One of Cargill’s palm oil plantations in Indonesia used for providing a feedstock for biodiesel is certified as a sustainable operation. The company announced the PT Harapan Sawit Lestari (HSL) plantation was awarded the certification under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) standards in the European Union (EU). ISCC is a certification scheme that promotes responsible farming by allowing …
Argentinean Biofuels Production
Argentina ranks third behind the United States and Brazil in soybean production, but first in the export of soy products, including biodiesel. The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) held its annual Congress in Argentina last week and those who attended learned quite a bit about farming and biofuel production in this South American nation. Soybeans are the number one …
Indian Trains to Run on Biodiesel
Trains in India could soon start running on biodiesel. The Business Standard reports that Research Design Standard Organisation (RDSO), the research wing of Indian Railways, will conduct field trials of Jatropha-based biodiesel developed by the Central Salt Marine & Chemical Research Institute. “A few more approvals are required and possibly in next 3-4 months we shall commence the trials on …
ABO Forms Joint Partnership with Japan
The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) and the Algae Industry Incubation Consortium, Japan (AIIC), a group working to commercialize algae biofuels in Japan, announced a cooperative effort to share algae industry best practices and expertise during the International Symposium on Algal Biomass held in Tokyo, Japan. The AIIC contacted ABO for assistance in bringing together global algae expertise as part of …
Lignol Energy Buying Stake in Dubai Biodiesel Maker
An Australian biodiesel producer is expanding its reach, this time to Dubai on the Arabian Peninsula. Lignol Energy Corp. is paying $3.73 million to acquire 40 percent of Neutral Fuels Parent Company and a 51 percent interest in Neutral Fuels’ Australia and New Zealand biodiesel operation. As you might remember from earlier this summer, Neutral Fuels currently operates two closed-loop …
Ngatamariki Geothermal Power Plant Completed
Ormat has announced the successful completion of the 100 MW installed capacity Ngatamariki geothermal power plant in New Zealand. Mighty River Power’s modular Ngatamariki geothermal power plant is the largest singular binary power plant ever constructed. The Ormat Energy Converters are directly fed by a high temperature (380°F / 193 ºC) geothermal fluid. Until now, on such resources, only steam …
Rothes II Wind Farm in Scotland Powers Up
Fred. Olsen Renewables (FOR) has announced that the Rothes II Wind Farm in Scotland has commenced operation. The wind farm has an installed operational capacity of 41.4 MW, equivalent to generating enough electricity to power over 20,500 homes. The project is located adjacent to the existing Rothes Wind Farm, 20km south west of Elgin and consists of 18 x Siemens …
GRFA: Leave RED Alone
The European Parliament will begin its fall session soon, and the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) is calling on the members to vote against any changes to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). GRFA says the proposed changes are based on unproven theories and will restrict the biofuel industry’s critical access to transportation fuel markets, negatively impacting the economy and environment. …
US Biodiesel Imports Up, But So Are Exports
U.S. imports of biodiesel and biomass-based renewable diesel came in at 28.6 million gallons during June, a spike of more than 12 million gallons from May. Biodiesel Magazine reports that while the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) numbers show a lot more is coming in, the amount going out is also up, hitting 24.6 million gallons of exports in biomass-based …
Straw for Renewable Diesel Explored
A group of Finnish companies are looking into turning straw into renewable diesel. This news release from Neste Oil says the company has teamed up with Raisioagro and TTS to study the feasibility of a large-scale straw harvesting chain to make the green fuel. Microbial oil technology developed by Neste Oil enables straw to be used as a feedstock for …