The Daily Citizen of Dalton, Georgia reports Dalton Utilities plans to build a pilot project to use with its land application system along the Conasauga River:

“We are working on the design now,” said Mark Marlowe, Dalton Utilities’ vice president of water and wastewater engineering. “We hope to start construction in the fall or winter of this year, and complete construction in fall or winter. The startup will take several months. But it should be fully operational by the spring of 2010.”

“The target is 2,000 gallons (per acre per year),” Das said.

DU officials say they the algae will eat the phosphorous in the water, removing it from the wastewater… growing fuel while cleaning up the environment!

Teri Gevinson, CEO of Ag-Oil, said the company has planted 20 acres of jatropha, a fast-growing plant with seeds that contain oil, to make biodiesel. The biorefinery will use a patented technology to convert jatropha seeds, algae and related by-products into fuel.

Once operational sometime in 2011, the facility and plantation on 103 acres will maintain an estimated 128 direct jobs and 915 indirect jobs, the company said.

Other farmers in South Florida will also be growing jatropha for the plant.

In past years more than 720 biofuels professionals from 40 countries have participated in the forum. This year the line-up includes:

• •    Dr. Jos Van Boxtel, Arcadia Biosciences
• •    Prof. Bruce Dale, Office of Biobased Technologies, Michigan State
• •    Michael Dennis, Chairman, Enerkem
• •    Jim Flatt, Developments and Operations, Mascoma
• •    Bill Haywood, LS9
• •    Arnold Klann, Bluefire Ethanol
• •    Joseph Skurla, DuPont Danisco
• •    Dr. Rick Wilson, Cobalt Biofuels

To learn more about the Next Generation Biofuels conference and to register, click here.

In a letter to Robert Zoellick, President of World Bank, from Bliss Baker, President of the GRFA, Baker wrote, “I am writing to you to express our deepest concern that the World Bank is failing developing countries in their desire to develop sustainable biofuels industries and relieve their crippling reliance on imported crude oil. Your Bank remains on the sidelines without any commitment to investing in biofuels projects while many developing countries look for scarce capital to build local projects.”

The GRFA continues to call on the World Bank to support the development of biofuels in regions that are in desperate need of relief from their dependence on foreign oil. However, despite pleas from various organizations, the World Bank remains indifferent.

Baker noted that, ”Thirty-eight of the forty-five poorest countries on earth are net importers of crude oil yet many of these underdeveloped countries possess vast amounts of biomass and potential for sustainable biofuels production.”

It is estimated that by 2050, biomass theoretically could supply 65 percent of the world’s current energy consumption, with sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America accounting for roughly half of this global potential. Several potential projects have emerged in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Sudan and South Africa looking to attract investment; however, access to investment funds have been scarce.

Andrew Makenete, President of the Southern African Biofuels Association commented, “We see what many western countries have been able to accomplish in terms of energy security and attracting investment into the agricultural sector by building vibrant biofuels industries. We know that with the right support we can replicate this remarkable accomplishment here in Africa.”

The blunder occurred when Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) asked Ms. Oge, who is responsible for regulating all emissions within the United States, about the indirect land use issue. “It’s my understanding that the EPA’s Renewable Fuels Standard 2 methodology assumes that for every acre of soybean crop that is used to produce biofuel, an equal acre of ground is used in the Brazilian rainforest to replace that acreage, is that correct?” asked Schock.

“Obviously we know that it takes about 64 acres for a gallon of soy biodiesel,” she begins, and then corrects herself, even more incorrectly. “It’s actually the opposite. It takes 64 acres for corn ethanol and over 400 acres for a gallon of biodiesel.”

Actually, one acre of soybeans makes 64 gallons of biodiesel and one acre of corn makes over 400 gallons of ethanol. This may have been just a simple mistake - or maybe she really doesn’t know - but it is now possible that members of the U.S. House Small Business Committee believe that it takes a huge amount of corn and soybeans to produce biofuels because that is what she told them.

The YouTube video with commentary was posted anonymously by an account called “FreedomIs1st” and no one in the biofuels industry has taken credit for it - but it is very good and should be shared. In fact, it might be good for people in the industry to write to their congressional representatives, especially if they are on the House Small Business committee, to make sure they have the facts.

