Domestic Fuel

An aerospace engineer and author thinks the country needs a new direction in energy policy to “break the economic stranglehold that the OPEC oil cartel has on our country.”

Robert Zubrin is president of Pioneer Astronautics, a private company that does research and development on innovative aerospace technologies, and author of several books including his most recent, “Energy Victory,” in which he advocates Congress passed a law requiring that all new cars sold in the USA be flex-fueled.

“If we create the market by mandating that the cars be flex-fueled, it will break the monopoly,” Zubrin says. “Right now the only fuel that American consumers can buy is what the enemy is selling.”

Zubrin believes the American public is getting tired of being beholden to foreign oil interests. “This has gone on long enough. In 1973, we were 30 percent dependent on foreign oil, now we are 60 percent dependent. At the same time, Brazil – which has had an ethanol policy – went from 80 percent to zero. This is the most important issue affecting our national security and our economic well-being.”

Listen to some of Dr. Zubrin’s comments from an interview here.
zubrin-cut.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (898.4KB)

The City of El Paso, Texas has given its first biodiesel producer a property tax break. City council members have given Global Alternative Fuels, which is planning on building a $9 million biodiesel plant on a 30-acre site, according to this story in the El Paso Times:

By a 5-1 vote, the council approved a five-year, 50 percent refund on property taxes that will be worth $37,518 in the first year and $172,935 for a five-year period.

Guzmán said he expected to have the Doniphan plant operating by March with financial backing from the Las Cruces-based Mesilla Valley Transportation, which operates 1,000 trucks.

The plant will use virgin oils as well as waste grease to make B20 biodiesel.

After stripping the bill of a $21 billion tax package, he U.S. Senate has passed an amended energy bill that includes an expansion of the Renewable Fuels Standard to 36 billion gallons of annual renewable fuel use by 2022. The bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for approval before it can be sent to the president for his signature. Removal of the tax increases for oil companies should remove the threat of a presidential veto. The Senate also removed another provision the White House had objected to which would have required that 15 percent of America’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2020.

Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen says the Senate bill takes a big step forward in making the nation more energy stable and environmentally sustainable.

“This bill, and the Renewable Fuels Standard specifically, is an affirmation of what is possible when we work together to achieve a common goal,” said Dinneen in a statement. “By relying more heavily on domestically produced renewable fuels, including next generation technologies such as cellulosic ethanol, we can begin the hard work necessary to mitigate the impact of global climate changes, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and leave a more stable and sustainable future for generations that follow.”

Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of the American Ethanol Coalition, commended the Senate for its action. “This may be the most profoundly important step in support of energy security ever taken by the U.S., an unmistakable shift toward renewable fuels and energy conservation and away from our dangerous and expensive reliance on fossil fuels,” Jennings said.

The Senate fell one vote short in a procedural vote to move the Energy Bill passed by the House that includes tax increases for oil companies. The White House had threatened to veto the bill over that issue.

Majority Leader Harry Reid now says they will eliminate the tax title to get a revised energy package approved later today. “We must begin to break our country’s addiction to oil,” Reid said.

The bill will still include an increased Renewable Fuels Standard and higher CAFE standards.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky predicted the revised bill would be approved with wide bipartisan support.

The legislation, if passed by the Senate, would have to be voted on by the House.

Pennsylvania’s State Senate has passed several bills in the last couple of days that will help renewable energy efforts in the Keystone State.

The Houston (TX) Chronicle reports a $650 million omnibus energy bill and two biodiesel measures received passage on the last day of business for Senate for the year:

“This is a wonderful start and is a great way to end our calendar year with what I think is a great success under our belt,” said Sen. Mary Jo White, the Venango County Republican who was a sponsor of all three bills.

Another $165 million would be available for reimbursements and rebates for consumers who buy solar panels, hybrid vehicles and home conservation items such as energy efficient furnaces, air conditioners, windows and doors.

The biodiesel measures would mandate biodiesel be in each gallon of diesel sold in the state, increasing as production in Pennsylvania increases, and would raise the in-state biodiesel production subsidy from 5 cents to 75 cents a gallon.

