As part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu have announced a total of $47 million to fund eight research and development projects that will support the production of biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products from a variety of biomass sources. These investments in clean, sustainable transportation fuels will help reduce U.S. oil imports…

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is urging the U.S. and Europe to back off the production of biofuels, as it could potentially cause roughly 200,000 deaths in underdeveloped nations. They claim that, since most biofuels are made using food crops, the increased demand would lead to higher food cost. Producing more corn to use in biofuel production, for instance, would cause the price of corn to skyrocket. To boot, it would also lead to more corn crops being planted which, in turn, would leave less space…

Experts agree that agave, a plant used in the production of tequila, can be a sustainable biofuel source because it would not compete with food crops or threaten water supply. According to research papers published last month in an issue of Global Change Biology Bioenergy, this plant can not only sustain high yields, but can easily…

Through an arrangement with the Indian Parliament, the Punjab Energy Development Agency has invited bids for installing an 80 kW solar PV system. The solar array would provide battery backup for the Parliament building in the off-chance of a blackout, however over 50 percent of the generated power would be fed back into the grid. The project would help promote the use of solar PV systems which remain unpopular due to the high costs and lower efficiency when compared to other…

CleanTech Biofuels – an early-stage provider of cellulosic biomass feedstock derived from municipal solid waste (MSW) for renewable power and biofuel production – recently announced an agreement with Fiberight LLC to install its demonstration vessel at Fiberight’s cellulosic ethanol pilot plant in Lawrenceville, VA. CleanTech’s patented Biomass Recovery Process, combined with Fiberight’s Targeted Fuel Extraction system, will create a fully…