates are blasting the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for allowing petroleum producers to cash in on the same dollar-a-gallon tax credit orginally set up to help the fledgling biodiesel industry. According to a National Biodiesel Board press release, special interests have successfully lobbied the U.S. Department of Treasury to to …
Arnold Pumps Biofuels
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about making biofuels cool and sexy during two speeches last week on the East Coast. Schwarzenegger spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations Board in New York on Thursday and at the Global Environmental Leadership Conference at Georgetown University on Wednesday, making nearly identical speeches comparing the environmental movement to bodybuilding and the need to …
New Biodiesel Plant for Kansas
Ground-breaking is planned for this summer for a new 60-million-gallon-a-year at Emporia, Kansas. According to this story in the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group will build the refinery with hopes of opening in just more than a year: Company president Nile Ramsbottom said the company looked at Emporia because of its location and an ongoing partnership with soybean …
Emerald Isle Going Greener
Ireland has broken ground on its first large-scale biodiesel refinery, expected to be making the alternative fuel by 2008. According to a story in Biofuel Review, the plant will use a variety of sources… many from local farmers: Green Biofuels Ireland intends to commence production of biodiesel from oil seed rape, recovered vegetable oil and animal fats in 2008. The …
Missouri Senate Moves Biodiesel Mandate
The Missouri State Senate has given first round approval to a 5% biodiesel mandate. This story on eTrucker.com says Senator Bill Stouffer’s bill would require all diesel sold in the state would have to have at least five percent biodiesel beginning in April 2009: Not only would the biodiesel mandate benefit agriculture, but “This is something that’s good for the …
Biodiesel Beats Lamborghini
Recently, I told you about an upcoming episode of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” where a 1965 Chevy Impala is souped up with a biodiesel engine and blows away a Lamborghini in the quarter mile. Now, I’ve had a chance to talk to the man behind that Impala, Johnathan Goodwin, co-partner of SAE Energy… a company that specializes in converting gas-guzzlers …
More Uses for Biodiesel By-products
While animal feed products from the production of ethanol have caught most of the attention, researchers are looking at finding more uses for the by-products of biodiesel. According to this article posted on posted on ThePoultrySite.com, Iowa State University and the USDA’s Agricultural Research Services are looking at using glycerin in poultry and swine feed: “With an increase in biodiesel …
BC Buses Switch to Biodiesel
City buses in Victoria, British Columbia are now running on 5% biodiesel. The Victoria Times Colonist reports the move will save green in two ways… in the environment and the city budget: No mechanical modifications are required to the fleet, said transit senior vice-president Ron Drolet. “You can do it without any capital outlay. You get a supply that will …
WI’s First Commercial Biodiesel
Wisconsin’s first commercial biodiesel plant has started producing the renewable fuel… and a second refinery will open in about a week. According to this story in the Wisconsin State Journal, the Sanimax plant in DeForest began testing the production of beef tallow-based biodiesel: The first batch of biodiesel is expected to be ready in one week. Plant manager Russ Read …