Hydrogen fuel cell enthusiasts hold HHO Games

Following up on our blog post last week, the paper sent a reporter and photographer to the HHO Games in Bradenton this weekend.
Read the report in today's St Petersburg Times here.

Can hydrogen boost your car engine's gas mileage?

The current economic meltdown coupled with recent high gas prices, is reviving interest in an old technology to improve gas mileage with a shot of hydrogen.
Often dismissed by skeptics as phoney science, the technology is gaining advocates across the country, who marvel at the wonders of hydrogen-enhanced fuel consumption. Promoters of 'hydrogen-on-demand' or HHO, as it is called, say the system can improve gas mileage by as much as 25 per cent or more, and drastically reducing emissions.
This weekend (Feb 7-9), Manatee Technical Institute (Bradenton, Florida), is hosting the 'HHO Games' where hydrogen technology buffs will display the latest wares, including cheap HHO kits which can be installed on almost any vehicle, gasoline or diesel, from compacts to trucks (see photo).
The HHO Games are being organized by Joe Shea, a Bradenton hydrogen enthusiast, who says his Saturn went from averaging 18.9 mpg to 34.5 mpg after installing a kit. "I'm not a scientist. I just want better mileage," Shea says.
Last year, the inaugural HHO Games attracted 2,500 people from all over the country, and also from overseas.

How will lower gas prices impact alternative energy solutions?

Here's a question on many minds: How will lower gas prices affect the push for alternative fuels?

Here's a couple of thoughts, plus a link to an article in the Washington Post today examining the new scenario. The New York Times followed up Tuesday with a similar article.
The first point I would make is that we have seen so many swings in gas prices over the past year that I can only imagine no one is making any firm bets where prices will be in six months. That uncertainty is not good for either fossil fuel producers or alternative energy promoters, who both need a stable financial environment to make their business plans.
Second, I would recall months ago being told by renewable fuel advocates that ethanol was a viable product while oil was at $50 a barrel. While oil has been falling, $50 still seems like a long shot today.
Falling consumer demand in the power sector (see our recent story) could also disrupt plans for new energy production in some markets (including Florida) currently considering the expensive nuclear option.

Florida offers grants for energy projects

The state of Florida is seeking proposals for renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects under a $15-million grant program. The program is open to local governments, state agencies, universities, as well as private firms and nonprofit organizations.
Each grant is worth up to $2.5-million, with at least $8-million going to bioenergy projects.

-- David Adams, Times staff writer

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Renewable credits extended -- thanks to the Wall Street bailout bill

As the Fueling Station has previously reported, the folks in the business of producing energy from wind, solar and other renewables were sweating out the end of their federal tax breaks, due to expire Dec. 31. The House and Senate were at an impasse as recently as last week, and there was talk that a new president would have to deal with the situation next year.

But then the folks in the Senate got the bright idea of attaching those $17-billion in credits to the big Wall Street bailout bill (big news here, by the way, since Florida Power & Light is the biggest solar and wind power producer in the country).

"The House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday extending billions of dollars in tax credits for the solar, wind and biodiesel industries, ending months of uncertainty for renewable energy companies," Reuters is now reporting. "The House voted 263 to 171 in favor of the tax breaks Friday as a part of the $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street. This package was overwhelmingly passed by the Senate earlier this week."

Want the nuts and bolts? Reuters says: "The legislation extends for one year the production tax credit for wind energy, with an eight-year extension for investment tax credits for businesses and homeowners to install solar energy equipment. Buyers of plug-in electric cars would receive tax credits ranging from $2,500 to $7,500. The bill also extends a $1 per gallon production tax credit for biodiesel through 2009."

While the credits hung fire, "dozens of large wind and solar projects, originally scheduled to be built in 2009, had been put on hold," U.S. News and World Report pointed out. "Now, once again, they may start to move forward."    

Of course, there won't be as many players on the field now to back those renewable projects. "The only kinds of people who could take advantage of these tax credits were the largest, most profitable corporations, like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, or other big players like General Electric," a lawyer specializing in renewable energy financing told the magazine.

--Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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Hydrogen highway: it's a long, hard road ahead

Remember when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger kept talking about a hydrogen highway so he could combat global warming and still drive a Hummer?

Well, although several manufacturers are hooking up Hollywood stars with hydrogen-fueled cars, and they're apparently (pardon the pun) a gas to drive, if you thought that the Hydrogen Highway would open sometime soon, well...sorry, but there will be some delays. Oh, and it turns out the Hydrogen Highway is a toll road.

A new study released today by the National Academies of Science spells out the bad news. The only way switching to hydrogen-powered cars would have much of an impact on greenhouse gases is if they took over a large share of the auto market. But the NAS report says the maximum practicable number of hydrogen vehicles that could be on the road by 2020 is 2 million.

