BlueFire Ethanol Rebrands as BlueFire Renewables

Cindy Zimmerman

BlueFire Ethanol Fuels is rebranding itself as BlueFire Renewables “to more clearly illustrate the company’s vast capabilities in renewable energy,” according to the company. “BlueFire is more than just an ethanol company. We’re happy to at last announce the expansion of our capabilities, and feel that this name captures our spirit for innovation and development of cleaner alternatives to fossil …

Biodiesel, biofuels, Cellulosic, Company Announcement, Ethanol, Ethanol News

AZ Congresswoman & DOE Zoi Attend Solar Events

Joanna Schroeder

Yesterday, Arizona Rep Gabrielle Giffords attended three solar events to promote solar development in her state. The first event took place at Global Solar, located in Tuscon, where Giffords toured the facility along with Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy. From there, the two visited several projects underway on the …

algae, biofuels, Solar

Learn About the Texas Ethanol Fuel Revolution

Joanna Schroeder

Is Texas fully capitalizing on the ethanol fuel revolution? You can find out by attending the new conference, Shaping Texas’ Fuel Ethanol Policy Conference on September 10, 2010 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Omni Hotel downtown Austin, Texas. The Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association will be bringing decision makers and industry leaders together to help the state …

biofuels, conferences, Ethanol

Bobbing In Petroleum

Joanna Schroeder

As the ethanol industry continues to fight for its subsidies before they expire at the end of the year, and the biodiesel industry has been fighting to survive without the $1 tax credit, the U.S. Senate did not even hesitate to preserve the oil industry’s subsidies. In addition, the Senate has yet to pass any comprehensive energy policy that would …

biofuels, Legislation, Oil

Navy Looks to 50% Renewables, Marines Want it Locally

John Davis

The U.S. Navy is looking to have half of its total fuel use come renewable energy sources by 2020, while the Marine Corps wants those sources, particularly the biofuels, to come from sources near its bases. The New York Times reports that Navy Secretary Ray Mabus wants to dramatically cut the Navy and Marine Corps’ dependence on fossil fuels, especially …

biofuels, Government

Energy Dept. Extends Loan Application Deadline

John Davis

Renewable energy projects will have a little more time to apply for federal government loan guarantees. Biomass Magazine reports the U.S. Department of Energy has moved the deadline for the July 2009 energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution technologies solicitations six weeks later to October 5th of this year: The newly-created Round 8, Part I of the …

biofuels, Government, Legislation

Who Are the Next Biofuels IPOs?

John Davis

On the heels of their great story yesterday on the investment in algal-biodiesel players PetroAlgae and Solazyme (not to mention Joanna’s piece on Gevo preparing for a $150 million IPO), our friends over at Biofuels Digest have put together a list of the top 10 most likely next IPOs in the biofuels sector. The list includes many Domestic Fuel regulars, …

Biodiesel, biofuels

Investments Spark Speculation on Algal-Biodiesel

John Davis

Recent multi-million dollar investments in algae-biofuel companies ($200 million IPO for PetroAlgae and $52 million to help commercialize Solazyme) is fueling some speculation of its own on how soon algae-based biofuels, in particular, biodiesel, might be available for consumers and when it would be commercially competitive. This article from Biofuel Digest breaks down the “bears” and “bulls” views of these …

algae, Biodiesel, biofuels

Dyadic Reports Second Quarter Loss

Joanna Schroeder

Dyadic International, Inc. reported a loss in second quarter revenues as compared to the same time period in 2009. Total revenue for the second quarter ending on June 30, 2010 decreased to $2.2 million compared to a reported $11.9 million the previous year. Total revenue for the first six months of the year was also down compared to 2009, with …

biofuels, News

Novozymes Acquires Brazilian Ag Company Turfal

Joanna Schroeder

Novozymes has announced that is has acquired Brazilian microorganism company Turfal in order to obtain direct access to the Brazilian bioagriculture market. Turfal develops and manufacturers microbes that stimulate the growth of crops, such as soybeans, by fixating nitrogen. These microbes allow growers to use less fertilizer and save money. Turfal’s operations are located 25 miles from Novozymes’ Latin American …

Agribusiness, biofuels, Brazil