Renewable Energy Today articles from February 2007

Renewable Energy Today archives from February 2007

House passes bio-fuels bill.(Legislative)
February 5, 2007... The House Committee on Science and Technology has passed HR 547, the Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act. The bill initiates a research, development and demonstration program to make bio-fuels more compatible with...

HelioVolt and exeltech to collaborate on solar energy systems.(Industry Report)
February 5, 2007... HelioVolt Corporation and Exeltech last week signed an agreement to commercialize turnkey systems for cost-effective solar energy generation. Under the agreement the two companies will develop systems for conventional solar module and...

DTE Energy issues request for proposals for renewable energy program.(Industry Report)
February 5, 2007... DTE Energy recently issued a request for proposals to purchase Michigan-based renewable energy for the company's proposed GreenCurrents renewable energy program. The GreenCurrents program, filed last year with the Michigan Public Service...

DaimlerChrysler encourages alternative fuels research.(Industry Report)
February 6, 2007... In a speech at the National Biodiesel Board Annual Conference, Deb Morrissett, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Chrysler Group, encouraged the biodiesel industry to continue their development of a national standard for B20. "To...

Renewable energy helps revive Silicon Valley.(Industry Report)
February 6, 2007... Solar energy and hybrid cars helped Silicon Valley's economic recovery last year after five years of job losses, according to the Silicon Valley Index, a recently released annual economic study. According to the report, investments in clean...

Report: renewables can help US reduce greenhouse gases.(Editorials, Asides & Reviews)
February 6, 2007... The US can significantly cut its emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases by aggressively pursuing energy efficiencies and renewable energy technologies, according to a new report from the American Solar Energy Society in Washington, DC....

Bush requests $1.24 billion for Office of Renewable Energy.
February 7, 2007... The US Department of Energy announced this week that President Bush's Fiscal Year 2008 Budget requests $24.3 billion for the DoE, including $1.24 billion for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The EERE budget request is $73...

Report: US has extensive 'undeveloped geothermal resources'.
February 7, 2007... The US has extensive undeveloped geothermal resources in fourteen Western states--Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming--according to a report released...

US BioEnergy plans partnership in Nebraska.
February 7, 2007... US BioEnergy Corporation, the nation's largest pure-play ethanol producer, said they are considering purchasing land near Hayland, Nebraska. The company plans to build a 100 million gallon per year ethanol plant on the land. If the...

National ethanol fuel station directory to be released.(Industry Report)
February 8, 2007... USA Energy Independence Publications recently announced publication of a directory covering both E85 ethanol fuel and bio-diesel fuel retail stations nationwide. Designed to help the flex-fuel vehicle and diesel-powered vehicle owners find...

Wood chip ethanol plant in works for Georgia.(Industry Report)
February 8, 2007... Range Fuels Inc. will soon unveil plans for the nation's first commercial-scale plant to make ethanol fuel from wood chips. The project could be a significant breakthrough in order to begin weaning the US from imported petroleum, according...

Bristol, UK streetlights powered by renewable energy.(International Report)
February 8, 2007... Bristol, England has begun powering all its streetlights with renewable energy. The city council has secured a contract with Eon Energy to purchase 22575063 Kilowatt hours of energy a year from renewable sources such as wind, wave and...

Weekly update.(Conferences)(Calendar)
February 8, 2007... Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Building Energy Conference & Trade Show, Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, March 13-15, 2007 Annual European NGV Conference, Strasbourg, France, June 19-21, 2007 (EIN STAFF: 2/8)

USDA grant to help expand bio-diesel production in Indiana.(Industry Report)
February 9, 2007... US Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Tom Dorr recently presented Integrity Bio-fuels of Morristown, Indiana with a $500,000 renewable energy grant. Integrity Biofuels Founder Shorty Whittington said the funding...

Minnesota votes in favor of renewable energy standard.(Industry Report)
February 9, 2007... Minnesota's plan to pump more hydrogen, solar and wind electricity through its powerlines got overwhelming backing from the state Senate last week. Advocates touted the plan as the most aggressive renewable energy standard in the country. ...

US and Brazil seek ethanol partnership.(Industry Report)
February 9, 2007... The US and Brazil met last week to discuss a new energy partnership that they hope will encourage ethanol use to diminish the regional influence of oil-rich Venezuela. US officials said they expect to sign accords within a year that would...

New renewable energy bill introduced to Congress.(Industry Report)
February 12, 2007... New legislation that would require many US utilities to generate 20 % of their electricity from renewable energy resources by 2020 was introduced to Congress last week. Congressman Tom Udall's House bill 969 proposes to "amend title VI of...

UK meets landmark with new wind turbine.(International Report)
February 12, 2007... The UK has surpassed the two gigawatts of installed wind energy capacity landmark by commissioning a turbine in Scotland, making it one of seven countries in the world to have done so after Germany, Spain, US, India, Denmark, Italy and the...

