ethanol

After donating $100,000 to the Republican Governor’s Association to secure a request from Texas Governor Rick Perry to federal authorities seeking a waiver from federal ethanol mandates, poultry magnate Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim also paid more than $9,000 for airfare to fly Perry to a press conference to promote the waiver request. The travel expenditure for the June 24 press conferenc

Carbon capture and sequestration gets heralded as a great way to lower CO2 emissions and keep burning coal. Unfortunately, it also kills the efficiency of the coal plant, meaning that every other environmental externality associated with coal-fired generation -- from mountaintop removal to power plant sitting -- is exacerbated by CCS. Planet Ark puts it succinctly:   The process called c

Happy Fourth of July! On the holiday, I'll leave you with some reading ideas for the weekend, about the hot topic of ethanol. One of the things to keep in mind is the wealth of misinformation out there about the...

[Perhaps this is for the 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments Of The Perry Administration? Go here to submit your favorites.] The administration of Texas Governor Rick Perry is once again caught up in its own pay-to-play culture. This time, it appears as though Governor Perry’s recent request for a waiver of federal corn-based ethanol production mandates was a “thank you” to right-wing

Since massive flooding has plagued the Midwest, millions of acres of crops are now destroyed- and that includes corn. Scarcity in crops means prices are rising, and questions are now being raised about corn-based ethanol. In December, a federal energy...

From NY - times.com   GRIFFIN, Ind. — In a year when global harvests need to be excellent to ease the threat of pervasive food shortages... Some farmers are starting to fear disaster.       "Stop wasting corn crops on ethanol, which I believe expends more fossil fuel to produce than the energy released when ethanol is burned. "   With supplies of most of the key com

Ethanol stocks appear to be under pressure this morning. Citigroup has downgraded the group to a SELL rating, partially based upon the Midwest flooding.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

BlueFire trash-to-ethanol project say that there are two other larger plants already being pursued. He argued that making ethanol from municipal solid waste is more economical than making it from corn, as is done now, or from agricultural and forestry wastes. Its process can make 70 gallons per ton of waste stream going into its machines. BlueFire Ethanol intends to locate its plants at landfil

Many people are wanting to learn more and more about how they can make their own ethanol. Basically you will need two very important things. Corn and an ethanol still. Of course there are other grains that you can use aside from corn but corn just happens to be grown in more places and so is a little easier to access. With gasoline prices reaching all time highs once a month it seems, the thought

Cars are great wasters. Of all the energy stored in the fuel, only a third is used to propel the car and run its systems. The rest is lost in heat from the engine and the exhaust system. One way of getting more bang for the fuel buck could be the exhaust powered generator developed by British Foresight Motors that we posted on earlier. By using engine exhausts to power the car's generator the engi

The Earth Times - 03 Jun 2008 Original URL Bangkok - In a bid to curb oil imports and rising inflation the Thai cabinet on Tuesday approved tax cuts on E85 (a bio-fuel mix of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol) and E85-using car models. Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop said the cabinet had approved his proposal to cut the excise tax on E85 from 3.65 baht (11 cents) per litre to 2.75

Ethanol usage dramatically increased in the United States last year, from 4.9 billion gallons in 2006 to 6.5 billion in 2007, accounting for 23.7% of all corn production and driving up the price of the crop. We've written before about ethanol's questionable viability as an alternative fuel, but those concerns and the impact on food prices haven’t stopped people from filling up with E85.Due to th

Almost all biofuel used today results in more GHG (Green House Gas) emissions than conventional fuel, when one examine current practices from the viewpoint of sustainability, And yet, we learn from Green Car Congress1 that the Swedish company SEKAB, which delivers about 90% of all ethanol in Sweden for E85 and ED95 (ethanol for heavy-duty vehicles using compression ignition engines), has anno

The U.S. Postal Service purchased 30,000 vehicles that run on ethanol between 1999-2005. The result? The division of the U.S. Government used more than 1.5 million additional gallons of fuel as the vehicles were found to be as much as 29 miles per gallon LESS efficient than their traditional fuel counterparts. Way [...]

Praj which was in limelight for almost 2 days now has received a order from western eutrope its a contract for supply of key equipment to Vivergo Fuels, UK through its subsidiary, BioCnergy Europa B. V. (a Joint Venture with Aker Solutions, Netherlands). The plant is designed to produce approximately 400 million litres of fuel [...]

NEW YORK: US ethanol industry is gearing up, despite spiraling prices of food items.US Agriculture Department said that the ethanol plants counted 50 in 1999, which shooting up three-fold now stood at 134, while further 77 plants were under construction. Presently, US ethanol annual production is recorded at 7 billion gallons, which could mount to [...]

Ethanol as Biofuel Today’s production of corn in the US destined to become ethanol accounts for over 25 percent of the traditional food/feed crop. That shift over the last two years has caused a dangerous increase in the price of corn, negatively impacting the growing but still fragile economy in Nicaragua. Food As Fuel Since corn is now [...]

