ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS MAXIMIZE MANURE
Heads Up CIPEC Newsletter, November 1, 2007
Manure – the feedstock for anaerobic digestion systems – is a wealth of methane gas.  The methane powers an engine that drives a generator, which produces electricity and heat. Nothing is wasted because the digested manure maintains its nutrient value and is used as a fertilizer.   Two Ontario dairy farms are taking part in a pilot project to test anaerobic digesters.
> Read more:http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/industrial/technical-info/library/newsletter/archives-2007/Vol-XI-no-21-nov1.cfm?attr=24#d

BREAKING GROUND ON CELLULOSIC ETHANOL
Kevin Bullis
Technology Review, November 15, 2007
Commercial-scale plants are being built to make commercial-scale quantities of ethanol from cellulosic biomass. But the fuel could still be too expensive to compete with corn ethanol.
> Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/19714/?nlid=668

ESTABLISHING THE OPTIMAL SIZES OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF BIOREFINERIES
Wright, et al.
Biofuels, Bioproducts, Biorefining, November 2007
This paper explores the factors that influence the optimal size of biorefineries and the resulting unit cost of biofuels produced by them.  Technologies examined include dry grind corn to ethanol, lignocellulosic ethanol via enzymatic hydrolysis, gasification and upgrading to hydrogen, methanol, and Fischer Tropsch liquids, gasification of lignocellulosic biomass to mixed alcohols, and fast pryolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-oil
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.

EXPERTS LOOK TO TIMBER AS NEXT GENERATION ENERGY SOURCE
Tom Robertson
Minnesota Public Radio, November 1, 2007
Record oil prices and worries about global warming have spurred a growing interest in biofuels.  Much of the focus for these renewable fuels has been on the agriculture sector, specifically corn for ethanol.  But some say there's a vast untapped energy resource in Minnesota's northern forests.
> Read more: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/31/woodybiomass/

GARBAGE POWER
Canadian Business, November 5, 2007, p. 157
Plasco Energy Group Inc. holds a patent on a system for converting waste into electricity.  The Plasco conversion system plant will soon be accepting Ottawa waste and turning it into electricity.  Alter NRG Corp. of Calgary uses a complex process called plasma gasification to vaporize household waste and turn it into power. Montreal-based SmartSoil Energy Inc. installs underground wells that capture landfill gas to produce electricity.
> Read more: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/technology/companies/article.jsp?content=20071105_198709_198709

GROWING SUSTAINABLE BIOFUELS: PRODUCING BIOENERGY ON THE FARM
Patrick Mazza
Harvesting Clean Energy Journal, November 12, 2007
Two Northwest efforts aim to develop advanced technologies for small-scale biofuels production on the farm, using local feedstocks to supply local markets.  Two technologies are described: a biodiesel microreactor that could serve a small community’s fuel demands with a device that would fit on a bench in a shed; and, a farm-scale operation to process agricultural residues into energy products.
> Read more: http://harvestjournal.squarespace.com/journal/2007/11/12/growing-sustainable-biofuels-producing-bioenergy-on-the-farm.html

OIL FROM WOOD
Erika Jonietz
Technology Review, November 9, 2007
A Dutch biofuels startup has launched a joint venture called Kior, which will commercialize a process for converting agricultural waste directly into "biocrude," a mixture of small hydrocarbon molecules that can be processed into fuels such as gasoline or diesel in existing oil refineries.
> Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19694/?nlid=659

SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT BIOHYDROGEN PRODUCTION VIA ELECTROHYDROGENESIS
Cheng & Logan
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2007
Hydrogen gas has tremendous potential as an environmentally acceptable energy carrier for vehicles, but most hydrogen is generated from nonrenewable fossil fuels such as natural gas. The authors show that efficient and sustainable hydrogen production is possible from any type of biodegradable organic matter by electrohydrogenesis.
> Read more: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0706379104v1

LOW-COST ALGAE FEEDSTOCK SHOWS POTENTIAL
Muriel Cozier
Biofuels, Bioproducts, Biorefining, November 2007, p. 172.
Diversified Energy Corp. has formed a partnership and licensing arrangement for a patent-pending algae production system invented by XL Renewables. The system uses common agriculture and irrigation components to produce low-cost algae.
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.
> Further detail: http://www.diversified-energy.com/auxfiles/pressReleases/SimgaeSystem.pdf

