Governments Boost Renewable Energy

Two renewable energy firms have plans to operate large-scale facilities with the support of local governments. Texas-based KiOR has received a $75 million loan and assistance package from Mississippi. KiOR plans to build plants that will use a catalytic process to turn woody biomass into a crude oil that can be refined into conventional fuel products. Separately, Montreal-based Enerkem began construction of a facility in Edmonton, Alberta, that will use a thermochemical process to make methanol and ethanol from nonbiodegradable municipal waste. Enerkem received $22 million in funding from Edmonton for the $76 million plant.