Alternative Fuel Vehicle Group Honors Actor

Cindy Zimmerman

Actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. was honored this week at the 2008 Alternative Fuels and Vehicles conference and expo “for his passionate commitment to living lightly on the planet.” Begley was presented with the “Vision 20/20 Award” by the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi).

As an actor, Begley is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the long-running hit television series, “St. Elsewhere.” However, he has become better known in recent years for his environmentalism. He serves on a number of environmental boards, stars with his wife, Rachelle Carson, in their own reality television series called Living with Ed, and is the author of a new book, Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life.

AFVIThis week was the 14th annual Alternative Fuels and Vehicles conference and expo, featuring alternative fuels and advanced transportation technologies.

Tuesday was Fleet Day featuring a Ride-n-Drive event offering test drives in the latest alternative vehicles on a mapped out course. Indy Racing League team owner and former Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal did the honors of opening the event by cutting the green ribbon and then jumping into a flex-fuel vehicle with Begley to take a spin around the course.

Pictured from left to right are Robert White with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, Rahal, Annalloyd Thomason with AFVi, and Begley.

Miscellaneous

Clean Diesel Hot Topic at Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Expo

John Davis

av.pngThe Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Expo in Las Vegas that I mentioned in an earlier post is wrapping up and participants have expressed excitement about sustainable fuel choices. Supporters of clean diesel for example, say the fuel offers more power, improved fuel economy and reduced emissions. Gale Banks, chief executive officer of Gale Banks Engineering, says clean diesel turns conventional diesel thinking on its head.

“With clean diesel power, drivers can have approximately 30 percent better fuel economy and 50 percent more torque, as well as reduce emissions by up to 25 percent, when compared to gasoline-powered passenger car engines. With clean diesel no longer are fuel economy and performance mutually exclusive,” Banks said.Read More

Biodiesel, Car Makers, Energy, Production, transportation

Team Ethanol Supports Youth Voting at Indy 500

John Davis

92nd Indianapolis 500In about a week, I’ll be heading to Indianapolis for the 92nd Indianapolis 500. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council will be spearheading all kinds of activities and events for members of Team Ethanol as usual. But, Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay will be involved in more than autograph signings, meet-and-greets and exciting Indy racing. Ryan will also join Indy racing colleagues Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter for the non-profit youth voting campaign, Declare Yourself. Ryan and his track mates will help stress the power of exercising the right to vote through video segments that will be aired throughout race weekend.

Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter and Ryan Hunter-Reay recorded the video spots this week and all have registered to vote at www.declareyourself.com. The PSAs will air on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway jumbotrons for several days leading up to the anticipated May 25 race, as well as on www.indycar.com and www.indy500.com.

Declare Yourself“The Indianapolis 500 is one of the great sports traditions in our country,” said Marc Morgenstern, executive director of Declare Yourself. “Millions of young people are fans of the IndyCar Series, and we couldn’t have a bigger platform than this exciting race to get our message out. The recent presidential primary in Indiana brought out an unprecedented number of young voters, and we believe our Indy PSAs will keep young fans engaged as we race toward the election.”

“You’ve been given the opportunity for your voice to be heard. If you’re not taking advantage of that, you’re only short-changing yourself and your future. So get out and vote. In the time it takes me to do two laps, you could have registered to vote at DeclareYourself.com,” said Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The Declare Yourself Indy event will also include a special viewing opportunity of an original copy of the Declaration of Independence. The copy will be on display at Speedway Museum. The document belongs to Declare Yourself founder, producer Norman Lear. It was created on the evening of July 4, 1776 and is one of the 25 remaining original copies of the Declaration of Independence.

Declare Yourself will also have an educational multimedia exhibit that features a video segment from actress Reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon is a descendant of one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. The exhibit will also feature a theatrical reading of the document that includes a distinguished group of actors such as Mel Gibson, Morgan Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Spacey, Michael Douglas, and Renee Zellweger, among others.

