Corn and Ethanol.

Thanks CountryBoy- nice link.

That is the next generation- mastering ethanol from cellulose. They've been working on the technology for years to get try and get it commercially viable. Still not quite there yet, but $4 gas helps push research in that direction.

By the way- Corn and especially Ethanol prices have tumbled over the last week. Today ethanol closed at 2.25 a gallon, down from 2.91 just two weeks ago. Watch for E85 prices to drop over the next few weeks as well.
 
alevin said:
I just don't buy corn ethanol as more than a short-term transition to other alternative energy sources, due to destructive energy (fertilizer) inputs required. Anyone paying attention to the expanding dead zone in the Gulf? :(

Here's what I hope will be taking its place as fast as it can. I haven't become a single stock investor yet, but here are some of the reasons I'm starting to focus in that direction..... and some of the companies I'll be watching. :cool:

http://http://mariaenergia.blogspot.com/2008/07/terminology-tuesday-cellulosic-ethanol.html



and from various commenters on the above article....
Click to expand...

Speaking of cellulose ethanol, this is a company I've been keeping an eye on for over a year now. It hasn't gone publice yet.

http://www.iogen.ca/

CB
 
I just don't buy corn ethanol as more than a short-term transition to other alternative energy sources, due to destructive energy (fertilizer) inputs required. Anyone paying attention to the expanding dead zone in the Gulf? :(

Here's what I hope will be taking its place as fast as it can. I haven't become a single stock investor yet, but here are some of the reasons I'm starting to focus in that direction..... and some of the companies I'll be watching. :cool:

http://http://mariaenergia.blogspot.com/2008/07/terminology-tuesday-cellulosic-ethanol.html

There are many cellulosic ethanol testing plants in the works, although we've yet to see anything brought to scale. One of the most recent projects is at Oklahoma State University's Bioenergy Center, which has planted switchgrass and sorghum for a facility in Kansas, expected to be operational in 2010.
Click to expand...

and from various commenters on the above article....

...Cellulosic ethanol can also be made from solid waste and agricultural waste.

New technology has allowed solid waste from landfills to be digested in such a way as to produce gas, methane, which ultimately is burned more cleanly than it would be if the process were left to natural decomposition. Even manure from cows and chickens can be turned into ethanol.

Waste energy and cellulosic ethanol go hand-in-hand. They, most probably, will be installed at each landfill site and hooked into the grid and added to the pipeline. Closed-loop system is the name for using waste material as a feedstock.
Click to expand...

Cellulosic ethanol is not the end, it is only the second generation of ethanol. In three or five years or so along comes (third generation) algae oil. Algae hypergrows with CO2, so it can be used to clean emissions. Bend the smokestack back down around to feed large scale algae pond blooms that are harvested regularly.

The better news is that some strands of algae are up to 60% oil by mass. The algae is pressed into pure biodiesel and the leaves are dried and fermented into ethanol. Cellulosic technology has advanced into the 1 gallon of water and $1 for each gallon of ethanol produced range. Here are some names of companies pursuing second and third generation ethanol: Coskata, Iogen, OriginOil.
Click to expand...

Algae doesn't need land to grow. And, importantly, sequesters more CO2 than any other plant in the process. Producing a lot of oxygen as a by product.

There's at least 60,000 different species -- and probably a lot more -- with some microalgae containing up to 50% lipids or vegetable oil.

Importantly, algae also promises no change in infrastructure required.
After all...oil itself is essentially fossilized algae.


Valcent produces algae in their closed loop "bioreactors" -- initial test runs were at 33,000 gallons an acre -- on semi-arid land in Texas that can't be used for food cultivation. To put that in perspective, palm, which I believe is the next highest source, can get some 6,700 gallons an acre.

Valcent thinks it can find the right algae species to get them up to the 100,000 gallon level. Indeed, they claim that if 1/10 of the state of New Mexico were used for algae production, they could meet the energy demands for the entire United States.
Click to expand...

