2006: A good year for alternative energy.

I will always remember 2006 as the year I began to take a serious interest in our energy future - and as the birth year of The Fueling Station.

To readers of the blog I thank you all for visiting this site, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best for 2007. It is my hope that this year will continue to see the advance of alternative energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as addressing our dependence on foreign oil.

2006 saw many advances, and hopefully the pace of change will quicken in 2007. It needs to. The latest scientific evidence points to a rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions, at a rate much faster than our half-hearted efforts to reduce them.

2006 was a year which began with president Bush's surprise decalaration in February in his State of the Union address that the United States was "addicted to foreign oil." While he may not have done enough to alter that situation, he took us a long way simply by identifying it.

As Washington dithers, 2006 was a year in which states took the initiative in confronting energy issues.

In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush also had the vision to see beyond what hurricanes can do to our energy supply, and set about exploring some alternatives. He closed out the year by joining in the creation of a hemispheric commission to promote ethanol (Helpfuelthefuture.com)
And in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law America's first global warming legislation that imposes a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
Iowa, the nation's leader in ethanol, even produced its own 2008 presidential candidate, Governor Tom Vilsack.

2006 will also be remembered as the year that Al Gore (click here for his latest essay in Newsweek magazine) reasserted his environmental leadership with the release of An Inconvenient Truth, a remarkable documentary look at global warming. As one friend commented recently, another bad hurricane season in 2007, or some other kind of weather-related disaster, and Al Gore could become a serious presidential contender in 2008.

In 2006 British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson (click here to read his latest essay in Newsweek) put the issue of 'green skies' on the agenda, by announcing a new business model to reduce airline CO2 emissions. Branson also put his money where his mouth is, pledging a $3 billion, 10-year investment in R&D for biofuels.

Other major companies also took innovative steps to diversify their energy use: among them Wal-Mart and Google, and Staples and GM. Wall St also began to take note with a dramatic increase in investments in clean technology stocks.

So, what can we expect in 2007? It will be especially interesting to see if the new Congress - hand in hand perhaps with the White House - will push for more federally mandated use of biofuels and other energy alternatives. (Click here to read my article on the new Congress and the future of energy policy.) Some experts predict the U.S. may even move closer to joining the Kyoto Protocol.

Public opinion and the private sector have already shown a serious commitment to change. It's time that government intervened to take the necessary steps to accelerate that process.
For example, in places such as Florida, potential biofuels distributors and current gas station owners need greater encouragement to install pumps and underground storage tanks for ethanol blends and biodiesel. The government also needs to embark on a national education campaign to promote alternative energy uses. Congress hopefully will begin to look at some of the tax incentives currently benefiting the oil and gas industry, and transfer some of that money to R&D in renewables. As Europe has already demonstrated, we shouldn't be afraid of higher gas prices. They are a necessary part of weaning ourselves off dependence on fossil fuels.
As my colleague at the BIOconversion blog likes to emphasize, there needs to be greater R&D spending on creating energy from landfill biomass, which is surely one of the least known and most  fascinating  new  technologies.

At The Fueling Station we look forward to bringing you news of these developments through the year.

Click here for a link to the BBC's Green Room and an analysis of future US policy on global warming by Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute in Washington DC.

Click here for a link to a New York Times article looking at the debate among scientists over global warming. Some are now adopting a middle road, seeking to avoid the more catastrophic speculation in favor of an insurance risk approach. This group argues it is sensible to be prepared for the worst, rather than argue over exactly what is happening to the planet.

Click here for a link to an interview on changing business practices with Marketplace's Sustainability Desk reporter, Sam Eaton. Eaton discusses how green is increasingly becoming the bottom line.

Click here for a link to the excellent end of year digest from the BIOconversion blog.

- David Adams

Legal dispute threatens Florida's first ethanol plant.

I'm sorry to report that it looks as though there won't be any ethanol being produced in Florida this year after all.

