Domestic Fuel

Some of London’s famous black cabs will be going green. About 3,000 of the Radio Taxis Limited cabs will be running on a 30 percent blend of biodiesel.

This story on Biofuel Review says the biodiesel will reduce CO2 by 7 percent, significantly reduce oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide, and drop particulates by 4.7 percent. It does all this and delivers a nearly 10 percent improvement in mileage. It all adds up to a fleet-wide reduction of CO2 by nearly 3,000 tonnes:

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said: “London already has the best taxi service in the world, and I am working with the taxi trade to make it the cleanest. New regulations introduced this year, mean that the capital’s 20,000 black cabs must now meet strict emissions standards, making vehicles less polluting to help improve London’s air quality.

A wind farm four times bigger than what’s currently in operation is slated for construction in Texas.

According to this article on TechnologyNewsDaily.com, Shell WindEnergy and Luminant have announced they will build a 3,000 megawatt facility in the Texas Panhandle:

The proposed wind facility would be located in Briscoe County to take advantage of excellent wind resources and a relatively low cost of transmitting the wind power to wholesale markets. The two companies will also explore using compressed air energy storage, which uses electric fans to force air into underground caverns, compressing it, and usually involves employing the compressed air as an oxygen source for a gas turbine. The companies did not announce a timeline for either project. Luminant was formerly called TXU Power and is a subsidiary of TXU Corporation.

The current world’s largest wind farm is also in Texas… the 735-megawatt Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, completed by FPL Energy, Inc. in late 2006.

The heavy metal band Korn will be running its tour on biodiesel this summer. Members Jonathan Davis, bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, and guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer made the announcement that the band’s eight buses and eight cargo trucks will run on biodiesel during a press conference today covered by MTV in New York’s Times Square:

Surrounded by a crush of photographers, fans and curious onlookers, Korn revealed that on the band’s Family Values Tour this summer, they’ll be traveling in vehicles that operate on domestically produced biodiesel fuels.

“We all have children, and I just worry about my kids’ kids,” Davis, the proud owner of a Toyota Prius, said during the press conference. “[I worry about whether] they will have a place to live [and I hope] that they won’t have to live underground. I think it’s time we really did start trying to do something about getting rid of oil in general. We have the means to fuel cars in different ways. We have the technology to do it. We’re doing our part to set the wheels in motion.”

The band also announced it would start its own formula of biodiesel called Korntastic… although it’s still in development.

The The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today held a joint press conference and photo-op to dispel claims that ethanol and higher field corn prices result in higher popcorn prices for moviegoers. The “Popping the Popcorn Propaganda” event dramatically illustrated this point by displaying what $5 will buy you at a movie theater versus $5 from a farmer.

“The ‘blame ethanol’ game has gotten completely out of control,” stated IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “From a consumer standpoint, for $5 you can buy 1 tub of popcorn at a movie theater or 38.5 pounds of popcorn from a farmer, which, when popped fills nearly a dozen 33-gallon trash bags.

“From a farm standpoint, in 2006 the farmer received about 1.4 cents for the corn in that $5 tub at the movie theater. In 2007, that same farmer will receive about 2 cents to fill that tub. How can an increase of 0.6 cents to the farmer justify a price hike to movie goers or crazy headlines in the news media?”

To illustrate the point, IRFA intern Paul Brees spent 6 hours popping 38.5 pounds of popcorn – the amount you could buy from a farmer for $5. During the press conference, the 12 bags of popcorn stood in stark contrast to the one small bag of popcorn from the movie theater.

“We had a very visual example today of what actually goes to the farmer. You can use this same example when you talk about other products made with corn. For example, a six-pack of soda includes just 6 cents of corn sweetener, or only 1 penny per can. If your soda at the store is going up more than 1 cent per can, then you have to wonder where the rest of that increase is going,” said Craig Floss, CEO for Iowa Corn. “We know that it is not making it to our corn growers, so to blame them for the increase in prices at the grocery story is simply not right.”

Despite a very limited availability in the Sunshine State, Florida consumers appear receptive to purchasing ethanol-enriched fuel at the pumps.

A national survey released by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) found that while Florida has a slightly lower familiarity with ethanol than the national average, more than 70 percent of respondents in the state said they were likely to purchase the renewable fuel after being provided with relevant information on the topic.

“Our research is proof that Floridians are open to ethanol and there is a consensus among several state leaders that the production and use of ethanol in Florida will be a major benefit to its citizens. We look forward to a resolution on any remaining regulatory hurdles,” said Tom Slunecka, executive director for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). “More than half the states in America, including California, have recognized the benefits of ethanol and we’re confident that Florida will join the movement yet this year.”

With one of the nation’s fastest growing populations, Florida depends almost exclusively on other states and nations for supplies of oil and gasoline.