Other News

The results of VeraSun’s US bankruptcy court hearing could determine a new floor price for ethanol plants on the bankruptcy auction block. If the judge approves a suite of bids on VeraSun Energy 17 facilities, buyers interested in other distressed ethanol assets might hope to pay the same low prices offered by VeraSun's suitors. VeraSun accepted bids on 17 March totalling $993 million…
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US ethanol producer Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings has warned it has defaulted on some debt payments and could be seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Shares for the company fell to $0.12 (€0.09) on the news. The company is seeking equity financing or a buyer for all or part of the company, but will choose bankruptcy if those efforts fail. Aventine operates ethanol plants in Pekin…
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Brazilian company Uniduto Logistica will begin building the first phase of a major Brazilian ethanol pipeline in April 2010, with operations due for 2011-2012. The pipeline will run from Brazil's main sugarcane-producing region in Sao Paulo state to the port of Santos. The first phase has a budget of 1.8 billion reais (€603 million) to build 600km of pipeline. Uniduto was created…
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Craton Equity Partners, a Southern California, US-based clean technology fund, has made a commitment of $10 million (€7.9 million) to Principle Energy Limited (PEL), a sustainable biofuel development company with projects that target sub-Saharan Africa. PEL is developing a sugarcane ethanol operation in Mozambique. The project is expected to manufacture around 60 million gallons of ethanol a…
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Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), India’s second-largest state-owned oil refining and marketing company, is increasing activities in the ethanol sector. An investment of Rs 600 crore (€91.3 million) has been lined up by the company to re-start the two sugar mills it has acquired in Bihar. Apart from sugar, the mills will produce ethanol and generate around 100MW of power using bagasse in…
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Biofuel Industries Group’s NextDiesel Adrian, Michigan-based biofuel plant may shut down operations when its current stock of material is gone, the company’s CEO says. The rising cost of production and falling price of oil have contributed to a decrease in the demand for alternative fuels. ‘The current cost of inputs to make the company’s product and the market price of diesel fuel make…
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Finland-based natural gas importer and retailer Gasum and bioenergy company Biovakka have agreed to partner on biogas projects. The collaboration will bring about the production of biogas for transmission via the natural gas network for use as transport fuel. The first biogas facility in an area within the natural gas network is planned for Nastola at an investment of €10 million. The…
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The Glenturret distillery in Perthshire, Scotland, producer of Famous Grouse whisky, is partaking in a demonstration project to convert boiler exhaust gas into oil that can be used as a biodiesel. Scottish Bioenergy Ventures, which is leading the project, is embarking on an expanded algae reactor system to consume the carbon dioxide. The next phase of the project starting in Q3 this year should…
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Finland-based refiner Neste Oil has announced its S$1.2 billion (€615 million) renewable diesel plant in Singapore is set to be complete by June 2010. Production on the 800,000 tonnes per year plant is anticipated for Q3 2010. The NExBTL plant will use feedstock such as animal fat, palm oil and other types of vegetable oils. The firm plans to hire up to 60 people by the end of this year for…
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Boston, US-based Mascoma’s demonstration facility in Rome, New York, started producing ethanol from non-food cellulosic biomass on 25 February. The plant has a production capacity of 200,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year. Construction on the plant began in early 2008 and was completed by December. The demonstration facility can run on different biomass feedstocks, including wood…
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Indonesia and South Korea have agreed to develop a seaweed-based biofuel in an attempt to encourage green energy in the two countries. The use of seaweed is gaining support from environmentalists who have criticised the use of land-based raw materials such as palm oil, maize and sugarcane as causing deforestation across Indonesia's tropical forests. Indonesia's vast sea territory and…
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Biodiesel start-up company SarTec has announced it expects its production facility in Minnesota, US, to begin operations in Q2 this year. The capacity of the plant will reach approximately 3 million gallons a year operating with the name Ever Cat Fuels. In 2008 Augsburg College and SarTec announced the discovery of a chemical process that could help develop a new type of biofuel. Researchers…
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Texas-based Global Alternative Fuels will expand its El Paso biodiesel plant from 5 mgy to 15 mgy. The company is finalising the engineering for the $12 million (€9.5 million) expansion. The producer plans to break ground in Q2. ‘Our current infrastructure allows for a fast implementation schedule,’ Carlos Guzmán, president and CEO of Global Alternative Fuels, comments. ‘We're…
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Lionel Clarke, Global strategic programme manager for Innovation at Shell Global Solutions, joins the list of 40 high level speakers at Biofuels International expo & conference 2009. Shell is a world leader in R&D into next generation biofuels. Its technology division Shell Global Solutions has a dedicated bio-team working at several centres around the world and has forged multiple…
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