While finding oil in the hot, dry regions of Texas might not be something new, how one company is going about it certainly is.
Last September, I told you about Valcent Product’s algae-growing operation that has the potential of producing 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year for every acre. That compares to corn’s 30 gallons per acre from corn and soybean’s 50 gallons per acre. Now, the company has attracted the attention of the national media in this CNN story:
“Algae is the ultimate in renewable energy,” Glen Kertz, president and CEO of Valcent Products, told CNN while conducting a tour of his algae greenhouse on the outskirts of El Paso.
Kertz, a plant physiologist and entrepreneur, holds about 20 patents. And he is psyched about the potential algae holds, both as an energy source and as a way to deal with global warming.
“We are a giant solar collecting system. We get the bulk of our energy from the sunshine,” said Kertz.
Algae are among the fastest growing plants in the world, and about 50 percent of their weight is oil. That lipid oil can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks, and airplanes.
Most people know algae as “pond scum.” And until recently, most energy research and development projects used ponds to grow it.
But instead of ponds, Valcent uses a closed, vertical system, growing the algae in long rows of moving plastic bags. The patented system is called Vertigro, a joint venture with Canadian alternative energy company Global Green Solutions. The companies have invested about $5 million in the Texas facility.
“A pond has a limited amount of surface area for solar absorption,” said Kertz.
“By going vertical, you can get a lot more surface area to expose cells to the sunlight. It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight just long enough to pick up the solar energy they need to produce, to go through photosynthesis,” he said.
The article goes on to point out that the idea is not new, as the U.S. Department of Energy experimented with algae oil for about 20 years from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. But the price of a barrel of oil in the mid-90s was only about $20. Now, with prices over $100 a barrel, experts think the process could now be profitable.
Valcent has a pretty cool video of the process on its web site: www.Valcent.net. Check it out!
International engineering firm Harris Group, which has a stake in the alternative energy game, has named former Imperium Renewables Vice President Mark Warner as the company’s director of the program management services.
A new paper from the U.S. Department of Energy tries to put to rest some of the myths that still swirl around biofuels.
MYTH: In terms of emissions, biofuels emit the same amount as gasoline or more.
MYTH: Ethanol gasoline blends can lower fuel economy and may harm your engine.
A study by the Freedonia Group Inc. says that demand for biofuels throughout the world will grow by 20 percent a year to 92 million metric tons in 2011.
Farm Foundation, a non-profit group that works as a catalyst for farm policy discussion, is holding a forum on the lifecycle carbon footprint analysis of biofuels, this coming Tuesday, April 8 from 9 am to 11 am in the First Amendment Lounge of the National Press Club in Washington D.C.
According to the 
Last fall, Grassley and several other senators wrote the Environmental Protection Agency requesting testing of blends of ethanol above 10% for non-flexible fuel vehicles. Now 
The U.S. Department of Energy’s 
“Research cooperation among government, industry and academia is needed to efficiently address the many questions about how to find the best ways to convert biomass to liquid transportation fuels,” said Tom Foust, technology manager for NREL’s National Bioenergy Center.
An additive to biodiesel has been approved by the State of Texas for its low-emission program.
DMI Industries, a leading manufacturer of wind generator towers, has named Stefan Nilsson as president of the West Fargo, North Dakota-based company.