A proposal by US Envirofuels to build the state's first ethanol plant in Tampa has received its final permit to begin construction. But groundbreaking could be delayed by an unforseen legal dispute.

PEL Laboratories, an environmental testing firm at the Port of Tampa has filed an injunction to stop construction of the ethanol plant. It complains that gas emissions from the biofuels facility would  potential contaminate sample testing PEL conducts for the military and commercial customers. (PEL is a neighbor of the proposed ehtanol plant site.)

However, the Tampa ethanol plant remains on track, according to Bradley Krohn, president of EnviroFuels. The project continues to have the full backing of the Port of Tampa which is urging PEL not to stand in the way of the state's economic development. Florida officials, led by Gov Jeb Bush, have recently become vocal advocates for a green biofuels energy policy to reduce the state's dependency on foreign oil imports, while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Construction of the ethanol plant is due to start in 2007 and is expected to go into production by mid-2008. That's a year later than the company had hoped, but Krohn tells me that the company is now "fully permitted" after receiving its final permit from Hillsborough County last week.

The company says it has studiously fulfilled all the permitting requirements of local and state authorities. "The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has extremely rigorous standards for all permits that they issue," said Krohn. "We have met their standards. We have done everything right."

Krohn adds that the proposed plant is categorized as only a "minor source of emissions," and should be of no concern to PEL. He points out that Port Sutton is the most heavily industrialized site in Tampa Bay, including a sulphur and ammonia terminal, not to mention diesel emissions form the heavy ships passing through the port.

While this blog is an advocate of alternative energy, I would not wish to prejudge the dispute between Envirofuels and PEL. However, I have followed US Envirofuels for more than a year and I have been been impressed by their highly professional and committed approach to biofuels. Common sense would seem to indicate that PEL does not have much cause to complain. If it is concerned by contamination affecting its environmental testing, why is it located in one of the most polluted areas of Tampa Bay? Compared to some of PEL's other noxious neighbors, US Envirofuels would appear to be much less of a pollution concern.

Click here to read the story in the St Petersburg Times

- David Adams

Polar bears. Is their threatened demise a wake-up call for humans?

You have probably all read in the last few days about the predicament facing polar bears and the melting ice cap. CNN International had a very good report yesterday. But the Miami Herald's Pulitzer prize-winning editorial cartoonist, Jim Morin, topped everyone this morning with this cartoon (click on the image to enlarge.)

In case you haven't heard, new studies suggest that polar bears could be extinct by the end of this century due to the rapid loss of their natural habitat. Increasing numbers of polar bears are showing up dead, either from starvation and/or from drowning, as they struggle to find food (seals basically) and end up stranded on melting ice.

Click here to view the CNN report.

Click here to read a BBC report on the latest 25 sq mile break in the ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic.

- David Adams

Former oilman speaks out on biofuels

I'd like to share with you this 'letter to the editor' I read in the Miami Herald this morning under the title: 'Ethanol good for Florida's future.'
It's from Amoco Oil's former president for Latin America, Jorge Pinon. By coincidence, I have a meeting with Mr Pinon tomorrow morning (he's a researcher at the University of Miami's Cuba Institute), so I will flesh out some of these ideas some more. It's always good to hear about biofuels from former oilmen!! It's also a very succint and objective analysis.

Here's his letter:

Re the Dec. 19 story Gov. Bush throws support behind ethanol initiative: Jeb Bush said that domestic and imported sugar-cane ethanol would have a positive impact on Florida's economic and environmental future. I agree:

• Ethanol would help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

• It emits fewer smog-causing pollutants than gasoline.

• It is a sustainable-renewable energy source.

• Sugar-cane ethanol has a production and energy cost advantage over corn-based ethanol.

Sugar-cane ethanol would help create agricultural jobs and support economies of the Caribbean and Central America and, Yes, that of a future free Cuba, helping to abate illegal immigration to our shores.