 As the price of gas hits record highs, alternative fuel sources continue to be debated. One alternative fuel which has been touted for years as a renewable, low-emission resource that could replace oil is gaining momentum. 

“The Bush administration is currently disputing the International Monetary Fund’s claim that increased production of biofuels, namely ethanol, is the biggest factor in rising food prices.” — Jason Simpkins by Jason Simpkins, Money Morning Baltimore — (TFN): U.S. consumer prices rose less than forecast in the month of April, assuaging some inflation fears, but food prices expe

Right now on Channel 8 in Santa Cruz they're talking about something I seem to recall saying myself when ethanol first was released and ethanol cars came out: it's bad.Well, it's being blamed for a food crisis, which is exactly what I was saying before. Since ethanol uses something called corn, and we Americans, and much of the world, seem to like this particular vegetable when it comes to food,

La compañía E-Fuel se desarrolla más en el uso alternativo de combustibles para mejorar el medio ambiente con el lanzamiento de su maquinita MicroFueler, es sencillo, la maquina mezcla dos ingredientes y obtienes ethanol, en nuestro caso agua y azucar formandose después de algunas horas Ethanol E100, la compañía actualmente está negociando con los gobiernos [...]

Contrary to all the hype we now know that Ethanol is not the liquid filling the cup of the Holy Grail: it requires massive subsidies; it will never displace any significant amount of imported oil; it has a deleterious effect on air quality; and it's the major cause of the rise in food prices

Contrary to all the hype we now know that Ethanol is not the liquid filling the cup of the Holy Grail: it requires massive subsidies; it will never displace any significant amount of imported oil; it has a deleterious effect on air quality; and it's the major cause of the rise in food prices

Very few people drive down the miles-long highways and dirt roads in the middle of the country to see combines cut grain and fertilizer trucks spread... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

“Well, there we have it… energy crisis solved… right? Wrong. You see, for every good idea and every well-thought-out plan that may work on a small scale, there are always problems on a widespread level.” — Kevin Kerr by Kevin Kerr, Whiskey and Gunpowder Baltimore – (TFN): It seems that every [...]

Jim Taylor who is the chief from Cadillac seems to love his motorcycles, so it comes as no surprise to any of us that he has commissioned a Cadillac-themed chopper and will be bringing it to the LA Auto Show. If you thought that was great then you will be pleased to know that Cadillac [...]

From OILGAE TEST DRIVE: Algae Power Hits the Road ....DO NOT CONFUSE ETHANOL ("moonshine", "white lightnin'") with BIODIESEL (derived from fatty oils, mainly from plants like soybeans, mustard seed, palm oil, waste cooking oil from restaurants, and about 115 other species of plants, but also animal fats). Rudolf Diesel invented his engine in the late 19th century, and perfected in the early 20th century, to run on peanut oil. So-called "diesel" fuel, derived from third level fractionation of petroleum, was a later invention of Standard Oil et al, after Diesel mysteriously died in transit across the English Channel, from France, on the eve of WWI. Biodiesel is derived from a much more energy efficient process than ethanol, and can be used DIRECTLY in diesel buses, trucks, trains an

Ethanol gas stations are popping up all over as more people become interested in running their cars on ethanol.Indeed, many people already use ethanol and don't realize it because much gasoline today contains 5% ethanol. In some places such as in Minnesota, gas sold must contain 20% ethanol.Ethanol cars have been touted as a more environmentally friendly alternative to cars running on fossil fuels and, indeed, Brazilian cars have been running on ethanol or a mixture of ethanol and other fuel for the past 30 years, using sugar cane waste products as their source of ethanol.Here in the United States, the push for ethanol as an alternative fuel has not just been based on the environment, but also on reducing our dependence on foreign oil. While reducing dependence on oil no matter where it co

Cross posted on Grizzly Groundswell Two liberals finally have stated publicly one of the dirty little secrets behind the rising price of food. Ethanol. We are taking our food and trying to turn it into gas. But it is more than just our food that we are literally letting go up in smoke. It is also the [...]

The Secretary of State says setting U.S. farmland aside for biofuels is contributing to the international food crisis. Now back to Pastor Wright and Hannah Montana’s “Vanity Fair” photos!

Oppenheimer has initiated coverage of the down and out US-ethanol sector, and the group was given a lackluster "Perform" rating. "Perform" ratings have been... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

According to USDA projections, U.S. farmers will plant 86 million acres of corn in 2008. And yet, this year's corn planting won't be quite enough to "feed the world" while also satisfying demand for ethanol, i.e., feeding our cars. As a commodity broker recently declared, as reported by Delta Farm Press: ... we need more corn and the volatility in the corn market will continue. I think we need a minimum of 3 million more acres of corn. Rather than foul an additional 3 million of acres of land with corn -- a land mass roughly equal to three Rhode Islands -- how about we just pull the plug on the ethanol program? Just a thought from the Grist

“Of all the great scams the US federal government has perpetrated on its people, when all is said and done, the corn-based alternative fuel will go down near the top as one of the all-time greatest.” — Andy Carpenter by Andy Carpenter, Investor’s Daily Edge Baltimore – (TFN): [...]

