Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has signed into law a measure that is hoped to make his state a leader in biofuels by exempting cellulosic biofuels (ethanol) from state taxes and creating a mandate for biodiesel in home heating oil. The Boston Globe was there when Patrick signed the bill: “It’s law,” he said, seated at a table at the Allston …
Florida Focuses on Farm to Fuel
Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer will help kick off the third annual Florida Farm to Fuel summit this week in Orlando as keynote speaker Wednesday morning, July 30. Other speakers include Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Brian Dean with the Interamerican Ethanol Commission, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association president Gordon Quaiattini, and US Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen. The summit brings …
California Plant to Make Ethanol from Waste
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels of California has been given the go-ahead to build the nation’s first commercial biowaste-to-ethanol facility in Los Angeles County. The county’s regional planning commission unanimously agreed to issue a zoning permit to BlueFire Ethanol to build a $30 million facility in Lancaster, located north of Los Angeles. The plant will be built next to a landfill and …
Tennessee Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Planned
DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol and the University of Tennessee Research Foundation have announced a partnership to construct an innovative pilot-scale biorefinery and state-of-the-art research and development facility for cellulosic ethanol in Vonore, Tenn. According to DuPont Danisco, the pilot-scale biorefinery will develop the commercial package for the partnership’s leading cellulosic ethanol technology. The project will also utilize UT’s world-class expertise …
RFS Restrictions Could Delay Cellulosic Ethanol
Members of a House Agriculture subcommittee are expressing concerns that restrictions under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act could be detrimental to the development of second generation ethanol using biomass. The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research held a hearing to review the RFS implementation and agriculture producer eligibility. Chairman …
Candidate Positions on Ethanol
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain spoke to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Council of Presidents meeting in Washington DC last week by teleconference about various issues of importance to agriculture, including it’s role in America’s energy needs. McCain heralded his “Lexington Project” to make America energy independent which includes alternative fuels, ethanol, nuclear and offshore drilling. The plan …
Verenium Advances Cellulosic Ethanol in Asia
US biofuels development company Verenium Corporation and Japanese trading company Marubeni Corporation recently announced the opening of a three million-liter-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant in Saraburi, Thailand. The cellulosic plant in Thailand is co-located with a facility that will produce ethanol from sugar-cane derived sucrose, which is widely abundant in the region. Sugar cane bagasse, the biomass residue from the sugar …
Dow Catalyst Could Be Key to Cellulosic Ethanol
Dow Chemical Company will work with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop and evaluate a process to convert biomass to ethanol and other chemical building blocks. The partnership will evaluate a mixed alcohol catalyst from Dow that could hold potential for making cellulosic ethanol more commercially viable. “NREL is interested in reducing the cost of biofuels in support of …
Shell Increases Cellulosic Ethanol Investment
Royal Dutch Shell is nearly doubling its investment in cellulosic ethanol. Shell announced this week that it is increasing its shareholding in Iogen Energy Corporation from 26.3% to 50%. Shell first took an equity stake in 2002. The terms of the agreement include a significant investment by Shell in technology development with Iogen. Iogen’s first demonstration commercial plant opened in …
DOE Awards Cellulosic Grants
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded grants of up to $40 million over five years for two small-scale cellulosic biorefinery projects, one in Wisconsin and one in Louisiana. Flambeau River BioFuels received approval to construct and operate a biorefinery at an existing pulp and paper mill in Park Falls, Wisconsin. When completed, the facility will produce at least 1 …