1. Renewable Fuels Promotion Act of 2009 (S. 1250). Sponsored by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), this bill would give algae-based fuels tax parity with cellulosic biofuels.

2. Algae Fuel Parity Act (HR 3460). Sponsored by Representative Brian Bilbray (R-CA), this bill would amend the Clean Air Act to include algae-based biofuels in the Renewable Fuel Standard and in the cellulosic biofuel producer tax credit.

3. American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454).  Sponsored by Henry Waxman (D-CA) and supported by Edward Markey (D-MA), this legislation recognizes algae’s ability to beneficially reuse CO2 and ensures algae’s place in a cap-and-trade regime.

4. Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009 (S. 1733).  The Kerry-Boxer bill sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) recently was amended in the chairman’s mark to level the playing field for advanced green biofuels and recognizes the potential of algae to beneficially reuse CO2, create jobs and increase the nation’s energy independence.

Algal Biomass Organization identifies four key Congressional bills is a post from: Biofuels Digest

“Dear North American Biochar Producers & Supporters: Hugh McLaughlin of Alterna Energy wishes to recruit and coordinate a presence in Copenhagen  for industry to show support for the Biochar initiatives.  A clean development mechanism and recognition of soils as carbon sinks would create a royal road for biochar systems and set the stage for carbon legislation in our Senate and Congressional climate & energy legislation— Erich J. Knight, Eco Technologies Group Technical Adviser.”

Alterna, Eco Technologies rounding up biochar supporters for Copenhagen presence is a post from: Biofuels Digest

The Digest reported previously on a flap between the Governor and the legislature, with several legislature members saying they were misled about the scope and timing of the project, a charge which was hotly denied and refuted in detail by the Governor. The changes to the project, which have now been funded, had been previously approved by the State Building Commission.

Tennessee legislature committee OKs $11 million for Genera project, ending communications flap is a post from: Biofuels Digest

Facilities that emit that at least 25,000 tons of GHGs a year would be required to obtain operating and construction permits – this generally includes ethanol production plants with 40 Mgy capacity or higher.

The hearings will be held 10am-7pm local time, 11/18 in Arlington, Va. and 11/19 in Rosemont, Ill. For information about participating at the hearings please contact: Pamela Long long.pam@epa.gov or (919) 541-0641. The public may also register on the day of the hearing; however, they may not be given a specific time to speak.  EPA will accept written comments on the proposed rule until 12/ 28/09.

EPA to hold workshops 11/18 and 11/19 on new GHG regulations affecting larger ethanol plants is a post from: Biofuels Digest

Post Carbon Institute finds alt energy resources insufficient to power industrial system is a post from: Biofuels Digest

Projects announced today will contribute a minimum of 20 percent of matching funds for research and development projects and 50 percent of matching funds for demonstration projects. Funding is provided through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and DOE’s Biomass Program.

Awardees include: GE, Gevo, Itaconix, Yenkin-Majestic Paint, Velocys, Execlus, Purdue, the University of Minnesota, Agrivida, Oklahoma State, the University of Tennessee, and the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials.

Award details:

·  GE Global Research (Irvine, CA) up to $1,597,544: to develop detailed and simplified kinetic models of biomass gasification.  A fundamental modeling capability will enable the widespread design of feedstock-flexible biomass gasifiers that are cost-effective and scaled to match the regional distribution of biomass feedstocks.

·  Gevo, Inc. (Englewood, CO) up to $1,780,862: to develop a yeast fermentation organism that can cost-effectively convert cellulosic-derived sugars into isobutanol, a second generation biofuel/biobased product.  As an advanced biofuel, isobutanol strikes a unique balance between high octane content and low vapor pressure, it can be converted into hydrocarbons, and as a biobased product it can be used as a chemical precursor for numerous high-value products such as isobutylene and PET plastic products.

·  Itaconix ( Hampton Falls, NH) up to $1,861,488: to develop production of polyitaconic acid from northeast hardwood biomass, using an integrated extraction-fermentation-polymerization process.  Polyitaconic acid is a water soluable polymer with a 2 million metric ton per year market potential as a replacement for petrochemical dispersants, detergents, and super-absorbents.

·  Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corporation (Columbus, OH) up to $1,800,000: to demonstrate, at scale, the operation of a dry fermentation system that uses pre- and post-consumer food wastes from supermarkets and restaurants, waste sawdust, grass, leaves, stumps and other forms of wood waste to produce biogas, heat, and electrical power.  Yenkin-Majestic will use these products to demonstrate a distributed stand-alone system for the operation of a large industrial facility.

· Velocys, Inc. (Plain City, OH) up to $2,651,612: to improve biorefinery economics through microchannel hydroprocessing.  This project will explore the unique capabilities of heat and mass transfer inherent in microchannel reactor technology with advanced catalysts to intensify chemical processes, resulting in more efficient conversion of cellulosic residues to liquid transportation fuels.

