Biofuel News Digest - January 26

Get ready for the President's State of the Union speech next week. In it, he will talk about expanding biofuel production and use. As I have said many times, governments will be a player in this field but not the prime mover. This is private enterprise which sees many advantages in a biofuel economy versus one dependent on foriegn oil. In today's news digest:

Ford Looking to Combine Hybrid Technology with Ethanol
In an interesting twist, Ford is introducing a concept car which combines hybrid and E85 ethanol. The article doesn't cite what type of fuel economy to expect but whatever it is, it likely to be better that what's currently available in an SUV and it will be cleaner and domestically produced. This is still at the "concept" phase so don't expect to see one in a showroom anytime soon.

GM Plans Marketing Initiative on E85 Ready Vehicles
The Flexible Fuel Vehicle or FFV is designed to run on gasoline, Ethanol blend or Methanol blend. The engines are equiped with sensors that allow them to adjust the fuel injection depending on what type of fuel it has. Also the hoses and other internal engine components can withstand the chemical properties of these biofuels which older engines can not. GM's marketing drive is going to highlight this type of engine to the American consumer. "They might even be driving a FlexFuel capable vehicle today and not even know about it," said one of GM's vice presidents.

Colorado May Pass Mandate on Biodiesel
Looking down the treacherous path blazed by Minnesota, Colorado's Senate Transportation Committee passed recommended a bill that would mandate use of B20 biodiesel when the price is only ten cents more per gallon than regualr diesel. IOd's take on mandates is that they disrupt the natural workings of the marketplace. While it would be great if a big state like Colorado went to B20, if it backfires it could be really bad.

Biofuel News Digest - January 24

Oil Prices spiked recently in reaction to nuclear sabre rattling by Iran. Today oil is "settling" at $67 per barrel. I am of the opinion that oil is going to stay in the $60-$70 range for the foreseeable futre. If not by hurricane, then by political intrigue. If not by supply, then demand. Oddly enough, those of us interested in the biofuel movement need to hope that petroleum prices stay high. This makes biodiesel and ethonal more attractive than they already are. Let get to the News:

Kuwait's Oil Reseverse Cut by Half
In an obscure backpage story on Friday, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly revealed that Kuwait could cut its proven oil reserves from 99 billion barrels to 48 billion barrels. To put that into context, the world consumes roughly 80 million barrels per day with the United States using about 25 percent of that. Peak Oil theory predicts that world output will plataeu and then decline sometime in the first half of the 21st century. With reserves being cut by major oil companies and producing countries, we may see decline before we are ready.

A Vermont Community Bank Offers Incentives for Fuel Efficient or Renwables
Here is something I haven't heard of. A bank is offering loan discounts to customers switching to greener vehicles. Cool!

DaimlerChrysler Sanctions Biodiesel for Ram Trucks
Most of us are not gloing to wait for automakers to put "Biodiesel Ready" stickers on their showroom cars to get into the game. We can take an old Mercedes or later model pickup with a diesel engine and simply get the hoses and fuel filters we need put in. But it is nice to see the automakers looking to the future.

Companies Offer Deal for Carbon Dioxide Emissions
I recently posted about TerraPass. While we are all striving for a cleaner environment by switching to biofuels, we have think about the damage that has been done and continues to be. The United States did not adopt the Kyoto treaty, but that doesn't mean individual citizens shouldn't think about the carbon dioxide they generate and look for way to offset it. These companies offer solutions for this.

Biofuel News Digest - January 19

I have always thought that there is going to be an intersection of biofuels and biotech. I have always wondered what would happen if a new crop that allowed us to be green and energy independent was a genetically modified oranism. GMO crops are generally eschewed by the same people who gravitate toward greener fuels. Would we be making a deal with the devil or would be simply be using technology to solve new problems as we always have? I do no not intend to enter this debate. I will only keep you posted when biofuels meet biotech.

DOE And USDA Combine on Soybean Genomics Initiative
Here we go. The soybean is integral to today's biodiesel production. However, it is not the most productive plant available when thinking of oil havested in pounds per acre. Since the soybean has other valuable uses beyond the oil and it grows successfully across the Unitied States, its our country's go-to bean. So, can we modify its DNA to get it to produce more oil? Should we? The US Department of Energy and US Department of Agriculture are looking into question no. 1.

Biotech Industry Has Eye on Biofuel Phenomenon
It won't just be the government getting into the biofuel & biotech merger. Private industry, already having demonstrated redounding commercial success with GMO crops, see the coming wave of biofuel demand. They aren't going to wait.

Biofuel News Digest - January 16

Apologies for the drop off in posts lately. I have been travelling. More on that in a future post. We have a lot of news to catch up on, so let's get to it.

EPA Lowers Fuel Economy Ratings
Apparently those big bold numbers indicating miles per gallon on the dealer invoice are wrong. The EPA will lower them to more realistic ratings when the 2008 cars hit showrooms. Hit particularly hard by this are hybrid vehicles.

Seattle Biodiesel Attracts Funding from Paul Allen
Investors are taking note of the biofuel phenomenon. This article mentions some venture funds including Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen throwing their hats into the biodiesel ring.

Individuals Also Invest in Biofuel Production
Got $25,000? You can own a stake in the fuels of the future. This Iowa plant is being funded by individual investors. The goal is to attract a total of $18 to $25 million in investment. Iowa's soybean farmers may only be acting out of self interest, but this is still an interesting model.

Biofuel Production Said to Compete With Food
This is a New York Times article (so it might be subsription only or not up for very long). Now that biofuels have grown so much, people are noticing the impact this is having on agricultural markets. Some worry that acres devoted to fuel are lost to food. Others argue that US agriculture has spare capacity and that there are substitutes for outputs such as animal feed and corn syrup.

