Other News

In Argentina, Nestor Lopez, president of Agrupacion de Colaboracion San Antonio, has opened the company's first biodiesel plant. Mayor Francisco Guiterrez and industry secretary William Gardella also attended the ceremony. The plant, which is currently running at 30% capacity, can produce biodiesel from a variety of fat and oil feedstocks. The company's vice president Diego Lopez says the…
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Renewable products company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has achieved the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) to supply sustainably grown soyabeans to the European market. ADM will be the first company to provide Europe with ISCC-certified sustainable soya that meets the requirements of the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED). By the end of 2011 ADM aims to produce up to…
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Canadian waste-to-biofuels company Enerkem has closed C$29 million (€21 million) in additional financing through corporate equity (C$14.5 million) and corporate debt (C$14.2 million) transactions. As part of the equity financing round, The Westly Group, Fondaction CSN and Quince Associates join existing investors Valero Energy, Waste Management, Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures and…
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In India, Southern Biodiesel Technologies is to build a biodiesel plant in Devanahalli. This plant comes hot on the heels of the state's first biodiesel production facility, which was put into operation on 20 February this year in Peenya Industrial Area. The new plant will produce 50 tonnes a day of biodiesel. According to the company's director, Abhishek Mudram, the unit could be up and running…
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US-based enzyme developer Verenium has repurchased approximately $5.2 million (€3.6 million) in principal amount of its 5.5% Notes and approximately $3 million in principal amount of 9% Notes. 'We are very pleased to have taken another important step toward creating a capital structure that is appropriate to support the continued growth and success of the company,' says Jeffrey Black, senior…
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In the US, projects designed to restore and protect wetlands in the Northern Everglades Watershed could receive funding from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the government of Florida. The grants will support a number of projects, including the INEOS New Planet BioEnergy plant in Vero Beach. A loan guarantee from the USDA went towards the construction of this facility, which now…
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In the Philippines, commercial operations at the Roxhol Bioenergy ethanol plant in Negros Occidental province have been delayed, after production was due to start on 1 July 2011. Operations are now due to start in August/September, when the plant will begin producing 100,000 litres a day of ethanol from molasses. Although talks have been held regarding the sale of ethanol produced at the plant,…
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Petrobras approved its 2011-2015 Business Plan on 22 July 2011. Under the new plan, the Brazilian energy company's total energy investments during this period will reach $224.7 billion (€155 billion). This is the largest business plan in the oil and gas industry, in addition to the largest investment made by a single company. The company's share in the exploration and production (E&P)…
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In Straubing, Germany, chemicals company Süd-Chemie has broken ground on what will be the nation's largest cellulosic ethanol plant. By Q4 2011, the plant is expected to be producing 1,000 tonnes a year of cellulosic ethanol from locally sourced agricultural waste, including wheat straw. Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs, Martin Zeil, was present at the ceremony, which took place on 26…
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In the US, using inefficient farmland to grow perennial grasses instead of corn for the production of ethanol can yield increased volumes of corn and higher ethanol output per acre, according to a new report. The move would also see a reduction in the levels of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. The study, which is published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, found that…
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Maple Energy, an integrated energy company, is expected to complete construction and begin commercial operations at its ongoing ethanol project in Q4 2011. The $254 million (€175 million) greenfield ethanol project, located in Peru, consists of a 7,800 hectare sugarcane plantation and an ethanol plant, which will be able to produce 35 million gallons a year of ethanol from 5,000 tonnes a day…
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In the US, the state of New Jersey's first biodiesel-powered school bus has hit the sack, after being retired in June at the end of the 2010/2011 school year. The bus, which could be nation's first to run on a blend of 20% biodiesel (B20), had been in operation since 1998, during which time it consumed more than 28,000 gallons of biodiesel. 'Similar to the biodiesel industry, the bus certainly…
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In British Columbia, Canada, a commercial-scale biodiesel plant has been officially opened, following a grand opening ceremony on 27 July 2011. Based in the Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, the new plant will enable the Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-operative to supply biodiesel from locally sourced feedstocks. Previously, the co-op was providing its customers with cooking oil-derived biodiesel that…
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