Former Biofuels Corporation CEO raising money for biobutanol plant in Ireland.(International Report)
February 12, 2007... John Nichols, the co-founder and former chief executive of UK-based Biofuels Corporation, is trying to raise $156 million to design and to build a biobutanol plant in the south of Ireland. In 2006, BP and DuPont created a partnership to...

Diversa and Celunol form new alternative fuels company.(Industry Report)
February 12, 2007... Diversa Corp. and Celunol Corp. announced Monday a merger agreement to create a new biofuels company. The company will have capabilities in pre-treatment, novel enzyme development, fermentation, engineering, and project development, and...

Constellation NewEnergy enters renewable energy credits agreement with Evanston, Illinois.(Industry Report)
February 12, 2007... Constellation Energy recently announced that its subsidiary, Constellation NewEnergy, has entered into a green electricity purchase agreement with the City of Evanston, Ill. As part of the agreement, Constellation NewEnergy will secure...

Covanta inks deal in China's energy-from-waste industry .(International Report)
February 12, 2007... Covanta Holding Corporation has signed an agreement to purchase a 40% stake in Chongqing Sanfeng Environmental Industry Co. Sanfeng designed, built, operates and has minority interests in two 1,200 ton per day energy-from-waste facilities....

Ormat Technologies pursues geothermal energy through Texas lease.(Industry Report)
February 15, 2007... Ormat Technologies, Inc. has paid $55,645 to lease six tracts of submerged coastal land in Texas totaling more than 11,000 acres. The lease allows Ormat to explore the potential of the land's geothermal resources and, if possible, produce...

India to have 500th Kyoto project in a developing country.(International Report)
February 15, 2007... The Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change announced Monday that an 8.75 megawatt wind facility in Gujurat, India, is the 500th project to be registered under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism....

South Africa researchers plan coal-to-liquids plant in China.(International Report)
February 15, 2007... Researchers from South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand' Center of Material and Process Synthesis are planning to build a pilot coal-to-liquids project in the Shaanxi province in China. The $10.5 million pilot project is expected...

Weekly update.(Conferences)(Calendar)
February 15, 2007... Weekly Update Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Building Energy Conference & Trade Show, Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, March 13-15, 2007 Annual European NGV Conference, Strasbourg, France, June 19-21, 2007 (EIN...

Canada to establish new fund for renewable energy.(International Report)
February 16, 2007... Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week announced that Canada's government intends to provide Quebec with $300 million as part of a new Canada ecoTrust to support projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding will support...

Colorado new renewable energy standard moves forward.(Industry Report)
February 16, 2007... The Colorado House Transportation and Energy Committee last week unanimously passed legislation to double the state's renewable energy standard. Bill HB07-1281, sponsored by Representatives Jack Pommer and Rob Witwer and Senator Gail...

Potential ethanol plant deal may fall short of expectations.(Industry Report)
February 16, 2007... A $215 million ethanol plant proposed for Hancock County, Iowa, won't be built soon unless the local board of supervisors agrees to sweeten a tax-abatement proposal. Harvest BioFuels LLC of Addison, Texas, said that high corn prices and a...

GE to supply 300 wind turbines for New York State projects.(Industry Report)
February 19, 2007... GE Energy will supply Connecticut-based Noble Environmental Power with 300 of its 1.5-megawatt wind turbines to increase New York State's wind power capacity by 450 MW. Noble Environmental Power will use the new GE turbines for the second...

EU States divided on renewable energy targets.(International Report)
February 19, 2007... Many EU states did not back European Commission calls for binding targets on renewable energy or biofuels at an economy ministers' meeting in Brussels last week. More than 10 member states led by Sweden and Denmark were willing to agree to...

Boulder settles renewable energy credits lawsuit.(Editorials, Asides & Reviews)
February 19, 2007... The city of Boulder, Colorado, announced last week that a tentative settlement has been reached in its lawsuit challenging the Colorado Public Utilities Commission's move to award 100% of the renewable energy credits from its hydroelectric...

Johnson controls expands renewable offerings.(Industry Report)
February 20, 2007... Johnson Controls, Inc. has announced it is expanding its business into designing, installing and servicing geothermal, solar, biomass, wind and other renewable sources as energy supply options for customers. Johnson Controls currently...

Aventine will market ethanol for Tennessee ethanol plant.(Industry Report)
February 20, 2007... Aventine Renewable Energy announced that it will market the ethanol for Ethanol Grain Processors LLC's proposed plant in Obion, TN. The Obion project's majority investor is VBV LLC, an entity majority owned by an affiliate of Virgin Group...

Paper says Germany leading on renewable energies.(International Report)
February 20, 2007... German companies are the world leaders in renewable energies, according to a German newspaper Franfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Germany's renewable energy sector exported installations worth $7.9 billion in 2006, the paper said. ...

Minnesota moves forward on renewable energy standard.(Industry Report)
February 21, 2007... The Minnesota House of Representatives Monday approved, in a 123-10 vote, a bill requiring utilities to generate a quarter of their power from renewable sources by 2025. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has pledged his support for the bill. Supporters...

