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BP Signs Deal to Supply Biofuel in Australia

BP (BP.L) has signed contracts to supply over 200 million litres a year of biofuels to Australian customers by 2008 – about half the national government’s biofuels target set for 2010. BP will produce 110 million litres of tallow-based biodiesel at its Bulwer refinery in Queensland by 2007, which it will use to produce around 2 billion litres of 5 percent blended fuel. It will also purchase 80 million litres of ethanol a year from privately owned Primary Energy’s plant in Kwinana, Western Australia, from 2008, and 23 million litres from Australia’s biggest sugar-producer CSR (CSR.AX) over the next two years. The ethanol will be used to make 10 percent blended fuel at BP’s terminals across Australia. BP’s overall Australian fuel production, which operates two refineries with combined capacity of 226,000 barrels of oil a day will stay at the same level.

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Colgate Buys Out Tom's of Maine

URL: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/03/22/colgate_will_buy_toms_of_maine/ Website: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/03/22/colgate_will_buy_toms_of_maine/     

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Audubon Supports Cape Wind Farm

The Massachusetts Audubon Society gave its preliminary blessing yesterday to a large-scale wind power project off Cape Cod, saying its studies show that turbine blades are not likely to cause significant harm to birds, as the group had once feared. Support from the environmental group, one of the most respected in the state, is important because the threat to birds has emerged as a controversial aspect of the five-year-old proposal to turn stiff sea breezes into a source of electricity. The group had previously raised questions about potential bird deaths, but Jack Clarke, advocacy director of Mass Audubon, said extensive studies it conducted in the last four years showed that endangered roseate terns and piping plovers, the group’s main concerns, and other sensitive species generally avoid the 24-square-mile footprint of the proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound. ”Our preliminary conclusion is that the project would not pose a threat to avian species,” he said. The most significant hurdle for the project, which would be the nation’s first offshore wind farm, is an ongoing federal environmental review, and Mass Audubon’s preliminary stance is likely to be helpful. But the group said its final decision will hinge on additional research of several […]

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Report Explores Value of New Federal PV Tax Credits

Since the start of this year, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) has provided a financial boost to photovoltaic (PV) system purchasers by implementing a new 30% residential tax credit, and increasing the existing 10% commercial tax credit to 30%. The economic value of these new and expanded federal credits to system purchasers, however, is not at all straightforward, and depends on a variety of factors, according to a new report released today by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in conjunction with the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA). Determinants of the value of EPAct’s PV tax credits include whether the system is for residential or commercial use (the residential credit is capped at $2000), the size of the system (particularly for residential systems, due to the $2000 cap), and the tax status of the system owner (tax-exempt owners cannot benefit from tax credits). Also important, though less obvious, is whether or not the IRS considers grants made by state and utility PV programs to be taxable income, and how these grants interact with the federal credits. This is because, at least for the foreseeable future, most PV systems in the US are likely to be installed with the financial […]

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Army, Quantum Demonstrate Hydrogen Escape Hybrid

The U.S. Army and Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc.(Nasdaq: QTWW), unveiled a hydrogen-hybrid demonstration vehicle today at the 2006 SAE World Congress in Detroit. Using a Ford Hybrid Escape as the demonstrator platform, the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), with its National Automotive Center (NAC), and industry partner Quantum, is working to pair hybrid electric vehicles with a hydrogen delivery and storage system. “Currently one of the biggest vehicle technology focuses for the Army is alternative energy, both hybrid and fuel cell. Although the Army has set standards for Future Fleet hybrid energy use, we [Army] are looking at many industry solutions to infuse into the Current Fleet,” said Paul Skalny, Acting Director of TARDEC’s NAC. “The NAC has numerous agreements with top automotive suppliers and research companies, and we are continually exploring the uses of commercial fuel cell and hybrid platforms for both tactical and combat vehicles.” Under this collaborative agreement, the NAC and Quantum are developing an advanced hydrogen storage system, a fuel injection system, and electronic controls that are required for the Hydrogen Escape Hybrid. The complete Hydrogen Hybrid package will include: an electronic, multi-point hydrogen injection system; a turbocharger and intercooler […]

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Zoltek Gets Expansion Grant from Hungarian Government

Zoltek Companies, Inc. announced the Hungarian Government government has pledged a grant to turn Zoltek’s facility 30 miles west of Budapest “into the world’s largest carbon fiber production facility.” Through the expansion, Zoltek is committed to adding 600 new employees in Hungary over the next few years. The Hungarian Government grant of 29 billion HUF (approximately $14.5 million) will be used to modernize its facility, establish a research and development center there, and support a rapid buildup of manufacturing capacity for both acrylic fiber precursor raw material and carbon fiber. By the end of 2009, Zoltek expects rated annual carbon fiber production in Hungary to reach at least 8,000 tons (18 million pounds), compared to 800 tons (2 million pounds) at the beginning of 2005. Since becoming a public company in 1992, Zoltek has focused on a mission of “commercializing” carbon fibers — by reducing the cost and price of this high-performance, space-age material and producing it in the quantities needed to encourage widespread adoption in emerging applications. Zoltek believes that it has been a catalyst in turning carbon fiber into the key enabling material for achieving breakthrough levels of performance in a variety of recently developed applications, including wind […]

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Nova Energy Launches Biodiesel Fuel Company

Nova Energy Holding, Inc. (NVAO.OB) has launched a biodiesel company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company’s business strategy involves the design, engineering and construction of wholly owned biodiesel refineries in the United States, and the production and marketing of biodiesel fuel and glycerin. Nova Energy currently has two full-scale production facilities under construction, with a combined production capacity of more than 30 million gallons per year. Nova has $20 million under contract for the build out of these two facilities. “The propriety, patented processing technology Nova will employ to produce biodiesel gives the company a significant competitive advantage compared to biodiesel industry standards. We can produce a cleaner, higher-quality fuel at a lower cost, from a broader variety of commonly available feedstocks,” said Ken Hern, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Nova. “Our team includes former presidents and CEOs from the world’s biggest oil companies. More importantly, we have the strongest technical staff in the industry. This high quality group of engineers is led by Dick Talley, a recognized expert in biodiesel. It’s a team of partners, not employees.” In addition, the company has entered into agreements with several large food processing companies with commitments for the supply of large […]

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