Green Plains Renewable Energy announced today that their recently acquired ethanol plant located in Central City, Neb. is back in production. This 100 million gallon per year (mpy) biorefinery has been idle since November 2008. Green Plains said they made necessary repairs and capital improvements to the plant. This plant was purchased from AgStar Financial Services back in May. AgStar …
DOE Announces New $30 Billion In Loan Guarantees
More good news for ethanol. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced up to $30 billion in new load guarantees funded in part, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and in part through 2009 appropriations. Once again, next generation biofuels projects get an additional boost as the lending authority includes up to $500 million in subsidy costs to support …
Verenium and BP Launch Cellulosic Ethanol Venture
The joint cellulosic ethanol venture between BP and Verenium Corporation now has a name – Vercipia. The two companies announced that their 50-50 joint venture company will operate under the name Vercipia Biofuels, and corporate headquarters will be in Florida. Vercipia continues to focus on the development of one of the nation‟s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities, located in Highlands …
Going Green One Tank at a Time
Earlier today, Matt Horton, CEO of California based Propel Fuels was featured on CNBC’s “The Tech Effect”. The title of the piece: Going Green One Tank at a Time. The premise is how air quality officials in Sacramento, California are spending millions so owners of flex fuel vehicles can find gas stations offering environmentally friendlier fuels. Horton noted that ‘today’ …
Ethanol, Biodiesel to Grow By More than 12% A Year
A new report says that the world’s biofuels market is prepared to grow by an average of 12.3 percent a year between 2007 and 2017. This post from Biofuels International says that a report by industry research specialists RNCOS shows ethanol and biodiesel production worldwide will grow at 6.04 percent and 5 percent a year respectively between 2008 and 2019: …
E85 and Biodiesel Promotions in MN
August 1: 9 am – 1 pm 85¢ off per gallon of E85 Goodhue Country Station 100 Third Ave in Goodhue, MN Supporters include the Goodhue/North Wabasha Counties Corn & Soybean Growers, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, US Department of Energy Clean Cities, American Lung Association in Minnesota & The Clean Air Choice™ Team August 18: 10 am – 2 pm …
Qteros: Cellulosic Ethanol Production Breakthrough
Qteros, formerly Sun Ethanol, recently announced that it has broken the barrier of ethanol production from cellulosic biomass feedstocks such as corn stover, sugarcane and woody biomass. As most biofuels companies report the production of 50 grams of ethanol per liter, Qteros says it is now producing 70 grams of ethanol per liter or approximately 100 gallons per ton. The …
Fiber to Fuel Company Fiberight to Construct Mini Mills
Innovative waste company Fiberight is on the move. Relatively quiet over the past few years as they perfected their waste-to-fuel technology, they are now ready to showcase their enhanced fiber separation technology (EFST). The company is building ‘mini mills’ next to landfills in order to be close to their feedstock: garbage. This reduces their feedstock transportation costs. In addition, the …
Senators Urge EPA to Approve Higher Ethanol Blends
A bipartisan group of nearly 20 senators have sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging approval of up to 15 percent ethanol blends in regular gasoline. The letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was signed by Senators John Thune (R-SD), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Claire McCaskill …
Nebraska Students Win Award for Ethanol Report
Eight journalism students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are receiving a national award for an in-depth report on ethanol. The report titled “Ethanol: Salvation or Damnation?” has taken first place in a student reporting category in the Society of Environmental Journalism’s 2009 awards. According to SEJ, “the students took a vital issue in their community and shone a light on …