Archive for March, 2009

(Re)Volt in Washington over GM bailout forces out CEO Wagoner at General Motors

AE Biofuels partners with Merrick & Co to deploy cellulosic ethanol technology

In California, AE Biofuels announced a strategic partnership with Merrick & Company to deploy AE Biofuels’s enzyme based cellulosic ethanol technology. Merrick is a leader in of engineering and architectural design-build, procurement, and construction management services and will add the technology to its range of advanced biofuels service offerings.

Commodities expert says corn headed for $2.50

In Washington, Commodity Information Systems president Bill Gary told Bloomberg that corn is heading for $2.50 a bushel, while soybeans are headed down towards $6.50 per bushel. Economists are pointing to falling demand from the ethanol, cattle and dairy industries. Overall, a Bloomberg survey forecast that soybean acreage would grow to 79 million next year, [...]

Today in Biofuels Opinion: “Get your damn Corn out of my Gas”

From Energy Tribune: “I am not trying to come down either for or against ethanol tariffs, but rather to discuss what I see as the key issues surrounding them. By all accounts, ethanol from sugarcane is a more sustainable model than ethanol from corn. The key to this – as I explained here – is [...]

New Generation Biofuels wins new biofuels contract with Catoctin Mountain Growers

In Florida, New Generation Biofuels reported that it has signed a 370,000 gallon per year contract for its low-cost biofuel to Catoctin Mountain Growers, which will utilize the product in its boilers. Catoctin said that its test burns of NGB’s biofuel showed a 45 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides and “the virtual elimination” of sulphur [...]

Caribbean sugar, ethanol industries analyzed

Coha has published an excellent analysis of the Caribbean sugar market, including comparisons between the 7-cent per pound production cost in Brazil, compared to  178 cents per pound in Guyana and as high as 40 cents per pound in Jamaica. The high prices and inability to compete, says the Coha report, drove the Jamaican market [...]

France’s Proteus partners with Ago Industrie to improve bioproduction of natural origin molecules

In France,  Protéus announced that it has signed a partnership with Agro Industrie Recherches et Développements, a non-food ag R&D company, to improve the bioproduction of natural origin molecules in an economically competitive and environmentally friendly manner.

Canadian pulpmills fall to 70 percent of capacity; woodchip prices plunge

In Canada, the North American Wood Fiber Review is reporting that Canadian pulpmills have reduced their operating rates to less than 70 percent of capacity, and wood chips are falling in price, especially in Western Canada, where BC and Alberta had the lowest wood chip prices in North America for the first quarter.

Cereal Process Technologies pionees new dry fractionation process

In Kansas, Cereal Process Technologies announced what it termed a breakthrough technology for dry fractionation technology for corn ethanol operators. The flexible milling system, “MarketFlex™,” enables ethanol managers to “dial in” the corn kernel’s fractions that the market is valuing most at any given time. The changes in the fractionation streams are made within minutes [...]

Cathy Zoi named as Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

In Washington, President Obama announced the nomination of Cathy Zoi as U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a key position in spearheading the financing and development of renewable energy technologies. Zoi has been CEO of the Al Gore-chaired Alliance for Climate Protection since its founding in 2003, and [...]