August 28, 2017
Acting Deputy Under Secretary Roger Glendenning today announced that USDA is providing zero-interest loans to two rural energy providers to help business and residential customers lower energy use and costs. “Funding commercial, farm and residential energy efficiency investments supports rural economies,” Glendenning said. “These investments save money for consumers, create jobs in the community and help energy providers better manage costs.”
August 28, 2017
During the busy fall season, whether you’re preparing a packed lunch for your child, a weeknight dinner for the family, or a tailgate feast for the whole crew, make sure you prevent foodborne illness by following USDA’s four steps to food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. Wash your hands and cooking surfaces before and after handling food. Wash fruits and vegetables before eating, cutting, or cooking. Make sure lunch […]
August 28, 2017
Feedstock procurement practices can make or break a biomass or biofuel project. Good procurement managers buy feedstock from a mix of suppliers, juggling economics, quality, and supplier reliability. However, the mix of suppliers is often done at the procurement manager’s discretion relying on “gut instinct”. The “gut” approach can lead to sub-optimal results in terms of cost, quality and reliability. For example, cost may be low but there may be […]
August 28, 2017
Woody biomass supply chains are complex and the interactions between their different components are often hard to understand. Changes to the actual supply chain can be risky, as they may affect quality of feedstock and final bio-products, consistency of supply, and involve expensive capital investments… Computer simulation, on the other hand, allows for testing different supply chain scenarios at very little cost. Computer simulation methods are already used across other […]
August 28, 2017
The Hampshire Council of Governments (Council) is pleased to announce that Ann-Renée Larouche is the new Energy Specialist. This position will be instrumental in the creation and implementation of energy programs offered by the Council’s Electricity and Sustainability Departments, which are aimed at reducing energy costs for the Council’s electricity customers and at promoting and facilitating local, green energy generation. “I had the good fortune of starting my career in […]
August 28, 2017
Northampton–The Hampshire Council of Governments (HCOG) announced the hire of a new Director of Energy Operations today. Sinead Coleman reported to her first day of work on September 12, 2016. The position of Director of Energy Operations, which oversees the electricity and solar programs at HCOG, has been vacant since August fifth of this year. “We’re very lucky to have Ms. Coleman on our team,” said HCOG’s Executive Director, Todd […]
August 25, 2017
GALT, Calif. (AP) — California is taking its fight against global warming to the farm. The nation’s leading agricultural state is now targeting greenhouse gases produced by dairy cows and other livestock. Despite strong opposition from farmers, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September that for the first time regulates heat-trapping gases from livestock operations and landfills. Cattle and other farm animals are major sources of methane, a greenhouse gas […]
August 25, 2017
There was great excitement in the greater New York City metro region last week, when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that construction will start on the area’s first ever large scale anaerobic food waste digester system. Located in the hamlet of Yaphank, which happens to be the geographical center of Long Island, the new facility is expected to handle about 160,000 tons of waste annually, including solid food waste, […]