Attendees to the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference going on this week in Los Angeles heard that their industry faces quite a challenge to go from the current 1% of U.S. energy supplies to President Bush’s goal of 20% by 2030. In fact, it could be a half-billion-dollar challenge.
This article from Reuters says delegates are trying to figure out how to reach that goal:
That would mean by 2030 there will have to be 325 gigawatts of installed wind turbines in the United States, said Michael Robinson of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Current wind turbines can make between 1.5 and 3 megawatts per tower. A large natural gas or coal-fired power unit is often 400 megawatts and larger, while only five U.S. wind farms now have more than 260 megawatts of installed capacity.
“From this vantage point, it looks almost impossible,” said Robert Lukefahr, president of BP Alternative Energy North America. “But you have to remember that we’ve made big leaps before.”
Lukefahr said over the next 15 years wind power is the least costly and easiest to develop alternative to coal and natural gas. Beyond that, Lukefahr said he could not be sure what will be in store for alternative energy.
Indeed. Consider the fact that wind power grew in the U.S. by 20 percent last year to light up the equivilant of three million homes… and it’s expected to take a similar leap again this year.
About 7,000 people are attending this year’s conference… and that’s up from 5,000 last year and only about 1,000 in 2001.
Toronto, Canada-based Bio-Extraction Inc. is joining with BioNex Energy Corp to develop and test, and then prove the commercial viability of using a cold crushing technology to more efficiently extract oils from seeds for use in a BEC biodiesel refinery in the works in western Canada.
After testing B20 biodiesel for nearly the last six months, the California Department of Transportation could be switching some of its vehicles to the cleaner fuel.
What’s ahead on the road for ethanol? That’s what a new report will attempt to predict.
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry is hosting a conference on biofuels October 16-17th in Oklahoma City. More information is on the way but this web site 
It is my pleasure to invite you to attend to the Oklahoma Governor’s Conference on Biofuels.
A showdown over ethanol is brewing at the Organization of American States’ General Assembly meeting this week in Panama. According to 
In a paper prepared to be delivered at the assembly, the OAS says that although the hemisphere is “endowed with abundant natural resources for energy production,” the bloc’s leaders should discuss alternatives to the region’s continuing dependency on fossil fuels.
Not surprisingly, on the other side of the issue is the U.S.-hating Hugo Chavez, leader of oil-rich Venezuela. He’s joined by Cuba’s Fidel Castro, and not too surprisingly, Mexico… which has great oil reserves of its own:
On empty in East Lansing? Runnin’ low near the Alamo? The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council or EPIC has an E85 station finder on its web site 
Congress is considering some proposals that would fund studies to figure out if pipelines that would carry ethanol and biodiesel are viable options. 
Nearly 50 years in the business of engine performance should be enough experience to earn one the title of “Auto Performance Expert.” Gale Banks with 