Memorial Day may be over but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think about our veterans for another year. This past holiday, Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) and the FlexFuel Vehicle Awareness Campaign partnered with the Volunteers of Underage Military Service (VUMS) with a procession of ethanol and hybrid electric vehicles in a Memorial Day parade in Washington, D.C. The purpose …
New Study Assesses Wood For Biofuels
Wood waste has been one of the feedstocks most studied for viability as a biofuel. Today a new study evaluates the promise of wood waste biofuels by reviewing 12 technologies and 36 projects that convert wood to fuels including ethanol, butanol, diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel. This particular area of research has garnered strong public and private investment and drop-in …
Rancho California Water District to Add Solar
The Rancho California Water District (RCWD) is going solar. They have hired SunPower to design and construct two solar power systems that will total 1.7 megawatts (mW) at two of their facilities. It is anticipated that the solar systems will save RCWD nearly $8.5 million in energy costs over the next 25 years. Back in 2009, SunPower completed a 1.1 …
BioJet & Abundant Biofuels Merge
It’s official. BioJet International, a developer of bio jet fuels, and Abundant Biofuels Corporation, an integrated feedstock development company, have merged. With this merger in place, Abundant is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BioJet but its affiliates will continue to operate under the Abundant name and brand. Abundant is best known for its Philippine Jatropha Project and today has …
City of Tucson Doubles Solar Power
The City of Tucson, Arizona has doubled its solar power capacity through a completed project in partnership with the Tucson Water Department, Trico Electric and SunPower Corp. The 1-megawatt, ground-mounted solar power system was designed and built by SunPower and located on former agricultural land located within Tuscon Water Department’s underground water storage and recovery facility. In addition to the …
Wind Industry Takes Step to Protect Wildlife
The wind energy industry has joined forces with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to develop a wind energy habitat conservation plan for the Midwest Region. Harm to animals, especially birds, has been a concern of people opposed to wind energy. Today, the group that includes the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), has signed an agreement to develop a …
ABO Goes to Washington
The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) may be relatively young, having been formed in March of 2006, but they have made some significant strides in Washington, D.C. in lobbying for advanced biofuels such as algae, to play on the same field as cellulosic biofuels. I caught up with Mary Rosenthal, ABO’s executive director after her multi-day trip to D.C. to learn …
Corn Ethanol Policy Forum Held in DC
There have been numerous Senates hearings recently discussing elements of the country’s energy plan. A recent forum on Corn Ethanol Policy took place in the 112th Congress. While the forum was not broadcast, expected to give the opening remarks were Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Representative Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Representative Earl Blumenauer. Flake’s aniti-ethanol amendment was passed in the House …
NBB Protests EU Extension of Tariffs on US Biodiesel
European Union members have voted to extend current tariffs on U.S. biodiesel, and that violates the group’s own laws, according to the National Biodiesel Board. This Reuters article posted on ForexPros.com says EU officials accuse U.S. exporters of smuggling biodiesel through Canada to avoid tariffs imposed since 2009: “We think this would be a bad decision that runs directly counter …
Manitoba’s Largest Wind Farm Goes Online
Manitoba, Canada is now the proud province of a new wind farm. The 138 megawatt (MW) St. Joseph Wind project has been completed by the Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern) and should generate enough power to meet the electricity needs of 50,000 homes in the Manitoba area. Pattern and Manitoba Hydro have entered into a 27-year power purchase agreement for …