AltEnergyStation.com

HOV Lanes

2008-03-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, I traveled to Irvine California for a job interview. During my trip, I was extremely upset about the HOV lanes.... they were empty. I was upset for two reasons. One, there were very very few cars using the HOV lanes and second, the remaining 4 to 5 lanes were traveling at a snails pace. Traffic was bumper to bumper and would have moved must faster if the HOV lanes were being used by more cars.

While I'd love to see people traveling 2-3 in each vehicle... or even more. It wasn't happening that day. I asked a friend about this and he said its always like that. UGH. Very upsetting and frustrating.

We need more people using the HOV lanes. I 100% agree with that. However, if people are not using them... we need to use them for everyone else.... since they are using much more fuel just sitting there in traffic while the HOV lanes are empty. Opening up the HOV lanes to others, when not being used by HOV commuters, would save a significant amount of energy.

The State of California has given a small number of hybrid cars and trucks the ability to use the HOV lanes, they need to expand that and allow all hybrids and electric cars to use it. In addition, it would be great if they also allowed other energy efficient vehicles access. They could even charge for its use and then use that money to expand access to energy efficient cars and trucks.

While this was California, I'm confident that this situation is happening across American, where HOV lanes exist. I applaud the concept, however, if its not working as intended, it needs to change. The objective is laudable, the program just needs to be modified to better promote energy conservation and reduced our reliance on fossil fuels.

Cell Phone Companies going Green

2008-03-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

I read the following article with great interest. I worked in the wireless telecommunications industry for over 12 years... for companies both big and small. Businesses are big energy users. While the article talks about cell towers... using 4 to 8 times the amount of electric as a single family home, and there are over 200,000 towers, this is really only the 'tip' of the iceberg as it relates to the wireless phone companies. Cell phone companies operate thousands of retail stores, switching centers, customer service centers and business offices. They have technical teams visiting the cell towers on a regular basis. All these activities consume a great deal of energy. On top of that .... they all have millions of customers who have to charge their cell phone on a regular basis.... for many everyday.

I am glad to see that they are working towards alternative sources of energy. They need to continue to do so.... and the company that makes the transition the fastest will certainly benefit significantly. I am confident that consumers would be happy to do business with a truly green telecommunications provider.

..... I know many people who would love to buy a solar cell phone charger.... priced at less than $50 ..... come on cell phone companies..... lets put one out there in the marketplace.

FOXNews.com

Greener Cell Power Presents Challenges

Saturday, March 08, 2008

By DAVID TWIDDY, AP Business Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When wireless industry technicians speak of "green" cell towers these days, they're not just talking about making them look more like trees.

They're talking about towers powered by wind turbines or solar panels, antennas that get backup energy from hydrogen fuel cells and geothermal cooling for computer equipment.

Cell phone companies are experimenting with these and other strategies to reduce their increasingly ubiquitous industry's environmental impact.

To be sure, the "greening" of wireless communication is still in its infancy. The vast majority of the nation's more than 200,000 cell towers and antennas run off the same electric grid everybody else does. And even companies experimenting with alternative energy plan to limit its use to backup power.

The average cell tower requires four to eight times as much power as a typical household, and cell companies say power from conventional supplies is still cheap compared to alternative sources. They say they would use green power mainly in remote areas where towers don't face the same aesthetic and zoning limits as in neighborhoods and cities.

Wireless companies aren't seeing big demand from subscribers for sustainable technology, said Jackie McCarthy, director of governmental affairs for PCIA _ The Wireless Infrastructure Association.

"I think we're hearing a lot more about dependability in terms of the wireless network," McCarthy said. "I don't think the whole 'green' wireless site development (issue) has really gotten to our infrastructure providers yet."

But carriers say it's important they consider environmentally friendly technology, especially if it can save them money.

Sprint Nextel Corp. began seriously investigating alternative energy in 2004 and has since deployed hydrogen fuel cells at several of its roughly 65,000 sites.

"It solves a lot of issues for us regarding the traditional use of diesel generators," said Bob Azzi, Sprint Nextel Corp.'s senior vice president of field engineering and operations.

The company has also installed a wind turbine at its headquarters, is experimenting with geothermal cooling as a replacement for conventionally-powered air conditioning in warmer climates and is testing mini turbines in California that are fueled with natural gas and used for backup power.

"It has the advantage of being quieter," he said of the mini turbines. "They're more reliable and we think they're more efficient than traditional diesel power generators."

Miles Schreiner, director of national operations planning for T-Mobile USA, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, said his company last year began using a small number of hydrogen fuel cells in the Northeast "mainly to kick the tires and see how it does."

He said the fuel cells cost twice as much as standard batteries or generators and are valued primarily because they are reliable and have lower emissions. He said the company also is making limited tests with solar and wind-powered systems.

"One advantage to alternative power is you get some kickbacks from states in terms of tax incentives," he said. "We're looking at the viability of the long term. We're a business like any other carrier so the question is, 'Is the trade-up and capital outlay worth the costs?'"

AT&T Inc., the nation's largest wireless carrier, said it is working on alternative energy but declined to give specifics.

A spokeswoman for No. 2 Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Britain's Vodafone PLC, said Verizon is considering alternative energy.

(This version CORRECTS the name of Miles Schreiner, who was wrongly named 'Mike Schreiner' previously.)

Jobs

2008-03-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Last week it was reported that over 63,000 net jobs were lost. The auto industry continues to scale back production, the retail sector is cutting jobs and re engineering its business as a way of improving its profitability.

Alternative energy and green technologies are areas in which the US can rebuild our employment base to create good jobs that pay good wages. These technologies are wanted and needed around the world to reduce global warming and to escape the rapidly increasing price of oil.

The US government, both Federal and State levels, needs to do everything possible to support the development of these industries. Just as the industrial revolution moved us from being an farming based society, we need another 'revolution' of sorts to move us towards self sustaining technologies.

Home Fuel Cells

2008-03-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

New technologies and applications are popping up everywhere to transition the US and world from dependence on fossil fuels... and foreign oil to self reliance and clean technologies.

While the cost of this technology might be prohibitive, for now, it is a great starting point where the bugs can be worked out and the application proven. I continue to be amazed at the things people are working on in this area. I know we can find alternative solutions for all our energy needs.

Fuel cells make power for homes in Japan

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer Mon Mar 3, 3:38 PM ET

HIRATSUKA, Japan - Masanori Naruse jogs every day, collects miniature cars and feeds birds in his backyard, but he's proudest of the way his home and 2,200 others in Japan get electricity and heat water — with power generated by a hydrogen fuel cell.

The technology — which draws energy from the chemical reaction when hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water — is more commonly seen in futuristic cars with tanks of hydrogen instead of gasoline, whose combustion is a key culprit in pollution and global warming.

Developers say fuel cells for homes produce one-third less of the pollution that causes global warming than conventional electricity generation does.

"I was a bit worried in the beginning whether it was going to inconvenience my family or I wouldn't be able to take a bath," said the 45-year-old Japanese businessman, who lives with his wife, Tomoko, and two children, 12 and 9. But, as head of a construction company, he was naturally interested in new technology for homes.

Tomoko Naruse, 40, initially worried the thing would explode, given all she had heard about the dangers of hydrogen.

"Actually, you forget it's even there," her husband said.

Their plain gray fuel cell is about the size of a suitcase and sits just outside their door next to a tank that turns out to be a water heater. In the process of producing electricity, the fuel cell gives off enough warmth to heat water for the home.

The oxygen that the fuel cell uses comes from the air. The hydrogen is extracted from natural gas by a device called a reformer in the same box as the fuel cell. But a byproduct of that process is poisonous carbon monoxide. So another machine in the gray box adds oxygen to the carbon monoxide to create carbon dioxide, which — though it contributes to global warming — is not poisonous.

The entire process produces less greenhouse gas per watt than traditional generation. And no energy is wasted transporting the electricity where it's actually going to be used.

Nearly every home in Japanese cities is supplied with natural gas for cooking or heating, which could make it relatively easy to spread fuel cell technology there. The potential for widespread use of fuel cells in bigger or more sparsely settled countries is less certain. Many American homes don't have gas service, for example.

"There are not any real show-stoppers for this technology being used in the U.S.," said electrical engineering professor Roger Dougal at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, S.C.

Dougal said fuel cells are no more hazardous than any stove or water heater. Their major drawback is cost.

"Ultimately, I expect that some fraction of homes will use this technology, but it will be a very long time before a sizable fraction does," he said in an e-mail.

Naruse is paying $9,500 for a 10-year lease on a test fuel cell for his home southwest of Tokyo from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Matsushita, which sells Panasonic brand products, plans to offer fuel cells commercially in 2009.

Other Japanese companies working on fuel cells for homes include Toyota Motor Corp., which is developing fuel-cell vehicles, and electronics maker Toshiba Corp. Automaker Honda Motor Co. is working with Plug Power Inc., a fuel cell company in the U.S., to test a home fuel cell generator that also provides hydrogen as fuel for fuel cell vehicles.

Honda hopes domestic use of fuel cell generators will help make fuel cell vehicles become more widespread because owners can refuel at home. It plans to start marketing the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle this year in California; it will lease for about $600 a month.

Fuel cells are expensive in part because they don't last very long. The latest model from Matsushita, for example, lasts about three years.

But the technology is improving. Matsushita says the savings from using fuel cell-generated power will vary by household and climate, but it promises a cost drop of about $50 a month.

Naruse's family — with three TV sets, a dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer, personal computer and air conditioner — saves about $95 a month. At the same time, conventionally generated electricity remains available to them, should the power generated by their fuel cell run low.

The Japanese government is so bullish on the technology it has earmarked $309 million a year for fuel cell development and plans for 10 million homes — about one-fourth of Japanese households — to be powered by fuel cells by 2020.

Professor Bruce Rittman, director for the Center for Environmental Biotechnology at Arizona State University, says the biggest benefit of fuel cell technology is that it emits only water — when there's a clean source of hydrogen.

"Fuel cells are wonderful devices because they provide combustionless, pollution-free electricity," he said.

Tomoko Naruse said she might never have chosen a fuel cell if her husband hadn't insisted.

But she is happy her children are proud of it because they are learning about the threat of global warming in school.

"I think my children are thinking are about the future," she said.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Diesel Hybrid 69 MPG

2008-03-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

Exciting News. 69 mpg for a diesel hybrid car. The article attempts to make a point that consumers would be unwilling to pay the extra $$ for a diesel hybrid vehicle. With gasoline prices continuing to increase... soon to be $4 plus per gallon. I'm not so sure that would be the case.

If you could double or even triple your fuel economy.... perhaps it will make sense to some consumers.... depending on their driving behavior. There are also some of us out there that would pay a premium in order to help the environment and reduce our reliance on foreign oil.

To learn how diesel hybrid vehicles work, go to http://altenergystation.com/Hybrid-Electric_Vehicles.html , while this is a description of a gasoline hybrid, the concept is very similar.

CNNMoney.com 3/7/08

Better mileage than a Prius? Not so fast

VW's new diesel-powered hybrid gets great mileage - better than Toyota's top-selling hybrid. Its price-tag is another story.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It was bound to happen - the Toyota Prius could soon lose its crown as the most fuel-efficient car on the market. But you might want to hold off before you cancel your order.

The VW Golf TDI Hybrid gets 69 miles per gallon in the European fuel economy test cycle, according to Volkswagen. Toyota claims 54 mpg for the Prius in the same test.

Volkswagen unveiled a Golf hatchback in Europe this week that gets even better mileage than the Prius. It's a concept vehicle for now, but the diesel-powered hybrid indicates something that's in the "near term future" for European customers, a VW spokesman said.

Customers in the U.S. would have to wait a little longer, but a car like this could eventually be sold here, said Keith Price, a spokesman for Volkswagen of America.

Check under the hood

It's easy to understand why the Golf gets 26% better mileage than a Prius, which burns gasoline. The Golf TDI hybrid has a diesel engine, which is more efficient.

A non-hybrid 2006 Volkswagen Jetta diesel sedan gets 33 mpg in combined city and highway driving, according to current EPA estimates. A 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid, a similarly-sized car, gets just one mile per gallon more. And the Jetta diesel gets much better highway fuel economy - 38 mpg - than the Camry Hybrid's 34 mpg.

You may wonder why no one thought of the diesel/hybrid combination before.

"From a consumer standpoint, it comes down to 'What kind of compromise do I need to live with to enjoy all this wonderfulness?'" said VW's Price. And the biggest challenge, he conceded, is cost.

And then check your wallet

Diesel engines burn fuel using high pressure and heat instead of a spark. The engines have to be more rugged to withstand the strain, so they're more expensive to build.

Chrysler has a small test-fleet of plug-in diesel hybrid Dodge Sprinter vans in commercial use today, but the technology is too pricey to put into passenger vehicles, said Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa.

"There has to be a customer value there," he said. "It has to pay for itself."

For the U.S. passenger car market, there's an additional cost hurdle: It's harder for diesel engines to meet strict clean-air requirements here. They produce lots of noxious fumes and particles that require expensive exhaust treatment systems.

But with new ultra-clean diesel fuel now readily available at American gas stations and new exhaust-cleaning technology in cars, various automakers hope to introduce a new generation of clean-diesel cars here over the next couple of years.

But like hybrids, these new diesels will be more expensive than similar gas-powered cars. The mark-up may not be quite as much, though.

Volkswagen estimates that the 2009 Jetta diesel will cost about $2,000 more than the gas-powered version. Official pricing hasn't been announced yet, though. (The 2006 model year was the last time VW sold diesel cars in the U.S.)

Manufacturers almost always add unrelated equipment to hybrids, so it's difficult to estimate a cost, but hybrids usually cost at least $2,500 more than non-hybrid versions of the same vehicle.

Add those numbers altogether, and a hybrid diesel would be dauntingly expensive, even if federal tax incentives were factored in.

Buyers could also lose another big cost benefit: excellent resale value. Diesel engines last longer than gas engines so diesel cars are worth more after years of driving.

Hybrids, on other hand, generally do worse than other cars in resale value, according to Kelley Blue Book. Combine a hybrid and a diesel, and its resale value is anybody's guess, said Robyn Eckard, a Kelley Blue Book spokeswoman.

On its way to the U.S.A.