Not until 2023 would the total cost of fuel cell vehicles, including the cost of hydrogen fuel over a vehicle's lifetime, become competitive with conventional vehicles. At that point, the number of hydrogen vehicles on the road could at last grow rapidly, to nearly 60 million in 2035 and 200 million by 2050.

And who's going to pay for the cars until the price drops? "According to the committee, government support via strong policy initiatives as well as funding would be needed until at least 2023," an NAS press release says. "The cost to the government would be about $55 billion between 2008 and 2023; private industry would be expected to invest $145 billion over that same time period."

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Stephen J. Coddington]

Jamie Lee Curtis to get one of first hydrogen-powered Hondas

Honda has begun the first commercial production of a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle -- and among the first ones to take delivery will be actress Jamie Lee Curtis ("Trading Places," "A Fish Called Wanda," "Halloween" etc.) will be among the first to take delivery.

The four-seater, called FCX Clarity, runs on electricity produced by hydrogen, and emits water vapor, reports the BBC. "Honda claims the vehicle offers three times better fuel efficiency than a traditional, petrol-powered car.

Honda plans to produce 200 of the cars, which are initially available only to lease, over the next three years. The cars will become available in July, and the first five customers are all based in southern California because of the proximity of hydrogen fuelling stations, Honda said.  (Giving one to Curtis is part of a continuing trend of automakers giving preference to Hollywood stars when passing out the latest new green technology, says the Los Angeles Times.)

One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel-cell vehicles is the lack of hydrogen fuelling stations, the BBC noted. "Critics also point out that hydrogen is costly to produce and the most common way to produce hydrogen is still from fossil fuels. Analysis of the environmental impact of different fuel technologies has shown that the overall carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen powered cars can be higher than that from petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.

--Craig Pittman

[Photo by AP]

 

GM's new hydrogen concept car, the Provoq, launches today

GM is set to unveil its new hybrid electric/hydrogen fuel car concept car, the Cadillac Provoq in Las Vegas today at the Consumer Electronics Show.

I'm not sure about the name, but there's no question that GM continues to impress with its determination to find innovative alternatives to gasoline driven vehicles. GM's all-electric Volt got exciting reviews in 2007. GM says the Provoq has a 300 mile range, combining a lithium-ion battery pack capable of 20 miles range, with 280 miles hydrogen tanks. GM is also expected to make a major announcement at the weekend involving its ethanol-powered vehicles. (I'll have more on that on Sunday afternoon.)

Click here for more on the Provoq.

- David Adams

Governors focus on getting biofuels to market

Bestirred by weird weather, bothered by dependence on foreign oil, and blitzed by advertising, many a motoring do-gooder has purchased a flex-fuel vehicle.
If said motorist lives here in Florida, a cruel surprise awaits: Sioux Falls has more ethanol stations than all of Florida.
Bringing biofuels to Floridians -- and to other ethanol-hungry parts of the U.S. -- is the theme of a two-day National Governors Association conference at Tampa’s InterContinental Hotel. Gov. Charlie Crist joined the governors of Minnesota, Montana, and Kansas on Thursday morning to voice their commitment to getting biofuels flowing.
“Governors have the opportunity in states across the country to drive a national conversation, and, frankly, to make some national policy by the agreements we forge with one another,” said Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, chairman of the governors association, said states can act as “laboratories of democracy.” They are smaller and more “nimble” than the federal government, he said.
Crist has styled himself a climate-change warrior in recent months, joining state-by-state efforts to reform energy policy in the Sunshine State and around the country. On Thursday, he cautioned against pessimism and politics, billing his green crusade as a bipartisan effort. He consistently side-stepped the issue of cost, an issue his critics have hammered in recent weeks.
“If you look at this full of gloom and pessimism, then you will depress people from moving forward and doing what’s right,” Crist said.
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer echoed Crist’s optimism. “American has always led by converting adversity to opportunity.”
When it comes to reforming transportation, alternative fuels face several hurdles on their way to our cars, explained Rick Eggebrecht, co-founder of VeraSun Energy, a South Dakota company that produces 560-million gallons of ethanol each year.
First, many states don’t make the fuels at home, and don’t have the rail resources to get it cheaply to market, Eggebrecht explained. Then there aren’t enough places that can store the fuels, and blend them with gasoline. Finally, retail stations face enormous costs to retrofit their stations to sell biofuels. This is where governors and legislators can help, creating tax breaks and incentives to help speed infrastructure development, he said.
Florida doesn’t yet produce ethanol, and has limited production of biodiesel. Several alternative fuel projects in the state have run into delays.
--Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Is energy independence a realistic notion?

We take a look at the notion of "energy independence" in today's edition of PolitiFact, the St Petersburg Times political fact-checking feature.

PolitiFact asked me to check a recent claims by Republican candidate Mitt Romney that the United States can be energy independent.

Click here to read my analysis, 'Difficult to go it alone on energy.'

- David Adams