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Metabolix & Archer Daniels Midland to Commercialize Plastic from Corn

Metabolix, Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) (ADM) have entered into a strategic alliance to commercialize a new generation of high-performance natural plastics. They plan to establish a state-of-the-art 50,000-ton production facility and a 50/50 joint venture to manufacture and market natural PHA polymers for a wide variety of applications, including coated paper, film, and molded goods. Natural PHA polymers are produced using a fully biological fermentation process that converts agricultural raw materials such as corn sugar into a versatile range of biodegradable and compostable plastics. ADM will obtain exclusive manufacturing rights and certain co-exclusive marketing rights to Metabolix proprietary PHA technology. Metabolix will receive upfront and milestone payments for transfer and scale up of the technology. The agreement also provides for royalty payments and profit sharing by the joint venture partners. "This agreement is a major advance toward our goal of making an array of renewable, eco-friendly alternatives to traditional petrochemical plastics widely available to the global marketplace," said Jim Barber, Metabolix's President and CEO. "ADM is a world leader in industrial fermentation, and we are delighted to combine Metabolix's groundbreaking technology with ADM's global strengths in agricultural products processing, fermentation, and logistical networking." PHAs are a […]

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Solar Energy Still Has Strong Advocates Post-Election

The Solar Energy Industries Association says, "We did not lose any of our solar champions in the House and Senate, and many of those champions are poised to assume greater leadership roles in the next Congress." The Congressional appointments secured on Tuesday are particularly promising for the solar industry with SEIA pronouncing that "all incumbent solar champions were re-elected." SEIA congratulated many notable solar energy champions on their re-election to Congress, including Nevada Senator Harry Reid. In the House, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus co-chairs Zach Wamp (R-TN) and Mark Udall (D-CO) will return, as will other solar advocates such as J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) and Jay Inslee (D-WA). While Senator Tom Daschle's election loss was a stinging defeat for Democrats, his likely successor as Minority Leader is Senator Reid, a proven advocate for solar. Industry insiders in Washington say Reid has some of the most active and well-informed renewable energy staff on Capitol Hill. Zach Wamp, co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, is likely to become Chairman of the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee. Wamp is also reputed to have a staff that is active and enthusiastic regarding renewable energy issues, and should he […]

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Peering at the Sticker on a Cleaner Car

by Danny Hakim How much will it cost Californians to buy cooler cars? The Golden State's roads are known for vintage T-birds, customized muscle cars and the Bentleys in Beverly Hills. But the state's regulators have a different kind of cool in mind – cars that emit significantly lower amounts of the gases that have been linked to global warming. When California adopted the nation's first automotive greenhouse gas regulation in September, the auto industry and state regulators disagreed over how much it would all cost. The new regulation would require a 30 percent reduction, on average, in automotive greenhouse gas emissions – carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane – by the 2016 model year. The regulation, though directed at greenhouse gases, would probably demand an improvement in fuel economy of more than 40 percent. While smog-forming pollutants have been regulated for decades, catalytic converters can neutralize those emissions. But no filtration technology exists for greenhouse gas emissions, so cutting those emissions would have to come almost entirely from better fuel economy, though a modest amount could be cut by overhauling a car's air-conditioner. The staff of the California Air Resources Board says the new regulation will add about $1,000 […]

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Los Angeles Toughens Renewables Plan

by Gary Clouser The Los Angeles City Council has ordered its municipal utility, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), to toughen its renewable fuels goal, even at the anticipation that it will result in higher electricity rates. The City Council has told LADWP it may not count power generated from the Hoover Dam toward its renewable goals. Hoover Dam-generated power accounts for about 2.5% of LADWP's power. Exclusion of power from that source toward the renewables objective is expected to cost the average residential ratepayer about $0.60 more per month, raising the anticipated cost for the renewable program to $3.20 per month from the earlier projection of $2.60 by 2017. That LADWP estimate is based on funding renewable the plan, including interconnection costs, transmission costs, renewable energy costs exceeding projected cost from fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, and purchase agreements for renewable power. The state of California has ordered investor-owned utilities to supply 20% of its supply through renewable fuels by 2017. That state mandate, however, does not officially apply to LADWP, because munis are exempt from that rule. The state does require munis to develop their own plans, called Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). LADWP's […]

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