The technology to transform wood into ethanol on a large scale has yet to be developed. LanzaTech, the company that purchased Range Fuels’ assets in a foreclosure sale in January, may just be the first. As reported in Post-Mortem: Range Fuels Sputters to the Auction Block, the sale of Range Fuel’s assets was arranged after the Department [...]
Obama Administration Announces New Funding For Biomass Research
As President Obama recently visited Ohio State University to discuss the Administration’s all-out, all-of-the-above strategy for American energy, the White House announced up to $35 million over three years to support research and development in advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. The projects funded through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI), a joint [...]
Federal Agencies Implement Hundreds Of Renewable Energy Initiatives
Governmentwide, 23 agencies and their 130 sub-agencies reviewed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) implemented nearly 700 renewable energy initiatives in fiscal year 2010. The Departments of Defense (DOD), Agriculture (USDA), Energy (DOE), and the Interior were collectively responsible for almost 60% of all initiatives. The initiatives supported a range of renewable energy sources, [...]
USDA Announces Funding For Two New Renewable Energy Programs
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced the availability of funds for Fiscal Year 2012 for two key programs to encourage the use of renewable biomass and production of advanced biofuels. About $25 million will be made available through each program. “President Obama has laid out a new era for American energy, an economy fueled by [...]
ZeaChem Secures USDA Loan Guarantee For Commercial-Scale Cellulosic Biorefinery
ZeaChem Inc., a developer of biorefineries for the conversion of renewable biomass into sustainable fuels and chemicals, recently announced it has been selected for a $232.5 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program. The conditional commitment enables the financing and construction of ZeaChem’s first commercial-scale cellulosic biorefinery, a [...]
Range Fuels Plant Sold For $5.1 Million
Officials of LanzaTech NZ Ltd., a closely held biofuels company based in Auckland, New Zealand and backed by billionaire Vinod Khosla, say it will convert a U.S. cellulosic ethanol plant it bought from Range Fuels Inc. to produce chemicals from biomass. LanzaTech is developing a process that uses proprietary microorganisms to convert carbon monoxide-containing gases [...]
Feds Plan To Liquidate Range Fuels Ethanol Plant
Federal officials who backed Range Fuels Inc., a Broomfield-based biofuel company, plan to liquidate its $100 million plant in Georgia, according to news reports. The Bloomberg news service reports that the Soperton, Ga. factory is to be liquidated after Range defaulted on a federal loan and failed to produce cellulosic ethanol, a fuel made from [...]
Bioenergy Graduate Program Offered At SD College
South Dakota State University has teamed up with three other land-grant universities to offer a Bioenergy and Sustainable Technology Graduate Certificate fully online in an effort to advance the renewable energy industry. The Bioenergy and Sustainable Technology (BST) graduate certificate program was developed with the support of a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant. The USDA [...]
Wood Biofuel Industry Rising In Pacific Northwest
A recently awarded U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant will help launch a viable, sustainable biofuels industry in the Pacific Northwest. The $40 million grant directs Washington State University and the University of Washington to create the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA). The substantial grant will help the nation develop renewable energy resources from forest [...]
USDA Awards $3 Million For Woody Biomass
A U.S. Forest Service award of nearly $3 million in Woody Biomass Utilization Grants went to 17 small businesses and community groups on June 22 for the development of wood-to-energy projects, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Each of these projects requires engineering services, which will help expand regional economies and create new jobs. [...]