Four cabinet-level officials will be participating in the upcoming Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008), scheduled to take place March 4-6, 2008, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Stephen Johnson are all scheduled to address WIREC 2008, the third global ministerial-level conference on renewable energy, following events in Beijing in 2005 and Bonn in 2004.
Members of the Bush cabinet and other leaders from around the world will address such topics as the benefits of large-scale renewable energy deployment on energy security; climate change; air quality and economic growth; multiple policy options and best practices that encourage and enable accelerated renewable energy up-take; and advancing the networks and partnerships to explore and initiate renewable energy projects.
The Southern Waste Information eXchange and the Florida BioFuels Association are sponsoring the 1st Annual 
The conference will provide a forum for informing the public and private sectors of the economic and environmental benefits of converting waste materials to alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol as well as energy recovery. 
The first E85 station for the state of Mississippi is scheduled to open later this month.
Ford’s Fuel off I-20 in Newton is pleased to be offering the fuel at 
Research into additional oilseeds to make into biodiesel is gaining more popularity, especially as the cost for soybean oil, currently the most commonly used feedstock, soars to record levels.
“We are hearing more and more positive talk when it comes to biodiesels, even more so than corn for ethanol,” Aakre said. “One of the advantages of biodiesel is the potential for individual farmers or a small group of farmers to produce their own fuel in a much simpler technology than ethanol.”
Rep. Alan Freeman, R-Macon, said House Bill 1174 would help farmers and agribusinesses in Georgia’s small but growing biofuel industry. With co-sponsors that include the Democratic minority leader and the governor’s floor leader, Freeman said he hopes the measure can win passage.
Jack Purdy, who has farmed in Woodstock for more than 30 years, now also is the owner of P.K. Biodiesel — a plant on his farm that makes fuel from soybean oil.
Now I can tell you that algae as an additional feedstock for biodiesel was a hot topic of discussion at the recent National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida. In fact, the last general session of the conference included a discussion of the various feedstocks, including talk about how algae could produce a thousand gallons of oil for every acre grown. 
The statement from the 25x’25 Alliance says, “environmentally sensitive lands should not be exploited in pursuit of renewable fuels. In fact, we have long held that the growing increase in demand for energy, along with food, feed and fiber, can be met with a boost in production facilitated by advances in technology.”
This is the third ethanol plant investment for The Andersons, according to CEO Mike Anderson. “Locating in Darke County, the largest corn-producing county in the state, is ideal and the community’s reception has been exceptional. In addition to providing a viable alternative fuel source for our country, we look forward to serving the local farming community through corn sourcing and high-quality distillers dried grains.”