What first drove Chris Caseber to fuel her Volkswagen Jetta with biodiesel was an ethic - one she later combined with the entrepreneurship that prompted her to open Clark County's first stations to...  permaLink:1231146000-3867

Filed under: Biodiesel , Diesel , BMW , Mitsubishi , Volkswagen Following the terrorist threats that caused the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally , the race is back on for 2009. This time, even though the name remains, the battle has moved from the Sahara desert to South America. This year's event kicked off Saturday in Beunos Aires, Argentina. The 436 competitors will follow a 9,574 km route heading south to Puerto Madryn, and then over to Chile for a stop over in Valparaiso before they make their way back to Buenos Aires. So far, after two days of competition, the "car" class is being led by diesels from Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, and BMW. Two-time world rally champion Carlos Sainz won day two and leads overall in one of the VW Race Touaregs followed by another Touareg, a Mitsubishi Lancer, a BMW X3 and a second Lancer rounding out the top five. The four Mitsubishi Lancers are all running on non-food sourced biodiesel . You can check out a summary video of day 2 after the jump. [Source: Dakar.com ] Continue reading VIDEO: VW, BMW and Mitsubishi diesels lead the way in 2009 Dakar Rally VIDEO: VW, BMW and Mitsubishi diesels lead the way in 2009 Dakar Rally originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments  permaLink:1231135000-0703

The world's first commercial aviation test flight powered by second-generation biofuel made using jatropha has been successfully completed in Auckland, New Zealand. More than a dozen key performance tests were undertaken in the two hour test flight which took-off from Auckland International Airport. A biofuel blend of 50:50 jatropha and Jet A1 fuel was used to power one of the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400's Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.  permaLink:1231135000-3125

Filed under: Biodiesel , South/Latin America The potential to make biofuels from camelina and mustard is well known, and they might be two good choices for additional oil sources to make biodiesel besides jathropa . The University of Concepción, in Chile, along with nearby agricultural conglomerates, have funded research to discover the potential of camelina and mustard as sources of oil to produce biodiesel. Camelina proved to be a great source of oil, yielding 25 quintals per ha (about 40 bushels/acre) of which half can be extracted into oil to make biodiesel. The better news is that camelina needs little fertilization and is able to survive in harsh weather. Mustard studies were also promising, yielding 40 quintals per ha (60 bushels per acre), from which they obtained 45 to 50 percent in oil for biodiesel. Now, let's roll the puns about a mustard-powered biodiesel weinermobile ! [Source: Chilean Fundación para la Innovación Agraria via Econoticias ] New biodiesel from mustard and camelina developed in Chile originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments  permaLink:1231132000-0703

Air New Zealand successfully flew a plane for around two hours with one of its engines modified to run on a mixture of jatropha-derived biofuel and Jet A, over the Christmas break. I've written about it before, and t his piece details that and gives some details of other recent biofuel tests.  permaLink:1231117000-6016

Story over on the Sacremento Business Journal about the Biofuel Box Corporation's plans to turn sludge from animal processing into biofue l. Biofuel Box Corp's business model is: "We put the plant in for free. We own it. We operate it, and we'll take care of the fuel sales" according to chief executive officer Steven Perricone. Worth looking at.  permaLink:1231115000-3125

Over on Greentech media, there's a piece about Obama wanting to double renewable energy production and make public buildings more energy efficient, create three million new jobs. Through his Recovery and Reinvestment Plan with strategic investments as a down payment on long term economic future. Hopefully, he won't have any technological favourites when it comes to biofuels... He talks well. Watch him here.  permaLink:1231112000-3125

A new study has determined that keeping tropical rain forests intact is a better way to combat climate change than replacing them with biofuel plantations. It was undertaken by an international research team of botanists, ecologists and engineers from seven nations...  permaLink:1231058000-4414

The world's first commercial aviation test flight powered by second-generation biofuel made using jatropha has been successfully completed in Auckland, New Zealand. More than a dozen key performance tests were undertaken in the two hour test flight which took-off from Auckland International Airport. A biofuel blend of 50:50 jatropha and Jet A1 fuel was used to power one of the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400's Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.  permaLink:1231056000-7578

Imagine a plant that can be easily grown on farms all over America. Imagine it can be turned into a fuel through a simple process. Imagine we burn that fuel in our cars to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. That sounds wonderful. But that plant is not corn. That process is not simple. And that f...  permaLink:1231023000-1016

Coffee grounds can provide a cheap and abundant source of biodiesel, particularly in coffee-producing nations, say researchers. Coffee grounds - currently wasted or used as garden compost - could become a cheap and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel and fuel pellets, says a study. Spent...  permaLink:1231023000-1016

