KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – It’s corn planting time in the U.S. Plains, and that means Kansas corn farmer Merl “Buck” Rexford is worrying about the weather — and hoping there is enough water.

Rexford plans to start seeding his 7,000 acres near Meade, Kansas, this week and he is relishing a recent heavy snow storm that dropped several inches of much-needed moisture.

Like corn farmers throughout the United States, Rexford hopes to grow a healthy crop yielding more than 150 bushels an acre this year. Much of his crop will wind up at a nearby ethanol plant.

And that puts the 65-year-old Rexford at the center of a bitter divide over biofuels, particularly corn ethanol. Leer más »

The measure, originally established to come into force at the beginning of 2010, contemplates to incorporate to the petroleum derived fuels up to a 5% of vegetable origin compounds. The companies of the sector seek to assure the almost 5.000 employments that today the biofuels production originates.  Â

The Government, the oil companies, and the cameras that promote the production and the biofuels ultimate details to start, at mid-year, the obligatory mix of gas oil with biodiesel.  Leer más »

In the Fair of Detroit the presentation of hybrid and electrical vehicles was the tendency marked by the companies before an adverse economic panorama.Â

The vice-president and general manager of Toyota Bob Carter presents the Toyota Prius , a gas-electrical hybrid of third generation. Picture: EFEÂ

DETROIT, (AFP). – The electric and hybrid vehicles continue encouraging the recovery hope of the automotive market in crisis times. It is for that reason that the makers multiply announcements and reveal prototypes to seduce the public in the fair of Detroit with numerous prototypes of big manufacturers as Daimler, Toyota or General Motors that respond to the climatic concerns and the high price of the fuels. Leer más »

The Export.Ar Foundation again, is in the organization of the presentation of the argentine delegation in the “World Biofuels Markets Congress 2009” that will be carried out from March 16 to18 of 2009, in Brussels, Belgium.Â

This exhibition that offers a unique access to the world of the Biofuels in all its production and distribution chain, attracts 1400 participants from more than 78 countries being the biggest and most important Bio-fuel Congress of Europe. It will have 200 of the best lecturers of the sector and more than 100 exhibitors. Leer más »

From all the rage to the caution: biodiesel industry is paralyzed and suffers the strikes of the crisis.

The expectations were unbeatable for this industry. However, the collapse of prices from the level records and the credit for amplification and construction of new factories shortage put in the freezer an activity that depends on the external markets for its survival.  Â

If it were necessary to look for a parallelism to what happens with the biofuel industry in Argentina well would be worth the example of a soccer game: the managers of the sector, until middles of 2007, hugged the victory and predicted a full steam ahead 2009. Leer más »

Important announcements for the promotion of the biofuels will be made this Wednesday January 14th by the minister of Energy, Marcelo Tokman, during a visit to the facilities of the Laboratory of Microbial Ecology of the Faculty of Sea Resources of this Institute of Superior Studies.   Â

The academic unit welcomes an interesting initiative of this area, developed by the Technological Scientific Center of Investigation for the Mining, CICITEM and the University of Antofagasta. Leer más »

Algae Derived Biodiesel for airplanes.

Tim Zenk, of Sapphir Energy, explains the process to produce biodiesel from algae. Photo: AP.Â

The airplane, of the Continental Airlines company, has completed a 90 minutes itinerary through the Gulf of Mexico.Â

The development of the biofuels starts to pick up its first successes in the aeronautical industry. Continental American Airlines an airline company from the United States has completed with success the first flight of an airplane propelled with a mixture of algae derived biodiesel and fuel, as it was informed by the press of USA. The itinerary, that has lasted 90 minutes and that has been operated by a Boeing 737-800, has resulted “better than expected”, as a spokesman of the company informs. Leer más »

The bond issue responds to growing interest from investors, who wish to support climate change-related projects in developing countries.

The green bonds will support the Bank’s climate action projects (both mitigation and adaptation).

The bond is an example of innovation the Bank is trying to encourage to stimulate public and private-sector financing for climate action

The World Bank recently launched its first “green bonds” designed to raise additional funding for projects or programs that support low-carbon activities in client countries. Leer más »

A visit to the Embrapa Cerrados center in Planaltino, at the north of Brasilia. It gives envy. The neighboring country is already the main world exporter of soya bean, bovine meat, chickens, orange juice, ethanol and sugar. It is not only about raw materials. It also exports agricultural technology to the whole Third World. Â

Of young the scientist specialized in floors Edson Lobato looked at the vast savannah of the center of Brazil and imagined fields of soya, corn and cotton where the rest saw an inhospitable mass of red land and entangled trees. Leer más »

Exemplary enterprise of the small State. RECEPTORS. 2.400 solar panels cover the roof of the audience room. REUTER Â

The installation will help so that 20% of the energy that the Vatican consumes comes from renewable sources by 2020.Â

VATICAN. – A photovoltaic system for the solar energy use was inaugurated officially in the Vatican. The Pope Benedict XVI offered his first general “ecological” audience in the room that leads to the St. Peters Square, on whose roof around 2.400 solar modules were installed during the last two and a half months. Leer más »