Domestic Fuel

Officials with Chrysler say they will debut models of electric cars in 2010.

This story from CNN.com says the company is hoping to catch up with GM and… catch some of the buzz surrounding the new Chevy Volt:

The company showed reporters three electric prototypes: a Dodge sports car, a Jeep Wrangler and a Chrysler minivan. Chrysler’s product development chief, Frank Klegon, said the automaker hasn’t decided which one it will roll out first.

Like the Volt, the Wrangler and minivan plug into a standard wall outlet and can go 40 miles (65 kilometers) on battery power alone, but then a small gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the batteries. Chrysler said its vehicles will be able to travel up to 400 miles (640 kilometers) on 8 gallons (30 liters) of gas.

Chrysler officials haven’t revealed how much the new vehicles will cost, but experts say it will probably be more than conventional vehicles.

Officials in Snohomish County in Washington state are looking at making their own biodiesel for the future of energy for themselves… and they hope the rest of the country will look to them as the example of what energy independence could be.

This story from the Seattle Times says the county has dedicated a new facility to store, dry and crush locally grown seeds. The oil will then be turned into biodiesel to be used in county vehicles:

Even the power to run the new dryer and soon-to-be-purchased crusher comes from a local source — methane gas from the adjacent former county landfill on Cathcart Way near Highway 9.

The new facility represents a partnership among the state, county and federal governments at a time when the nation is searching for alternatives to foreign oil.

The project was made possible through a $500,000 check from the state Energy Freedom Fund, $500,000 from the county (to help with pilot-seed plantings and purchase the silos and seed dryer), and $344,400 in federal money to help develop the facility.

The $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax credit set to expire on December 31, 2008 will be renewed for another year, if the U.S. Senate’s version of the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 gains final passage. It still faces a vote in the U.S. House and needs the President’s signature to become law.

The bill has gained the praise of soybean growers, one of the main suppliers of a primary feedstock for the green fuel:

“The American Soybean Association greatly appreciates the work of the Senate to extend the biodiesel tax credit,” said ASA President John Hoffman, a soybean producer from Waterloo, Iowa. “Passage of this legislation to extend the biodiesel tax credit enhances the viability of the U.S. biodiesel industry, which is an important market for U.S. soybean farmers. ASA now urges House members to swiftly pass the measure and send it to the President to be signed into law.”

“ASA strongly supports ending the abusive practice of splash and dash, as it provided no energy or economic justification,” Hoffman said.

A United Nations forum on Millennium Development Goals this week featured a discussion on energy and biofuels that allowed the CEO of world’s largest ethanol producing company a chance to share ideas on how ethanol can help address both poverty and energy dependence in developing nations.

As one of two presenters at the private sector forum roundtable on energy and biofuels at the UN on Wednesday, Jeff Broin of POET shared his vision of what he believes is one of the greatest opportunities our world has seen in decades.

“With a billion acres of idled cropland across the globe and the price of agricultural commodities above the cost of production for the first time in decades there is an unbelievable opportunity for underdeveloped countries to simultaneously lift people out of poverty and solve their crippling addiction to energy imports,” Broin said.

He stressed that with new technology and better seed varieties, agriculture is able to meet the growing demand for food and fuel without harming the environment. “By combining science with nature, the 21st century ethanol industry continues to make great strides in efficiency and innovation,” Broin added.

Read Broin’s entire address to the UN forum on Rhapsody in Green.

A new study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln using updated data finds that ethanol production is more energy efficient than previously estimated.

The research was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Kenneth Cassman with the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, and has been submitted to the Journal of Industrial Ecology, one of the top peer-reviewed journals for research on lifecycle analysis.

“Recent research conducted at the University of Nebraska clearly shows that estimates for the energy balance of corn-based ethanol are much more favorable – in fact two to three times more favorable, than previous estimates,” Cassman said. “That’s because most of the published values for energy efficiency of corn-ethanol are ‘backward looking’ in the sense they evaluated older technologies with regard to energy use in corn production, the biorefinery, and co-product utilization.”

Cassman, who is also a Heuermann Professor of Agronomy at the university, said it is important to understand that ethanol has a substantial net positive direct energy balance – that 1.5 to 1.6 more units of energy are derived from ethanol than are used to produce it.

“Using dated information simply doesn’t work in a world where the technology and efficiency of corn and ethanol production are rapidly improving over the years,” he said. “Moreover, if the goal is to reduce dependence on imported oil, we estimate that 13 gallons of ethanol are produced for every gallon of petroleum used in the production lifecycle for corn ethanol.”

The research was praised by the National Corn Growers Association for showing how much of a difference technology improvements can make.

“We are looking forward to seeing this research publicly released,” said Steve Ruh, chairman of NCGA’s ethanol committee. “It’s going to go far in dispelling one of the most persistent and incorrect myths about ethanol. But even beyond improved energy efficiency, there are many reasons why Americans should be embracing domestic biofuels for increased energy independence.”

