President Obama today released his administration’s Blueprint for A Secure Energy Future that outlines the comprehensive national energy policy. “In an economy that relies on oil, rising prices at the pump affect everybody – workers and farmers; truck drivers and restaurant owners,” said the president during a speech in Georgetown. “The only way for America’s energy supply to be truly …
The Convergence of First & Second Gen Biofuels
Often times, it appears that people pit first generation biofuel technologies against second generation biofuel technologies. This leads me to ask the question, Why can’t we all get along? Well, now we can with the convergence of conventional ethanol technologies and emerging algal biomass technologies being developed by BioProcess Algae. BioProcess Algae is based in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and the …
Biofools or Bio-Heroes?
It’s pretty much a badge of honor in the biofuels industry to be nominated by Friends of the Earth as “Biofool of the Year.” Growth Energy is calling this year’s nominees “Bio-Heroes” in a blog post today. “Critics of biofuels would go to great lengths to distort the truth and smear the records of supporters. One doesn’t have to look …
Higher Oil Prices Offset Higher Biofuel Feedstock Costs
A new study shows that U.S. farmers will enjoy better incomes in 2011, thanks to increasing crop prices. And while that might translate into higher feedstock costs for ethanol and biodiesel producers, the report from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri shows higher oil prices should offset those higher prices being paid for the …
Alt Energy Groups Ask Congress to Support DOE Programs
A multitude of leading energy trade associations today wrote to Congressional leaders with a request for Congress to maintain support and funding for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) including the Loan Guarantee Program. The program, in part, is used to help bring emerging alternative energy technologies to market. Groups that signed the letter include the Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC), …
ACE Fly-In Participants Ready To Educate The Beltway
More than 50 American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) members and ethanol supporters from 15 different states are descending on Washington D.C. tomorrow as part of ACE’s annual fly-in. This year, Executive Vice President, Brian Jennings, said that the group will be playing a bit of offense and a bit of defense when they meet with more than 100 Congressional offices. …
Propel Fuels CEO Gets Biofuels Leadership Award
Propel Fuels CEO Matt Horton was recently honored with the Biofuels Leadership Award at the 3rd Annual Sustainable Biofuels Awards presented at the World Biofuels Markets Congress and Exhibition in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The award honors an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the development of the biofuels industry and Horton was recognized for “providing thousands of drivers with …
PetroAlgae Inks Deal with Haldor Topsoe
PetroAlgae has inked a deal with Haldor Topsoe to provide technology and catalysts to upgrade oils produced from PetroAlgae’s biomass through refinery coking processes and pyrolysis into drop-in renewable fuels including diesel and jet fuels. Haldor Topsoe is global company focused on the refining, petrochemical and power industries. Under the agreement, the two companies will work together to apply Haldor …
Butamax Issued Another Biobutanol Patent
Butamax has received another patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) number 7,910,342 entitled “FERMENTIVE PRODUCTION OF ISOBUTANOL USING HIGHLY ACTIVE KETOL-ACID REDUCTOISOMERASE ENZYMES.” The patent was awarded to protect a key step in the company’s biobutanol production pathway using genetic constructs with highly active enzymes. This is one of several patents that Butamax has been awarded for …
CHOREN Makes Progess on Biofuel Plant
Rainer Bomba, Undersecretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, visited CHOREN’s Beta plant at Freiberg in the German state of Saxony. His purpose of the visit was to discuss the progress of CHOREN on producing sustainable advanced biofuels and their role in achieving climate protection targets. “Last year, the Beta plant completed several campaigns …