Other News

Eucalyptus has been found to be a promising option as a biomass feedstock for the production of liquid fuel, as researchers from the US Department of Energy's (DoE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have identified a tree that releases more than twice the usual amount of sugar. The trees being studied by NREL are lignin-modified eucalyptus lines that have been developed for research by…
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In Canada, renewable energy producer Rentech is looking to develop a biomass plant in White River, Ontario that will produce jet fuel and create 400 fulltime jobs. 'This will be the largest renewable clean jet fuel programme in the world,' says the CEO of RenTech Hunt Ramsbottom. 'This will be the first of its kind where the province, the federal government, local communities and a private…
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At around 11am on 20 April 2011, a tanker transporting ethanol in Cheatham County, Tennessee in the US was involved in a crash, which left the vehicle overturned and leaking the fuel onto the Interstate 24. Both the eastbound and westbound lanes were closed as teams threw sand over the spill to contain it. The spill was later contained but the cleanup continued. It was reported that a car and a…
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Papua New Guinea-headquartered New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL), a large-scale integrated industrial producer of sustainable palm oil in Australasia, and agribusiness group Wilmar International have agreed to set up an integrated supply chain and joint marketing agreement to supply Europe with fully traceable and segregated sustainable palm oil from NBPOL's Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)…
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In California, US, the California Energy Commission has given a $1.88 million (€1.3 million) grant to AE Advanced Fuels Keyes, the wholly owned subsidiary of AE Biofuels. According to AE Biofuels, the funding will be used to develop the commercialisation of its enzyme-based technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol. The company's new facility will be developed close by to its…
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Privately owned company Greenergy is to start reducing the levels of waste sent to landfill and has partnered with waste food recycling company Brocklesby to produce biodiesel from food leftovers. In a bid to reduce the environmental impact of the fuel that the company produces, while also creating a new alternative source of fuel, the joint venture will covert edible oils and unsalable food into…
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South Africa's AGZAM Project Developers has made one of the largest investments into a sector outside of the mining industry, in Zambia. The company is planning to build a $251 million (€175.65 million) sugar and ethanol facility after it signed a deal with the nation at the end of March 2011. Work on the biofuel plant is slated to begin in May this year before operations start in 2013. 'The…
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Energy supplier Sprague Energy of White Plains, New York, in the US, and privately owned Biodico have launched a pilot programme – Bio Genset – that will encourage the use of biodiesel and biodiesel blends in diesel-powered generators and power units, with a goal to reduce emissions from diesel fuel generators, decrease the dependence on foreign oil and promote local jobs. The New…
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M&G, a Novozymes partner, conducted the groundbreaking ceremony for an ethanol plant on 12 April 2011. Located in Crescentino, Italy, the production facility will produce 13 million gallons a year of cellulosic ethanol from wheat straw, energy crops and other forms of biomass. It is due to start production in 2012. 'Laying the foundation for the world's first commercial-scale ethanol plant…
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In Mount Vernon, Indiana, US, ethanol producer Aventine Renewable Energy's ethanol plant was officially opened on 6 April 2011. The news comes after construction came to an end when Aventine became bankrupt. However it recovered in March 2010 and construction on the Mount Vernon facility commenced. Building work on the project finished in November 2010 and operations began on 1 December 2010.…
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'Renewable energy systems', as defined in the Rural Energy for America Programme (REAP), will now also include flexible fuel pumps, which the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will fund the installation of. The new rule, which was announced by US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on 8 April 2011, is expected to encourage more installations of these 'blender pumps', which in turn will provide…
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to award bioenergy and biobased products with research grants in order to further the development of sustainable projects. After the selection process, the chosen projects will implement sustainable regional systems for the production of biofuels. The projects to receive the grant aree based in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia,…
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In Peru, biodiesel producer Heaven Petroleum Operators SAC is to invest $186 million (€130 million) in jatropha cultivation. Heaven Petroleum's subsidiary Bio Agro Heaven del Sur SAC will develop the project, which will take place on 50,000 hectares of land in Ica region. The jatropha grown under the project will then be used in the production of biodiesel at the company's biodiesel plant in…
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