For now, the Golf TDI Hybrid comes closest to making sense in Europe. Diesel fuel generally costs less than gas there, adding to the financial benefit of greater fuel efficiency. And European regulations don't require all the pricey emission-cleaning technology needed to sell diesels in the U.S. That's why diesels make up about half of new car sales in Europe.

Technology costs will come down over time, though, points out VW's Price. "The costs of all technologies come down with acceptance," he said.

If a diesel hybrid is a hit in Europe, and VW were to ramp up production, that could bring down the per-unit costs, he said. And that could open the door to selling such a car in the United States.

By that time, U.S. consumers should be familiar with VW's - and other companies' - new diesels, said Price.

And if any company could make it work in the United States, it would be VW, said Charlie Vogelheim, vice president of J.D. Power and Associates.

Even though they're not currently sold here, VW's diesels still have a strong cult following, he said: "It's like 'I don't care what anyone else thinks, I love my diesel car."

Ethanol Leadership

2008-03-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

I am extremely happy and excited about the continued leadership the President has been providing in the promotion and development of Ethanol. We need infrastructure, additional supplies, new technologies, cheap conversion equipment and more.

Many people, as the article below indicates, argue about the impact on food, efficiency, costs, the environment, etc. While I agree there are issues with ethanol... real and anticipated. We as a country need to move in the direction of alternative fuels and energy.

Ethanol is one piece of the solution to help transition our country from oil dependency to fuel/energy independence. There are other pieces... such as solar, wind, biodiesel and more.

We need more leadership from Congress, the President and leaders from around the US.

CNNMoney.com 3/5/08

Bush: Use ethanol to get off oil

Bush calls for energy independence, stands by ethanol although environmental benefits of the corn-based fuel are questioned while it is blamed for surging food prices.

By Steve Hargreaves CNNMoney.com staff writer

March 5 2008: 4:03 PM EST

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- President Bush said the United States should "get off oil" Wednesday as crude prices hit record highs and renewed his support for ethanol use despite concerns the corn-based fuel is driving up food prices and isn't more environmentally friendly than gasoline.

"We gotta get off oil, American has got to change its habits," Bush told a crowd at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, a meeting of global energy officials and an adjoining trade show that's the largest all-renewables show ever held in the United States. "It should be obvious to all, demand has outstripped supply, which makes prices go up."

As the conference got into its second day, crude oil on the New York mercantile exchange jumped nearly $4 on falling oil inventories, trading over $104 a barrel and setting a new all-time record.

Part of Bush's plan to wean the country off oil includes big investments in ethanol.

The energy bill passed by Congress and signed by Bush in December calls for refiners to replace 36 billion gallons of gasoline with ethanol by 2020, up from about 7 billion gallons today. About half of that will come from ethanol made with corn.

"That's good if you're a corn farmer, and it's good if you're concerned with national security," Bush said.

Bush acknowledged some of the problems with ethanol, particularly its role in pushing up the price of corn. The price of corn has doubled since 2006 which has pushed up the price of chicken, beef and poultry - livestock fed with corn.

Also, crops like wheat and soybeans are becoming more expensive as farmers devote more acreage to grow corn as they rush to satisfy the demand for ethanol.

"I'm beginning to hear complaints from cattleman about the price of corn," he said. "We're going to do something about it."

Bush said his administration has spent over $1 billion to make cellulosic ethanol - which can be made from non-food plants like grasses or wood chips - cost competitive. He also highlighted the use of biodiesel, which is diesel fuel made from agricultural and food waste.

"I'm confident the United States can meet those goals, for the sake of national security and the environment," he said.

Ethanol's impact on the environment is also up for debate. The U.S. government has previously said ethanol is about 20 to 30% cleaner than gasoline, even factoring in that it is less efficient than gasoline. But recent studies have called that into question, suggesting ethanol is no better than conventional fuel.

In the renewable field overall, Bush said his administration has spent $12 billion on research and development since he's been in office, all part of an effort to wean the nation off big oil and increase investment in solar and wind power.

Bush said wind capacity has increased 300% since he's been in office, and solar has grown as well.

But critics say Bush can hardly take credit for promoting renewables when he has held up incentives like production tax credits and refuses to cap carbon dioxide emissions.

"It's like Jamie Lynne Spears giving a talk on abstinence," said Daniel Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank referring to a teenaged TV star who recently disclosed she was pregnant.

Bush reiterated his call for a global cap on carbon dioxide - the main gas behind global warming - but said the United States should not act until nations like China and India do as well.

"These agreements must include solid agreements by every major economy," said Bush. "No country should get a free ride."

Bush also called for greater investments in nuclear power to combat global warming while meeting the world's growing energy needs, a call that was met by applause from the audience.

And, in his trademark humorist style, applauded the participants at the conference.

"I appreciate your commitment to renewable energy," he said. "It probably didn't help today when I rode over in a 20 car motorcade."

Solar Chargers

2008-03-05T08:43:00.001-08:00

We all have numerous consumer products that operate off battery power. They include laptop computers, cell phones, electric razors, bluetooth ear pieces, GPS devices, power tools and so much more. There are also remote control toys, golf carts, scooters and so much more.

I have a friend who has looked into the possibility of finding a solar battery charging system to charge his electric scooter so that he could be 100% alternative... off grid. However, there doesn't seem to be a ready to use, off the shelf, system available to directly charge his scooter battery. He will have to use solar to charge a battery then use that battery to charge the scooter battery.

This seems like too many steps and an unnecessary added expense.

To help spread the use and acceptance of solar and alternative sources of energy... we need to have small systems which will help consumers to take small steps. While it will only save a small amount of energy... every bit will help to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and help improve the environment.

Solar Electric Cars

2008-03-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

I live in California, where there are many sunny days every year. During the summer, when the sun is out, many drivers seek out the shade. But what if cars had solar panels... sitting in the sun, while your at work... or shopping... means your cars batteries were getting charged. Or on those hour long drives, your battery was getting charged as you sit on the highway in traffic. This would also be possible in many parts of the US and world.

We are not too far from being at a point where this might be possible. Today we have reliable hybrid technology, gasoline-electric... all we need to do is add the solar to the equation. Solar panels to the top of the car... connected to the battery... providing a constant charge. For a time until battery technology improves, we would keep the gasoline component for reliability.

I haven't read much about any car makers exploring the use of solar. I hope they are... solar is clean and unlimited.

Mercedes Hybrids

2008-03-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Exciting news. High performance and luxury appeal... in the same vehicle. A great number of drivers do not want to give up performance for the purpose of saving energy.... now they won't have to. The fact they are also using modified ... existing technologies is also significant as it will help to speed the new hybrid to market.

Next, I'd like to see Daimler next make its Smart Cars hybrids... or even plug-in electric. Many people use these vehicles for short local trips which make them ideal for being electric.

Usatoday.com 3/2/08

Daimler plans new battery for hybrid

DETROIT (AP) — Daimler AG is planning to roll out a hybrid version of its Mercedes-Benz flagship S-Class luxury sedan that uses a kind of battery already widely used in consumer electronics.

Daimler said that it has adapted lithium-ion technology to meet demanding automotive requirements. Daimler said Friday the new battery will be used in the S 400 BlueHYBRID beginning next year.

"What we have here is a groundbreaking key technology that is going to be a decisive factor for the future success of the automotive industry," Daimler Board of Management member Thomas Weber said in a statement.

Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler's announcement indicates an increase in confidence about lithium-ion technology. Other automakers are working on lithium-ion batteries.

Toyota Motor Corp. said in December it was preparing to start mass producing lithium-ion batteries for low-emission vehicles.

Lithium-ion batteries, already widely used in laptops and other gadgets, are smaller yet more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in gas-electric hybrids like the Japanese automaker's Prius.

General Motors Corp. is developing the Chevrolet Volt, an electric sedan to be recharged by plugging it into a household outlet. Plans call for it to be powered by an electric motor fed by lithium-ion batteries.

GM spokesman Brian Corbett said Saturday the Detroit-based automaker plans to make a major announcement Tuesday about hybrid technology at a press conference during the Geneva Motor Show.

Solar Energy from Suns Heat

2008-03-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

The following is very exciting news. The establishment of a solar energy facility, in Arizona, that will power 70,000 homes. The technology is interesting because it uses the suns heat... rather than the suns light to generate electricity.

While this technology will work in limited places, it does highlight once again the diversity of technologies and sources of power available.

The US, and world, needs to continue to support and develop numerous technologies to find the ones that have the least impact on the environment and the lowest costs.

CNN.com 2/22/08

Arizona to become 'Persian Gulf' of solar energy

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- A Spanish company is planning to take 3 square miles of desert southwest of Phoenix and turn them into one of the largest solar power plants in the world.

Abengoa Solar will build a plant like this one they built in Spain in Arizona to supply 70,000 homes with power.

Abengoa Solar, which has plants in Spain, northern Africa and other parts of the U.S., could begin construction as early as next year on the 280-megawatt plant in Gila Bend -- a small, dusty town 50 miles southeast of Phoenix.

The company said Thursday it could be producing solar energy by 2011.

Abengoa would build, own and operate the $1 billion plant, named the Solana Generating Station.

Solana will be enough to supply up to 70,000 homes at full capacity.

APS filed for approval of the plant with Arizona's public utilities regulator Thursday. The plant also hinges on an extension of the federal solar investment tax credit, which APS and Abengoa said they're confident will happen.

If approved, the plant will triple the amount of renewable energy APS produces. Now, about 1½ percent of the utility's energy comes from renewable sources.

Arizona regulators are requiring utilities to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025, with annual increases of roughly 1 percent.

The Solana plant will bring APS to around 5 percent in 2011, said Don Robinson, the utility's senior vice president of planning and administration.

Unlike most solar energy, Solana will use the sun's heat, not its light, to produce power. Gila Bend can get as hot as 120 degrees in the summer.

Abengoa CEO Santiago Seage said the plant will use thousands of giant mirrors to harness the sun's heat. That will heat up liquids, which will spin turbines -- just like coal or other power plants but without the pollution.

He said using heat will allow the plant to produce power even after the sun has gone down.

"We receive the heat from the sun, and we use a fluid that becomes very hot. And we can keep it hot for a long time and release that heat for a long time," he said. "It's like coffee. You can make it hot, keep it hot for a few hours and drink it anytime you want."

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said she envisioned the state as a solar powerhouse.

"There is no reason that Arizona should not be the Persian Gulf of solar energy," she said.

Saving Energy

2008-02-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

Below you will find 5 great ideas for saving energy at home. We can all do so much more to reduce our energy consumption and be more efficient in our usage. In doing so, we will save money and help the environment.

I had a conversation today with someone at Starbucks regarding fuel usage in our cars, I mentioned that I've started to plan out my trips so that i'd use less gasoline. He was stunned and said, 'you do that'. I said, of course I do... I still do everything that I need to... I just try to better plan my trips so that I minimize the amount of gasoline I use.

Being conscious of our individual usage and smart about what we do everyday can make a big difference towards reducing our energy consumption.

USA Today 2/14/08

Five simple ways to save energy at home

By Joan Brunskill, Associated Press Writer

It's easier than you think to paint your house "green."

Simple changes can save resources and energy — and perhaps slow global warming. A growing demand for energy efficiency topped findings from the American Institute of Architects' home-design trend survey for the second quarter of 2007.

The group's chief economist, Kermit Baker, said the panel of 500 architecture firms found high demand for insulation panels, tankless water heaters, geothermal heating and cooling, and green flooring products such as bamboo and cork.

Warren, Vt.-based architect John Connell, a member of the institute's housing committee, said the No. 1 question he gets from confused homeowners is where to start.

"None of the more sexy energy-saving installations — small windmills on the roof, photovoltaic panels, solar-water collectors — make any sense until you've done your insulation, weather stripping and other fundamentals," he said.

For the do-it-yourself homeowner, this is Connell's five-point plan for easy, immediate action:

LIGHTING

Changing to fluorescent bulbs makes sense despite recent concerns about how to dispose of the small amount of mercury they contain.

"If you put in compact fluorescent lighting today you won't have to change those bulbs for a couple of years at least — and systems are quickly evolving to deal with disposal as more and more people do this," Connell said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is working with bulb makers and retailers to expand recycling and disposal options. Check with your local sanitation department to see if you can recycle bulbs containing mercury. If not, the EPA suggests sealing the bulb in two plastic bags and putting it in outside trash for normal collection.

WINDOWS

First, with a compass, identify which windows face south and which north. Use insulating shades on those windows to keep heat in or out and slow the loss of energy, Connell said.

You can open and close windows and shades to help heat or cool the house, depending on season and geographical location.

"In the south, thermal shades work best on the outside, for a cooling effect in hot climates," he said. They'd have to be made of materials that stand up to UV rays. "In the north, shades work best on the inside, for keeping heat in."

APPLIANCES

Taking good care of appliances has a big payoff. "Everything in my life, including the car, could save energy, if I just maintain it properly," Connell said.

Clean your refrigerator's ventilation grill. Have your boiler, furnace, air conditioning units and clothes dryer serviced thoroughly — especially if there are funny noises emanating from any of them.

RECYCLE HEAT

Recycle your heated clothes-dryer exhaust through an appropriate filter into your house.

"It's so simple. Go to the local hardware store and ask for a bypass filter — it's just an 8-inch cube. You just need a screwdriver and the instructions are right on the package," he said. "The bypass helps humidify and heat the house, while the filter still prevents lint and dust from getting into the air you breathe."

This change also helps prevent ice build-up and rot on the outside of the house where the exhaust is vented.

"Of course, it will also raise the moisture level in the laundry room, so remember to leave that door open."

WEATHERSTRIP

Connell called weatherstripping the first line of defense, in the sun belt or snow belt.

"Weatherstrip every door and window in your house — the difference this makes is amazing if you've never tried it. Also check heat loss through mail slots, mechanical chases, chimney flues and outlets on exterior walls," he said. "The reality is, you lose far more heat from your house through air leakage than from anything else."

Outlets on exterior walls can also be weatherstripped, he added. "Buy foam weatherstripping gaskets, take off the coverplates, stick on the foam, then replace the coverplates."

Ethanol Bust

2008-02-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

The following article is troubling in two ways. One it neglects the current development of cellulosic ethanol and second it doesn't speak to the economic impact of gasoline getting close to $4 per gallon. Both of these things will make ethanol more economical.

