
Sep 4, 2009
Milligan Bio-Tech proves Canada can count on canola
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Sep 3, 2009
Excess pressure is said to be the cause of the eruption which occurred on 26 August at the plant at Edathala.
At least three other persons were rescued from the site, with six workers believed to be trapped in the waste at one stage.
According to the officials, the biogas plant, which was being erected by a private firm, was nearing commission.
The plant was being... [Read More]
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Sep 3, 2009
Just south of the US ethanol power-house, Mexico is looking to ramp-up its own renewable fuel production.
Mexico’s state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) will invite tenders next month for a contract to produce 176 million litres a year of ethanol.
The bidding round, which will be concluded in December, aims to promote ethanol as a transportation fuel as part of a... [Read More]
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Sep 3, 2009
Vancouver-based Northwest Renewables is planning to build a 24MW biomass direct combustion electric power plant.
Construction on the $72.5 million (€50.7 million) facility will begin next year.
Various wood-waste sources, including wood chips and hog fuel, would be burned to generate steam. The high pressure steam would drive a turbine to churn out power.
The company... [Read More]
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Sep 3, 2009
Australia’s parliament has ruled that 20% of the country’s electricity production must come from renewable sources by 2020.
The bill quadruples the renewable energy target set by the previous government in 2001. The new target matches that of the European Union, the world’s leader in green power technology.
The target would provide enough clean electricity to... [Read More]
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Sep 3, 2009
Global marine terminal operator DP World announced last week its acquisition of a majority stake in Embraport, the largest Brazilian private multi-modal port terminal in the city of Santos.
The deal is the fruit of DP World’s partnership with Brazilian engineering and construction company Odebrecht, and marks its entry into the Brazilian market. ‘This is an unparalleled... [Read More]
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Sep 1, 2009
South African company First In Spec, which was established last year, is to build three biodiesel plants in South Africa in the next four years.
The company is to invest R1.5 billion (€135 million) in the construction of three plants to convert waste cooking oil to biodiesel. The first, to be built in the port town of Richards Bay, on the east coast, is projected to... [Read More]
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Sep 1, 2009
The national legislature of Cyprus is considering amending a law banning the promotion or use of biofuels produced from genetically modified crops.
The European Commission (EC) has approached the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a ruling on whether the Cypriot law breaches European Law banning unauthorised trade sanctions. If, as widely expected, the ECJ rules against... [Read More]
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Sep 1, 2009
Biodiesel producer Biopetrol has announced a drop in turnover in the first half of 2009 of 50% since the equivalent period in 2008. The company blames increases taxed on biodiesel in Germany and a large volume of indirectly subsidised biodiesel from Argentina.
Biopetrol, which underwent major financial restructuring in April, announced that its turnover in the first... [Read More]
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Aug 28, 2009
Energy secretary Steven Chu has appropriated $300 million (€209 million) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the Clean Cities programme, which aims to reduce the US’ dependence on fossil fuels and stimulate the development of alternative energy.
Final details of the allocation has yet to be decided, but Chu has announced that the cash will help to... [Read More]
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Aug 27, 2009
In Scotland, a consortium of existing managers and Souter investments has bought out Argent Energy, which was the UK’s only commercial-scale biodiesel refinery when it opened in Motherwell in 2005.
The consortium purchased the shares of a group of investors led by Cinven, which has backed the project since its inception in 2001.
‘Since we started production we have... [Read More]
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Aug 27, 2009
Husky Energy has been awarded a grant of CA$72.8 million (€46.5 million) from the Canadian Government towards the cost of its ethanol plant in Minnedosa, Manitoba.
The plant, which produces ethanol from corn, has a capacity of 130 million litres a year.
The award will be funded under the CA$1.5 billion ecoENERGY scheme, which provides new plants with investment for... [Read More]
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Aug 27, 2009
The upcoming Biofuels International expo & conference, being held in Singapore on 19-20th November is now in association with Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW), a platform for international and regional policy makers, industry players, and academics to discuss pertinent energy issues and strategies affecting the world today.
SIEW is co-hosted by Energy Market... [Read More]
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Aug 26, 2009
American Energy Enterprises, a new company based in the US state of Connecticut, believes that a proposed new plant will allow it to produce cellulosic ethanol from wood waste at $0.80-0.85 (€0.56-60) a US gallon.
The company has reached an agreement with Perdue University to use a special strain of yeast engineered to digest cellulose: the company believes this will... [Read More]
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Aug 26, 2009
Petrobras, Brazil’s largest oil company, is in talks about the possible purchase of a controlling stake in Brenco, a Brazilian ethanol producer backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and America Online (AOL) founder Steve Case.
Brenco was reported to be considering the offer alongside two others, including one proposing a merger with ETH Bioenergia, an ethanol producer... [Read More]
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Aug 26, 2009
Forget corn and soyabeans, a new source of biofuels may leave producers salivating.
Sub-standard watermelon is being eyed as a potential feedstock owing to its high sugar content and the fact it can be readily distilled into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery.
The news that retailers reject 360,000 tons of sub-standard fruit annually in the US alone provides the... [Read More]
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Aug 26, 2009
UK-based Vogen Energy is planning to bring online a biomass-fuelled power station in Newport, Wales, UK.
The local council is currently deliberating permission for the 25 megawatt power station which will power around 44,000 homes from sustainably sourced vegetable oils.
The operators are hoping to house the plant on a 4.7 acre brown field site near the city’s South... [Read More]