SPANISH FIRM EYES USE OF CASSAVA AS BIOFUEL FEEDSTOCK
Mike Cohen
Biofuels News , December 17, 2007
A Spanish energy firm plans to invest $250 million to develop 50,000 hectares of cassava in a large-scale plantation in the Philippines for the production of feedstock for biofuel facilities in the country.
> Read more: http://www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Biofuels.aspx?Name=biofuels&infoId=16458

BIOFUEL FUNDS ARE TAKING OFF
Buchanan, Susan
Biofuels News , 11/14/2007
The article offers a look at the trend in biofuel funds launched by global financial companies. Increase in biofuel funds is associated with the efforts of countries to use renewable fuels to meet their specific energy demands.
> Read more: http://www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Biofuels.aspx?infoId=16155

NEW BIOFUELS INITIATIVE ANNOUNCED
GLOBE-Net, December 3, 2007
The Government of Canada has announced program details and eligibility requirements for $1.5 billion in biofuel production incentives available through the ecoENERGY for Biofuels initiative. Legislation tabled will make official renewable energy content requirements for gasoline.
> Read more: http://www.globe-net.ca/search/display.cfm?NID=3273&CID=8
> Details: http://oee1.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/ecoenergy-biofuels/background.cfm?attr=12

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$90M PLANT TO CONVERT CANOLA INTO DIESEL FUEL
Plant, November 19, 2007, p. 4
Canadian Bioenergy Corp. of Vancouver will build a canola conversion plant in the heart of Alberta’s major refinery and pipeline hub northeast of Edmonton, next door to an oilseed crushing plant. Scheduled to begin production by the middle of 2009, the plant will have a future capacity of 225 million litres of biodiesel per year.
> Read more: http://www.plant.rogers.dgtlpub.com/data/issuePDF/PLANT/9000000649-PLANT.pdf

HUSKY ETHANOL PLANT STARTUP IN MINNEDOSA MARKS MAJOR MILESTONE IN PROVINCIAL COMMITMENT TO CLEAN, AFFORDABLE ENERGY SOURCES: RONDEAU
Manitoba News Release, December 4, 2007
Husky Energy has reached the commissioning phase of its ethanol production plant in Minnedosa. When in full production, the plant will be one of the largest in Western Canada.  The plant is Husky’s second major ethanol facility in Western Canada and its second initiative supporting Manitoba’s biofuel industry.
> Read more: http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=2007-12-01&item=2721

TEN MIDWESTERN LEADERS SIGN GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION ACCORD
Wisconsin Media Release, November 15, 2007
Ten Midwestern leaders representing Manitoba, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Kansas, Ohio, and South Dakota signed the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord.  They also established regional goals and initiatives to achieve energy security and promote renewable energy.  To support these shared goals, the Midwestern states launched new cooperative regional initiatives to address such things as a bioproduct procurement program to support the growth of the region’s bioeconomy; renewable fuels corridors and coordinated signage to promote renewable fuel usage across the Midwest; advanced bioenergy permitting to assist states with the latest technologies.
> Read more: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3027
> Further detail: http://www.midwesterngovernors.org/govenergynov.htm

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DUPONT GROWS BIOTECH INVESTMENT; REAFFIRMS OUTLOOK
Bryner, Michelle
Chemical Week, 11/21/2007, p. 6
DuPont's Applied BioSciences unit is expected to generate revenues of $800 million in 2010 and $2.3 billion in 2012, the company said at a recent investors meeting. The company says it will invest $500 million in capital over the next three years in the unit, which comprises its biofuels, biomaterials, biospecialties, and biomedical businesses. Some $300-million of that will go toward building new biofuel facilities and pilot plants.

ENTREPRENEUR HOPES TO CREATE ENERGY FROM WOOD WASTE
Ryan Randazzo
The Arizona Republic, December 11, 2007
Entrepreneur Robert Worsley, along with investors in Tempe-based Renegy Holdings Inc., plans to open a $53 million, 24-megawatt biomass power plant this spring near Snowflake, AZ.  Worsley is asking what happens when the "green waste" from thinning forests and people trimming their trees that normally goes into a landfill is burned to make electricity. Throw in some free paper sludge from a newsprint factory and the singed wood from wildland fires that cook the western United States each summer, and Worsley predicts there's enough woody waste around North America to generate a gigawatt of electricity at dozens of biomass-fueled power plants.
> Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/1211biz-worsley1212.html

