Fuels America is asking people to take time to thank a veteran for everything they have done or do to keep us safe. The organization supports the greening of the military with efforts such as helping the military source their fuel from home, make the military leaner, more efficient and safer using renewable fuel. The organization is asking Americans to …
Election Insight 2012
An “Election Insight 2012” report was issued shortly following the elections on November 7, 2012 by SNR Denton, and provides interesting insights into what political issues will take the forefront in the next four years. The report highlights winners and losers both at the federal and local levels as well as provides a short list of who could take over …
Delaware Offshore Wind Project Gets Green Light
The first lease for commercial wind energy development in federal waters has been given to an offshore wind energy project approximately 11 nautical miles off the coast of Delaware. This is the first lease awarded under the Department of Interior’s “Smart from the Start” program to ensure environmentally responsible offshore wind energy development along the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. “Delaware …
CSP Plant Construction Begins in South Africa
Many in the U.S. may know Abengoa for its ethanol and cellulosic pilot plant initiatives. However, the diversified company has begun construction of two concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in South Africa: 50 megawatts (MW) solar power tower Khi Solar One and 100 MW parabolic trough plan KaXu Solar One. The two plants are just two of 28 renewable energy …
Energy Version 2.0 Website Revealed
USDA has revealed an updated version of its Energy website, launched in January 2012. The site now provides additional resources, new reporting features and investment data current through August of this year. The website is co-linked with several other USDA initiatives include their Energy Investment Maps, Renewable Energy Tool, Energy Matrix and Investment Project Reports. Some of the enhanced features of …
Sweet Biodiesel!
University of California, Berkeley scientists may have found that using a fermentation process once used to covert starch into explosives, developed by the first president of Israel, chemist Chaim Weizmann, can be used to covert starch to biodiesel. The refined process produces a mix of products that contain more energy per gallon than ethanol, and scientists believe it could be …
Field to Fryer to Fuel
Here is a new twist on an old idea: rather than simply recycling used cooking oil into biodiesel, a new initiative will locally grow canola, press the seeds into oil, deliver to local restaurants, pick up the used oil, and then repurpose it into biodiesel. The pilot project, known as Field to Fryer to Fuel (F3) received a $130,000 grant …
Last Call for Biodiesel Tax Incentive?
With the end of the year soon approaching, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is calling for the reinstating of the biodiesel tax incentive that expired at the end of 2011. With a Congressional lame duck session on the docket for mid-November, the group is encouraging biodiesel stakeholders and supporting Americans to make a final push for the support of the tax incentive. …
Solar Jobs on the Rise
The Solar Foundation (TSF) has reported in its third annual National Solar Jobs Census that the U.S. solar industry employs 119,016 people, an increase of 13.2 percent from the previous year. The solar job census measured solar industry growth between September 2011 to September 2012. Based on 2012 data collection, TSF also revised the 2011 total jobs number from 100,237 to …
Quick Cook Method Turns Algae Into Oil
Researchers from University of Michigan have developed a way to “pressure cook” algae for as little as one minute and transform up to 65 percent of the algae into biocrude. Phil Savage, a professor of chemical engineering at U of M, said the research team is trying to mimic the process nature uses when creating crude oil, and his algae …