The bills could face changes when they hit the Pennsylvania House, and the governor has indicated he’s not ecstatic about all the provisions.

Petroleum giant Shell could be getting into the algae biodiesel business. The company is joining with Hawaii-based HR Biopetroleum to test

This story in the Financial Times says the pair will start by building a small research plant with hopes to make it a full-scale commercial plant of 20,000 hectares, capable of producing 1.2 million tons of oil per year:

Shell has held back from production of first-generation biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel from vegetable oil, focusing on second-generation fuels that can be produced from non-food plants or plant waste. It has argued that government support for biofuels ought to give greater incentives to second-generation products on the grounds they are likely to have much better environmental performance, particularly in cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

Graeme Sweeney, Shell’s head of future fuels, suggested that biodiesel from algae would need such support to be viable. He said: “The issue for us is that we are here investing in providing sustainable routes to biofuel with a low-carbon footprint.”

Shell officials admit there’s a lot of work to do to make the venture economically viable.

Much of the talk at the recent Miami Conference on the Caribbean Basin in Florida was about biofuels… and how they could help the impoverished economies of the Caribbean.

This story in Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Sun-Sentinel talks about biodiesel and ethanol devlopment and what it means for the Caribbean:

“In today’s world and in today’s agriculture, there is no more critical issue than energy,” Chelston W.D. Brathwaite, director general of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, told the annual conference. “[The biofuels push] could change the whole geopolitical balance in the world, if countries become more energy self-sufficient.”

So far, it seems like Brazil is the only Latin American country that’s really cashing in on biofuels on a large scale. But the article goes on to say that Brazilian companies are looking to expand throughout the region… hopefully bringing some of the prosperity that the Brazilians have received from ethanol and biodiesel.

Recent numbers say American lawnmowers are using 800 million gallons of gasoline a year, while producing 5 percent of this country’s air pollution. So, what’s the solution? Stop mowing the lawn? (The wife says that is NOT an option!).

Global warming expert Corbett Kroehler might have a solution… a biodiesel lawnmower. This link (Keyboard-Culture-movies.com) even has a video of the whole idea:

Operating a lawn mower one hour could create the same pollution levels as driving a new car 340 miles. A single gasoline lawn mower could create more pollution than 73 new cars.

A green lawn mower to keep your yard green and trim… not a bad idea.

As the Midwest (where I’m at) thaws out of a major ice storm that shut down the power (my home for a little while last night) and prepares for ANOTHER round this weekend, some time in Florida this winter sounds mighty inviting.

Well if the escape from the Midwest ice and snow is not enough for you (or if you’re already in a cozy climate), Florida is offering several biofuels conferences this winter (and throughout the next year):

January 17-18th, 2008 starts the conference season with the Emerging Opportunities in Carbon Markets conference in Miami:

(The conference) will address the ways in which current emissions trading systems are creating business opportunities, fostering technology development and innovation, and influencing global finance.

* Learn, from leading industry and government specialists, how to identify opportunities in carbon trading
* Discover how carbon emissions liabilities can be converted into financial assets
* Understand the potential for Clean Development Mechanism projects in Latin America
* Find out how the US can benefit from what’s happening in Europe
* Hear about other companies’ experiences in the voluntary US market
* Take advantage of many opportunities to network with other delegates and speakers throughout the conference especially at the drinks reception after day one

The Renewable Fuels Association holds its 13th Annual National Ethanol Conference February 25-27th in Orlando:

A record audience is expected to engage in challenging the status quo on the environmental impacts of transportation fuels. With expanding availability of renewable ethanol throughout the country, and a determination to produce ethanol from both grain and cellulosic feedstocks, the ethanol industry continues to demonstrate its commitment to being a part of the solution. Don’t miss this opportunity to be on the forefront of a revolutionary dialogue on how ethanol is changing the climate… for the better.

The weather might turn a bit warmer in the spring, but Florida’s still the place to be when the 1st Annual Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show is held April 6-8th in Orlando:

The Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show will provide a forum for informing the public and private sectors of the economic and environmental benefits of converting waste materials to alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol as well as energy recovery. Attendees will have excellent networking opportunities and a chance to visit with exhibitors to preview the newest advances in alternative fuel production products and services. The conference will be designed to attract individuals and organizations/companies nationally.

