Week of June 30, 2008 |
Editor: C.V. Clute editor@epoverviews.com Waste-Ethanol plant for Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Ind. Report) Greenfield Ethanol of Toronto, Ontario, and Enerkem of Montreal, Quebec, indicate they will jointly build a $70,000,000 CDN ($69,169,000 US) waste-to-ethanol plant in Edmonton, Alberta. The 9,000,000 gpy plant, which is expected to be operational in 2010, will be the first project under a partnership between the two companies announced earlier this year. The Alberta Energy Research Institute is contributing $29,000,000 CDN ($28,656,000 US)while the city of Edmonton will contribute $50,000,000 CDN ($9,500,000 US) to a related processing plant and research facility. The city is also contributing the land and waste for the project, which will use Enerkem technology. GreenField is in charge of the plant's construction and operations. (Source: Reuters, June 27, '08)
Mascoma to build $250,000,000 US Wood-Ethanol plant in Mich. (Ind. Report) Updating a project we have been following for some time at ep Overviews, most recently in our May 7, '08 issue, Mascoma Corporation is preparing to start construction on a $250,000,000 US wood-ethanol plant in Chippewa County, Michigan. Mascoma is partnering with the state, General Motors, Marathon Oil, Michigan Technological University, Michigan State University and Marquette-based Longyear, on the project. The company is eligible for $15,000,000 US from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Engineering work is underway to finalize the site that will be secured through a land exchange under negotiation with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. (Source: Detroit News, June 28, '08)
Whey Ethanol plant planned for Wisc. (New Prod. & Tech.) DuBay Ingredients in Stratford, Wisc. is developing biofuel from dairy whey. According to co-owner Joseph VanGroll, a commercial plant using waste from Nasonville Dairy and other dairies will soon be operational. According to VanGroll, he and his partner, Clay Boeger, have developed a process recipe using dairy whey where the lactose is used to make ethanol and the water becomes purified drinking water, resulting in the full usage of all of the byproducts. DuBay plans to build 3 or 4 manufacturing plants in the state. The project received state grants while in the R&D stage. (Source: Chicago Tribune, June 26, '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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