U.S. Rep. Connie Mack and Lee County Commissioners Tammy Hall and Ray Judah join in celebrating new advanced research labs and integrated biorefinery that will diversify local economy and create clean energy jobs
(Fort Myers, Fla.)-Algenol Biofuels Inc. celebrated the opening of its new state-of-the-art biofuels and green chemistry lab and R&D facility today in Fort Myers, Fla.
The 40,000 square-foot facility houses an advanced algae biology, engineering, carbon dioxide (CO2) and green chemistry laboratory, as part of the larger Lee Integrated Biorefinery. The facility was made possible with a $10 million incentive grant from the Lee County Board of Commissioners. Speakers at the ribbon cutting event included U.S. Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), Lee County Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall, Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah and Algenol Founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Woods.
"Today is a remarkable milestone in our quest to bring algae-based biofuels and bio-based chemicals to commercialization. With the opening of our new biofuels and green chemistry facility, we aim to make Florida a hub for green, clean technology innovation that will create jobs, lessen our dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon pollution," said Woods. "Our efforts would not have been possible without our talented and dedicated staff and without our partnership with Lee County. We are thankful for the extraordinary efforts of Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall, Commissioner Ray Judah, and the late Commissioner Bob Janes," said Woods.
Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) said: "I'm so pleased to welcome Algenol Biofuels research facility to Southwest Florida. This company is a terrific example of how private enterprise can lead the way in alternative energy development. By working together, we can diversify our nation's energy needs and strengthen our economy. This is a win for Southwest Florida and our state."
Lee County Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall said: "Algenol will be the catalyst that will jump start Lee County's green economy. With a coordinated effort, we will make Florida the national leader of next-generation biofuels. Our vision is not small R & D facilities, but large commercial-scale clean energy production operations bringing new jobs to Lee County and putting Floridians back to work."
Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah said: "Lee County and Algenol are exerting bold and visionary leadership in bringing the brightest minds and algae-to-ethanol technology together to ensure long term economic prosperity and a healthy environment."
The facility will house Algenol's advanced biology and engineering laboratories and operations. An adjoining 4-acre outdoor R&D area and 36-acre outdoor commercialization area will hold the company's proprietary photobioreactors-the containers that generate ethanol from algae, saltwater and CO2 using Algenol's patented Direct to EthanolTM technology. In addition to producing low-cost ethanol, Algenol is beginning to work on related projects, such as using its ethanol and other green chemicals as a replacement for petroleum in plastic and chemical building blocks. Furthermore, Algenol has formed a partnership with a local university, Florida Gulf Coast University, to assist in establishing programs for students interested in pursuing careers in the green chemistry and biofuels industries.
Algenol Biofuels, Inc. is a privately owned company founded in 2006. It recently made a series of announcements including the award of a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in concert with its partner on the Integrated Biorefinery project, The Dow Chemical Company. Algenol also announced a partnership with The Linde Group to develop CO2 capture and management technologies to increase biofuel production from algae, and a joint development agreement with Valero Services, Inc.
For more information please contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
(202) 346-8855 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (202) 346-8855 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
China a surprise leader in clean energy: study
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
The world's top polluter, China, is a surprise leader in clean energy efforts, a study showed Tuesday, outstripping the United States and Japan and leaving Australia lagging far behind.
The Vivid Economics report, commissioned by Australia's Climate Institute thinktank, showed China was second only to Britain in the value of its incentives to cut pollution from electricity generation.
Britain's efforts were estimated at 29.30 US dollars per tonne of carbon to China's 14.20 US dollars, with the United States clocking 5.10, Japan 3.10, Australia 1.70 and just 70 US cents for South Korea.
The six countries account for just under half of all global emissions.
"The Chinese leadership have made a strategic decision that they missed out on the last two industrial revolutions and they don't want to miss out on the third one," said Erwin Jackson, director of the Climate Institute, of China's "surprising" dominance.
"They are now commanding the largest market share of clean energy investment at a global level as a result," Jackson told AFP.
China's investment in clean energy topped 35 billion US dollars in 2009 compared with 11 billion in Britain and 18 billion in the United States, and Jackson said it was set to increase tenfold over the next decade.
The main driver of China's performance was its commitment to shutting down more than 100 small coal-fired power plants for cleaner coal stations by 2011, which the report said would reduce emissions by 15 percent.
