Tonight Show host Jay Leno is an equal-opportunity biofuels promoter.
We recently pointed you to Jay’s on-line interview with Joe Jobe of the National Biodiesel Board. There is also a video on Jay Leno’s Garage about ethanol called “E85 Demystified.”
The interview is with Gale Banks of Gale Banks Engineering, “Turbocharging Since 1958.” This guy is “an unadulterated gearhead with a wall of Bonneville and powerboating world records to prove it” according to his website. Leno calls him the “smartest and oldest guy” he knows.
Banks tells Leno that he is “all over the idea of using E-85 to build the ultimate street rods.” The main point of the interview is that ethanol, in the form of E-85, is a very high performance fuel if the car engine is tuned to run on it.
Banks explains to Leno that the reason E-85 gets worse gas mileage in flex-fuel vehicles is because those engines are optimized to run on gas, not ethanol. If they were optimized for E-85, “you could go to a much higher compression ratio, which improves power output and engine efficiency. It’s the octane number,” he says. “Octane is a rating of knock-resistance. The higher the number the better. E-85 is 105 octane.”
Banks calls it “the biggest performance fuel bargain on the planet” and a “guilt-free performance topic.”
“The reality for communities from coast to coast to benefit from ethanol is here,” Gov. Heineman said. “Ethanol production is one of the major drivers of economic activity in small communities across our state, and I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to see this plant up and running.” 
“As we celebrate the grand opening of US Bio Ord, I am pleased to reflect on the success of our company’s growth,” commented Gordon Ommen, CEO of US BioEnergy. “We are thrilled to be a member of the Ord community with a shared vision of energy independence and economic vitality.”
A hydrogen-powered Ford Fusion has taken part in the annual Speed Week at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats this week and hit an amazing 161 MPH!
A new tradition at the 150-year-old Indiana State Fair has started this year as biodiesel powers the fair’s midway.
The Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth is aiming for commercial production in three years. RITE was established in 1990 by the government and leading Japanese firms in such industries as automobiles and power.
Fairgoers have the opportunity to reminisce about the customer service of old-time filling stations at the 2007 Missouri State Fair. Tad Whitten, owner of Motorsports Management, is displaying his replica of a 1933 Ethanol filling station at the fair. But, the exhibit is more than just a display. The old-fashioned filling station features skits throughout the day that are meant to help educate fairgoers on the history of ethanol. Tad says most people are surprised to find out that ethanol has been around as a fuel source for more than 100 years. You can listen to my conversation with Tad here:
European mega-financier, Fortis, has inked a deal to buy 1.1 million megawatt hours of power for the next 10 years from Enel North America. The estimated $80-million deal is seen as a hedge against the price of electricity from natural gas.
At the end of May, the Earthrace… a biodiesel-powered speed boat… had to abandon its record-breaking attempt to circumnavigate the globe. At the time, they were down… but not out!