Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced a loan guarantee and grant totaling $3.75 million for construction and operation of a new biodiesel production facility in Iowa. Riksch BioFuels LLC will construct a plant near Crawfordsville, Iowa. Twenty-five investors, including farmers and business owners, already have raised over $3.3 million for the project and will receive $400,000 from the Iowa Department …
Test Specifications for B20
The Engine Manufacturers Association has released a test specification for biodiesel fuel to facilitate testing and evaluation of how blended biodiesel fuels perform in today’s clean-burning diesel engines. According to a release, the EMA specifications establish technical requirements for blends of petroleum fuel and biodiesel fuel that can be used to assess the effects of such biodiesel fuels on engine …
Fuel Station of the Future
Pearson Ford Fuel Depot, the site of a Willie Nelson biodiesel promotion earlier this year during the National Biodiesel Board annual meeting in San Diego, is in the news. An AP article features Pearson as the “fuel station of the future” with its many fuel choices, including biodiesel and E85. The station also offers “compressed natural gas” along with recharging …
Biodiesel Helps Green Government
Three winners of this year’s White House Closing the Circle Awards use a 20 percent biodiesel blend (B20) to help them achieve outstanding environmental track records. They are the Department of Defense, Naval Station Great Lakes; the Department of Energy Green Fleet Team and the U.S. Postal Service. According to a National Biodiesel Board release, 16 winners and 11 honorable …
Idaho Biodiesel School
The University of Idaho is holding a one-day crash course in biodiesel June 15 in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. Among the topics are Growing Oilseeds in the Pacific Northwest, Biodiesel Production Practices, and Biodiesel Economics. The course is just $75. More information available here.
BioWillie Distributor Buys Into NC Plant
Earth Ethanol, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Earth Biofuels, Inc., today announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire majority interest in North Carolina-based Albemarle Biorefinery, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina. According to a Business Wire release, the company intends to build a state-of-the-art ethanol facility in the town of Jamesville, Martin County, North Carolina. Earth …
Michael Peterson Advocates Alternative Fuels
Hello from the Country Music Association Music Festival in Nashville, TN. I’m here to blog it for New Holland, which is a sponsor, and featuring a celebrity tractor race on Sunday. You can see a lot more on our sister site, AgWired. It’s all part of a promotion with country music star Michael Peterson, pictured here with a Chevy-sponsored race truck that promotes E85 fuel.
Congress Endorses 25x’25
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and House Ag Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia today introduced a concurrent resolution in both houses of Congress calling for 25-percent of the nation’s total energy to come from renewable sources by the year 2025. The 25X’25 plan has also gained the endorsement of numerous state legislators and Governors – as …
World Congress to Focus on BioFuels
New research and commercial production methods to meet increased demand for biofuels will be one focus of the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 11-14, 2006 at the Toronto Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, according to a press release from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO. Sessions include: An International Perspective on Biofuels and …