SF-based Solyzyme...(is) private....claims not to even need sunlight to make algae. If that's true, they just solved one of the major obstacles to industrial production of biodiesel from algae.

Chevron seems to be impressed. America's number 2 oil producer just signed an agreement with the company. ...

NRG Energy is using algae to capture and reduce flue gas carbon dioxide emissions from one of its coal fired utilities.
Click to expand...
 
FUTURESTRADER said:
plug-in hybrids!!!...$0.35 for 20 miles in plug in Prius hybrid, same cost as 2 100 watt lightbulbs for a day..Chevy Volt looks pretty sweet too, does 40 miles/charge
Click to expand...


40 miles for a charge doesn't help me yet.

I commute 50 miles each way to work.

And while electricity is cheap in many areas, it still is largely dependent on natural gas, nuclear, or coal in many areas. Each have their own issues to contend with.

Yes, we'll have coal for many years to come, but it's still not the clean renewal that we need to get to eventually. Nuclear- where do we put the waste? Natural Gas is here now, but again, it's a fossil fuel, and eventually will run out.

A little ethanol-

A little plug-in hybrid-

A little of CNG-

a little of this, and a little of that, and yes, we'll wean ourselves off foreign oil if we ALL pick up a piece of the problem and work to solve the long term solutions....
 
plug-in hybrids!!!...$0.35 for 20 miles in plug in Prius hybrid, same cost as 2 100 watt lightbulbs for a day..Chevy Volt looks pretty sweet too, does 40 miles/charge
 
GM is working on 18 models in 2009 for flexfuel.

But the big news will be for the 2010 model year. Five NEW models will be introduced in the 2010 model year, that use a new 1.4 liter 4 cylinder turbocharged engine. The engine will be optimized for E85, instead of being optimized for gasoline. 12 to 1 compression ratio, and a turbo boost above that, for 200 hp on E85.

Which means they will be getting somewhere around 38 MPG on E85.

Now THAT will be a nice choice.
 




GOP lawmakers want ethanol requirements reduced

By DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON --

More than four dozen House Republicans asked the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to reduce required ethanol production this year, saying renewable fuel standards enacted by Congress will boost already high corn prices in the wake of Midwest floods.


"The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is a significant factor in the increased cost of commodities, which is causing severe economic harm for low-income Americans and livestock producers," the 51 lawmakers, led by Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, senior Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, said in a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.

Complete story:


From: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/politics/story/401264.html
 
Setting Aside the Renewable Fuel Standard Will Not Reduce Corn Prices

BIO Opposes Texas Petition to EPA for Waiver of RFS

WASHINGTON — Biofuels are needed to help reduce fuel prices, which are the root cause of higher food prices, according to the available evidence. The Biotechnology Industry Organization today submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposing Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (R) request for a waiver of 50 percent of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandate for production of ethanol from grain.

BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood said, "Texas has not demonstrated in its petition to the EPA that the higher costs for corn currently impacting its livestock and agriculture industries are the result of biofuel production. In fact, Texas' own study of the problem shows that the soaring cost of oil is the primary cause of higher agricultural costs and food prices and that relaxing the RFS will not lower corn prices.

"The RFS is designed to move the United States as rapidly as possible toward sustainable production of advanced biofuels. Abandoning the RFS today would send a signal to the market that could undercut ongoing research and development in biotechnology that is vital to achieving that goal."

An April study by the Agricultural & Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University, cited by Texas in its petition to the EPA for a waiver, demonstrates that higher energy costs have had the most significant impact on food and grain prices by increasing the cost of production. Further, the study clearly shows that demand for biofuels is outpacing the Renewable Fuel Standard's mandate, due to increased fuel prices and state and federal requirements for clean fuels. The analysis concludes that relaxing the new RFS and reducing production of biofuels would not lower grain prices. The study is available at http://www.afpc.tamu.edu/pubs/2/515/RR-08-01.pdf.

