A Los Angeles-based biofuels company called Altra Inc. has secured $50 million (U.S.) in financing from Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Khosla Ventures, Sage Capital Partners, and others — yet another sign of growing interest in ethanol and other biofuel technology companies. This announcement is actually a month old, but Kleiner Perkins decided to tout the investment on its own this past week.

Altra doesn’t appear to have anything special going for it, other than its desire to aggressively acquire and improve the performance of existing ethanol facilities, on top of building new ones. Its CEO Larry Gross — you remember, that Idealab guy from those glorious dot-com days — has said that Altra wants to do for ethanol what Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller did for oil. I suppose he means aggregate, consolidate and eventually dominate on a national basis.

What’s interesting is that Nicholas Parker, chairman of the Cleantech Venture Network, told Red Herring as part of its story on Altra that he’s not convinced biofuels on a large scale is the way to go. “There are real social and environmental issues with biofuel… It’s going to replace the food supply and genetically modify it. There’s a lot of hype, and frankly, there is a niche for it, but it’s not the future.”

Nick repeated this comment last week during lunch, and I generally agree with his position, at least with respect to using corn and other “food” to make ethanol. I have high expectations for cellulosic ethanol production, as promoted by companies such as Iogen, so perhaps there’s some hope there. I think if E85 ethanol made from agricultural waste could be used in a flex-fuel plug-in hybrid, we may be okay. But using corn to save the U.S. from having to use oil from the Middle East for internal-combustion SUVs is, well, just plain silly.

Here’s an article from Canadian Press that touches on what is sure to be contentious. Basically, it explores the issue of whether the low-frequency, inaudible sound that comes from the operation of wind turbines can make some people sick. It cites a family from southwestern Nova Scotia that had to move from their home because they suspected nearby wind turbines were giving them headaches, preventing them from sleeping and making it difficult for them to concentrate.

Part of the reason why I’m posting on this article is because I’m sympathetic to their concern, which is not unlike the concerns many people have with cellphone/cell tower frequencies. Some people really do appear to be highly sensitive to electromagnetic frequencies — almost having an allergy-like reaction — so there’s every reason to think that some people might be bothered by the constant, low-level whoosh from wind turbines.

That said, I think it would be a tiny fraction of the population. The less sympathetic side of me also says, “So What?” I live in the city and, well, there are all kinds of sounds — traffic, industry, construction, you name it. Some of it audible, some surely not. And yes, it makes it tough to sleep sometimes and I get cranky and can’t concentrate when I can’t sleep and, yes, get the occasional headache. You get used to it eventually — certainly gives me reason to blog after midnight.

Okay, now back to being sympathetic. If you live out in the country and you’re used to hearing nothing but the churping of crickets, I’m sure wind turbines do change the equation. Unfortunately, farmers and rural homeowners wouldn’t know how they’re affected until it’s too late.

Personally, I think I’d find the low-level sound of a turbine more relaxing than jack hammers, street racing, ambulance sirens and my neighbour’s dog. But I’ve never had the opportunity to find out…

GreenFuel Technologies Corp., the Cambridge, Mass.-based company that wants to use super-algae to suck up CO2 from coal and natural gas plants, has revealed some details of a field test to take place at a coal-power plant in western New York State. Hat tip to Jim at The Energy Blog for putting me on to this. The company has partnered with NRG Energy Inc. and the NY State Energy Research and Development Authority on the project.

(Click here for past post and column for background on GreenFuel, whose CEO I’ve had the opportunity to interview).

To be clear, NRG is a $6-billion player in the U.S. power-generation market, with a number of baseload, intermediate, peaking and co-gen facilities throughout Texas, the Northeast, South Central and Western regions of the United States. The fact that GreenFuel is getting an opportunity to test out its technology with such a major player is an incredible opportunity as far as I’m concerned.

My personal hope and vision is to see Ontario Power Generation incorporate GreenFuel’s bio-reactor technology into its new Portlands Energy Centre to be built in Toronto. This would be a perfect opportunity, close to the city’s core, to show how serious the provincial-owned power generator is about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The natural-gas plant that’s part of the centre would be a perfect fit for GreenFuel’s technology, there’s enough land (presumably the city will want a buffer zone around the plant), and the algae could be harvested as part of a separate biofuel experiment. This would have the added benefit of attracting tourism.

Oh, wait a second… I’m dreaming. Who am I to think that an Ontario utility or power generator is willing to take a risk by trying something innovative?

I’m hearing this is a match made in cleantech heaven. MuniMae, a major provider of debt and equity financing for real estate developers, has purchased clean-energy project financer/operator Renewable Ventures LLC.  (See this post about RV’s launch in February of a $100-million U.S. fund). The buzz about this deal, according to a Red Herring story, is that it will accelerate the availability and increase the options for financing clean-energy projects for businesses and other organizations. Perhaps it will also trigger similar deals/arrangements in the U.S. and even Canada.

Just an FYI if you happen to live in Toronto: A group called Toronto Green Drinks meets the 3rd Wednesday of every month for drinks at the lovely Bedford Academy at 36 Prince Arthur Avenue (near my old stomping grounds at the University of Toronto). Anyway, anyone interested in chatting with other greenies and cleanies about related issues and technologies should drop by. I’m hoping to make it out one night.