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Detroit, Michigan-based DTE Energy has announced that it is converting its fleet of 800 service trucks and vehicles to biodiesel.

A company press release says the energy company that serves 3.5 million customers will be able to serve them just a little bit greener:

“Converting to biodiesel is a win-win for DTE Energy and the environment,” said Bill Pettit, director of fleet administration and operation for the company. “Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable and nontoxic. By using this recycled fuel, we’ll be able to reduce emissions and help move DTE Energy toward a ‘greener’ motor vehicle fleet.”

“DTE Energy has 800 diesel-fueled vehicles ranging from construction equipment and bucket trucks to light duty vehicles,” Pettit said. “Converting our fleet to biodiesel is the environmental equivalent of taking about 120 of those vehicles off the road and out of service,” Pettit said.

DTE Energy expects to save $600,000 a year using biodiesel.

The biodiesel-powered speed boat, the Earthrace, was two days ahead of schedule to set a record for circumnavigating the globe as it has just finished its leg across the Atlantic Ocean… docking in San Juan, Puerto Rico after traveling 3,300 nautical miles from Sagunto, Spain.

This story from Powerboat-World.com says the first part of the journey was pretty exciting:

This journey was not without its moments. 24 hours short of the Azores, Earthrace lost her autopilot hydraulic pump and the crew had to hand steer, then her starboard fuel lift pump starved her of fuel and she slowed for the last hours of the leg.

The carbon fibre hatch lid was temporarily repaired with a hydraulic jack braced against a bunk to hold it closed.

Now that it has stopped in Puerto Rico, the troubles aren’t necessarily over for the Earthrace. It’s Spanish biodiesel was not dockside as expected and delayed for 24 hours the next leg by 24 hours. The good news is: it’s given the crew some time to make some much-needed repairs.

You can follow the Earthrace’s progress at www.earthrace.net.

Opponents of biofuels like to bang the drum of doom and gloom saying how green products, such as biodiesel, are causing world food shortages… especially in developing countries.

But this article from Medill Reports – Chicago says that one man is helping poorer countries, such as Haiti, develop alternative energy solutions without tapping into those nations’ precious food supplies:

Now, many around the world are blaming biofuels, including biodiesel, for increasing international food prices and leading to starvation in developing nations just like Haiti.

Haitians currently use the plant for fencing because it is thorny and inedible, so goats stay away from it. But Rice and others see a possible cash crop in jatropha for biodiesel that could bring investment and jobs to a nation that greatly needs both.

The article goes on to say that Rice’s family has been producing biodiesel for three generations, so he knows plenty about the business. He also realizes that the price of the main feedstock, soybean oil, has tripled in the last three years. That’s why he sees additional feedstocks, such as jatropha, as important… especially for the Developing World.

For a while, we’ve been telling you about one of the hottest trends in the biodiesel business: turning algae into biodiesel.

This entry from C|Net.com’s Green Tech Blog says that at least three companies are close to making the green pond scum into green fuel with even more close on their heels. Florida-based PetroAlgae wants to test a commercial algae-biodiesel system next year, while GreenFuel Technologies and Solazyme (both previously featured on this blog… GreenFuel on October 3, 2007 and Solazyme as recently as last April 17th) say they’re close to commercial applications as well. In addition California-based LiveFuels has a target of 100 million gallons of biodiesel from algae in the next two years. All of this is very good news for the very green fuel source:

These companies are pursuing algae because its potential as a fuel is so promising: it’s a non-food crop, removes large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air, and grows fast.

“What’s happening is there has been more focus recently on the food-versus-fuel debate, more focus on the price of feedstock, and more understanding that using an agricultural-based crop as a fuel is not sustainable,” said Michael Weaver, the CEO and co-founder of Seattle-area algae start-up Bionavitas. “We’re seeing that reflected in the marketplace.”

Experts admit that algae is not a panacea for all the issues facing biodiesel. It’s still an experimental process, and just like any new venture, the article points out there have been some growing pains. But many agree that it will be just a matter of time before the non-food algae becomes a major player in the biodiesel market.

So often lately, we’ve heard from biofuels naysayers who make all kinds of outrageous charges about how biodiesel and ethanol are pushing prices for human and livestock food through the roof. Too many times those complaints are coming from folks in the agriculture community, especially cattle and hog producers. But some are starting to recognize that biodiesel could actually help the price of livestock feed.

Recently at a hearing before the Missouri House’s Transportation Committee on a pending 5 percent biodiesel mandate in the Show-Me State, members of the Missouri Dairy Association spoke up about the benefits of the green fuel:

“The Missouri Dairy Association supports biodiesel and this bill,” said [executive director Dave] Drennan. “As more soybeans are crushed to meet the demands of biodiesel producers, more soybean meal is made available to livestock producers in greater quantities. Affordable feed is important to maintaining any dairy operation. By increasing the supply of soybean meal, biodiesel helps dairy producers keep costs down.”

“If you put that much milk in tanker trucks end-to-end, the line would stretch westward from downtown St. Louis past Salina, Kansas,” said Drennan. “We are talking millions of dollars in transportation costs alone. We could put that money to work in Missouri if we could grow our dairy industry and use more biodiesel.”

Research from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri says that while soybean oil prices have been strengthened by biodiesel production, the process has meant more soybean meal, and thus, lower prices for the livestock feed.

So the next time someone tries to blame biodiesel for the high cost of feed, you’ll have one more fact… and another group of livestock producers… to prove them wrong.