Encouraging use of wasted heat

A tremendous amount of power is wasted in the form of heat from power plants. Changes in regulations related to retail pricing and emissions would likely encourage use of this heat resource through the market system. The rising cost of energy makes this more likely. Thomas Blakeslee's article linked below explains some of the details of these needed changes in regulations.
Heat is Power. Let's Stop Throwing it Away!

Native grasses build soil fertility

This news is very important to the food vs. fuel debate. A new study lends support to the idea that native grasses can improve the soil while providing biomass for biofuel production at the same time. Soils currently too exhausted for food production could be restored while providing biofuel feedstocks. With a long-term rotation, these soild could then be returned to food production. This would end the food vs fuel debate, and in fact would mean more biofuel production equals more food in the long run.
Switchgrass May Mean Better Soil

KSU Reasearchers study Pelletizing for cellulosic ethanol

A major barrier for cellulosic ethanol from energy crops is transportation of huge volumes of biomass. KSU researchers want to find out whether pelletizing cellulosic biomass using proven technology could be an answer to this dilemma, reducing volume considerably. Pellets could also be handled with existing grain handling equipment, reducing infrastructure cost.
Kansas City infoZine News - Biofuels Proof of Concept Study on Producing Cellulosic Ethanol from Pelleted Forage Crops Nets K-State Team - USA

Increased biogas injection into Germany's natural gas grid

Improved injection technologies are helping the feasibility of putting upgraded biomethane into the natural gas system as a direct replacement for natural gas. this sdresses difficulties with moving biofuels to where they are needed. The article indicates Germany could soon provide 20% of natural gas needs from biogas.
Biogas Flows Through Germany's Grid Big Time

Add Biogas to the T. Boone Pickens Plan

T. Boone Pickens propese massive wind farms to free up natural gas that is now used for generating electricity. Much of that natural gas would be used to fuel CNG (Compressed natural Gas) vehicles. These vehicles are proven and available already in some states. Honda makes one suitable for commuting. Driving cost is generally much less than gasoline.

My only suggestion would be to add biogas to the mix as a natural gas replacement. Biogas is mainly methane siphoned from landfills or produced by digestion of all kinds of organic materials, including sewage, livestock manure, and trash. We should be taking advantage of these resources!

More about the Pickens plan here:

FuturePundit: T. Boone Pickens: Wind For Electricity And Natural Gas For Cars

Biobutanol research makes progress

The Wall Street Journal reports on the current status of biobutanol research. It's still too expensive to be practical as a transportation fuel, but progress is being made toward getting costs down. Research is also confirming that biobutanol will be easier to transport by pipeline as compared to ethanol and it can be used at a greater proportion in non-flex vehicles.
Betting on a Biofuel - WSJ.com

New technology nets clean water byproduct from sugar cane ethanol production

Biorefineries using this new design will be able to capture water from the sugar cane rather than losing it to evaporation. This will make cane ethanol biorefineries into net producers of relatively clean water, reversing one of the concerns about biofuel production (water use). This process would not work for drier feedstocks such as corn kernels, but my guess is that it could be modified for feedstocks such as cane sorghum, sugar beets, and Jerusalem artichoke tops -- crops than can be grown across much of North America. This would be especially welcome in areas with lower rainfall.  

Dedini launches ethanol mill that produces water | Environment | Reuters

Biofuels from abandoned farmlands

The Carnegie institute has released a study showing significant potential for biofuel production from feedstocks grown on land that has been worn out and abandoned around the world.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry

Ottawa facility to turn waste to energy

Facility will convert 400 tonnes per day of city-generated trash to energy.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry

Ethanol to be made from city solid waste in Canada

Using solid waste for biofuels makes sense where feasible because it pretty much eliminates the feedstock transportation issues faced with energy crops. It also keeps some waste volume out of landfills.
Edmonton to use waste for fuel

Prospects for Cellulosic Ethanol

This is a good comprehensive article on EcoWorld about the current status of ethanol pros and cons and how we might transition to cellulosic ethanol:
Cellulosic Ethanol

Combining plug-in electric and biofuels

Check out this very important report about combining two well-developed technologies for greater efficiency and less reliance on imported energy. Small Flex-fuel engines can easily be combined with electric motors and the latest battery technology. Electricity is quite versatile in how it can be produced and used. It could be produced more locally by home-based solar, wind, and regional generation stations powered by biogas from landfills and municipal waste.
Driving Our Way to Energy Independence - commentary on flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

Company plans ethanol from algae in Mexico desert

Algae can be gown in water unsuitable for other uses and on land unsuitable for most crops. This could improve biofuel production levels significantly if perfected.
Reuters AlertNet - Algenol trains algae to turn carbon into ethanol

