Other Renewables News

New Search Tool Identifies Farm Energy Resources
Responding to an explosion of interest in biofuels and other energy opportunities for agriculture, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) has created a handy “one-stop shopping” search tool for farms and ranches interested in funding and building renewable energy projects, reducing energy costs, and becoming more energy self-sufficient. The online tool can be found at www.attra.ncat.org/farmenergysearchtool.

NCAT created this tool with the practical needs of agricultural producers in mind. Partnering with about a dozen leading renewable energy trade organizations and agencies, NCAT has gathered in one location up-to-date listings in all major energy-related topic areas. Using clickable maps and a few simple drop-down menus, growers can quickly find technical assistance, financial assistance, and sources of equipment in their own state for making energy saving improvements and building anaerobic digesters, biodiesel, ethanol, wind, and solar energy projects. Read the full press release.

Updated Tribal Energy Website Includes Project Development Guide
DOE has updated the Web site for its Tribal Energy Program, which promotes tribal energy sufficiency and fosters employment and economic development on tribal lands throughout the United States. The program, a part of DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), provides financial and technical assistance to tribes for feasibility studies of renewable energy development on tribal lands. It also offers assistance to tribes for the initial steps toward renewable energy and energy efficiency development. The updated Tribal Energy Program Web site reflects the look of the EERE Web site and provides easier access to information about DOE-funded projects on tribal lands. See the Tribal Energy Program website and the Projects on Tribal Lands web page.

The updated Web site also incorporates the Guide to Tribal Energy Development, a subsite designed to help tribes develop clean energy projects on their lands. The online guide is full of information that could benefit anyone pursuing a renewable energy project.

Article Features Geothermal Heat Pump System in Livingston
The Montana Standard recently ran an article on a geothermal heat pump system installed on the Livingston home of Eric Schneider. These systems provide heat through buried piping filled with water and antifreeze, which is then circulated with an electric pump. The systems can also provide cooling. According to the article, Schneider’s energy bills are only about $70 each month, although he does use a wood stove as a supplement for very cold periods. More….

Learn more about geothermal and ground-source heat pumps.

EIA: Summer to Bring Higher Fuel Prices
Crude oil prices are expected to average $65 per barrel this summer, and that, along with demand growth and supply constraints, will keep prices for gasoline and natural gas elevated, according to DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook notes that U.S. retail gasoline prices increased by more than 60 cents per gallon over the past two months due to higher crude oil prices, unplanned refinery outages, increased demand for gasoline, and low levels of gasoline imports from Europe. The average monthly gasoline pump price is projected to peak at an average of $2.87 per gallon in May while averaging $2.81 per gallon over the course of the summer. Average retail prices for diesel fuel are expected to average $2.82 per gallon over the summer, up from a winter low but down 6 cents compared to last summer. More…

Interested in alternative fuels to reduce your gasoline consumption? Check out our Biofuels section.

Corn Plantings Increase 15 Percent Due to Ethanol Demand
High corn prices spurred by a surge in demand for ethanol production have led to a 15 percent increase in planned plantings of corn in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Prospective Plantings report, issued by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), says farmers intend to plant 90.5 million acres of corn this year—an increase of 12.1 million acres—resulting in the largest area planted for corn since 1944. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, that acreage should yield more than 13 billion bushels of corn, which will provide "ample corn supplies to economically meet the needs of all the sectors that rely on it." Farmers will have some catching up to do, though. The Grain Stocks report notes that corn stocks are down by 13 percent—more than 900 million bushels—from this time last year. More...

USDA Offers Clean Energy Grants and Loan Guarantees
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering $176.5 million in loan guarantees and $11.4 million in grants to support investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements by agricultural producers and small businesses. Loan guarantees cover up to 50 percent of a project's cost and will not exceed $10 million. Grants are available for up to 25 percent of a project's cost, with a limit of $250,000 for energy efficiency improvements and $500,000 for renewable energy systems. Grant applications must by postmarked no later than May 18, 2007, while the deadline for loan applications or grant and loan combinations is July 2, 2007. See the USDA press release, and for the complete details, see the announcement from the March 22 edition of the Federal Register.

DOE Awards $23 Million for Cellulosic Ethanol Conversion Projects
DOE has announced that five projects will receive $23 million over the next four years to develop highly efficient fermentative organisms that convert cellulosic biomass into ethanol. Cellulosic biomass includes a variety of non-food plant materials, such as agricultural wastes, saw dust, paper pulp, and switchgrass. Organisms that can ferment these cellulosic biomass materials into ethanol are crucial to the success of commercial-scale integrated biorefineries and cellulosic ethanol refining. Such organisms must be able to survive a wide range of environmental conditions while resisting mutations that would hinder their effectiveness.

DOE selected Cargill Incorporated, Celunol Corporation, DuPont, Mascoma Corporation, and Purdue University for the five projects. The total investment in the five projects could be more than $37 million, with DOE's Biofuels Initiative providing the federal government's share. The research will further President Bush's goals of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive by 2012 and reducing U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent in 10 years. See the DOE press release and the Biofuels Initiative Web page.

NCDC Seeks Participants for Biofuels Survey
The Northwest Cooperative Development Center is looking for farmers, consumers and businesses who have sought to create a biofuel or biopower cooperative business in the Pacific Northwest. If you are exploring a cooperative approach to purchasing biofuels, supplying or processing feedstock into biodiesel or ethanol, or producing power through anaerobic digestion or cogeneration, please take a few minutes to complete NCDC’s online survey. By contributing information about your project, you will be conserving a place for the cooperative business model in the emerging bioenergy industry.

All project-specific information will be kept strictly confidential, though aggregate results will be published to help ensure that communities, farmers and consumers seeking to create cooperative businesses will have the best information available.

Opinion Column Calls for Fuel Conservation First
Tom DeLuca believes firmly that we need to displace fossil fuels with alternative fuels. In this opinion column on New West Bozeman, Deluca calls for us first to conserve fuel and second, to “thoroughly evaluate the sustainability of any proposed alternatives.” Deluca offers a number of reasons why both Americans and Montanans should “look before we leap” into massive ethanol production. Read the column.

Nissan Begins Selling the Altima Hybrid in Eight States
Nissan began selling its first hybrid vehicle, the 2007 Altima Hybrid, in late January. The vehicle is assembled in Tennessee and is available in the eight states that have adopted California emissions regulations: California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price for the Altima Hybrid is $24,400, and it also qualifies for a federal tax credit of $2,350. The hybrid vehicle is estimated to achieve 42 miles per gallon (mpg) in city driving and 36 mpg on the highway, for a combined fuel economy rating of 39 mpg. The vehicle mates a 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine to an electric motor and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) for a total power rating of 198 horsepower, giving it slightly better performance than the standard 4-cylinder Altima. Nissan offers a 4-cylinder Altima with a CVT for $20,300—$4,100 less than the hybrid—but its combined fuel economy of 25 mpg is less than two-thirds of the fuel economy achieved by the hybrid version. More...

