Photo from: http://inhabitat.com/2007/10/22/power-your-car-with-algae-algae-biocrude-by-livefuels/
June 29 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Department of Energy will award as much as $24 million in new grants to three research projects aimed at commercializing biofuels derived from algae.
The projects will be carried out by three groups that include partners from academia, national laboratories and private companies, according to a statement from the department.
The Sustainable Algal Biofuels Consortium of Mesa, Arizona, led by Arizona State University, will receive as much as $6 million to evaluate algal biofuels as replacements for petroleum-based fuels. Research will investigate biochemical conversion of algae to fuels and products, as well as chemistry properties of algal fuels and fuel intermediates.
The University of California, San Diego, will lead the Consortium for Algal Biofuels Commercialisation, which the Energy Department said will focus on developing algae as a “robust biofuels feedstock.” The project will be supported by as much as $9 million in grant money.
Would you say the US is serious about algae-derived fuel? I would say so, although $24M doesn’t go very far in the research labs, it will surely help a fledgling industry compete with big oil.
As if humanity needed another reminder of the environmental, economic, and energy security issues associated with our collective dependence on petroleum, the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster brought the point home with a vengeance. Some of my more progressively minded friends have made statements like, "Well, at least the silver lining is that offshore drilling is dead and biofuels will be adopted quicker."
Which led me to ponder, will biofuels actually be deployed faster in the aftermath of the disaster? And if so, is that really a good thing?
The U.S. is the largest consumer of oil in the world, accounting for roughly 22% of the global market. Not surprisingly, it is also the largest biofuels market in the world. From 2000-2010, corn ethanol production grew from less than 2 billion gallons to an expected 12 billion gallons in 2010. Given that a gallon of ethanol contains two-thirds the amount of energy contained in a gallon of gasoline, ethanol will displace about 6% of the 140-billion-gallon U.S. gasoline market in 2010.
Ethanol (and to a lesser degree, biodiesel) has gone mainstream, provides thousands of jobs, and now displaces several percentage points' worth of gasoline and diesel consumption. Yay for biofuels!
It wasn’t too long ago that the ethanol industry experienced the perfect storm…high energy prices, high corn prices and low ethanol prices. Also during this time food prices rose. Why? While the reality was that high energy prices were a major factor (oil was more than $15o per barrel at its peak), ethanol was blamed over and over again as the major culprit. Today, research papers are still being published saying that ethanol was not the main offender; yet the debate is still active. So this week, I read the book, “The Economics of Food,” by Patrick Westhoff. To disclose Westhoff’s background, he grew up on an Iowa farm, has a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Iowa State University and currently co-directs the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri.
Westhoff acknowledges very quickly that ethanol did have a role in rising food costs.”Biofuels played an important role in the rise and fall of food prices between 2005-2009, but other factors were also at play. Anything that affects the amount of food produced or consumed in the world will have some impact on food prices.” After explaining what some of those other factors are, he writes, “Thus, a first rule of thumb: Increasing biofuel production raises the price of food.” (Author’s italics.)
No-conflict fuel is made from waste, not food, so there should not be an impact on food for most biodiesel production. How much soy oil did you eat today, anyway? I did not eat any at all.
Ethanol and biodiesel retailer Propel Fuels and Growth Energy aim to get more Sacramento-area drivers to use homegrown renewable fuels with a promotion announced Monday.
Through July 4, consumers can obtain a pre-paid fuel card for five free gallons of E-85, an ethanol blend, or biodiesel, to be used any time at one of Propel’s five area stations. To register for the card, visit the Propel Fuels site. Once registered, Propel will mail free fuel cards to customers while supplies last.
“There are more than 40,000 flex fuel drivers in the Sacramento area and we want to make sure they know that homegrown fuels, like Propel’s E85 and biodiesel, are locally available alternatives to the foreign oil used in gasoline,” Growth Energy chief executive officer Tom Buis said in a news release. “With our country’s own Independence Day right around the corner, we want to encourage flex fuel vehicle owners to also demonstrate their independence from foreign oil at the pump.”
“Drivers now have a choice, they can break free from imported oil,” Propel Fuels CEO Matt Horton said. “Together with Growth Energy, we are increasing awareness and use of alternative fuels which will create jobs, improve our environment and decreasing our nation’s dependence on oil.”
Propel Fuels installed E-85 and B-5 biodiesel pumps at five gas stations in Sacramento, Rocklin, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove. It also has biofuels pumps at six stations in Washington state, and it plans to put hundreds more in California.
Growth Energy, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Jefferson City, Mo., promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the use of ethanol in gasoline and decreasing the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
This is a great way to introduce biodiesel or ethanol to a potential buyer, a way to show how clean and powerful can go together in the same fuel. I hope you will take advantage of this offer.