A collaborative effort has produced a yeast strain that speeds up the process of making ethanol from cellulosic materials. Researchers at the University of Illinois, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley, Seoul National University and the oil company BP worked together to develop the newly engineered yeast strain that can simultaneously consume two types of sugar …
Research to Study Impact of Ethanol on Older Vehicles
Kettering University in Flint, Michigan is one of several that have been tapped by the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the impact of higher ethanol blends on older vehicles. The use of up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline for 2007 model year vehicles or newer has been approved by the federal government, while the use of E15 in …
Offshore Wind Could Boost Ontario’s Economy
In a new study released by The Conference Board of Canada and financed by the wind company Vestas Offshore, the development of offshore wind farms could boost Ontario’s economy by $4.8 billion to $5.5 billion a year between 2013-2026. During the same time frame, development could lead to a total of $10 billion in capital investment and operations spending and …
Investments in G-20 Clean Power Projects Could Top $2.3 Trillion
Private funds have been difficult to secure in the U.S. for clean energy programs for the past year; however, on a global scale, private investments in G-20 clean power projects could total more than $2.3 trillion by the end of this decade alone. This figure was released as part of a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts this month: …
An Unusual Competitor To Biofuels?
According to an interesting article published in Zootaxaca, a taxonomy journal, scientists have unveiled an unusual competitor with humans for switchgrass, an energy crop with great potential for biofuels, the Blastobasis repartella moth. South Dakota State University entomologist Paul Johnson and agronomist Arvid Boe, along with other researchers, are studing the moth whose larvae are born into the stems of …
Is Natural Gas A Viable Partner In the Low-Carbon Future?
Is, and should, natural gas be a viable partner in the movement to a low-carbon future? This was the question asked and answered in a new report published by the Worldwatch Institute and authored by Worldwatch Sustainable Energy Fellow Saya Kitasei. “Powering the Low-Carbon Economy: The Once and Future Roles of Renewable Energy and Natural Gas,” concludes that natural gas …
Gene Find Could Boost Cellulosic Ethanol Production
The discovery of a new gene could help in the production of cellulosic ethanol. Purdue University scientists have found the last undiscovered gene responsible for the production of the amino acid phenylalanine, a discovery that could lead to processes to control the amino acid to boost plants’ nutritional values and produce better biofuel feedstocks. The researchers have determined that the …
Duke Discovers Breakthough Gene for Grasses to Biofuels
Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) believes that it has altered a gene in perennial grasses to help them develop more robust roots speeding up the timeline for creating biofuels. According to Philip Benfey, the director of the IGSP Center for Systems Biology, says that perennial grasses for biofuels are advantageous because they can be harvested repeatedly. However, …
Oil to Run Dry Before Biofuels Run Freely
According to a new report by researchers at the University of California, Davis, at the current pace of research and development, global oil supplies will run out 90 years before replacement technologies are ready. The study was based on stock market expectations and was published in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology. The paper, “Future Sustainability Forecasting by Exchange …
What’s Next for Alternative Energy?
Many reports in the past year have come out and determined that alternative energy such as wind and solar will have a major impact by 2030. However, in a new report released today, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) says that the impact could happen sooner than others predict. “What’s Next for Alternative Energy?” examines seven influential and promising alternative energy …