Other News

Cellulosic ethanol producer Range Fuels has received a loan note guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and closed its related $80 million (€58.8 million) bond issuance. The proceeds from the $80 million bond will be used to partially finance the first two phases of construction of Range Fuels' first commercial cellulosic biofuels plant using renewable and sustainable…
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A sewage work upgrade project planned by UK utility provider Thames Water will also introduce an anaerobic digestion process, where solid waste is broken down in enclosed tanks in the absence of oxygen. This process forms biogas which can be used to generate renewable energy, and it is intended to produce enough energy to power the entire site. Thames Water began the £85 million (€94.7…
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Based in Denver, US, ethanol producer BioFuel Energy Corp. has had an increase in share purchases after it reported its first quarterly profit. On Tuesday at midday trading BioFuel Energy’s shares rose by 15.6% to $3.56 (€2.64). During 4Q of 2009 the company earned $6.8 million, with each share selling for 21 cents. During the same period in 2008 it lost $6.9 million. However there is…
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Renewable energy firm Jatoil will become majority shareholder in its Vietnamese jatropha plantations as it invests further into the joint venture with Green Energy Vietnam (GEV). The company hopes this investment will dramatically increase its production of jatropha oil. CEO at Jatoil Phil Hodgson said: ‘Now is the time to expand our jatropha plantings to enable the production of much…
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US vehicle manufacturer General Motors has increased annual production of flex-fuel vehicles to more than 850,000, an increase of 55% from 2006 volumes. GM offers 17 models in its 2010 lineup with flex-fuel capability, allowing them to run on E85 ethanol, petrol, or any combination of the two. More than 5 million of the 7.5 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road in North America are GM cars…
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The Brazilian Innovation Agency, FINEP (Research and Projects Financing), and Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) have entered into a new partnership to promote bioethanol development, establishing a programme which will provide up to $540 million (€438.9 million) in financing to the country’s biofuels sector. With operations scheduled to begin on 30 July the project aims to promote…
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California, US, is expected to increase the number of E85 fuelling stations and electric vehicle charging stations after receiving a $4 million (€3.3 million) grant. 75 new fuelling stations have been planned for the state, which are predicted to cut the use of petrol by over 24 million gallons annually and reduce the CO2 emissions by roughly 170,000 tonnes a year. Sacramento, San Francisco…
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The Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) has published data from the second year of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), showing that the UK has met its 3.25% target. The report shows that close to 1.6 billion litres of biofuels has been used in the UK, the equivalent of taking 500,000 million vehicles off the road. This equates to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast being car-free. The…
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Biofuels contributed to a total 4% share of all EU vehicle fuel last year. In 2009 the consumption of biofuels reached 12.1Mtoe but this needs to increase by a further 6Mtoe by the end of this year if the RED target of 5.75% is to be met. According to EurObserv’ER figures, the use of biofuels between 2008 and 2009 grew by 18.7%, compared to 2007 and 2008’s 30.3% growth and the 41.8% rise…
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Denmark-based ethanol producer Inbicon has delivered 28,500 litres of cellulosic ethanol to energy company Statoil. In what is the first delivery of many, the biofuel was dropped off at its stock tank in Hedehusene, Denmark, where it will be blended with conventional vehicle fuel later on in the year. This is just part of a total 5 million litres which Statoil bought from Inbicon in August.…
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In late 2008 Canada-based Lignol, a technology firm in the cellulosic ethanol, biochemicals and biorefining sector, signed a $30 million (€21.91 million) agreement with the US Department of Energy (DoE) relating to the construction of a commercial demonstration cellulosic ethanol plant. Now the agreement has been modified whereby approximately $4 million (previously €1.56 million) has been…
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A new 5 million-litre storage facility is being built in the Philippines. Phoenix Petroleum Philippines is constructing the P123 million (€2.045 million) terminal in Talisayan, Zamboanga City to store petroleum products including biodiesel, petrol and jet fuel to serve the demands in the south. The project was granted tax and fiscal incentives by the Board of Investments. Phoenix will…
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Construction of the Fulton, Mississippi-based cellulosic ethanol plant developed by BlueFire Renewables, a company dedicated on the production of renewable fuels from non-food cellulosic wastes, can begin construction as the final permits have now been received. The company has obtained its final air, wastewater and storm water permits from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality…
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Product chemical manufacturer JSC Mogilevkhimvolokno Organic Synthesis Factory in Mogilev, Belarus, has placed an order to construct a biodiesel plant with BDI BioEnergy International. The value of the order is just under €10 million. The biodiesel production facility, which will produce 50,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year from rapeseed oil, is planned for the city of Mogilev, which is based…
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