COMMON DREAMS Out on the farm, the ducks and pheasants are losing ground. Thousands of farmers are taking their fields out of the government's biggest conservation program, which pays them not to cultivate. They are spurning guaranteed annual payments for a chance to cash in on the boom in wheat, soybeans, corn and other crops. Last fall, they took back as many acres as are in and combined. Environmental and hunting groups are warning that years of progress could soon be lost, particularly with the native prairie in the. But a broad coalition of baking, poultry, snack food, ethanol and livestock groups say bigger harvests are a more important priority than habitats for waterfowl and other wildlife. They want the government to ease restrictions on the preserved land, which w

Food or fuel - Update Decision 2008 - Is it our "decision" to kill potentially 100 million through lack of food meal and animal feed in 2008?  The US ethanol plant fleet has produced 1.9 billion gallons of ethanol through the first quarter of 2008 (up 37% from 2007)  Latest USDA report indicates approximately 79 million harvested acres in first qt of 08. If the average trend yield of 155.5 bushels per acre is realized, corn producers would be on track to produce approximately 12.3 billion bushels in 2008 - the second-highest production ever, according to the RFA. Most look at a scenario in the year 2015 where the American farmer will NEED to produce over 5 billion bushels of corn,  just to make 15 billion gallons of ethanol as mandated b

Product Description Focusing on the biotechnology of ethanol, this book highlights its industrial relevance as one of the most important products of primary metabolism. The text covers the most advanced developments among classical methods as well as more unconventional techniques, before going on to outline various aspects of new applications and the increasing importance of ethanol as a

Germany dropped a plan to reduce air pollution next year by doubling the ethanol content in gasoline, because it threatened to increase fuel prices for millions of car drivers.The biofuel would have been increased to comprise 10 percent of all gasoline sold. That meant more than 3 million mainly foreign-brand vehicles would have been unable to run on the new blend, forcing drivers to fill up with more expensive “super-plus” gasoline, Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told a news conference in Berlin today. “We don’t want to take responsibility if several million people who drive old cars, only because they live on lower wages, have to use expensive” fuel, he said. Burning biofuels, such as biodiesel made from rapeseed or ethanol from sugar beets, generates u

Gasoline. Diesel. Bio-diesel. Ethanol. E10. E85. Compressed air. Hydrogen fuel cell. Switchgrass. Miscanthus. Reclaimed cooking oil. Plug-in electricity. Lithium-ion batteries. Which of the above will not be the preferred source of fueling our RVs in a decade? If you said gasoline, you are right. At least in its present, unadulterated form. Already some states (CA, MN, [...]

Many people will not know fuel from Ethanol, have never been thought of a root crop to have components for this ethanol fuel.Recently, a plant express $40million to yield ethanol from cassava which have been expostulated among general public.For the agriculture industry, this ethanol production could mean greater employment opportunities for cassava farmers while in economic terms, the increasing produce in cassava farming for ethanol production could boost the country's Gross Domestic Product.Nevertheless, produce of ethanol fuel earns even exported to boost the relation of international trades, idea to change cassava into ethanol fuel, or into likelier fuel, be a miracle.It is best known as the alcohol found in thermometers and alcoholic beverages. It is often referred to as alcohol. How

NEW YORK: Subaru of America Inc. showed off the automaker’s R1e electric car Thursday, saying it’s fun to drive while also being easy to charge and emissions free. The R1e has a range of 50 miles (80 kilometers) and can post a top speed of 65 mph (104 kph). It can charge to 80 percent capacity in 15 minutes using a dedicated charger, or be fully charged overnight with a regular domestic outlet, Tim Mahoney, Subaru of America’s chief marketing officer, told reporters at the New York International Auto Show. The vehicle’s lithium-ion battery has an estimated life of 10 years or 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers), largely eliminating battery replacement problems, Mahoney said. “We at Subaru just don’t talk about green issues ? we put our talk into action,&#

If anyone is wondering why we have a recession in this Country, or close to it, blame our politicians in Washington and Ethanol. It is all their fault, all of it. And I am not just talking about the Democrats. It takes more energy from oil to produce the same about of energy from ethanol. Yet, politicians subsidizes American farmers not only for the food they produce, but to burn their food... Click the Headline Link to Visit Copious Dissent and Read the Full Story.

An US$100 million (K293. 7 million) cassava bio-fuel plan is now taking form in Central state, aimed at cashing in on the growing popularity of the fuel additive ethanol – a cassava byproduct – in the reality marketplaceFunded by Korean firm Changhae Tapioka (PNG), the plan is now on its best stage in which the almost workable cassava kind is being determined. The party said it expects to recognize at the conclusion of this year which kind out of the 10 being tested decent now is easily suited for the plan. The almost appropriate cassava kind will be propagated by participating farmers countrywide. Project developer Changhae Tapioka, a Korean-based investor, plans to produce over 20,000ha in Launakalana for its core orchard which includes 100ha for the greenhouse place in Bore. Local f

Magellan Midstream Partners and Buckeye Partners have announced they have begun a joint assessment to determine the feasibility of constructing a dedicated ethanol pipeline. The proposed ethanol pipeline system would safely and efficiently deliver renewable fuel ethanol from the Midwest to distribution terminals in the northeastern United States.The proposed pipeline could have the capacity to supply more than 10 million gallons of ethanol per day, enough to meet the needs of millions of northeastern motorists who purchase 10% ethanol blended gasoline or higher ethanol blends such as E85.The pipeline would gather ethanol from production facilities in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and South Dakota to serve terminals in major markets such as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the New York harbor. The

MarketResearchAnalyst.com announces the addition of “World’s Ethanol Production Forecast 2008 - 2012” to their offering. According to the MarketResearchAnalyst.com information the top five ethanol producers in 2006 were the United States (4.855 billion US gallons per year (bgy), Brazil (4.491 bgy), China (1.017 bgy), India (0.502 bgy) and France (0.251 bgy). Brazil and the United States accounted for 90 percent of all ethanol production. Also, it should be noted that the United States, now producing at a rate of about 4.6 billion US gallons per year, is widely considered the world’s largest ethanol producer. Strong incentives, coupled with other industry development initiatives, are giving rise to fledgling ethanol industries in countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Colo

President Bush calling for energy independence is standing by ethanol despite criticisms that it is to blame for the rising costs of food. Bush stated on Wednesday that "We gotta get out of oil, American has got to change its habits." The energy bill passed by Congress supports refiners to replace nearly 36 billion gallons of gasoline with ethanol by 2020, where about 50 percent of that ethanol will be made from corn. The price of corn has more then doubled since 2006, and that has led to drastically higher food costs increasing the cost of chicken, beef, and other livestock fed with corn.

THE proposed building of an ethanol producing plant is a better thought but it must be looked at cautiously, says Tailevu Provincial Council chairwoman Josefa Serulagilagi. The Tailevu Province was one of several provinces mentioned by the Ministry of Agriculture as areas where big scale cassava planting could be undertaken. He said whatever cassava agriculture was done in the state was carried away on a subsistence ground. "It is significant for base to be there so that areas are available," said Mr Serulagilagi. "There was a large lump of soil in Tailevu which has get available newly because roads were constructed there. " He cited Vatukarasa and Tonia villages, saying there were new villages in the state that had a plenty of idle soil that could not be accessed because there were no app

A visiting Chinese deal commission led by Fiji’s Ambassador to China, Sir James Ah Koy, is negotiating with authorities here to establish upward a mill to develop ethanol from cassava.Sir James says discussions have been held with the Native Land Trust Board and the Fijian Affairs Board - on a workings in partnership with the Chinese Government. He says the mill will be an economical saviour for the Fijian folk. “The agriculture position, we will be on a multilateral venture with the landowners, the mataqali and yavusa. "The output of ethanol, we will be on a multilateral venture with Fijian Affairs or Native Lands Trust or sure companies,” Sir James adds.He says the mill will require a continual supply of cassava to enable it to develop ethanol ceaselessly.

Surprised? NY Times: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has worked to provide incentives and investment opportunities for ethanol. Her actions intersect with Mr. Clinton's philanthropic and profit-making endeavors. Read here nytimes.com   As do her nuclear efforts... (Dahhh!) It's called politics for a reason.  See: "Clinton goes nuke and so will Hillary"

Filed under: Ethanol, Legislation and Policy, USA The Bush Administration will release its 2009 budget to Congress Monday and one of the expected changes will be to the ethanol tariff, currently set at 54 cents for each imported gallon. (...)

He secretary of Nigeria Cassava Growers Association [NCGA] Mr Isaac Sunday Ojonugwa, has said that Ethanol fuel will save Nigeria an importation of kerosene and petrol of over $6.1 billion by 2012, adding that the development of a cassava based ethanol Bio- Fuel Industry will be a significant bonus for any Mrican Nation.While revealing this to newsmen in Abuja recently, he said a global ethanol production is estimated at 41 million tones valued at over $16 billion with a growth rate of 3 per cent per year but only about 10 percent of global ethanol productions are traded.Ojonugwa, however, said that the available statistics showed that not enough ethanol are available to meet export demand and a current supply deficit estimated at 6 billion litres is expected to grow by 5 per cent annually

Goldman Sachs lowered its estimates in the ethanol alternative energy patch this morning. This estimate cut is after the Energy Bill has higher CAFE standards... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

In the past couple of years you've heard the terms "E85," "Live Green, Go Yellow," and "Flex Fuel" thrown around. They are all catchy advertising meant to move people into accepting Ethanol as a new, "better for everyone" fuel solution. It's supposedly better for the Earth, and that means it's better for you, me, crazy old Uncle Charlie, and every living thing that crawls, walks, swims, farts, or flies.But who is Ethanol really better for? Well, the answer certainly isn't the consumer. And it's not better for the Earth, either. The acceptance of Ethanol is only good for the people pushing Ethanol, which are the usual suspects: Exxon, Shell, BP Amoco, FOG. If that last one looks out of place I assure you it's not. It stands for Friends of George, you know, the rich cats who are part of George W. Bush's inside circle. Their only achievement in life has been being born with a silver spoon up their ass.Ethanol is a giant charade meant to distract consumers from the refusal of Wash

For many ethanol producers pinch by the historically low margins in September, recent events are giving a huge boost to the industry now. Citigroup's (C) David Driscoll, probably the best out there when it comes to the ethanol industry issued a report Tuesday. In it he said average ethanol margins rose 2 cents a gallon last week to 30 cents and have risen 26 cents over the past 10 weeks since bottoming at 4 cents a gallon back in late September. The to date mild winter weather has lead to... Continued at Todd Sullivan's ValuePlays

Ethanol precipitation is a commonly used technique for concentrating and de-salting nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) preparations in aqueous solution. The basic procedure is that salt and ethanol are added to the aqueous solution, which forces the nucleic acid to precipitate out of solution. The precipitated nucleic acid can then be separated from the rest of the solution by centrifugation. The pellet is washed in cold 70% ethanol then after a further centrifugation step the ethanol is removed, and the nucleic acid pellet is allowed to dry before being resuspended in clean aqueous buffer. So how does this work? (more…)

Ethanol is produced biologically by fermenting sugar with Saccharomyces yeasts. Under anaerobic (meaning in the absence of oxygen) conditions, when yeast metabolize sugar, they produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. Bioethanol (meaning ethanol production derived from crops) is the most common renewable fuel today and is derived from corn grain (starch) and sugar cane (sucrose) [1]. Thus, ethanol is an inherently renewable eco-friendly resource, contributing nothing in itself to greenhouse gases. However, a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) concludes that if every vehicle in the U.S. ran on ethanol-based fuel, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase.You read that right, widespread use of E85 would likely result in an increase in respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations.Stanford University atmospheric chemist Mark Z. Jacobson, author of the study said: “Ethanol is being promoted as a clean and ren

The biofuel goldrush may be petering out, says The New York Times, along with hopes of a new future for rural America. Companies and farm co-ops have built so many distilleries so quickly that the ethanol market is facing a glut, in part because the means to distribute it have not kept pace with [...]

With oil near $100 a barrel, one of my calls from last year about oil is on its way to being realized. Back in July of last year, I predicted that oil would hit $125 in two years. In the short-term, I looked like an idiot as oil retracted back from $75 at the time to the $50's. Now that its finally higher than when I made that call, speculation about ethanol and solar has somewhat settled. Solar seems to have beat out ethanol for the top dog in alternative energy (at least between these two).Solar stocks have sky rocketed this year, while companies like Andersons Inc., (ANDE) and Imperial Sugar (IPSU) have underperformed. I'd like to reference a couple of my posts this year that might get your caught up on my position on these names. I last recommended Andersons Inc back in June of last ye

This article explains that Ethanol, the bio-fuel that is supposed to help ease our growing climate crisis, is just as bad for the environment as current fuel sources. Why you ask? The procurement of Ethanol has a huge impact on our water supply. In the U.S., we can use corn-based Ethanol instead of petroleum and gasoline. First, we need corn. Quality-control dictates that we use pesticides to safeguard the corn, pesticides which runoff into the water supply and could potentially contribute harmful elements to our drinking water. There's a way around that, through timed-release fertilizers injected beneath the soil surface, but our water supply is also being messed with in other ways.Essentially, the corn needs an incredible amount of water just to grow. Irrigation can be used, but pulling that water in can damage surrounding areas that themselves need a lot of water too.What's the solution to this aqueous problem? Using other stuff instead of corn to make Ethanol, like grass,

I read this column from the CATO Institute. I think it illustrated good reasons why ethanol is a crappy fuel. Seriously. It's bad enough our fossil fuels rely on outside contracts; it would be worse to have a fuel supply that relied on weather conditions in Nebraska.

China Business WatchTiger Ethanol International says that Xinjiang Yajia Distillate Company Limited, a Chinese entity of which the company owns 90%, has entered into an agreement with Xinjiang Yili Agricultural Division Supply and Sales Company for supplies of corn to be used in the company's planned ethanol manufacturing plant in Hami District.The company says this agreement reduces the potential for uncertainty in the company's bio-mass supply chain. In addition, the company will benefit from having "grandfathered" operating license within China's evolving ethanol market. The terms of the agreement provide that during the first period of five years that Xinjiang Yili Company will supply all the corn kernels necessary for its initial production level of 20 to 30 thousand tons of ethanol "

In capitalistic societies government subsidies carry an unpleasant tone as the purpose of a government subsidy is to encourage the private sector to enter an otherwise unworthy investment. As economists often preach subsidies and government interventions in markets often lead to inefficiency. As a result capitalistic societies subsidize to promote goal and ideals other then profit.A brief view may lead us to think renewable energy is the same as any other business and should be pursued only if it economically feasible. A more careful look may convince us otherwise. I believe the case of renewable energy is different.According to basic finance we should evaluate the economic feasibility of a project by comparing the present value of future cash flows to the investment required. If cash flows outgrow investment in present value terms the project is worthwhile.My claim is that only a government is able to fully evaluate a project such as renewable energy and its future benefits (even in t

When Americans fire up their grills for late summer barbecues over the next few weeks, a cloud will be hanging over them in the form of higher prices for steak, chicken and ribs. The reason can be found in the rapid rise in the cost of corn, which is used not only as food for animals that provide meat, but also as an important basic ingredient used in the production of ethanol in the US. President George W. Bush unleashed the new popularity of ethanol when he set a goal to lower US dependence on foreign oil. The price of corn has shot up to nearly double 2005 levels in response to the increased demand. It's no wonder that ethanol refineries are springing up like mushrooms, particularly in mid-western US corn belt states. As of May there were 120 corn refineries countrywide and 75 more were under construction. The White House's fuel dreams are ambitious. In his State of the Union address in January, Bush set a goal of reducing petrol consumption in the car-loving country by 20 pe

The great danger of confronting peak oil and global warming isn't that we will sit on our collective asses and do nothing while civilization collapses, but that we will plunge after "solutions" that will make our problems even worse. Like believing we can replace gasoline with ethanol, the much-hyped biofuel that we make from corn.Ethanol, of course, is nothing new. American refiners will produce nearly 6 billion gallons of corn ethanol this year, mostly for use as a gasoline additive to make engines burn cleaner. But in June, the Senate all but announced that America's future is going to be powered by biofuels, mandating the production of 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022. According to ethanol boosters, this is the beginning of a much larger revolution that could entirely replace our 21-million-barrel-a-day oil addiction. Midwest farmers will get rich, the air will be cleaner, the planet will be cooler, and, best of all, we can tell those greedy sheiks to fuck off. As the king o

Under the farm bill the House of Representatives passed last month, the federal government would buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers, where it would be used in a mixture with corn....... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Abengoa Bioenergy has chosen the town of Hugoton in southwestern Kansas as the site of the first U.S. plant to turn crop residue and other vegetation into ethanol. The company will formally announce the $300-million project, which will also include a traditional corn-to-ethanol plant, on Aug. 23. The traditional plant is expected to produce 85 million gallons a year. The other will produce about 30 million gallons from cellulose. Cellulose, the main ingredient in a plant’s cell walls, is the world’s most common organic compound. New technology will be used to convert cellulose from “corn stover” — cobs, leaves, stalks and husks — and other sources into ethanol. Environmentalists say cellulose provides a cleaner, more efficient source of fuel than corn ethanol. It is also seen as a way to ease concerns about adequate grain supplies for ethanol production. The Hugoton project will be funded in part by a $76 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. I

Hardbeatnews, KINGSTON, Jamaica, Fri. Aug. 10, 2007: A J$20 million ethanol plant was yesterday inaugurated at Port Esquivel in St. Catherine, Jamaica by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Jamaican Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller.

Será publicitado en Suecia, Holanda y Francia desde Septiembre del año en curso. Serán vehículos que funcionarán con super ethanol, con el objeto de reducir el consumo de combustibles fósiles.» ver notaTechnorati: peugeot bioflex ecologia ethanol biocombustible cochesBlogalaxia: peugeot bioflex ecologia ethanol biocombustible coches

Popcorn Will Have 50% Cost Increase(PriceWatch - Gasoline with Ethanol $2.73 a Gallon in Des Moines -On July 16th the same gas at the same station cost $3.07) Ethanol proponents say it's poppycock to blame the growing renewable fuels industry for soaring prices on items from popcorn to pizza.More and more farmers are planting corn as demand for the grain-based ethanol sets off rallies in field corn prices, causing them to increase about 50 percent over the past year.But for Garrett Smith, president of the American Pop Corn Co. in Sioux City which makes Jolly Time brand popcorn, the corn demand has led to a 65 percent increase in contract costs to get farmers to plant his product."That's the largest single increase from year to year in my 30 years in this business," said Smith, who is the fourth generation of his family in the popcorn business.Smith said some of that higher cost of production will be passed on to popcorn eaters, but he can't pass along the entire 65 percent.Read Ar

