Last week, Southern Power – a subsidiary of electric utility company Southern Co. (SO) – announced its decision to build one of the country’s largest biomass power plants in eastern Sacul, Texas. Construction of the 100-megawatt plant is slated to commence this fall, with commercial operation projected for the summer of 2012.   As part of the project, Southern Power has agreed to acquire the Nacogdoches Power LLC biomass project from American Renewables LLC, a developer and operator of clean energy facilities utilizing biomass materials as fuels.   The power plant’s output has already been committed through a 20-year power purchase agreement with Austin Energy, the municipal utility owned by and serving Austin, Texas.   The plant, to be built over 165 acres, will use about 1 million tons of biomass materials (including forest residue, wood processing residues and municipal wood waste) annually as fuel, which is planned ...

New Generation Biofuels, Inc. holds an exclusive license for North America, Central America and the Caribbean to commercialize proprietary technology to manufacture alternative biofuels from plant oils and animal fats. The company then markets these products as a new class of biofuels for power generation, commercial and industrial heating, etc.

The company today announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Ace Biofuels of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Under this letter of intent, Ace Biofuels would license product formulations, manufacturing technology and know-how from New Generation with the intent of constructing a biofuel manufacturing facility and marketing the company’s fuel in Puerto Rico. Ace Biofuels will pay New Generation Biofuels a licensing fee per gallon of biofuel produced and sold.

Edgardo Fabregas Rios, president of Ace Biofuels, is pleased with the deal. He said, “The whole of Puerto Rico is in the process of exploring a number of alternative and

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Suncor Energy (SU) recently resumed the expansion of its St. Clair ethanol plant near Sarnia, Ontario, with completion expected in late 2010 or early 2011. The $120 million construction project is expected to double the plant's ethanol production capacity from 200 to 400 million liters per year.   The project synergies will also extend to the Sarnia-Lambton area with the creation of 350 jobs during construction and 15 new jobs to operate the expanded plant. It will also generate demand for feedstock - approximately 40 million bushels of corn annually - from local farmers.   The St. Clair facility is the platform for growth of Suncor's biofuels portfolio and has contributed to the development of a competitive domestic industry for renewable fuels since 2006. The expansion not only reinforces Suncor’s commitment to increasing renewable energy options in Canada but also builds on the strength of local relationships forged ...