Environment Michigan report supports renewable energy.(Industry Report)
February 21, 2007... A new study released this week by Environment Michigan suggests that reliance on renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could create 6,800 new jobs, $3.3 billion in new salaries, reduce power plant emissions by 30% and save $2.2 billion...

Hungary pledges increase in renewable energy.(International Report)
February 21, 2007... The Hungarian government has vowed to achieve a 20% share of renewable energy within the total energy mix by 2020, up from 5.3% in 2005, Environment Minister Miklos Persanyi said Wednesday. Increased use of renewable energy is one of the...

New FERC Rule encourages access for renewable energy.(Industry Report)
February 22, 2007... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission adopted a new regulation last week that aims to allow greater access to transmission lines for power generators of all types, including renewable energy projects. The new rule exempts intermittent...

US official proposes ethanol push at industry trade meeting in Arizona.(Industry Report)
February 22, 2007... Addressing an ethanol industry trade group meeting in Tucson, Ariz., a top Bush administration official pitched new proposals to dramatically boost the use of alternative fuels in the next decade. Stephen Johnson, US Environmental...

FERC seeks comments on wave and tidal project permit applications.(Industry Report)
February 22, 2007... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced last week that it is seeking comments on how to process preliminary permit applications for wave and tidal energy facilities. FERC has already decided to apply stricter scrutiny toward...

Weekly update.(Conferences)(Calendar)
February 22, 2007... Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Building Energy Conference & Trade Show, Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, March 13-15, 2007 Annual European NGV Conference, Strasbourg, France, June 19-21, 2007 (EIN STAFF: 2/22)

Chevron backs biodiesel plant.(Industry Report)
February 23, 2007... Next month a new Chevron-backed biodiesel plant will open in Galveston, Texas. The plant is expected to produce 20 million gallons a year of diesel fuel made from soybean oil and be one of the largest in the nation. Chevron is among...

Researchers investigate hydrogen production through solar energy.(Industry Report)
February 23, 2007... With over 300 days of sunshine per year, Nevada could become a center for the generation of hydrogen through solar energy, according to researchers at the University of Nevada. A team of researchers, headed by Professor Manoranjan Misra, is...

Florida awards grants for renewable energy projects.(Editorials, Asides & Reviews)
February 23, 2007... Florida announced last week its first grants for renewable energy technologies. The grant program, which awarded $15 million for 2007, was established through the 2006 Florida Energy Act. The grants aim to foster research, development and...

Austin Technology and Clean Energy Incubator to help companies commercialize products.(Industry Report)
February 23, 2007... The Austin Technology Incubator's Clean Energy Incubator and Austin Energy have agreed to create the first test-bed environment in the United States for alternative energy companies to prepare their technologies for commercialization. The...

Harvest Energy Technology supplies hydrogen generator to China.(International Report)
February 23, 2007... Harvest Energy Technology, Inc. has been awarded a contract to deliver a high-pressure steam methane reformer hydrogen generator to the Chinese Petroleum Corporation of Taiwan. The hydrogen generator will supply hydrogen for chemical...

German solar park construction under way.(International Report)
February 23, 2007... Construction on a 40 megawatt solar generation power plant is under way at a former military base in the Saxon region of Germany. The Waldpolenz solar park, developed by the juwi group, will be comprised of approximately 550,000 First Solar...

Toyota, Hino and Nippon Oil develop new renewable diesel.(Industry Report)
February 27, 2007... Toyota Motor Corporation, Hino Motors, The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Nippon Oil Corporation started a joint project aimed at commercializing what they are calling bio hydrofined diesel. Hydrofined diesel is a second-generation...

Investment in clean energy grows in 2006.(Industry Report)
February 27, 2007... Venture capital funding for environmental technologies nearly doubled to $1.28 billion in 2006, due to growing interest in battling climate change, according to a report issued Tuesday. The survey by market researcher Dow Jones VentureOne...

Colorado Governor pushes renewable energy in Washington.(Editorials, Asides & Reviews)
February 27, 2007... Colorado Governor Bill Ritter took his push to develop renewable energy to Washington in meetings Monday with fellow governors. Ritter, in Washington for the National Governor's Association meeting, laid out his plan for developing wind,...

Conergy wants to more than double US sales in 2007.(Industry Report)
February 28, 2007... In 2007, Conergy of Germany intends to more than double total sales in the US solar energy market. To meet its goal, the company has taken over Pennsylvania's leading system integrator, Mesa Energy. Conergy currently holds a market...

Clean energy conference coming to Las Vegas.(Industry Report)
February 28, 2007... The Power-Gen Renewable Energy & Fuels conference is set for Las Vegas, Nevada, next week. Presented by PennWell Corporation and the American Council on Renewable Energy, the conference brings together representatives from the solar, wind,...

New biodiesel plant set for Maui in 2009.(Industry Report)
February 28, 2007... A new biodiesel plant on the island of Maui is expected to come online in 2009. The plant, developed by Texas and Arizona developer BlueEarth Biofuels, will produce 40 million gallons per year, according to the company. The proposed...