It also offered subsidies worth billions of yuan for green energy projects, aiming to generate 15 percent of the nation's total energy from renewable sources by 2020.
In Japan, 10 major power producers had joined a voluntary scheme aiming to cut emissions by 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2012, a major initiative which accounted for more than half of its clean energy rating.
Variations of an emissions cap-and-trade system were in place in South Korea, Britain, Tokyo, and parts of the United States, the report said.
The study said there were few policies which applied directly to coal, despite the fact it was the major source of fuel and carbon pollution for the six countries.
It also warned that none of the countries was on track to meet reduction targets agreed after last year's global climate summit at Copenhagen, with Japan lagging worst in relative terms.
Jackson said the report showed that Europe and China were ahead of the game on pollution reduction investment, far outpacing countries such as Australia - the world's worst per capita polluter due to its heavy dependence on coal.
Without action to price carbon, he said Australia risked falling foul of anti-pollution taxes, with countries such as Japan and India already taxing imports of coal and similar moves foreshadowed in the United States and Europe.
Australian Climate Change Minister Greg Combet welcomed the report, saying a carbon price "will not only provide an incentive to reduce pollution but also ... drive this country's long-term competitiveness".
The ruling Labor party in Australia, the world's largest coal exporter, has shelved emissions trading laws after failing to pass them and nearly lost power at August polls, with the eco-minded Greens party winning a record vote share.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, now at the head of a Greens-backed coalition government, has urged penalties for carbon pollution and formed a cross-party committee to investigate the best way to slash emissions.
The world's top polluter, China, is a surprise leader in clean energy efforts, a study showed Tuesday, outstripping the United States and Japan and leaving Australia lagging far behind.
The Vivid Economics report, commissioned by Australia's Climate Institute thinktank, showed China was second only to Britain in the value of its incentives to cut pollution from electricity generation.
Britain's efforts were estimated at 29.30 US dollars per tonne of carbon to China's 14.20 US dollars, with the United States clocking 5.10, Japan 3.10, Australia 1.70 and just 70 US cents for South Korea.
The six countries account for just under half of all global emissions.
"The Chinese leadership have made a strategic decision that they missed out on the last two industrial revolutions and they don't want to miss out on the third one," said Erwin Jackson, director of the Climate Institute, of China's "surprising" dominance.
"They are now commanding the largest market share of clean energy investment at a global level as a result," Jackson told AFP.
China's investment in clean energy topped 35 billion US dollars in 2009 compared with 11 billion in Britain and 18 billion in the United States, and Jackson said it was set to increase tenfold over the next decade.
The main driver of China's performance was its commitment to shutting down more than 100 small coal-fired power plants for cleaner coal stations by 2011, which the report said would reduce emissions by 15 percent.
It also offered subsidies worth billions of yuan for green energy projects, aiming to generate 15 percent of the nation's total energy from renewable sources by 2020.
In Japan, 10 major power producers had joined a voluntary scheme aiming to cut emissions by 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2012, a major initiative which accounted for more than half of its clean energy rating.
Variations of an emissions cap-and-trade system were in place in South Korea, Britain, Tokyo, and parts of the United States, the report said.
The study said there were few policies which applied directly to coal, despite the fact it was the major source of fuel and carbon pollution for the six countries.
It also warned that none of the countries was on track to meet reduction targets agreed after last year's global climate summit at Copenhagen, with Japan lagging worst in relative terms.
Jackson said the report showed that Europe and China were ahead of the game on pollution reduction investment, far outpacing countries such as Australia - the world's worst per capita polluter due to its heavy dependence on coal.
Without action to price carbon, he said Australia risked falling foul of anti-pollution taxes, with countries such as Japan and India already taxing imports of coal and similar moves foreshadowed in the United States and Europe.
Australian Climate Change Minister Greg Combet welcomed the report, saying a carbon price "will not only provide an incentive to reduce pollution but also ... drive this country's long-term competitiveness".
The ruling Labor party in Australia, the world's largest coal exporter, has shelved emissions trading laws after failing to pass them and nearly lost power at August polls, with the eco-minded Greens party winning a record vote share.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, now at the head of a Greens-backed coalition government, has urged penalties for carbon pollution and formed a cross-party committee to investigate the best way to slash emissions.
