Cruze Diesel – High MPG Without Battery
Finally, February 2013 at the Chicago Auto Show, the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel was introduced to the media.
BP CEO Speech – Renewables to Grow Over 1,000% but Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Rise 28% by 2030
BP’s Energy Outlook 2030 projects that demand for energy will grow by around 40% over the next two decades. That’s like adding one more China and one more US to the world’s energy demand by 2030. Nearly all of that growth – 96% in fact – is expected to come from the emerging economies with more than half coming from China and India alone. By 2030, 30% of cars will be hybrids. Renewable energy will grow over 1,000%.
Do Oil Companies Pay Their Fair Share?
$380 billion of wasteful government spending, subsidies, and loopholes is detailed in the new Green Scissors report. http://greenscissors.com/ The amount is for 2012 to 2016. I’m not sure which is most surprising, the common sense distilled to 32-pages or the fact that the report is sponsored by both conservative and environmental groups. Green Scissors 2011 is published by four organizations: progressive environmental group Friends of the Earth, deficit hawk Taxpayers for Common Sense, consumer watchdog Public Citizen and free-market think tank The Heartland Institute.
Diesel – Save Gas, Save The Planet Excerpt
Over half of all car sales in Europe use diesel engines not gasoline. Diesel fuel contains more energy per gallon than does gasoline. Diesel engines are far more efficient than gasoline. Should your next car be a hybrid or a diesel? The answer depends on the type of driving you do and if you want a car, truck, SUV, or minivan. Why not have the best of both with a hybrid diesel?
Shell’s new $12 Billion Investment in Sugarcane Ethanol with Cosan
Shell and Cosan, one of the world’s largest sugarcane ethanol companies based in Brazil, signed binding agreements to form a $12 billion joint venture for the production and commercialization of ethanol and power from sugarcane. The JV would be the third largest ethanol producer in the world with 4,500 retail stations and annual production 440 million gallons. Sugarcane is the currently the most efficient feedstock for larger scale ethanol production. While corn ethanol delivers little more energy output than the total energy necessary to grow, process, and transport it; sugarcane ethanol delivers eight times the energy output as lifecycle energy input.
Fuel from Algae – Challenges do not Stop Big Bucks
Yes, biodiesel and other transportation fuels can be made from algae, but after decades of effort the fuel is still expensive and only made in lab-scale quantities. There are many obstacles to replacing petroleum with algal fuel in this decade, yet hundreds of millions are being invested in algal fuel companies such as Sapphire Energy, Aurora BioFuels, BARD, Solix, GreenFuel, and Solazyme. From Boeing to BP, from DARPA to DOE, and from Arch Venture Partners to Bill Gates, serious money is betting that algae will someday be a major fuel source for our trucks, ships, and planes.
Big Oil Fights Big Ag
Americans are spending 20 percent of their income on transportation. Big Oil and Big Ag are fighting for their share of that money by trying to control the EPA and pass new legislation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a rule to implement the long-term renewable fuels standard of 36 billion gallons by 2022 established by Congress. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) that would provide financing to increase the conversion of biomass to bioenergy.
Cash is King in Renewable Energy Development
It is a buyer’s market for those developing large wind, solar, bioenergy, biofuel, and other renewable energy projects. In 2009, land is less expensive, equipment cost less, deliveries are faster, and warranties longer. It is a buyer’s market if you have cash, yet it continues to be a difficult time to secure debt financing. Demand for renewable energy is at a record high as U.S. utilities in about 30 states struggle to meet RPS (renewable Portfolio Standards). These utilities want to sign PPA (Power Purchase Agreements) for 5 to 20 years of wind power, solar, and bioenerg.
Biomethane for Energy and Fuel
Across the nation, ranchers, farmers, landfill operators, and all that generate agricultural waste, forest residue, and municipal waste can increasingly become energy independent. Through anaerobic digestion much of their biological waste can be converted into biogas which can run electrical generators, turbines, or fuel cells to generate electricity. Biogas can also be converted to cleaner biomethane for cleaner electricity and renewable fuel. These operations can generate their own electricity and fuel their own vehicles.
Biofuel Industry Hopes to Recover with Next Generation Fuels
Scientists know how to make fuel from prairie grasses growing on marginal land. They know how to make fuel from fast growing trees with root systems that extend 25 feet into the ground, sequestering carbon emissions and enriching the soil. The problem is making cellulosic and algal fuel in large quantities at costs that compete with fuels from petroleum such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.