The GOP is bailing on the YouTube debate, with Romney disparaging it and Giuliani with a “scheduling conflict.” You’ll hear more from me on that later, just you wait. This ethanol plant gets 46 units of energy out for every 1 that is put in. It’s a lot better than your car, that’s for sure. President Bush has subpoenaed Michael Moore over his trip to Cuba in SiCKO. I wonder if Bush really expects Michael to show up, given Bush’s recent lack of respect for subpoena power. The U.K. has said it will only help the U.S. capture Osama Bin Laden if we promise not to torture him. How far have we sunk when our closest ally has to even ask this question? And rebuilding in Iraq continues to falter. Even though the U.S. has completed nearly 3,000 development projects, the Iraqi government is refusing to take over control of all but a handful, leaving brand new buildings and infrastructure in the hands of unprepared local leaders and leading to widespread decay a

Piecing together accurate information about the potential of ethanol as a viable alternative to petroleum ain’t easy. See earlier post What is the TRUTH about ethanol? In an article entitled The unintended consequences of the ethanol quick fix the Christian Science Monitor makes this contribution: Ethanol is expensive to produce, has contributed to a rise in gasoline prices, and has its own pollution problems. It requires a lot of fertilizer, fresh water, and farm land. And, because of corrosive properties that make pipeline transportation problematic, it takes a lot of trucks to haul it. And its production is contributing to an alarming rise in price of corn. With more than 20 percent of corn now dedicated to ethanol production, the US Department of Agriculture is projecting a record US corn crop in 2007 – along with record prices. (The US  government intends to boost production of corn-based ethanol with a massive 51-cent-per-gallon subsidy.) Outside the United State

Ethanol Uses Billions Of Gallons Of Iowa's Underground Water When Every Gallon Of Ethanol Produced Requires Four Gallons Of Water(Meanwhile Gasoline Down To $2.99 A Gallon In Des Moines)Iowa currently produces 1.9 billion gallons of ethanol. New plants or expansion of existing ethanol facilities may increase production by almost 1.4 billion.Aquifers often feed Iowa's drinking water supplies. Their gradual release of water prevents many streams and rivers from drying up in the summer.A statewide water-use inventory found that biofuel plants used less than 5 percent of the state's water 12 years ago,. The proportion is now around 7 percent and could grow to 14 percent by 2012.Read Article...The cost of ethanol may be higher for Iowansin many more ways than ever imagined..Ethanol Iowa Corn Bio Fuel

Corn Price Too High, Too Risky Cites Investors(While Price of Gas Today Drops 4 Cents From Yesterday)Plans for an ethanol plant in an eastern Iowa town are on hold until developers can look at other ways to produce biofuel and look for financial partners.Larry Daily said he and his partners at River/Gulf Energy decided the project was too risky when corn prices climbed to $4.50 a bushel and ethanol dropped to less than $2 a gallon during the winter months."It made the company realize we didn't want to be the sole owner and operator of this," Daily said.Now, the company is looking for partners to help build the $100 million ethanol plant and add a second alternative fuel project on the site that is not related to corn.Corn prices have dropped and gas prices have risen, but Daily said the company doesn't want to get involved in another corn-related venture.Instead, the group is researching cellulosic technologies, which break down organic biomass into fuel. They also are looking into w

More than 1,000 "enslaved" workers have been released from a sugar cane plantation in the Amazon following a raid that has highlighted the dark side of the current ethanol boom. Brazilian authorities said that the workers in the northern state of Para were being forced to work 14-hour days in horrendous conditions cutting cane for ethanol production. Police said the raid was Brazil's biggest to date against debt slavery, a practice reminiscent of indentured labour where poor workers are lured to remote rural areas, then pushed into debt to plantation owners who charge exorbitant prices for everything from food to transportation. The plantation's owner, Para Pastoril e Agricola SA, one of the biggest ethanol producers in Brazil, denied the charges yesterday. Brazil has become the poster boy for ethanol production as its massive sugar cane plantations have fuelled a wholesale switch from petrol to biofuels. Rising inter

More than 1,000 "enslaved" workers have been released from a sugar cane plantation in the Amazon following a raid that has highlighted the dark side of the current ethanol boom. Brazilian authorities said that the workers in the northern state of Para were being forced to work 14-hour days in horrendous conditions cutting cane for ethanol production. Police said the raid was Brazil's biggest to date against debt slavery, a practice reminiscent of indentured labour where poor workers are lured to remote rural areas, then pushed into debt to plantation owners who charge exorbitant prices for everything from food to transportation. The plantation's owner, Para Pastoril e Agricola SA, one of the biggest ethanol producers in Brazil, denied the charges yesterday. Brazil has become the poster boy for ethanol production as its massive sugar cane plantations have fuelled a wholesale switch from petrol to biofuels. Rising inter

