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1. Global warming roundtable with Oregon leaders & movers; today at 2 p.m.
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2. Verenium Forms BP Joint Venture, But Delays First Plant to 2010
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3. Five easy no-fuss ways to go green at home
Global warming roundtable with Oregon leaders & movers; today at 2...
Shelby Wood, The Oregonian - Get Out: Upcoming Events
Verenium Forms BP Joint Venture, But Delays First Plant to 2010
Katie Fehrenbacher - Biofuels
Cellulosic ethanol maker Verenium might have an important partner in UK oil giant BP, but it still can’t help the company from the pitfalls of the difficult capital markets. This morning Verenium says that it is moving forward with a previously announced joint venture with BP, using $45 million in investment dollars, but at the same time, Verenium says its first cellulosic ethanol plant likely won’t “break ground” until 2010. Originally Verenium had been hoping to start construction on that first plant before the end of 2009.
Pushing back that date is an abrupt move from the cellulosic ethanol maker given that just a month ago spokesperson Morgen Grandjean told us that Verenium would still break ground on its first plant this year. He was responding to our story: Verenium Cranks Up Demo Plant — What Next?. And a week after our story ran, the company put out a press release saying it “anticipates breaking ground on this facility in the second half of this year.”
Kelly Lindenboom, V-P of corporate communications for Verenium tells us that given the slower loan guarantee process and difficult capital markets, it looks like 2010 will be more realistic for Verenium’s first plant. That 36 million gallon-per-year plant is due to be built in Highlands County, Fla., and cost between $250 and $300 million — cellulosic ethanol production is planned to begin in 2012.
While a several month-long delay isn’t a big deal, all of the cellulosic ethanol makers have been racing to be the first to build commercial plants in the U.S., so this push back could put the company behind competitors. Cellulosic ethanol maker Range Fuels is expected to be building the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the U.S. later this year. In this morning’s release, Verenium calls its first plant “one of the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities.”
Despite Verenium’s deal with BP, it’s just not a good time to be spending hundreds of millions on next-generation projects. In December Verenium said it wasn't in compliance with NASDAQ rules for maintaining a minimum market capitalization, but in January regained compliance. Next week the company plans to report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results, so we’ll be able to see how the economy has been affected by the economy.
But in comparison to many of the corn and cellulosic ethanol producers, Verenium’s technology is valuable enough to convince BP to make a substantial commitment. BP invested $90 million in Verenium, and is spending an additional $22.5 million on the joint venture.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
Five easy no-fuss ways to go green at home
jchait - Home & Garden
You don’t need dramatics to go green. You can, in fact, take some small steps to green your home. All the small steps you try can add up to big eco-changes.
Install light sensors: Installing light sensors in all your rooms means that when people leave, the lights go out and you save energy and cash.
Give up juice boxes: Juice boxes, a perpetual kitchen favorite of kids are not so earth-friendly. Even if you can recycle them, there’s manufacturing and shipping to consider. Try a reusable juice container instead like the leak-proof kid-sized Sigg bottles.
Wash your hands right: Switch out your toss away plastic hand soap containers and purchase some refillable hand soap pumps. Most co-ops and natural grocery stores carry bulk hand soap. Or you can make some.
Clean your coils: Cleaning your fridge coils just once yearly can allow your fridge to run 10%+ more efficiently.
Buy big bathroom items: If you don’t buy bulk bathroom items (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, etc) then buy the largest size possible. This technique is especially important with items like toothpaste - which can’t really be bought in bulk. If you have to buy a tube of plastic, it’s better to buy the larger size which eliminates two+ smaller sizes.
Which small steps is your household taking to stay green?
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