Investors, economist, consumers, politicians and others need to understand that corn based ethanol is a necessary component of meeting the energy/fuel needs of the US. It's an emerging technology and industry. Over the next several years we are going to see an enormous amount of change and development.... uncertainty. This uncertainty is what investors don't like.

Eventually corn based ethanol will be transition to cellulosic ethanol... fuel made with switch grass or other biomass material... the development of ethanol plants and the necessary infrastructure is critical and the development needs to continue. Investors need to keep in the 'game' today... rather than get shut out later. Its truly only a matter of time before this industry takes off.

2/28/08 CNN.com/Fortune

The ethanol bust

The ethanol boom is running out of gas as corn prices spike.

By Jon Birger, senior writer

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Cargill announces it's scrapping plans for a $200 million ethanol plant near Topeka, Kan. A judge approves the bankruptcy sale of an unfinished ethanol plant in Canton, Ill.. And that was just Tuesday.

Indeed, plans for as many as 50 new ethanol plants have been shelved in recent months, as Wall Street pulls back from the sector, says Paul Ho, a Credit Suisse investment banker specializing in alternative energy. Financing for new ethanol plants, Ho says, "has been shut down."

How can the ethanol industry be slumping only two months after Congress passed an energy bill most experts consider a biofuels boon? The answer is runaway corn prices.

Spurred by an ethanol plant construction binge, corn prices have gone stratospheric, soaring from below $2 a bushel in 2006 to over $5.25 a bushel today. As a result, it's become difficult for ethanol plants to make a healthy profit, even with oil at $100 a barrel.

Just look at Verasun (VSE). In the third quarter of 2007, Verasun's gross profit margin shrank from 37% to 12%, as its corn costs rose from $2.05 a bushel to $3.32 a bushel. And, remember, corn prices today are 60% higher than they were back then (whereas wholesale ethanol prices are up only 30%.)

The margin crunch now afflicting ethanol producers is something I predicted when I first wrote about the "Dot-Corn" boom in Fortune last March (see "The Great Corn Gold Rush" ). Here's an excerpt:

[In the summer of 2006] when corn was $2 a bushel and oil was $70 a barrel, ethanol plants were minting money. They averaged $1.06 in profit for every gallon of ethanol sold, according to Credit Suisse. Today, with oil at $60 and corn at $4, ethanol producers typically net an average of only 3 cents...

If corn spikes to $5 -- a real possibility, says A.G. Edwards commodities analyst Dan Vaught -- or oil declines to $50, ethanol's once-fantastic margins would turn negative. That possibility is creating tensions between ethanol producers and corn growers, two groups whose lobbyists are normally attached at the hip.

Looming over all this is a huge catch-22: $4 corn is a result of the 31 new ethanol plants built since 2005, but investors won't keep bankrolling new plants if $4 corn keeps eating up their profits

The shakeout was inevitable. That said, the ethanol business isn't going away, at least so long as the federal government continues to mandate the use of biofuels -- 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, up from 7 billion last year-and impose hefty tariffs on imported ethanol. There is an oversupply of ethanol right now, but the yearly increase in the biofuels mandate means that demand will eventually catch up with supply.

What probably has changed permanently are ethanol economics. The days of cheap corn are over, and the industry's new, lower profit margins clearly favor ethanol leader Archer Daniels Midland (ADM, Fortune 500) over all the smaller producers like Verasun, privately-held Poet Energy and the many, many farmer-owned ethanol cooperatives. ADM's massive 200 million-gallon-a-year ethanol plants simply have better economies of scale than their 50-gallon-a-day rivals. And the fact some of ADM's big plants run on coal instead of natural gas makes ADM's cost advantage that much greater.

Of course, I'm not saying anything that Wall Street doesn't already understand. Since the new energy bill was signed by President Bush on Dec. 19, Verasun and Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) are each down 38%.

And ADM? It's up 10%.

New Technology for developing countries... and perhaps the US.

2008-02-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

This is a great new technology, and at a relatively low cost. Hopefully it will spread very quickly in developing countries to help meet its needs for energy, much better for the environment than large fossil fuel plants. It will also be cheaper than building transmission lines and support infrastructure.

This also holds significant opportunity for the US. Many places in the US still use septic systems which could be modified, to capture the methane gas for later use... or immediate use. It would probably be done at a relatively low cost... and make the home energy independent.

Just as we use heating oil, natural gas, petro, coal, etc. We need to explore a wide assortment of technologies... to meet our current and future energy needs. This is just one that should be explored and developed.

CNN.Com/Fortune Magazine 2/27/08

Waste not, want not

Plastics maker Sintex seeks to solve India's energy and sanitation problems in one stroke - with an at-home biogas digester.

By Jeremy Kahn

(Fortune Magazine) -- Sintex Industries, a plastics and textiles manufacturer in Gujarat, India, is betting it can find profit in human waste. Its new biogas digester turns human excrement, cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity, simultaneously addressing two of India's major needs: energy and sanitation.

Sintex's digester uses bacteria to break down waste into sludge, much like a septic tank. In the process, the bacteria emit gases, mostly methane. But instead of being vented into the air, they are piped into a storage canister.

A one-cubic-meter digester, primed with cow dung to provide bacteria, can convert the waste generated by a four-person family into enough gas to cook all its meals and provide sludge for fertilizer. A model this size costs about $425 but will pay for itself in energy savings in less than two years. That's still a high price for most Indians, even though the government recently agreed to subsidize about a third of the cost for these family-sized units. "We want to create a new industry for portable sanitation in India that's not available now," says S.B. Dangayach, Sintex's managing director.

Government officials plan to end open defecation by 2012 (hundreds of millions of Indians use railroad tracks or other outdoor locales instead of toilets) and say biogas plants are part of the solution. A.R. Shukla, a scientific advisor in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, says India could support 12 million such plants, but only 3.9 million - mostly pricier models big enough to accommodate entire villages - have been installed to date. And last year the government fell far short of its target for new installations.

The future can be glimpsed on a dusty, rutted road in a poor South Delhi neighborhood. Here 1,000 people use an immaculately clean public toilet constructed by a nonprofit foundation, the Sulabh Sanitation Movement. The biogas digester attached to toilets provides cooking gas for a 600-student school and vocational-training program the foundation runs. In the past, nongovernmental organizations like Sulabh were the only ones offering biogas digesters.

But Sintex is hoping cities, real estate developers, building managers, and hospitals will jump at a ready-made way to harness the same energy.

Biogas digesters are just a small fraction of Sintex's business. The company has installed only about 100 of them. But it plans to increase investment and production tenfold in the coming year. That growth potential has helped Sintex stock more than double this past year. Human waste may be a stinky business, but to investors it smells like money.

A Sintex digester can turn manure into fuel for cooking and electricity.

Wind Energy Transmission

2008-02-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

Whether it is transmission lines or ethanol stations it seems the distribution system for alternative energy and fuels needs to pick up the pace of development. Alternatively, the existing distribution system needs to embrace the new sources of energy.

What would it hurt for a station to dedicate one pump to ethanol fuel... they do it today with diesel. It would expand their customer base. Electric utility companies should also look at rerouting their power as to free up capacity for renewable sources of electricity. Yes it would take effort ... but its the right thing to do.

Government also needs to put up money to speed the development of distribution systems. The recently passed economic stimulus program should have included spending on infrastructure projects... which would have created jobs... and spending... just as they are attempting to do on the consumer side.

It takes time for new systems to be developed... and for change to be truly engendered. Its a slow process... however, everything we can do to speed the process should be done ... today.

USA Today 2/26/08

Wind energy confronts shortage of transmission lines

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

As wind farms sprout across the country, they're kicking up a new quandary: how to zap the electricity to homes and businesses that need it.

The USA's wind-power boom, especially in rural parts of Texas, the Midwest and California, is poised to outstrip the capacity of high-voltage lines to send the electricity hundreds of miles to population centers such as Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The transmission-line shortage is threatening to slow wind energy's breakneck growth and could prevent some states from meeting renewable energy mandates.

Wind power depends on a robust transmission grid. Wind farms are in remote reaches where gusts are strongest, while the greatest power demand is in cities.

Until now, wind developers have piggybacked on existing wires, says analyst Stow Walker of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. But after wind energy soared 45% last year, spare transmission capacity is depleted. Wind power generates more than 1% of U.S. electricity.

Stringing new wires is easier said than done. Wind developers won't go ahead with projects until transmission lines are in place, and utilities are loath to build the lines until they're sure the developers won't back out. Also, the first wind developer in an area is often asked to shoulder much of the $1.5 million-per-mile cost of a high-voltage line.

In Texas, which has about 25% of U.S. wind power, more eye-popping growth in 2008 is expected to push generation past transmission capacity by 65% by year's end, says Bill Bojorquez, vice president of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, a power-grid manager.

Wind farms will have to compete to be among the lowest bidders to get on the grid, leaving others off. "Clearly we don't want to build wind farms and have them not run," says Horizon Wind Energy executive Denise Hill.

In southwest Minnesota, dozens of wind projects have been proposed to serve the Twin Cities. Even if just 30% of them, with 7,500 megawatts of capacity, are developed, that would far outpace the 2,000 megawatts of transmission capacity planned.

Similar bottlenecks are stalling wind farms in the Midwest, Southwest and California. Compounding the standoff: Some states don't want residents paying for lines that will largely benefit neighboring states. As a result, utilities in several Midwestern states may not meet mandates for clean energy to make up about 20% of their energy mix by 2020, says Clair Moeller, an executive for the Midwest grid operator.

Xcel Energy, a Midwest utility, says it can't raise money for transmission lines that might not carry any juice. "You're committing $1 billion in capital in the hope the cost recovery will come, and that's a tough proposition," says Paul Bonavia, head of Xcel's utilities group.

To break the logjam, officials in Texas, the Southwest, Minnesota and California plan to spread transmission-line costs among multiple wind developers or utilities. But that won't offer near-term relief. A wind farm can be built in 18 months, while a transmission line can take five to 10 years.

Ethanol Stations

2008-02-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

We need more ethanol stations nationwide. Please read the article below. It is absolutely incredible that there is only 3 ethanol stations in California. Absolutely amazing. We need more distribution.... yesterday.

It only costs approximately $300 to convert your car to accept ethanol. The price of a nice dinner out with your family. Many energy conscious people would glad start using ethanol if they could.... if it were readily available.

At one point Walmart was considering selling ethanol at its stores nationwide. I hope they are continuing to pursue this... especially since they also have garages and could convert existing gasoline engines for its customers. .... target, costco, sears and others should also consider this as a way of serving their customers.

We need more distribution... so whether its traditional gas stations ... or less traditional locations, we need it yesterday.

USA Today 2/27/08

Ethanol stations remain few and far between

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — The ethanol industry has a problem, but you wouldn't have known it Tuesday from the line of big, thirsty vehicles snaking down the street from a single service station.

Most states still have few places that sell the industry's highly touted E85 fuel (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) even though there are an estimated 6.8 million cars and trucks on the road capable of burning the mixture.

Here in the motoring mecca of Los Angeles, there's exactly one E85 station to serve consumers. It is one of just three open to the public in all of California.

Thanks to a promotion subsidized by General Motors (GM), drivers lined up their SUVs, pickups and minivans for a blessed two hours of E85 priced at 85.9 cents a gallon — a far cry from the $2.999 a gallon that Conserv Fuel in the tony Brentwood section of the city usually charges.

"I've been waiting to get a station out here," said Keira Lowery, 28, of Los Angeles as she filled up her Dodge Caravan minivan. Some waited more than half an hour.

Promotions like this one have been staged around the country to raise awareness of E85, plugged as a home-grown, environmentally sound fuel. But even officials of GM, which makes the most flex-fuel vehicles that can burn E85, say they are frustrated by the slow rollout of pumps around the country.

"We're trying to bring attention to the fact we need more stations," said Clay Okabayashi, a GM executive who was on hand at the event.

The Corn Belt has most of the E85 pumps. Of the 1,490 U.S. stations with E85, 89 are in Iowa, 169 in Illinois and 342 in Minnesota, according to the tally kept by the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. But there are just four stations in Utah and one each in Montana, Massachusetts and Delaware.

The slow growth of the E85 stations contrasts with this season's huge corn plantings and the continued opening of ethanol plants, many near the corn.

While more pumps are located near ethanol plants, red tape is also a problem. In California, the coalition blames California air-quality officials for holding up installation of E85 pumps in a dispute about permits for their vapor recovery systems.

"The problem is distribution and overcoming some laws and regulatory hurdles," says Phil Lampert, the coalition's executive director.

Vapor-recovery issues have been ironed out with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Local air-pollution districts will soon be cleared to allow more E85 stations, says Dimitri Stanich of the California Air Resources Board.

That could make customers happy.

Jesse Lopez, 37, a freight manager in Los Angeles, says he'll consider filling up his pickup more often on E85. He says he's spending $80 a week on gasoline now. As for E85, "It depends on the price and how it burns" in the truck, he says.

And Daniel Ochoa, 30, a store clerk from Los Angeles, says he bought his truck in hopes that he could fill it with E85, but he never before had the chance to try it. He says he knew the day would come.

Wind Electricity -- Texas Success Story

2008-02-25T22:12:00.000-08:00

Kudos to Texas. "Texas has reached the point that more than 3 percent of its electricity, enough to supply power to one million homes, comes from wind turbines."

This is absolutely amazing. While we still have a way to go, this is helping the US move in the right direction. Every bit helps as we move toward renewable and alternative sources of energy.

New York Times 2/23/08

Move Over, Oil, There’s Money in Texas Wind

Brian Harkin for The New York Times

Jim Albert, front, and Jerry Tuttle, General Electric wind technicians, perch atop a turbine in Sweetwater, Tex. The turbines stand as high as 20-story buildings.

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

Published: February 23, 2008

Hidden Power

Articles in this series will periodically examine the ways in which the world is, and is not, moving toward a more energy efficient, environmentally benign future.

Wind Power in Texas

Graphic

From Oil to Wind

Brian Harkin for The New York Times

Louis Brooks is paid $500 a month for each turbine he permits on his property. More Photos »

SWEETWATER, Tex. — The wind turbines that recently went up on Louis Brooks’s ranch are twice as high as the Statue of Liberty, with blades that span as wide as the wingspan of a jumbo jet. More important from his point of view, he is paid $500 a month apiece to permit 78 of them on his land, with 76 more on the way.

