Mark your calendar for October 1st and 2nd for the third annual Alternative Energy Symposium held at the campus of Chicago State University.
The event is put on by the folks at American Science Technology‘s Center for Alternative Energy Technology (CAET):
Renewable and sustainable energy derived from natural resources could hold the key to the United States not only reducing its reliance on foreign oil, but also reducing its impact on the global environment. CAET is a joint initiative between Chicago-based American Science and Technology (AST) and Chicago State University (CSU), established in 2006, in the south-side of Chicago, to perform basic and applied research to evaluate, develop, and commercialize alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, as well as alternative energy technologies such as fuel-cells, and energy harvesting from solar, wind, and other natural resources.
The symposium will highlight the work so far by the CSU and AST scientists as well as other work by researchers at universities and laboratories from around the world.
It’s open to the public, and you can get more information and register here.
A car that is part Prius Hybrid, part algae-biodiesel burner, has completed a 3,750-mile trip from San Francisco to New York City… the first cross-country trip running on a blend of algae-based gasoline in an unmodified engine.
The trip was sponsored by the Veggie Van Organization, the group founded by movie producer and biodiesel advocate Josh Tickell that is dedicated to moving the country away from petroleum. The trip was also to celebrate the nationwide opening of Tickell’s film FUEL, which aims to inspire green energy solution thinking, such as the Algaeus.
Since May, eight sweet sorghum varieties have been growing on a Wicomico County farm for evaluation as potential stock for ethanol production on the Delmarva peninsula. Dr. Samuel Geleta of Salisbury Univerisity’s Biological Sciences Department says about half of the varieties have already been harvested, with the rest to be finished by mid-October. Some of the plants grew to a height of 12 feet. He said sweet sorghum is attractive because it is drought resistant, fast-growing and has low nutrient and fertilization requirements. “Sweet sorghum can be grown on marginal land with less fertilizer and water as compared to corn,” Geleta said. “Since sweet sorghum juice contains simple sugar, producing ethanol from it simply requires extracting the juice and fermenting.”
Any good beer drinker knows that hops are primarily used to make beer and the vast majority of hops grown world wide are used by breweries. The top hops producing country is Germany, followed by the United States. Hops are used extensively in brewing today mainly because they balance the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing a variety of desirable flavors and aromas, but also because they have an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over less desirable microorganisms. 
“If EPA insists on counting the angels on the head of a pin, it needs to do so on every pin and that includes the indirect impacts of petroleum production and use,” said Renewable Fuels Association Bob Dinneen. “All energy choices come with trade-offs. By focusing solely on the impacts of biofuels, EPA has created shell game only petroleum can win. EPA must revisit its proposed rule, make its methodologies and calculations transparent, and redraft a program that is fair and workable for all parties. EPA’s current version fails on all counts.”
BP expects biofuels to displace 25 percent of fuel in the U.S. in the next two decades, the head of BP’s alternative energy unit said. 
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The lowly alfalfa crop could play a role in the future of cellulosic ethanol. 
Pioneer Director of Alfalfa Research Dave Miller says they believe cellulosic ethanol will need multiple feedstocks and alfalfa is a good fit for a number of reasons. “It’s great for crop rotation, its environmental benefits in terms of lack of soil erosion because it’s deep rooted and a perennial are well known, and it fixes nitrogen.”
Clear your calendar for a