Friday, June 30, 2006

BP and DuPont Announce Partnership to Develop Advanced Biofuels

BP Global - Press - BP and DuPont Announce Partnership to Develop Advanced Biofuels:
June 2006
"The first product to market will be biobutanol, which will be introduced in the United Kingdom as a gasoline bio-component. Initial introduction is targeted in the UK in 2007 where BP and DuPont are working with British Sugar, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc, to convert the country's first ethanol fermentation facility to produce biobutanol. "

Thursday, June 29, 2006

The Ethanol Investment Craze

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | The Ethanol Investment Craze:
by Russell Hasan -- June 26, 2006
"The investment interest in ethanol is borderline frenzy. This is dangerous, because investors seem to be pouring in money just on the basis of seeing the word 'ethanol,' without any detailed understanding of the corn ethanol industry and factors affecting the ethanol market. "

Southwest Daily Times, News from Liberal and Seward County, Kansas

Liberal Online - Southwest Daily Times, News from Liberal and Seward County, Kansas:
by Tina Bridenstine --
"Members of the community, especially in the Hayne area, have expressed some concern about the possibility of an ethanol plant being constructed locally.
However, Conestoga Energy Partners LLC President Nick Hatcher said the plant won't be the nuisance some people think it will be. On the contrary, Hatcher believes it will have a positive impact."

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Boosting Biomass-to...Butanol?

Green Car Congress: Boosting Biomass-to...Butanol?: "20 July 2005 -- From Ohio to California and back on butanol.
An Ohio inventor has taken to the road to promote butanol as an alternative fuel to ethanol as well as his process for producing it from the anaerobic fermentation of biomass waste. The two-stage, dual-path process, which relies on two different Clostridia strains (earlier post), also yields hydrogen as a product. "

Bio-Butanol Production Process

R-Squared: Bio-Butanol:
May 1, 2006
"Bio-Butanol versus Bio-Ethanol"

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Ethanol war brewing

Business 2.0: Ethanol war brewing - Jun. 23, 2006:
by Chris Taylor
"Grain alcohol is seen as the new gasoline. But which recipe is the one for investors to bet on?"

Ethanol Facility Powered by Renewable Energy from Dairy Waste

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Ethanol Facility Powered by Renewable Energy from Dairy Waste:
June 26, 2006
"'Based on Bion's ratio forecast between herd concentration and ethanol production, it appears that both heat energy and ethanol co-product can be in balance in an environmentally sustainable manner,' said John Ewen of Ardour Capital, an advisor to Bion."

Super ethanol is on its way (Cellulosic)

Truth About Trade & Technology - Super ethanol is on its way:
by Steven Hargreaves
"New York (CNNMoney.com) � Cellulosic ethanol, the biofuel that differs from corn-based ethanol in that it can be made from pretty much any organic matter, has made an impression among people who matter."

Monday, June 26, 2006

A Range of Estimates on Ethanol's Benefits

A Range of Estimates on Ethanol's Benefits - New York Times:
by Alexei Barrionuevo -- June 25, 2006
"The choice of what fuel to use to run an ethanol plant will also play a role in determining its ultimate energy efficiency. In Hereford, Tex., White Energy expects to use natural gas to power its ethanol plant, while another Dallas-based company, Panda Energy International, plans to use Hereford's ample supplies of cow manure as fuel. "

Friday, June 23, 2006

Dupont, BP to Prouce Biobutanol Fuel from sugar beets & more

JournalStar.com:
by Randall Chase, AP -- June 20, 2006
"DOVER, Del. � Chemical maker DuPont said Tuesday it will begin marketing biofuels for the transportation sector next year through a partnership with oil company BP PLC."

SunOptra Cellulosic Refineries to Produce Ethanol and Butanol

CNW Group: "The SunOpta Bioprocess Group has been designing, building and optimizing
biomass conversion plants for over thirty years. End products include
cellulosic ethanol, cellulosic butanol, xylitol and dietary fibre for human
consumption. Raw materials include wheat straw, corn stover, grasses, oat
hulls, wood chips and sugarcane bagasse."

BP Pledges $500 Million for Energy Biosciences Institute

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | BP Pledges $500 Million for Energy Biosciences Institute:
June 21, 2006
"The Institute would focus on developing biofuel components and improving the efficiency of current blends, devising technologies to accelerate conversion of organic matter to biofuel, and using plant science to develop species that produce a higher yield of energy molecules and can be grown on land not suitable for food production."

