Ethanol Hybrid Chopper

John Davis

Now that’s a mouthful. But that’s also pretty cool. The chopper pictured isn’t the ethanol hybrid, though it is a Cadillac. But, the e-magazine Winding Road reports that Cadillac boss Jim Taylor says an ethanol hybrid version is being built.

A motorcycle enthusiast himself, Taylor commissioned the Cadillac chopper in the photo above from Great American Chopper of Clawson, Michigan. More interesting still is a second bike that’s still in the works, which will feature a hybrid engine capable of running on ethanol or in a pure electric mode.

The hybrid Cadillac bike is being built by V20 Consulting of New York City, and has been tasked with displaying “GM’s strength in science and technology.” The bike is purported to be capable of a 0 to 60 sprint of 4.5 seconds, and should be unveiled for the public at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

Click here to see the article at Winding Road.

Energy, Ethanol, transportation

Ethanol Terminal Opens in Arlington, Texas

U.S. Development GroupAccording to the Houston Business Journal, U.S. Development Group, LLC opened its ethanol handling and rail terminal in Arlington, Texas. The company will distribute fuel grade ethanol to north and central Texas. Union Pacific Railroad serves the facility and can store up to 130,000 barrels of storage.

Vice-President of U.S. Development Group, LLC noted, “This terminal will help bring cleaner air to the Dallas-Forth Worth area by more efficiently distributing fuel-grade ethanol to the metroplex. The Dallas Fort Worth Rail Terminal forms a key link in the supply chain needed to meet growing demand for cleaner-burning blended fuel. The ability to pump ethanol directly to gasoline blend terminals via pipelines significantly reduces the time and cost associated with secondary trucking.”

U.S. Development Group has five additional terminals across the country, two of which also handle fuel grade ethanol. These facilities are in Linden, New Jersey and Baltimore, Maryland.

Currently, there are 38 E85 fueling locations to serve nearly 600,000 flexible fuel vehicles in the state of Texas.

E85, Ethanol, Facilities, News, transportation

Ribbon Cut For Nebraska Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

VeraSun Ribbon CuttingNebraska Governor Dave Heineman helped officials with VeraSun Energy and others in a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony and open house Thursday for its 110 million-gallon-per year biorefinery in Albion, Nebraska.

The plant is one of 11 VeraSun ethanol production facilities currently in operation. The company has an annual production capacity of more than one billion gallons, making VeraSun one of the largest ethanol producers in the United States. The Albion plant will annually process about 39 million bushels of corn to produce 110 million gallons of ethanol and 350,000 tons of distillers grains for livestock feed.

Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen congratulated VeraSun on the celebration. “Nebraska’s residents have long understood the economic, environmental and security benefits of a strong domestic ethanol industry, and their legislators have helped set the stage for ethanol and other biofuels to contribute to our nation’s energy security,” said Dinneen.

Ethanol, Facilities, News, RFA

Twelve E85 Stations to Open in Atlanta

CleanFUEL Distribution announced that twelve E85 stations will soon be open in cities surrounding Atlanta, GA. A promotion, sponsored by several entities on June 2 and 3, will sell E85 for $1.85 per gallon parts of each day. Involved in the openings will be Protec Fuel Management, CleanFUEL Distribution, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Chrysler, SAFA Express, Indore Oil and the Atlanta Clean Cities Coalition.

EPIC E85“Never before have twelve E85 stations opened at once. This is a momentous occasion. Since E85 is the key to creating a market for cellulosic ethanol, this is an extremely important step that will put the greater Atlanta area on the path to increasing petroleum independence and cleaner air. Protec and CleanFUEL Distribution are proud to have worked with our outstanding partners to open these stations,” said Todd Garner, Managing Partner of Protec and CEO of CleanFUEL Distribution.

GEFA assisted in financing 21 E85 facilities in Georgia, ten of which will be part of the grand opening festivities the week of June 2.

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Car Makers, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, News

Solar Power in Spain

John Davis

Another 8.7 megawatts of solar energy is now available in Spain. SunPower Corp. has opened two new solar-electric power plants in Llerena and Lebrija.

The solar power plant constructed by SunPower in Llerena is 4.8 megawatts; the plant in Lebrija is 3.9 megawatts. In Spain, SunPower has completed or has signed contracts to deliver solar power plants totaling more than 100 megawatts.

For these projects, SunPower used its proprietary SunPower(R) Tracker technology, which follows the sun during the day, and delivers significantly more energy than traditional fixed-tilt systems.

“We utilized our industry-leading SunPower Tracker technology at both of the power plant sites, maximizing energy output, while optimizing land use and reducing related costs,” said Marco Antonio Northland, general manager of SunPower’s European operations.

SunPower says renewable energy has a great potential of thriving in these regions of Spain.

Energy, International, Solar

World’s First Renewable Gasoline

John Davis

Sapphire Energy says renewable technology is not just for alternative fuels. The San Diego-based company says it can produce gasoline from sunlight, CO2 and microorganisms, such as algae.

Not biodiesel, not ethanol. And no crops or farm land required.

