Tuesday, April 25, 2006

[Biofuels] Beans means oil crisis relief Forget ethanol fuel blends from sugar, tomorrow's cars could be full of beans, according to University of Queensland legume biotechnology expert Professor Peter Gresshoff. [Physics Org] 2:57:57 PM Google It!    [Energy policy] Bush’s Earth Day Message: Hydrogen, Plug-Ins and Ethanol President Bush chose the California Fuel Cell partnership as the venue for an Earth Day address on advanced transportation, during which he emphasized hydrogen as the future solution, but referenced hybrids, plug-in hybrids and ethanol as being important transition technologies. [Green Car Congress] 12:29:02 PM Google It!    [Environmental policy] State of the State Addresses Include Many Environment - Energy Initiatives In the 2006 round of annual "State of the State" speeches, a number of state governors announced initiatives concerning the environment and energy that they hope to implement in the coming year. Below are some examples: California: Governor Schwarzenegger acknowledged that traffic and congestion in California have led to poor air quality and medical problems. He said that air quality improvement should be one of the measures the state invests in over the next 10 years, calling for clean air to be part of the critical infrastructure of California. Connecticut: Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell called for the creation of a new state Department of Energy, to examine and confront future energy issues. The Department would be designed to act as a liaison between state and local governments, be the state’s voice on energy at federal proceedings, promote new and energy efficient technologies, and create a state-wide energy policy. Ms. Rell also called for the extension of the current sales tax exemption for energy-efficient products and restoration of the state’s $12 million Energy Conservation and Load Management Fund. Georgia: In his budget plan, Governor Perdue included $2 million to promote and expand research on alternative fuel sources. He said Georgia’s position as a strong agricultural state will allow it to be a national leader in the development and production of bio-fuels. Mr. Perdue said that bio-fuels will be able to help the state meet its own energy needs, reduce its dependence on oil, and create a source of revenue. Minnesota: Governor Pawlenty announced a new goal to have 25 percent of all of the state’s energy needs, including mobile, met by renewable sources by the year 2025. As a step toward that goal, he signed an executive order requiring state employees to put to use state-owned E85 (ethanol based) fuel vehicles. Mr. Pawlenty also called for E85 to be available at gas stations, as an alternative to one of the gasoline fuels. New Mexico: Governor Richardson said the state would offer an advanced energy manufacturing tax credit to encourage cutting-edge energy technology firms to make New Mexico their home. He also said the state would create a land conservation fund to support open land, wildlife, and clean energy projects; establish a tax credit to expand solar energy development in homes and businesses; and create a Renewable Energy Transmission Authority to manage the emerging growth of and market for renewable energy in New Mexico. New York: New York Governor George Pataki called for New York to be the worldwide center for renewable energy research and product development. He proposed tax exemptions for renewable energy companies in the entire state of New York as a means of attracting industry leaders and researchers. The governor also announced his intention to propose a plan to jumpstart "a new era of statewide availability and use of renewable fuels," beginning with an initiative to make tax-free renewable fuels available at service stations all across the state. The plan would also establish refineries that make ethanol out of agricultural and wood products from New York farms and forests, help finance advanced clean coal power plants, and spur the development of efficient hybrid vehicles. 12:11:35 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] Biodiesel: The slippery facts. Via Gristmill, 4/23/06: Biodiesel -- the cleaner-burning vegetable-based oil that can be substituted for ordinary petroleum diesel -- is getting a lot of press these days. That's not too surprising: aternatives to oil tend to get a lot of attention when fuel prices are rising, which they're certainly doing right now. Perhaps the biggest piece of recent policy news is Washington state's new renewable fuels standard, passed just last month, which mandates that 2 percent of the diesel sold in the state must be biodiesel by the end of 2008. That got me thinking -- why just 2 percent? Couldn't we do better than that? Well, maybe so. But perhaps not by a whole lot. 9:48:18 AM Google It!

© Copyright 2006 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 5/12/2006; 1:04:28 PM.