The blunder occurred when Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) asked Ms. Oge, who is responsible for regulating all emissions within the United States, about the indirect land use issue. “It’s my understanding that the EPA’s Renewable Fuels Standard 2 methodology assumes that for every acre of soybean crop that is used to produce biofuel, an equal acre of ground is used in the Brazilian rainforest to replace that acreage, is that correct?” asked Schock.

“Obviously we know that it takes about 64 acres for a gallon of soy biodiesel,” she begins, and then corrects herself, even more incorrectly. “It’s actually the opposite. It takes 64 acres for corn ethanol and over 400 acres for a gallon of biodiesel.”

Actually, one acre of soybeans makes 64 gallons of biodiesel and one acre of corn makes over 400 gallons of ethanol. This may have been just a simple mistake - or maybe she really doesn’t know - but it is now possible that members of the U.S. House Small Business Committee believe that it takes a huge amount of corn and soybeans to produce biofuels because that is what she told them.

The YouTube video with commentary was posted anonymously by an account called “FreedomIs1st” and no one in the biofuels industry has taken credit for it - but it is very good and should be shared. In fact, it might be good for people in the industry to write to their congressional representatives, especially if they are on the House Small Business committee, to make sure they have the facts.

They’ll be headed to New York for the World Technology Awards gala ceremony on July 16, 2009 at the conclusion of the two-day World Technology Summit:

Scientists Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld in the College of Technology and Innovation at ASU’s Polytechnic campus, have been selected as nominees for the award for their work with algal feedstocks and biodiesel fuel. In November 2008, TIME magazine selected the researchers’ work as one of the top 10 best innovations for 2008.

Nominees for the 2009 World Technology Awards were identified based on an intensive, global process over a period of many months in which current individual WTN members — primarily elected WTN Fellows from previous awards cycles who now number over 1000, spread out over 60 countries — as well as others made their nominations based on who they think is doing the innovative work in their field of the greatest likely long-term significance. After the WTN gathers further information from nominees, WTN individual member then vote on their preferences within their category. The top five selections in each category are announced from the podium on stage at the awards ceremony, and inducted into the WTN membership as Fellows. The winner receives an award on stage and makes comments about their innovative work to those assembled.

You can find more information at www.wtn.net.

The RFS2 Action Center gives those who want to stop the change examples of comments, where and how to send the comments, and this letter from NBB CEO Joe Jobe himself:

Dear Biodiesel Stakeholder:

Joe Jobe, CEO
National Biodiesel Board

During an interview for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting with Michelle Rook of WNAX, Yankton, SD, Obama was asked about the role renewable fuels will play in the future for rural America. “Obviously, I come from a farm state - Illinois - and ethanol has been a big boon for a lot of rural communities,” the president said. “But we also are recognizing the key for us is to move into the next generation of biofuels, how can we use wood chips and refuse and switchgrass and how can we improve the efficiency of first generation biofuels. Farmers are going to be critical to that entire process.”

“We want to be able to compete with countries like Brazil that now are running basically their entire automobile fleet on biofuels,” he continued. “If Brazil can do it, there’s no reason why America can’t do it.”

Obama also commented on the climate change bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week, saying that the legislation provides “a whole host of opportunities for rural communities to profit even as they are helping to achieve America’s energy independence.”

The first stop on the administration’s rural road trip was in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday where the topic was rural broadband service. Future dates where energy will be the focus include July 18 in Ringgold, Virginia; August 12 in Bethel, Arkansas; and August 16 in Zanesville, Ohio.

Listen to Obama’s ethanol and climate bill comments here:

An excerpt from a Greentech Media report posted on MarketWatch.com says that investors put $1.2 billion into 85 deals during the past quarter… compared to just $836 million in 59 deals during the first quarter of this year.

“The recent quarter’s balanced distribution of sectors that attracted capital underscores cleantech’s breadth and diversity of opportunity, one of the key drivers behind why cleantech remains an enduring area,” said Ira Ehrenpreis, General Partner at cleantech VC, Technology Partners.

One of the drivers for steady second quarter venture investment was the promise of stimulus monies offering startup investors a non-dilutive funding source. Meanwhile, early-stage and late-stage investments dominated, while mid-stage funding was harder to come by, and the average round sizes were slightly smaller. There were no giant $100 million+ solar or biofuel rounds as in 2008.

Greentech analysts believe that this year will be one of consolidation and development, but green sector investments will really take off in 2010 and 2011.