E85 Boondoggle of the Day: Nebraska’s Parallel E85 Universe

JohnHiemstra — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:10:38 +0000

From the High Plains Journal: Nationally, gas prices have risen nearly every day for the past 42 days. Some analysts expect that a return to $100 oil–and $4 gas–isn’t far behind. But Nebraska drivers are already saving money by filling up with E10. “Nebraska drivers have already saved over $4.5 million in 2009 by buying E10,” said

E85 Fuel Pump in Nebraska

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E85 Boondoggle of the Day: Nebraska’s Parallel E85 Universe

Grow, Canada: A Sustainable Biofuel From the Great White North

JohnHiemstra — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:40:30 +0000

In honor of Canada Day we bring you news from the Canadian capital, where a suburban service station has become the first in the world to sell a blend of gasoline and cellulosic ethanol biofuel. As part of a month long trial, drivers who fill up their Nissan X-Trails or Acura CSXs at a Shell station in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean have the choice of “CE-10″ blend — a mixture of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent cellulosic ethanol from Ottawa-based Iogen ’s nearby demonstration plant. If the test goes well, Iogen hopes to have a full-scale plant running in Saskatchewan within the next few years. Before you dredge up the usual complaints about biofuel, be forewarned: this ain’t just any old ethanol. This is the so-called “second generation” ethanol that until now was never available to consumers. The CE-10 in Ottawa was produced from an agricultural residue that otherwise would have been discarded. Unlike ethanol produced from corn or sugar, nobody’s converting a potential food source into fuel. Even better, there aren’t any of those pesky nitrous oxide emissions associated with the production of other biofuels, and Iogen estimates that lifecycle CO2 emissions of cellulosic ethanol are 90 percent less than gasoline with no decrease in power or fuel economy. What’s not to love? Well, the fuel isn’t yet ready for full-scale commercial production, but Iogen is hoping the demonstration project will change that. “Building a demo plant is one thing but you then need to go through the process of operating the new technology at scale, learning, modifying and lowering costs,” Iogen CEO Brian Foody said in a statement (PDF). “With the volumes we’re producing today, we’re confident about the future.” We’re pretty confident, too. We were in the area last week and decided to be part of biofuel history by filling up at this very station. Our mileage didn’t decrease, our car didn’t explode and our wallets didn’t get any lighter — though we did get some funny looks from the other folks filling up when we started taking pictures of a gas pump. See Also: More Corn Ethanol Could Boost Cellulosic Ethanol Cellulosic Ethanol: One Molecule Could Cure Our Addiction to Oil Another Argument Against Ethanol Photo: Flickr/ jsloss

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Grow, Canada: A Sustainable Biofuel From the Great White North

Scion iQ could hit U.S. market by late 2010

JohnHiemstra — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:19:53 +0000

The Volt, Prius, Insight and other smaller hybrids excel in high mileage freeway and city commuting. The question becomes- will GM have a product for the City Car segment (the Volt will be priced outside of this segment)? ….. Leftlane is the leading source for automotive industry and vehicle news, new car research, future vehicle information, and reviews. Read by car shoppers, driving enthusiasts, autoworkers, executives, and investors, the website is updated throughout …

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Scion iQ could hit U.S. market by late 2010

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E85 Boondoggle of the Day: Nebraska’s Parallel E85 Universe

Grow, Canada: A Sustainable Biofuel From the Great White North

Scion iQ could hit U.S. market by late 2010