Complete story:
http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/675428.html
 
Texas Governor RFS waiver request follows large donation from Poultry Producer


DTN news blogger Todd Neeley:

The Houston Chronicle reports that Texas Gov. Rick Perry's request for a waiver on the Renewable Fuel Standard was made following a six-figure donation to the Republican Governors Association from poultry giant Pilgrim's Pride.

Perry is the chairman of the RGA. "Gov. Rick Perry's request for a waiver of federal corn-based ethanol production mandates was prompted by a March meeting he had with East Texas poultry producer Lonnie 'Bo' Pilgrim, who six days later gave $100,000 to the Republican Governors Association chaired by Perry.

In the three weeks following that donation, Perry's staff began preparing to submit the renewable fuel standards waiver request to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, according to 596 pages of records obtained from the governor's office by the Houston Chronicle under the Texas Public Information Act," the Chronicle said. "The donation, given March 31, also made it possible for Pilgrim to address nine Republican governors during a closed-door energy conference in Grapevine to explain his belief that ethanol production is driving up feed costs for poultry and livestock producers.

Complete story at Houston Chronical:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5867104.html
 
Ethanol futures on the Chicago Board of Trade settle today at $2.91 gallon, down three cents for the week.

Meanwhile, gasoline is spiking up again. Saw it jump locally today from $4.08 on my way in to work this morning, to $4.29 on my way home.

Now THAT is a jump in one day.
 
According to the Department of Agricultuer, even WITH the flooded land, this year's corn crop is going to only be slightly less than last years- and still will rank as the second largest in history, above every other year except 2007. While they don't have final numbers yet, it still looks like close to 12 billion bushels this year.

cornprod.gif


cornac.gif
 
U.S. May Free Up More Land for Corn Crops
Signs are growing that the government may allow farmers to plant crops on millions of acres of conservation land, while a chorus of voices is also pleading with Washington to cut requirements for ethanol production. The Midwest floods have washed out an estimated four million acres of prime farmland, crimping this year’s harvest as the world desperately needs more grain. With corn prices setting records and soybean prices not far behind, the Bush administration is under intense pressure to do what it can to bolster the food supply.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/b...em&ex=1214280000&en=437ec917cd910877&ei=5087
 
Show me-

Here is a good article for you to read:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0506fuelmay06,0,481881.story

Food vs. fuel a global myth

By Robert Zubrin and Gal Luft May 6, 2008 Ar





By Robert Zubrin and Gal Luft


In recent weeks, a flood of reports and statements has claimed that the world's biofuel programs—in particular the U.S. corn ethanol effort—is starving poor people around the globe. Even the UN's special rapporteur for the Right to Food decried biofuel production as "a crime against humanity."

It seems so obvious: With so much corn being turned into fuel, food shortages must inevitably result, and biofuel programs must be the cause. However, that's completely untrue.

Here are the facts. In the last five years, despite the nearly threefold growth of the corn ethanol industry (or actually because of it), the U.S. corn crop grew by 35 percent, the production of distillers grain (a high-value animal feed made from the protein saved from the corn used for ethanol) quadrupled and the net corn food and feed product of the U.S. increased 26 percent.

(Much more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0506fuelmay06,0,481881.story )
 
Bullishreturn said:
Not sure exactly what town you are talking about. There are some of the lowest prices in the Nation in Illinois:

If it's only a dime difference at the station you are looking at, it's probably because the owner of the station thinks he can get away with it. There are a couple "Sullivans Foods" stations in west central illinois that are 35% plus below the price of gasoline. Search for stations near you, and then report the price you find. And then let the station owner know what other places have E85 for in that area.​


When there is competition, prices will fall.​
Click to expand...

I'll just say it is not on your map.
 
Frixxxx said:
Everyone NOT in Mideast = 6725 :toung:

But seriously, we are at alot of other countries' mercy!!!!:cool:
Click to expand...
LOL the only one of those I will say for sure is our friend is Canada...and sometimes I'm NOT so sure!;)

It's been a long time since those "Devil's Brigade" days...and memories are short.
 
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