Free Republic

I’ve written more articles about the problems with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) here than I can count. What’s largely been lacking in this discussion is any sort of reasonable compromise that could be offered to supporters of this system other than a winner-take-all battle. Of course, the ethanol lobby has been so uncompromising in their demands, that most offers would be brushed off anyway. Still, there might be a path forward that could keep the ethanol companies in business while doing away with the RFS entirely. This is a subject that Forbes energy analyst Robert Rapier has been tackling...

(CNSNews.com) - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Friday it is investing up to $100 million in biofuels with the goal “to double the number of fuel pumps capable of supplying higher blends of renewable fuel to consumers, such as E15 and E85.”“A typical gas pump can deliver fuel that contains a maximum 10% ethanol (E10), which limits the amount of renewable energy most consumers can purchase at the pump, despite the fact that our farmers now produce record amounts of renewable biofuels,” the USDA press release says.“This new investment seeks to double the number of fuel pumps capable of supplying...

Talk about the Norfolk terrier tail wagging the Great Dane. If they are to have any hope of winning their party’s nomination, Republican presidential hopefuls better support ethanol mandates, Hawkeye State politicos told potential candidates at the recent Iowa Agricultural Summit in Des Moines. “Don’t mess with the RFS,” Republican Governor Terry Branstad warned, referring to Renewable Fuel Standards that require refiners to blend increasing amounts of ethanol into gasoline. “It is the Holy Grail, and I will defend it,” said Rep. Steve King, another Iowa Republican. It is vital for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and preventing dangerous climate change...

Are you thinking about buying a new fuel efficient car but are wary of hybrid technology? Fear not! There are dozens of cars on the market today that deliver great fuel economy without resorting to heavy and expensive battery packs. While most of these vehicles are designed to run on petroleum products (either conventional gasoline or diesel fuel), the Ford Focus SFE is a FlexFuel vehicle that can run on 100% domestic E85 ethanol fuel as well as conventional unleaded gasoline. 2014 Ford Focus five-door E85 holds a significant price advantage over regular unleaded gas in some parts of the...

Efforts to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline were dealt a blow Tuesday by legislation that would block a 15% biofuel blend until more studies are done on whether it harms engines. A bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) would require a comprehensive review of fuels containing more than 10% ethanol before they're allowed in the marketplace. By a vote of 19-7, the bill was approved by a House committee on science, space and technology. Sensenbrenner chairs the committee. Makers of small engines, especially, have said scores of their products could be ruined if consumers use a...

Interesting timing, especially when some biomass companies are switching from wood chips to corn, because they couldn’t turn a profit on wood chips. Looks like all the wheels are coming off the bus now.To Survive, Some Biofuels Companies Give Up on Biofuels – Technology Review Gevo, a prominent advanced-biofuels company that has received millions in U.S. government funding to develop fuels made from cellulosic sources such as grass and wood chips, is finding that it can’t use these materials if it hopes to survive. Instead, it’s going to use corn, a common source for conventional biofuels. What’s more, most of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A ruling by the Obama administration allowing the sale of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol is running into legal hurdles from trade groups opposing the plan. The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday over the decision to allow the sale of gasoline containing higher blends of corn-based ethanol, the second major group to protest the ruling. The Obama administration said in October that gas stations could start selling the ethanol blend for vehicles built since the 2007 model year, increasing it from the current blend of 10 percent ethanol.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The push to produce more ethanol in Minnesota has come with a cost to the environment. Five ethanol plants in Minnesota have paid nearly $3 million in the past year for violating air and water quality standards. For example, Buffalo Lake Energy in Fairmont was fined for producing ethanol without a wastewater treatment system permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Another plant illegally discharged wastewater into a creek. Several have failed to regularly monitor emissions and discharges.

Back in 2004, both a network TV crew and eager motorists were on hand when an E-85 pump opened for business at a busy SuperAmerica station in St. Paul. The excitement didn't last. Today, that pump at the station on Grand Avenue sells only unleaded gasoline, not the 85-percent ethanol blend once touted as leading a revolution in biofuels. That single St. Paul pump mirrors the struggles E-85 has had penetrating the consumer market across the state, especially in urban areas. The volume of E-85 sales has fallen about 25 percent from its 2008 peak, Minnesota statistics show. And the...