Thursday, June 22, 2006

DuPont shares rally after butanol partnership with BP - MarketWatch

DuPont shares rally after butanol partnership with BP - MarketWatch:
by Shawn Langlois -- June 21, 2006
"SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- DuPont Co. shares gained as much as 5% Wednesday as Wall Street weighed long-term prospects of the chemical giant's partnership with BP to make biobutanol, an alternative to corn-based ethanol in the red-hot fuel additive market."

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Chevron Commits $12 M to Research Cellulosic Biofuels and Hydrogen

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Chevron Commits $12 M to Research Cellulosic Biofuels and Hydrogen:
June 19, 2006
"San Ramon, California [RenewableEnergyAcccess.com] Chevron Corporation and the Georgia Institute of Technology will pursue advanced technology aimed at making cellulosic biofuels and hydrogen viable transportation fuels. "

Switchgrass Burn Test Proves Hopeful

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Switchgrass Burn Test Proves Hopeful:
June 19, 2006
"For all its hype, there are few actual examples of its use. This week, however, brought news of a successful and promising application of switchgrass crops co-fired with coal. "

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Goldman, Gates Bet Ethanol Won't Repeat '80's Style Bust

Bloomberg.com: Latin America:
May 25, 2006
"May 25 (Bloomberg) -- A quarter-mile procession of trucks piled high with corn trundles concussively over the ruts on Distillery Road in the farm town of Pekin, Illinois, 163 miles south of Chicago. "

Malta Bend, Missouri: Biofuel boom town

Columbia Missourian - Biofuel boom town:
by Leslie Parker -- June 18, 2006
"Business is thriving in Malta Bend since the ethanol plant opened there two years ago. Farmers earn more per bushel of corn, and merchants are serving more customers."

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Minnesota Becomes First State to Endorse an Electric-Alcohol Strategy

ILSR Columns: Kicking Our Oil Addiction:�Minnesota Becomes First State to Endorse an Electric-Alcohol Strategy:
ILSR -- June 8, 2006
"Minneapolis, MN -- Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has signed into law H.F. 3718, the nation's first law promoting plug-in hybrid, flexible-fueled vehicles.
The legislation, inspired by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's report A Better Way that proposed an electricity-alcohol transportation energy strategy, and several articles by ILSR staff published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in late 2005, sailed through both houses by a unanimous vote."

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

It's the liquid fuel, stupid

It's the liquid fuel, stupid - The Boston Globe:
by Scott Lehigh -- June 13, 2006
"LAST YEAR, when Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa told me that ethanol was emerging as a cost-effective solution to our energy problems, I was dubious."

Fla. oil executive plans to reopen old Tarkio College in Missouri

Fla. oil executive plans to reopen old Tarkio College in Missouri:
PalmBeachPost.com
"TARKIO, Mo. -- A Florida oil executive plans to transform the old Tarkio College campus in northwest Missouri into a science-focused private college, school officials have announced.
Chad Meek currently runs Clarity Resource, an oil and gas exploration company in Orlando, Fla. Now, he said he's ready to assume a new role as chief executive officer of a new private school to be called the Midwestern Institute of Energy."

Monday, June 12, 2006

Vinod Khosla Presenting on Biofuels

This video of a speech by Sun Microsystems founder Vinod Khosla is well worth watching. It presents a plausible scenario for replacing much of our fossil fuel transportation fuels with cellulosic ethanol. It's a little over an hour long. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed: Vinod Khosla Presenting on Biofuels

Worldwatch institute Report Supports Biofuels

peopleandplanet.net; bright future for biofuels, says report:
June 12, 2006
"The report recommends policies to accelerate the development of biofuels, while maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks."

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Louisiana Company to Break Ground on Cellulosic Ethanol Refinery

TheInd.com - News | Business | Culture - Weekly - Lafayette LA:
by Mary Tutwiler -- June 7, 2006
"Rudy Fogleman, general manager for BCI Louisiana, a subsidiary of private company Celunol, says BCI Louisiana has been researching and developing ways to convert biomass into ethanol. 'We actually have an operating pilot plant, and we're in the early stages of developing a commercial biomass plant on the scale of 1-2 million gallons of ethanol a year,' says Fogleman. The company plans to break ground at the end of the summer, and the plant should be completed in about eight months."

