ARPA-E boosts its original projected awards by 70% as it burrows deep into the problem of how to make something insanely great out of stranded methane. Here are the winners, the background and the stakes. In Washington, the US Department of Energy announced that 15 breakthrough energy projects will receive approximately $34 million from the […]
The Inspector-General says money was properly spent, but not always well-spent, as the DOE allocated $600 million to biofuels commercialization over 7 years yet fell short of RFS targets? Long audit reports leave you with watering eyes? Try our 3-Minute Guide. In Washington, the DOE’s Inspector General published a 24-page Follow-up Audit of the Department […]
In Indiana, federal officials are saying that a group of biodiesel operators associated with E-Biofuels stole nearly $100 million in a fraud scheme, and seven have been arrested in what has been described as the biggest fraud in the history on Indiana. Here’s what we know. The allegation is that the operators of e-Biofuels purchased […]
Two new studies with red meat for the “biofuels are a win on carbon” crowd; while Elevance has good news for those in the “don’t care about carbon, give me parity pricing” gang For those of you with an interest in carbon economics, two fascinating studies came out this week that we’ll look at in […]
Adds international strategic investors; expects to complete first commercial facility in 2014 In Colorado, Cool Planet Energy Systems announced that it had raised $19.4 Million in the second close of a “D round” equity raise, after closing on more than $29.9 Million in June of 2013, bringing the total raised to more than $60 Million, […]
After taking a leading role in the global first generation wave of ethanol production, here come the Brazilians — with some hot North American technologies in tow — to take on next-generation biofuels and chemicals. Who are the Big Six, and why? It was BP Biofuels chief Phil New who drew the clearest contrast between […]
GranBio and Genomatica take the lead as the earliest precincts report in this year’s rankings. This Friday (September 20) represents the end of voting in the 2013-14 competitions for the 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy and the 30 Hottest Companies in Biobased Chemicals & Materials. It’s still premature to release vote totals for the invited […]
As farmer’s markets boom — bringing great foods and prices directly to consumers — what can we learn about the real story of food vs fuel, when it comes to the use of crops that can be refined into either? The Digest looks at the data on food — and finds some surprises for those […]
Yesterday, the New York Times ran a major piece looking at the role of financial institutions in driving RINsanity — the rapid rollercoaster in biofuels credits known as Renewable Information Numbers (RINs), the accounting mechanism for the Renewable Fuel Standard. The Times reports that “Traders for big banks and other financial institutions, these people say, […]
Corn stover. It’s that inedible leftover from the corn crop, and if you’ve ever noted how big a corn plant is in comparison to the size of the ear, you know there’s a lot of it. Traditionally, it’s left on the field, and returns nutrients to the soil as it is broken down by bacteria. […]