New cellulosic ethanol technique claims $1.00 production cost

An Israel company claims to have perfexcted a technique that will bring cellulosic ethanol production cost to under $1.00 USD. The technique is applicable to the step where sugars are extracted from the biomass.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry

Ethanol getting credit for Missouri's lower gas prices

Finally, ethanol is getting credit for lowering gas prices. The article linked below credits Missouri's ethanol mandate as part of the reason that gas prices in Missouri are the lowets in the nation. I don't necessarily think a mandate is the way to go, but at least this shows ethanol has some benefit at the pump.
Cheap gas in Missouri - MSN Money

Turning human waste into energy

An Indian company, Sintex, has developed a family-sized, self-contained digester that can turn food, animal, and human waste into enough biogas to satisfy a family's need for cooking and a a fertilizer as well.
Turning human waste into energy - Feb. 27, 2008

Report concludes biofuels not dominant factor in food price increase

Even if all biofuel production never existed, we would still be facing the high energy prices that make it more expensive to plant, fertilize, cultivate, harvest, transport, and process food crops.
Food Price Increases: Is it Fair To Blame Biofuels?

Concentrator photovoltaics solar energy breakthrough

IBM is working on a system that would concentrate the sun'd energy on a smaller area, thus requiring less PV cells and other equipment. This could make large scale power production more feasible.
IBM Research Could Lead to Reduced Costs in Solar Farm Technology

Renewable Gasoline produced from Algae

Sapphire Energy announced production of a renewable gasoline from algae. This is not biodiesel or ethanol. It is a gasoline than can replace petroleum-based gasoline in any application and would be fully compatible with the petroleum pipeline system, unlike ethanol. They say their modular system can be easily scaled up and it works with water unsuitable for crop irrigation or drinking and on land unsuitable for food crops.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry

Volvo plug-In hybrid concept includes flex-fuel engine

The ReCharge Volvo concept car is a plug-in hybrid with motors in the wheels, eliminating the need for a drivetrain. This increases efficiency. In addition, the small flex-fuel engine serves only to recharge batteries. This means it can run at a constant rpm and be tuned for optimum efficiency and fewest harmful emissions when running on ethanol fuel. This is perhaps the best application for biofuels such as ethanol.
Volvo ReCharge Plug-In Hybrid Concept Car Review and Specs |

Rice husk generator brings power to villages

Two University students have started a business that brings electricity to rural communities in India through gasification of rice husks. The idea could expand to other parts of the world.
Powering Villages from Rice Husks

Biofuels at Landfills

Scientific American posted this article about making ethanol from trash that would normally go to landfills. Methane escaping from landfills can be used to power the ethanol biorefinery.
Trash-Based Biofuels: From Landfill to Full Tank of Gas: Scientific American

Automated home ethanol production appliance available

Perhaps home production of fuel for your vehicle is getting easier. A California comany is taking orders for an automated home ethanol production and dispensing unit. The feedstock is sugar or alcoholic beverages. The company claims a production cost of $1.00 per gallon. They will work with sugar distributors for supplying customers with the feedstock. Tax rebates are available to offset purchase cost. Learn more at the company web site: http://www.efuel100.com/default.aspx

Ethanol from barley planned for new biorefineries

Not only does barley thrive outside the corn belt, but it can be grown on millions of acres of fallow ground in the winter in the U.S. Southeast without irrigation. That way it would not compete with food crops and in fact would tend to improve the soil (build organic matter) and lessen soil erosion. Biorefineries in the U.S. southeast would also be able to supply ethanol to customers in the southeast with much less transportation cost as compared to shipping ethanol from the midwest corn belt.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry

Biofuels from bacteria

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have managed to develop a cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae, but not a true algae) that produces glucose and cellulose. The glucose and cellulose can be harvested without destroying the cyanobacteria. The cellulose is in a form that is easily made into biofuels such as ethanol. This could be a step toward producing much more biofuels on much less land, and on land unsuitable for food crops.
New Source for Biofuels Discovered by Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin | The University of Texas at Austin

Portable biorefinery turns trash into electricity

This sounds really cool. Purdue University scientists developed this system to solve two problemes at once for the military--disposal of trash and production of electricity where needed. The system produces ethanol and biogas (similar to natural gas). Both fuels are then burned in a specially designed generator. Such a setup could be designed to burn hydrated ethanol, which is considerably easier to produce than the anhydrous ethanol currently being used in U.S. automobiles. The article linked below does not address this aspect, but I assume it has something to do with the ability to design a small, portable system.
<p>Scientists develop portable generator that turns trash into electricity </p>

Ethanol lowers overall cost of gasoline

The small portion of the food price increase that is due to ethanol production appears to be offset by a lowering of fuel prices according to this article:
Ethanol production saving consumers money