Shell’s $12bn advanced biofuel investment
Shell and Cosan, one of the world’s largest sugarcane ethanol companies based in Brazil, signed binding agreements to form a $12 billion joint venture for the production and commercialization of ethanol and power from sugar cane. The resulting joint venture, if completed, will be the third largest ethanol producer in the world with 4,500 retail stations and annual production capacity of 2 billion liters (440 million gallons).
Click here for full storyINDEPENDENT MP Tony Windsor wants the next government to implement policies that will encourage ethanol use in cars.
Click here for full storyNew research from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, has shed light on how each country is coping with meeting their quota, with some faring much better than others. According to the figures, Sweden was found to have the highest share of renewable energy in total consumption in 2008, with 44.4 per cent of its resources coming from the likes of biomass and wind power. Other top performers in the research included Finland (30.5 per cent), Latvia (29.9 per cent), Austria (28.5 per cent) and Portugal (23.2 per cent)....... As the biomass industry in Europe builds momentum within a complex legislative environment it highlights the need for a collective discussion of leading minds from both a government and industry perspective. Energy IQ has done just this by producing the EU Biomass Forum with the objective to shape debate on European policy, feedstock availability and the economic feasibility of biomass projects.
Click here for full storyE3 Technologies, LLC, a new firm based in Athens, Ohio, will develop an Ohio University invention called the “GreenBox” designed to clean commercial and agricultural wastewater and produce hydrogen energy -- a technology that’s been described as “pee power.”
Click here for full storyMore new info on the potential of biochar to help combat climate change: A study in the journal Nature Communications shows that up to 12% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans could be offset by producing biochar. What's more, the study calculates that's more than would be offset by producing energy from the same amount of biomass.
Click here for full storyKenyan conservation groups are opposing the biofuels project of an Italian businessman, saying the proposal to produce energy from jatropha may cause environmental damage.
Click here for full storyEnergy from wood, corn and plants has the potential to replace as much as a fifth of Germany’s oil consumption within a decade, according to a study by a renewable energy lobby group.
Click here for full storyAlgae-to-oil technology is one step closer with Australian company, MBD - the USA's OriginOil's first customer - purchasing equipment for its James Cook University facilities.
Click here for full storyThe Environmental Services Division of Wartsila Australia is currently installing engines in Australia driven by an alternative energy source - rich oil obtained from a naturally occurring product, the jatropha nut.
Click here for full storyOregon and other states with lots of trees have been counting on generating more electricity by burning forest thinnings and logging leftovers as a promising future source of green jobs and renewable energy as well as a way to pay for projects to prevent forest fires.
Click here for full storyScientists say a plant that can be grown in far north Queensland could help to provide renewable energy to the rest of the world.
Click here for full storyForget the Toyota Prius; a team of students and professors from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia are attempting to turn algae from Lake Matoaka into biodiesel for cars.
Click here for full storyPoultry farms in the U.S. generate roughly 17 million tons of chicken manure annually, creating a huge disposal problem. Some energy researchers believe they have a solution: use that manure to create electricity.
Click here for full storyThe UK government has announced that it is drawing up an action plan to deliver a “huge increase” in anaerobic digestion (AD) projects, and is inviting input from stakeholders on how this can be done in a cost-effective way.
Click here for full storyAn energy technology that has long been viewed as a clean and climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels is facing tough new regulatory hurdles that could ultimately hamper its ability to compete with renewable power sources like wind and solar.
Click here for full storyIn Australia, the government will begin implementing energy content-based taxation of all fuels, effective July 1 2011, to address the tax disadvantage of domestic Australian ethanol compared to imported ethanol. The Australian Biofuels Association announced June 24 that all Biofuels will be placed into two of the three “energy content bands”.
Click here for full storyConverting the contents of dustbins into carbon-neutral biofuel for cars and renewable energy is the kind of 21st century alchemy that tackles several environmental challenges simultaneously.
Click here for full storyViaspace, Inc. (Otcbb: VSPC) announced Monday that it would be supplying iits proprietary Giant King Grass as a renewable energy crop to German biogas producer RuBa Energie GmbH. The Irvine, Calif.-based company says the test plot marks the first time its Giant King Grass has been planted in Europe.
Click here for full storyCapitalizing on the Gulf oil spill, ethanol makers are launching a bold public relations offensive touting their clean environmental image as they lobby the Obama administration to allow more of the corn-based fuel in American gas tanks.
