One of the key factors standing between algae biofuel and the real world of market-competitive energy is something that has a lot in common with comm illnesses, and that is bacteria. The tiny little buggers can interfere with an efficient growth process and they really go to work as soon as algae … [continued]
The U.S. Department of Energy has just issued a first round of funding to develop seven new demonstration offshore wind power projects in Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. The initial grants of $4 million for each project will cover engineering, design, and permitting costs. If all goes … [continued]
The rise of fuel efficient cars has been getting a lot of press lately, and the U.S. Army is not getting left behind in the dust. The Army is on track to decrease fossil fuel consumption in its non-tactical vehicles by 17 percent by the year 2020, which beats the original goal of … [continued]
Sometime within the next several weeks, Congress will take up the National Defense Authorization Act and, according to a report by the advocacy organization Environmental Entrepreneurs, this could be a make or break deal for the Department of Defense’s ambitious biofuel programs. The group has raised concerns that the Department of Defense’s … [continued]
In the midst of continuing economic travails across Europe, the largest petroleum refiner in Italy is placing a bet on biofuels. The Italian energy company Eni S.p.A. will retrofit one of its diesel refineries in Venice to produce renewable diesel, using a system designed by the Illinois-based Honeywell company UOP. The switch will … [continued]
If presidential candidate Mitt Romney didn’t get the clean energy message when Hurricane Isaac blew into town, maybe the big blow-up over Big Bird will catch his attention. As you might recall, in last week’s televised debate, Mr. Romney stated that as president he would eliminate funding for public broadcasting. He singled out … [continued]
Wind power is ready for another leap into the future, with the announcement that a new redox flow battery from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is going into commercial development by the company UniEnergy Technologies LLC. The new grid-scale flow batteries can store huge amounts of energy from wind turbines, which basically eliminates … [continued]
Arizona has just won a $15 million Department of Energy grant to establish the first ever national algae biofuel testbed in the US, which gives it at least temporary bragging rights to the #1 position as it jockeys with other states to establish the kind of algae-friendly cred that will attract new business into its borders. It’s going to have some stiff competition, though. Texas A&M University’s algae biofuel research program also recently got a huge infusion of federal cash, and a network of regional research centers is growing in Hawaii, California, Ohio and Georgia […]
On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers went on CNN and made a straightforward case for the reelection of President Obama, at least in terms of energy policy. Charlotte-based Duke Energy might not yet be a household name outside of its home base … [continued]
The U.S. has just launched a five-year, $125 million alternative energy research project with India, aimed partly at developing biofuels from non-food crops. The biofuel project, funded by the Department of Energy and led by the University of Florida, has the goal of managing climate change and reducing U.S. dependence … [continued]
