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The Media’s Role in the Range Fuels Fiasco
Join the forum discussion on this post Now that it seems that the mainstream media has finally caught on to the fact that something went terribly awry at Range Fuels, it is time for me to close the book on them. This will be my last Range...
Reintroducing Butanol
This story was initially intended to cover a recent interview that I did with Cobalt Technologies CEO Rick Wilson. However, the introduction and background on butanol became long enough that I felt it was a standalone story. The interview with Rick...
The Natural Gas Debate: Will It Do More than Renewables to Reduce Carbon Emissions?
The Economist just finished hosting an online debate on natural gas. The resolution was an interesting one: This house believes that natural gas will do more than renewables to limit the world’s carbon emissions. At first glance, the statement may...
Alternative Fuels for the Military: What the RAND Report on Biofuels Really Said
The just-issued RAND report Alternative Fuels for Military Applications has generated quite a bit of controversy. However, in my opinion many of the news stories covering the report got the gist of the message wrong. In essence, what has been...
Vinod Khosla and the Gasification/Fermentation Debate
Vinod Khosla is once more offering up his prognostications on the future of the energy business: What Matters in Biofuels? Given the likely continued dominance of the internal combustion engine, cellulosic and sugar-derived fuels offer one of the...
Great Green Fleet Neither Great Nor Green?
In my recent interview with Tom Hicks, who is the Deputy Assistant Secretary to the Navy (Energy), he explained some of the Navy’s energy initiatives. One of those is to sail the “Great Green Fleet.” The goal is that in 2012 they will put a carrier...
EPA Expands E15 Decree
This week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of 15% ethanol fuel blends (E15) for 2011-2006 model year cars: EPA Grants E15 Fuel Waiver for Model Years 2001 – 2006 Cars and Light Trucks WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental...
Marginal Land Produces Marginal Biomass
The global potential for energy crops is a topic of great interest, and the media is often filled with reports of the potential for production on marginal land. Indeed, some of these reports go so far as to suggest that a substantial fraction or...
Who, How, and Why: $140 Oil and $5 Gas
The following guest post is from OilPrice.com. ———————————— Who, How, and Why: $140 Oil and $5 Gas According to a loosely-organized apocalyptic Christian movement, May 21, 2011 will be the “end of days.” On or about that same date, the...
Range Fuels Out of Money?
It is no secret that I have been a critic of Range Fuels — not necessarily of their technology but of their approach. I won’t rehash all of the issues I have had with the company; in a nutshell I felt they like were making claims that were very...
When Economic Recovery Collides with Flat Oil Production
A theme that I commonly discuss in articles and presentations is the problem of economic recovery when oil prices are high. If the market is well-supplied and there is ample excess oil production capacity, oil prices tend to be moderate and stable,...
Ethanol Exports Increase Dependence on Foreign Oil
Near the end of my recent post documenting some of the antics of various ethanol interests, I wrote the following: “As always, I invite a response from ethanol interests or readers who wish to dispute my points. If someone wishes to engage on these...