“That’s just money you’re hearing,” he said as they hummed in a brisk breeze recently.

Texas, once the oil capital of North America, is rapidly turning into the capital of wind power. After breakneck growth the last three years, Texas has reached the point that more than 3 percent of its electricity, enough to supply power to one million homes, comes from wind turbines.

Texans are even turning tapped-out oil fields into wind farms, and no less an oilman than Boone Pickens is getting into alternative energy.

“I have the same feelings about wind,” Mr. Pickens said in an interview, “as I had about the best oil field I ever found.” He is planning to build the biggest wind farm in the world, a $10 billion behemoth that could power a small city by itself.

Wind turbines were once a marginal form of electrical generation. But amid rising concern about greenhouse gases from coal-burning power plants, wind power is booming. Installed wind capacity in the United States grew 45 percent last year, albeit from a small base, and a comparable increase is expected this year.

At growth rates like that, experts said, wind power could eventually make an important contribution to the nation’s electrical supply. It already supplies about 1 percent of American electricity, powering the equivalent of 4.5 million homes. Environmental advocates contend it could eventually hit 20 percent, as has already happened in Denmark. Energy consultants say that 5 to 7 percent is a more realistic goal in this country.

The United States recently overtook Spain as the world’s second-largest wind power market, after Germany, with $9 billion invested last year. A recent study by Emerging Energy Research, a consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass., projected $65 billion in investment from 2007 to 2015.

Despite the attraction of wind as a nearly pollution-free power source, it does have limitations. Though the gap is closing, electricity from wind remains costlier than that generated from fossil fuels. Moreover, wind power is intermittent and unpredictable, and the hottest days, when electricity is needed most, are usually not windy.

The turbines are getting bigger and their blades can kill birds and bats. Aesthetic and wildlife issues have led to opposition emerging around the country, particularly in coastal areas like Cape Cod. Some opposition in Texas has cropped up as well, including lawsuits to halt wind farms that were thought to be eyesores or harmful to wetlands.

But the opposition has been limited, and has done little to slow the rapid growth of wind power in Texas. Some Texans see the sleek new turbines as a welcome change in the landscape.

“Texas has been looking at oil and gas rigs for 100 years, and frankly, wind turbines look a little nicer,” said Jerry Patterson, the Texas land commissioner, whose responsibilities include leasing state lands for wind energy development. “We’re No. 1 in wind in the United States, and that will never change.”

Texas surpassed California as the top wind farm state in 2006. In January alone, new wind farms representing $700 million of investment went into operation in Texas, supplying power sufficient for 100,000 homes.

Supporters say Texas is ideal for wind-power development, not just because it is windy. It also has sparsely populated land for wind farms, fast-growing cities and a friendly regulatory environment for developers.

“Texas could be a model for the entire nation,” said Patrick Woodson, a senior development executive with E.On, a German utility operating here.

The quaint windmills of old have been replaced by turbines that stand as high as 20-story buildings, each capable of generating electricity for small communities. Powerful turbines are able to capture power even when the wind is relatively weak, and they help to lower the cost per kilowatt hour.

Much of the boom in the United States is being driven by foreign power companies with experience developing wind projects, including Iberdrola of Spain, Energias de Portugal and Windkraft Nord of Germany. Foreign companies own two-thirds of the wind projects under construction in Texas.

A short-term threat to the growth of wind power is the looming expiration of federal clean-energy tax credits, which Congress has allowed to lapse several times over the years. Advocates have called for extending those credits and eventually enacting a national renewable-power standard that would oblige states to expand their use of clean power sources.

A longer-term problem is potential bottlenecks in getting wind power from the places best equipped to produce it to the populous areas that need electricity. The part of the United States with the highest wind potential is a corridor stretching north from Texas through the middle of the country, including sparsely populated states like Montana and the Dakotas. Power is needed most in the dense cities of the coasts, but building new transmission lines over such long distances is certain to be expensive and controversial.

“We need a national vision for transmission like we have with the national highway system,” said Robert Gramlich, policy director for the American Wind Energy Association. “We have to get over the hump of having a patchwork of electric utility fiefdoms.”

Texas is better equipped to deal with the transmission problems that snarl wind energy in other states because a single agency operates the electrical grid and manages the deregulated utility market in most of the state.

Last July, the Texas Public Utility Commission approved transmission lines across the state capable of delivering as much as 25,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2012, presuming the boom continues. That would be five times the wind power generated in the state today, and it would drive future national growth.

Shell and the TXU Corporation are planning to build a 3,000-megawatt wind farm north of here in the Texas Panhandle, leapfrogging two FPL Energy Texas wind farms to become the biggest in the world.

Not to be outdone, Mr. Pickens is planning his own 150,000-acre Panhandle wind farm of 4,000 megawatts that would be even larger and cost him $10 billion.

“I like wind because it’s renewable and it’s clean and you know you are not going to be dealing with a production decline curve,” Mr. Pickens said. “Decline curves finally wore me out in the oil business.”

At the end of 2007, Texas ranked No. 1 in the nation with installed wind power of 4,356 megawatts (and 1,238 under construction), far outdistancing California’s 2,439 megawatts (and 165 under construction). Minnesota and Iowa came in third and fourth with almost 1,300 megawatts each (and 46 and 116 under construction, respectively).

Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado and Oregon, states with smaller populations than Texas, all get 5 to 8 percent of their power from wind farms, according to estimates by the American Wind Energy Association.

It has dawned on many Texans in recent years that wind power, whatever its other pros and cons, represents a potent new strategy for rural economic development.

Since the wind boom began a few years ago, the total value of property here in Nolan County has doubled, and the county judge, Tim Fambrough, estimated it would increase an additional 25 percent this year. County property taxes are going down, home values are going up and the county has extra funds to remodel the courthouse and improve road maintenance.

“Wind reminds us of the old oil and gas booms,” Mr. Fambrough said.

Teenagers who used to flee small towns like Sweetwater after high school are sticking around to take technical courses in local junior colleges and then work on wind farms. Marginal ranches and cotton farms are worth more with wind turbines on them.

“I mean, even the worst days for wind don’t compare to the busts in the oil business,” said Bobby Clark, a General Electric wind technician who gave up hauling chemicals in the oil fields southwest of here to live and work in Sweetwater. “I saw my daddy go from rags to riches and back in the oil business, and I sleep better.”

Wind companies are remodeling abandoned buildings, and new stores, hotels and restaurants have opened around this old railroad town.

Dandy’s Western Wear, the local cowboy attire shop, cannot keep enough python skin and cowhide boots in stock because of all the Danes and Germans who have come to town to invest and work in the wind fields, then take home Texas souvenirs.

“Wind has invigorated our business like you wouldn’t believe,” said Marty Foust, Dandy’s owner, who recently put in new carpeting and air-conditioning. “When you watch the news you can get depressed about the economy, but we don’t get depressed. We’re now in our own bubble.”

Hybrid-Electric Vehicles

2008-02-25T21:59:00.000-08:00

I added new information today to the AltEnergyStation.com web site with information on how hybrid-electric vehicles work. Hybrids are gaining in popularity and is a great near term option for us all, as we try to reduce our energy consumption.

Numerous people have indicated to me that it isn't the best solution. I agree with that, however, until a better technological solution becomes available, its a good option, compared with doing nothing.

I also read today that a company in France is developing a diesel hybrid-electric vehicle, another good option... especially when you consider using biodiesel. Hopefully this technology will be available soon.

Click here to read.... http://altenergystation.com/Hybrid-Electric_Vehicles.html

Wind Energy Credits

2008-02-25T21:36:00.000-08:00

While this article is over a year old, I thought it was worthy of posting again. We all need to support, with our business, those companies that are doing their part to move towards alternative energy.

Kudos to Whole Foods.

Posted 1/9/2006 11:13 PM Updated 1/10/2006 1:22 AM

Whole Foods goes with the wind

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

Whole Foods Market is about to put some serious wind in its sales.

The trend-setting, natural foods grocery chain on Wednesday will announce plans to become the largest buyer of wind energy credits in North America by purchasing credits equal to 100% of its projected energy use for 2006.

That will make Whole Foods the only Fortune 500 company to purchase renewable energy credits — which subsidize the production of energy from renewable sources such as wind — to offset 100% of its electricity use, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says.

"In the corporate world, this is huge," says Kurt Johnson, head of the EPA's Green Power Partnership. "When a market leader does something like this, others will emulate."

Like most businesses, Whole Foods can't get its power directly from renewable energy sources. Instead, it is contracting to purchase 458,000 megawatt-hours of the renewable energy credits.

One credit represents one megawatt-hour of electricity from renewable sources. Producers of such energy sell the credits through brokers; the proceeds help offset the additional cost of generating electricity that way rather than by burning fuels such as coal.

Wind energy is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the USA. The Whole Foods purchase will help avoid more than 700 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution in 2006, says the EPA. That's the rough equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road, the EPA says.

"From a branding perspective, it's a stroke of genius," says Barbara Brooks, president of the Strategy Group, a consulting firm. "It shows they understand where their customers are coming from not only nutritionally, but environmentally."

Whole Foods declined to state what it spends on utilities or what it's paying for the wind credits. In the 41 states with programs to promote credits, residential customers typically pay a 2-cent premium per kilowatt hour for them, while many business customers pay a 1-cent premium or less, says Lori Bird, senior energy analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a Department of Energy contractor.

Whole Foods' purchase equals 458 million kilowatt hours, and it gets no tax advantage for it.

The move comes at a time when more Fortune 500 companies are trying to project a "greener" image, including General Electric, whose CEO Jeffrey Immelt recently pledged to decrease pollution and double R&D spending on cleaner technologies.

Whole Foods isn't doing this altruistically. Most grocery stores are massive users of energy. As the 180-store chain grows, Whole Foods is increasingly being asked by its environmentally minded customers and employees what it is doing to limit energy waste, says Michael Besancon, the regional president overseeing the chain's green efforts.

"We're looking to show our customers and team members that we walk our talk," says Besancon.

Requests to help wind energy showed up on Whole Foods customer comment cards, says Quayle Hodek, CEO of Renewable Choice Energy, from whom the chain bought its credits. "Comments like, 'Wind power is cool,' matter to (Whole Foods) because it matters to their customers."

Diesel-like gasoline engines - 15% higher Fuel Economy

2007-08-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Another reason to celebrate. 15% better fuel economy from gasoline engines. While the article doesn't indicate it, I hope that this new technology will enable ethanol fuel cars to also get the increased fuel economy.

American auto companies... are only just now 'getting it'. American drivers want fuel efficient cars,they don't want to expend such a large portion of their wallet on energy.

GM unveils diesel-like gasoline engines

Drivable concept versions of General Motors cars that use efficient new engines with HCCI technology revealed Friday.

August 24 2007: 3:07 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors revealed two drivable concept cars with new engines that burn gasoline in virtually the same way that a diesel engine burns diesel fuel.

The engines will get 15-percent better fuel economy than ordinary gasoline engines, GM estimates, but will not need the expensive exhaust treatment that diesel engines require.

GM is revealing the fuel saving diesel-like gasoline engine in a version of the Saturn Aura.

Several car companies have been working on this type of engine technology, commonly known as homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI. The technology promises the fuel economy of a diesel engine, which is typically much more efficient than a gasoline engine, but with the much cleaner exhaust of a gasoline engine.

In an HCCI engine, gasoline is ignited inside the cylinder using compression and the engine's own heat without the need of a spark. This is the same way that a diesel engine ignites diesel fuel. (When the engine is first started, and until it warms up, GM's HCCI engine still uses a spark to ignite the fuel.)

This type of ignition results in more energy to propel the vehicle because the fuel burns with less heat and light, which wastes energy, and because there is more compression when the fuel is ignited and, therefore, more of a push when the fuel and air expand.

"I remember debating the limits of combustion capability when I was in college," Tom Stephens, group vice president, GM Powertrain and Quality, said in a company statement. "HCCI was just a dream then. Today, using math-based predictive analysis and other tools, we are beginning to see how we can make this technology real."

The vehicles GM showed Friday are a Saturn Aura and an Opel Vectra, two virtually identical mid-sized sedans, both equipped with 180-horsepower 2.2-liter four cylinder HCCI engines.

They can drive at up to roughly 55 miles per hour using diesel-like ignition but will have to rely on traditional spark ignition at higher speeds or under heavy loads, GM said.

"Perhaps the biggest challenge of HCCI is controlling the combustion process," said Dr. Uwe Grebe, executive director for GM Powertrain Advanced Engineering.

Engineers hope to increase operating range under HCCI and improve performance under cold weather and high-altitude conditions, the company said.

Federal Renewable Power Targets....

2007-08-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is great news and hopefully the House and Senate will pass this legislation and the President signs it. It would be a landmark piece of legislation.

It is a small target, having the utilities get 15% of their power from renewable sources by 2020. An achievable target. What I find interesting is that no one is saying its a technical impossibility. The argument are all about costs. What I believe we should be asking ourselves is 'what is the cost of not doing this'. In a previous post I pointed out that Europe was ahead of the US on this. They have targets in place now.

We all need to support these targets. ----

Today I posted information on Net Metering to the Altenergystation.com web site. Net Metering are state policies on how consumers and businesses can add their excess renewable energy generation into the power grid. Consumer electric generation can help the utility companies achieve these achievable targets.

Renewable power hits your wallet

Most experts say utility bills will go up, but not by much, if a provision in the House energy bill becomes law.

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer

August 23 2007: 1:22 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- If a bill that recently passed the House of Representatives becomes law, soon every American would have to pay a little extra for renewable power each month in their utility bill.

The house bill would require most utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2020.

Special Reportfull coverage

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Europeans at the gate

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Anecdotal evidence from one utility says some Americans, about 20 percent, are willing to pay about 8 percent more for this power. Yet when given the option, only about 5 percent of people actually sign up.

So are people in for a big shock if the bill becomes law? The answer varies depending on who's asked.

"We're very concerned about the rate impact our customers are going to see when this mandate hits them in the pocket book," said Stan Wise, a commissioner with the Georgia Public Utilities Commission.

Europeans at the gate

But like most experts in the energy field, he couldn't put a dollar amount on what the House bill might cost consumers if it became law.

Obviously, the cost to consumers will vary depending on the abundance of renewable resources in each region.

