Stay up to date with the latest news from the Aviation & Renewable Fuels Operation.

USDA Guarantees $91 Million Investment in Innovative Louisiana Biofuel Plant

By Renewable Jet Fuels October 6, 2014
Unique Partnership Will Create Jobs, Produce Advanced Domestic Fuel and Reduce Greenhouse Gases BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 3, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a $91 million loan guarantee to help finance an innovative advanced biofuel plant in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. "This partnership is the latest example of the Obama Administration's continuing support for innovative, home-grown energy sources," Vilsack said. "USDA's support for renewable energy projects like this helps create jobs in rural areas, promotes U.S. ...
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Biofuels planned for skies over 2020 Tokyo Olympics

By Renewable Jet Fuels October 6, 2014
By KEISUKE KATORI/ Staff Writer The Asahi Shimbun October 6, 2014 Airlines, universities and other organizations have started an initiative to produce and supply biofuels in Japan, with a target of having commercial flights using such fuel by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. By April next year, the group, called Initiatives for Next Generation Aviation Fuels (INAF), will produce a roadmap summarizing the issues and measures on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. The main players are the University of Tokyo, Boeing Co., Japan Airlines Co., Nippon Cargo Airlines Co., All Nip ...
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Airlines Look to Fats, Trash, Sugar to Power Engines

By Renewable Jet Fuels October 1, 2014
By GILLIAN RICH, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 09/17/2014 08:02 AM ET If you fly out of LAX on a United plane early next year, chances are you'll be on a flight using alternative fuel — an area of increasing innovation as airlines try to lower their carbon footprint and cost volatility. United Continental (NYSE:UAL) plans to become the first U.S. ...
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Category | Airlines

Southwest Airlines Announces Purchase Agreement With Red Rock Biofuels

By Renewable Jet Fuels October 1, 2014
Southwest Airlines® (NYSE: LUV) has signed an agreement with Red Rock Biofuels LLC (RRB) to purchase low carbon renewable jet fuel, made using forest residues that will help reduce the risk of destructive wildfires in the Western United States. The airline's agreement with RRB covers the purchase of approximately three million gallons per year. ...
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Category | Airlines

DOE launches $25M funding opp to overcome two key barriers for algae biofuels

By Renewable Jet Fuels October 1, 2014
By Jim Lane BiofuelsDigest.com In California, US Assistant Secretary of Energy David Danielson, addressing the Algae Biomass Summit in San Diego, announced a $25 million funding opportunity announcement, entitled “Targeted Algal Biofuels and Bioproducts”. The TABB FOA seeks alternative pathways to overcome two of the key barriers to commercializing algal biofuels: the high cost of producing algal biomass and the low yield of target biofuel and bioproduct feedstocks produced from algae. Specifically, the TABB FOA will support (1) the development of algae cultures that produce valuable ...
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Aviation group pushes for ‘level-playing field’ on alternative fuels

By Renewable Jet Fuels July 21, 2014
A leading British aviation group Wednesday (16 July) called for immediate action to develop alternative jet fuels while seeking to skirt the controversy that has forced the European Union to reconsider biofuels targets for motor transport. The Sustainable Aviation Council urges a mix of government regulatory action and private investment to produce alternatives to petroleum, saying biofuels could contribute to the EU’s climate policy goals, and fulfill the industry’s pledge to halve its carbon emissions by 2050. “The most critical period in terms of developing alternative fuels is now,” ...
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Energy Department Awards $6 Million to Advance Cost-Competitive Biofuels

By Renewable Jet Fuels July 15, 2014
July 15, 2014 The Energy Department today announced $6 million for two projects to develop next generation biofuels that will help drive down the cost of producing gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels from biomass. The research and development projects, located in California and North Carolina, will focus on lowering production costs by maximizing the renewable carbon and hydrogen from biomass that can be converted to fuels and improving the separation processes in bio-oil production to remove non-fuel components. ...
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Category | Technology

GOL to use farnesane biojet blend in US-to-Brazil flights

By Renewable Jet Fuels July 14, 2014
By Ron Kotrba | July 09, 2014 Biodiesel Magazine Brazil is making more headlines this week—and it’s not about the World Cup. Industrial bioscience company Amyris is partnering with Brazilian airline GOL to begin the first international commercial route with the recently approved biojet fuel, farnesane. According to Amyris, GOL has committed to fly its Boeing 737 fleet with up to a 10 percent blend of the renewable fuel on its U.S. to Brazil routes starting with initial flights later this month. ...
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Category | Airlines

Branson: “We’re killing the world”

By Renewable Jet Fuels June 27, 2014
by: Jim Lane BiofuelsDigest.com Sir Richard Branson joined BIO CEO Jim Greenwood on stage at the BIO International Convention for a talk on enterprises, the entrepreneurial spirit, a spirit of adventure. And the founder of brands ranging from Virgin Records to Virgin Galactic shared his views on the role of biotech in the face of climate shift. An observer of Sir Richard Branson over, say 20 years might have remarked how much older he looked this week, as the keynote speaker at the BIO convention this week in San Diego. ...
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