The Importance of Supporting Wind Power in the US

US President Barrack Obama has reiterated the importance of developing alternative energy sources in his State of the Union. Emphasis was given particularly to the wind energy sector as Bryan Ritterby, an employee of wind technology company Energetx Composites, sits beside the First Lady.

Developing alternative energy sources is very important to an energy hungry country like the United States. With globalization and tendencies of manufacturing companies to outsource manpower to other countries that can provide cheap labor, it is essential for the US to find other means to generate income. Having a well-developed alternative energy industry will not only contribute to fuel independence but it will also open avenues for exporting hugely abundant natural gas to other countries.

Much more, the US is a leading wind turbine manufacturer and handing this lead to another country will mean unemployment later on. It will be unwise to stop supporting wind energy and other alternative energy developments if they have been proven to work.

CompactGTL and Natural Gas

Natural gas is also making progress as a viable replacement for petroleum in vehicles. CompactGTL, a company currently developing new technologies in the oilfield industry, announced that their revolutionary small scale modular facility for converting natural gas to liquid oil has just passed the Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) test. This will make their technology closer to commercial introduction.

Liquifying natural gas is essential because it greatly reduces the volume, meaning more energy is transported with lesser space. This makes liquefied natural gas more efficient and practical to use. With CompactGTL’s small scale modular facility, liquefying natural gas can be done closer to distribution facilities making the cost more attractive to the consumers.

For more information, you may visit compactgtl.com.

EV’s, Hybrids, Petrol, Diesel, What’s Next? CNG?

Gas Fire
Source: Michael Drummond / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Electric cars and hybrids have once again been the focus in the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Different car companies showcased new technologies and forecasts about the future of present day vehicles. Motorshows are a good indication of what manufacturers see as the more probable vehicles that will be used later on. They are results of not merely guesses but calculated studies about recent trends and developments that seek to unite what consumers want with available resources.

It is interesting to note though that car manufacturers introduce new models that run on alternative fuel, they almost always have a fossil fueled version. This is because they know that majority of the consumers are not yet ready to make that switch. And, they also do not yet have a clear knowledge of what type of fuel will be used in the future.

How China is Using Wind Energy Programs to Generate Jobs

Wind Turbine
Source: Petr Kratochvil / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Chinese wind farms are in the news once again as Gamesa, a world renowned manufacturer and constructor of wind farms, has secured another contract with China to install 50 2.0 MW wind turbines in Ningxia, China. This is in addition to the 25 2.0 MW wind turbines that was agreed upon for installation last year.

China presently has a total of 80 wind farms in operation. As of 2010, energy production from wind farms was 41,800 MW and it has been growing at an accelerated rate. In China’s 12th Five Year Plan from 2011 to 2015, wind farms are included in their environmental goals and they are aiming to produce more than 150 billion kWh by the end of 2015.

Developing Negative Carbon Gasoline with Cool Planet Biofuels

Biomass is being harnessed to produce biofuels
Source: Alice Birkin / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Cool Planet Biofuels will soon be testing their newly developed negative carbon gasoline on the streets of California. They say that they are able to produce a revolutionary fuel from biomass – woodchips, corncobs and grass. What’s more is that they can alter it to become a blendstock for current E-10 gasoline or even as a drop in fuel that entirely replaces the fossil fuels that run the vehicles that we have today.

Cool Planet Biofuels is backed up by companies such as GE, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy and BP – companies who can further assist with the development of their next generation negative carbon and cost competitive fuel.

Should they deliver what they are saying, dependence on fossil fuels will be lessened and atmospheric carbon dioxide target levels are more achievable.

For more information, you may visit www.coolplanetbiofuels.com.

Renewable Energy Surpasses Nuclear Power in Production and Consumption in the US

Solar Energy Generation
Source: Petr Kratochvil / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Renewable Fuels are slowly inching their way as a viable energy source. Based from the recent Monthly Energy Review released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), they overtook nuclear energy in terms of aggregate production and consumption in the first nine months of 2011, taking a slump only in August and September.

While it is still a long way before renewable energy sources become our main energy source and the likelihood of replacing coal in generating electricity in the near future is dim, it is comforting to know that there are other possible alternatives to fossil fuels that we can tap in case the need arises. In addition, the feasibility of using renewable fuels for energy generation instead of nuclear energy is also shown by this circumstance.

This new development in energy use also addresses the matter that the energy used to power electric vehicles comes from non-environment friendly sources. Current electricity generation may not be green but having a cleaner source of energy is not far from reality.

The renewable sources of energy included in the EIA’s Monthly Energy Review for December 2011 are hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, wind, waste and ethanol.

For more information, you may visit www.eia.gov.

Should the US Military Use Biofuels Despite the High Price

Navy Ship
Photo Credit: Bobby Mikul / www.publicdomainpictures.net

The US Military will acquire 450,000 gallons of biofuel from Solazyme and Dynamic Fuels LLC to power their aircrafts and ships in next year’s RIMPAC or Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the largest international maritime exercise in the world. Solazyme will supply an algae based biofuel while Dynamic Fuels LLC will supply a biofuel based from used cooking oil and animal fats. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said that a 50-50 blend of biofuel and petroleum based diesel will be used in the exercise off Hawaii next summer. The purchase costs $12 million or roughly $26 a gallon.