In Ohio, REX American Resources ranked among the top 20 fastest growing companies in America, according to the recently released Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies. The energy company, which has ownership stakes in ethanol plants, has posted a revenue of $644 million in the last year. One-quarter of the companies on the Fortune list “make […]
In Georgia, a study published in the Science Journal has sequenced the canola seed genome, opening new doors to accelerating the improvement of the species. The genome is a combination of the genomes of Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea. Ultimately, this genome sequence may help researchers develop feedstocks that are suited to more sustainable biofuel […]
In the US, the Federal Railroad Administration has awarded two grants totaling $350,000 to improve the safety of rail transport of hazardous materials by developing a Short Line Safety Institute. After recent concerns over chemical and oil spillage from trains transporting fuel products, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced legislation in June to authorize […]
In California, the legislature has passed a bill to boost criminal penalties for grease theft. The state has grappled with a rise in used cooking oil theft as the biofuel industry has developed. The penalties are currently so minor that thefts aren’t even worth responding to for many law enforcement agencies. But according to the […]
The Motley Fool Online has profiled the US Navy’s biofuel initiative, explaining the motivations for their investment in the industry. The article is hesitant to award positivity to the program, concluding: “There still is a pretty big disconnect between the price and availability of drop-in biofuels when compared to petroleum-based products. However, the hope is […]
In India, “The Green Bus project” is launching in Nagpur as the country launched its first ethanol-run, environment-friendly public bus last week. Carbon dioxide emissions from the bus will be as low as 15% to 90%; the Union government, Maharashtra state government and Nagpur Municipal Corporation will monitor the emissions of the new bus. The […]
In California, Viaspace CEO Carl Kukkonen described the company’s 12 MW Giant King Grass power plant in Nicaragua, an in-progress partnership with Agricorp, to the Wall Street Transcript. The plant will be the company’s flagship project, run on their proprietary grass crop, but Viaspace expects to begin three or four more projects per year in […]
In Alabama, Former First Lady Marsha Folsom highlighted the potential of bamboo as a crop for Alabama during a Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce event. Her company, Resource Fiber, plans to make the Asian plant the state’s new cash crop, The company recently started its 100-acre nursery to test plant bamboo and plans to open […]
In Canada, the Manitoba government has expanded funding for its Biomass Energy Support Program an additional $500,000, with total grant funding now at $1 million for applied research projects. The new funding will be directed to projects that address gaps or identify opportunities for business and technology development in the biomass sector. Applications for research […]
In Tennessee, a team of researchers has teamed up to understand how selection affects plants and the genome level as poplar trees adapted to temperature and light factors in a study recently published in Nature Genetics. “If you know every base in a genome, you can skip whole generations and use genomic information to predict […]
