North America
As New Heaven Chemicals Iowa LLC nears completion of its new 18,000-ton sodium methylate manufacturing plant at the Manly Terminal in Manly, Iowa, the company is well underway in developing another biodiesel catalyst facility in Texas.
On Dec. 18, President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill and accompanying legislative package of tax extenders into law. The legislation includes two-year extensions of several tax credits that benefit the bioenergy sector.
The tax extenders package that includes the two-year retroactive extension of the $1/gallon biodiesel and renewable diesel blenders tax credit was passed by both chambers of U.S. Congress as one of the legislative branch's last items for the session.
On Dec. 11 the city and county of San Francisco announced they have ended their use of petroleum diesel in the city's fleet and replaced it with renewable diesel. The city operates 1,966 diesel-powered vehicles consuming 5.8 million gallons a year.
On Dec. 16, executives from Boeing, Alaska Airlines and the Port of Seattle signed an MOU to launch a $250,000 infrastructure study to assess costs and infrastructure needed to deliver a blend of biojet fuel to aircraft at the Sea-Tac airport.
Congressional leaders sought reinstatement of the expired biodiesel blender's tax incentive in the tax and spending proposal released Dec. 15. Voting is expected later this week. NBB says it will continue pushing for a producer's credit.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory will host a free webinar Dec. 16 demonstrating how to use the BioEnergy Atlas tools, which include the BioFuels and BioPower Atlases. The webinar will review the data source and date of bioenergy data layers.
Oregon's DEQ commission voted Dec. 9 to finalize its clean fuels program. Oregon becomes the third jurisdiction on the West Coast—following California and British Columbia—to implement a comprehensive low carbon fuels policy for transportation.
EPA's final RFS rule was a shock to the RIN markets. D4 biomass-based diesel RINs went up 30 percent and D6 RINs, dominated by corn ethanol, increased more than 90 percent. University of Illinois economists Irwin and Good examine the recent trends.
After conducting truck and engine lab testing, Volvo Trucks North America approved the use of renewable diesel for all of its proprietary Volvo engines. Volvo noted multiple benefits to using renewable diesel as a commercial transportation fuel.
Picatinny engineers have partnered with Algenol Biotech LLC to harness algae's photosynthesis ability to develop a safe, cheap, fast and environmentally friendly way to recycle aging M6 artillery round propellant and create algae-oil-based biofuel.
With just weeks left in the 2015 calendar year, updated legislation was introduced Dec. 3 in the U.S. House and Senate to reinstate the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit from 2015-'16 and restructure the incentive as a producer credit next year.
Biodiesel producer and technology developer Biodico is opening its 20 MMgy biodiesel production facility in Five Points, California. The facility, called Biodico Westside, incorporates several renewable energy aspects into its novel design.
EPA has committed to increasing biodiesel volumes in its final RFS ruling while getting the program timelines back on track, meaning the 2018 proposal for biomass-based diesel is just months away
Just the second time researchers have sequenced the genome of one of these important, plentiful algae called haptophytes, they hope to better understand and transform them into an important new tool for biofuel production.
The U.S. EPA released its final rule for renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the RFS, and the figures for biomass-based diesel are higher than its May proposal. The rule calls for 1.9 billion gallons in 2016 and 2 billion gallons in 2017.
Donations made to the NBF's Dallas Hanks Memorial Fund on Giving Tuesday (Dec. 1) will specifically support the Next Generation Scientists Scholarships to send students to the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Tampa, Florida, this January.
The National Biodiesel Foundation unanimously elected its executive committee during its fall directors meeting in Washington, D.C., recently. The foundation is designed to advanced initiatives important to the commercial biodiesel industry.
Peter Gonzalez is teaching the science of Bioheat fuel, as well as math, chemistry and English, to 17 Bronx Design and Construction Academy juniors this fall, with NYOHA's support. NYOHA helped the students gain insider views of the Bioheat industry.
NBB members selected their leadership mid-November, electing four returning governing board members and four new members to serve in leadership roles. During the annual fall membership meeting NBB members discussed a number of important topics.
Nearly 100 biodiesel leaders from across the country will press lawmakers on Capitol Hill Nov. 17 to reinstate the biodiesel tax incentive as a domestic production credit in line with a proposal passed unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee.
Biodiesel producer Lake Erie Biofuels LLC doing business as Hero BX announced Nov. 17 that it has acquired the assets of the former Veros Energy biodiesel refinery in Moundville, Alabama. The plant will be operated under the name Hero BX Alabama LLC.
Louis Dreyfus Commodities' new glycerin refinery in Claypool, Indiana, will soon be operational. The company says the new 80-million-pound-per-year plant will be the second-largest in the U.S. producing USP-grade Kosher refined glycerin.
Cowichan Energy Alternatives, the Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op and the Cowichan Valley Regional District are holding a ceremony Nov. 19 to celebrate Vancouver Island's first Green & Go Biofuel Station where users can fill up on biodiesel blends.
Joule, technology developer of liquid fuels from recycled CO2, and Red Rock Biofuels, a developer of renewable jet and diesel fuel biorefineries, announced their intent to merge. The transaction is expected to close by mid-December.
Maas Companies will auction surplus biodiesel process equipment for Biodiesel One Ltd. via a timed online auction ending Dec. 3 for piecemeal offers and Dec. 4 for entirety offers. The equipment is located in Southington, Connecticut.
Nearly two years after the project was announced, a 5 MMgy supercritical biodiesel plant in Annawan, Illinois, is operational. Designed and built by Jatrodiesel Inc., the innovative facility is co-located with a 125 MMgy CHS-owned ethanol refinery.
The largest U.S. biodiesel producer reports its Q3 financials. REG produced and sold more biodiesel in Q3 2015 than in Q3 2014, but its adjusted EBITDA was -$10 million vs. $11 million in Q3 2014, without any adjustment for the tax credit.
Biodiesel producer and technology provider Biodico presented results of its five-year joint R&D project with the Navy to Dennis McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy, along with the California Energy Commission and Gov. Jerry Brown's staff.
A national survey shows that biodiesel is an increasingly popular alternative fuel and that support for the renewable fuel standard (RFS) is on the rise. With just one month until EPA releases its final rule, 80 percent of voters support an RFS.
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