Other News

Biomass-fuelled power plant developer Prenergy’s proposals for a 350MW wood-burning plant in Port Talbot, Wales, have been granted a draft permit by the UK’s Environment Agency. The £400 million (€465 million) plant received provisional planning permission based on the project receiving this environmental permit. Progression of the plant plans has hit a hurdle, however, with Neath Port…
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An explosion shook Columbus Foods’ biodiesel plant in Chicago, US, on 17 July, injuring two people. The injured victims, a truck driver and a plant worker, were taken to hospital for treatment. Other workers at the plant exposed to chemicals that rained on them after the blast were reportedly decontaminated. Police and fire investigators blamed the explosion to the mixture of wrong chemicals…
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A company in the central east African country of Tanzania is planning to venture into the production of biogas from waste from the sisal plant, following the successful piloting of the project at Hale Sisal Estate in Korogwe District. Segera Estates, which owns three sisal estates in the region and another in the Coast Region, is currently looking for partners to develop the biogas production…
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Biofuel made from paddy rice is now being sold at a petrol station pump in Niigata, Japan. The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations Zennoh (JA Zennoh) began sales of the biofuel, a mixture of petrol and bioethanol made from rice for animal feed, on 17 July. An annual ethanol production of about 1,000 kilolitres is expected from some 2,250 tonnes of brown rice grown in…
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Indian Railways is planning to introduce biodiesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) as locomotive fuels in an attempt to cut down on pollution says. Currently, the railways uses diesel and electricity, which is an indirect pollutant as a bulk of the country’s power capacity is coal-fired. ‘Successful trials have been carried out by using 10% blend of biodiesel on trains,’ minister of…
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Alternative energy technology company Solix Biofuels has announced that it will complete construction and begin operations at its Coyote Gulch Demonstration Facility after concluding its Series A funding (where?) Colorado, US-based Solix, a specialist in the large-scale commercialisation of microalgae-based fuels, has gained investment of $16.8 million (€11.9 million) from companies including…
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Ukraine-based Landkom International, a producer of oilseed rape and wheat, has signed an agreement with Sunfuel Ukraine, a Ukrainian specialist biofuels group to cover the sale, processing and development of a new non edible oil seed variant for biodiesel, known as Isis. Landkom and Sunfuel have jointly tested Isis in Ukraine, Europe and South Africa with leading universities and commercial fuel…
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Floridian biofuel start-up Ag-Oil plans to build a $20 million (€14.2 million) pilot-scale biodiesel production facility with the potential to produce 15 million gallons a year on Delray Beach. The biorefinery will use a patented technology to convert jatropha seeds, algae and related by-products into biodiesel fuel. The company, the recipient of a $2.5 million state renewable energy grant,…
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BP Biofuels, a subsidiary of UK energy giant BP, and US agri-tech company DuPont have formed Butamax Advanced Biofuels to accelerate biobutanol commercialisation. BP and DuPont have conducted four years of extensive technology development and fuel testing. The technology demonstration facility located at the BP Saltend site in Hull, UK, is planned to be operational in 2010. The first…
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The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) has announced a number of clean energy projects, including biogas, and funding in the developed world. REEEP provided €667,500 in seed funding for eight new finance projects to accelerate the clean energy market in these countries. Microfinance facilities are a way to open up access to energy services for the rural poor. REEEP…
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Researchers at the US’ Argonne National Laboratory are studying a systems approach to sustainable biomass feedstock production. If implemented the approach could mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of biomass for biofuels production on food crops, help restore contaminated water resources and reduce the cost of transporting biomass. In the study, agricultural, energy and…
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Energy company Cello Energy has received a court order to pay $10.4 million (€7.4 million) over allegations the firm fraudulently claimed it could produce cheap fuel from hay, waste wood and other material. A jury ruled that Cello Energy, owned by a former head of the Alabama Ethics Commission, was liable for breach of contract with New York-based paper company Parsons & Whittemore,…
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Bache Commodities Group has launched the Bache Commodity Green Index (BCGI) to offer investors a tool to invest in commodities with a focus on biofuels. The BCGI comprises two components: the Bache Biofuel Composite and Bache Clear Air Composite. The Bache Biofuel Composite includes agricultural commodities such as corn and sugar used for ethanol production, along with oilseeds used for…
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The UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Renewable Transport Fuels Group will host a meeting on 6 July at the House of Commons in London starting at 16:30 p.m. The role of the All-Party Group is to provide a forum for parliamentarians and other interested parties to generate informed discussion on the role of all renewable transport fuels, including biofuels, hydrogen, and electric vehicles in…
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