Using Ike’s Biomass to Produce Power
There is some actual good that will come out of the devastation of Hurricane Ike.
This story from Greentech Media says Biofuels Power Corp. has announced plans to build a 4-megawatt power plant the will produce electricity from the woodchips and other debris from the storm:
The Woodlands, Texas-based company, traded over the counter using the symbol “BFLS,” on Friday signed a preliminary agreement with a wood-waste storage operator, DSMC, and with a consulting firm, Texoga Technologies Corp., that will retrofit abandoned oil wells for carbon-dioxide storage.
Biofuels Power and DSMC will each hold a 30 percent equity stake in the project, while Texoga will get 10 percent. Other undisclosed investors will own the remaining 30 percent. Texoga spun off Biofuels Power in 2007.
The pilot project will make use of wood chips and refuse left behind by the powerful Hurricane Ike, which swept through the Gulf Coast in September. A lot of the material will be coming from Galveston, Texas, which was particularly hard hit by the hurricane, said Robert Wilson, a spokesman for Biofuels Power.
DSMC, based in Humble, Texas, has handled a bulk of waste disposal from the hurricane cleanup effort.
While the debris from Hurricane Ike eventually will be burned up, the article did point out the the Gulf Coast has plenty of hurricanes every year, so at least potentially, there would be plenty of feedstock.



A symposium for biodiesel feedstocks is slated for November 21st in St. Louis, Mo. The Center for Evergreen Energy at the
Biodiesel producers, marketers and feedstock producers will hear from presenters including Monsanto, NASA, Enterprise-Rent-a-Car Institute and the National Biodiesel Board as well as scientists from the Center for Evergreen Energy and Danforth. Participants will address feedstock production, oil content, and innovation. For the purpose of the symposium, feedstock is separated into three categories: algae; near-term feedstock; and long-term feedstock. At the end of the day, each group will provide policy recommendations that will help fulfill future biodiesel goals.
The
An Arizona-based maker solar panels has really taken off, as it has signed a long-term agreement to provide solar panels and its profits have doubled.
Wind energy is a popular alternative energy source… so popular that New York’s Attorney General wants to make sure it’s done legally.

Terrabon CEO Gary Luce addressed the National Renewable Resource Laboratory’s (NREL) 21st Growth Forum meeting this week in Denver. “Terrabon’s MixAlco technology is a cost effective, sustainable solution to the urgent need to produce biofuels and bio-chemicals that satisfy the world’s appetite for renewable energy resources and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil,” Luce said. “MixAlco, which was inspired by the digestive processes of the ordinary cow, is an advanced bio-refining process that employs carboxylic acid fermentation followed by downstream chemistry to convert biomass products such as municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, forest product residues and non-edible energy crops, into industrial chemicals and renewable gasoline.”
Some trains in South Florida will be running on a nearly pure mix of biodiesel.
It’s that time of year again… to start making plans to attend the National Biodiesel Board’s Conference & Expo! This year’s event takes place Feb. 1-4th, 2009, in San Francisco. While that is a while off, now is the time to sign up to save some serious money on your registration.
Shipping giant UPS has teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to put more eco-friendly delivery trucks on the road.
The Iowa-based
· Introduction to biodiesel fuels, their current use and future needs for development