4 of the Top 10 Tech Cars for 2006 have alternative energy

Not a lot here, but it's still an interesting article showcasing that 4 of the top 10 technology cars of 2006 have some alternative energy capability.

Another livescience.com article.

- Ford Reflex Concept Car, a turbo-diesel hybrid.
- 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 320 Bluetec, which will have the cleanest diesel engine on the planet.
- Subaru B5-TPH Concept Car, for its turbocharged gasoline-hybrid power plant and advanced manganese lithium-ion batteries.
- Mitsubishi Concept CT-MIEV, a four-door hatchback with four electric motors, one in each wheel.

Best Wishes,
Al

Speed and Green cars

Green cars have hit a new speed record. This green machine can hit 196 mph.
Not bad. As more and more folks join into the alternative energy sources, performance is just going to improve on these vehicles.

This is a quick, simple article from LiveScience.com Staff Writer - Michael Schirber

The idea that an environmentally friendly automobile has to be small and timid may change as a space-age prototype reaches 196 mph (315 km/h), setting a new record for this type of vehicle.

The sleek LeMans prototype-style car ran on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and was lubricated with sunflower oil.

All the best,
Al

Hybrid Scooter Might Run on Hydrogen - SOME DAY

When, and if, this ever becomes possible, it will definitely be the fuel of choice. But for right now we're still just dreaming up the idea of running our vehicles off of hydrogen.

This is still a worthwhile article to read, from Robert Roy Britt, Managing Editor from LiveScience.com.

"An industrial design student in The Netherlands has built a prototype scooter that is designed to be run on hydrogen.
Crijn Bouman of Delft University of Technology designed the scooter for use in inner cities.
He calls it the Fhybrid.

'The look and feel of the scooter are aimed at selling the clean technology inside,' he said in a statement today.

The scooter has an electric motor powered by a (Li-)ion battery. If the Fhybrid is ever put into production, the idea is to charge the battery with a fuel-cell system, which would derive its energy from a tank of hydrogen. While scientists are working to make such systems more efficient, obtaining hydrogen (by splitting it out of water) is for now too costly to be practical. "

Ethanol still has lots of strong skeptics

There are lots of opponents of ethanol. And they have lots of complaints. But there are also quite a few supporters, and lots more jumping on every day.

Now, this isn't to say that making your own ethanol is simple, easy or a quick process. But I want to let you know, that pursuing your own ethanol growing plan is a very worthwhile, and economically and environmentally viable option.

This article, by Stewart Truelsen, is a great starting off point to see where ethanol support is heading.

Those that do get it include the American Farm Bureau Federation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, General Motors, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Archer Daniels-Midland, DuPont, Goldman Sachs Group, Bill Gates, President Bush, President da Silva of Brazil – and many other big names who support biofuels.

No one is expecting biofuels to replace fossil fuels, but they can play a greater complementary role and displace much of the oil we are importing from the Persian Gulf. Biofuels can be an important placeholder in the energy mix until something more revolutionary comes along, but that could be fifty years or more down the road.

Thanks Stewart for sharing some interesting thoughts on the alternative fuel debate.

Best Wishes,
Al Speer

Oklahoma happy to be on board the ethanol band-wagon

Although people are still unsure about the costs and benefits of ethanol. One thing is for sure... people are very interested in its capacity as an alternative fuel source. People are investing in it, and they are making plans to bring it into their areas.

Here is another off the beaten path location - Oklahoma - planning on adding some ethanol production capability (and they seem happy to do it).

The technology is new, and other processes may be developed to make ethanol more cost and energy efficient. In the near future, corn could lose out to other grains or plant materials that are more easily converted to ethanol.

But again ethanol has promise, and people and companies are investing effort and capital in the development of ethanol — something they have been unwilling to do with other energy alternatives to this point.

All the best,
Al

Switchgrass (the weed) - a great NEW source for ethanol...

HMMM, this is a VERY interesting article. The guy I am planning on interviewing was totally planning to talk to me about using a common weed (at least common on his property) to make his ethanol. So reading about switchgrass as a source is very intriguing for me to see.

This is a great article, by Grand Forks Agweek, http://www.grandforks.com/mld/agweek/, and it comes through the Associated Press.
By the way, if you're wondering about the ethanol making interview I'll be doing soon, please check out our partner site - www.EthanoloHolic.com, and join our mailing list for more details...

Corn is traditionally the main ingredient in ethanol. But Vogel said using switchgrass could make it easier and cheaper to produce.

"It's a native grass. You can grow and harvest it like hay without any special harvesting equipment," he said.

"It has low energy input, and it can aid in carbon sequestration. It has excellent soil and water conservation benefits and good wildlife benefits. It can also have high yields," he said.

