Posts

April 26, 2013

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6:35 PM | E. coli enters the energy game, could pump out petroleum

Engineering bacteria to make petroleum substitute, pump out hydrocarbons.

April 17, 2013

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3:52 PM | Enzymes turn inedible waste plant material into food and fuel

From cellulose to glucose to complex starches.

April 15, 2013

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2:20 PM | Canada Digs (up) Arizona, Recognizing a Recycling Hero, Sir David Speaks Out

By The Editors Saving desert for last: What, so pumping your filthy tar-sands oil through the middle of the American Grain Belt isn't enough for you, Canada? Now you want to dig up and ruin our national forests, too? A Canadian speculative mining outfit is planning "to blast a mile-wide, half-mile deep copper mine on 4,000 acres of the [Santa Rita] mountains, 50 miles southeast of Tucson," in Arizona’s Coronado National Forest. The battle over the mine […]

April 04, 2013

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3:14 PM | Coal – Biomass Conversions: Replacing one (climate) disaster with another

Written by Sophie Bastable from Biofuelwatch Under the guise of “renewable energy” burning wood in power stations has become a massive growth industry in the UK. Interestingly, by far and [...]

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3:14 PM | Coal-Biomass Conversions: Replacing one (climate) disaster with another

claimtoken-515daf2d33aa5 Written by Sophie Bastable from Biofuelwatch Under the guise of “renewable energy” burning wood in power stations has become a massive growth industry in the UK. Interestingly, by far [...]

March 29, 2013

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3:25 PM | Nice summary of the RFS (and a new blog to follow!)

For those who are confused about RFS, RINs, and other acronyms in my last post, I found a great summary on a new blog that we’ll add to our blogroll. Seems like he is making some nice posts of the … Continue reading →

March 22, 2013

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3:05 PM | post about RINs, ethanol, etc

As we’ve hinted at before, some interesting things are starting to happen with high corn prices, high RIN prices, the blend wall and ever compounding RFS requirements! We all know that corn prices have been high – so high in … Continue reading →

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3:05 PM | Corn, ethanol, RIN prices, and the blend wall!

As we’ve hinted at before, some interesting things are starting to happen with high corn prices, high RIN prices, the blend wall and ever compounding RFS requirements! We all know that corn prices have been high – so high in … Continue reading →

March 21, 2013

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8:33 PM | Details of Obama’s Plan to Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil Emerge

The White House has released more details about the Energy Security Trust that President Barack Obama first mentioned in February’s State of the Union address. Obama introduced the plan—which aims to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, improve vehicle fuel efficiency and protect consumers from gas price spikes—during a speech at Chicago’s Argonne National Laboratory. “By investing in our…

March 20, 2013

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3:00 PM | More on automotive fuel efficiency

EPA just released a big report on vehicle fuel mileage, summed up in this WonkBlog entry http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/16/cars-in-the-u-s-are-more-fuel-efficient-than-ever-heres-why/ A few comments: A) I’m struck by how response fleet mileage seems to crude oil prices in their figure in point #1. In … Continue reading →

March 18, 2013

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7:56 PM | With a Big If, Science Panel Finds Deep Cuts Possible in Auto Emissions and Oil Use

A panel finds that a blend of intensified research and strong policy could take a big bite out of oil use and CO2 emissions.

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2:33 PM | Natural Gas and Cleantech

Cleantech fans: it is time to educate yourselves. Set aside for a moment your interest in wind energy, solar, bio-based chemicals, biofuels, and electric vehicles and read this week’s story about what the U.S. may do with its abundant natural gas. Here are some things that the country can do with natural gas: it can [...]Related Posts:Why FedEx is an Early Adopter of Transportation TechTrending in Liquid FuelsSoon You’ll be Thankful for #foodchem MicrobesBut In the Meantime, More […]

March 01, 2013

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8:54 PM | Q and A: The Angry Economist

Because of its natural gas boom, the United States is ahead of Europe in fixing climate change, the Oxford economist Dieter Helm argues.

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1:13 PM | Some Far Out (at Least for Now) Energy Ideas

Researchers present intriguing concepts for turning sunlight into fuel, developing flat gas tanks and smoothing the flow of power to the grid.

February 25, 2013

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5:02 PM | On Our Radar: Prison Term for Biodiesel Fraud

A Maryland man is given a 12-year sentence for selling credits for renewable fuel he never manufactured.

