Nebraska firm wants utilities to burn corn
Next Step Biofuels' Russ Zeeck says the corn pellets his company makes burn like coal, but they are made out of corn stalks, leafs and cobs left behind after harvest.
Zeeck says Next Step is in talks with several utilities about using the corn pellets starting sometime in 2010.
Coal-fired power plants can burn the corn pellets along with coal, and that makes it easier for a utility to use a renewable biomass fuel at its existing plant.
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Utilities commission changes community choice exit fees; what happens now in San Diego?
SAN DIEGO - The California Public Utilities Commission approved an increase on the exit fees charged to customers who take part in Community Choice Aggregation -- government-run alternatives to traditional utilities like San Diego Gas & Electric.
After reviewing two competing exit fee proposals, all five commissioners voted Thursday in favor of an adjustment that many CCA advocates predicted could hamper the growth of the community choice movement.
But minutes after the vote was announced, one of the leading voices in favor of the city San Diego establishing its own CCA said the decision was good news because it provides some regulatory…