A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Trade Ambassador Michael Froman this week urging him to examine opportunities to reduce any tariffs on U.S. produced energy, including ethanol, during the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-Tip) negotiations. “The U.S. ethanol industry has been unfairly targeted by the EU for increased duties (on ethanol) which have subsequently eliminated …
$3.50 May Be New ‘Corn Norm’
The impact of corn prices varies between producers in different divisions of agriculture, with some producers benefiting from higher prices, and some benefiting from lower prices. Many factors seem to demonstrate that the new long-term “normal” for corn prices may be $3.50 per bushel, and Cody Heller, CEO of Central Wisconsin Ag Services (CWAS), has offered his insight into the …
Gevo, Porta Building Isobutanol Plants in Argentina
Renewable energy technology company Gevo, Inc. has inked a deal with South American alcohol maker Porta Hnos S.A. to build several isobutanol plants in Argentina. This Gevo news release says they plan to use corn as a feedstock. The first plant is to be wholly owned by Porta and is anticipated to begin producing isobutanol in 2017. The plant is …
New Zealand to Get First Major Biodiesel Plant
New Zealand will soon get its first industrial-scale biodiesel plant. This article from Radio New Zealand says the Z Energy plant will produce the green fuel from animal fat and is expected to make about 5 million gallons of biodiesel per year when it opens in June. While the planned 20 million litre production will be just a fraction of …
Construction Well Underway at UK Biomass Plant
They broke ground last month, and now construction is well underway at a new biomass plant in the UK. This news release from Glennmont Partners says its Port Clarence Renewable Energy Plant is a $227 million power station expected to enter commercial operation in 2018. The 40MW plant is being built on land which has lain empty for many years …
Waste Fat Biodiesel to Power London Buses
About one-third of London’s buses will soon be running on biodiesel made from animal fat waste. This article from the Guardian says two bus operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will get the green fuel from Argent Energy at a 20 percent biodiesel (B20) blend. By March next year, almost 3,000 of the capital’s 8,900 buses will be powered by the B20 …
Tafila Wind Farm Helps to Power Jordan
The Tafila Wind farm is now online and helping to power Jordan and the Middle East. This 117 MW wind farm is the first and largest utility wind power plant in the country, and is directly connected to the national grid. Estimates find that the farm should produce 400 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year. The project is in line with …
Shell Uses Football + Solar to Create Energy
Shell has been working on some creative ways to create renewable energy and one of their latest projects has been unveiled in Africa using human energy and solar power to create electricity. Music star Akon helped to bring attention to the project at the Federal College of Education in Akoka, Lagos. The new pitch is part of Shell’s #makethefuture program. …
U.S. & Britain Partner to Power Up Africa
Bringing reliable, renewable power to Africans has been an ongoing conversation around the climate talks in Paris this month. Both the U.S. and the UK have programs with goals to do just this. Going forward, however, the programs will be power amplified with the new collaboration between the two countries. The partnership was announced during COP21 by UK International Development …
Global Geothermal Alliance Launched at #COP21
As a means to increase geothermal energy globally, this week during the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, (COP21) a coalition of 38 countries along with 20 development and industry partners have launched the Global Geothermal Alliance (GGA). The nonprofit was organized by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and was founded with the goal of achieving a 500 percent …