February 24, 2013

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4:15 PM | The blend wall and what we will do will all the cellulosic ethanol

While we’ve discussed production issues with cellulosic a bit on this site (here and here), if John is right and we do scale up in the next couple years, whatever are we going to do with it all? http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2013/02/ethanol-blend-wall-biodiesel-RFS.html They … Continue reading →

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4:15 PM | The blend wall and what we will do with all the cellulosic ethanol

While we’ve discussed production issues with cellulosic a bit on this site (here and here), if John is right and we do scale up in the next couple years, whatever are we going to do with it all? http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2013/02/ethanol-blend-wall-biodiesel-RFS.html They … Continue reading →

February 21, 2013

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8:45 PM | Has biofuels led to major land use changes in the US?

And is the land that is being converted from grassland to corn and soy the “marginal land” that people take about growing dedicated bioenergy crops? A new article in PNAS this week seems to answer “yes” to both these questions. … Continue reading →

Wright, C. & Wimberly, M. (2013). Recent land use change in the Western Corn Belt threatens grasslands and wetlands, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1215404110

Citation

February 13, 2013

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5:25 PM | Using Federal Oil Revenues to Cut America's Oil Use

Energy experts speculate about what how an "energy security trust" could be financed and forge new paths.

February 07, 2013

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7:41 PM | updates on the court challenge to the RFS: minimal long-term impact

I like how this post by Judy Endres explains the recent court ruling “overturning part of the RFS”. The devil is in the details: Although the court rejected EPA’s approach favoring overestimation of projected cellulosic biofuel production, the RFS itself, … Continue reading →

February 05, 2013

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4:00 PM | The RFS- basket case, or just a few years ahead of it’s time?

When Congress established the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) through the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, one of the primary goals was to grow the fledgling cellulosic ethanol sector from laboratory scale up to an industry surpassing corn ethanol, via … Continue reading →

February 02, 2013

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4:16 PM | President Obama Awards National Medals of Science and Technology at the White House

“You have improved our lives in ways that are practical and inspirational,” said President Barack Obama. He saluted the top U.S. researchers with the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government, the National Science and Technology Medals. At the White House ceremony on February 1, he honored 12 winners for the National Medals of Science [...]

February 01, 2013

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5:49 PM | comparing original RFS volumes with revised volumes (some perspective)

Today the EPA released revised mandated amounts of biofuel to be blended under the RFS legislation. To put these numbers in perspective I have taken the original requirements for cellulosic in the 2007 law and compared to the revised amounts … Continue reading →

January 31, 2013

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10:49 PM | Trying Again on Celluosic Biofuels

Despite last year's problems, the Environmental Protection Agency sets a higher quota for refiners. And it takes steps to combat fraud on renewable energy credits.

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9:17 PM | Bacteria Surviving at High Altitudes Could Play a Role in Global Climate

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that even as high as 30,000 feet in the sky, fungi and bacteria are present in the air. These living microorganisms could very well affect global climate. “The million-dollar question in the field [right now] is how much living things can impact clouds, the hydrological cycle and…

January 29, 2013

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8:26 PM | Scientists Teach Bacteria To Eat Electricity

M. ferrooxydans Clara S Chan, via Wikimedia CommonsIn a new study, iron-oxidizing microbes give fresh meaning to the phrase "living off the grid," and provide fresh hope as a potential biofuel. Researchers at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, have coaxed a species of bacteria into trading their usual diet of partially-oxidized iron for a small current of electricity--a trick that may eventually make the microorganisms useful producers of biofuels. The bacterium involved in the study was […]

January 28, 2013

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4:00 PM | Colorado goes cellulosic!

Via Paul, and article in Biofuels Digest highlighting how our local corn ethanol plant (Front Range Energy in Windsor, CO) will soon be transitioning to cellulose-derived sugars for a fraction of its feedstock: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2013/01/16/sugar-rush-sweetwater-front-range-ink-100m-cellulosic-biofuels-deal/ This is a very exciting development! … Continue reading →

January 25, 2013

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6:19 PM | Court Faults E.P.A.'s Biofuels Mandate

An appeals panel says the E.P.A.'s calculations of available cellulosic fuel was based on desire rather than facts.

January 23, 2013

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7:56 PM | Why India's Waste-to-Energy Industry Won't Catch Fire

Bureaucracy, turf battles and and demands for bribes make it difficult for a plant to open and stay profitable.

January 03, 2013

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9:36 PM | Fiscal Cliff Deal Reached, Clean Energy Not Forgotten

After months of negotiating, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., reached an agreement to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Featured in the measure is an extension of a renewable electricity production tax credit for wind, geothermal and some biomass projects, which gives credit for each kilowatt-hour of energy they produce. Highly contested prior to the bill’s passing was the credit’s impact on the wind industry. The credit, which offers 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour […]