When it comes to infrastructure needs for a bio economy our rural road system is a key component. To speak about it here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference we heard from Frank Dooley, Purdue University. He sees a big increase in grain production, primarily in the midwest. With that comes a growing demand for transportation. He thinks we should be concerned because most of the corn will be moved by truck and that’s going to impact rural roads. He also sees an increase in rail transportation but not significantly.
He’s worked on a project with the state department of transportation in Indiana to study traffic flow changes and suggests that more of this type of research needs to be done. He says that a 100 million gallon ethanol plant will have up to 110 trucks in per day.
American motorists are rethinking their driving habits. That is, according to a new survey commissioned by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. The survey shows that consumers think skyrocketing gas prices means the nation should start moving away from oil.
The EPIC survey found 47 percent of those polled stated that a fuel price below $5 a gallon should be the point where fossil fuels are no longer our primary fuel sources. An additional 27 percent of those polled reported that the critical price point lies between $5 and $5.99. America is getting close to the break-point as Sunday, the national average of a gallon of gasoline rose to $4.005, 90 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA.
“Motorists are frustrated and angry about high gas prices. Everyone is feeling the pinch at the pump, which really underscores our need for biofuels,” said Toni Nuernberg, executive director of EPIC. “As gas prices continue to skyrocket, we must continue the push for the only current transportation energy option we have today-biofuels.”
Even in the face of heavy criticism from anti-ethanol groups and misplaced blame for rising food prices, the ethanol fuel industry continues to help keep fuel prices below the even-more exorbitant prices consumers would pay without the availability of ethanol fuel. (more…)
GasHole, a new documentary film about the history of Oil prices and the future of alternative fuels, will assist in the fundraising for the St. Louis Regional Clean Cities in St. Louis, MO on June 13, 14 and 15. The film, narrated by Peter Gallagher, features interviews with a wide range of viewpoints from US Department of Energy Officials, Congressional leaders, Alternative Fuel Producers, Alternative Fuel Consumers, Professors of Economics and Psychology and more.
Rising gasoline prices is what peaked the interest of the St. Louis Regional Clean Cities Program to bring this movie to the St. Louis region. The Hi-Pointe Theater at 1005 McCausland Ave, in St. Louis (ironically under the shadow of a giant Amoco sign) will premiere The Film Racket’s new documentary, GasHole.
According to a news release, “GasHole examines US dependence on foreign supplies of oil and poses pointed questions about America’s turn from leading exporter to largest importer and the contributing economic and social forces. Several potential solutions are examined, including untapped technologies, navigating bureaucratic governmental roadblocks, and alternative fuels - all while questioning the American Consumer’s reluctance to embrace alternatives.”
The film is directed and produced by Jeremy Wagener and Scott D. Roberts. This will be the movie’s 17th stop in a nationwide tour that has reportedly been selling out across the country.
Now that’s a mouthful. But that’s also pretty cool. The chopper pictured isn’t the ethanol hybrid, though it is a Cadillac. But, the e-magazine Winding Road reports that Cadillac boss Jim Taylor says an ethanol hybrid version is being built.
A motorcycle enthusiast himself, Taylor commissioned the Cadillac chopper in the photo above from Great American Chopper of Clawson, Michigan. More interesting still is a second bike that’s still in the works, which will feature a hybrid engine capable of running on ethanol or in a pure electric mode.
The hybrid Cadillac bike is being built by V20 Consulting of New York City, and has been tasked with displaying “GM’s strength in science and technology.” The bike is purported to be capable of a 0 to 60 sprint of 4.5 seconds, and should be unveiled for the public at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.
According to the Houston Business Journal, U.S. Development Group, LLC opened its ethanol handling and rail terminal in Arlington, Texas. The company will distribute fuel grade ethanol to north and central Texas. Union Pacific Railroad serves the facility and can store up to 130,000 barrels of storage.
Vice-President of U.S. Development Group, LLC noted, “This terminal will help bring cleaner air to the Dallas-Forth Worth area by more efficiently distributing fuel-grade ethanol to the metroplex. The Dallas Fort Worth Rail Terminal forms a key link in the supply chain needed to meet growing demand for cleaner-burning blended fuel. The ability to pump ethanol directly to gasoline blend terminals via pipelines significantly reduces the time and cost associated with secondary trucking.”
U.S. Development Group has five additional terminals across the country, two of which also handle fuel grade ethanol. These facilities are in Linden, New Jersey and Baltimore, Maryland.
Currently, there are 38 E85 fueling locations to serve nearly 600,000 flexible fuel vehicles in the state of Texas.