As a transportation fuel, ethanol can be used as a total or partial replacement for gasoline. Gasoline containing 10 percent ethanol -- E10 -- keeps engines running smoothly without the need for lead or other chemical additives and is used in many urban areas today that don't meet clean-air standards. All vehicles that run on gasoline can use E10 without making changes to the engines.

E85 is an alternative fuel that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Vehicles are not modified to run on E85; they are specially manufactured as Flexible Fuel Vehicles. They can use any mixture of ethanol and gasoline up to E85. There are more than 750,000 light-duty vehicles in the United States using E85, mostly pick-ups and SUVs.

Having said this, consumers should not overestimate the contributions of ethanol: The retail price of ethanol E85 will always be competitively priced with petroleum-based fuels; according to a recent Consumer Reports, E85 has a lower fuel economy (10 miles per gallon) than gasoline, at 14 mpg; the petroleum marketing industry would still face the challenge of how to finance $200,000 of capital investments needed to retrofit each service station that would like to market E85.

As the third-largest gasoline consumer state in the nation with an average of 23.6 million gallons per day and with its competitive advantage in producing, importing and distributing sugar-cane ethanol, Florida would be a natural market for the promotion and development of this renewable and environmentally friendly fuel.

JORGE R. PINON, former president, Amoco Oil Latin America, Miami

Pinellas County wins Green award

Happy Holidays to those of you dedicated enough to visit The Fueling Station today. I couldn't let you down by not having a new post for you. So here is my Christmas Day entry:

Belated congratulations to Pinellas County on Florida's west coast for becoming the first local authority in the state to earn a coveted 'Green County' designation.

The formal announcement was made Oct. 31 but I only learned about it the other day. At the announcement the County Commission Board Chairman Kenneth Welch spoke about the county’s environmental programs, while praising former leaders of the county for their foresight in starting so many initiatives.

“This designation doesn’t stop with the award. The coalition encourages governments to partner with the private sector and join in new efforts to improve and preserve our environment," he said. "We look forward to sharing ideas that will help our community to be a greener place to live.”

Some of the reasons Pinellas County earned the distinction (by department):

* Utilities: for efforts at water conservation and progressive solid waste collection
* Public Works: for use of LED traffic signal lights
* Environmental Management & Parks and Recreation: for efforts to preserve wildlife habitat and properly care for public lands
* Community Development: for their use of EnergyStar appliances in affordable housing units
* Fleet Management: for use of Biodiesel in the county’s fleet of diesel-powered vehicles
* Planning Department: because of integration of green land management policies into the County’s overall plans

The Florida Green Local Government Standard was created by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), working under a contract from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Florida Energy Office.
Click here for more information about the award.

- David Adams

Volvo's new ethanol concept.

Here's the latest in ethanol concept cars from Volvo.

The Volvo 'flex-fuel' XC60 is due to make its world debut at the Detroit auto show in January. It's a six-cylinder, 3.2-litre ethanol engine. The company says the car's engine offers dynamic performance with 80 per cent lower carbon dioxide emissions compared with the same engine running on gasoline.

“We believe that the FlexiFuel also has great potential for larger engine sizes and we are planning to expand our range of bio-ethanol-powered engines in the coming years,” says Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President, Research & Development at Volvo Cars.

The Volvo XC60 uses the same engine as the Volvo S80. The engine has been optimised for E85 (85 percent bio-ethanol, 15 percent ethanol). This gives acceleration from 0–60 mph in 8.2 seconds and a top speed of approximately 143 mph. Fuel economy when running on E85 reduces to 19.2 mpg, as the energy content of ethanol is lower than gasoline.

(Click here for more details on the Volvo XC60 from Automotoportal.com)

Volvo is introducing its new line of ethanol-ready cars in both Europe and the US. The demand for ethanol is growing steadily in Europe, but it still small compared to the United States or Brazil. The European Union member states can currently count only 23 ethanol plants, compared to 101 in the US. Europe produces about 720 million gallons of ethanol compared to 4.8 billion in the US. However, Europe's capacity is expected to increase three-fold by 2008.