Alternative Fuel Challenge in State of the Union Address Draws Mixed Reviews
President Bush said in his State of the Union address that within 10 years, the United States should use five times as much alternative fuel as it does now. That step, coupled with tougher mileage standards on cars, would reduce gasoline usage by 20 percent, he said. The challenge and deadline has drawn mixed reactions from energy experts across the political spectrum. David R. Baker, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, notes that corn ethanol is the only alternative fuel that can be produced in large enough quantities to meet this mandate. The federal government, Baker writes, estimates that ethanol offers about 1.6 units of energy for every unit that goes in. About 5 billion gallons of ethanol were produced in the U.S. last year, which consumed about 12 to 15 percent of the nation's corn crop. Many in the world of alternative fuels worry that Bush's initiative could boost corn ethanol and stifle other, potentially better sources of power. "You're locking in corn ethanol," said Daniel Kammen, an energy specialist and co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment at UC Berkeley. "This is how not to make policy." Meanwhile, market stocks for major ethanol producers were mostly down following the president's speech. According to MarketWatch, the Dow-Jones online report, most markets anticipated Bush's proposal with rallied prices in the days ahead of the speech. Prices for major ethanol producers such as Archers, Daniel, Midland and U.S. Bioenergy closed down the day following the president's speech. More...

New Protocol Will Help Standardize Manure Digester Evaluations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a new protocol last week that intends to help standardize the process used to evaluate the performance of anaerobic digestion systems. Anaerobic digestion is a controlled process to produce methane from livestock manure. The methane can then be burned as a heat source or used to generate electricity. The new EPA protocol describes proper data collection to assess the performance of anaerobic digesters and establishes a uniform method of evaluating a project's operational reliability and economic viability. Meant for use by livestock producers, state agencies, project developers, and other involved parties, the protocol is intended to provide reliable, standardized information to system developers, the investment community, and farmers and ranchers. The protocol was developed jointly by the EPA's AgSTAR program, the Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutions, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More...

Bush Administration to Accelerate Ethanol Production
In his State Of The Union Address on January 23, President Bush set a national goal of replacing more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. He called for a 20-percent reduction in gasoline consumption through increased fuel economy standards and the production of 35 billion gallons of biofuels by 2017. The new Advanced Energy Initiative will, among other things, accelerate research in cutting-edge methods of producing cellulosic ethanol with the goal of making the use of such ethanol practical and competitive within six years. The President's 2007 budget will include $150 million – a $59 million increase over FY06 – to help develop bio-based transportation fuels from agricultural waste products, such as wood chips, stalks, or switch grass. Research scientists say that accelerating research into cellulosic ethanol can make it cost-competitive by 2012, offering the potential to displace up to 30 percent of the nation's current fuel use. More...

House Passes CLEAN Act
The House of Representatives passed the Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN) Act on January 18, reports RenewableEnergyAccess.com. The bill will repeal nearly $14 billion in tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies and instead direct those funds toward renewable fuels and energy efficiency programs. The CLEAN Act was passed by a vote of 264-163. More…

Five Billion Gallons of Ethanol Produced Last Year
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) estimates that U.S. production of ethanol fuel reached 5 billion gallons in 2006, an increase of about 28 percent over 2005, when about 3.9 billion gallons were produced. RFA attributes the industry growth to the phase-out of MTBE as a fuel additive (with ethanol providing the best replacement option), federal renewable fuels production requirements, and growing demand for clean fuels. At year's end, the industry had 110 ethanol biorefineries with enough combined capacity to produce more than 5.3 billion gallons of ethanol per year, plus enough projects set to go online in the next 18 months to more than double that capacity. Ethanol is also finding new outlets to the consumer, as 1,000 fuel pumps in the United States are selling E85, a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. More...

A new report from the Earth Policy Institute (EPI) says that RFA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are actually underestimating the growth of the ethanol fuel industry. According to EPI, the USDA expects ethanol fuel distilleries to require 60 million tons of corn from the 2008 harvest, while EPI estimates are more than twice that, at 139 million tons. Actually, the EPI data is close to what the RFA is anticipating in the near term, but its long-term projections include 200 planned ethanol distilleries that may or may not come to fruition. The EPI press release expresses concerns about the impact of the ethanol fuels market on corn prices.

Detroit Auto Show Features Hybrid, Flex-Fuel, and Efficient Vehicles
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), now underway in Detroit , Michigan, features a number of concept vehicles that include hybrid systems, flex-fuel capabilities, or efficient gasoline engines. Among the most appealing entries in terms of design is the Toyota FT-HS, a hybrid sports car concept that combines carbon fiber and titanium components in an aggressive, aerodynamic design. The concept vehicle features a V6 engine coupled with a hybrid system for a target power output of about 400 horsepower. Toyota estimates that the vehicle could accelerate to 60 miles per hour in about 4 seconds, but the company didn't attempt to estimate its fuel economy. Mazda is also shooting for high-end sports car design with its Ryuga concept vehicle, a sleek, grinning sports car that, according to the company, could potentially feature a flex-fuel engine capable of running on E85 (a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline). See the press releases from Toyota and Ford Motor Company, Mazda's parent company.

Ford is displaying the Lincoln MKR concept, a four-door sedan that's meant to signal Lincoln 's future design strategy, but the car's real innovation is under its hood. The MKR features Ford's new TwinForce engine, an all-aluminum turbocharged V-6 engine in which the gasoline is injected directly into the engine's cylinders at high pressures. Compared to standard fuel-injection systems, which inject the fuel into the cylinder head, the TwinForce design allows for a more efficient and controlled burning of the fuel. The result is the performance of a V-8 engine with a 15 percent improvement in fuel economy. The engine is also capable of running on E85, which allows it to deliver 415 horsepower. See the Ford press releases on the Lincoln MKR concept and its engine.

Bill Extends Federal Energy Tax Credits
President Bush has approved the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, extending the production tax credit through 2008 for electricity produced from wind power, geothermal power, biomass, landfill gas, small irrigation power, and trash combustion facilities. The act provides a similar one-year tax credit extension for new properties that produce geothermal power or make use of solar energy; for homeowners that purchase solar water heating, solar photovoltaic, or fuel cell systems; for businesses that purchase fiber-optic lighting systems, solar energy systems, or fuel cell power plants; for new energy-efficient homes; and for energy-efficiency improvements to commercial buildings.

The act extends the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds program through 2008, and increases the total annual amount of tax-credit bonds to $1.2 billion. It extends special tax allowances for cellulosic ethanol facilities to include plants placed in service by 2012. It also extends the research and development tax credit, which encourages businesses to invest in new innovations. More…

Cellulosic Ethanol Demonstration Plant Slated for New York
Mascoma Corporation has been awarded a $14.8 million grant for a cellulosic biomass-to-ethanol demonstration plant in Rochester, New York. The project will demonstrate cellulose-to-ethanol technology and industrial processes, using agricultural and forest products as biomass, including paper sludge, wood chips, Grant funds are from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Also supporting the project are International Paper Co., Cornell University, Clarkson University and the Natural Resources Defense Council. More…

Funding Alert! Conservation Innovation Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture requests proposals for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Program. The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies for environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production. Categories of interest include: 1) National Natural Resource Concerns (atmosphere, water, soil grazing land and forest health; and 2) National Technology (improved on-farm energy efficiency including but not limited to renewable energy resources, methane recovery, and water management). Some $2 million is expected to be available, with up to 60 awards anticipated.  Responses are due February 2, 2007. For more information, contact Tessa Chadwick at [email protected] or go to: www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=11733. Refer to Sol# USDA-NRCS-NHQ0701

