I feel the need … the need for stinkweed

A common farm weed called field pennycress, also known as stinkweed, could be farmed to make a cleaner bio-jet fuel.

That’s according to a recent study whose senior author is Ajay Shah, an associate professor in the CFAES Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering.

Read the story. (Photo: Field pennycress by Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte, Bugwood.org.)

Biofuel sources hit the road. Then what happens?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERACFAES scientist Ajay Shah answered the question, “What is the additional cost of road maintenance due to cellulosic feedstock delivery to a biorefinery?” recently in Ohio’s Country Journal. Biorefineries produce biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks like corn stover, shown here. (Photo by Wally Wilhelm, USDA-ARS).

Renewable Energy Workshop is Nov. 4

PSEG solar farmA solar installer whose headquarters has its own sun-powered system and the largest solar farm in Ohio, which covers an area equal to some 80 football fields, are two of the highlights of the 2015 Renewable Energy Workshop. The event, which CFAES is sponsoring, is Nov. 4 in Carey in northwest Ohio. Read more here. Download the flier and registration form here. (Photo: PSEG solar farm in Wyandot County by Ken Chamberlain, CFAES Marketing and Communications.)

Growing green energetically

Biofuels WorkshopBiofuels, bioproducts and growing the crops needed to make them in Ohio are the focus of a CFAES workshop April 9. Among the topics: Growing switchgrass (shown here) to make ethanol and growing dandelions and guayule for rubber and latex. Read the press release. Check out the speakers and topics in the flier. It’s free, but sign up by Monday, April 6, if you want the free lunch. (Photo: iStock.)

Nov. 12 forecast: Sunny. Windy. Anaerobic digestively

solar panels for GBExperts from industry and academia will share their expertise on emerging green energy opportunities during a daylong workshop to be held Nov. 12 at CFAES’s research arm in Wooster, OARDC. Press release here. Event flier with agenda and registration form here. There’s a discount for early registration (by Nov. 4) and for students. (Photo: iStock.)

‘The new green is black’

The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s John Funk reports on quasar energy group’s biogas power plants and the partnership role of CFAES’s research arm, OARDC:

The new green is black for Quasar Energy Group, a company that with federal and state assistance has developed the technology to generate electricity from every flush of your toilet and every scrap of food waste and grease sent down a drain.

Quasar’s success story starts with European technology, steadily improved by researchers at the Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster and refined almost daily by Quasar and OARDC engineers.

Check it out.