Nearly 1,400 gallons of E85 were sold during the celebration of the new E85 fueling pump in Montrose, Colorado this week. The Colorado Corn Growers Association, the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition, Western Convenience Stores and Southern Colorado Clean Cities partnered to bring the new pump to the western part of the state.

Consumers who drive flexible fuel vehicles had the opportunity to save money by filling up with E85 for only 85 cents a gallon for two hours on Tuesday in a promotional effort to highlight the availability of the fuel at the Western Convenience Store in Montrose.

“We are glad to partner with the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition (GBC) and Western Convenience who are working to expand E85 throughout the state. “Together, we are making a difference for Colorado’s air quality and for consumers who support renewable fuel,” said Mark Sponsler, CEO of Colorado Corn. “Western Convenience, GBC, and auto industry leaders like GM have been outstanding partners in this effort.”

The number of E85 fueling locations in Colorado has grown significantly within the last 20 months. Western Convenience has invested in 19 of those locations throughout Colorado. The Colorado Corn Growers Association and GBC have provided funding and support to Western Convenience, which has opened E85 refueling sites in Grand Junction and Delta.

Things could be looking up for renewal of renewable energy incentives as the U.S. Senate has approved $17 billion in tax credits for wind, solar, geothermal and ocean energy systems.

This article from cleantech.com says passage comes on the heels of last week’s similar vote by the U.S. House (see my Sept. 17th post):

The tax credits, due to expire at the end of the year, now must be reconciled with those approved by the House before heading to the president, who has said he will likely support the measure. The House is expected to take up the bill Wednesday.

* Extends tax credits by eight years for residential and commercial solar systems, one year for wind energy, and two years for other renewable energy sources, such as wave and ocean tide.
* Gives a 30-percent tax credit to homeowners who install solar systems and businesses that install solar, wind, geothermal and ocean energy systems.
* Gives a 10-percent tax credit to homeowners for energy-efficiency improvements, such as insulation, replacement windows, water heaters and heating and cooling equipment.
* Offers a tax credit of $2,500 to $7,500 for plug-in electric cars, depending on the battery capacity of the vehicle.

Senate leaders are encouraging House members to approve this version of the bill as the best chance for the President to sign the bill to get the credits renewed before the end of the year.

Leaders from all over the world have gathered at the United Nations in New York City for the annual high-level debate before the General Assembly. Part of that included the fuel-versus-food debate.

In this article from the UN News Centre, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva disputed the idea that biodiesel and ethanol are the cause of high food prices and part of the reason for the recent world economic woes:

He stressed that the world was facing many other “equally serious matters,” including the food crisis, the spike in energy prices, the deadlock on talks to reform international trade, and the continuing degradation of the environment.

“Attempts to tie high food prices to the dissemination of biofuels do not stand up to an objective analysis of reality,” he added, calling for a multilateral approach to solve the food and energy crises.

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is taking a fun and educational message about ethanol to college campuses this fall as part of the 2008 FOX Tailgate Tour presented by Ford and Sirius Satellite Radio.

The 14-week road trip to this season’s biggest college football games offers unique promotional opportunities for EPIC, according to marketing specialist Jennifer Powell.

“College students are an untapped audience for ethanol. They’re educated and often focused on environmentally friendly issues,” said Powell. “Our messaging will tap into the environmental and economic benefits of ethanol, encouraging them to become ethanol fans for life.”

The Fox Tailgate Tour provides 20 live, on-air ethanol promos each week, prominent mentions on the FOX Radio website, and promotion throughout the tour’s 32-page magazine, in addition to six hours of tailgate activities promoting ethanol at each game.

Promotions feature the ethanol mascot Edgar the E Man and reach out to college students through the popular on-line social network Facebook. “The first 85 people from each tailgate venue to sign up as friends of Edgar on Facebook receive a free gift,” said Powell.

The main grand prize being offered at each tailgate stop is a year of free ethanol-blended fuel for one lucky winner. To find out where the Fox Tailgate Tour will be this weekend, check out www.TailGateTour.com.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has released the results of a presidential election questionnaire completed by Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama. In the document, both candidates responded to AFBF’s inquiries about a number of issues important to agriculture, including renewable fuels.

Answering the question of renewable fuels, McCain responded in part that, “solving our energy crisis requires an “all of the above” approach. It will require aggressive development of alternative energies like wind, solar, tidal and biofuels.”

Obama answered the question by saying, “Farmers are pinched by record energy prices and feel firsthand the effects of our energy crisis, yet farmers also know that rural communities are on the cutting edge of efforts to end it, and it’s time Washington stepped up to help. That’s why I have established a goal to have 60 billion gallons of our fuel come from sustainable, affordable biofuels
by 2022.”

Maintaining tax incentives and fuel blending standards to encourage production and use of renewable fuels is top priority for Farm Bureau and analysts note that farmers and ranchers have a tough choice ahead of them in November.