· Exelus, Inc. (Livingston, NJ) up to $1,200,000: to develop a Biomass-to-Gasoline (BTG) technology that represents a fundamental shift in process chemistry and overall approach to creating biofuels. The technology uses unique, engineered catalysts that facilitate new reaction pathways to liquid motor fuels from biomass. The BTG process replaces conventional high-temperature processes like gasification and pyrolysis with a series of mild, low-temperature reactions. The self-contained process uses minimal water and no acids or chemical additives.

Biofuels Development Analysis:

· Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) up to $933,883: to develop an analysis of the global impacts of second generation biofuels in the context of other energy technologies and alternative economic and climate change policy options.  This project will modify, extend and link established modeling frameworks to capture the strengths of each framework in a hybrid, multidisciplinary system.

· University of Minnesota (St. Paul, MN) up to, $2,715,007: to assess the environmental sustainability and capacity of forest-based biofuel feedstocks within the Lake States region.  This project will address key uncertainties about expanding feedstock harvests in the northern Lake States, including environmental impacts, economic feasibility and avoided fossil-fuel CO2 emissions.

· Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (Washington, Idaho, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Tennessee) up to $1,430,535: to compare the life cycle environmental and economic impacts for collecting forest residuals, short rotation crops, mixed waste,  and biomass from fire risk reduction activities on federal lands for conversion to fuels via biochemical, pyrolysis and gasification systems. National estimates of biofuel production will be based on stratified biomass collection and processing implementation scenarios that can be evaluated against the Renewable Fuel Standard greenhouse gas emission objectives.

Feedstock Development:

· Agrivida (Medford, MA) up to  $1,953,128: to develop new crop traits that eliminate the need for both expensive pretreatment equipment and enzymes.  Transgenic switchgrass will be engineered with cell wall-degrading proenzymes that are dormant when the plant is in the field, but activated after harvest, under processing conditions with specific temperature and pH.

·  Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK) up to $4,212,845: to develop best practices and technologies necessary to ensure efficient, sustainable and profitable production of cellulosic ethanol feedstocks.  Utilizing large-scale feedstock production research, the economic and environmental sustainability of switchgrass, mixed-species perennial grasses and annual biomass cropping systems will be evaluated, and the synergy between bioenergy and livestock production will be explored.

· The University of Tennessee (Knoxville,TN) up to $2,345,290: to compare three varieties of switchgrass using various management practices, harvesting equipment and harvesting timelines in Eastern Tennessee. This 2,000-acre demonstration-scale project will use field plots ranging in size from 10 – 50 acres that incorporate different varieties of switchgrass seed: the current Alamo variety, the Ceres EG 1101 improved Alamo variety, and the Ceres EG 1102 Kanlow variety.

USDA, DOE announce $24 million in bioenergy, bio-based products R&D grants: Gevo, Velocys, GE, Agrivida among awardees for ethanol, biobutanol, drop-in fuels is a post from: Biofuels Digest

The book calls for a “massive uplift in ‘ecological’ investment: renewable energy, energy efficiency, local infrastructure, low-carbon transport, climate adaptation, ecological protection,” and support for ‘ecological’ enterprise – resource efficient, community-based activities that offer meaningful employment and deliver low-carbon goods and services.

“Prosperity Without Growth” book calls for “massive uplift” in renewable energy, low-carbon transport investment is a post from: Biofuels Digest

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association president Denny Mauser said “If the EPA ultimately concludes that the ‘last resort’ of reducing the cellulosic biofuel carve-out within the advance biofuels category is absolutely necessary, IRFA urges EPA to increase the undifferentiated advanced biofuels requirement by the same amount that cellulosic ethanol is reduced. Any adjustment to the cellulosic requirement should not impact the overall volume requirement of the renewable fuels standard (RFS) schedule. There is clearly no shortage of total advanced biofuels production capacity to meet this requirement.”

EPA considering cutback on 2010 cellulosic ethanol mandate; switch to advanced biofuels instead, says Iowa RFA is a post from: Biofuels Digest

Prior to his appointment, Silver was a venture capitalist and the Managing General Partner of Core Capital Partners and was a policy advisor to the Secretaries of Commerce, Interior and Treasury in the 1990s.

US Secretary of Energy appoints loan guarantee czar is a post from: Biofuels Digest

Supports for the Irish bio-energy sector include: Capital grants for biomass/Combined Heat and Power plants (up to 30% support for capital cost); a guaranteed price for electricity produced from bio-energy – 12 cents per kilowatt hour.

Ireland sets 4 percent biofuels mandate is a post from: Biofuels Digest