Biomass

Yesterday the National Biodiesel Board announced that a pump station in Utah is selling a 2% biodiesel blend (B-2) at the same price as regular diesel. Even though there are more than 300 pumps nationwide selling biodiesel, this is the first time in the United States that a biodiesel blend has been offered at regular diesel prices. The Bio-Diesel is being supplied by Green Star Products Inc (GSPI)

Nearly 36,000 jobs could be created in Texas if an increase in the national renewable energy standard were adopted, according to a new study released by the Union of Concerned Scientists. A national standard would require that 20 percent of the country's electricity come from clean, renewable sources like wind, biomass and solar.

Infectech Inc (IFEC) announces that preliminary data and results of a study which confirms laboratory proof-of-concept measurements have shown it possible to generate hydrogen in high yields via the use and adaptation of its intellectual property. In this study, the bioreactor produced biogas consisting of 50% hydrogen by volume, without any trace of methane. Recently, NanoLogix, Inc. (formerly Infectech, Inc.) signed a feasibility study with the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Gannon University in Erie, PA to develop a bioreactor which utilizes NanoLogix's patented bacterial culturing methods in order to produce hydrogen inexpensively.

Jim Lane  As the first wave of cellulosic biorefineries launch is there really enough affordable feedstock for the next wave? Can growers make enough money to justify the switch…and risk? For several years, the questions that have perplexed actors in the advanced bioeconomy have revolved around policy stability and the effectiveness of the new technology: can new advanced fuels be affordably produced and will there be a market for them? Years ago, these were the same questions that were asked about petroleum. Today, when people talk about petroleum and long-term availability (when they choose not to...

Clean Break has found another company to add to the watchlist. DynaMotive Energy Systems Corp. (DYMTF), uses a patended "pyrolysis" process to convert forest and agricultural waste everything from sawdust to tree bark into a clean-burning renewable fuel it calls BioOil. This fuel can be used for power generation in gas turbines, diesel engines and boilers. Tyler has a nice writeup about the company at his CleanBreak website. DynaMotive joins Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc. (IESV) and Green Energy Resources (GRGR) in the biomass space on my watchlist. They are also trying to compete...

Infectech Inc (IFEC) has signed a feasibility study with the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Gannon University in Erie, PA to develop a bioreactor which utilizes Infectech's patented bacterial culturing methods in order to produce hydrogen inexpensively. Infectech believes the most likely method for low cost production of massive quantities of hydrogen as an alternate energy source is hydrogen combustion using Clostridia bacteria, which produces hydrogen as a by-product. Infectech has ascertained through its patent counsel that there are eleven relevant U.S. patents concerning the database containing the terms "Clostridia" and "Hydrogen Production." Infectech presently owns...

by Debra Fiakas CFA Recently, in compiling our lists of remarkable small-cap stock trades, I was surprised to find the shares of Ceres, Inc. (CERE:  Nasdaq) among stocks setting new 52-week lows.  Ceres has only been trading since its initial public offering in February 2012, when the company sold 5.0 million shares at $13.00 per share.  After a brief trade higher in the early spring, Ceres shares have been steadily losing ground, finally setting an all-time low of $6.02 last week. Named after the Greek Goddess of Agriculture, Ceres is a self-styled energy crop producer.  Ceres...

Biochar is still mostly a research and cottage industry, yet it has the potential to impact returns for a broad range of investors. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA Biochar, or amending soil with biomass-derived carbon, shows great potential to improve the productivity of soils, as well as to increase the utilization of fertilizers by plants, while sequestering carbon to reduce the drivers of climate change.  On August 10, I went to the 2009 North American Biochar Conference to look at the potential for investors.  Before I went, I took a look at the publicly traded companies...

Jim Lane Green Plains In Nebraska, Green Plains (GPRE) announced net income for the quarter was $42.2 million compared to net income of $25.5 million for the same period in 2013. Revenues were $829.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to $712.9 million for the same period in 2013. Net income for the full year was $159.5 million compared to $43.4 million for the same period in 2013. Revenues were $3.2 billion for the full year of 2014 compared to $3.0 billion for the same period in 2013. Fourth quarter 2014 EBITDA was $90.7 million compared to...

Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc. (IESV) announces that its biogas facility at the Whitesides dairy has achieved its production goal two months after starting up the plant. The flow of biogas significantly exceeds the 30 cubic feet per minute yield the company had predicted for the two-digester tank system. This is a significant milestone in the company's business plan. Specifications for gas conditioning equipment, that will bring the Methane to pipeline quality, are now being established based on actual gas yields. Preparations are underway to begin using produced biogas as process heating for the digesters, eliminating the use...

An Eastern Iowan made his own fuel to save money, but now the state says not so fast. The state wants to make sure it doesn't miss out on its tax money... ...The tax would be 22 and a half cents a gallon. The same as diesel. He makes anywhere from five to twenty gallons of biodiesel a month. At the most, it would mean an additional four dollars to the state each month. Toal-Rossi says, "I'm not opposed to paying the tax, it's really the paperwork that's more of a hassle for me." Never...

Reclamation Consulting and Applications Inc (RCAA) announced that it has signed a new Exclusive Distributorship Agreement with Topia Energy, Inc. for the sale and distribution of biodiesel. Ottawa-based Topia Energy, Inc. is Canada's largest commercial producer and supplier of biodiesel fuel oils with production capabilities throughout North America. Biodiesel is the only fuel to be classified as entirely non-toxic; it biodegrades faster than sugar, is ten times less toxic than table salt and produces exhaust that some say smell like popcorn or French fries.

By Ed Hamrick Municipal solid waste in Berlin. Photo by S. Müller via Wikimedia Commons Remember the one about the two guys in the woods who are seen by a hungry bear? They start running from the bear, and one guy says to the other guy “Why are we running? Everyone knows you can’t outrun a bear”. The other guy says “I don’t need to outrun the bear, I only need to outrun you”. Any company can find a market for their ethanol if they can make...

Environmental Power Corp (EPG) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Microgy Cogeneration Systems, Inc. ("Microgy"), has entered into a Project Development Agreement with South-Tex Treaters, Inc. of Odessa, Texas ("South-Tex"), which for almost 20 years has been a leader in the gas processing industry. The agreement provides that Microgy and South-Tex will cooperate to identify, evaluate and develop projects in the United States that combine Microgy's anaerobic digestion technology, which extracts methane-rich biogas from animal waste, and South-Tex's cleaning and compression technologies that can be used to refine biogas to a pipeline-grade methane.

Twenty-five proposed renewable energy projects featuring hydroelectric, biomass, wind, solar and biofuel technologies have been selected to receive more than $22 million from the Xcel Energy (XEL) Renewable Development Fund. More than 200 renewable energy project proposals were considered, three times the number submitted in the program's first funding cycle in 2001.

Renewable energy like wind and solar power and hydrogen fuel cells could blossom into a $100 billion a year global market in less than a decade as technology costs fall, according to a study. The combined market for "green" sources of energy has already grown 68 percent since 2002 to more than $16 billion last year, according to Clean Edge, a research and publishing firm based in California. You can view and download the complete Clean-Energy Trends report at the following link.