PSC Approves New Rates for Renewable Energy Producers
Montana 's Public Service Commission has approved new prices for small renewable energy projects that sell the power to NorthWestern Energy, reports the Missoulian. Under the new rule, small projects—those up to 10 MW in size—could choose a price of either $49.90 per megawatt-hour (mwh) or a price tied to the highest hourly price that NorthWestern pays for power from other sources, with contracts ranging from seven to 20 years. NorthWestern Energy currently sells power to its Montana customers for about $48 per mwh. More…

Advanced Cars Focus of Nissan's New Environmental Action Plan
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., has announced its new environmental action plan, which focuses on reducing both exhaust and CO2 emission, and increasing recycling efforts. Nissan Green Program 2010 includes plans to introduce a variety of fuel-efficient vehicles by 2010, including an expanded number of flex-fuel vehicles and a new hybrid vehicle. Nissan also will commercialize a battery-powered electric vehicle and a fuel cell vehicle. The plan includes a commitment to accelerate Nissan's development of plug-in hybrid vehicles and an effort to develop a car by 2010 that can run 100 kilometers on three liters of gasoline using advanced engine technologies and a continuously variable transmission. The company also will reduce its energy use in manufacturing, cutting carbon dioxide emissions of its auto plants by 7 percent by 2010. More…

Report: Geothermal Development Can Create Jobs, Investments, and Other Benefits
At a time when the U.S. geothermal industry is seeing a resurgence of new investment, the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) has released a new publication on the socioeconomics of geothermal energy. A Handbook on the Externalities, Employment, and Economics of Geothermal Energy provides critical information about the costs, benefits, and other effects of geothermal development on people and communities around the country.

“Representing over a year of work and having undergone extensive reviews, this report solidly documents the many benefits of expanding geothermal energy use,” stated Karl Gawell, Executive Director of GEA. “We hope the Administration and OMB read this report,” he added, referring to recent proposals by the Administration to close down federal geothermal research efforts. The document can be downloaded from the GEA website at www.geo-energy.org/publications/reports.asp.

337 Fuel Cell Projects Identified in New Database
A new database created by Fuel Cells 2000 and DOE's Hydrogen Program identifies some 337 stationary fuel cell projects that have been built in the United States . The database includes both both active and retired projects in 43 states. California leads with 59 projects, followed by New York with 53. The largest projects are a now-defunct 2-megawatt molten carbonate fuel cell built in Santa Clara, California, in the 1990s; a 1.2-megawatt phosphoric acid fuel cell system built in Middletown, Connecticut, in 2001; a 2-megawatt molten carbonate fuel cell built in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 2003; and a 1.4-megawatt phosphoric acid fuel cell system built in Garden City, New York, in 2005. While the majority of the fuel cells are fueled with natural gas, the database also includes fuel cells powered by anaerobic digester gas, coalmine methane, diesel fuel, ethanol, hydrogen, landfill gas, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol, and propane. More…

Reports Analyze 25x'25 Renewable Energy Vision
The 25x'25 Initiative has released two reports that analyze its renewable energy vision for America . The reports, one by the RAND Corporation and one by the University of Tennessee, studied the ability of renewable energy from America's farms, forests and ranches to provide 25 percent of U.S. total energy needs in 2025 while continuing to provide safe, abundant and affordable food, feed and fiber, as well as the economic and other effects of achieving this goal. The reports conclude that the 25x'25 vision is achievable and that rapidly increasing the use of renewable energy will have an immediate payoff for the U.S. economy. The reports also conclude that 25x'25 will improve our energy security and could provide significant environmental and other benefits at virtually no additional cost to the economy. See the full reports.

Geothermal Enjoying Considerable Growth During 2006
Fifty-eight new geothermal energy projects are currently under development in the United States, compared to only 46 in March 2006, according to a new survey from the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA). The survey identifies power projects under development in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. More...

2007 Fuel Economy Guide Released
DOE and EPA have released the 2007 Fuel Economy Guide, which identifies fuel-efficient autos for the 2007 model year. Hybrid vehicles lead the way for overall fuel economy with the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the front-wheel-drive version of the Ford Escape Hybrid topping the list, and the four-wheel-drive version of the Ford Escape Hybrid tying with the new Mercury Mariner Hybrid in tenth place. More...

DOE Announces Funding for Renewable Energy Projects on Tribal Lands
The U.S. Department of Energy requests proposals from Federally-recognized Tribes to conduct feasibility studies to determine the viability of economically sustainable renewable energy installations on Tribal lands. Some $4 million is expected to be available, up to 15 awards anticipated. Responses are due February 6, 2007. More...

American Energy Initiative Produces New Renewable Energy Report
The American Energy Initiative, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the Center for American Progress, has produced a new report titled American Energy: The Renewable Path to Energy Security. The report demonstrates the potential of renewable energy and energy efficiency and presents a practical policy agenda for achieving them. The full report can be downloaded at the project's website www.americanenergynow.org.

October Marks Beginning of Phase-out of Tax Credits for Toyota Hybrids
Beginning October 1, 2006, buyers of Lexus or Toyota hybrid vehicles will be entitled to a lower tax credit. According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), more than 60,000 hybrid vehicles built by Toyota Motor Corporation had been purchased as of the second quarter of 2006. As required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the IRS is cutting the tax credit by 50 percent for the fourth quarter of 2006, which starts October 1, through the first quarter of 2007. From April 1 through September 30, 2007, the tax credit will again be halved, and a year from now the tax credit will disappear. For instance, buyers of the popular Prius can earn a tax credit of at most $1,575 as of October 1, and on April 1, 2007, that figure will drop to just $787. Meanwhile, tax credits remain in full force for other automakers producing hybrids. More...

USDA Awards $5.5 Million for Biofuels, Biomass, Wind Projects
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that 44 projects in 21 states collectively will receive nearly $5.5 million in grants for the production and marketing of ethanol, ethanol by-products, and biodiesel and for feasibility studies of energy production from biomass and wind power. The funds are part of a larger package of Value-Added Producer Grants, which generally go toward marketing agricultural products, but can also go toward farm- based renewable energy projects. While most of the funds will go toward ethanol-related projects, the projects also include efforts to market heating fuels derived from wood pellets, wood chips, sugarcane biomass, and corn and from methane produced from an anaerobic digester on a dairy farm. The on-farm renewable energy projects are all wind power projects, but two grant recipients plan to supplement their wind power with biomass power, one using corn and the other fueling a microturbine with wood chips. The projects will be located in the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. More...

Funding Alert: Clean School Bus USA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requests proposals for Clean School Bus USA, for retrofit and/or replacement projects that reduce pollution from school buses within the Region 8 states which includes Montana. Some $415K is expected to be available, with up to 10 awards anticipated. Responses are due November 3, 2006. More...

Yellowstone Park Marks a Decade of Biodiesel Use
Biodiesel Magazine reports that Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks recently celebrated ten successful years of biodiesel use in daily operations. A workshop at Moran Junction on Tuesday was sponsored by the United Soybean Board and featured several panelists, including the board's director, Chuck Myers. He told attendees that Yellowstone "confirmed that biodiesel can be used successfully in one of the harshest, all-weather climates in the United States.” The Yellowstone area currently has five public biodiesel pumps. More...