Donning FDR's cape, Eisenhower's stripes and JFK's boat shoes, President Obama observed in Florida on Tuesday that his "clean energy economy" will require "mobilization" on the order of fighting World War II, building the interstate highway system and going to the moon. Of course, the only "mobilization" going on at the moment is on behalf of ethanol, whose many political dispensations the biofuels lobby is finding new ways to preserve even as the evidence of its destructiveness piles up. The latest embarrassment arrives via the peer-reviewed journal Science, not known for its right-wing inclinations. A new paper calls attention to...

Minnesota has been an unofficial testing ground for using ethanol to fuel vehicles, but after years of steady increases, interest appears to be waning. Despite a push from the governor and an increase in the number of so-called flexible-fuel vehicles on the road — which can run on either gasoline or a mostly ethanol blend — sales of E85 have dipped in recent months, beyond the normal decline in winter months. In February, sales of E85, a cleaner-burning fuel consisting of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, hit their lowest mark since 2006, according to a new report by...

A radical twin-fuel engine from Ford, code-named “Bobcat,” that variably blends gasoline and ethanol on demand to realize diesel-like performance continues to make steady progress in its development, according to presentations made by the automaker to the Department of Energy and Society of Automotive Engineers in April. The presentations also provide a first look at the engine’s architecture and make some remarkable claims about “E85-optimized” engine efficiency versus size.

Anyone interested in a car that gets 110 mpg, 400 hp, and 500 tq? Of course you are, but where can you get such an automobile? What if I told you that you just need to get the engine, and put it in your car? Awesome huh? A man has invented an E85 engine that gets all those stats. E85 is known for being very inefficient, but it delivers more horsepower to engines that can run on it while reducing mpg. All we needed was someone to make E85 efficient. Well, now we have.

Using a separate E85 direct injection boosting system combined with gasoline port fuel injection (PFI) makes the engine more efficient in its use of gasoline, and can be viewed as a more cost-effective alternative to a modern diesel, according to a Ford study presented by Robert Stein, currently of AVL, formerly of Ford, at the SAE 2009 World Congress.

HOUSTON, Aug. 7 -- The US Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request submitted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry for a 50% waiver from the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS) mandate for corn-based ethanol. The RFS, part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, requires increased national production of renewable biofuels to 36 billion gal/year by 2022 from 9 billion gal/year in 2008. Perry blamed increased demand for corn-based ethanol for contributing to escalating corn prices, which he said contributes to higher food prices and also higher costs for livestock feed (OGJ Online, July 22, 2008). EPA said...

"In terms of renewable fuels, ethanol is the worst solution," Patzek says. "It has the highest energy cost with the least benefit."Ethanol is produced by fermenting renewable crops like corn or sugarcane. It may sound green, Patzek says, but that's because many scientists are not looking at the whole picture. According to his research, more fossil energy is used to produce ethanol than the energy contained within it. Patzek's ethanol critique began during a freshman seminar he taught in which he and his students calculated the energy balance of the biofuel. Taking into account the energy required to grow the...

Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.

So what's more important to you: energy independence and this state's "new energy economy," or the fight against hunger?

President Bush last week called on the nation to invest in new technology to reduce dependence on foreign oil. The president set specific targets for the U.S., calling for a 20% reduction in gasoline use over the next 10 years. He said that a boost in the use of alternative fuels such as ethanol would account for most of that reduction, cutting gasoline use by 15%. Stricter gas-mileage standards for vehicles, he said, should lead to the other 5% reduction. The president also proposed doubling the nation's strategic-petroleum reserves to hedge against oil-supply interruptions. Increased calls for energy independence come...

House Democrats in the first weeks of the new Congress plan to establish a dedicated fund to promote renewable energy and conservation, using money from oil companies. That's only one legislative hit the oil industry is expected to take next year as a Congress run by Democrats is likely to show little sympathy to the cash-rich, high-profile business. Whether the issue is rolling tax breaks - some approved by Congress only 18 months ago - pushing for more use of ethanol and other biofuels instead of gasoline, or investigations into shortfalls in royalty payments to the government, oil industry lobbyists...