Cellulosic was all the buzz at the Reuters Global Agriculture and Biofuels Summit this week and prognosticators are now saying it is much closer to reality than ever before. One speaker at the summit said that biomass ethanol is just 2-3 years away. “We should see the first commercial-scale plants coming on line in late-2009, early-2010,” said Richard Hamilton, President …
GM Makes Cellulosic Investment
An announcement by General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner at the opening of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit yesterday made for big alternative energy news nationwide. Wagoner announced GM’s partnership with Coskata, an Illinois company that has a process for for turning wood chips, grasses, or municipal waste into ethanol. Coskata uses a proprietary process that leverages patented …
Melon Fuel Still in Development
The National Watermelon Association is still working on making fuel from melons. Executive Director Bob Morrissey says they still believe there is a future in the idea, which we first reported on here in September 2006. “We still have to do some homework on the logistics portion and the economics portion,” he said. “Our initial idea is to get a …
Senate Passes Energy Bill
After stripping the bill of a $21 billion tax package, he U.S. Senate has passed an amended energy bill that includes an expansion of the Renewable Fuels Standard to 36 billion gallons of annual renewable fuel use by 2022. The bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for approval before it can be sent to the president for …
AE Biofuels Now Publicly Traded
AE Biofuels, formerly known as American Ethanol, has completed its plans to become a publicly traded company by merging with a firm known as Marwich II Ltd. The California-based company is involved in both ethanol and biodiesel, with majority ownership of a plant in India that is designed to produce 50 million gallons of biodiesel per year and plans to …
Allegro Gets on Board with Biomass
Investments in bioenergy are smart investments for Allegro Biodiesel. Allegro is moving to diversify the bio-energy sector and acquire a biomass energy company in Colorado. Allegro Biodiesel Corporation has announced that it has extended a $500,000 bridge loan to Littleton, Colorado-based Community Power Corporation as a first step in potentially acquiring the company. Established in 1995, privately-held CPC is a …
Renewing Cheese Water for Renewable Fuels
A Wisconsin entrepreneur says producers don´t have to rely on corn, or even cellulosic waste, to create ethanol. Joe Van Groll, Owner of Grand Meadow Energy, LLC, says he can create ethanol from cheese water waste. Joe says this new method for creating ethanol is a great alternative. He points out that the ethanol industry is the target of negative …
Georgia Groundbreaking Marks Cellulosic Milestone
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue welcomed a new phase in ethanol production to his state with Range Fuels’ groundbreaking of the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant this week. “Georgia is proud to partner with Range Fuels to lead the nation in delivering cellulosic ethanol as a solution to America’s dependence on foreign and fossil fuels,” said Governor Perdue. “Our abundance …
Could Biobutanol Beat Cellulosic to Market?
DuPont and BP are working to bring a next generation biofuel to market on a commercial scale and officials are optimistic that it might get there before cellulosic ethanol. In an interview with Ethanol Statistics, Philip New, President of BP Biofuels, said “he wants to avoid setting expectations that are inappropriate on the basis of cutting edge biotech. We (BP) …
Legislation Would Increase RFS Without Energy Bill
Concerns about a languishing energy bill in Congress are motivating Senators to take action that would increase the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) even without it. U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have introduced legislation called the Renewable Fuels Strategy Act of 2007 that contains several provisions including a larger Renewable Fuels Standard of 36 billion gallons of …