Cellulosic, Energy, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing, Video

BioBox Mini Offers Small-scale Biodiesel Production

John Davis

Pacific Natural EnergyBiodiesel production is going from large-scale to small-scale. Pacific Natural Energy is introducing the BioBox Mini to offer smaller companies efficient and effective biodiesel production through a single 20-foot cargo container.

With minimal cost and equipment, entry-level customers have the ability to lead the masses towards biodiesel independence. The BioBox Mini can process up to 400,000 gallons per year of ASTM-quality biodiesel and costs less than $250,000. That translates to a ROI of approximately six months, including a production build-up period.

The BioBox Mini includes all the required equipment to start your own complete commercial biodiesel production business:

— PNE 25 SS “Mini” – Turnkey Biodiesel Processor
— 2,750-gallon total capacity WVO filtration/dewatering/storage system
— 400-gallon WVO vacuum suction tank
— One-hundred 55-gallon WVO collection lids

“No one gets left to fend for themselves. We want biodiesel to succeed, and that means every customer must succeed,” says Eric McLeod, PNE’s founder and CEO.

PNE says the BioBox Mini offers a minimum of 400 gallons of biodiesel per 8-hour batch. The company also promises to offer both training and an on-site PNE representative to run the facility for the first several weeks of BioBox operation.

PNE has a YouTube video to help customers understand how their products can help them become biodiesel-independent:

Biodiesel, Energy, Production, Video

Brown Gets Even Greener

John Davis

UPSBack in March John posted info that the shipping giant UPS was ramping up its efforts to do business the GREEN way when it added 167 compressed natural gas (CNG) powered delivery trucks to its fleet.

Now, old brown is outdoing itself. UPS has placed an order with DTNA’s Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation for the largest order of alternative-fuel and drive-train commercial vehicles to date. This time, UPS will be adding 300 CNG vehicles to its fleet, plus, 200 hybrid electric vehicles.

These environmental friendly vehicles are part of Daimler’s world-wide “Shaping Future Transportation” initiative and will be used by UPS for daily delivery operations across the United States and will function in concert with their current fleet of conventional diesel powertrain vehicles.

Daimler FreightlinerFCCC is the first manufacturer in the industry to introduce hybrid commercial vehicles into fleet operations, with over 160 HEVs in service since 2004, in addition to over 1,000 CNG-fueled chassis in service since 2000.

The hybrid-electric power train, combined with a diesel engine and electric motor, drive the FCCC chassis to achieve an over 40% improvement in fuel economy and an over 90% reduction in emissions compared to baseline non-hybrid vehicles.

UPS expects its fleet of hybrid trucks to save 176,000 gallons of fuel and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,786 tons each year.

Distribution, Energy, Production, transportation

Major Wind Project Planned for Minnesota

John Davis

In a move to expand its renewable wind energy development, while reducing carbon emissions, Minnesota Power has announced a plan to buy a North Dakota power line and use that infrastructure to move wind-generated electricity.

This article from Finance and Commerce says that the Duluth-based company has already been buying about half of the coal-generated power that has been moving through the line:

The transmission line will instead be used to pipe wind power to Minnesota customers. Mullen said the majority of Minnesota Power’s energy is derived from coal, and the transition will help the company meet the state standard of 25 percent renewable energy. The plan is to transfer the line’s the power source from coal to wind over the course of a decade, shifting to 100 percent wind energy by 2025.

“We’re finding it very competitive right now to go out and find the right renewable energy mix,” including power from water, wind and wood, [vice president of marketing and public affairs with Minnesota Power Pat] Mullen said. “This project alone should get us to, and probably exceed, our renewable energy goal.”

Minnesota Power owns two 50-megawatt wind farms near Young Unit 2 that are already up and running.

Mullen said the utility plans to begin developing several hundred megawatts of new wind generation near Center, N.D., once the transmission line purchase is complete.

