While Northeast U.S. state environmental officials are working on a “memo of understanding” for a region-wide low carbon fuel standard model regulation, the founding document behind their work can be found at the Northeast States Center for a Clean Air Future Web site.

International Road Transport Union officials announced earlier this month that they’ll aim to cut carbon dioxide emissions 30% by 2030 via voluntary measures.

Today’s European Union legislation on electric cars will cause higher net carbon dioxide emissions and oil consumption, rather than lowering them, according to an environmental group study.

Canada’s biofuels industry will ask the government early in 2010 to expand fuel blending mandates and production incentives.

Chevron researchers revealed at the ERTC refining conference in Berlin earlier this month that they’ve come up with a new scheme for boosting light-cycle oil output and cutting gasoline yield – yet while maintaining gasoline octanes – via an “inexpensive” and “reversible” revamp to a fluid catalytic cracking unit.

Given the long-term demand trends disfavoring gasoline while favoring diesel, some European refiners eventually may ask: Is a “zero-gasoline refinery” even possible?

Northeast States Center for a Clean Air Future and International Council on Clean Transportation officials Nov. 19 released a new study showing that diesel truck fuel consumption could be slashed 50% by 2017 with technologies that could pay for themselves.

California Energy Commission officials announced Nov. 19 that they’ve awarded a $1 million grant to University of California-Riverside’s College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology to build a process demonstration unit to convert biosolids to synthetic Fischer-Tropsch diesel fuel.

Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association (MECA) officials last week revealed the total number of diesel retrofit devices for on-road and off-road diesel engines sold in the United States (including California) by MECA member companies for the entire-year 2008 was 43,118.

Biomass to liquids fuels production requires about 1 ton of biomass for each barrel of liquid biofuel – a huge scale-obstacle to conventional gasification and Fischer-Tropsch diesel and jet-fuel synthesis.

BP researchers at the ERTC refining conference in Berlin earlier this month touted the company’s VCC (Veba Combi-Cracking) technology as a “contender” for refiners looking for an alternative to coking projects for heavy-oil conversion.

Wisconsin-based Generac Power Systems officials announced Nov. 25 a deal to purchase Fiat Powertrain diesel engines for future use in generator-sets, starting next year.

California Air Resources Board officials announced Nov. 24 that they’ve issued a conditional verification of the Proventia EHDPF active-regeneration diesel particulate filter for use with Thermo King Tripac auxiliary power unit equipment.