Lignol Energy Corporation has received approval from the U.S. Department of Energy to locate the facility on the western slope of Colorado. The approved location is a change from the originally proposed site adjacent to Suncor Energy refinery in Commerce City, Colorado. According to the company, the Grand Junction location offers logistical advantages including access to feedstock and ethanol distribution efficiencies.

In January 2008, the DOE approved Lignol’s funding application for a proposed cellulosic ethanol plant, including up to $30 million in funding to construct the facility. The proposed facility will be designed to process hard and soft woods and agricultural residues such as straw and corn stover.

Microbac Laboratories has over fifteen years’ experience in analyzing a wide range of biomass products. They work directly with national Renewable Energy Laboratories and various private entities to characterize and analyze biomass materials.

According to a company release, Gulf Ethanol CEO Bill Carmichael says their goal is to establish the credibility of our cellulosic pre-processing technology and confirm the performance characteristics of our products. “Our clients as well as our investors will want to see scientific proof of the efficiencies created by this process,” Carmichael said. “We expect this processing technique to be a standard component of all cellulosic ethanol production in the future because of the increased yield and processing efficiencies we believe it will produce.”

Initial product samples will be provided to the lab this week.

Schafer wrote the letter mainly in response to an op-ed by Texas Governor Rick Perry that appeared in the paper after EPA’s recent decision to deny his request to waive the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Shafer writes:
This decision has recently generated some critical commentary in your pages. I, however, support and applaud the EPA’s decision. Renewable energy is a tremendous American success story. We are the world leader in biofuels. Since 2000, U.S. ethanol production has quadrupled. Biodiesel production soared from two million gallons to 450 million last year. Cellulosic ethanol, which will derive fuel from non-food feedstocks, is moving into production.

Schafer also noted that the rising cost of food in recent months is due to a number of factors, including higher oil prices. “…the sharp rise in global grain prices in recent years is driven primarily by soaring energy costs, improved diets in rapidly developing nations, two years of bad weather in some countries, and new export restrictions in several nations. U.S. biofuels production contributed only an estimated 0.2%-0.6% to the 5.1% rise in U.S. consumer food costs.”

Read the entire letter here.

The conference is is a collaboration of Farm Foundation, and USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Rural Development, Economic Research Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the U.S. Forest Service.

“Building a biofuels industry puts demands on natural, human and community resources, while at the same time generating potential returns for investors, workers and communities where the industry operates,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “This conference is designed to build understanding of the short-and long-term impacts of those demands and potential returns, identify issues that must be addressed and options for the future.”

The “Transition to a Bioeconomy” conference series is designed to inventory current knowledge of key issues of the bioeconomy, identify options for the future, and determine information and research needs. The conferences provide government, industry, academic and community leaders with objective information and analysis on key issues of the evolving bioeconomy.

More information about the conference can be found here on the Farm Foundation website.

This press release says the company created the Institute in 2007 with a $25 million gift from the company’s founding family, the Taylors… who own Enterprise, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car and operate the world’s largest automotive fleet, with more than 1.1 million vehicles:

“Just as we are committed to using our fleet to grow the market for commercially viable new fuels and engine technologies, we believe it is important to play a role in the search for sustainable, renewable fuels that can curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependency on finite fossil fuels,” said Andy Taylor, chairman and chief executive officer of Enterprise. “Dr. Sayre and his team bring tremendous leadership to this effort.”

Dr. Roger N. Beachy, president of the Danforth Center, said Sayre’s deep experience in plant science will advance the mission of the Danforth Center and the Institute for Renewable Fuels. “Attracting a researcher of Dr. Sayre’s caliber speaks volumes about the work we have done over the last decade – and the pioneering work we will do in the future,” Beachy said.

Much of the work to be done by Dr. Sayre and his team of 10 researchers will focus on using algae to produce “third-generation” biofuels that someday could be used on a large scale to power cars, trucks, and aircraft. This complements the larger body of biofuels research underway at the Danforth Center.

“Extracting oil from algae to produce a more sustainable biofuel is one of the most promising and exciting areas of biofuels research today,” said Sayre, formerly a professor in the Department of Plant Cellular and Molecular Biology at The Ohio State University. “Algae have significant potential as a clean, renewable, and economical fuel source. And, because algae are not used as food, they are a biofuel source that does not compete with the food supply.”

