Chevron Corporation has formed a biofuels business unit to advance technology and pursue commercial opportunities related to the production and distribution of ethanol and biodiesel in the United States, according to a company release. Chevron officially announced the business unit at a groundbreaking ceremony in Galveston, Texas to inaugurate construction of one of the first large-scale biodiesel plants in the …
States Pass Biodiesel Laws
Nearly a dozen states passed legislation this year that will help increase the use of biodiesel, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Among them was Iowa, where Gov. Tom Vilsack today signed into law two renewable fuels and infrastructure bills. One will give point-of-sale retailers a three cent income tax credit on each gallon of a two percent (B2) blend …
CA Motorist Saves With Biodiesel
Tied in with the last story, here’s an article from the Lompoc (CA) Record about a restaurant owner who is saving over $500 a month in fuel costs by using recycled peanut oil in his Mercedes. According to the story – Gary Mead, who communtes about an hour each way from his home to his business, adds a 16-percent mixture …
Bay-o Fuel
Bay Area Biofuel is striking oil in the San Francisco bay area “fueled by a new partnership with 150 of San Francisco’s oil-rich restaurateurs.” MSNBC gave them a nice write-up about the operation which “pumps close to 12,000 gallons of biodiesel automobile fuel each month, up from virtually none six months ago.”
Gas Prices Fuel Web Searches
People who keep track of such things say that higher gas prices are causing a major increase in web searches for domestic fuel terms such as ethanol and biodiesel. According to Hitwise, the share of U.S. internet searches for the term ‘ethanol’ was up 212 percent for the four weeks ending May 13, 2006 versus the four weeks ending April …
Golden Gate Biodiesel
Biodiesel’s heart is in San Francisco now that it has become the largest U.S. city to institute citywide use of B20. According to a release from the National Biodiesel Board, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Directive designed to increase the pace of municipal use of biodiesel in the city which uses about 8 million gallons of diesel …
JW Writes
Jim Jubak of MSN was writing about solutions to our energy problems and solicited suggestions from readers. He got several, including both ethanol and biodiesel. He decided to do further research on the subjects and the first one is ethanol. He’s looking for good information on the subject, so here’s an opportunity for you to jump in the mix. Send …
New Holland Supports B20
Biodiesel fans can cheer New Holland today. They are the first equipment manufacturer to fully approve B20, a 20 percent blend of biodiesel, in their tractors. The release I received came from the National Biodiesel Board which is appropriately happy.
Green Star Plans BioRefineries
Green Star Products, Inc. has announced plans to construct facilities for the production of both biodiesel and biomass ethanol, according to a press release. The first facility is planned for North Carolina, the second location is yet to be announced but the company says it will be somewhere in the northwestern US. Each GSPI-designed Bio-Refinery will have a start-up production …
Biodiesel Update
The University of Georgia is holding a Southeastern Biodiesel Workshop this week in Athens featuring a number of interesting speakers and perspectives on the fuel. Although the National Biodiesel Board was not able to be a part of this event, you might be interested in hearing a update from NBB Executive Director Joe Jobe on what is happening with this …