Click here for full storyNothing seems to unite Washington farm and energy lobbyists and Midwest members of Congress from both parties more than the EPA. The Agency angered ethanol supporters last week when it was learned that EPA wont approve higher ethanol blends until September at the earliest, and only for 2007 or newer model cars. Approval for 2001 and newer cars might come in November.
Click here for full storySomething amazing is happening in the Wilcox formation, a coal-bearing stretch of bedrock beneath central Louisiana. Bacteria that naturally feast on carbon dioxide (CO2) and coal in the presence of water are working overtime, producing natural gas (CH4; methane) as a byproduct.
Click here for full storyMassachusetts has a law mandating a portfolio of renewable energy, including energy derived from wind, solar, and biomass. But a new study says that replacing coal power with biomass will actually increase the amount of CO2 emitted, throwing a wrench in the state's plan and casting some doubt over the utility of using biomass on national scale and the inclusion of biomass titles in the energy bills now being negotiated in Congress.
Click here for full storyTo prepare for implementation of the 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive, the European Commission has released three documents on biofuels: a communication on voluntary schemes and default values in the EU biofuels and bioliquids sustainability scheme; a communication on the practical implementation of the EU biofuels and bioliquids sustainability scheme and on counting rules for biofuels; and a decision on guidelines for the calculation of land carbon stocks.
Click here for full storyForested regions around the world are pursuing biomass as a renewable energy source but a study finds that the carbon footprint from burning biomass can be worse for global warming than coal.
Click here for full storyExxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) is testing the commercial viability of algae biofuel as an alternative energy source to supplement oil and natural gas, a senior executive said on Monday.
Click here for full storyAudit, tax and advisory firm KPMG has released its annual review of merger and acquisition activity within the renewable energy industry, results of which indicate that biomass is now the most attractive sector to potential investors and corporations this year, rising above both wind and solar.
Click here for full storyEnvironment groups in the Bega Valley in South East New South Wales joined protesters across the nation yesterday, taking action against burning woodchips for energy.
Click here for full storyThe north-west is blessed with a substantial renewable energy source that has been largely overlooked – the 6m to 7m tonnes of waste that is sent every year to the region’s increasingly expensive landfill sites.
Click here for full storyThe United States and China launched a research venture Wednesday to develop biofuels for use by Chinese airlines based on algae or oily nuts and said an inaugural flight could come as early as this year.
Click here for full storyBiomass power has gained new government support in Ireland, with recently announced renewable energy feed-in tariffs that range from 15 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 8.5 cents per kWh depending on the technology deployed, as well as a miscanthus pilot demonstration program.
Click here for full storyIf you look at any single source of biofuels, the numbers can seem depressing, as it's very difficult to obtain enough raw material to account for more than a small percentage of the United States' liquid fuel use.
Click here for full storyThe Obama Administration’s quest to wean the nation off foreign oil by turning to renewable energy sources brought U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to Middletown Friday.
Click here for full storyManagement has been in the news with a series of investments in renewable energy and recycling technologies in the past 18 months. What criteria do strategic investors apply? How do they look at technologies, feedstocks, and the value chain.
Click here for full storyPlans to build a network of biomass power plants in Scotland as part of Alex Salmond’s green revolution could damage the environment and cost thousands of jobs, according to a new report.
Click here for full storyIFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will work with German Development Cooperation and Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. to promote sustainable waste management in Bangladesh's poultry sector, a waste-to-energy initiative promising multiple benefits to poultry farmers and others.
Click here for full storyThe most familiar forms of renewable energy are the wind and sun. But biomass – plant and animal waste – supplies almost 15 times more energy in the US than wind and solar combined. Types of biomass resources include tree and grass crops and forests, agricultural products, and urban wastes.
Click here for full storyA new biodiesel production system has been delivered to a US Navy base in Southern California, so it can produce its own renewable fuel. Locally-based Biodiesel Industries, Inc., has been working with the Navy and aerospace technology firm Aerojet to set up a highly-automated production facility at the Naval Base Ventura County.
Click here for full storyThe US Department of the Navy on Tuesday announced five energy targets for the Navy and Marine Corps, four of which include biofuels as a major component.
Click here for full storyThe renewable-energy industry faces new controversy after a Northamptonshire firm became the latest to win planning permission to burn tropical palm oil to make electricity.
Click here for full storyA Malaysian-Bahraini joint venture, Orizon Renewable Energy, plans to invest 230 million US dollars in Sri Lanka to set up a power plant that will generate energy from solid waste, the investment promotion agency said.
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