News

The Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has approved a project proposal put forward by Pond Biofuels that includes funding for its biomass from algae demonstration plant. The proposal was submitted under the Asia-Pacific Partnership (APP) on Clean Development and Climate programme. Along with the biomass plant in Ontario, Canada, the project also includes a feasibility study to assess…
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Envirotek’s Extreme Bio-Diesel facility in California, US, is now in full production after completing the first phase of its refinery expansion. The plant is currently producing 4,000 gallons of biodiesel a day and plans to increase to 10,000 gallons a day by the end of the first quarter of 2010. The plant’s expansion was expected to be completed by January 2010 but has been completed…
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The deal was done less than a month ago and now the plant Zenergy International acquired from Greenlight Biofuels is due to undergo expansion. Capacity will double from 5 to 10 million gallons a year with Zenergy investing in an additional biofuel reactor with the potential to double profit. The Littlefield, Texas, plant is situated on 40 acres of productive land and processes waste vegetable…
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Pigs might not fly, but chickens could. Illinois, US-based Elevance Renewable Sciences plans to build a $15 million (€10.5 million) that will use plant oils and poultry fat to create jet fuel. The project, funded in part by $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, could get the final go-ahead by late January. Construction of the plant would create up to 50 jobs, and seven or so…
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Canada’s forest industry has been hit hard by the recession. Now increasing efforts could resurrect the industry as it branches out to renewable energy. Dimethyl ether, or DME is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide that can be produced from biomass, natural gas or coal. DME has the potential to replace diesel fuel because it produces 95% fewer greenhouse gases, no soot, low levels of…
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In the UK, Scottish Water Horizons, the commercial arm of Scottish Water, has received an anaerobic digestion tank that will turn food waste into energy at its Deerdykes Organics Recycling facility in Cumbernauld. From Q2 next year, the £7 million (€7.83 million) food recycling unit will turn 30,000 tonnes of solid and liquid food waste into around 8,000 megawatts of power each year, enough…
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Sugarcane ethanol powerhouse Brazil might just have a whole new market to sweeten up. The South American nation is likely to take advantage of China’s agreement to lower the tariff on imports of ethanol to 5% from the previous 30%. The Finance Ministry announced the new import tax for alcohol and other spirits denatured of any strength will be effective from 1 January 2010. However, traders…
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In Brazil Petrobras’ biofuels arm Petrobras Biocombustivel has acquired a 40.4% stake in Total Agroindustria Canavieira. The $84 million (€58 million) move enables Petrobras Biocombustivel, originally a biodiesel producer, to enter the ethanol business. Total runs an ethanol mill in the city of Bambui, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, with total capacity of 100 million litres a year of…
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In Argentina, Ledesma has announced it will invest $37 million (€25.8 million) to produce ethanol from sugarcane. The sum will enhance sugarcane cultivation, expand a distillery, and install a dehydrator to produce ethanol for the Argentine market. The initiative is part of the $222 million investment package planned by the agro-industrial complex for 2008-2011.
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In Japan an affiliate of Toyota Motor corporation will grow jatropha to use its oil as an alternative fuel in 2010. Toyota Tsusho is in negotiations with a Philippine banana plantation to introduce the non-edible feedstock. Toyota Tsusho bought a stake in Singapore-based seed researcher JOIL(S) this year to develop a better plant after erratic yields prompted BP and rivals to pull out of…
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All good things come to an end. The biodiesel tax incentive in the US is set to expire on 31 December 2009, but a report released by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) shows a continuation of the credit is vital to avoid damage to the industry and the economy. The study, which was conducted by economic analyst John M. Urbanchuk, examined the economic impact of the biodiesel industry and the…
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A biofuel joint venture between Ineos Bio and New Planet Energy has received $50 million (€45.2 million) from the US Department of Energy (DoE). The JV’s commercial-scale biofuel and renewable power facility in Vero Beach, Florida, will be operational by late 2011 with construction expected to begin in 2Q 2010. The Ineos New Planet BioEnergy joint venture will own and operate the commercial…
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It has been a long wait but now Europe's largest biorefinery operated by Ensus in Teesside, UK, is due to begin production within weeks. The £250 million (€276.5 million) refinery will produce ethanol from wheat, processing 1.2 million tonnes of animal feed wheat a year. Under a 10-year agreement, Shell will buy all the plant's annual output of 400 million litres of bioethanol to…
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