Algae Fuels — From Drops to Gallons

In Australia, Aurora Algae opened its demonstration facility in Karratha, Western Australia, where the Company’s algae-based biomass is being harvested for products in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, aquaculture and renewable energy markets. “This would not have been possible with a U.S.-based production facility,” said Greg Bafalis, CEO of Aurora Algae, “where we believe the climatic conditions … Read more

The 3.0 Phase of U.S. Biofuels

With projects like Sapphire Energy’s drive to put a huge algae-fuel production facility in the Mexican desert, you’re seeing the first building blocks of world-scale capability for these fuels. Margaret McCormick, the co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Matrix Genetics said, “I think that microorganisms can solve most of the problems of the world. If you … Read more

Senate Testimony of Oil and Gas Executives on Ending Subsidies

Oil and gas industry executives testified on ending tax breaks for the largest multinational oil and gas companies. Senate Democrats and the Obama administration had proposed ending $21 billion in subsidies for oil companies as a budget deficit reduction measure. The executives said the plan would do little to reduce gas prices and hurt their … Read more

The Solar Decathlon Competition — 2011

In the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, 20 collegiate teams design and build energy-efficient houses powered exclusively by the sun. These teams spend almost two years creating houses to compete in the 10 contests of the Solar Decathlon. The winning team produces a house that: Is affordable, attractive, and easy to live in Maintains … Read more

BP says plans to invest in biofuels this year

ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (MarketWatch) — BP PLC’s (BP.LN) plans to invest $1.5 billion in biofuels in 2011 but won’t do so at the expense of food security in the countries where it does invest, Chief Executive Robert Dudley said Friday. “It is our policy…We will not invest in biofuel, in corn-based ethanol, on lands used … Read more

Norway’s REC building solar power plant in Italy

OSLO Feb 3 (Reuters) – Norwegian solar energy firm REC  said on Thursday it is building a 24-megawatt plant in Italy. Construction of the facility in Lazio has already begun and would use 100,000 REC solar modules. “The plant will produce around 37 million kilowatt-hours, equal to the energy consumption of around 14,000 families,” the … Read more

Eating Garbage & Excreting Crude Oil

LS9’s bugs are single-cell organisms, each a fraction of a billionth the size of an ant. They start out as industrial yeast or nonpathogenic strains of E. coli, but LS9 modifies them by custom-de-signing their DNA. Using genetically modified bugs for fermentation is essentially the same as using natural bacteria to produce ethanol, although the … Read more