- David Adams

Brewers grow monster cane for ethanol.

When I visited Brazil's sugar cane industry last year I was struck by how many delegations of Japanese I ran into. Everywhere I went a group of Japanese businessmen was either just leaving or just arriving. There's a reason for this. Japan is a signatory (and host) of the Kyoto Protocol and is thus serious about meeting its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Due to its geographical limitations, Japan will never be a major producer of biofuels. But it's still putting its industrial know-how into exploring ways to reduce its importation of foreign oil.
    
In the race to improve the efficiency of biofuels, Brazil has been promising to introduce new higher-yield strains of sugar cane. But Japan may have been beaten them to it. A friend sent me this link to a recent Reuters story about a strain of Japanese 'Monster Cane' produced by beer maker Asahi Breweries, which is said to produce astonishing yields of ethanol.

The cane grows up to three metres tall and is extremely hardy in poor soil and harsh weather conditions. It yields twice as many stems as most sugarcane. So far its only been grown on a test field on the tiny island of Ie in Japan's southernmost district of Okinawa.

Monster Cane was jointly developed by Asahi and the National Agricultural Research Centre for Kyushu Okinawa Region.

Asahi says the new cane variety can produce three times as much ethanol as other strains, and slightly more sugar. It also yields more bagasse, the fibrous residue from crushed cane, which is burnt to generate the energy to run a refinery.

Asahi estimates the yield of the new sugarcane at 37.4 tonnes per hectare, which can be processed into 7.1 tonnes of sugar, 4.3 kilolitres of ethanol and 24 tonnes of bagasse.

This compares with the yield of a conventional cane type at 17.4 tonnes per hectare, sugar output at 6.9 tonnes, ethanol production at 1.4 kilolitres and bagasse volume at 7.8 tonnes.

Japan has also recently announced that it is encouraging its vehicle manufacturers to produce more flex-fuel vehicles. Japan is planning to mandate 3% ethanol to be used in all gasoline, which will require roughly half a million gallons of ethanol per year.

Japan is also investing in Brazil's biofuels industry. In October Brazil and Japan agreed to a pact involving about $1.3 billion in Japanese investments in Brazil’s ethanol and biodiesel industries.

Japan is also busy developing a strain of long-grain rice called Hokuriku 193, to produce ethanol! (click here)

Click here to read the full story on Monster Cane.

- David Adams

            

                                                   

When I visited Brazil's sugar cane industry last year I was struck by how many delegations of Japanese I ran into. Everywhere I went a group of Japanese businessmen was either just leaving or just arriving. There's a reason for this. Japan is a signatory (and host) of the Kyoto Protocol and is thus serious about meeting its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Due to its geographical limitations, Japan will never be a major producer of biofuels. But it's still putting its industrial know-how into exploring ways to reduce its importation of foreign oil.
    
In the race to improve the efficiency of biofuels, Brazil has been promising to introduce new higher-yield strains of sugar cane. But Japan may have been beaten them to it. A friend sent me this link to a recent Reuters story about a strain of Japanese 'Monster Cane' produced by beer maker Asahi Breweries, which is said to produce astonishing yields of ethanol.

The cane grows up to three metres tall and is extremely hardy in poor soil and harsh weather conditions. It yields twice as many stems as most sugarcane. So far its only been grown on a test field on the tiny island of Ie in Japan's southernmost district of Okinawa.

Monster Cane was jointly developed by Asahi and the National Agricultural Research Centre for Kyushu Okinawa Region.

Asahi says the new cane variety can produce three times as much ethanol as other strains, and slightly more sugar. It also yields more bagasse, the fibrous residue from crushed cane, which is burnt to generate the energy to run a refinery.

