One of the big knocks against biodiesel (and other renewable fuels made from grains) is that production of the green fuel takes away from feed for livestock (and for people). Well, a college in Canada is trying to break that image that livestock producers and biodiesel producers can’t work together.
This story from Biodiesel Magazine says the Centre for Agricultural Renewable Energy and Sustainability at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus in Guelph, Ontario, is building a model farm-scale oilseed processing and biodiesel production plant on campus to show how soybean and pork producers can work together to produce biodiesel and feed hogs:
The project is being funded through a CAN$938,000 (US$734,000) grant from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food program, part of Ontario’s Agricultural Adaptation Council.
According to Art Schaafsma, director of the Ridgetown Campus, the facility will help researchers to understand the correct scale for an on-farm biodiesel operation, including how many acres of oilseed crops would be needed to supply feedstocks for biodiesel production and how many hogs would be needed to consume the resulting meal…
Schaafsma said researchers ultimately want to know how much farmers might gain by crushing oilseeds, and making meal and biodiesel on the farm instead of transporting the oilseeds to be sold elsewhere, or purchasing meal and biodiesel elsewhere and transporting it to the farm. Furthermore, the farm-scale, closed-loop model of farming has its detractors. “It doesn’t garner a lot of favor with the folks that argue that you have to have huge scale to be profitable,” he said. “We’re somewhat going against the stream on this.
The article goes on to say that even the glycerin from the biodiesel production could be used for heat or electricity. Since it is being set up by a college, it will be used to teach students as they help run the facility.
They’re back to calling it Kentucky Fried Chicken, and frying is certainly key to the tasty delight with those magical herbs and spices. And now that leftover waste oil from the thousands of fryers in the thousands of KFC’s around the world… about 500 gallons each month per restaurant… could be turned into biodiesel.
As if you didn’t have enough reason to go to the 2009 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, Feb. 1-4 in San Francisco, CA, there’s something for music AND biodiesel lovers.
“Biodiesel inspires me and I believe it will inspire others, especially once they get that you don’t have to make any changes to the engine to use it,” Etheridge said. “I think America is going to come back as an energy leader through renewable, sustainable fuels like biodiesel.”
Free Flow Power Corp. wants to plant thousands of small turbines underwater and use the rotation of turbine blades to produce clean energy. It has requested preliminary permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study 25 regions of the river for the feasibility of generating electricity.
Biomass will be the fuel of choice for nearly half of the energy produced by a Connecticut power plant.
New Jersey has its first retail biodiesel pump. Located in Maplewood, NJ, it’s operated by Woolley Fuel Company, and Sprague Energy Corp. is providing the biodiesel.
“While a number of fleets in New Jersey, including the Department of Transportation, have used biodiesel blends for many years, this pump opening marks the first time biodiesel will be sold directly to consumers in the state,” said Joe Jobe, NBB CEO. “We commend Woolley Fuel and Sprague Energy for their leadership in making this retail pump a reality and fully expect it to be well-received by the community.”
In October 2008, New Jersey’s Medford Township School District celebrated ten years of using B20, a 20 percent blend of biodiesel, in school buses. The retail pump will sell B5, a 5 percent blend of biodiesel. The company has plans to increase the blend to B20. Nationwide, there are more than 1,200 retail pumps selling biodiesel.
For the second year in a row, 
GAM team member and driver Steve Zadig says, “For two years in a row, Iogen has been the only firm actively producing cellulosic ethanol and able to reach into its inventory to provide us with the volume we need – enabling us to ‘go green’ again.”
The 2008 Phase II of Renewable Energy in America National Policy Forum featured Policy recommendations on renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable development, the environment and green jobs.
