While ethanol made from food crops loses its credibility as a green alternative energy option, other methods of ethanol production are being developed as more sustainable alternatives.

One of the companies working to create second generation ethanol out of waste is Easy Energy (more…)

The U.S. Department of Energy plans to make a $105 million loan guarantee to support the expansion of an Iowa ethanol factory into the nation’s first commercial-scale plant to convert corn waste into motor fuel.

The Emmetsburg, Iowa plant, which is being built by (more…)

Kelp has a high rate of growth and its decay is quite efficient in yielding methane, as well as sugars that can be converted to ethanol. It has been proposed that large open-ocean kelp farms could serve as a source of renewable energy. Unlike some biofuels such as corn ethanol, kelp energy avoids “food vs (more…)

An extraordinary convergence of recent events seems poised shortly to make aviation biofuels the belle of the investor’s ball.

The first is that on 8 June the follows the international standards certifying body ASTM International announcing its approval of its BIO SPK Fuel Standard, to be made official later in the year, (more…)

Washington currently provides approximately $5 billion worth of annual tax credits to U.S. farmers growing crops for ethanol production.

The question of ending the subsidies is fracturing the Republican leadership in Washington, National Public Radio reported. (more…)

Investors looking for the next big thing after a hydrocarbon economy have a panoply of options, from solar to wind, as well as biofuels.

In terms of quickly ramping up production biofuels clearly win the race, but navigating the PR fluff and reality is not a simple thing. (more…)

As the expected environmental benefits of biofuel made from food crops such as corn, rapeseed and wheat have not materialized, the race is on to find a competitive second generation of biofuels whose raw material is wood, grasses and non-edible parts of plants, which do not compete with food crops and forest coverage. (more…)

Brazil, the world leader in sugar cane ethanol production and consumption, has announced that its national Development Bank (BNDES) and the Brazilian Innovation Agency (FINEP) have signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement, pledging R$1 billion between 2011 and 2014 for a Joint Plan to Support Industrial Technological Innovation in the sugar-based Energy and (more…)

Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md) have joined forces to sponsor a bill that ends the refundable Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). This tax credit subsidizes the blending of corn-based ethanol into gasoline. The legislation, if enacted immediately, would save taxpayers nearly $4 billion during the remainder of 2011, (more…)

A team at the BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) announced that it succeeded to produce isobutanol directly from cellulose. It is the first time anyone does that.

The process presents several advantages, including saving time and money. Besides, isobutanol is a higher-grade of alcohol than ethanol. (more…)