Finally, the Florida Farm to Fuel Summit is scheduled for the summer of 2008. Not a lot of details yet, but rest assured, it will be some good information, just like all the biofuels conferences, scheduled in ’08 in Florida.

The latest “Ethanol Report” podcast from the Renewable Fuels Association features comments from Informa Economics CEO Bruce Scherr and Renewable Fuels Foundation chairman Bill Lee on the report that “puts to bed” the food versus fuel debate.

Here’s a link to the post on the RFA blog.

The study was commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Foundation, the education and research arm of the RFA.

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council unveiled a new Educational Fun Pack last week at the Green California Schools Conference.

The pack is equipped with six different units for teachers. The materials focus on English, geography, science, math, vocabulary, and social studies. The fun pack also includes 30 wristbands, 30 environmental window clings, 30 children’s books, 2 girls and 2 boys t-shirts, five Team Ethanol die-cast cars, a crossword puzzle, a word find, the “How Ethanol is Made” video, the “Ethanol 101” Power Point, and a poster with a board game on the back.

This fun pack is completely free to teachers and is available at www.drivingethanol.org/classroom.

AE Biofuels, formerly known as American Ethanol, has completed its plans to become a publicly traded company by merging with a firm known as Marwich II Ltd.

The California-based company is involved in both ethanol and biodiesel, with majority ownership of a plant in India that is designed to produce 50 million gallons of biodiesel per year and plans to commercialize a patent-pending next-generation ethanol technology that the company intends to use at its permitted ethanol plant sites in the United States.

AE Biofuels has six permitted ethanol plant sites in Illinois and Nebraska in addition to its biodiesel production facility in India.

AE Biofuels is also developing a pilot plant in Montana that will test a process for converting a wide range of plant materials into ethanol.

VeraSun Energy, headquartered in South Dakota, was recently honored with one of ten Iowa Venture Awards by the Iowa Area Development Group (IADG).

VeraSun is one of the nation’s largest ethanol producers and is nearing completion a 100 million gallon ethanol production plant in Hartley, Iowa to complement their other two Iowa facilities located in Fort Dodge and Charles City.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey presented the award on behalf of the Iowa Area Development Group. Pictured left to right are Rand Fisher, President of IADG; Gerald Klemme, North West REC; Alan Lucken, North West REC; Todd Church, Plant Manager, Charles City, VeraSun Energy; Lyle Korver, CEO, North West REC; Joel Orthmann, President, North West REC; Bill Northey.

Chrysler LLC has joined the California Fuel Cell Partnership, becoming the 34th member of the organization. Chrysler says the CaFCP is valuable colloboration that encourages engineers to develop solutions for hydrogen technology at an accelerated rate.

“We are pleased to welcome Chrysler as the California Fuel Cell Partnership’s ninth automotive member,” said Catherine Dunwoody, CaFCP’s executive director. “We’re looking forward to the new perspectives and ideas Chrysler will bring to the table as we all work together to commercialize this important transportation solution.”

Founded in 1999, CaFCP members have placed 188 fuel cell passenger vehicles and transit buses on California’s roads. In addition, CaFCP members have built 27 hydrogen stations, with 11 more planned, forming the largest hydrogen infrastructure in the world.

CaFCP describes itself as an organization of auto manufacturers, energy providers, fuel cell technology companies and government agencies, where members work together to promote the commercialization of hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles.

Exploration of energy efficiency in transportation is no longer just for cars and buses. Suzuki is partnering with British Midlands Based Intelligent Energy to develop a hydrogen-powered motorcycle.

The British Midlands Development Corporation announced that Loughborough Innovation Center based Intelligent Energy and Suzuki have developed the Crosscage, a hydrogen-powered motorcycle that claims to make green driving a reality.

“This is just one of many examples of innovation coming out of The British Midlands,” said Vern Sebby, President and CEO of the British Midlands Development Corporation, ” There are over 3,000 foreign companies operating in the Midlands and many of them are there to partner with our local companies and universities.”