Ethyl Alcohol or as it more commonly known Ethanol, is very similar to the alcohol that is present in the bottles beer, wine and spirits available in the Liquor store. Which is probably why it is the fastest growing alternative fuel not just in the states, but also in the world. More than twenty per cent of the US corn crop has been marked for production, which should be cause for concern, because if the production rises, the percentage of corn used goes up which leaves less for food production. The future for Ethanol (E85) would be in blending with other fuels such as gasoline (E10) there are also other crops that can be used for Ethanol such as switch grass, sugar cane and sugar beets, the key to creating long lasting and clean green fuels is going to be diversity. Ethanol is available in 39 US states, and is sold under the number E85; the blend E10 is not available widely at the moment. Source [Green Options] alternative energy, alternative fuel, Auto, ethanol, ethyl alcohol, N

Two weeks ago I posted about an ethanol production breakthrough at Rice University and I promised more info when I got it. I recently spoke with Ramon Gonzalez, the William Akers Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering about his breakthrough. Here is the math. We have a 100 mgpy biodiesel plant. In our production of the biodiesel, one of the by products is glycerin. Currently, most producers must pay to have it disposed of. Now, using Mr. Gonzalez's methods, they... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

I think we have all read with nauseating frequency how high corm prices are shrinking margins for ethanol producers (the irony here is that these very same producers are reporting record results). What we have not read is how multi year low natural gas prices should provide another boost to earnings. Guess what, now you are. August natural gas touched $6.68 per million British thermal units today (Thursday), the contract's lowest level since late May of 2005. It was last down 5.7%, or 40.3... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

NSW motorists will soon save four cents a litre on petrol when the State Government passes a bill to mandate minimum ethanol petrol blends.The Biofuel (Ethanol Content) Bill 2007 was introduced into parliament last night as Premier Morris Iemma took a swipe at the Federal Government for failing to introduce such a national scheme. If passed in both houses of state parliament, the bill will mandate that the cleaner fuel ethanol must comprise at least two per cent of total petrol sold in NSW by October 1.“A two per cent mandate is a good start toward greater fuel security and less reliance on fossil fuels,” Mr Iemma said.“It’s a win for motorists who can save approximately four cents per litre using ethanol blended fuels.”Mr Iemma said the bill proposes a mandate that petrol companies can adopt and offers a way to avoid future petrol supply constraints and price shocks. He said the Federal Government continued to pay lip service to biofuels without initiating national ethanol m

NSW motorists will soon save four cents a litre on petrol when the State Government passes a bill to mandate minimum ethanol petrol blends.The Biofuel (Ethanol Content) Bill 2007 was introduced into parliament last night as Premier Morris Iemma took a swipe at the Federal Government for failing to introduce such a national scheme. If passed in both houses of state parliament, the bill will mandate that the cleaner fuel ethanol must comprise at least two per cent of total petrol sold in NSW by October 1.“A two per cent mandate is a good start toward greater fuel security and less reliance on fossil fuels,” Mr Iemma said.“It’s a win for motorists who can save approximately four cents per litre using ethanol blended fuels.”Mr Iemma said the bill proposes a mandate that petrol companies can adopt and offers a way to avoid future petrol supply constraints and price shocks. He said the Federal Government continued to pay lip service to biofuels without initiating national ethanol m

The next time someone tries to tell you the Riverwright Project is good, tell them to watch this! Technorati Tags: ethanol, Riverwright, Buffalo, grain elevator, pollution, government, wasteSponsored By: Images by Mike in WNY Coffee Mugs, T-Shirts, Framed Prints, Posters & More

ADM, already producing biodiesel in Brazil now wants to enter the ethanol market. In an interview, ADM's (ADM) senior vice president of strategy, Steve Mills,said the company hasn't ruled out a purchase of Brazil's largest ethanol producer, Cosan SA, in which ADM owns a small stake. A Cosan spokeswoman declined to comment. Mr. Mills wouldn't say how much money ADM is willing to invest in Brazilian ethanol, and it isn't clear how soon they will move but based on recent history, when ADM... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Mitsubishi Corp, Japan's biggest trading firm, and Kirin Brewery Co Ltd, the No. 2 brewer, will join in a government-backed “green” fuel project by building an ethanol plant on the northern island of Hokkaido.A Mitsubishi spokesman said yesterday the domestic ethanol business was one of its main areas of interest. Mitsubishi had previously imported plant-origin ethanol for industrial use, and in March took a 10% stake in an ethanol production company in Brazil.The Japanese government has been promoting the use of non-fossil fuel at home to combat climate change.A consortium formed by the two companies and unlisted Osaka-based Japan Chemical Engineering & Machinery Co Ltd won a plant order for the project of some six billion yen (US$48.5mil) as a new stock company founded yesterday.Hokkaido Union of Agriculture Co-operatives, a lead manager of the project, has said the government is expected to shoulder half the cost.Construction would start in October with production starting

We all had to know it was coming, right? Perhaps both OPEC and the US oil companies caught wind of this and that was the genesis of their saber rattling lately? With U.S. biodiesel production at an all-time high and a record number of new biodiesel plants under construction, the industry is facing an impending crisis over waste glycerin, the major byproduct of biodiesel production. New findings from Rice University suggest a possible answer in the form of a bacterium that ferments glycerin and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]