In the News

2nd generation biomass now economically viable

BioValor’s Pulverizing Air Dryer (PAD) is the first large scale commercially available drying system to overcome the problem of high energy consumption. By mechanically separating water from the feedstock solids, PAD can dry up to 95% dry matter with limited requirements for flue gas treatment.

Grass Makes Better Ethanol than Corn Does

Farmers in Nebraska and the Dakotas brought the U.S. closer to becoming a biofuel economy, planting huge tracts of land for the first time with switchgrass—a native North American perennial grass (Panicum virgatum) that often grows on the borders of cropland naturally—and proving that it can deliver more than five times more energy than it takes to grow it.

Range Fuels Raises over $100 Million in Series B Financing - World’s First Commercial Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Underway

On April 1, 2008 Range Fuels Inc. announced that it had completed an oversubscribed Series B round of private financing greater than $100 million. Range Fuels will focus the new funds on completing the construction of the first phase of its commercial cellulosic ethanol plant located near the town of Soperton, Georgia. The first phase of construction for the Soperton Plant is targeted to produce approximately 20 million gallons of ethanol and mixed alcohols per year and is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Clean Energy's Best-Kept Secret: Waste Heat Recovery

Recycling the heat that spews from industrial smokestacks may be one of the biggest opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, yet not many climate-savvy entrepreneurs are aware of it. When it comes to energy conservation, “[b]y and large, the world ignores the biggest, single most cost-effective, most profitable thing to do, which is recycle the energy that we’re wasting,” says Thomas Casten, chairman of the Illinois-based company Recycled Energy Development (RED).

Historic Energy Bill Signed by President - Calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels, including 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels by 2022

On December 19, 2007 President Bush signed "The Energy Independence and Security Act," which, among other actions to reduce our nation’s reliance on oil imports and improve our energy security and environment, includes an aggressive Renewable Fuels Standard that calls for the use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels, 16 billion gallons of which are to come from celllulosic biofuels such as ethanol made from renewable biomass. This level of use of renewable fuels would be enough to offset about one-third of the nation's oil imports.

Investing in a Green Future

If you're still managing finances the old-fashioned way, you could be missing an important opportunity to invest in the future of the planet. A report from Javelin Strategy & Research (Javelin) described the financial paper chain from U.S. households as long enough to stretch around the globe more than 200 times. Consider the benefit of those households opting for electronic bill paying and banking!

Venture Capital Looks to New Sources of Biofuels

Corn-based ethanol is yesterday's news for venture capitalists who, these days, are betting on everything from wood chips and algae to turkey guts and trash as potential sources of next-generation biofuels. Venture capitalists are searching for other biofuels that could power cars, even as Americans continue to consume some 140 billion gallons of fuel annually and vehicle exhausts contribute to one-third of all carbon emissions.

Offshore Wind May Power the Future

The waters of the Jersey Shore may soon become home to the nation's first deepwater wind turbines. New Jersey officials recently announced the state would help fund an initiative by Garden State Offshore Energy to build a 350-megawatt wind farm 16 miles (26 kilometers) offshore. The state wants by 2020 many more of these parks, at least 3,000 megawatts worth, or about 13 percent of the state's total electricity needs.