Recharge Wrap-up: Derailing Malaysia's B10 plans, Tesla and Solyndra

Sat, Jun 13 2015

Tesla Motors will lease the Solyndra building near its Fremont, California factory. The manufacturing facility is more than 500,000 square feet, but the cost of the lease and the production capacity remain undisclosed. The lease of the building, "located conveniently down the road from the Tesla Factory, gives us the space to expand our manufacturing and build more engineering labs as we build up production," says a Tesla spokesperson. The added manufacturing space will help Tesla meet its production goals for the upcoming Model X electric SUV. Trip Chowdhry, senior analyst at Global Research Equities, says that shifting some engineering duties from the Deer Creek facility to the new one could help solve current parking shortages, as well. Read more at Business Finance News.

BMW has expressed concerns over Malaysia's planned B10 biodiesel mandate. Malaysia recently announced that it would use crude palm oil to make the B10 blend that would be required to be sold beginning in October, up from the current B7 mandate. "In our tests with B10 biodiesel worldwide, we have found technical challenges," says BMW Group Malaysia Managing Director and CEO Alan Harris, such as the fatty acid methyl ester in palm oil thinning motor oil. Mercedes-Benz also urges reconsideration of B10. The Malaysia Automotive Institute says it will include representatives from the auto industry in talks with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Read more from The Star.

Pacific Ethanol's acquisition of a competitor, Aventine Energy Holdings, has been approved by shareholders. Pacific is buying Aventine for $192 million in stock. In 2009, ethanol suffered a price drop that forced Pacific Ethanol to decrease production and declare bankruptcy for four of its plants. Now its base extends from the West Coast to the Midwest, as Aventine Energy Holdings has four plants in Illinois and Nebraska. The merger more than doubles Pacific Ethanol's production capacity, making it the fifth-largest ethanol producer in the US. Read more from The Sacramento Bee.

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News Source: Business Finance News, The Star Online, The Sacramento Bee
Image Credit: Tesla

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recharge wrapup

By John Beltz Snyder