Spending review will test chancellor's green promises
George Osborne must increase spending to environment departments and fight the short-termism of the Treasury if he is to prove a true green ally
Matthew Spencer
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 19 October 2010 14.58 BST "If I become chancellor, the Treasury will become a green ally, not a foe." That's what George Osborne promised nearly 11 months ago. In tomorrow's spending review, we will find out whether he meant it.
There are three tests. The first is that environmental spending in two key departments increases, and increases significantly. I hear the snorts of laughter, but bear with me. Coalition commitments to a green investment bank and to a carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration programme require billions of pounds of capitalisation which will outweigh 25% cuts to existing environmental budgets – simply because they are so small. Government spending on the environment is less than £2bn or 0.3% of total public spending. So net increases in green spend in the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Business are an essential prerequisite to the survival of the most important of the coalition's green policies.
The second test is whether the chancellor stops his department from neutering the green investment bank. Both Osborne and the prime minister have committed to the creation of a bank but Treasury officials are fighting a fierce battle to prevent an independent institution from being set up, and trying to limit it to a short-term fund. The appeal of keeping the money under Treasury control is obvious but flies in the face of the greater impact the bank could have if it were able to leverage private investment from capital markets.
The final test is more profound and one that has eluded the Treasury for decades: will the chancellor be able to reform the chronic short-termism of the Treasury itself? Clearly it has to keep a tight rein on spending but what justifies its historic hostility to environmental taxation? Why does it fight consumer levies to raise money for green technology demonstration, when they have no impact on public spending? The reason is that the Treasury has a narrow view of the public good that doesn't stretch beyond the next three years, and which excludes many sensible economic interventions because they don't fit with departmental orthodoxy.
When he was in opposition, the chancellor also said that "under a Conservative government the Treasury will no longer be the cuckoo in the Whitehall nest when it comes to climate change." To achieve this, Osborne has to do what former chancellors have been unable to – prevent Treasury dogma from jeopardising the UK's opportunities for positive, low-carbon economic renewal.
Tomorrow we will know whether the chancellor has begun to turn an historic foe into a new green ally.
• Matthew Spencer is director of the Green Alliance thinktank
Matthew Spencer
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 19 October 2010 14.58 BST "If I become chancellor, the Treasury will become a green ally, not a foe." That's what George Osborne promised nearly 11 months ago. In tomorrow's spending review, we will find out whether he meant it.
There are three tests. The first is that environmental spending in two key departments increases, and increases significantly. I hear the snorts of laughter, but bear with me. Coalition commitments to a green investment bank and to a carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration programme require billions of pounds of capitalisation which will outweigh 25% cuts to existing environmental budgets – simply because they are so small. Government spending on the environment is less than £2bn or 0.3% of total public spending. So net increases in green spend in the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Business are an essential prerequisite to the survival of the most important of the coalition's green policies.
The second test is whether the chancellor stops his department from neutering the green investment bank. Both Osborne and the prime minister have committed to the creation of a bank but Treasury officials are fighting a fierce battle to prevent an independent institution from being set up, and trying to limit it to a short-term fund. The appeal of keeping the money under Treasury control is obvious but flies in the face of the greater impact the bank could have if it were able to leverage private investment from capital markets.
The final test is more profound and one that has eluded the Treasury for decades: will the chancellor be able to reform the chronic short-termism of the Treasury itself? Clearly it has to keep a tight rein on spending but what justifies its historic hostility to environmental taxation? Why does it fight consumer levies to raise money for green technology demonstration, when they have no impact on public spending? The reason is that the Treasury has a narrow view of the public good that doesn't stretch beyond the next three years, and which excludes many sensible economic interventions because they don't fit with departmental orthodoxy.
When he was in opposition, the chancellor also said that "under a Conservative government the Treasury will no longer be the cuckoo in the Whitehall nest when it comes to climate change." To achieve this, Osborne has to do what former chancellors have been unable to – prevent Treasury dogma from jeopardising the UK's opportunities for positive, low-carbon economic renewal.
Tomorrow we will know whether the chancellor has begun to turn an historic foe into a new green ally.
• Matthew Spencer is director of the Green Alliance thinktank
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