International investment and advisory firm Babcock & Brown has finalized plans to acquire Iroquois Bio-Energy Company of Rensselaer, Indiana. This is the Australian firm’s fourth investment in the US ethanol industry. In January 2006, Babcock & Brown Environmental Investments completed the acquisition of Diversified Energy Company, whose primary asset is a 25 mgpy facility in Morris, Minnesota. Babcock & Brown …
GM Exec Promotes Biofuels
The vice chairman of General Motors says converting automobiles to ethanol is “entirely realistic.” Forbes reports that GM’s Bob Lutz spoke at an automotive conference in Louisville on Monday and said that instead of being satisfied with incremental change, the country should make it a priority to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy in “huge chunks.” Lutz said that ethanol …
Supercomputer Cellulosic Work
Scientists have used an SDSC supercomputer to help improve cellulose conversion to ethanol. Their “virtual molecules” show how the enzyme complex may change shape to straddle a broken cellulose chain, gaining a crucial foothold to digest cellulose into sugar molecules, which can then be fermented into ethanol. A team of scientists has conducted molecular simulations at the San Diego Supercomputer …
Bioenergy and Rural Development
Top international experts meeting in Rome last week agreed that bioenergy could be a positive force for rural development According to a news release from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) it was the first time that experts in bioenergy, food security and the environment came together to discuss the environmental and food security impact of the rapidly-expanding bioenergy industry. …
Earth Day on Baffin Island
The latest update from explorer/environmentalist Will Steger comes from Earth Day (this past Sunday) on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. As you might remember from our previous posts, Steger is leading a team of three other explorers and educators and four native Inuits on a four-month-long, dog-sled expedition across the island. Listen to Steger’s Earth Day audio update: “This …
Indy Ethanol Event
Kansas City consumers can follow in the footsteps of the IndyCar® Series and make a choice at the pump for energy independence and cleaner air. E10, a blend of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol, will be available for $2.14, the average qualifying speed for the Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway, on Thursday at two locations in the greater …
Ethanol Conference Celebrates 20 Years
The American Coalition for Ethanolhas announced the agenda for its upcoming Ethanol Conference & Trade Show to be held this summer in Minnesota. The 2007 Ethanol Conference, the organization’s 20th annual, will take place August 7-9 at the River Centre in St. Paul, Minnesota. The conference, which is hosted in a different Midwestern city each year, is expected to be …
Ethanol and the EPA
EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson calls the nation’s first comprehensive Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS, “a hat trick – it protects the environment, strengthens our energy security, and supports America’s farmers.” Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Executive Director Tom Slunecka comments on the new RFS and EPA ruling that provides equal treatment for ethanol plants when it comes to emissions …
Purely POET
The company formally known as Broin has officially completed the name changing of all its ethanol production facilities. POET, formerly known as Broin Companies, announced today that all 26 of its ethanol production facilities have changed their name to POET Biorefining. With the addition of the plants, the 32 entities that made up the Broin Companies are now united under …
Obama Calls for Low Carbon Fuels
On the campaign trail in New Hampshire on Friday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) called for a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (NLCFS) similar to one created in California earlier this year by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to a news release, Obama’s proposal would require that all transportation fuels sold in the U.S. contain 5 percent less carbon by 2015 and …