Company scientists have built a platform that uses sunlight, CO2, photosynthetic microorganisms and non-arable land to produce carbon-neutral alternatives to petrochemical-based processes and products. First up: renewable gasoline.

Sapphire’s processes and science are so radical, the company is at the forefront of an entirely new industrial category called ‘Green Crude Production.’ Products and processes in this category differ significantly from other forms of biofuel because they are made solely from photosynthetic microorganisms, sunlight and CO2; do not result in biodiesel or ethanol; enhance and replace petroleum-based products; are carbon neutral and renewable; and don’t require any food crop or agricultural land.

Energy

Airplane Builders Looking at Biodiesel, Alt Fuels

John Davis

Some of the world’s biggest airplane manufacturers are looking at renewable fuels… made from everythig from hydrogen to algae… to fly the friendly skies.

This AP article from the Seattle Times says companies at the the famous Berlin, Germany Air Show were showing off some of their alternatively-fueled aircraft:

Boeing displayed a one-seater demonstration airplane that can fly on batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. While the plane is still in the early stages, the company said that test flights have shown “a manned airplane can maintain a straight-level flight with fuel cells as the only power source.”

Boeing said the technology could potentially power small manned and unmanned aircraft. But it said it “does not envision fuel cells will provide primary power for large passenger airplanes,” although it will continue investigating their potential.

Airbus brought along a demonstrator version of its A320 passenger jet that uses fuel cells to power some of the aircraft’s steering systems. The company said it sees great potential in fuel-cell applications.

Dutch airline KLM, meanwhile, said at the show that it had signed a contract with AlgaeLink for fuel made from algae for a pilot project whose first test flight is scheduled for this fall.

AlgaeLink produces technology to grow algae that can be turned into biodiesel and is setting up two plants of its own in Europe.

Biodiesel, Hydrogen

San Francisco Getting Grease-to-Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

A $1-million grant is helping San Francisco build its first grease-to-biodiesel production facility.

This story from the Bay Area’s NBC-11 says that Mayor Gavin Newsom made the announcement today that the city had received the grant from the California Energy Commission to build the facility near the city’s sewage plant:

Mayor’s office officials said the plan is considered unique because the facility would attempt to create three grades of biodiesel from “brown grease,” which are pan scrapings and washed oil residue trapped in grease traps under restaurant sinks.

Mayor’s office officials said there are more than 2.5 million gallons of brown grease in San Francisco, compared with 1.5 million gallons of “yellow grease,” such as fryer oil.

The yellow grease is easily converted into biodiesel, while brown grease is usually discarded at sewage treatment plants.

“Our program to turn waste cooking oil and yellow grease into biodiesel has been an enormous success, but San Francisco must continue to raise the bar when it comes to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and exploring alternative energies,” said Newsom. “With this grant, our unique brown-grease-to-biodiesel plant will break new ground for sustainable fuel production in California and serve as a model for the entire state.”

The facility would produce three grades of biodiesel: high-grade, certified biodiesel; lower-grade biodiesel for use in the plant’s machinery and generators; and rich energy for cogeneration… a process that captures methane gas at the sewage plant and converts that to heat or electricity.

Last November, San Francisco started SFGreasecycle… a program that collects yellow grease from restaurants in order to make biodiesel for city vehicles, buses and fire trucks.

Biodiesel, Government

Biodiesel Works Like Gas

John Davis

A newly developed “bio-gasoline” product from XcelPlus enables internal combustion gasoline engines to run on natural oils like soybean and vegetable oil. XcelPlus is offering a “Biolene” additive that enables producers and consumers of biodiesel to convert the biofuel so it’s suitable for use in any gasoline powered engines. The company says the new product means home blenders can expect final pump-grade fuel to cost about $2.70 a gallon.

According to Mr. Bill R. Smith, President of Xcelplus, “current testing of the fuel is being conducted with test vehicles run exclusively on Biolene. The test vehicles are being monitored for CO, CO2, hydrocarbon, O2 and NOx exhaust emissions, and we are very pleased with test results to date. We are looking towards an ASTM testing for the fuel before launching it into global markets.”

Check out the google video of Biolene here:

The additive is expected to be available for purchase later this year.

Biodiesel, Energy

New CFO for BioFuel Energy Corp.

John Davis

There’s new financial leadership at BioFuel Energy Corp. The company has named Kelly G. Maguire its new Vice President-Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Maquire is replacing David J.Kornder who is resigning “to pursue an opportunity to become the Chief Executive of an oil and gas company.”

Mr. Maguire is currently the Executive Vice President of Pendum, Inc., a privately held company with roughly 2,800 employees servicing 60,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) nationwide. Mr. Maguire served as Pendum’s Chief Financial Officer from 2000 to 2006. Mr. Maguire began his career with Deloitte & Touche, LLP, spending almost 10 years in the audit area. Mr. Maguire received his B.A. degree in Accounting from the University of North Dakota.

BioFuel Energy is currently constructing two ethanol plants that would produce 115 million gallons per year in the Midwestern corn belt.

Energy, Ethanol, News