W. Scott Thurlow has joined the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) as the new president effective April 2, 2012. Thurlow, a lawyer, has past experience in government relations, legislation and regulation. Most recently, he was a Vice President with Temple Scott Associates where he provided strategic government relations advice to both corporations and nongovernmental organizations. Tim Haig, Chair of the CRFA Board …
Amyris Names New CFO
Steven R. Mills has been named as Amyris’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and will take over the reigns on May 2, 2012. He is replacing Jeryl L. Hillman who announced last August that he would be leaving the company. “Amyris is leading the way in an array of renewable chemicals and fuels. I’m looking forward to joining Amyris’s extraordinary …
First Rooftop Sun-tracking Solar Power System Installed
New sun-tracking solar devices have been installed by NEXUS EnergyHomes to the rooftop of a row house residence on Federal Hill in Baltimore, Md. The device, a Dual-Panel Tracker (DPT), consists of two 235 Watt solar panels attached to a sun-tracking mount affixed to the roof. An advanced GPS-controlled drive unit rotates the panels to follow the sun and capture …
Record Set for Flexible Solar Panel Efficiency
SoloPower’s next generation solar panel has achieved an aperture area efficiency of 13.4 percent, a record for flexible copper, indium, gallium and (di)selenide (“CIGS”) based modules. The measurements were made by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “Importantly, the cells were made in SoloPower’s San Jose manufacturing facility, so we know we have the systems in place to deliver high-efficiency, …
Butamax Granted Patent for Iso-Butanol
Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, has been granted patent number 8,129,162 for production of iso-butanol from biological resources. This latest patent was issued from a series of applications covering modified KARI enzymes that optimize production of biobutanol by Butamax’s proprietary microorganisms. These microorganisms are engineered with the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway invented by Butamax that includes five enzymatic steps that convert sugar …
Best of 2011 on Domestic Fuel
2011 was a pivotal year for the Domestic Fuel industry. The renewal of the biodiesel tax incentive at the end of 2010 led to record production this year and a renewed optimism for the industry. Meanwhile, the ethanol industry saw the approval of E15 in newer vehicles at the beginning of the year, although it has yet to make it …
2012 Ag Events Calendar
ZimmComm New Media is proud to announce the very first (that we know of) Ag Events Calendar. This slick 10×15 wall calendar includes dates for all the major ag-related and biofuels events in 2012, along with photos each month from the 2011 events that we covered. There’s photos from the National Biodiesel Conference, National Ethanol Conference, Commodity Classic, Iowa Corn …
ACE Announces Winner of Merle Anderson Award
The winner of this year’s Merle Anderson Award goes to USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager for his support of the ethanol industry. The honor was given by the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) following their ethanol conference. Tonsager, who said he was pleased to win the award, was honored for his lifetime commitment to the promotion of …
POET To Sell Antibiotic-Free DDGS
POET had announced that they are now selling antibiotic-free dried distillers grains (DDGS) with solubles. Today, they sell more than 4 million tons of Dakota Gold DDGS to a variety of feed markets. On occasion, fermentation can be disrupted due to things such as a bacterial infections, and an antimicrobial agent can be used to control the contamination. Over the …