Company Plans to Mass-Produce Cellulosic Ethanol Distilleries

The Austin Chronicle: News: Ethanol Usage, Production Heat Up in Texas:
by Daniel Mottola -- June 9, 2006
"'It is our goal that the U.S. be fuel-independent in five to eight years from our efforts, along with that of others in the field,' said George Oerther, president of BioFuels Energy Corporation, located in the Rio Grande Valley town of Raymondville. His company is developing a 12-million-gallon-per-year plant and capabilities to mass-produce smaller cellulosic ethanol distilleries."

Digging into the Ethanol Energy Balance Debate

WSJ.com - The Numbers Guy:
by Carl Bialik -- June 9, 2006
"Broin Cos., based in Sioux Falls, S.D., has pioneered a method to convert corn to ethanol at 90 degrees, rather than the previous 230 to 250 degrees, improving energy efficiency by 10% to 12%, according to co-founder and Chief Executive Jeff Broin. And E3 Biofuels LLC is finding ways to get more out of all parts of the corn, by building plants near dairy farms and feeding cows the byproducts of ethanol processing, then using energy from the animal waste to help power the plants."

Greenspan Backs Cellulosic Ethanol

DesMoinesRegister.com:
June 8, 2006
"Ethanol made from crop waste, switchgrass and other biomass, known as cellulosic ethanol, 'would help to wean us of our petroleum dependence,' Greenspan said Wednesday in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Ethanol Car Beats Fuel Cells to Win European Eco-marathon

More proof that cars can be designed to run quite efficiently on ethanol. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Ethanol Car Beats Fuel Cells to Win European Eco-marathon

Cargill, ADM differ on agriculture's priority

Pantagraph.com - Business - Cargill, ADM differ on agriculture's priority:
by Steve Karnowski, AP -- 5/30/2006
"MINNEAPOLIS -- One agribusiness giant is enthusiastic about using farmland to produce fuel. Another says growing food should be the top priority for those fields."

Chevron Pursues Opportunities in Emerging Biofuels Sector

Chevron Press Release - Chevron Pursues Opportunities in Emerging Biofuels Sector:
"SAN RAMON, Calif., May 31, 2006 -- Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) said it has formed a biofuels business unit to advance technology and pursue commercial opportunities related to the production and distribution of ethanol and biodiesel in the United States. "

Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Project Could Surpass 700 MW

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Project Could Surpass 700 MW:
by Jesse Broehl -- 6/5/2006
"Prince Edward County, Ontario [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] A new challenger has thrown its hat in the ring to be the first offshore wind project in North America. If the plan goes through, it could also be the largest single wind project on the continent."

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Could miscanthus be a solution to U.S. dependence on foreign oil?

Could miscanthus be a solution to U.S. dependence on foreign oil?:
by Debra levey Larson -- agriculture.com -- 4/25/2006
"In the 2004 trials, miscanthus out-performed switchgrass by more than double and in the 2005 trials more than triple. Long says 'our results show that with Miscanthus the President's goal of replacing 30% of foreign oil with ethanol, derived from agricultural wastes and switchgrass by 2030, could be achieved sooner and with less land.'"

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Synergistic bio-refinery complexes to produce ethanol and biodiesel

Waste heat from ethanol production will provide the heat necessary for the biodeisel production and the crop recidue from oilseed crops will be used as ethanol feedstock. These kind of facilities will be far more competitive than standard refineries in the near future as fossil fuel based process fuel prices continue to rise. It will no longer make sense to use as much natural gas. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
OilOnline - The Original Online Source for the Oil Industry:
OilOnline -- 5/15/2006
"Green Star Products, Inc. plans to construct total Bio-Refinery Complexes for production of both biodiesel and biomass ethanol at each facility."

Friday, June 02, 2006

Hybrid Electric Bus to Run on Ethanol, Diesel, or Gasoline

Scania at fuel conference in London: Ethanol the best alternative fuel for urban transport:
Scania.com -- 3/22/2006
"...This engine is coupled to a robust generator that supplies electricity to an electrical motor that doubles as a generator when braking. Energy is stored in industrial ultracapacitors with higher power density and higher efficiency than existing batteries.
The potential fuel saving with Scania's hybrid concept is 25% or more, with correspondingly lower emissions. Scania is building the first prototype right now. The technology could be ripe for the market in five years' time."

Thursday, June 01, 2006

New York Farmers Applaud Biofuels Bill

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | New York Farmers Applaud Biofuels Bill: "Albany, New York [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] New York Farm Bureau said that the finalization of the Bio-Fuels Production Tax Credit and a recently announced $20 million state funding proposal for cellulosic ethanol will position New York as a national leader in biofuel production. "