EPA Proposes Rules for Renewable Fuel Requirements
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed rules for a national program requiring increasing levels of renewable fuels production over the next six years. The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) Program, authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, requires 4.7 billion gallons of biofuels production in 2007, increasing gradually to 7.5 billion gallons in 2012. To meet that requirement, the new regulation proposes that 3.71 percent of all the gasoline sold or dispensed to U.S. motorists in 2007 be renewable fuel. The rule contains compliance tools and a credit and trading system that is integral to the overall program. The system allows renewable fuels to be used where they are most economical, while providing a flexible means for industry to comply with the standard. More...

Researchers Studying Straw Conversion to Liquid Fuels
A major byproduct of the Pacific Northwest's grass seed industry is straw. Illegal to burn and expensive to move, straw in this region is almost unmarketable. But researchers from the Western Research Institute in Laramie, Wyoming, are working to develop a small-scale gasification reactor that can use straw as a feedstock, according to The Soy Daily, an online trade journal. Two Agricultural Research Service (ARS) labs have collaborated with the Laramie research institute to develop technologies to convert straw into liquid fuels. A prototype reactor reduces straw into char—small particles of carbon and residue. The vaporized gases can be converted into liquid, synthetic gas. Researchers estimate that up to 60 gallons of liquid fuel can be derived from a ton of straw. The grass seed region of the Pacific Northwest produces about 7 million tons of excess straw per year, which has the potential for 420 million gallons of liquid fuel. More...

Company to Invest $400 Million in Renewable Fuels by 2009
The Virgin Group—a company that started in music and has expanded to airlines and a whole lot more—announced Sunday that its latest venture will be in renewable fuels. Virgin Fuels will invest up to $400 million in renewable fuels over the next three years, starting with an investment in California-based Cilion, Inc. Cilion was formed in June to build and operate ethanol plants that will be cheaper and greener than standard corn-to-ethanol plants, as they substantially reduce the need for fossil fuels in ethanol production. By 2009, Cilion plans to build seven ethanol plants that will have a total capacity of 440 million gallons per year. The first three plants are expected to be located in California. More...

Cattle Manure to Power New Texas Ethanol Plant
Panda Ethanol has announced plans to build a fuel-efficient ethanol plant in Sherman County, Texas, that will have a production capacity of 100 million gallons annually. The new plant will refine about 40 million bushels of corn and sorghum each year into ethanol. As well, the plant will use one billion pounds of cattle manure each year to generate steam for production of the ethanol. The plant will be equal in size to Panda's Hereford plant, which will be the largest biomass-fueled ethanol plant in the United States when it goes online in 2007. More...

Ethanol Industry Experiencing Rapid Growth
The ethanol fuel industry is growing so rapidly that a national Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), passed as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, is already moot, says EERE Network News. The RFS requires 4 billion gallons of biofuels production in 2006 and 4.7 billion gallons in 2007, increasing gradually to 7.5 billion gallons in 2012. But according to the latest press release from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), there are currently 101 ethanol facilities nationwide with the capacity to produce more than 4.8 billion gallons of ethanol per year, an amount that already exceeds the requirement for next year. With an additional 41 ethanol facilities under construction and 7 expansions underway, the industry is in the process of adding nearly 2.8 billion gallons of new capacity. That will provide enough capacity for the industry to produce 7.6 billion gallons of ethanol per year, which already exceeds the goal for 2012. Unless the industry experiences a downturn and some production capacity goes uncompleted or unused, the ethanol fuel industry should easily exceed the RFS requirements. More...

DOE Announces Solicitation for Bioenergy Research Centers
DOE has announced that it will award $250 million to establish and operate two new Bioenergy Research Centers. The centers will work to accelerate basic research in cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, with a goal of meeting the requirements set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms are eligible to apply. Proposals are due February 1, 2007. The centers are expected to begin work in 2008 and be fully operational by 2009. More...

Oregon Renewable Energy Ballot Measure Proposed
Renewable energy technology proponents in Oregon hope to pass a public initiative this fall that would turn the state into a center for renewable energy research, reports Newwest.net. Backers refer to the ballot initiative as the “Oregon Apollo Initiative,” evoking the massive NASA program of the 1960s that put men on the moon. The initiative would fund the creation of seven "centers of excellence"' that in turn would encourage research and development efforts and training programs in the renewable energy industry. The initiative would also create tax breaks for companies working in biofuel production. Backers for the initiative come from both sides of the aisle: former Democratic governor John Kitzhaber and Republican state senator Ben Westlund are the ballot measure's chief proponents. More...

Washington State Legislature Passes Biofuel Plant Construction
The Washington State legislature is currently debating a bill that would establish a $9 million fund that would subsidize the construction of four oilseed crushing facilities across the state. The crushing plants would allow canola and other oilseed crops to be converted into oil, which could then be blended with diesel fuel to create biodiesel. The bill recently passed the House and is now heading to the state Senate. The Spokane Conservation District, the Odessa Public Development Authority and the Port of Columbia County each would get $2.75 million under the proposal. The Port of Sunnyside would get $750,000. More...

Geothermal Firm Donates $20K to Idaho County
The geothermal energy company ORMAT recently donated $20,000 to Churchill County , Idaho , where it has based its geothermal business for more than twenty years. ORMAT also announced plans to build a 30-megawatt geothermal power plant at a U.S. Naval site in the county. The company plans to recoup the $80 million plant cost within a decade of operation, and intends to hire 10-12 people to operate the facility. Once constructed, the plant could theoretically produce power indefinitely, so long as there is geothermal heat inside the earth's crust. ORMAT has signed a 50-year contract with the Navy for operating the plant. More...

Biodiesel Bill Passes Colorado Senate
The Colorado Senate Transportation Committee recently passed a new bill aimed at boosting the production and sale of Colorado biodiesel, reports The Durango Herald . The bill would mandate that state vehicles be fueled with a 20-percent blend of biodiesel so long as biodiesel price is no more than 10 cents more than traditional diesel fuel. Backers cited two motives behind the bill: achieving greater energy independence from foreign petroleum and invigorating Colorado's rural economy. The bill now goes before the full Senate for deliberation. More...

Butte-Silver Bow County to Test Montana Inventor's Fuel Additive
Butte-Silver Bow County officials have agreed to test a new fuel additive in the county vehicle fleet this winter, reports The Missoulian. Officials hope that the additive, called CA-40, can increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. The additive will be used on a six-month test basis while officials monitors its effects on gas mileage and emissions. Bozemen resident Clyde Ritter, a retired pilot and aviation industry worker, invented CA-40. He has worked on the fuel addition for more than a decade and approached Butte for a fleet test this last fall. More...

Colorado Biodiesel Company Announces Facility Expansion
Colorado-based biodiesel company BioEnergy recently announced plans to expand the size of their production facility by 50 percent, reports The Rocky Mountain News. While the company currently runs a year-old facility capable of producing 10 million gallons of biodiesel annually, plant officials are betting on the future economic draw of biofuels by building a second plant capable of producing 5 million gallons annually. Company officials acknowledged that the biodiesel industry is still inhibited by its low public profile and problems with using the fuel in cold weather. More...

New Mexico State Agencies Predict Global Warming Will Impact Poor Most Severely
A recently issued report authored by staff of seven New Mexico state agencies predicts that global warming will have a significant impact on the environment in the Rocky Mountain West and will affect the poor most significantly. The report indicates that communicable diseases such as hantavirus and plague will spread more rapidly, farming and ranching will become more expensive due to drought, fire and windstorms and trout habitat could decline by as much as 78 percent. According to the authors, the poor will be least able to deal with the rising costs of food and energy and be more vulnerable to health-related problems. More...

