Biodiesel News Blog @newzblogz.com

HOQUIAM, Wash. (AP) -- The Imperium Renewables biodiesel plant will be operable in July, a spokesman said Monday, although the grand opening ceremony may not come until August.

Citing the need to coordinate many schedules and "given the interest we've had from all over the country," it's likely the grand opening day "may be pushed off into August," spokesman John Williams said.

The $73 million plant at the Port of Grays Harbor will produce biodiesel from such sources as canola, soy and oil products.

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

UW-Madison will be the site of one of three bioenergy research centers designed to find new ways to turn plants into fuel, officials said Monday.

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center on UW-Madison's campus, along with centers in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and near Berkeley, Calif., were described by the Department of Energy as three startup companies with $125 million each in capital, said two officials with knowledge of the grants, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made. They will involve numerous universities, national laboratories and private companies as partners.

The goal of the centers -- which are to be formally announced today at a press conference scheduled for 12:15 p.m. (CDT) in Washington, D.C. -- is to bring new technologies to market in five years. The Bush administration has touted the centers as part of its overall strategy to improve the nation's energy security and reduce its dependence on foreign oil by developing alternative fuels from sources such as switchgrass and wood chips. Bush's goal is to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent in 10 years.

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

WASHINGTON The Energy Department is creating three bioenergy research centers to find new ways to turn plants into fuel.

The three centers, which the department described as three startup firms with $125 million each in capital, will be in Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Madison, Wis.; and near Berkeley, Calif. They will aim to bring new technologies to market in five years.

The bioenergy centers will focus on finding naturally occurring microbes that can break down lignin, a component of plants and trees, to give access to the material inside, called cellulose. The cellulose can be converted into ethanol or other liquid fuels, like butanol and biodiesel, said Raymond Orbach, the under secretary for science at the Energy Department. The centers are supposed to be fully operational by the fiscal year starting Sept. 1, 2009.

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

It is not every day that the Bookettes, the 10 members of the Watsonville Public Library Book Cart Drill Team, steady their carts as they cheer, circle and weave their way through the downtown librarys parking lot practicing drill formations like the Do Si Do and Coming through the Rye.

The newly formed library cart drill team is practicing for its big day July 4, when library staff deck out their carts in red, white and blue pendants and hit the Spirit of Watsonville parade. According to librarian Susan Renison, library drill cart teams have actually become a nationwide phenomenon in fact, some of the routines were actually borrowed from an entire book on library drill carts on loan from the Santa Cruz Public Library. Along with the drill cart show, staff, families and child...

This is a fun way to show another side of the library, Renison added.

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit

Chesapeake and Portsmouth officials will meet Thursday to discuss a $500 million ethanol refinery proposed on the cities' border.

Chesapeake leaders are weighing plans from International Bio Energy Virginia LLC to build a 225 million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant and a 75 million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant on 97 acres along the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River.

The vacant property is in Chesapeake but can only be accessed through Portsmouth. The closest neighborhood to the proposed plants is Portsmouth's Cradock.

Link to full article

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg This | Post to Reddit