A new solar farm in Taylorsville, NC is up and running and powering numerous homes and businesses in the community served by EnergyUnited. The solar project consists of 4,224 photovoltaic (PV) panels that can generate enough energy to power 150 homes. Unlike some solar systems that are designed using conventional fixed-tilt technologies, this project uses a tracking systems to follow …
New Controversial Biofuels Report Released
According to a new study released this week, the European Union (EU) plans to increase its use of biofuels over the next 10 years and it will require 69,000 square kilometers of new land causing climate change to become worse. “Driving to Destruction” was commissioned by a coalition of environmental and development NGOs and the study reports that by 2020, …
Is Clean Diesel a New Alternative Fuel?
There is a surge of new diesel vehicles entering the U.S. market place in response to the need for better fuel economy along with lower fuel emissions. The diesel industry has been promoting low diesel fuels, and in some cases, diesel fuel has been labeled an “advanced fuel.” For example, Rentech has created a diesel fuel called RenDiesel that can …
USDA Speaks, Ethanol Industry Reacts
The ethanol industry praised USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack today and expressed gratitude for his department’s commitment to fulfill the administration’s goal of transitioning to renewable energy. This morning at the Press Club in DC, Vilsack announced a series of measures aimed at supporting the rural economy and reducing dependence on foreign oil that include support for corn-based ethanol. “The …
USDA Announces Biofuels Initiatives
As part of the Obama Administration’s effort to promote production of fuel from renewable sources, create jobs and mitigate the effects of climate change, Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a series of measures during a speech to the National Press Club in Washington. “Domestic production of renewable energy, including biofuels, is a national imperative and that’s why USDA is working …
Commerical Ethanol Technology & Research Worshop On the Horizon
The third annual Ethanol Technology & Research Workshop is on the horizon. Sponsored by Biofuels Journal and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), The workshop is being held in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 27-28th and includes a tour of the of the LifeLine Foods corn fractionation ethanol production plant. The focus of this year’s session are commercial technologies that …
Iowa State Develops, Tests Biomass-based Asphalt
Researchers at Iowa State University have developed a biomass-based asphalt that will be tested this fall on a bicycle trail in Des Moines. This school press release says the bio-oil replacement for non-renewable petroleum is added to the mixture known as Bioasphalt: If the demonstration and other tests go well, “This would be great stuff for the state of Iowa,” …
NREL Releases BioEnergy Mapping App
Want to know where are the biorefineries in the U.S. are located? There’s an app for that. The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has released a new bioenergy mapping portal, BioEnergy Atlas, that identifies biomass feedstocks, then overlays that information with the ethanol and biodiesel facilities both on and off-line. You can also see map information for transportation infrastructure, power …
States Scale Back RPS’s As Senate Ramps Up RES Efforts
As several senators make one last push for a federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) to be enacted before the close of the 111th Congress, several states are considering scaling back their current Renewable Energy Portfolios (RPS). At the federal level, groups such as the bipartisan Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition cite an RES as a way to give the country an …
Fed Grant to Help Turn Montana Biomass into Energy
A Montana company has picked up a $350,000 federal grant to build a plant that will turn wood chips and algae into energy. Algae Aqua-Culture Technology will use a proprietary process uses a greenhouse-based algae growth system and an anaerobic biodigester to transform a blend of the wood waste and algae into high-value methane for power generation: “Algae’s amazing productivity …