Guest Editorial on Montana 's Renewable Energy Potential
This Billings Gazette editorial written by Helen Waller advocates a concentrated push for renewable energy development in Montana. Waller notes that Montana is ranked fifth in the nation for wind energy potential, and refers to the pending Judith Gap wind energy project as exemplary for Montana's energy future; energy generated by the wind farm will cost less than that of NorthWestern Energy. Waller also discusses the potential for biodiesel production and energy efficiency measures as immediate, economically viable ways for Montanans to save money on energy costs. More...

Biodiesel Truck Stop Attracts Interest of Texas Entertainers
Carl Cornelius, owner of Carl's Corner truck stop and founder of the Texas town incorporated with the same name, is attracting the interest of high-profile actors, musicians and authors with his push for biodiesel fuel production. Country singer Willie Nelson, Chicken Soup for the Soul author Mark Victor Hansen, and actor Dennis Weaver are Cornelius' committed business partners. Nelson and Cornelius began selling biodiesel earlier this year when they installed BioWillie, Nelson's biodiesel fuel pump, at the truck stop. Since then, Cornelius' business has become a meeting place for biodiesel entrepreneurs. Most recently, a group of investors announced plans to build a biodiesel manufacturing plant near the truck stop. Other figures in the entertainment industry—Bonnie Raitt, Neil Young, Daryl Hannah, and Morgan Freeman, for example—also are getting involved in the biodiesel industry. More...

Opinion Piece: Utah Needs A Renewable Energy Policy
The state of Utah currently relies on coal-fired plants for 95 percent of its electricity, compared to 52 percent nationwide. This editorial by Jackie Biskupski, a Salt Lake City legislator, recommends that Utah 's political leadership consider adding renewable energy to the state's energy portfolio. One means for promoting renewable energy, according to Biskupski, would be enacting a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), by which a portion of the state's energy would be required to come from renewable energy sources. Passing a RPS wou study this year by the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that a 10 percent RPS could, by 2020, provide the state $888 million in new capital investment, $63 million in new property tax revenues for local communities, and $16 million in income to ranchers and rural landowners resulting from bioenergy development and wind power land leases. More...

Idaho and Utah Announce Plans for Geothermal Plants
Two new contracts will likely result in a new 10-megawatt geothermal plant located in south-central Idaho and a new 42-megawatt plant in southwest Utah. In Idaho, U.S. Geothermal has entered into a contract with Ormat Nevada, Inc. for the engineering, procurement, and construction of its first 10-megawatt geothermal power plant at Raft River. U.S. Geothermal has signed power purchase contracts with the Idaho Power Company for three 10-megawatt geothermal power plants. More...

In Utah, PacifiCorp signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for all the power produced by a 42-megawatt geothermal power plant that will be located near Cove Fort, Utah. Owner Amp Resources LLC expects the project to be online in 2007. The project was selected as part of a PacifiCorp request for proposals, issued in February 2004 with the aim of acquiring up to 1,100 megawatts of cost-effective renewable resources. More...

Darby School Receives Biomass Fuel from Forest Service
Thanks to its biomass boiler and discounted fuel provided by the Forest Service, the Darby School District can expect to pay much less in heating costs this year. The District replaced its fuel oil furnace with a biomass boiler two years ago with funds from the Forest Service's Fuels for Schools Program. The school district will receive 500 tons of slash that resulted from Forest Service's fuel-reduction efforts in the Bitterroot National Forest. The total cost for the fuel is $5000, significantly lower than the estimated $125,000 it would cost to heat the school over the winter months if it still used fuel oil. More...

Wyoming Biodiesel Plant in the Works
Wyoming Biodiesel Co., a subsidiary of Sheridan-based Energy Fuel Dynamics LLC, has announced plans to construct a new biodiesel plant in Campbell County, Wyoming, capable of producing 30 million gallons of biodiesel annually. The plant would be Wyoming's first biodiesel plant, as well as one of the largest nationwide. Biodiesel is derived from vegetable oil, and a major production facility would be a boon to Wyoming farmers who grow oil seed crops such as canola and camelina. Biodiesel processing also produces a high-protein cattle feed, helping to feed Wyoming livestock. More...

Northern Plains Resource Council Meeting Showcases Renewable Energy Options
The Billings Outpost recently ran a story on the 34th Northern Plains Resource Council annual meeting, highlighting the renewable energy options available for Montanans. The article quotes keynote speaker Michael Nobel, who works for Minnesotans for an Efficient Energy Economy (ME-3). Nobel advocated immediate solutions to energy consumption, such as dramatically increasing the number of hybrid cars used for urban commutes and continuing to expand on biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. The article also highlights the incorporation of biofuel vehicles by Yellowstone park managers. More...

Arizona Consumers Take Advantage of Alternative Energy Credits
Arizona residents have lots of incentives to develop alternative energy technologies. The upcoming $2,000 federal tax credit for residential solar power installations can be combined with the Arizona $1,000 solar tax credit. Additionally, some Arizona utility companies have added incentives: Tucson Electric Power, for example, will offer a $2,400 rebate per kilowatt on solar panel installations. When these tax credits and rebate are taken in context of the rising costs of natural gas and oil, it appears that solar energy is not such an expensive option. Other alternative energies are also becoming popular, most notably the rising interest in biofuel production. This Arizona Daily Star article highlights success stories for several Arizona entrepreneurs who work in the field of biodiesel production. More...

Article Provides Background on Dairy Farm Energy Projects
An article in the September/October 2005 issue of the journal Distributed Energy examines the push to encourage onsite power production at dairy farms across the country and provides a cautionary tale for dairy owners thinking about investing in bio-based energy systems. Titled "DG Down on the Farm," the article discusses the state of the technology for on-farm digester/generation systems and outlines various state programs and the reasons for their varied success in encouraging installation of energy systems at dairies. The article also provides examples and perspectives from both dairy producers and the utility companies, which can play an important role in how successful a bio-based energy program will be. More...

Townsend School District Plans Biomass Boiler Installation
Townsend school district officials announced that a new biomass boiler will be installed in the school next summer. The boiler, which burns wood pellets, is expected to save the district half of its annual heating bill of $50,0000; officials hope to save $1 million over the next thirty years. The district will defray the costs of the new system with a $130,000 grant from the federally funded Fuels for Schools program. Townsend is the latest of several Montana school districts to take advantage of the federal program. The wood pellets that fuel the boiler are wood scraps and products collected from lumber mills or fuel reduction projects. More...

Colorado-Based Beer Breweries Produces Ethanol from Waste
Colorado-based Coors Brewing Co. and Merrick & Company have found a novel use for the waste produced from beer production: creating 1.5 million gallons of ethanol. One plant distills residuals from beer making and has been successful enough that a second, $2.3 million plant will open later this month on the same site. This second plant will double ethanol production at the brewery, partly through inputting millions of gallons of spilled Coors, George Killian's Irish Red and other beers directly into the process via an underground pipeline. Additionally, three other ethanol plants are under development in the state. These plants will push Colorado from have virtually no ethanol production to becoming one of the nation's top producers. More...