Wise, like many commissioners from Southeastern states, opposes a federal renewable requirement on the grounds that it unfairly hits Southeastern states, which he says do not have an abundance of wind resources. Wind is one of the cheapest ways of generating large amounts of renewable power.

But proponents of the bill, who argue its needed to foster investment in renewable power and move the country away from a reliance on fossil fuels, say the Southeast could buy the power from other areas, or simply pay a fee to subsidize renewable power in other regions, thereby "offsetting" their own emissions of carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas.

About half the states currently have a law requiring the purchase of renewable power, and North Carolina's may provide some insight on just how much it's expected to cost. The state recently required its utilities to get 12.5 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2021, a less ambitious plan than the one offered in the House.

North Carolina's law also caps the amount that customers can be charged for the renewable power. In 2008, the cap is $10 per year, increasing to $34 per year by 2015.

On an $80 a month electric bill, the average in the state, that's about a 3.5 percent increase by 2015.

"As a percentage of their bill, it's not a big hit," said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Duke Energy (Charts, Fortune 500), the state's big utility. Still, whether the state can achieve even its modest goal with such a small rate increase is yet to be seen.

Others in the industry think a renewable power law will actually decrease prices in the long run.

Hitting the House's 15 percent by 2020 proposal will require a nationwide investment of $134 billion, according to a recent study by the energy consultants Wood Mackenzie.

But renewable power would take some of the pressure off the demand for natural gas, currently used to generate about 20 percent of the nation's power and eyed as a big source for future generation needs.

The reduced demand for natural gas should lower its price, and Mackenzie estimates the savings could be as much as $240 billion by 2026.

"Over the long run, there is a net benefit to it," said William Durbin, head of global gas and power research at Mackenzie.

In the short run, Durbin said the up front investment to build the renewable power would cost consumers.

He couldn't say how much more people could expect to pay, but said it's likely to be closer to 5 or 10 percent rather than, say, 50 percent.

Others don't agree with the Mackenzie study.

"I think [the bill] would increase the cost," said Michael Allman, president of Sempra Generation, although he said there were too many other variables to predict exactly by how much.

Sempra Generation, a unit of California-based Sempra Energy (Charts, Fortune 500), runs four natural gas power plants in the Southwest.

Allman's argument implies that if natural gas prices really did spike, people would build more renewable capacity without a mandate from the federal government.

"When you constrain something, it has never been good," he said.

The House bill is set to be conferenced this fall with a Senate version, where a renewable energy mandate failed earlier this year.

Georgia goes Ethanol...

2007-08-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

I believe it is great that ethanol is being developed across the nation. Below you will see some of my comments on this article... I am particularly excited about ethanol since it can be used in gasoline engines/cars with the use of an ethanol converter... which only costs $300 ... now... but as more people use, i'm certain the cost will decline.

I know that ethanol isn't perfect... but the fact that we can convert millions of cars on the road today... I believe is a good thing. Check out altenergystation.com and you can find a link to a site where you can buy an ethanol converter.

Midwest, move over: Ga. joins the ethanol gold rush


Enlarge	By Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Antawon Randall fills up a 2007 Chevrolet Impala with E85 flex-fuel at the Cheveron station in Washington, D.C.

By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

TIFTON, Ga. — Looking out at a mound of tree tops, limbs and leaves just discarded from a harvest of 45-foot high pines, Devon Dartnell sees fuel, lots of it, to run Georgia's 8 million vehicles.

"See this?" he asks, pointing to rotted trees and scattered underbrush on a 300-acre tree farm. "This is very usable for biofuels."

Dartnell, the biomass program manager for Georgia's Forestry Commission, is thinking about one fuel in particular: ethanol.

With its 25 million acres of forest second only to Oregon, Georgia is setting itself up to lead the ethanol revolution. The state not only wants to produce and sell corn ethanol, which until recently has been confined to Midwestern corn-growing states, it wants to lead the way for cellulosic ethanol, which is made from organic matter such as trees, plants, peanut shells and sugar cane.

Amid concerns over high oil prices and the environmental impact of fossil fuels, Georgia is among a handful of states outside the Corn Belt that are joining the gold rush for ethanol, an alcohol fuel that many hope can lessen the country's dependency on gasoline.

Backed by federal subsidies for producing and selling ethanol, the states are adding their own incentives to attract ethanol producers and convince retailers to install pumps selling the alternative fuel.

New York offers a 15-cents-per-gallon tax credit for producers of biofuels, including E85, after they produce their first 40,000 gallons. Georgia has tax credits for equipment and expedites permits and other paperwork. Next year, South Carolina will return to drivers the first $300 they spend on E85.

More gas stations beginning to offer it

The number of gas stations offering E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, has almost tripled in the past two years to nearly 1,200. The market, though, is still less than 1% of the nation's 170,000 gas stations.

Colorado has 29 stations with E85 pumps and expects to see another 21 open by the end of the year. New York just opened two retail E85 pumps. South Carolina, with 37, has the most outside the Midwest.

Several, including Texas, California and Georgia, are attracting corn and cellulosic ethanol producers.

Louisiana is opening its first cellulosic ethanol plant, which by 2010 is expected to produce about 20 million gallons of ethanol a year from the pulp left over after sugar is extracted from the cane.

"All the stars are lining up," says Michael Olivier, Louisiana's economic development secretary. "It's an evolution. … In the long term, those states that are engaged in the biodiesel, biomass energy process, they will be the winners."

Last year, the United States produced almost 6 billion gallons of ethanol, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. Construction of another 77 plants is expected to double production by next year, says Bob Dinneen, the association's president.

Georgia wants to lead the pack. It is launching a dizzying number of projects to eventually help the state produce about a quarter of the fuel used by its residents, says Jill Stuckey, the director of alternative fuels.

Before Katrina hit two years ago and threatened Georgia's oil pipelines and gas supplies, Stuckey was a bit like the Maytag repairman; there wasn't much buzz around her work. After Katrina, "Suddenly I was popular," she says.

Stuckey traverses the state for locations to entice biofuel companies, which make fuel derived from organic matter, to invest in Georgia. One of her big catches is Range Fuels, a Colorado company that plans to open a plant next year in southern Georgia that will make 20 million gallons of ethanol a year using the state's vast timber inventory.

Right now, Georgia has only one ethanol producer, in Baconton, where Wind Gap Farms has been churning out about 500,000 gallons a year for two decades. Ethanol is a byproduct of its primary business, drying yeast from beer waste that it sells to make pet food.

For years, the company couldn't give the ethanol away, says manager Des Stewart. "The market is growing," he says. "Two years ago all our alcohol went out of Georgia, but it is now all sold here."

As they begin to see more ethanol at the pump, motorists are trying to figure out what to make of it.

In Georgia, Tesha Moore of Atlanta fills up a 2007 Chrysler Aspen at one of the three stations in the state that offers E85. "I don't know anything at all about it, but it's cheaper," she says. "We'll see how it does."

E85, though, has a long way to go.

Only 6 million cars, called "flex-fuel," can run on ethanol or gasoline. Car companies have pledged to make half their fleet flex-fuel by 2012. Also, E85, on average, costs 13% less per gallon than gasoline, but it reduces mileage by as much as 25%.

Concerns about energy use, air pollution

The speed with which Georgia and other states are moving to produce and sell ethanol worries some environmentalists and air-quality activists, who are concerned about the fuel's impact on air pollution and the amount of energy it takes to produce ethanol, particularly corn ethanol.

Debate swirls around conflicting studies that show ethanol reduces carbon emissions that produce greenhouse gases but increases nitrogen oxide and volatile organic gases that contribute to smog.

One study, by Argonne National Laboratory, a research arm of the Energy Department, found that corn ethanol can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars by 18% to 29% and cellulosic ethanol can reduce emissions by up to 86%. However, a study at Stanford University found that ethanol was unlikely to improve air quality and that if all cars ran on ethanol by 2020, there would be an increase in certain air pollutants, such as acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, that would cause a rise in asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

A study at Cornell University that questions ethanol's environment-friendly halo found that corn ethanol takes up to 40% more energy to produce than it provides as a fuel.

"Biomass in general will not provide us with all the fuel we need," says David Pimentel, an agriculture professor who wrote the Cornell study. "I don't think it will be the savior we've been hearing about."

morefice wrote: <1m>

To reduce our dependence on oil... we need to try everything... allow everything to develop...hyrdrogen, ethanol, biodiesel, electric, natural gas... etc. We have used gasoline autos for close to 100 years now. To make a dramatic change we need to support the development of numerous technologies.

I am particularly excited about ethanol, because its a fuel that EXISTING gasoline cars and trucks can use with an ethanol converter. For most cars it costs about $300. We have a large base of cars on the road. We need to address new cars as well as existing cars on the road. Ethanol does that. The web site, www.altenergystation.com has a link to purchase an ethanol converter... as well as a link to a locator so you can find the ethanol station closest to you... check it out.... www.altenergystation.com

Nissan Adds 'fuel-efficiency' Meter.....

2007-08-22T11:25:00.001-07:00

This is a great feature being added by Nissan to all models.... see my comments below... one of my biggest frustrations is why is a foreign automaker leading the way... why are American Auto makers following.... We must abandon our past and more aggressively forward to grow alternative and renewable fuel cars and trucks and in the mean time... make every effort to make cars that are more fuel efficient and empower drivers to use less when they drive.

Nissan to put lead-foot gauge on all models


Enlarge	Nissan

Nissan's fuel-efficiency meters (like this one below the speedometer) will allow drivers to see the effect of a lead foot.

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

Nissan (NSANY) plans to equip all of its cars and trucks with a gauge to tell drivers when they are being gas-guzzling lead foots.

The "fuel-efficiency" meter, as the gauge is called, shows up already as a horizontal bar in the instrument cluster of the 2007 Nissan Altima and the 2008 Titan pickup, Armada SUV, Infiniti G35 car and QX56 SUV. When coasting down a hill, the meter is long and orange, meaning little fuel is being used. When the pedal is to the metal, the line shortens dramatically.

"You will become a little less lead-footed if you can see what putting your foot to the pedal does to your fuel economy," suggests Nissan spokesman Tony Pearson.

Similar gauges are found on some models by other automakers, especially hybrid and luxury vehicles. But Nissan's move to put them on every model demonstrates how automakers are racing to be fuel conscious as high gasoline prices weigh more heavily on consumers.

Based on in-house tests, Nissan predicts drivers will cut their fuel use by about 10% when they have a gauge that monitors their driving habits. The gauge will be phased in as new models roll out over the next few years.

Environmentalists are encouraged.

"It shouldn't be just wealthy people with luxury cars that have this information," says Tim Carmichael, senior director of policy for the Coalition for Clean Air. "I hope the rest of the industry follows them."

David Friedman, research director for the vehicles program of the Union for Concerned Scientists, says Nissan is making a "common-sense thing that should have been done decades ago so you know what you're getting" when it comes to fuel mileage.

Ford Motor (F) and General Motors (GM) combine their gas-mileage information in a "driver information center" that not only shows gas use at the moment but over the length of a trip. On Ford's Mustang and its pickups, the feature comes as part of optional, higher-cost trim levels.

Toyota's (TM) readout on vehicles such as Prius, Avalon, Camry and Highlander goes all the way to 99 miles per gallon.

Honda (HMC) has a gauge on its hybrids, but in addition, it has a simplified "eco light" on some gas-powered models, including Odyssey minivan, Pilot SUV and Accord sedan. It lights when the vehicle is being driven at its optimum. "Our customers tell us it's a helpful tool," says Honda's Sage Marie.

Some automakers worry that the gauge could add another layer of distraction to the dashboard. "We're already putting in so many features for the driver," says Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa. Chrysler will have the gauges on its new hybrid models.

morefice wrote:

I think this is a excellent auto feature. I hope that all world automakers begin to add this to all new cars. I would also like to see a retrofit device created for all existing autos. If given a choice, consumers will use less fuel..they will modify their driving behavior to save fuel, especially it just requires them to drive differently....not less.

Check out the web site http://www.altenergystation.com for information on alternative and renewable fuel cars and trucks. Its the direction we need to move towards...but until that time ... everything we can do to use less gas should be supported.

A side benefit of this also might be fewer auto accidents and fewer fatalities.

Slowing Demand for Gas....

2007-08-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

It appears that the growth is slowing. This is great news...if its true. A statistic below is extremely interesting. Gas sales represent 3% of the nations economic activity. Wow. This really is significant when you consider that many forces influences the price we pay for gas.

Kicking the gas habit

Demand growth is slowing, not long after prices hit a record $3.23 a gallon, but it may be too early to call it a trend.

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer

August 21 2007: 12:48 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- American motorists may have finally eased up on the gasoline habit.

After years of strong demand despite record high prices, there's evidence that the rate of growth in gas consumption is easing. Whether last spring's spike above $3 made a difference, the recent credit worries have crimped demand, or if the decline is merely a statistical blip remains to be seen.

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ut one fact is clear. Demand for gasoline in the United States grew just 0.4 percent in the latest four weeks from a year earlier, according to the Energy information Administration, which polls refineries and wholesalers to gauge the amount of fuel sent to filling stations, down from 1.4 percent growth just five weeks earlier.

The average rate of growth over the last decade or so is about 1.5 percent, according to the federal agency.

Survey: Gas prices drop a dime

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry organization that also uses refining and wholesale numbers, said demand grew 0.6 percent in July from a year earlier, compared to 1.3 percent in May and a whopping 3.7 percent in June.

And MasterCard SpendingPulse, a research unit at the credit card company that estimates demand at the pump based on credit card purchases, said gasoline demand grew at a rate of 1.6 percent last week, down from growth of 4.3 percent six weeks ago.

While the trend seems fairly clear, experts gave a variety of reasons why demand growth may be cooling.

A drop in demand growth could mean cheaper prices at the pump, as traders have long cited strong demand in the U.S. as a main reason for high oil and gas prices.

Gas prices are of course closely watched by everyone who drives. But they also are a key part of the economy: At $3 a gallon, gasoline sales account for about 3 percent of the nation's total economic activity.

While average gasoline prices peaked at an all-time recorded of $3.227 a gallon back in May, according to AAA, at Tuesday's average of $2.78 they are still historically high.

The high prices could finally be curbing demand.

"People drove less because they thought they were having their collective pants taken down by the oil companies," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the research group Oil Price Information Service.