Sugar Prices Feel the Impact of Ethanol
Sugar prices rise as Brazil devotes more of its crop to Ethanol production. Expect a similar trend with feedstocks for biodiesel such as soybeans.

Biofuel News Digest January 9

North Carolina State Senator Switches to SVO
You'll need to scoll down to the middle of this page to see this story. Stan Bingham, a Republican, says "hello soybean and good-bye Opec!" He uses a two-tank straight vegetable oil system similar to that offered by GreaseCar.

Washington County Switches it Diesel Vehicles to B20
Counties operate a lot of vehicles. This county uses from 16,000 to 20,000 gallons of diesel per month. Not only are they switching to biodiesel but they hope they can produce it locally in years to come.

Japan Looks to a Biofueled Future
From a county to a Country. A major economic player in the world embraces biofuels. They have tried before and failed but they are not afraid to try again. This time, the supply will be a lot greater. Countries in the Asian Pacific are embracing biodiesel production from plentiful palm oil. Japan is a neighbor to China and they realize the impact China is having on the world oil market. Japan has always been a technological leader and let's hope they not only use biofuel but contribute to the fuel's development.

Eleven Biodiesel Production Plants to be Built in Pennsylvania
Governor Ed Rendell and AGRA Biofuels announce plans for eleven biodiesl plants in Pennsylvania. Since they plan to source the soybean feedstock mostly from Pennsylvania, this will be a boon for the state. The state also plans to use the fuel for home heating and electricity generation.

Terrapass -- Emissions Offsets

I just plunked down on a new idea. What if you could do something so that the CO2 emissions from your car were absorbed and wouldn't impact global warming. Dependeing on your interpretation, Terrapass offers just such an opportunity. Visit their site and first you will calculate how much carbon dioxide your vehicle spews into the air. Then you will be offered the opportunity to purchase the right type of Terrapass. The proceeds of this purchase are used to help fund clean energy projects. By bringing more renewable or clean generation online, our electricity grid uses less coal or other fossil fuels. Most states are adopting Renewable Fuel Standards or RFS for short. Also, consumers are electing to switch to renewable energy when given the choice by their electricty utility. When we bring clean electricity generation online, we use it first before the carbon based alternative. So, after spending the almost $80, I'm still a little skeptical. How does $80 offset almost 18,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide? The explanation on their website does a pretty good job of explaining the model. Still, I'm left scratching my head. But with the number C-notes I've laid down on numerous Black Jack tables over the years, I figure a socially responsible bet offers just as much of a thrill!

Biofuel News Digest January 7th

Biofuel News keeps coming. With all the developments large and small, 2006 promises to be a pivotal year for biofuels. The confluence of economics and social awareness has blown the lid off of something that used to be a botique interest. Let's tune into the recent goings on.

NY Governor Pataki Annouces Biofuel Initiative
In his State of the State address, Governor Pataki threw New York State's hat in the biofuel ring. Using his executive powers, he is ordering state agencies to start using a percentage of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. He also is looking to boost the state's agricultural output of feedstock for biofuels. Pataki is considered a possible candidate for the 2008 Presidential race. IOd wishes New York success and hopes that biofuels are a major campiagn issue in 2008 as well.

Kentucky Cancer Caucus Endorses Biodiesel
In the continuing effort to educate the public on the benefits of biofuels, biodiesel wins the support of a key group. Biodiesel burns much cleaner than conventional diesel. But it still produces emissions. Net emmisions of carbon are of course reduced, but there is an increase of NOX. In evaluating the alternative between biodiesel and conventional petro diesel, this Kentucky cancer fighting group decided that biodiesel is a win in their cause.

Minnesota Governor Meets with Ford brass to pitch Biofuels.
In an effort to prevent the loss of manufacturing jobs in his state, Govenor Tom Pawlenty is pitching the conversion of a Ford plant to Biofuel ready vehicles. Following GM's announcement in December that they will be shuttering several plants, Ford's CEO William Ford stated that Ford would be making a similar annoucement in January. IOd will follow this story.

Biofuel Ready Cars Make a Splash at LA Autoshow
Hybrid vehicles are taking off. The automakers project that hybrids will constitute a significant percentage of of their fleets in a few short years. However, the growing interest in biofuels has also caught their attention. Saab and BMW demonstrated biofuel cars at this year's LA Auto Show.

Biofuel News Digest January 4 - First of '06!

There is a lot of biofuel news to reports today. Some I'm catching up on. But some is just an increase in volume of news stories. So, let's get on with it.

Washington Senator Cantwell Continues Biodiesel Agenda
As more public officials learn about the benefits of biofuel use and production, they lend their imprimator and offices to the cause. Reported earlier on IOd, Cantwell was helpful in brokering a deal made by the Port of Seattle to start using Biodiesel.

Alcoa Grows Concerned About Peak Oil
Perhaps an anecdote here, but still very interesting. Alcoa, the aluminum company, uses a huge about of energy in making their product. Their customers obviously need a great deal of energy to transform the product into whatever they are making. Energy stability is therefore key to their sustainability. The fact that a major company is interested in Peak Oil makes makes it easier for the next major company to think about the problem of energy without plentiful petroleum.

USA Today reports on Biodiesel
Under the theory that no press is bad press, this story is a good one! It talks about problems that people have been having in the cold weather. This temperature range of biodiesel is hopefuly a problem that can be solved in the near future.

An Interesting Opinion Column in the St. Petersburg Times
This column ties a bunch of biofuel threads together. It even plugs the movie Syriana. I saw that movie and I walked away not really fully getting the plot, but totally getting the message. Florida shows NO biodiesl filling stations on the NBB map. Having spent some time down there recently, it seems like they haven't even taken their first step.