Some 1,000 public buses in Shanghai, China could soon be running on biodiesel made from kitchen waste oil. The Global Times reports it’s a pilot program by the city’s Food Safety Commission Office to get rid of what is known locally as “gutter oil.” The city started requiring some restaurants and food companies to install grease traps in 2011 so …
Solar Rooftop Project Underway in Africa
CNPV Solar Power SA has announced that their 1.1 MWp supply has been selected for the one of the first large-scale rooftop projects in Namibia. Due to intermittent energy supply and high prices, families turn to diesel generators for power. Now, CNPV says its Total photovoltaic systems are helping to make solar PV solutions the primary choice when selecting new …
Malaysia Starts Biodiesel Mandate, Looks for More
Building on the success of a biodiesel mandate in the central part of the nation, Malaysia is starting a 5 percent biodiesel mandate in the southern part as well. And this article from Biodiesel Magazine says the Southeast Asian country could be looking to expand that requirement even more. [Malaysian Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities] says implementation of the …
World Energy Use to Rise by 56 Percent
According to the International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013) report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), over the next three decades, world energy consumption is projected to increase by 56 percent. This will be driven by growth in the developing world. Clean-fuel technology is also playing an important role in the outlook, with renewable energy and nuclear power expected …
Deep Water Wind Turbines Hold Energy Key
According to a new report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), “Deep Water, the next step for offshore energy,” deep water wind turbines are key to unlocking the massive energy potential in Europe’s Atlantic and Mediterranean seas and the deepest parts of the North Sea. The report finds that floating turbines in North Sea deep waters alone could power …
UK Biodiesel Pioneer Sold
One of the pioneers in biodiesel production in the UK has been sold. The BBC reports Argent Energy, a company that turns used cooking oil and animal fats into the green fuel, was bought by London-based John Swire & Sons, a green investment company. The firm will stay in private ownership and will continue to run independently. Its senior management, …
Enerfuel SA’s Portugal Biodiesel Plant Opens
Good things can come to those who wait, and a Portuguese biodiesel maker really put that saying to the test. Enerfuel S.A. has opened it’s 7.5 million gallon a year multifeedstock biodiesel plant in Sines, Portugal. Biodiesel Magazine reports the project has been some years on the making, first starting planning and construction in 2006 by Austria-based BDI-BioEnergy International AG. …
UFOP: Sustainability Ups Biodiesel Content Choices
A study from a group in Germany says sustainability certification systems have opened up market access for vegetable oils from countries outside the European Union. The study from the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP) surveyed 60 filling stations across Germany and found that rapeseed oil remains the most important raw material source for the production of …
European Wind Installs Double But Orders Weaken
The amount of new offshore wind energy installed in Europe during the first half of this year has doubled compared to a year ago, but a lack of future orders is troubling wind energy advocates there. The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) says 277 new offshore wind turbines, totalling 1,045 megawatts (MW), were connected to the grid during the first …
New FOE Study Slams Biofuels
A new study by Friends of the Earth slams biofuels and bases many of its conclusions on indirect land use change (ILUC) a hotly debated theory. The report, “Understanding the Biofuel Trade-offs between Indirect Land Use Change, Hunger and Poverty,” authored by Timothy Searchinger, relies on ILUC theory and leaves out several underlying causes of global hunger when making an …