News

Iowa State University has received a $2.37 million (€1.74 million) grant from the Iowa Power Fund to replace natural gas usage in ethanol plants with biomass gasification technology. The project will examine the production of ethanol from syngas. It will also study more efficient burners to use the syngas production from biomass gasification for thermal energy or for combined heat and power…
Read More »

President-elect Barack Obama has elaborated his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan with a target to further expand the US’ renewable energy sector. ‘To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will double renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient,’ Obama said on Saturday 3 January. Next…
Read More »

US state Pennsylvania has signed a letter of agreement with 10 other eastern states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels and other sources by developing a regional low carbon fuel standard. Vehicles using low carbon transport fuels include cars fuelled with biodiesel and ethanol, especially cellulosic ethanol made from non-food plant materials; and those powered by…
Read More »

Pennsylvania, US-based Thar Technologies plans to build a biodiesel plant in Rajasthan, India, using the region's karanj and jatropha crops. Karanj is a herb commonly found in India. The region has a policy to give 30% of wasteland to private companies seeking to grow the two biodiesel feedstocks. Thar plans to grow some of its own feedstock and buy the rest from area farmers. The company…
Read More »

A total of 8,900 biogas plants will be built in 2009 generating 2,700 megawatts (MW) of electricity worldwide. Globally, Asia is leading with 34% of total capacity and Europe with 26%, followed by NAFTA and others, a survey conducted by Helmut Kaiser Consultancy in November says. Biogas from by-products and combinations is the most efficient form of renewable energy and therefore not affected…
Read More »

New Zealand will repeal a requirement for biofuel blends and implement tax breaks on fuels derived from proven sustainable sources instead. The fuel sale directive, rising to 2.5% of annual sales by 2012, will be revoked under legislation to be voted on later this week, Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee says. Retailers will continue to sell blended products and the government will prepare tax…
Read More »

Malaysia’s transport and industrial sectors will run mandatorily on biodiesel from January 2010, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui has announced. From February 2009, government vehicles will start using biodiesel with the Envo Diesel Esther (B5) brand, a blend of 5% palm oil and 95% diesel. ‘We expect that by 2010 an estimated 500,000 tonnes of…
Read More »

Chicago, US-based biofuel group Coskata is searching for a partner to set up a multi-million-dollar ethanol conversion plant in Victoria, Australia, capable of producing up to 200 million litres of the fuel a year for use in cars. The company is looking for sources of waste material in Australia that it could feed into the process. This includes food and garden scraps gathered from household…
Read More »

Clean technologies investment company Ludgate Environmental Fund has invested €3 million into agri.capital, a specialist developer, owner and operator of biogas plants in Germany. The investment has been structured as 8% preferred stock with detachable warrants and is part of a €10 million funding round into agri.capital with Valiance Special Situations Fund investing alongside…
Read More »

Japan Airlines (JAL) will be the first airline to conduct a demonstration flight using camelina-based biofuel, planned for 30 January 2009 at Haneda Airport, Tokyo. A blend of 50% biofuel and 50% traditional Jet-A jet (kerosene) fuel will be tested in one of the four Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines of a JAL-owned Boeing 747-300 aircraft. The biofuel component to be used will be a mixture of…
Read More »

The Canadian province of Alberta will implement renewable fuel standards as part of a provincial energy strategy. Beginning in 2010 Alberta will require regular fuel to contain 5% ethanol, and diesel to contain 2% renewable diesel. The blending requirements are in line with federal standards to reduce carbon emissions. The province has set aside CA$239 million (€140 million) to support the…
Read More »

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Food for Progress programme has funded a biodiesel facility in Guatemala. The Biodiesel Mazat Agui facility in the country’s coastal region of Escuintla began operations this month. The Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University was also involved in establishing the cooperative biodiesel plant, which will use…
Read More »

New York-headquartered clean technology development company GreenShift has received a $38 million (€26 million) investment to produce biodiesel from corn oil extracted from ethanol plants. GreenShift will receive the investment in a new GreenShift joint venture subsidiary that will use the proceeds to build 12 corn oil extraction facilities and to expand the capacity of GreenShift's…
Read More »