In his weekly radio address to the nation Saturday, President Bush expressed optimism that energy policy is one area where both Republicans and Democrats can work together and make some progress. “Republicans and Democrats both recognize these problems. We agree on the solution: We need to diversify our energy supply and make America less dependent on foreign oil,” said the …
First Wood-Based Ethanol Plant Announced
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has announced that Range Fuels, Inc., a Colorado-based cellulosic ethanol company, will build Georgia’s first wood-based cellulosic ethanol plant in Treutlen County. “Georgia will be a national leader in cellulosic ethanol, and Range Fuel’s investments here will be a major step forward helping us address our state’s long-term energy issues,” said Governor Perdue at the Georgia …
Saudi Alabama?
This story in the e-zine Tuscaloosanews.com (a weekly on-line publication produced by the students and faculty of the University of Alabama’s College of Communications) says that the raw products in Alabama have the state poised to be the next Saudi Arabia… at least in the alternative fuels world. Using a combination of fuels produced from chicken poop, cellulose from the …
Senate Energy Committee Holds Biofuels Conference
An all-day conference on biofuels was held Thursday by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The conference featured six panels and 33 witnesses from industry, agriculture, infrastructure, research and development. Much of the testimony focused on the need for increased funding to develop cellulosic technology. National Commission on Energy Policy Counsel David Conover told the committee they …
Tennessee Wants to Become Biofuels Leader
It seems like just about every state lately is getting into the biofuels race wanting to become a leader. The latest is Tennessee, where Governor Phil Bredensen announced that his “proposed 2007-2008 budget will include $61 million for a comprehensive alternative fuels strategy to position Tennessee to be a national leader in the production of biomass ethanol and related research.” …
Farm Bill Proposals Stress Cellulosic Ethanol
A word that few people even knew just five years ago when the last farm bill was written is all over the Bush administration’s 2007 farm bill proposals released Wednesday. That word is “cellulosic.” As announced last week, the proposals include $1.6 billion in new funding for renewable energy research, development and production, targeted for cellulosic ethanol, which will support …
Groups Urge Congress to Fund Cellulosic Development
The American Farm Bureau Federation and several other ag and industry organization are urging Congress to include adequate funding for two programs that will move cellulosic ethanol closer to reality – the biorefinery grant program and the cellulosic loan guarantee. According to a release,The two programs were created under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The biorefinery grant program has …
Purdue Scientist Honored by President
A senior research scientist from Purdue University was among those honored to attend the President’s State of the Union address last week, thanks to her groundbreaking work in cellulosic ethanol. According to BoilerStation.com, Nancy Ho was asked to attend the event by the White House and sat near First Lady Laura Bush. “I will treasure this all my life,” Ho …
Administration Proposes Cellulosic Research Funding
The Bush administration wasted no time this week in translating the president’s State of the Union energy words into actions. “We will be proposing $1.6 billion in new funding for renewable energy, with a focus on cellulosic energy research and production as part of the administration’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals,” Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced Tuesday. “We’ve had great …
Ethanol Creates Business Buzz in 2006
Farm Futures reports that venture capital firms more than doubled their investments in biofuels and other energy ventures in 2006, and even more is expected in 2007. According to DowJones Venture One, firms put $224 million towards energy ventures in 2005 – and $536 million in 2006’s first three quarters alone. Another estimate, by venture-capital firm Nth Power, puts the …