Yesterday during the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress/Ag Media Summit, a “Great Debate” ensued between retired K-State ag economist Barry Flinchbaugh and former Texas congressman Charlie Stenholm. Their topics were ag policy and trade but a lot of the focus was on the new cap and trade legislation, climate change and indirect land use. I had a chance to …
DOE Announces New $30 Billion In Loan Guarantees
More good news for ethanol. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced up to $30 billion in new load guarantees funded in part, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and in part through 2009 appropriations. Once again, next generation biofuels projects get an additional boost as the lending authority includes up to $500 million in subsidy costs to support …
Qteros: Cellulosic Ethanol Production Breakthrough
Qteros, formerly Sun Ethanol, recently announced that it has broken the barrier of ethanol production from cellulosic biomass feedstocks such as corn stover, sugarcane and woody biomass. As most biofuels companies report the production of 50 grams of ethanol per liter, Qteros says it is now producing 70 grams of ethanol per liter or approximately 100 gallons per ton. The …
Winners of $6.3 Million for Biofuels Research Selected
And the money keeps a coming. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the joint selection of awards of up to $6.3 million towards fundamental genomics-enabled research leading to the improved use of plant feedstocks or biofuel production. The seven projects announced came after the end of the green jobs …
Report: Airlines Should Use 80% Biofuels by 2050
The airline industry should shoot to have 80 percent of its fuels come from ethanol and biodiesel by the year 2050. This post on the gas2.0.org Web site says the “Green Skies Thinking” published today by right wing think-tank Policy Exchange pushes the phase-in of an EU Sustainable Bio-Jet Fuel Blending Mandate by 2020, leading to aviation companies having to …
IFMA 17 Delegates Travel on Bio-Fuels
The International Farm Management Association (IFMA) was not kidding when it came up with its concept for the second Congress ever held in the U.S. Conference planners have woven the theme of “Food, Fiber and Energy” throughout the past few days of the Congress. However, it may surprise a few of the international delegates to learn their transportation is also …
Efficient Irrigation Can Improve Biofuels ROI
Lindsay Corporation, maker of Zimmatic® irrigation systems, has produced a new biofuels brochure called “Improving Biofuel ROI Through Efficient Irrigation Solutions.” The eight-page full-color brochure includes information on key biofuel crops, the benefits of biofuels, market growth opportunities for biofuels, and irrigation management recommendations to help growers optimize the yield, size distribution and quality of biofuel crops. “Several factors are …
Synthetic Biology for Next-Generation Biofuels
The 2009 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, is in full swing in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and I had the opportunity to listen in to a webinar sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The session focused on the technical and commercial advances in the use of synthetic biology for next-generation biofuels. Four companies participated in the panel and …
Researchers: Biofuels Can Be Beneficial
A group of researchers, many from Princeton University, say that biofuels can solve many of the problems related to non-renewable fossil fuels… without creating more problems of their own. This article from Princeton says the key is making the green fuels from sustainable sources: “The world needs to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, but recent research findings have thrown …