Incentives and Rebates Nevada's Energy Portfolio Standard declares that by 2015, state's total energy should be 20% derived from renewable sources, and in it 5% must come from solar energy. This declaration came with an incentive for power companies; Government will approve their application for credit. This credit will be calculated from the total number of renewable kilowatts they will generate. Government has shown enormous interest in solar energy by keeping the largest credit for Solar Power, $2.4/KW precisely. Property Tax Abatement The Nevada's law has gone through some amendments to encourage people to use renewable energy sources including solar power. To summaries the matter, Database of State Incentive for Renewable & Efficiency (DSIRE) puts it here "In the special session of June 2005, Nevada passed Assembly Bill number 3, which included provisions for a partial abatement of property taxes for property that has a building or structure that meets or exceeds the United States Green Building Council's LEED Silver rating system. The partial abatement was for duration of not more than 10 years and was not to exceed 50% of the property taxes due." The Buildings categorized as Silver Level can receive 25%, Gold Level 30% and Platinum Level 35 % abatement of tax. All this proved to be a very successful measure, as of June 2007 around 63 million square feet had applied for tax abatement. Net Metering It is a method related to measuring the energy generated and consumed at a private building. Sometimes it happens that a consumer who is generating power is left with surplus electricity, than Net-metering ensures the calculated meter backward movement, depending on the state's rules. In a way it is the crediting of excessive electricity to the consumer's account. Nevada's Net Metering rules are described by DSIRE as "Systems up to one megawatt (MW) in capacity that generate electricity using solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and certain types of hydropower are generally eligible, although systems greater than 100....  permaLink:1230963000-1016

Brazil consolidated itself, in 2008, as the world's leading ethanol exporter and third largest biodiesel market, with the entry into operation of six new biodiesel plants and another 29...  permaLink:1230944000-8633

TEMPE, Ariz., Jan. 2, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renegy Holdings, Inc. (Renegy) (Nasdaq:RNGY), a renewable energy company engaged in biomass power generation utilizing wood waste as a primary fuel source, today announced that it has executed an agreement to secure $12.3 million of tax equity financing from an institutional equity investor in exchange for a partial interest in its 24 megawatt Snowflake biomass power generation facility. The tax equity investment, which is expected to close in mid-January, will provide the investor with access to the federal production tax credits, depreciation benefits and certain cash flows that will be generated by Renegy's Snowflake plant over the next 10 years. Renegy also announced plans to downsize the number of its employees by 47% and restructure its business with the objective of positioning the Company to fully fund its operations through future cash flows generated by the Snowflake plant.  permaLink:1230937000-1133

First of three biofuel test flights in one month yields valuable data for alternative jet fuel push  permaLink:1230926000-2539

Car makers are making more varieties of alternatively-fueled vehicles, and the public is taking note of their efforts. This piece from Evelyn Kanter of Motor Matters on the Washington (DC) Times site gives a first-person account of impressions of a couple of Japanese alt fuels vehicles that were shown at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show: The Mitsubishi MiEv stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle is a four-seater mini car and is roomier than it appears partly because the battery pack is under the seats, with a compact 47 Kw electric motor behind it that drives the rear wheels. Mitsubishi uses an advanced lithium-ion battery. It's smaller, lighter and more powerful than the nickel-metal-hydride batteries that power other electric vehicles. The lighter weight helps improve its top speed of 81 mph. The MiEv is not merely an upgraded golf cart. This is a real car. The MiEv goes on sale in Japan later in 2009, and plans are to bring it to the U.S. in 2010 when Chevrolet is scheduled to introduce its plug-in Volt. Price isn't set, but a Mitsubishi representative told me that MiEv will be about $30,000 in Japan. It has been in test mode for two years with utility companies in Japan, and two vehicles are being loaned to Southern California Edison for fleet testing. Along with the MiEv plug-in electric, another alternative fuel car that intrigues me is the hydrogen fuel-cell car. Honda's FCX Clarity is the first on the market, and it's a winner. A revolutionary fuel-cell stack design can be placed under the console between the two front seats, compact enough to leave room for cup holders. Honda uses the dominant hydrogen technology an electric motor that runs on electricity generated by the fuel cells, equivalent to 134 horsepower. The only thing that comes out of the tailpipe is water, which, I was told, is clean enough to drink by Environmental Protection Agency standards, although I did not try. Kantor goes on to point out that the Honda has a great look to it, with the luxury of a midsize sedan. And of....  permaLink:1230915000-8945

A Philadelphia-based utility has announced plans to use wind and biodiesel power, along with more hybrid vehicles to help power its headquarters. This story from the Philadelphia Business Journal says Peco Energy Co. wants to buy enough wind-generated electricity to cover 15 percent of its power needs at its Center City Philadelphia headquarters through the end of 2011: The electric-and-gas utility said it will buy 4,050 megawatt hours of wind-generated power per year over a three-year period that began last month. The amount represents a 50 percent annual increase from Pecos last wind energy purchase for the building, which was from 2005 through November 2008. The deal is part of an environmental initiative on which Peco is spending more than $15 million. Under the initiative, Peco has transformed the roof of its headquarters into a green roof, is replacing the message board atop its headquarters with one that uses light-emitting diodes and boosting the number of hybrid and biodiesel vehicles in its fleet. Peco is owned by Chicago-based Exelon Corp., which is trying to offset or reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15 million tons nationwide by the year 2020.  permaLink:1230910000-8945

Airline, along with Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and Honeywell, has retooled one of the four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines on a Boeing 747-400 to run on an unusually fruity blend of biofuel.  permaLink:1230906000-0508

There is no doubt that Nigeria is blazing the trail in renewable energy sector, which ethanol is the final product. The initiative is to stem the effect of global warming, which has become a matter of serious concern dominating local and foreign discourse. Interestingly, a Nigerian company is alread...  permaLink:1230891000-1523