Op-Ed: The Future of Renewable Energy in the West
This opinion piece by Headwater News argues for an expanded renewable energy market in the West. They advocate that a renewable energy policy should no longer be driven only by considerations of the low environmental impact of renewable energy technologies, but also by the reduced energy costs that renewables offer. Some Montana schools, for example, are turning to wood and biomass for heating, while some 29,000 Colorado customers who use Xcel Energy's wind energy program will pay $10 a month less for heat than those who use traditional fossil fuel generated energy, according to the Denver Post. The op-ed also cites the economic potential of renewable energy projects, such as the recent wind turbine projects announced in Montana and Idaho. More...

Hybrid Grass Shows Promise as Fuel Source
Scientists studying a hybrid grass at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say it might be used as an efficient solid fuel, reports a UPI article posted on Science Daily. Leafless stems of the 13-foot tall Giant Miscanthus, or elephant grass, offer a comparatively clean and renewable solid fuel source, researchers reported at the British Association for the Advancement of Science festival. As a fuel, the grass offers an energy ratio of input to output less than 0.2, compared with ratios that exceed 0.8 for ethanol and biodiesel from canola. More...

Ford to Offer Hybrid Versions of Half its Lineup by 2010
Ford Motor Company recently announced plans to increase production to encompass more than half the vehicle models by 2010. The company plans to increase production of its Ford Escape Hybrid to 250,000 in just five years. Ford recently unveiled its second hybrid, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid, which goes on sale this fall, and the company plans to introduce hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Mazda Tribute by 2008. More...

Ford also noted plans to increase its flexible-fuel vehicles. The 2006 models of the Ford F-150, Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car will accept E85, an ethanol and gasoline mixture containing 85 percent ethanol. Ford said it could produce as many as 280,000 flexible-fuel vehicles in 2006. More...

Turkey LItter to Fuel Small Town
According to an AP article in the Pioneer Press, energy developers are building a new plant that will burn tons of turkey litter from farms across western Minnesota. Situated in the small town of Benson, the plant is expected to begin production in 2007 and provide enough power to supply the town of 3,300 and the farms around it. The project comes a decade after the Minnesota Legislature ordered the state's largest power supplier - now Xcel Energy Inc. - to invest in biomass as a power source. More...

Manure-powered Ethanol Plant Planned in Kansas
Panda Energy has announced that a new 100 million gallon ethanol plant it plans to construct in Haskell County, Kansas, will be powered by gasified cattle manure, reports Kansas Ag Connection. The company also plans ethanol plants in Texas and Colorado, and together the three facilities will use three billion pounds of cattle manure a year in the creation of bio-gas to run the plants. The company says the biofuel will save 1,000 barrels of oil per day. More...

Standard Runs Feature on Hybrid Vehicles
An article in the September 18 issue of The Montana Standard focused on hybrid vehicles and their growing popularity in Montana. According to the article, "Rising gasoline prices, federal tax incentives and threats of global warming are increasing sales of hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles nationwide, and Montana is no exception." More...

Construction of New Corn-Based Chemical Plant Underway
A new $100-million manufacturing plant to support new corn-based polymers is now under construction in Loudon, Tennessee, under a joint venture of DuPont and Tate & Lyle. The new plant will convert corn into a chemical called 1,3 propanediol, or PDO for short. The companies call the new product Bio-PDO, and will use it to produce DuPont Sorona polymer, which can be used to produce clothing, carpeting, plastics, and other products. According to the companies, the production of Bio-PDO consumes 30 to 40 percent less energy than producing PDO from petroleum; producing 100 million pounds of Bio-PDO in the Loudon plant will save the energy equivalent to 10 million gallons of gasoline per year. More...

Firm Offering $25 Million for Renewables, Efficiency Projects
RNK Capital LLC, a manager of environmental investments, has announced plans to invest $25 million in the U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency market and is inviting interested parties to submit an Expression of Interest. The company hopes to receive offers for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that will result in renewable energy credits, sulfur dioxide emissions allowances, nitrous oxide emissions allowances, or other environmental credits. As an active participant in the markets for emissions trading and renewable energy credits, RNK Capital will consider either buying the credits or allowances generated by the projects or providing debt financing for the projects. See RNK Capital's Request for Project Proposals website.

Bozeman Biofuels Launches Website
Looking for biofuels information with a local slant? Try Bozeman Biofuels website! Bozeman Biofuels was formed following the Bioneers conference in fall 2004. The group is committed to using alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. Its website offers useful information on biofuels, including where to purchase in Bozeman, links to other resources, and more..

National Lab Expert Notes Energy Benefits of Ethanol
A researcher at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory has completed a study that defends the energy and environmental benefits of producing ethanol from corn and other biomass sources. Argonne researcher Michael Wang presented research at the National Press Club confirming that ethanol fuel substantially helps reduce fossil fuel and petroleum use, when compared with gasoline. Wang also found that ethanol produced from corn achieves moderate reductions in greenhouse gases. Ethanol produced from grass and other "cellulosic" or woody biomass sources can achieve much greater energy and greenhouse gas benefits.

The Argonne research dismisses an ongoing academic argument about the amount of energy needed to produce ethanol. A paper published in the March edition of "Natural Resources Research" by researchers at Cornell University and the University of California at Berkeley claims that ethanol production from corn requires 29 percent more energy than is provided by the resulting ethanol fuel. In contrast, a 2004 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that ethanol produces 67 percent more energy than is consumed in its production. But according to the Argonne research, what really matters is that ethanol compares favorably to gasoline, the fuel it replaces. More...

Tool Helps Fleet Managers Evaluate Hybrid Vehicles
A new software tool that compares the costs and emissions of hybrid electric vehicles to conventional vehicles is now available for government and business fleet managers. The tool takes into account purchase price, fuel costs, repair and maintenance costs, resale value, and applicable tax incentives. For example, the tool indicates that at the current fuel prices of $2.50 per gallon or more, hybrid vehicles can offer significant financial savings to fleets. A high percentage of city driving and large number of miles driven per year can further increase the cost-effectiveness of hybrid vehicles. Called the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Cost Calculator Tool, the tool was developed by the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Center for a New American Dream, and the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. More...

Reports: High Gas Prices Changing U.S. Consumer Behavior
With gasoline prices soaring, U.S. drivers are driving less and considering more fuel-efficient vehicles, according to two new studies. A report from the California Energy Commission (CEC) notes that despite an increase in population in 2004, the state is now using less gasoline. Comparing the state's total gasoline sales from the first four months of 2005 and 2004, sales actually declined by one half of one percent. In the same time period, gasoline prices rose from $2.12 per gallon to $2.60 per gallon. A public opinion poll and forthcoming study by the Polk Center for Automotive Studies confirms the CEC findings, noting that 59 percent of the people polled say they will drive less at current gasoline prices. The Polk study also found that 40 percent of poll respondents said they would delay purchasing a new vehicle, and 55 percent said that when they do buy a new vehicle, they'll buy a more fuel-efficient one.

Experts Predict Natural Gas Costs Will Increase Sharply
This winter will likely bring dramatically higher natural gas prices, posing a harship for low- and fixed-income consumers. Low storage and high demand are contributing to the increasing costs, says Tom Hauptman, a Billings-based oil and gas producer. If forecasting models prove correct, NorthWestern Energy gas customers are facing monthly bills in the range of $200 to $300 this winter. More..