Minnesota Power serves 141,000 retail customers, as well as some of the biggest industrial companies in the country.

Wind

Old Ducks Getting New Biodiesel

John Davis

One of the fixtures of Boston Harbor are the World War II-era amphibious landing vehicles, affectionately known as “ducks.” Those tourist-carrying ducks are going to have more than water rolling off their backs… they’ll have carbon emissions rolling away as they switch to cleaner burning biodiesel.

This story in the Boston Herald says Boston Duck Tours has been wanting to make the change for some time, and now it is making the green fuel part of its package:

The $300,000 vehicles initially will run on a B5 biodiesel fuel blend that’s 5 percent vegetable oil, according to director of vehicle maintenance Tony Cerulle. The vehicles’ manufacturer will only cover the one-year warranty for their diesel engines if that mix is used.

“We’ll probably go up to 40 percent or 50 percent (vegetable oil) after that,” Cerulle said. “But the real savings is if you were to run straight vegetable oil or blend your own biodiesel.”

Five “ducks” will run on the green fuel.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel Maker Practicing What It Preaches

John Davis

A Colorado biodiesel producer is following its commitment to making the green fuel by moving its headquarters into a green building. Blue Sun Biodiesel has moved into one of just 26 Leadership and Energy and Environmentalism Design (LEED)-certified buildings in the world.

This article from Biodiesel Magazine says LEED means the building reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 35 percent to promote a “whole-building” approach to sustainability:

“Blue Sun Biodiesel is working to reduce their carbon output at all stages through careful management and process,” said Mike Miller, president of Blue Sun Biodiesel.

The move testifies to Blue Sun’s commitment to green business practices, said Jeff Probst, chief executive officer of Blue Sun. “With the decision to locate our headquarters in a sustainable building, we’ve shown our commitment,” he said.

“It is important to be committed to the core principles of your business in every way,” Miller said. “Blue Sun Biodiesel recognizes that everything we do, including the office in which we work, should say something about the quality of products we offer and our industry leading principles.”

Biodiesel

Ethanol Impact is Sobering

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuels have become an essential component of the world’s motor fuel supply, according to a report released today by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

IEAIEA estimates that biofuels will account for nearly two-thirds of the non-OPEC oil supply growth this year, or more than 1.5 million gallons per day.

“While it seems unlikely that biofuel targets will be reversed in the near future, it is sobering to realize the amount of oil that would be needed to replace them,” the IEA report said.

According to the report, replacing the global supply of ethanol and biodiesel-based biofuels added to the U.S. and European markets since 2005 would require an additional 1 million barrels of crude oil to be processed per day.

Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen says the report points out the importance of ethanol production. “In the face of record oil, gasoline and diesel prices, it might seem pennywise but would be pound foolish to walk away from our commitment to biofuels and a diversified energy future,” he said.

Ethanol, News

Bill Would Give Tax Break for Flex Fuel Vehicles

Cindy Zimmerman

Now would be a good time for legislation that would provide federal tax credits for purchases of flex-fuel vehicles, according to the head of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC).

ThuneSen. John Thune (R-SD) plans to introduce a bill this week that would let buyers of cars or trucks capable of running on up to 85 percent ethanol enriched fuel claim a $1,000 tax credit.

“As the ethanol industry approaches the pending ‘blend wall,’ Senator Thune’s legislation may be an idea whose time has come,” says NEVC executive director Phil Lampert.

NEVCAccording to Lampert, NEVC has discussed the idea in the past considering the federal income tax credits that are provided to vehicles that are capable of operating on propane, natural gas, electricity, and hybrid vehicles but had decided not to push the issue since “automakers producing FFVs don’t currently add additional costs to the retail price of these products.”

Thune, who was among a bipartisan group of Senators that sent a letter last week to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson supporting the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), says his legislation would encourage consumers to buy more flex-fuel vehicles, which would in turn increase demand for E-85 and blender pumps.

E85, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News