Chemtex have received word from the USDA that they will receive $99 million to help build an advanced biofuels plant in the United States. The plant will be located in Sampson County, North Carolina and once operational, will produce 20 million gallons of biofuels a years from energy crops. Construction is slated to begin this year. Chemtex has selected Novozymes as its enzymes …
Payments Made to Renewable Feedstocks Producers
Nearly $19.4 million in payments to 125 advanced biofuel producers growing non-food feedstocks for use in development for biofuels has been made by the UDSA. The funding is provided through USDA’s Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels that was established in the 2008 Farm Bill. The goal of the program is to support the research, investment and infrastructure needed to build …
Harvesting Pennycress for Biodiesel
More farmers are growing weeds to harvest for biodiesel. Some Midwestern farmers are just finishing their harvest of pennycress, a weed that produces about 20,000 seeds per plant that are composed of 36% oil, twice that of soybeans, and has a chemical composition that is ideally suited for conversion to biodiesel or green renewable jet fuel. An acre of pennycress …
USDA Plays Biofuels “Matchmaker”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will be hosting a “match making day” later this month to promote connections between agricultural producers of energy feedstocks with biorefiners seeking to produce biofuels for commercial sale and consumption. Officials from the U.S. Department of Navy, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Federal Aviation Administration will also attend the March 30 event at USDA …
Ethanol Land Use Debate Continues
The debate over ethanol, greenhouse gases and land use continues – and that was the topic of a panel discussion at the recent 17th annual National Ethanol Conference. The panel, moderated by Renewable Fuels Association VP of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper, consisted of Thomas Darlington with Air Improvement Resource, Inc.; Dr. David Zilberman with the University of California-Berkeley; and …
Energy Beets for Ethanol Project in North Dakota
North Dakota State University has partnered up with a couple of private sector companies to develop energy beets for advanced ethanol production. The partnership includes Green Vision Group (GVG) of Fargo and Heartland Renewable Energy of Iowa in the project that is fueled by a $1 million, two-year North Dakota Renewable Energy Council grant that includes matching funds from industry …
USDA Announces Insurance Program for Biofuel Crop
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina beginning with the 2012 crop year. According to a release from USDA, “Camelina is an oilseed crop with the potential to create new renewable energy markets in the United States, generate rural jobs here at home, and decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil. The new …
IRFA Expands Summit and Trade Show
A larger trade show at a new venue will highlight the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). The Summit will be Tues., Jan. 24, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. The event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required and online registration is now open. …
IT Management for Energy Crops
Farmers interested in producing and trading energy crops for feedstock could be helped by a new IT management platform. Ontario-based New Energy Farms, a developer of the energy crop Miscanthus in North America, has teamed up with Muddy Boots Software to provide this new service to the energy crop market. According to the companies, the platform will enable direct trading …
Canadian Firm Developing Industry Oilseed Crops
Vancouver-based Linnaeus Plant Sciences has been awarded $1.2 million in support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to further advance production of green alternatives to petroleum oils. SDTC support will help Linnaeus advance production of camelina and safflower-based oils as renewable feedstock that can substitute for petroleum in a variety of high-value, non-fuel applications including polymers, lubricants, surfactants and other …