Report: FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership Making Gains
A new report from the National Research Council concluded that DOE's three-year-old FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership has made "an excellent start." The partnership is a research collaboration among DOE, the "Big Three" automakers, and five major energy companies, with a goal of developing emissions-free vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cells. The report, released in early August, notes that the partnership faces significant technical challenges, including hydrogen storage in vehicles, commercially viable fuel cells, and the need to build an infrastructure for hydrogen fueling. More...

Gas Prices Reach All-Time Highs
The price of gasoline continues to climb, reaching record levels in many areas. According to AAA, the nationwide average price of a gallon of regular unleaded reached $2.524 on August 16, an increase of about 36 percent over the last year. Montana's average was slightly below the national average at $2.439 per gallon for regular unleaded. More...

Shopping for a new car? Consider models with high miles-per-gallon ratings, or models that use alternative fuels such as ethanol. The new federal energy bill passed allows tax credits for certain cars, ranging from $250 to $3400. The credit amount is largely determined by a vehicle's city fuel economy relative to the average for its weight class. More..

Energy Act Includes Biofuel Requirement and Tax Incentives
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 sets a new national minimum requirement for the use of biofuels, particularly ethanol. The new "Renewable Fuels Standard" requires that gasoline sold in the United States contain a total of 4 billion gallons of biofuels in 2006, increasing to 7.5 billion gallons in 2012. The standard provides greater flexibility for refiners by allowing renewable fuel credits and by eliminating the reformulated gasoline oxygenate standard. The bill allows a credit of 2.5 gallons for every gallon of ethanol produced from wastes or cellulosic (woody) biomass sources. A recent report by DOE's Energy Information Administration analyzed a similar requirement and found it had a negligible impact on fuel prices. See the report.

And should you install a refueling station for alternative fuels at your home or business, you can earn a 30 percent tax credit (this sounds unlikely for the home, but Honda is now offering home natural gas fueling stations in California). The credit applies to fueling stations for ethanol, natural gas, compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, and biodiesel blends containing at least 20 percent biodiesel. The act also extended tax incentives for fuel distributors that blend biodiesel into their diesel fuel. More...

The act also requires federal alternative fuel fleets with flexible fuel vehicles (vehicles that can be fueled with gasoline or alternative fuels) to actually use alternative fuels, provided they are reasonably available and not unreasonably expensive. Currently, many federal fleets are buying the flexible fuel vehicles but fueling them only with gasoline or diesel fuel. See pages 682 to 1724 of the energy act (PDF 2.6 MB).

Paper Manufacturer Plans Cogen Plant for Wood Waste
Paper manufacturer Kruger received approval to build a new 23-megawatt biomass cogeneration plant in its Brompton, Quebec, mill. The plant will use wood waste from its operations to generate about 100 megawatts of electricity. More...

Ethanol-fueled Vehicle on Loan to Montana DEQ
A new ethanol-fueled Chevy Avalanch will call Montana home for the next year, as part of a new effort by General Motors to increase the use of ethanol fuel. The Avalanche is fueled by E85, which is comprised of 85 percent ethyl-alcohol and 15 percent gasoline. Governor Schweitzer is a strong advocate of alternative fuels, which have the potential to benefit both the economy and the environment. Ethanol is made from agricultural and forest wastes and burns cleaner than fossil-based fuels. Only two stations in Montana sell the fuel, although several other stations sell a lower blend of E10. Some 28 states are participating in the effort. More...

USDA Begins Process to Designate Preferred Biobased Products
USDA Begins Process to Designate Preferred Biobased Products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has started its process to designate preferred biobased products for purchase by federal agencies. Under the 2002 Farm Bill, the USDA's Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program will identify more than 110 categories of products—the USDA calls them "items"—and then determine which biobased products are available within each of those categories.

Under a proposed rule published last week, the USDA will begin by tackling the following six categories: mobile equipment hydraulic fluids, urethane roof coatings, water tank coatings, diesel fuel additives, penetrating lubricants, and bedding, bed linens, and towels. For each category, the USDA has been able to identify at least one manufacturer of biobased products. For most of the categories, the USDA was unable to determine the potential market, but the agency did note that DOE anticipates a large potential market for the use of biodiesel as a diesel fuel additive.

Once the final rule is issued, manufacturers of qualifying biobased products that fall within the six categories will be invited to post their product and contact information on the program's Web site. Federal agencies looking to procure products in those categories will then have to give preference to the biobased products. The USDA is accepting comments on the first six proposed "items" through September 6, 2005. More...

G8 Leaders Commit to Clean Energy Technologies at Summit
Leaders of the world's eight largest industrialized nations have adopted a 38-point plan of action to address the related issues of climate change, clean energy, and sustainable development. During last week's two-day summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, the Group of Eight (G8)—comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—agreed that climate change is a serious and long-term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe, and acknowledged that the use of energy from fossil fuels, and other human activities, contribute in large part to increases in greenhouse gases associated with the warming of Earth's surface. The G8 statement noted that "we know enough to act now to put ourselves on a path to slow and, as the science justifies, stop and then reverse the growth of greenhouse gases."

The G8 agreed to a plan of action that calls for the promotion of greater energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, surface transport, aviation, industry, power generation, and other sectors. The agreement also calls for further efforts to promote renewable energy technologies and hydrogen technologies. Notable among those efforts is the G8's plan to launch a Global Bioenergy Partnership to support biomass and biofuels deployment. More...

Students Help Resort Owner Consider Renewable Energy Sources
With energy costs running about $50,000 each year, the owner of the Sleeping Buffalo Resort in Saco turned to engineering students at Montana State University to help investigate the potential for alternative energy sources to power the resort. three students examined the potential for geothermal, micro hydro, wind and solar. Results of the initial study showed that geothermal offered the most potential. More...

Senate Votes in Favor of National Renewable Portfolio Standard
The U.S. Senate voted 52 to 48 to enact a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which would require utilities in the U.S. to obtain at least 10 percent of their electricity production from renewable resources such as solar, wind, and and bioenergy by the year 2020. The RPS mandate is not included in the House's version of the Energy Bill, so it still faces some serious challenges. More...

Publication Helps States Encourage Advanced Vehicle Technologies
A new handbook developed by the Alliance to Save Energy with support from Ford Motor Company will help states and localities encourage their residents to purchase and use energy-efficient transportation technologies.  The information in The Drive to Efficient Transportation: State Policies to Encourage the Purchase and Use of Light-Duty Advanced Technology Vehicles and Alternative Fuels offers state policymakers a menu of programs that have proved effective in other states. Download the publication.

Sage Mountain Center Announces Summer Programs
Sage Mountain Center in Whitehall has announced its summer workshops, including Cordwood Construction, Straw Bale Building, and Solar Electricity for the Home. Full schedule is available at SMC's website.

DOE and USDA to Cooperate on Producing Hydrogen from Biomass
DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at developing more cost-effective ways to produce hydrogen from biomass resources. Under the MOU, DOE and USDA experts will meet regularly to share information on technologies and activities of mutual interest related to reducing the cost of chemically converting biomass to hydrogen. Biomass sources that can be used for hydrogen production include ethanol, crop and forest residues, and dedicated energy crops, such as switchgrass or willow. Transitioning to hydrogen technologies in the agriculture industry and in rural communities is important for a number of reasons: Renewable, farm-based biomass can fuel hydrogen production; agricultural vehicles could one day be fueled by hydrogen; and hydrogen fuel cell technology could potentially provide power for rural communities and remote locations on farms and ranches. More...