The 10 test sites have been in production for five years and researchers now know more about the economic viability of the crop, he said.

"The average cost over the 10 farms was $49 per ton, including land costs," Vogel said. "However, two farmers who had previous experience growing switchgrass produced it for under $40 a ton."

With existing technology, it's possible to get 80 gallons of ethanol from a ton of switchgrass, he said.

"When you look at a 1,200-pound big, round bale of switchgrass, you're looking at a 50-gallon can of ethanol," he said.

All the best,
Al Speer

Ethanol and pure horsepower

Saab unleashes an ethanol (100% renewable fuel source) fueled concept car that can hit 300kph, oh, that's about 185mph.

This is hot off the rumor wheel from the Associated Press.

Al

Hybrid Cars - Plug in to better gas mileage

And here's another article, by Zachary Slobig, that takes the hybrid car and revs it up a bit with an added plug-in battery pack that will save you even more money. It's pretty spendy right now, but they are hoping to drive the costs down over time with continued improvements.

"Powered by the new battery, seven times as powerful as the original, the eco-boosted hybrid will be able to achieve the average daily American commute on a wisp of gasoline. The cars will operate in standard hybrid mode after the 60-mile range with a typical fuel efficiency of 45 to 55 miles per gallon."

It's kinda hazy, but I might be seeing hybrid cars, flex fuels, and more batteries in your future.

Al

Toyota plans on hitting the flexible fuel market

This is an interesting article by KEN THOMAS, an associated press writer. And it focuses on Toyota's plan to really go into the flexible fuel markets - including electric cars and E85 (ethanol) run vehicles.

"Make no mistake about it, hybrids are the technology of the future and they will play a starring role in the automotive industry in the 21st century," Jim Press, president of Toyota's North American subsidiary..."

The article also goes on to say...

Press said E85 and other ethanol blends are found in limited quantities at many fueling stations, but "as that develops and as consumers show an interest in flex-fuel products, we definitely want to be able to provide it."

Detroit's Big Three automakers have detailed plans to double their production of flexible-fuel vehicles to 2 million by 2010 and have urged Congress to expand access to ethanol and biofuels, which is mostly limited to Midwest fuel stations.

It looks like flexible fuel and alternative energy source vehicles are going to rolling through at an even faster rate through the automotive assembly lines.

All the best,
Al

Is ethanol really a viable fuel option?

I have been reading some interesting things about ethanol.

1 of the items, in particular, is that ethanol is a negative cost energy source. What this means is that it takes more energy to make ethanol than it gives out when its made.

One of the major proponents of this thought is a Cornell University professor - David Pimentel. Ultimately this is going to be a choice you make, but there are some serious implications and hesitations offered as to the reliability of Pimentel's numbers.

Both Argonne National Laboratories and USDA researchers have found a net energy increase from ethanol. Plus many other assertions from Pimentel appear to in question.

Basically, if you read an article refuting ethanol as an energy source - I suggest you check to see if the name 'Pimentel' is listed as a source. If so, I would think seriously about agreeing with what it says.

If you are interested in finding out more about this debate, please just let me know by shooting me an email at info [AT] Ethanoloholic [DOT] com.

I would love to let you know all of the research and sources out there on this topic.

All the best,
Al

U.S. Senator Coleman wants to pursue sugar ethanol

This is a nice fresh article, about U.S. Senator Coleman who thinks it would be foolish for us not to pursue other forms of alternative fuels and gases.

Specifically, he talked about sugar ethanol as a source.

A USDA study released Tuesday stated that sugar-to-ethanol production would be profitable and efficient, Coleman said.

“It would be foolish for us” not to pursue sugar ethanol, Coleman said.

Coleman said he would like to see a long-term program in place for sugar ethanol that would be an add-on rather than a change or substitution to the current farm bill sugar program.

Coleman said he did not foresee sugar ethanol competing with corn ethanol in the U.S. fuel market. Instead, it would be part of a “larger spectrum” of gasoline alternatives.

“Sugar is not competing with corn, it’s competing with the price of gas,” Coleman said. “Sugar ethanol costs $2.35 a gallon. I don’t think you’ll see gas going much lower than that.”

Thanks for an interesting story Deb Gau from the Marshall Independent.com
Definitely worth a read.

Al

Record Oil Prices May Spur Demand for Ethanol

The continued upward pressure on petrol oil prices, is still driving the fervor and desire for alternative fuels. And ethanol stays one of the strongest contenders - says BLOOMBERG.com

Reporters: Marianne Stigset and Claudia Carpenter from Bloomberg give some clear and compelling indications that the ethanol trend is still going to continue to rise and gain more momentum.

As oil prices rise, countries are coming under increased pressure to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. More than 50 percent of sugarcane from the center-south region of Brazil, the world's biggest sugar producer, was used for ethanol in the 12 months through June, the country's Center-South and Ethanol Industry Association said yesterday.