HONEYWELL AND ARNOT OGDEN MEDICAL CENTER TURN WOOD CHIPS INTO ENERGY SAVINGS
CNNMoney, December 5, 2007
Honeywell announced it has been awarded a $4-million contract with Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, N.Y., to implement a renewable energy technology and infrastructure upgrade program to help the medical center cut greenhouse gas emissions and insulate its operating budget from fluctuations in energy costs. The performance contract, guaranteed to save Arnot Ogden more than $535,000 in annual energy and operational costs, includes the installation of a wood chip-fired boiler that will handle most of the heating load for the Main Medical Center. As a result, nearly 60 percent of the energy consumed by the building will come from a renewable energy source.
> Read more: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQW01005122007-1.htm

HUGE FACILITY PLANNED FOR DULUTH TO HARVEST STATE'S TREES FOR EUROPEAN POWER PLANTS
Ron Way
MinnPost, November 12, 2007
Planning is under way to build a massive plant in Duluth's inner harbor to produce 500,000 tons of wood pellets every year to ship to Europe's power plants.
> Read more: http://tinyurl.com/2985z3

MASCOMA CORP. HOLDS GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR NEW $30 MILLION CELLULOSIC ETHANOL PLANT IN ROME, NY
Grainnet. December 10, 2007
The project is the result of a $14.8 million award from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to build and operate a biomass-to-ethanol demonstration plant.  The plant will focus on demonstrating “cellulose to ethanol” technology and industrial processes.
> Read more: http://tinyurl.com/2fz226

FOOD AND FUEL COMPETE FOR LAND
Andrew Martin
New York Times, December 18, 2007
For years, cheap food and feed were taken for granted in the United States. But now the price of some foods is rising sharply. Among the favorite targets to blame is ethanol, especially for food manufacturers and livestock farmers who seethe at government mandates for ethanol production. The ethanol boom, they contend, is raising corn prices, driving up the cost of producing dairy products and meat, and causing farmers to plant so much corn as to crowd out other crops. Now, with U.S. Congress poised to adopt a new mandate that would double the volume of ethanol made from corn, ethanol skeptics say a fateful moment has arrived, with the nation about to commit itself to decades of competition between food and fuel for the use of agricultural land.
> Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/business/18food.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

IN FARM BELT, ETHANOL PLANTS HIT RESISTANCE
Davey, Monica
New York Times, 11/13/2007, pA1-A26
Biomass energy companies are encountering resistance from local residents of cities and towns in the Midwest when they propose building ethanol distilleries nearby. Ethanol has been seen as a boon to the agricultural economy of the region, but communities are now objecting to the insertion of a new industry in their midst.
> Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/us/13nimby.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1197997758-JNg2QZ3iEtNxwh8jUPeiNA&oref=slogin

MIT ENERGY INITIATIVE
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), established in September 2006, is an Institute-wide initiative designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems.  Through its research program, MITEI addresses a critical link in the energy innovation chain—the pairing of MIT's world-class research teams with the best in industry who will be responsible for moving the products of this collaboration into the energy marketplace.
> Read more: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/index.html

Wood to Energy Biomass Utilization Short Course
January 7-18, 2007
Campus of Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
> Details: http://welcome.warnercnr.colostate.edu/biomass-short-course.html

Harvesting Clean Energy 2008 Conference
January 27-29, 2008
Portland, Oregon
> Details: http://www.harvestcleanenergy.org/conference/

2nd Annual Midwst Ag Energy Network Summit:
Next Generation Ag Energy: Policies To Advance Regional Growth
February 5-6, 2008
Madison, WI
> Details: http://www.midwestagenergy.net/index.html

Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008
March 4-6, 2008
Washington, DC
> Details: http://www.wirec2008.gov/

Ecological Dimensions of Biofuels

March 10, 2008

Ronald Regan Building & International Trade Center, Washington, DC

> Details: http://esa.org/biofuels/

2008 International Wood Composites Symposium
March 31-April 2, 2008
Seattle WA
> Details: http://www.timberbuysell.com/Community/DisplayEvent.asp?id=126

Growing The Margins:
Energy, Bioproducts And Byproducts For Farm And Food Sectors
April 2-5, 2008
London, Ontario
> Details: http://www.gtmconf.ca/welcome.htm

International Biomass '08 Conference & Trade Show:
Power, Fuels, And Chemicals
April 15-17, 2008
Minneapolis, MN
> Details: http://www.biomassconference.com/speaker.aspx

World Bioenergy Conference & Exhibition 2008
May 27-29, 2008
JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN
> Details: http://www.elmia.se/worldbioenergy/

The Third International Bioenergy Conference & Exhibition
June 3-5, 2008
Prince George, BC
> Details: http://www.bioenergyconference.org/index.php