Other News

In the US, members of the tax-writing committees Senate Finance and House Ways and Means have been urged to create a 30% investment tax credit for upcoming commercial biorefinery builds. The leaders of the House and Senate tax-writing board received a letter from 32 biofuels companies and trade groups which believe that this investment tax credit is crucial to boost the biofuels industry, after…
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With 135 million litres of ethanol being manufactured from six sugar factories in India it looks like the country’s production of biofuels is on the up. The ethanol is blended with petrol in order to comply with India’s 10% ethanol target by the end of 2011. According to the state’s Biofuel Task Force president Y B Ramakrishna, ‘There is a target of increasing the use of ethanol to 10%…
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US president Barack Obama is introducing new energy policies that will see an increased use of advanced biofuels in the country’s military vehicles. According to Obama these energy strategies will not only help protect the environment, but will also go towards protecting national security. He said: ‘Our military leaders recognise the security imperative of increasing the use of alternative…
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US-based ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy is set to purchase numerous agribusiness companies located in west Tennessee, US. These include five grain elevators situated in Como, Dyer, Kenton, Trenton, and Union City, Tennessee, and have the capacity to store 11.7 million bushels. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Green Plains Renewable Energy, Green Plains Grain Company TN, will be the…
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Following a meeting held on 6 May this year in São Paulo, Brazil, ten organisations have come together to form the Brazilian Alliance for Aviation Biofuels with a vision to promote public and private initiatives that seek to develop and certify sustainable biofuels for aviation. The ten groups forming the alliance include Algae Biotechnology, Amyris Brazil, the Brazilian Association of…
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In Port Kuantan, Malaysia, Australia-based Mission NewEnergy has commissioned its second 75mgy Axens second generation biodiesel transesterification refinery. During the performance tests, the plant achieved its nameplate capacity and met all guaranteed performance parameters, and Mission is in discussions with its turnkey contractor, KNM Process Systems, to finalise the handover of the…
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The construction of biomethanol producer BioMCN’s second generation biofuel plant has been completed and began operations on Friday 25 June. Located in the city of Delfzijl, the Netherlands, BioMCN’s plant has the capacity to produce 250 million litres of biomethanol annually and is thought to be the largest in the world. Rob Voncken, director at BioMCN, said: ‘There is a lot of demand,…
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The US department of energy (DoE) will pump $106 million (€82 million) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment into six projects which will convert captured carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial sources into useful products such as fuel, plastics, cement, and fertilisers. The funds were matched with $156 million in private cost-share. Converting captured CO2 into products such as…
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Ethanol producer Aventine Renewable Energy has recently completed the acquisition of an ethanol plant in Illinois, US. Aventine purchased the Canton-based facility and all of Riverland’s remaining assets for $16.5 million (€12.8 million). Commenting on the deal, which closed on 6 August 2010, the CEO of Aventine Torn Manuel said: ‘This is an exciting opportunity to acquire a 38 million…
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In Hereford, Texas, US, oil and gas production firm Murphy Oil has acquired an ethanol production facility that was formerly owned by Panda Ethanol. Construction work was continuously postponed due to delays and financial issues but the VP of Murphy Oil Mindy West explained that it will finish work on the plant before operations are expected to start by the end of 2010. It has been estimated…
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Buffalo Lake Energy has received a $285,000 (€204,000) fine from the US-based Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for operations at its ethanol plant in Fairmont. Since operations began in June 2008 the facility has breached the conditions of its air and water quality permits. The most significant violation came when Buffalo Lake Energy constructed and ran an alternative system for…
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China's biodiesel producing power is growing following the news of China Integrated Energy’s acquisition of a 50,000-tonne biodiesel production facility in Chongqing City. The company expects to ramp up production and distribution of biodiesel product from the former Chongqing Tianrun Energy Development facility immediately after the acquisition. The acquired facility uses…
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With its ability to be blended with conventional fossil fuels without the need for a new type of engine, drop-in fuel is a major part of the biofuels industry right now. In a move that will see the production of drop-in jet fuel, New Zealand-based biofuel firm LanzaTech is to work with the US DoE. Working with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) LanzaTech will produce drop-in jet…
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In the US, Kansas city-based Spectrum Business Ventures has acquired an ethanol production plant in Mead, Nebraska. The plant was formerly owned by E3 Biofuels – Mead but Spectrum purchased the company’s assets out of bankruptcy. The $90 million (€67.9 million) facility, called the Genesis Complex, was launched back in 2007, however full-time operations failed to commence after E3…
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