Asahi estimates the yield of the new sugarcane at 37.4 tonnes per hectare, which can be processed into 7.1 tonnes of sugar, 4.3 kilolitres of ethanol and 24 tonnes of bagasse.

This compares with the yield of a conventional cane type at 17.4 tonnes per hectare, sugar output at 6.9 tonnes, ethanol production at 1.4 kilolitres and bagasse volume at 7.8 tonnes.

Japan has also recently announced that it is encouraging its vehicle manufacturers to produce more flex-fuel vehicles. Japan is planning to mandate 3% ethanol to be used in all gasoline, which will require roughly half a million gallons of ethanol per year.

Japan is also investing in Brazil's biofuels industry. In October Brazil and Japan agreed to a pact involving about $1.3 billion in Japanese investments in Brazil’s ethanol and biodiesel industries.

Japan is also busy developing a strain of long-grain rice called Hokuriku 193, to produce ethanol! (click here)

Click here to read the full story on Monster Cane.

- David Adams

            

Oil incentives. Do they help the US?

Here's more evidence - if anyone needed it - of the U.S. oil industry's hypocrisy over its complaints about alternative energy subsidies.

According to a new report by the Interior Department, the United States offers some of the most lucrative incentives in the world to companies that drill for oil in publicly owned coastal waters - but gets little in return for its money.

The Interior Department sat on its own study for more than a year, according to a front page report in the New York Times today; 'Incentives on Oil Barely Help the US, Study Says.'
The report estimates that current inducements could allow drilling companies in the Gulf of Mexico to escape tens of billions of dollars in royalties. But the study predicts that the inducements would cause only a tiny increase in production.

The oil industry argues that domestic drilling incentives help reduce dependence opn foreign oil. That may be true, but  others point out that this money would be better spent on providing incentives to  produce domestic, non-fossil fuel alternatives.

The NYT cities industry analysts who say the United States was much more generous to oil companies than most other countries. In addition, the United States has sweetened some of its incentives in recent years - despite higher oil prices -  while dozens of other countries demanded a bigger share of revenue.

In the United States, the federal government’s take — royalties as well as corporate taxes — is about 40 percent of revenue from oil and gas produced on federal property. By contrast, the worldwide average government take is about 60 to 65 percent.

The paper points out this balance could be about to change as Democratic leaders in Congress have already vowed to roll back royalty incentives and tax breaks for drilling companies when they take control of the House and Senate in January.

Click here to read the article.

- David Adams

Solar stocks: Think China

Here's the latest word in our continuing feature of renewable energy stocks from Rona Fried, Editor of Progressive Investor.

Rona writes:

Solar manufacturers based in China have found the USA to be a good source of capital through our public markets.

After the hugely successful Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) IPO a year ago, others are following suit. Suntech raised US$396 million on the NY Stock Exchange and is now one of the world's leading solar stocks. Since then, Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ), based in China and incorporated in Canada, launched an IPO on Nasdaq. The company raised $116 million, giving it a market cap of $409 million. This week, Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) raised $98.1 million and today, Solarfun Power Holdings (Nasdaq: SOLF) launched an IPO on Nasdaq.

Rona is also CEO of SustainableBusiness.com an "Internet community for businesses that integrate  economic, and social and environmental concerns into their core strategy. In short, we help green business grow."
I strongly recommend you take the time to visit Rona's website and sign up for the various insider investor newsletters offered by Sustainable Business.

- David Adams

Airlines to be penalized for polluting the skies.

Europe is moving forward with plans to penalize the airlines for polluting the skies, reports the New York Times. The plan is to impose extra charges on the airlines starting in 2011. In so doing the European Union is effectively extending the Kyoto Protocol guidelines to the airlines, which were previously exempt from consideration of their contribution to GHGs (greenhouse gases).
Experts say this will likely drive up the price of airline travel, potentially adding some $3.8 billion globally to airline running costs.

Click here to read the story.

- David Adams