In Louisiana, Sundrop Fuels has selected IHI E&C International Corp as their contractor for their $450 million plant outside of Alexandria. The plant, which will use natural gas to produce about 60 million gallons of gasoline each year, will provide the platform to test its gasification technology for woody biomass-based “green gasoline.” Sundrop Fuels has […]
In Washington, DC, biofuels producers will face carbon emissions regulations, ruled the U.S. Court of Appeals as they vacated a three-year deferral developed by the EPA that temporarily exempted ethanol producers from curbing the release of greenhouse gases. The EPA had hoped to further study the effects of burning plant matter on carbon emissions before […]
In Vietnam, seven cities and provinces will use an E5 blend beginning in December of 2014, with the entire country soon to follow. The country currently has six plants producing 535 million liters per year, but 80% of the fuel produced in 2012 was exported. Thusfar, E5 sales have been lower than expected, with the Minster […]
In the Philippines, the mandated biofuels blend will be raised to 5% from 2% after an announcement from the National Biofuels Board. Not only will the heightened blend requirements strengthen the country’s coconut industry as well as lowering air pollution, but the government will save billions of pesos because of petroleum import substitution, asserted Agriculture […]
In Brazil, ethanol mills will be the beneficiaries of $167 million worth of subsidies as the country seeks to mitigate the effects of the worst drought in five decades. The government authorized the subsidies in May, but just published a notice regarding disbursement of the funds. Companies in the northeast region will be eligible for […]
In Germany, biodiesel production is still heavily reliant on rapeseed oil, but the country is diversifying according to a new study by the Union zur Förderung von Oel (UFOP). While 53% of oil comes from rapeseed, 25% now comes from palm oil and an additional 11% for both coconut and soy oil. After the implementation […]
In the EU, Parliament members set a 5.5% cap for fuels made from food crops, and decided to include emissions arising from indirect land use change in measurement. This cap, set by the Environment Committee, is designed to accelerate the development of second-generation biofuels. Original propositions had the cap at 5%, but was raised after […]
In North Carolina, the FDA has signed off on the use of Arundo donax as a biofuel crop, which is the crop utilized by a $200 million Chemtex plant expected to be operational by mid-2015. The feedstock, which will be used to create cellulosic fuel, is a perennial cane that is prized for its fast […]
In Iowa, BioProcess Algae had a visit from Iowa Congressman Tom Latham and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey at the Green Plains Renewable Energy facility. Latham said, “I think this algae plant is unique – it’s the only place in the world this is happening. Its value added plan to grow algae from CO2 […]
In the UK, BP and Shell are set to cut back as biofuel investments hit a seven-year low, according to a Bloomberg article highlighting the challenges facing the biofuels industry where investment is harder to come by than ever. Global investment in biofuel production has shrunk to $57 million in Q1, the lowest since 2006, […]
