Week of June 30, 2008 |
Editor: C.V. Clute editor@epoverviews.com Bioenergy projects funded in Alaska (Funding)
The Denali Commission and the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) are awarding $5,000,000 US for 33 Alaskan alternative/renewable energy projects. Funding includes $4,000,000 US from the Denali Commission and $1,000,000 US from AEA to the following projects:
ZeroPoint Clean Tech starts production of Biodiesel units (Ind. Report) Following up on a company we first mentioned in our Nov. 15, '06 issue, ZeroPoint Clean Tech indicates a New York firm has commissioned its first commercial biofuel unit. The Potsdam, N.Y. based ZeroPoint Clean Tech is producing a small scale unit to convert plant scraps, wood scraps and switchgrass into biodiesel. Once this first unit is shipped, ZeroPoint expects investors from India, Malaysia and Europe to create a backlog of orders for its technology. (Source: Watertown Daily Times, Jun 28, '08)
Biodiesel internship program in N.C. receives funding (Funding) The North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center is providing $400,000 US to the Yadkin-Pee Dee Lakes Project to implement two local development programs aimed at growing jobs and boosting community capacity for economic development. One program, the STARworks Business Development program will establish a biodiesel plant internship program, among other initiatives. (Source: Carolina Newswire, June 30, '08)
Are marginal agricultural lands enough for Bioenergy needs? (Ind. Report) Stanford University researchers have published a report, "The potential of biofuels on marginal agriculture land", that looks at the question of whether we could solve our energy problems if we devoted every abandoned farm to growing biofuel plants? Using satellite imagery to estimate plant production, the computer model indicates that if we were magically to awaken all those abandoned farms for biofuel plants, we could satisfy roughly 10 % of our current energy needs. Lead author, Elliot Campbell summarizes it this way: "there is probably a multi-faceted approach to solving our energy problems, but there's certainly no one technology that's going to get us all the way there." (Source: ABC, June 29, '08)
Biofuels legislation passes in Canada (Reg. & Leg.) As anticipated in our May 30, '08 issue, the Canadian Senate has passed the Canadian Biofuels Bill. The amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Bill C-33) will authorize the government to develop regulations for renewable fuels mandating a 5 % renewable content in gasoline by 2010 and 2 % renewable content in diesel fuel and heating oil by 2012. (Source: Manitoba Cooperator, June 27, '08)
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