More than 100 new alternative-fuel vehicles will be on the road for AT&T. The nationwide communications company is launching a new fleet of Compressed Natural Gas vans, 65 electric hybrid cars and 15 electric hybrid conversion work trucks in 30 cities across the U.S. Start looking for them in June.
The vehicles will be embedded into AT&T’s workforce as operational components of its fleet. AT&T will measure and track fuel efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, operating costs, performance and driver satisfaction of each vehicle.
The vehicles, which will be deployed in cities in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas, join four Ford Escape hybrids that were deployed in California in late 2007. A Green Technology insignia will make the vehicles easy to identify on the road.
AT&T estimates that its use of these alternative-fueled and more fuel-efficient vehicles will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 124 metric tons and conserve nearly 34,395 gallons of fuel annually.
A new fleet of off road vehicles in the U.S. Air Force will operate on E85 fuel. MAG International Inc., the newest distributor of Flextek Flex Fuel Conversion technology, will help the Air Force meet its goal of reducing its exhaust emissions.
The U.S. Air Force recently accepted MAG’s bid to provide a new fleet of off road vehicles designed to reduce exhaust emissions. Reducing the exhaust emissions of its fleet is a major concern of the Air Force. The vehicles supplied by MAG will use Flextek technology to allow the vehicles to utilize emission reducing E85 fuel.
As an OEM Flextek distributor, MAG will be marketing to military installations and other government facilities as well as private off-road vehicle purchasers including farms, refineries, stadiums, hotels, resorts, casinos, amusement parks, airports, building complexes, universities and colleges.
The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition reports that Flex Fuel U.S., a member of the coalition, has announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved an E85 conversion kit which fits the 2006 Dodge Charger 5.7 liter Hemi.
The system is the first and only E85 conversion unit certified by the EPA for passenger and fleet vehicles. A copy of the EPA certificate issued to Flex Fuel U.S. can be found on their homepage at: www.flexfuelus.com. With this Federal certificate of conformity, the Flex-Box Smart Kit™ is approved for the most popular Dodge vehicles: the Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, Chrysler 300 2wd and AWD 5.7L Hemi.
The FLEX-BOX SMART KIT™ is an easy-to-install system that lets you operate your vehicle on any combination of ethanol and gasoline. One can fill up on E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), E20 (20% ethanol and 80% gasoline), E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) or pure gasoline.
Airbus and JetBlue Airways are just two of a handful of airlines exploring the use of biofuels made from algae to power their planes. The Green Tech Blog reports that a joint biofuel effort - which also includes international airlines Aero Engines, Honeywell Aerospace and UOP, a second Honeywell company - was announced Thursday.
The group plans to study ways to make commercial aviation fuels out of so-called second-generation feedstocks such as algae.
Airbus A380
Success with algae would be a salve for biofuel boosters who are feeling the sting of a backlash against early hype… Algae as a fast-growing fuel source–and a gobbler of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas–is a notion that’s been catching on with a number of start-ups and academic researchers.
But for the moment, biofuel from algae remains an experiment in progress, expensive to produce and still entangled in a number of technical challenges.
That’s where the backing of established and heavyweight manufacturers such as Honeywell and Airbus could make a difference. Honeywell says that its UOP subsidiary, a specialist in refining technology, has been working for some time in a DARPA-funded project to convert natural oils and grease into military jet fuel and has commercialized a process for producing “green diesel” from biofeedstocks.
The Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Expo in Las Vegas that I mentioned in an earlier post is wrapping up and participants have expressed excitement about sustainable fuel choices. Supporters of clean diesel for example, say the fuel offers more power, improved fuel economy and reduced emissions. Gale Banks, chief executive officer of Gale Banks Engineering, says clean diesel turns conventional diesel thinking on its head.
“With clean diesel power, drivers can have approximately 30 percent better fuel economy and 50 percent more torque, as well as reduce emissions by up to 25 percent, when compared to gasoline-powered passenger car engines. With clean diesel no longer are fuel economy and performance mutually exclusive,” Banks said.(more…)
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When it comes to infrastructure needs for a bio economy our rural road system is a key component. To speak about it here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference we heard from Frank Dooley, Purdue University. He sees a big increase in grain production, primarily in the midwest. With that comes a growing demand for transportation. He thinks we should be concerned because most of the corn will be moved by truck and that’s going to impact rural roads. He also sees an increase in rail transportation but not significantly.
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American motorists are rethinking their driving habits. That is, according to a 
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Now that’s a mouthful. But that’s also pretty cool. The chopper pictured isn’t the ethanol hybrid, though it is a Cadillac. But, the e-magazine 
The 