But like others, Kloza said to not put too much stock in the numbers.

"We just see fluctuations from week to week, I'm not ready to call it a trend yet," said Ron Planting, an economist at American Petroleum Institute.

Planting noted that despite the recent slowdown in growth, demand is still up about 1.6 percent so far this year, up slightly from the previous two years.

Michael McNamara, director of research for MasterCard SpendingPulse, said the drop in demand growth is consistent with a slowdown in retail spending and the slowdown in the economy this year.

As for high prices curbing demand, "It has an effect, but I don't think there is one magic number," said McNamara.

At EIA, senior oil market analyst Doug MacIntyre said the demand growth numbers may appear small because last year demand was so high.

Also, MacIntyre said, the last month has seen either very hot or very wet weather across many parts of the country, and that may have kept people from driving more.

Regarding whether high prices are convincing people to stay at home more, MacIntyre said "It's certainly something worth watching, but I'm not ready to say it's a big factor just yet."

Advances in Solar Cells

2007-08-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

There continues to be many advances in solar cells... article below talks about how solar cells are being designed to look and act like roof shingles. Hopefully one day... roofing material will include a solar energy component.

Latest Solar Cells Look Like Regular Roof Shingles

Friday, June 22, 2007

By Lamont Wood

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Photovoltaic cells designed to resemble wood roofing shingles, at least from a distance.

For instance, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been testing various forms of photovoltaic roofing products for the past year on roofs in Maryland to calibrate their output.

Brian Dougherty, project manager, said the test includes tile (popular in the Southwest), slate (popular in Europe) and shingle (popular everywhere). All of them have inactive areas where the roofer can drive nails and not short out any circuits.The result of the NIST test, expected later this year, will be a technical report on the underlying technologies rather than a buyer's guide to brand names, Dougherty said.

Tired of your roof just soaking up rays and not pulling its load? You're not alone.

Increasing numbers of people are putting their roofs to work generating electricity. And that does not necessarily mean installing unsightly steel-and-glass solar energy modules.

Today you can get photovoltaic shingles (or tile, or slate) that will do the job and still look like a roof.

But he said that efficiency ranges from 6 percent of the incoming solar power being converted to electricity, to about 16 percent.

"Shingles are just getting started — most of the market is still roof-mounted modules," cautioned Paul Maycock, president of Photovoltaic Energy Systems Inc. in Williamsburg, VA.

And he was not sure that the situation would ever change dramatically, since most existing roofs were not designed with solar energy in mind.

Working roofs

"You look for a south-facing roof that is not shadowed by trees or by another building, and you cover it as best you can," Maycock said. Solar energy modules can be mount on racks on the roof to catch the sun to best advantage, although the results may be quite unsightly.

"With shingles, you are stuck with the roof you have, and with the less-desirable results that it gives you. So in many cases you just don't do it," Maycock said.

So it's no surprise that most of the photovoltaic (PV) roofs are in new upscale residential construction in the sunny Southwest, where the cost of a PV roof (about $14,000 for 2 kilowatts of capacity, according to Maycock's figures) would fit in the mortgage's round-off error.

Taxes and power

Additionally, California and New Jersey offer tax credits that actually make solar power economically sensible, Maycock added. (Other states offer less juicy tax credits, and the Federal taxman offers one that caps out at $2,000.)

Maycock figures that the cost of electricity from a PV roof is about 40 cents per kilowatt hour, but that tax credits can reduce that figure to 20 cents.

The national average for utility power is 12 cents, but the price ranges between 16 and 21 cents in California, and as high as 24 cents in parts of New York State, he said.

To make PV roofing pay, the local utility must also offer "net metering" meaning that your power meter can run backward while your roof is sending excess power to the grid, reducing your bill.

(Even with a south-facing PV roof, 70 to 80 percent of an average home's power will still have to come from the utility company.)

Net metering is available in about 20 states, Maycock noted.

Political Cartoon - - - Irony and Middle East Oil

2007-08-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

A blog reader asked me to post this political cartoon.

I believe it reflects an important message. As Americans, in general, we want big cars, that use lots of gas, and we want to drive all the time, everywhere. Yet in doing so we are NOT supporting our troops, we are empowering the brutal political factions and regimes....and allowing them to influence...manipulate and essentially have control over our lives.

Its for this reason, we all need to use and support the movement away from oil towards renewable and alternative fuels.

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David Horsey

Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Opening in California... ..

2007-08-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

The article below is very big news... while there is expected to be consolidation in the ethanol industry that should be expected since it in its infancy stage as an industry.

The bigger news is the opening of a Cellulosic Refinery in Southern California. One of the first. Low cost to make and abundant raw materials. Very good news to the alternative/renewable fuel movement. I am keeping my eyes on Bluefire....

Big ethanol shakeout coming?

As the U.S. tries to free itself from Big Oil's grip, larger biofuel producers look to stake their claim in a growing business.

By Jeff Cox, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

August 15 2007: 10:48 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Get ready: It may still be a fairly new industry, but there's probably a big shakeout brewing in the fast-growing ethanol business.

The rising cost of raw materials and demand for newer and better technology has Big Ethanol poised to take control of the $23 billion biofuel industry.

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In the decades since corn ethanol production began in the United States, a small army of plants has popped up across the national landscape. Most produce around 50 million gallons a year or less, and have survived in Midwest markets where corn is plentiful and demand for flex-fuels sufficient.

But as the industry evolves, corn prices climb and the nation gets much more aggressive in developing biofuels, smaller plants that rely on dated technology stand less of a chance of surviving.

In fact, some operators of plants on the low end of the production scale are already getting jittery about what will happen to them if corn continues to linger around $4 a bushel and the cost to transport ethanol stays high.

"They have every reason to be nervous," said Peter Gray, head of the energy and natural resources division at KPMG Corporate Finance, the investment banking arm of KPMG. "Ethanol is part of the solution in the U.S. and part of the problem. What we've had here is massive overbuild."

Gray predicts widespread consolidation in the industry as the nation moves toward its goal of producing 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022, nearly half of which must come from corn. As for which plants will survive, Gray pointed to plants that produce at least 100 million gallons a year as a line of demarcation for sustainability.

Sugar cane ethanol's not-so-sweet future

Some 124 U.S. ethanol plants now produce about 6.5 billion gallons a year, an average of about 52 million gallons per plant. Capacity ranges from mega producers Archer Daniels Midland (Charts, Fortune 500) (1.07 billion gallons) and POET Ethanol Products (1.04 billion), to mom-and-pop operators Agri-Energy (21 million) and Renova Energy (5 million). Another 76 plants are under construction with plans to add 6.4 billion gallons to the ethanol stream.

Eric Mosbey, CEO of Lincolnland Agri-Energy of Palestine, Ill., runs a 3-year-old plant that produces about 45 million gallons a year, and he's comfortable with where his facility stands - at least for now.

"Every facility is different. It depends on when they started up, how much debt they're carrying," Mosbey said. "There's no question there's economies of scale."

Foremost among the driving forces will be the price of corn, which hit a high around $4.25 a bushel earlier this year, though December corn traded at $3.44 Tuesday. KPMG's Gray said the smart companies will be the ones to forge strategic alliances with corn producers to help contain costs.

Ethanol startup Biofuel Energy Corp. (Charts) has entered into just such a partnership with Cargill Inc., which will supply corn under a 20-year contract.

Other companies have taken different approaches on the path to survival, in what will become an intensely competitive sector over the next two decades.

Archer Daniels Midland profit soars

Gordon Ommen, CEO of U.S. BioEnergy, said his company has gotten actively involved in ethanol takeovers and is targeting companies with solid markets and up-to-date technology, without as much regard to production capacity. U.S. BioEnergy (Charts), though, has been keeping its acquisitions, spread throughout the Midwest, to moderate-size plants.

"The very small plants don't work for us, and we're not sure if they work for others or not," Ommen said. "The sizes we believe are efficient are the 50-million and 100-million gallon plants. We think both of those work well, depending on the market."

Ommen said he's comfortable with how corn prices have moved in recent months. He acknowledged, though, that larger plants will have stronger staying power if corn prices take another run toward $4 or beyond and profits shrink for ethanol companies.

"We think the large, efficient, low-cost producers such as U.S. BioEnergy will continue to operate and operate effectively if there are down cycles in the market," he said. "We don't know what will happen to smaller, less-efficient plants."

Of course, there are those who are staying out of the corn business altogether and building ethanol plants that use other biomass products, such as switchgrass, wood chips, landfill waste and corn stalks, rather than corn itself.

Arnold Klann is chairman of BlueFire Ethanol, a company that produces fuel from green waste and wood waste from landfills, which he says is cheaper than corn ethanol and not subject to the volatility of corn prices.

Farm bill planting energy seeds

"Our production costs are sub-one dollar, so we're always going to be below the cost of corn-based guys, pure and simply," Klann said.

BlueFire (Charts) only actually produces its brand of cellulosic ethanol at its Japan facility, but expects to be up and running at an Irvine, Calif., plant within a year. The plant will produce just 3.2 million gallons a year but could give BlueFire a leg up on the rest of the cellulosic industry as it will be among the first non-corn ethanol plants in this country to go on line.

The California-based company plans another 20 plants over the next seven years, a sign it will become a Big Ethanol leader, but on the cellulosic side. The company earlier this year received up to $40 million from the federal government as part of a pilot program for cellulosic refineries.

"When you look at the cost of production mode for grain, the larger the plant the more competitive you are. Your embedded costs go down, that's true for any industry," Klann said.

"Corn will always play a role on the energy side, but I think cellulose on the long term is going to play a much larger role because there's more cellulosic feedstock out there than replacement corn."

Plug-In Hybrids...

2007-08-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

The article below is somewhat of a no brainer...more hybrids will cut greenhouse gases. The good news is the popular press is covering this... especially foxnews.com . The more people are comfortable with this and come to expect that we are all moving in this direction... the faster we can get there. Of course, the study suggest a date of 2050 for significant number of hybrid cars on the road... we need to move faster than that, that is over 43 years from now.

Study: Plug-In Hybrids Could Sharply Cut Greenhouse Gases

Friday, July 20, 2007

WASHINGTON — If motorists used rechargeable "plug-in" hybrid-electric vehicles in large numbers, the U.S. could see a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century, says a study released Thursday.

Researchers estimated that with a market share of about 60 percent or more plug-ins, the vehicles could help reduce approximately 450 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions a year by 2050.

The reductions would be the equivalent of removing 82 million passenger cars, or about one-third of the cars currently on the road.

• Click here to visit FOXBusiness.com's Energy Center.

The study was conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit research group, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

It was based on an analysis of data from the federal Energy Information Agency and EPRI.

(Story continues below)

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"Plug-in hybrids are a major solution to the climate change crisis that we're facing and the electric utility industry is indeed capable of taking over a large section of the fueling transportation sector without adding significant new capacity," said John Duncan, deputy general manager of Texas-based Austin Energy.

Researchers said a significant increase in plug-ins would lead to only a minor increase in demand for electricity.

An increase of 7 percent to 8 percent of electric use would reduce nearly 4 million barrels of oil per day by 2050, said Mark Duvall, program manager with the Electric Power Research Institute and one of the study's authors.

The study estimated that with a more limited use of plug-ins, or about 20 percent of the market, the vehicles could remove approximately 180 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year by 2050.

A separate study by the organizations found that plug-in vehicles also could lead to small improvements in the nation's air quality. Most regions of the country would see improvements in ambient air quality and the reduction of pollutants, they found.

Plug-in hybrids are being developed by several automakers, including General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

The vehicles typically feature batteries that power an electric motor with an internal combustion engine used when the batteries run low.

Owners plug the batteries into a standard wall outlet to recharge it, typically at night. The study assumed that three-quarters of the charging would take place at night during the off-peak hours of the electric grid.

A number of obstacles persist for plug-ins. Automakers and battery companies have been working to improve the durability of the batteries, improve the vehicle's range and assess the impact that wide use of the vehicles would have on the nation's electric grid.

Conventional hybrid gas-electric vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius, comprise only about 2 percent of the vehicle market.

General Motors, which is developing the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in electric car with a range of 40 miles on the battery and more than 600 miles with a gas engine, has said it hopes its plug-ins can reach showrooms by 2010.

Tony Posawatz, GM's vehicle line director, said the automaker expected to begin testing advanced batteries from suppliers in coming months that could be used in the Volt.

The study was funded by a broad number of interests, including investor-owned utilities, public power agencies, state and federal agencies, public interest groups and foundations, said Steven Specker, EPRI's president and chief executive officer.

Geothermal Electric Systems

2007-08-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today I added another page to the site altenergystation.com . Its a description of how underground heated water, and steam are used to generate electricity. California has one of the worlds largest geothermal electric plants. Please check it out.

http://altenergystation.com/Geothermal_Electric_Systems.html

Let me know if you have any comments or would like to see anything new.

Michael.

Algeria Solar....EU 20% Renewable...

2007-08-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

Check out the story below out. Very exciting... Algeria moving toward solar... the EU saying they will produce 20% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.

The US needs to have more communities off-grid...we need to have more than 20% of our energy from renewable sources.

Algeria sees bright future for solar energy exports

Posted 1d 11h ago | Comments 28 | Recommend 6

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Enlarge	AP

Algeria already uses photovoltaic solar panels to electrify 18 scattered, off-grid villages in the Sahara, and 16 more are due to come on line by 2009.

By Aidan Lewis, Associated Press

ALGIERS, Algeria — It's a vision that has long enticed energy planners: solar panels stretching out over vast swaths of the Sahara desert, soaking up sun to generate clean, green power.

Now Algeria, aware that its oil and gas riches will one day run dry, is gearing up to tap its sunshine on an industrial scale for itself and even Europe.

Work on its first plant began late last month at Hassi R'mel, 260 miles south of Algiers, the capital. The plant will be a hybrid, using both sun and natural gas to generate 150 megawatts. Of that, 25 megawatts will come from giant parabolic mirrors stretching over nearly 2 million square feet — roughly 45 football fields.

Experts say it's the first project of its kind to combine gas and steam turbines with solar thermal input in a hybrid plant.

The plant should be ready in 2010, and the longer-term goal is to export 6,000 megawatts of solar-generated power to Europe by 2020, about a tenth of current electricity consumption in Germany.