DOE Initiates Six Projects to Boost Vehicle Fuel Efficiency
DOE has entered into an agreement with industrial and academic organizations to pursue six projects aimed at significantly improving the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks. DOE is providing $7.35 million in funding to the six partnerships, which have a total value of $14 million. Four of the projects focus on developing advanced combustion engines, including an exhaust gas recirculation control system for diesel engines, a variable valve actuation system for low-temperature combustion in diesel engines, a fast-response actuator system for adjusting the compression ratio in engines, and an engine that operates on a high-compression-ratio, modified Atkinson combustion cycle—an approach used in the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape Hybrid—in which the intake valve is held open longer than normal to allow a reverse flow into the intake manifold.

In addition, International Truck and Engine Corporation will develop idle reduction equipment for trucks that will be available as a factory-ordered option, and Clarity Group, Inc. will conduct field performance evaluations for a wide variety of advanced technology vehicles, and will evaluate the infrastructure needed to support the vehicles. More...

Cow Manure and Cotton Gin Waste to Fuel Ethanol Plant in Texas
Ethanol fuel has a big advantage over conventional motor fuels: its primary energy source is the starch found in corn and other grains, a renewable source of energy. However, in most ethanol fuel plants, that benefit is watered down a bit by the use of fossil fuels to run the fermentation and distillation processes that convert the starch to ethanol. The developers of a new ethanol fuel plant in Hereford, Texas—located about 40 miles southwest of Amarillo—plan to avoid that dilemma through an unusual approach: the biofuel plant will produce its fuel using biomass energy. Hereford has an ample supply of cattle manure, and the plant will combine that with cotton gin waste, converting the mixture into a clean-burning biogas to fuel the plant's boilers. The Panda Group is developing the project and plans to break ground on the project this summer, with commercial operation expected in late 2006. The plant will produce 100 million gallons of ethanol per year from corn and milo, a type of sorghum that produces large yellow or whitish seeds. More...

North Dakota Adopts Incentives for Wind, Hydrogen, Alternative Fuels
High school students from Portland, Oregon, and San Jose, California, took top honors on Saturday at the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge, part of DOE's National Science Bowl competition. The team from the Woodrow Wilson High School of Portland took first place in the Grand Prix speed race, and the team from the Harker School of San Jose won the "King of the Hill" award by conquering a 20-degree incline with their hydrogen-powered model car. The two first-place teams will each receive $1,750 for their schools' science departments. The Model Car Challenge is one of several hands-on activities in which the 63 National Science Bowl teams took part on Saturday. Eighteen teams, selected by lottery, used model car kit components provided by General Motors Corporation to design and build hydrogen-powered race cars measuring at most one foot wide by two feet long. More...

North Dakota Adopts Incentives for Wind, Hydrogen, Alternative Fuels
North Dakota Governor John Hoeven signed several bills into law on Earth Day to accelerate wind power, hydrogen, and alternative fuel technologies in the state. The wind energy provisions reduce the siting application fees, lessen the regulatory burden for siting wind plants, allow the sale of renewable energy credits to other states, and promote new investments in transmission lines. A pending bill will also cut in half the assessed value of a wind plant for tax purposes. One bill also creates a sales tax exemption on hydrogen used to power either an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell.

Several bills relate to ethanol and biodiesel production. The ethanol-related bills provide $3.25 million in incentives for new and existing ethanol plants in the state, $1.35 million in incentives to expand existing ethanol plants, and a 20-cent-per-gallon tax incentive for retail sales of E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline), an incentive that must be passed on to the consumer. The biodiesel provisions include $1.2 million to buy down interest on new biodiesel production plants, income tax credits for fuel suppliers and retailers, and a sales tax exemption for equipment that allows a facility to sell biodiesel blends. New ethanol and biodiesel production plants will also earn a 30 percent investment tax credit. More...

Helena Commissioner Hopes to Add Hybrids to City Fleet
Could Helena's city fleet soon boast environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles? Yes, if Commissioner Paul Cartwright has anything to say about it. Cartwright is calling on the city's leaders to include hybrids in budget discussions this year.  Nineteen cars in the city's 150-vehicle fleet are up for replacement this year. Hybrids cost a few hundred dollars more upfront. But, says, Cartwright, "we'll more than make back the cost in fuel savings.We ought to at least look at it." More...

Ethanol Bill Clears House
The House voted to approve a bill that would require all regular and unleaded gasoline sold in the state to contain 10 percent ethanol, an of the environmentally friendly fuel derived from grain. If passed, the bill will help create an ethanol industry within the state, and also help spur the agricultural industry. The bill must go back to the Senate for final approval. More...

Senate Passes Renewable Energy Mandate
A  renewable energy requirement for Montana is among the energy bills in front of the Legislature this session. The Montana Renewable Power Production and Rural Economic Development Act–Senate Bill 415–will require utilities to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015. The bill passed the Senate 32-18 and is now in the House. Supported by Jon Tester, D-Big Sandy, the bill also is enjoying support from state and local agencies, farmers, conservation groups, and others. Eighteen other states have similar renewable energy standards. More...

Philipsburg Using Wood Chips for Heating
The Philipsburg school system is successfully using biomass technology, with a new boiler that burns wood chips for heating. And, not only does the system use a renewable resource–forest and mill wood scraps–as its fuel, it's also saving the schools a lot of money. For example, heating costs for the town's two schools reached a whopping $8,000 in December, dropping to $467 in January after the new boiler went into service. The Forest Service's Fuels for Schools project provided a $350,000 grant for the system. More...

New Northwest Online Renewable Energy Journal Set to Debut
The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance has contracted with Celilo Group Media Inc. and Clean Edge Inc. to produce a new website, nwcurrent.com, that concentrates on renewable and clean energy in the Northwest: Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The target audience includes electric utility management and staff, energy efficiency professionals, state and regional policy-makers, and renewable energy professionals. More...

Study Shows Enormous Renewable Energy Potential for New Mexico
If New Mexico utilities increased their use of renewable electricity to 20 percent by 2020, residents of the state would save a whopping $570 million on energy bills. That's the conclusion of a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. In addition, the scenario would create 4,760 new high-skilled jobs in manufacturing, construction, operation, maintenance, and other industries; $1.6 billion in capital investment; $117 million in property tax revenues for rural communities; and $57 million in payments to ranchers and rural landowners from wind power leases and the production of biomass energy. More...

Carbondale, Colorado, Switches City Fleets to Biodiesel
Carbondale's public works department is making an important contribution to cleaner air there, now that its heavy equipment and other diesel-engine vehicles are burning biodiesel. Biodiesel is a non-toxic, non-petroleum, vegetable oil-based, renewable fuel that can be used either in 100-percent form or blended in various concentrations with regular petroleum diesel. Carbondale is currently using a 20 percent, or B-20, biodiesel blend. More...

Idaho Geothermal Power Plant Moves Ahead with Power Agreement
Plans for the construction of a 10-megawatt geothermal power plant in Idaho gained ground when Idaho Power Company agreed to buy power from the proposed facility. U.S. Geothermal Inc. announced that it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Idaho Power. The company's Raft River Geothermal Power Plant, to be located 10 miles east of Almo in southern Idaho, is scheduled to begin producing power in mid-2006. More...