During the past 20 years, America has undergone a drastic shift in consciousness regarding our perception of the environment.  In years past, aggressive capitalistic ventures and the corporations viewed the environment as something to be used and abused in order to increase the bottom line of profitability.  In the past 20 years, however, the environmental movement has fought to enlighten America, and the rest of the world, to the utter importance of protecting the environment.  Environmentalism has slowly seeped into mainstream pop culture to the point that today “being green” is in vogue.  We can purchase green cars, green foods, and green houses.  As many consumer products are now being produced with an environmental conscience, one of the biggest areas of concern going forward is fuel.
Fuel is at the very heart of human existence.  We use energy to heat and cool our homes, drive our cars, light our abodes.  The development of alternative energy has literally exploded in the past 20 years.  Currently, we seem to be in a race against time.  Physicists, engineers, and entrepreneurs the world over are searching day and night for the future of alternative energy.  The very development and research of alternative energy is a billion dollar industry, and the finding and establishing of a permanent alternative energy source is seen by many experts as one of the most important issues of the next century.  One of the alternative energy resources currently under research and development is algae oil.

Algae oil is often thought of as mere pond scum.  Not necessarily something with a ton of inherent value.  However, scientists discovered decades ago that algae actually has large amounts of oil in it, and it could possibly act as a major source of oil.  From the 1970’s to the 1990’s, the United States government spent millions of dollars researching the possibilities of algae oil, but those efforts were finally stopped as it became evident that the costs of producing large amounts of oil from algae simply was not commercially feasible.  However, new technological developments in the 21st century have caused a resumption of interest in algae.


Pros of Algae Oil

Scientists have proven that 50% of algae’s weight is actually pure oil, and experts have estimated they can produce about 100,000 gallons of algae oil per year per acre.  In comparison, one can produce about 30 gallons from corn and 50 gallons from soybeans per year per acre.  That statistic is staggering!  These numbers are what get alternative energy scientists and enthusiasts excited about the possibilities of algae as an actual source of energy.  The upside is huge.
Due to the incredibly high yield potential of algae oil production, it is quickly being placed at the top of the list versus other plant-based alternatives.  Cutting edge operations are beginning to grow the algae vertically in warehouses, and this is changing the possibilities.  Oil that is produced from corn, for example, is limited to the amount of earth that a corn field can take up.  The possibility with algae oil production is much greater if it can be grown vertically.  This means a much larger amount of oil could be produced in a much smaller area, and this is an essential element in developing an alternative source of fuel.



Cons of Algae Oil

There are two primary concerns surrounding algae oil production.  The first is that it requires a huge amount of CO2.  Current ideas include building plants in close proximity to coal plants and other nuclear power plants and somehow sequester the CO2 at these plants and pipe it in to the algae oil plants.  The problem is that technology is very expensive.  Low-cost alternatives are currently being researched and developed.
The second primary concern is that algae oil production is not yet seen as commercially viable.  The cost of producing oil in this manner is still very high, and the reduction in cost is largely dependent on further technological advances.  Thus, although algae oil is seen as a strong alternative fuel source, it may be several years before things come together to the point that the first “algae-fueled” car hits the road.  The rise and fall of oil prices is reflected every day in fx trading, as traders around the world trade currencies such as the U.S. Dollar and Canadian Dollar that are heavily influenced by the rise and fall of oil prices.