Green Star Products, Inc. announced today that it has finalized negotiations with a consortium of companies to produce up to 500-million gallons of biofuels annually within five years.

Bioethanol developer Green Spirit Fuels has announced that it will build it's second production facility.  This facility will be located in the Humberside area. The company, whose first plant at Henstridge in Somerset is currently under construction, has negotiated an option to acquire the second site on Humberside, and selected a major grain company with strong regional connections as its supply partner for the facility. Green Spirit Fuels aims to be the leading producer of bioethanol in the UK, and will be the first company to produce bioethanol from wheat when its Henstridge plant comes on stream in spring 2008.

According to the report "International Bioenergy Transport Costs and Energy Balance", commissioned by Utrecht University and the Copernicus Institute, it is economically feasable to transport biomass (for instance sugar cane by-product bagasse, palm oil processing residues such as empty fruit bunches etc), rather than fuels derived from that biomass (such as ethanol and biodiesel) from one continent to another and still make a return.

The European Parliament has allocated euros €2.4 billion to energy research in a vote on the EU's next seven-year R&D programme (2007-2013). Some two thirds are allocated to renewable energies and energy savings.

A new report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concludes that Britain’s existing health and safety system is flexible enough to deal with any hazards and risks from alternative energy developments, and to achieve sensible risk management. The HSE's report, published today, is in response to a request from Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks for an expert report to the government’s energy review on health and safety issues associated with a range of energy developments, including biofuels, biomass, wind, tidal and nuclear.

Interesting interview in today's FT with Karl Watkin, founder of the UK's biggest jatropha biodiesel producer, D1 Oils plc.

Thailand and Brazil are discussing joint developments in alternative energy, according to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok yesterday.