The House and Senate Armed Services Committees finalized the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (NDAA) yesterday and today Congress stood behind the military by passing the Act without including controversial proposals that would have banned the Department of Defense from expanding its use of advanced biofuels. In response to the passage, Jim Greenwood, CEO and president of the Biotechnology …
Iowa Ethanol Production Holds Steady
Ethanol production in Iowa held steady during 2012 according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). During the year, 41 ethanol plants produced 3.7 billion gallons during 2012, matching 2011 production. This is around 28 percent of total ethanol production in the U.S. for the year. This is the first time since 2002 where production did not increase year to …
EnterSolar Solar Project Completed in Delaware
EnterSolar has completed a 185 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of Ultrachem Inc.’s corporate headquarters in New Castle, Deleware. Motech panels were used for the solar system that will generate approximately 200,000 kilowatt hours per year, enough energy to supply all the building’s yearly energy needs. The project is participating in the Delaware SREC Pilot Program and …
BlendStar Completes Construction
Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE)’s subsidiary BlendStar LLC has completed construction and begun operations at its 96-car unit train terminal in Birmingham, Alabama. BNSF Railway, who will serve the terminal, has a throughput capacity of 300 million gallons ethanol annually. “We are pleased to announce the start-up of operations at the Birmingham terminal, which will provide more efficient distribution of …
Spring Valley Wins Wind Project of Year
POWER-GEN International has awarded Spring Valley Wind facility in Ely, Nevada Wind Project of the Year Award. Owned by Pattern Energy Group, the 151.8 MW project is the first wind project on public land and also the first wind project in the state of Nevada. “We are honored that Spring Valley has received the prestigious Wind Project of the Year Award; …
UMaine’s Floating Wind Turbine Project Gets $4M
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center the first phase of a potential $93.2 million grant to develop an offshore floating wind demonstration project. The demonstration project will de-risk the UMaine’s VolturnUS floating platform so that more private capital can flow in to Maine to build larger commercial farms. During the …
Tom Buis to Give Keynote at IRFA Summit
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis has been selected to give the keynote address during the 7th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit and Trade Show taking place on January 30, 2013. The summit is hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) and will be held at Meadows Conference Center at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. According to IRFA, under Buis, …
Solazyme Project in Iowa Achieves Milestone
Solazyme has confirmed they have completed several initial fermentation runs at ADM’s facility in Clinton, Iowa. According to the company, the runs achieved commercial scale production metrics, exhibited linear scalability of its process from laboratory scale, and demonstrated the ability to run at this scale without contamination. The fermentation process is one of the critical steps needed to convert feedstock …
“Icebreaker” Offshore Wind Farm Wins $4M Grant
The country’s only fresh water offshore wind farm known as “Icebreaker” has been awarded $4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The project is led by the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDC0). Through a one-year cooperative agreement, the DOE has committed $4 million to support the continued development of the project that will consist of …
Online Bioenergy Systems Class Set for Spring 2013
With the success of its online bioenergy classes, the Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER) in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois (U of I), is offering the online class Bioenergy Systems (ACES 409) for the Spring 2013 semester. The class begins on January 15, 2013 and ends on May 7, 2013 …