Very interesting read.

All the best,
Al

India looking into using ethanol as an alternative to petrol

I continue to read comment after comment of ethanol's negative factors. And while some of them may be true, please explain to me why ethanol is one of the biggest commercial production gasoline products on the market?

And even now, India is beginning to look into using ethanol to help ease the rising price of petrol fuel.

With the rising price of petroleum fuels in the international market, there has been a robust increase of production and consumption of ethanol globally that prompted the government to take up the plan as ethanol blended petrol is used widely for cars in Brazil, the United States, Canada and Sweden while China, Australia, Argentina, India and Thailand are preparing to use the blend. Ethanol is produced from sugarcane, corn and other biological resources and used mainly in automobiles globally. Its production cost is estimated to be around Tk 40 per litre taking into consideration the production rate of 200 litres of ethanol from each ton of molasses and that would be much less than the price of petrol and octane that sells now at Tk 58 per litre.

I want to thank "The New Nation" - a Bangladesh News Source, for the article and their viewpoint.

Until next time,
Al

Mid-West Ethanol corridor might help 'jump-start' E85 market

While there are a lot of "Nay"-sayers and doubters, one thing is for sure - ethanol is one of the current major players in the alternative fuel source category.

This is another article pointing out that you're going to have to do a lot of talking and persuading to get rid of ethanol. And if you live in the Chicago area, this might be welcome news for you...

Ford Motor Co. and VeraSun Energy Corp., a leading U.S. ethanol producer, have launched a new Midwest Ethanol Corridor to expand availability of E85 (85 percent ethanol gasoline) from Chicago to Kansas City.

The program’s initial phase involves conversion of gas pumps to E85 pumps in stations along Illinois’ Interstate 55 and Missouri’s I-70.

I want to thank Illinois Farm Bureau (http://farmweek.ilfb.org) for this interesting and timely article.

All the best,
Al

Alternative Fuels

Here is a decent video talking about alternative fuel sources. It covers a little bit of basic ideas about how much alternative fuel is available, but it doesn't do a great job explaining what the fuels are or where you can get them.

It's worth a watch anyhow - only 1:20.

All the best,
Al

biodiesel man part 2of 2

And then, here's part 2 of the step-by-step biodiesel creation process video.

Although the process looks pretty complex and intricate, once you actually learn more about it, you will find that you CAN do this as well, at your own house. And it doesn't have to be so large scale.

Biodiesel here we come.

Thanks,
Al

biodiesel man part 1of 2

This is a KILLER video taking you step by step through the biodiesel creation process.

If you haven't seen this before, you've got to check it out.

All the best,
Al

Ethanol and bio diesel business sought after by the corporate market

This article may come as no shock to some of you, but it looks like alternative energy sources are starting to get some REAL looks from the corporate world. This article talks about buy out possibilities of other "GREEN" companies.

D1 Oils, the start-up company hoping to develop biodiesel from the jatropha plant, is in takeover talks - the latest signal that alternative energy has become a sought-after sector.

Terry Macalister from 'The Guardian' has some interesting points.

All the best,
Al

Americans still spending on gas to take their family vacations

So even thought gas prices are steadily rising, Americans are still traveling. Especially on those all-important family vacations. That is a good thing. We definitely need to take a break from work.

I still have to wonder... if gas keeps going up, there's going to come a time where we stop spending so much on it. Or we downsize to consume less.

"American consumers have clearly made gasoline purchases one of their preferred expenditures," said Jason Schenker, economist for Wachovia Bank.Oil prices have rallied from below $20 a barrel in early 2002 as producers and refiners struggle to keep up with demand. Crude has gained 23 percent this year because of supply cuts in Nigeria, the dispute overIran's nuclear program and a flood of investment fund money into commodities.Adjusted for inflation, oil prices are more expensive than at any time since 1980, the year after the Iranian revolution.

But other economic factors may be countering consumer concerns at the filling station, experts said."You have people making more money with more jobs than they had in 2001-- of course they are going on vacation this summer. Who cares about the extra 50 cents per gallon on gasoline?" Schenker said.

High pump prices haven't spoiled vacation plans - Yahoo! News

This is an interesting read. I hope you enjoy it.

BestWishes,

Al Speer

NEW personal house windmill could save you money on your bills

This is a KILLER idea. Not cheap, but definitely worth looking into.

They are claiming this could pay for itself within 4 years.

Worth checking out? YOU BET!

Well a new residential windmill from a company called Southwest Windpower promises to not only help keep you green by reducing your dependency on coal-fired power plants, but to actually provide up to 90% of the juice that a typical household consumes in a year

All the best,
Al Speer