Up in the air with biofuels
Over the weekend, Virgin Atlantic Airways flew a passenger-less Boeing 747-400 partially fueled by a biofuel mixture of coconut oil and babassu oil from London's Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. (Read CNET blog.)
The test flight, performed to evaluate comparative engine performance and emissions rates with standard jet fuel and biofuel mixtures, was conducted by Virgin along with partners Boeing, the engine-maker General Electric, and the biofuel companyImperium Renewables.
No matter how the results of the experiment pan out, and no matter your personal view on the fundmental utility of biofuels, this is yet another example of how a passionate entrepreneur -- albeit one with billions of dollars on his personal balance sheet like Richard Branson -- is exploring the cleantech frontiers of what is possible, what is economical, what is environmentally-beneficial.
Richard T. Stuebi is the BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at The Cleveland Foundation, and is also the Founder and President of NextWave Energy, Inc.
Richard Stuebi is the BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at the Cleveland Foundation. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
