Other News

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to focus on renewable fuels during his state visit to Beijing, hoping to team up with China to develop biofuels. Lula stressed his priorities for the visit was to focus on renewable fuels, especially ethanol and bio-diesel. The two developing countries already have strong trade ties. Brazil has been promoting its ethanol technology to…
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Baystate Biofuels, a Massachusetts-based company, is preparing to open the first full-scale commercial biodiesel terminal in the state. The construction of the terminal in North Andover will begin by the end of May and is expected to begin selling environmentally friendly biodiesel by the September. The company plans to distribute biodiesel to oil companies seeking to comply with…
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German biodiesel producer Petrotec has announced that it has undertaken an internal restructuring programme that is likely to lead to the release of more than 20 employees within the coming days. It says the restructuring programme is deemed necessary to ensure the company’s survival. Spokesman of the Board of German biodiesel producer Petrotec, Roger Böing, has stepped down from his…
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At least four new power stations being planned around the UK are considering turning to burning vegetable oils with the assurance that they will generate less pollution than burning fossil fuels. Two of the power stations would power more than 50,000 homes are considering burning palm oil, which is blamed for causing rainforest destruction in south-east Asia. W4B Energy has submitted a…
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India Emami Biotech is planning to extend its biodiesel sales in Calcutta with the introduction of mobile biodiesel dispensing units. The company has applied for approval from various authorities, and initially plans to launch two to three units with the number rising depending on the feedback. The move is seen as an attempt by the company, one of the major bio-diesel makers in the country, to…
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Commodity merchant Louis Dreyfus Commodities has begun operation at its new 100 million gallon ethanol plant at Grand Junction, Iowa. The new plant is the second ethanol plant opened this week in the state of Iowa, and will produce 100 million gallons of ethanol and 300,000 tonnes of distillers grains annually. A week ago Homeland Energy Solutions opened another new facility at New Hampton. …
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The Brazilian government will deliberate over plans to increase the local biodiesel blending level from 3% to 4% in July this year. As a world leader in the production of soyabean oil, the implications of these new plans will result in sharply reducing its export. If the new mandate is implemented the export of soyabean oil from Brazil may be ruled out during the second half of 2009. Brazil…
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The EU has become the main importer of Argentine biodiesel since December, 2008, replacing the US as the sole buyer in April 2009. The prominent companies in the sector are Renova, Ecofuel, Louis Dreyfus Commodities, and Explore.
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Ecopellets, an Ireland-based supplier of wood pellet fuel, is investing more than €110 million in the development of a biomass complex and wind farm in Wales, UK. Ecopellets intends to apply for planning permission for a wood-biomass electricity plant and a four turbine commercial wind farm. The biomass plant and wind farm will be designed to generate 40 MW of electricity, which is enough…
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Shell, Total, Mercuria Energy trading, Vopak, Oiltanking, Dong Energy, Swedish Energy Agency, TNO, Neste Oil, Ecopetrol, Pertamina, Petrom, UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, EOP Biodiesel, Solvay Solexis and Petrotec are just some of the companies registered to attend the 2nd annual Biofuels International expo & conference 2009 on 27-28 May in Amsterdam. Want to meet all these…
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Construction on a €30 million biogas plant in Croatia, Europe’s largest, began on 14 May. The plant will be located at Ovcara farm outside the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar. The project has been initiated by Vukovar-based Bionergija company, established by a local Vupik agribusiness and several Croatian and foreign entrepreneurs. The future plant, which should be built by the end of…
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In Rialto, California, Rentech has announced plans to build a 9 million gallon a year renewable diesel plant that will produce 35 MW of power. The plant will provide enough power to supply 30,000 homes, and is expected to be up and running by 2012. The plant is expected to adhere to the new standards set by the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard, using biomass gasification technology provided…
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State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has entered a partnership with the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for a pilot project to produce cellulosic ethanol from agricultural and wood wastes. IOC will invest $4 million (€2.92 million) for the pilot, while NREL has also signed an agreement with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy regarding the production and distribution of…
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Krajowa Spolka Cukrowa (KSC), Poland's biggest sugar producer, announced plans to turn two of its closed sugar factories into plants producing biofuels and bioenergy by end of 2011. The estimated costs of the project are 110 million zlotys (€24.7 million) for the sugar plant in Wozuczyn and 162 million zlotys for the Lapy plant. The state-owned company is watching the example of its…
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