Other News

In the US, with the Navy’s plans to cut its use of fossil fuel and convert to using biofuels for ships, aircrafts and everything in between, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Navy. This is a promise between both organisations to work together. The memorandum of understanding has been signed in the hope that this will lead to increased use of…
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A proposed biomass plant in Scott County, Indiana, has created chaos and outcry amongst locals. The $100 million (€73 million) Liberty Green Renewables plant will burn untreated and unpainted woodchips that will generate electricity to supply to utilities across the region. Liberty Green also plans to construct another biomass plant in Crawford County, near Milltown, and the proposed permits…
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EDG Fuels is due to open a new biodiesel plant on 13 March 2010, based in Tucson, Arizona, US. The facility will begin operations by producing 3 million gallons of biodiesel a year and it is hoped this will expand to 6 million gallons the following year. Used cooking oil will be collected and converted into biodiesel. According to EDG Fuels, the oil will be obtained from businesses based in…
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Biodiesel blends are now available at the BP fuel terminal in Ottumwa, Iowa, US. The BP fuel terminal is just one of six BP terminals offering biodiesel in the state. Customers can purchase a biodiesel mix ranging from B5 to B20 or more. The facility comes after Renewable Energy Group (REG) received an $80,000 (€58,600) DoE grant and built a 30,000-gallon biodiesel storage tank. Every load…
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A plant proposed for the city of Gretna, Florida, US, has been suspended for a period of six months. The proposal was filed by Adage and the company has requested for the state Department of Environmental Protection to delay working on its application. Work has halted work on the Gretna project. Proposal for the refinery was submitted in December 2009 but received negative reactions from over…
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On the island on Java, Indonesia, London-based investment firm Aston Lloyd will be leasing 10,000 hectares of marginal land that will be used to grow a hybrid of jatropha. With its ability to live without excess amounts of water, the drought-resistant jatropha plant thrives in Indonesia’s climate and the government is aiming to have 1.5 million hectares of jatropha under cultivation by the…
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Petrojam Ethanol Limited (PEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrojam Limited, has ceased its production of ethanol, idling its 40 million gallon-a-year plant based in Jamaica. The facility was shut down due to the lack of raw material being delivered from Brazilian trading company Coimex. ‘The government must accept full responsibility for this state of affairs’, said energy spokesman…
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Valero Services, a subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation, and ethanol technology producer Algenol Biofuels are to embark on a joint development agreement. The two companies are keen to manufacture biofuels and chemicals through the marriage of Valero’s expertise in the sector and Algenol’s Direct to Ethanol technology. If all goes well the signed agreement could lead to a joint venture…
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Since December 31 2009 the US’ 173 biodiesel plants had almost ceased production following the expiration of the $1-a-gallon (€0.8) biodiesel tax credit. Now the US House of Representatives has passed a legislation to extend the credit until the end of 2010. While President Obama cannot sign the legislation into law before it has received approval from the US Senate, a spokesman for the…
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In a bid to boost local biofuels producers Germany wants to increase the level of ethanol that can be blended with conventional petrol. The move would benefit domestic producers such as bioethanol manufacturer CropEnergies AG. Clemens Neuman, head of the ministry’s section dedicated to sustainable agriculture and forestry, explained that the ethanol blend, which currently stands at 5%, would…
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In Taubate, Brazil, biofuel producer BioVerde Industria e Commercio de Biocumbustiveis SA is to purchase Companhia Petroquimica do Nordeste (Copenor) for 23.5 million reais (€10.3 million). The acquisition comes as BioVerde aims to dramatically increase its biodiesel production capacity 14 times over by Q4 2011. By June 2012 the company wants to be producing 1.2 billion litres of biodiesel.…
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On 11 August 2010 biobutanol firm Cobalt Technologies signed an agreement with Fluor Corporation. As part of the agreement Fluor will provide engineering consulting services as Cobalt prepares to commercialise its biobutanol production technology. ‘Fluor’s experience in designing and executing large projects, particularly refining projects, is unmatched in the world, said CEO at Cobalt…
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The building and engineering work is expected to commence on energy production company Fulcrum Bioenergy’s new ethanol plant in the US. Planned for Nevada, the production facility will convert 90,000 tonnes of household waste into 10.5 million gallons of biofuel a year for use in cars and trucks. The plant will create job opportunities for around 550 people.
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Sweden has 310 million litres of installed ethanol capacity using a range of feedstocks including cereals, raw alcohol and pulp. Now a new research project is examining a new feedstock: corn waste. Swedish ethanol producer Sekab and Swedish technology specialist Taurus Energy will begin a two-month trial on ethanol production from corn waste in October in partnership with two Swedish…
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