"Our potential in thermal solar power is four times the world's energy consumption so you can have all the ambitions you want with that," said Tewfik Hasni, managing director of New Energy Algeria, or NEAL, a company created by the Algerian government in 2002 to develop renewable energy.

The project is still at an early stage and faces daunting financial and technological obstacles. Solar power's supporters say it will take 10 years for it to become economically competitive, and while undersea cables to Sicily and Spain are planned for construction in 2010-2012, it isn't known who will finance them.

But as the world grows increasingly anxious about climate change and dwindling fossil fuels, ideas that once sounded like science fiction are becoming ever more plausible.

The European Union this year set a mandatory target of producing 20% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, and there are also big political imperatives in play.

In Algeria's case, exporting solar power through undersea cables would add flesh and bone to the idea floated by Nicolas Sarkozy, France's new president, of a "Mediterranean Union" that would bind Europe and North Africa closer together.

The Algerian program is part of a broader reassessment of green technologies by countries that owe their wealth to oil and gas. Algeria, population 33 million, remains heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, which earned it about $54 billion last year.

"Until now all the oil-producing countries under the lead of Saudi Arabia did everything to torpedo renewable energies," said Wolfgang Palz, chairman of the independent World Council for Renewable Energy, speaking on the sidelines of an international conference on renewable energy in Algiers in June.

"This is really a big change now because with all this talking about the limitations of conventional resources," oil-producing countries "feel obliged to do something," he said.

Algeria seems an obvious source of solar power.

Africa's second largest country is more than four-fifths desert, with enough sunshine to meet Western Europe's needs 60 times over, according to estimates cited by Algeria's energy ministry.

"The solar potential of Algeria is huge, enormous, because solar radiation is high and there is plenty of land for solar plants," said Eduardo Zarza Moya, who works on solar power for Spain's public energy research center, CIEMAT. "The price of the land is low, it's cheap, and there is also manpower."

Algeria already uses photovoltaic solar panels to electrify 18 scattered, off-grid villages in the Sahara, and 16 more are due to come on line by 2009. Two such projects are run by British-based company BP.

The Hassi R'Mel site represents large-scale power generation. It is the first of four planned hybrid plants which will use Algeria's abundant natural gas to supplement sunshine and ensure power at night or in cloudy weather. The Hassi R'Mel plant, which will produce power for domestic consumption, will also house a research center to study how to reduce solar power costs.

The hybrid plants will use a thermal technology called concentrating solar power, or CSP, in which sunlight heats fluids to drive an electricity-generating turbine.

The system is widely regarded as being cheaper and having better storage potential for large-scale energy production than photovoltaic technology, which converts sunlight directly into electricity. CSP plants have operated in California since the 1980s, but when gas prices fell, new construction stopped.

Spanish engineering firm Abener has a 66% share in the $425 million Hassi R'Mel project, having won an international tender to build the plant with Algeria's NEAL.

Algeria hopes to build three other hybrids generating 400 megawatts each by 2015, by which time Algeria aims to be producing 6% of its electricity from renewable sources.

Experts warn that financing the cables may wipe out the profits from selling the power in Europe. They also say the domestic market will find it hard to compete with cheap Algerian oil and gas.

But they're positive about the long-term outlook. The gas component in the hybrid plants will produce some greenhouse emissions. "But gas is much cleaner than oil and in time you will increase the share of solar," said Richard Perez, a research professor specializing in solar power at the State University of New York. He spoke to The Associated Press by phone.

Franz Trieb, an analyst at the German Space Agency in Stuttgart who helped produce a recent study on CSP in Mediterranean and Middle East countries, said that by 2020 the cost of collecting solar power would be equivalent to paying $15 for a barrel of oil.

"In 2020 we will have considerable capacity of CSP installed worldwide and this will lead to cost reductions," he said. Delivery systems "would add a little bit to the cost but not too much. It could be competitive with electricity prices in Europe."

According to International Energy Agency figures, renewable energies excluding hydroelectricity still account for just 2% of world power, and 0.5% of world energy production. Fossil fuels are expected to remain dominant until at least 2030.

But investment in renewable energy rose from $80 billion in 2005 to $100 billion in 2006, and solar companies raised more than any other renewable energy sector on public markets last year, at $5.6 billion — more than triple what they raised in 2005, according to a report released in June by the United Nations Environment Program. The biggest investments were in the United States, Europe, China and India.

Major energy companies say they are not yet ready to invest abroad on a large scale. ExxonMobil spokesman Dave Gardner said the technology breakthroughs would have to be significant to attract ExxonMobil investment.

But he said his company is seeking to foster such breakthroughs by funding a $225 million project at Stanford University on renewables and energy efficiency.

Algerian energy officials acknowledge that the country's success with solar power will depend on demand and technology.

Right now solar-derived electricity costs 25% more than using gas and will need to be subsidized for 10 years until the cost of solar power comes down, said Hasni, the Algerian company director.

"The current race is to see who will control renewable energy technologies, and we are in the race," Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil told reporters. "We have the human and financial resources, and we have the will."


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Comments: (28)

morefice wrote: <1m>

This is fantastic... 18 off grid villages. Algeria needs to be commended.

I am also glad to hear that, "The European Union this year set a mandatory target of producing 20% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, and there are also big political imperatives in play. "

Moving the world to alternative and renewable energy and fuels is not an overnight proposition and its going to take time to get there...every new project, in any corner of the globe is exciting and puts us one step closer. If your interested in learning how solar electric systems work, check out http://www.altenergystation.com/ There is a great explanation.

Energy Saving Strategies

2007-08-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today I launched a new page at AltEnergyStation.com . The page offers Energy Saving Strategies. Ones that same energy.... and money.

Here are two.... over 30 strategies... check them all out!

Change a Light Bulb

Installing a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) is the quickest, easiest way to save energy -- and money. Unlike incandescents, CFLs convert most of the energy they use into light rather than heat.

Give your computer a rest. Your computer's sleep mode (if activated) will let you power it down when sitting idle -- which can save $25 to $75 per year in energy costs. Or simply turn the computer and monitor off when they're not in use -- as well as the printer, copier, and fax machine.

GM Finally Gets in the Electric Car Business.....

2007-08-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

The article below indicates that GM has a plug-in vehicle on track for production on 2010. While they are far behind Toyota in the area of alternative and renewable cars and trucks, this is very good news.

My only complaint is that it is going to take another 3 years to get to the point that the vehicle is in production. We can do better. As an American company, if they mustered additional resources behind the effort, if they sought more assistance from academia and government...we need to be full steam ahead...we can't afford to wait another 3 years.

GM to begin testing Volt electric car by spring

Product chief Bob Lutz says the plug-in vehicle is on track for production in 2010.

August 9 2007: 1:49 PM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Reuters) -- General Motors Corp. will begin road testing its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid in the spring of next year and remains on track to produce the rechargeable car by late 2010, a senior executive said Thursday.

As the race to bring a mass-market, rechargeable electric vehicle to the market heats up, GM's global product chief Bob Lutz said he expects to have next-generation lithium-ion battery packs ready for the vehicles by October this year.

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Interface Inc. has increased its environmentally friendly efforts to try and save the earth while being green every stitch of the way.

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"We should have the battery packs by October," he said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference. "We'll have some on the road for testing next spring, and we should have the Volt in production by the end of 2010."

GM (up $0.22 to $35.04, Charts, Fortune 500) is the only automaker to have provided a timeline on the production of a plug-in hybrid vehicle, even though other companies, such as Ford Motor Co. (down $0.38 to $8.49, Charts, Fortune 500) and Toyota Motor Corp. (down $3.33 to $119.89, Charts) are working on similar technology.

Automakers have said lithium-ion battery technology remains the biggest challenge in producing a plug-in vehicle as they try to lower the cost of the batteries and increase their power and storage capacity.

Toyota to road test plug-in hybrid

The current generation of lithium-ion batteries, used in devices such as laptop computers and electronic devices, also has a tendency to overheat.

The Volt would be outfitted with new lithium-ion battery packs, which hold a charge longer than the nickel metal hydride batteries now used widely in automobiles.

"The cost of the battery would likely be high even at the time of production," Lutz said, adding that GM is exploring options that would allow consumers to lease the battery when buying the vehicle in order to bring down the sticker price.

Unlike earlier gasoline-electric hybrids, which run on a parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion engine, plug-in cars are designed to allow short trips powered entirely by the electric motor, using a battery that can be charged through an electric socket at home.

GM is designing the highly-anticipated Volt to run 40 miles on battery power alone, reducing or even eliminating the need for drivers to fuel up an on-board gasoline-powered engine provided as a backup power source.

Lutz said GM is requiring a 10-year life for the battery, and said the No. 1 U.S. automaker would look to price the vehicle like a "traditional mid-market car."

GM is racing rival Toyota to offer the first mass-market electric vehicle. Toyota last month unveiled a "plug-in" car based on its popular Prius hybrid model, saying it would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads - a first for the industry.

Tesla all-electric Roadster to hit road by year end

But Toyota said the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, is not fit for commercialization because it uses low-energy nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries, believed to be a better fit for rechargeable plug-in cars.

Environmental advocates have been pressing automakers to roll out plug-in vehicles that could be recharged at standard electric outlets as a way to reduce oil consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions.

In June, GM announced contracts with two companies - a subsidiary of South Korea's LG Chem Ltd. called Compact Power Inc. and Germany's Continental AG to work on parallel battery development programs for the Volt.

On Thursday, GM announced another contract with A123 Systems, which has been working with Continental on battery technology.

GM said both Compact Power and A123 could end up providing the batteries for the Volt, or only one of them might meet the automaker's requirements.

How Solar and Wind Electric Systems Work

2007-08-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

I added two new page to the AltEnergyStation.com website today. How Solar Electric Systems Work and How Wind Electric Systems Work. I primarily discuss how small home systems work and their components. Included are some great diagrams.

I'd encourage everyone to check it out, let me know if you have any feedback.

Proposed Gasoline Tax Increase

2007-08-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

In general I am usually opposed to tax increases. However, in this case, I believe that an increase in the gasoline tax might be justified. We need to improve/expand our public transportation systems and support the competitiveness of alternative and renewable fuels. If done correctly, these objectives might be accomplished.

Bridge fall may mean gas-tax hike

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Minneapolis bridge disaster that suddenly is the symbol of the nation's crumbling infrastructure could tip the scales in favor of billions of dollars in higher gasoline taxes for repairs coast to coast.

There are 500 bridges around the country similar to the Minneapolis span, and "these are potential deathtraps," says Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, former chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

"We have to, as a Congress, grasp this problem. And yes, I would even suggest, fund this problem with a tax," he says. "May the sky not fall on me."

One-quarter of the nation's bridges, including the one in Minneapolis, have been classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. One-third of major roads are judged by federal transportation officials to be in poor or mediocre condition.

Beyond the human tragedy of the Minnesota bridge collapse lie some daunting numbers: The cost of the backlog of needed repairs to roads and bridges is now $461 billion. Road conditions are a factor in one-third of the 40,000 traffic fatalities every year. Traffic congestion costs drivers $63 billion a year in wasted time and fuel costs.

There's no evidence to suggest that the Mississippi River disaster was a direct result of federal underspending. But there is wide agreement that the bridge is symptomatic of a national problem that Congress and the White House are going to have to address.

"It's a tragic wakeup call," said Matt Jeanneret, spokesman for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. "This is gut check time for members of Congress for what they are going to do at the federal level."

Past action by Congress and the White House does not give rise to confidence.

The last six-year highway and transit bill finally passed in 2005, two years late and, at $286 billion, almost $90 billion short of the $375 billion that transportation advocates said was needed to keep U.S. infrastructure from further deterioration.

Young and other Transportation Committee leaders wanted to pay for the larger sum by indexing for inflation the fuel tax that keeps the National Highway Trust Fund in money. That would have raised the tax, at 18.3 cents a gallon since 1993, by about a nickel.

President Bush rejected what he said was a tax hike and insisted that Congress accept a far smaller highway budget.

According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study last year, indexing fuel taxes retroactively to 1993 would have boosted the tax to about 25 cents a gallon last year, raising an average of $20 billion annually.

The two-year delay in passing the measure caused havoc with state transportation planners, who had to defer new projects because they didn't know how much would be available. Federal money accounts for about 45% of all infrastructure spending.

"This administration failed to support robust investment in surface transportation and the funding to accompany it," Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., the Transportation Committee's new chairman this year, said at a news conference after the bridge collapse in his home state.

When the next highway bill comes up in 2009, Congress won't settle for a "bargain basement" measure, Oberstar said.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., the top Republican on the committee, called for a national strategic transportation plan to fix a system where "we have congestion, where we have bridges falling into our rivers." He cited an American Council of Civil Engineering estimate that this would cost $1.7 trillion.

The administration in turn has demanded that Congress show more discipline, citing thousands of special projects, or earmarks, in highway bills that don't reflect the real priorities. The best known among them was one that Young supported: $223 million for the "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. That provision eventually faltered, but about $24 billion — a little less than 8% of the total — in the last highway bill was still devoted to projects singled out by lawmakers for funding.

State transportation officials also complain about the federal practice of annually denying spending for uncontracted projects, leaving states short of money promised in transportation bills. This helped build up the highway trust fund, said Jack Basso of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, but the reality is that "that money is never going to get used."

Since 2002, Congress has been using these unobligated funds for "rescissions," a budget device used to offset spending and make the budget deficit look smaller. Such highway-related rescissions have grown from $374 million in fiscal 2002 to $4.3 billion this fiscal year.

Within a day of the Minneapolis bridge disaster, the Senate moved to create a national commission to look into what must be done to improve roads, bridges, drinking water systems and other public works. Advocates said it basically boils down to two issues — finding the money and the political will.

Two years from now, when Congress has to write a new six-year plan, the highway trust fund — which had a balance of almost $23 billion in 2000 — is expected to go into the red.

While revenues from the fuel tax are eroding in value, construction costs are soaring. In the past three years the costs of basic materials such as asphalt, steel and diesel fuel have risen 47% because of construction booms in China and other countries, said Jeff Shoaf, senior executive director of Associated General Contractors of America.

"We're in so deep a hole that we've got to look at every option," he said.

Among those options, all with their detractors, are building more toll roads, encouraging more private-public road projects, sanctioning more state and local construction bonds and taxing drivers according to miles driven rather than fuel purchased.