Enterprise officials say the company’s success depends on the availability of vehicles and fuels, which both have to be acceptable to society.

This article from Biodiesel Magazine says Inc. Magazine has rated Greenline Industries and Blue Sun Biodiesel among the fastest growing:

Larkspur, Calif.-based Greenline Industries, a manufacturer of biodiesel production equipment, as listed seventh on Inc.’s overall list and was the No. 1 energy company for 2008. The company was also at the top of the 100 businesses in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., list. According to Inc. Magazine, Greenline has experienced a 10,000 percent growth rate since it was founded in 2002. In 2004, the company had $318,000 in revenue; in 2007, Greenline reported $35.1 million in revenue.

Blue Sun marketing director Steve Bond said the ranking proves that despite a tough year experienced by the biodiesel industry, companies can continue to grow. Blue Sun has enjoyed a 1,000 percent growth rate in the past three years and reported $14.1 million in revenue last year. Bond attributes the company’s prosperous nature to its trademarked premium B20 biodiesel blend – Fusion. “We’re doing the right thing by having premium biodiesel fuel that people can trust for their vehicles,” he said. “This shows this is the right path. People are responding to that.” Bond told Biodiesel Magazine that Blue Sun plans to expand its business in 2009 to include locations in Nebraska, Colorado and other states in the western United States.

Companies on the list must be privately-funded, U.S.-based, and not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies since December 2007; have been generating revenue since the first week of 2004; revenues in 2004 must have been no less than $200,000; and revenue in 2007 must have been at least $2 million.

The American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest confirmed that when walking through the skyways in Saint Paul during next week and throughout the month of September, visitors are likely to see the ‘Addicted to Oil?’ E85 skyway signs in the US Bank Building and Town Square. Others driving to Saint Paul from Minneapolis and the western suburbs will also see a similar billboard beside I-94. In addition, E85/FFV :30 ads will be playing during coverage of the Republican National Convention on the local NBC affiliate.

Finally, a special E85 promotion will be available for flexible fuel vehicle owners in Eagan, Minnesota on Wednesday, Sept. 3. Holiday Station Stores and the MN Clean Air Choice Team will offer E85 for an extra $1.00 off the current posted price between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at 2660 Eagan Woods Drive.

Archer Daniels Midland Company, Deere & Company and Monsanto Company will work together to identify environmentally and economically sustainable methods for the harvest, storage and transport of corn stover that can be used as feed for animals, as biomass to generate steam and electricity or as a cellulosic feedstock for biofuel production.

The companies intend to address some of the challenges involved in utilizing corn stover for these multiple needs. For example, stover collection rates need to be adjusted on a field-by-field basis to ensure that sufficient stover is left on the soil to reduce erosion and maintain or improve soil quality for the next season’s crop. Also, the amount of moisture in the stover at harvest can present challenges in transportation and storage.

National Geographic’s Green Guide blog has details:

This week’s Democratic Convention is boasting that it will be the greenest political convention ever. Hybrid, alternative fuel and biodiesel buses are transporting the delegates; the stage will be painted with low-VOC paints and solar power, wind energy and biodiesel generators will all be incorporated in running the event.

The post says it is the same thinking that has prompted many big-time concerts to adopt similar measures to reduce their carbon footprints.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China signed an agreement to collaborate on biofuels research during the International Conference on Sorghum for Biofuel in Houston.

The agreement establishes the intent to “cooperate in establishing processes and infrastructure for conversion of sweet sorghum and other feedstocks to ethanol.” It also encourages collaboration among scientists worldwide to contribute to alternative energy research through the development of alternative feedstocks. It was signed by USDA Undersecretary Dr. Gale Buchanan and Dr. Liu Yanhua, vice minister of science and technology for the Peoples’ Republic of China.

“I think that if we are going to achieve sustainable energy security in this country we have to consider all opportunities and sorghum is one of those that I think can make a contribution.” Buchanan said. He added that sorghum has potential because of its drought tolerance and ability to produce high yields on marginal lands.

National Sorghum Producers CEO Tim Lust said the conference was a major step for the sorghum industry. “The world is taking notice of this crop in a big way and this conference is a meeting of the minds, so to speak, of some of the finest scientists and entrepreneurs in the world. We will all need to work together to solve the energy crisis and this meeting moves us in the right direction.”

See more photos from the event on the NSP blog here.