Congress also may finally be ready to consider a boost in the federal gasoline tax. Frank Moretti of TRIP, a national transportation research group, said continuing to oppose higher gasoline taxes could become politically untenable.

The bridge collapse "is going to create a fundamental shift," Moretti said. The public would rather pay more taxes "than have to face the consequences of a crumbling infrastructure."

Comments: (459)

morefice wrote: <1m>

I for one am all for a higher national gasoline tax. However, I believe that part of the funds should also be spent promoting/building/improving public transportation systems. By taking cars off the road, the road and bridges will face less traffic and stress. We have a responsibility to improve these systems... however we must take cars off the road.

An increase in the gasoline tax will also make alternative energy fuels more competitive. It will help the further development of ethanol, biodiesel, hydrogen, hybrid/electric and fuel cell modes of transportation. For more information on alternative end renewable fuels, check out http://altenergystation.com.

Federal Government Solar Project

2007-08-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

See below for great news on the Solar Energy front. As the Federal Government invests in large projects, individuals and large companies will see that projects of this nature are feasible. This energy is renewable and clean.

Additional comments are below.

Green Wombat

« Dean Kamen's Stirling Solution | Main | Report: Green Data Centers Could Save Billions, Help Planet »

August 03, 2007

The Feds Go Solar

photo: Blipem
How big is the opportunity to provide solar energy to the U.S. government? Consider that the federal General Services Administration alone controls more than 1,800 buildings containing 347 million square feet. Today the GSA announced it has taken a step to go green, signing a $6.9 million contract with solar systems provider SunEdison to build a 1-megawatt solar park on six acres next to the massive Denver Federal Center in Colorado. The photovoltaic arrays will meet about 10 percent of the one-square-mile complex's peak electricity demand. It's also a good deal for local utility Xcel Energy (XEL), which is under the gun to generate 20 percent of its electricity in Colorado from renewable sources by 2020.

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Pick this up from Green Wombat. Notice it will take six acres to power 10% of the buildings power needs.On the regular power grid it would take what, six feet to power the entire building? Hopefully they don't put them next to the highway where [Read More]

Comments

Today the GSA announced it has taken a step to go green, signing a $6.9 million contract with solar systems provider SunEdison to build a 1-megawatt solar park on six acres next to the massive Denver Federal Center in Colorado.

Todd:

This is the first time I see a dollar value on how much it would cost to build solar plant. I would guess as we scaled up the plant, the price would be cheaper.

Thanks.

Posted by: Enrique | August 04, 2007 at 04:52 AM

Thanks for posting this important information. It is very significant that large power users are finally moving towards solar. Its renewable and clean.

Its also a statement to individuals that smaller home solar energy systems are available...even a large number of solar products...from watches to solar pool heaters and so much more.

It seems that we are finally embracing this technology. Keep this information coming.

Posted by: Michael Orefice | August 08, 2007 at 11:17 AM

Ethanol Fuel - 8/7/07

2007-08-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Bad tidings for ethanol

This week's USDA report could be a precursor to another runup in corn prices, spelling bad times for an ethanol industry looking to get off the ground.

By Jeff Cox, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

August 7 2007: 3:30 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Friday's closely watched U.S. Department of Agriculture crop report could serve as a gloomy bellwether for the nation's ethanol industry.

Despite projections of a record harvest, many analysts are expecting corn prices to surge over the next several months as farmers give back this year's unprecedented corn plantings of about 90 million acres to wheat and soybeans.

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Corn is expensive to produce and the relentless demand for it - the primary ingredient in U.S.-made ethanol - caused disruptions this year in normal crop rotations. But analysts said stronger-than-expected soybean and wheat prices will cause farmers to go back to planting those crops instead of replacing some of their acreage with corn, as was the case this year.

Farm Futures Daily this week predicted the USDA report will show a corn yield of 12.64 billion bushels, a record generated by the massive demand from ethanol producers. FFD analyst Arlan Suderman said an additional 77 ethanol plants expected to come on line by 2009 will only drive that demand up.

"Yet many farmers are losing interest in maintaining this year's acreage as input costs to produce the feed grain continue to rise," Suderman said. "As such, a substantial rally in corn prices is likely in the months ahead."

Some analysts, including Purdue University's Christopher Hurt, contend that a yield of more than 13 billion bushels is unlikely but possible, and that could keep prices manageable from the ethanol industry's perspective.

Gasoline prices dip to 4-month low

But a move more toward the Farm Futures Daily prediction, which is slightly less than USDA projections earlier this year, is likely to result in a runup for corn prices. Corn for December delivery stood at $3.42 a bushel early Tuesday, but corn futures for March 2008 delivery were at $3.57.

"The biggest of the swing factors is just how many of these ethanol plants get built and whether they essentially will be willing to operate at capacity with the price of corn at these levels," Hurt said. "If we see corn much above $3.50 a bushel, then I think it will probably slow down some of these ethanol plants that will be built."

Mike Chisalm, general manager at the Kansas Ethanol plant under construction in Rice County, said he and others in the industry are closely watching corn prices and are concerned with what Friday's report will show, and how that will affect the industry. The plant is expected to open early in 2008 and will produce 55 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Yet there is concern that an unpredictable corn market that saw prices as high as $4.25 a bushel just a few months ago could hamstring the corn ethanol industry.

"We're watching it on a daily basis," Chisalm said. "As we move closer to bringing our plant online, the price of grain will essentially dictate the profitability of the facility, since it's such a major component."

Grain traffic halted after bridge collapse

Chisalm said he already is seeing a pullback in the industry and expects other companies to postpone or cancel their plants to open new ethanol facilities or to switch over to plant-based, or cellulosic, ethanol.

Elaine Kub, grains analyst at Omaha, Neb.-based agriculture consultant DTN, predicted corn could take another run at $4 a bushel as farmers look to return some acreage to wheat and soybeans.

"I think some people will realize it's just foolish to base decisions on short-term prices rather than fundamentals on what land can grow," she said.

Indeed, planting soybeans and wheat this year has proven to be quite profitable. Soybean futures for November delivery are soaring at $8.56 a bushel, while wheat has been trading at 11-year highs, with December delivery set at $6.82.

As far as Friday's report is concerned, Farm Futures Daily is predicting soybean yields to come in lower than projected, which Terry Francl, senior economist at the American Farm Bureau Association, predicts could lean to more soybean acreage next year.

Wheat yields, meanwhile, have suffered due to worldwide drought, which has driven demand for U.S., crops even though domestic production has dropped as well. Farm Futures Daily forecasts a significant decline in wheat stocks than what the USDA had been anticipating.

"Anecdotal reports tell of farmers leaving more than a third of their wheat unharvested in many areas of the highly productive region of south-central Kansas and north-central Oklahoma," Suderman said. "Herein lies the greatest potential for a surprise in Friday's report."

Suderman expects continued high export demands for wheat to heighten the battle with corn for acreage in 2008, another factor that could drive up corn's price.

Sugar cane ethanol's not-so-sweet future

Presidential Candidates

2007-08-07T18:05:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Presidential Campaign is well underway. As we all seek to advocate, use and promote alternative and renewable fuels. We need to let our positions be known.

Below you will find a listing of the candidates and a link to their website.

Be a voice. Be heard.

Democratic Candidates

Joe Biden
Current Job/Position: Senator from Delaware
Hometown: New Castle, Del.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/31/07
www.joebiden.com

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Current Job/Position: Senator from New York
Hometown: Park Ridge, Ill.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/22/07
www.hillaryclinton.com

Chris Dodd
Current Job/Position: Senator from Connecticut
Hometown: East Haddam, Conn.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/11/07
www.chrisdodd.com

John Edwards
Current Job/Position: Director for Center on Poverty; Trial Lawyer
Hometown: Robbins, N.C.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/3/07
johnedwards.com

Mike Gravel
Current Job/Position: Lecturer
Hometown: Springfield, Mass.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 4/14/06
www.gravel2008.us

Dennis Kucinich
Current Job/Position: Representative from Ohio
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Status: Statement of Candidacy 12/29/06
www.dennis4president.com

Barack Obama
Current Job/Position: Senator from Illinois
Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia; Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: Statement of Candidacy 2/12/07
www.barackobama.com

Bill Richardson
Current Job/Position: Governor of New Mexico
Hometown: Pasadena, Calif.; Mexico City, Mexico
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/22/07
www.richardsonforpresident.com

Republican Candidates

Sam Brownback
Current Job/Position: Senator from Kansas
Hometown: Parker, Kan.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/22/07
www.brownback.com

Rudy Giuliani
Current Job/Position: Lawyer
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 2/5/07
www.joinrudy2008.com

Mike Huckabee
Current Job/Position: Candidate
Hometown: Hope, Ark.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/29/07
www.explorehuckabee.com

Duncan Hunter
Current Job/Position: Representative from California
Hometown: Alpine, Calif.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/25/07
www.gohunter08.com

John McCain
Current Job/Position: Senator from Arizona
Hometown: Alexandria, Va.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 11/16/06
www.johnmccain.com

Ron Paul
Current Job/Position: Representative from Texas
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 3/12/07
www.ronpaul2008.com

Mitt Romney
Current Job/Position: Candidate
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/3/07
www.mittromney.com

Tom Tancredo
Current Job/Position: Representative from Colorado
Hometown: Broomfield, Colo.
Status: Exploratory Cmte. 1/22/07
www.teamtancredo.com

Tommy Thompson
Current Job/Position: Candidate
Hometown: Elroy, Wis.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/11/07
www.tommy2008.com

Fred Thompson
Current Job/Position: Actor
Hometown: Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
Status: Unofficial
www.imwithfred.com

USA Today Hybrid Article

2007-08-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

Check out this article in USA Today and my comments. Read Article.

Launch Press Release

2007-08-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

Press Release Source: AltEnergyStation.com

AltEnergyStation.com Launches

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

AltEnergyStation.com website launches today

Fresno, CALIFORNIA, August 1 -- AltEnergyStation.com officially launched the beta version of its new website today – http://www.altenergystation.com . The website was created to further the development and consumer awareness of alternative energy cars and trucks. More and more drivers are looking for alternative energy solutions to power their vehicles, to save on gas and have a less damaging impact on the environment.

AltEnergyStation.com is a resource for consumers interested in purchasing an alternative fuel car or truck. The web site contains links to hybrid and alternative fuel auto shopping sites, as well as a link to the U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center. The Alternative Fuels Data Center website provides consumers with access to the location of alternative fuel stations nationwide, as well as tools for mapping their location.

The AltEnergyStation.com website also contains information on alternative energy equipment, including wind, solar and fuel cell, and links to available Federal and State grants and incentives.

Website founder, Michael Orefice, said recently, “Alternative fuel vehicles are critical in our effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reverse global warming. It is my hope that this website will in some small way help. This is the first phase in what I hope will become a full service website promoting alternative fuels and vehicles.”

Source: AltEnergyStation.com

Media Contact:

Michael Orefice
http://AltEnergyStation.com
559-360-9225
morefice@hotmail.com

Web Site Launch

2007-08-02T08:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday AltEnergyStation.com officially launched! It is really just a framework for many great things to come. I want to thank everyone who has visited the site and ask that you pass it along to everyone you know.

Do you have any comments? Please let me know what you think and how it can be made more useful.

Michael.

AltEnergyStation.com

HOV Lanes

Cell Phone Companies going Green

Jobs

Home Fuel Cells

Diesel Hybrid 69 MPG

Better mileage than a Prius? Not so fast

VW's new diesel-powered hybrid gets great mileage - better than Toyota's top-selling hybrid. Its price-tag is another story.

Ethanol Leadership

Solar Chargers

Solar Electric Cars

Mercedes Hybrids

Solar Energy from Suns Heat

Saving Energy

Ethanol Bust

2/28/08 CNN.com/Fortune

The ethanol bust

The ethanol boom is running out of gas as corn prices spike.

New Technology for developing countries... and perhaps the US.

Wind Energy Transmission

Ethanol Stations

Wind Electricity -- Texas Success Story

Move Over, Oil, There’s Money in Texas Wind

The Energy Challenge

Wind Power in Texas

From Oil to Wind

Hybrid-Electric Vehicles

Wind Energy Credits

Diesel-like gasoline engines - 15% higher Fuel Economy

GM unveils diesel-like gasoline engines

Drivable concept versions of General Motors cars that use efficient new engines with HCCI technology revealed Friday.

Federal Renewable Power Targets....

This is great news and hopefully the House and Senate will pass this legislation and the President signs it. It would be a landmark piece of legislation.

Renewable power hits your wallet

Most experts say utility bills will go up, but not by much, if a provision in the House energy bill becomes law.

Georgia goes Ethanol...

Nissan Adds 'fuel-efficiency' Meter.....

Slowing Demand for Gas....

Kicking the gas habit

Demand growth is slowing, not long after prices hit a record $3.23 a gallon, but it may be too early to call it a trend.

Advances in Solar Cells

Latest Solar Cells Look Like Regular Roof Shingles

Political Cartoon - - - Irony and Middle East Oil

Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Opening in California... ..

Big ethanol shakeout coming?

As the U.S. tries to free itself from Big Oil's grip, larger biofuel producers look to stake their claim in a growing business.

Plug-In Hybrids...

Geothermal Electric Systems

Algeria Solar....EU 20% Renewable...

Energy Saving Strategies

GM Finally Gets in the Electric Car Business.....

The article below indicates that GM has a plug-in vehicle on track for production on 2010. While they are far behind Toyota in the area of alternative and renewable cars and trucks, this is very good news.

GM to begin testing Volt electric car by spring

Product chief Bob Lutz says the plug-in vehicle is on track for production in 2010.

How Solar and Wind Electric Systems Work

Proposed Gasoline Tax Increase

Federal Government Solar Project

August 03, 2007

The Feds Go Solar

TrackBack

Comments

Ethanol Fuel - 8/7/07

Bad tidings for ethanol

This week's USDA report could be a precursor to another runup in corn prices, spelling bad times for an ethanol industry looking to get off the ground.

Presidential Candidates

The 2008 Presidential Campaign is well underway. As we all seek to advocate, use and promote alternative and renewable fuels. We need to let our positions be known.

Below you will find a listing of the candidates and a link to their website.

Be a voice. Be heard.

Democratic Candidates

Republican Candidates

USA Today Hybrid Article

Launch Press Release

Web Site Launch