Energy Issues Could Help Define the 2012 Republican Primary

Energy Issues Could Help Define the 2012 Republican Primary

Argues that energy and environmental issues, and the candidate stances on them, will play a large role in the 2012 presidential election. While president Obama’s position may be well known, for most Americans the platforms of the Republican candidates are just now coming into focus.

12 Synthetic Biology Biofuel & Biochemical Companies to Watch

12 Synthetic Biology Biofuel & Biochemical Companies to Watch

A detailed review of 12 U.S. based synthetic biology, biofuel & biochemical companies that are developing third and fourth generation biofuels, bioindustrial & household chemical, and food additive products; using synthetic biology to produce engineered microorganisms and specialty enzymatic products. Each company is examined in turn, looking at its financials and the uniqueness and strength of its processes and technology as well as at any important partnerships or alliances that have been formed.

Can Electric Vehicles Take Off? A Roadmap to Find the Answer

Can Electric Vehicles Take Off? A Roadmap to Find the Answer

Electric cars are finally coming to market in the U.S., but what is the future potential for this much-touted technology? A good way to find out would be to launch demonstration projects in selected U.S. cities to determine if, given incentives and the proper infrastructure, the public will truly embrace plug-in vehicles.

Algal Biodiesel: Pros and Cons (A Response to “Could Algae be the New Corn?” by Julia Verdi)

Algal Biodiesel: Pros and Cons (A Response to “Could Algae be the New Corn?” by Julia Verdi)

The following is a response to the article Could Algae be the New Corn? by Julia Verdi. She raised the following questions… Does Algae pose the same risks as corn? Are biofuels the wrong way to go when it comes to identifying fuel sources?

DOE Doles Out $300 Million in Clean Cities Grants to Support Clean Fuels, Vehicles, and Infrastructure Development

Last week, Secretary Chu announcen nearly $300 million in Clean Cities grants to support clean fuels, vehicles, and infrastructure development. The projects are designed to create jobs, limit pollution, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

Biofuels Market To Triple By 2020 and Create 800,000 New Jobs

The excitement surrounding the biofuels market opportunity has been tempered somewhat by its many challenges, which include ethical questions of food versus fuel, limited availability of inexpensive feedstocks, petroleum price volatility, overcapacity of production and the global recession. However, a two recent reports from both Pike Research and Bio Economic Research Associates forecast that, despite these significant challenges, the combined biodiesel and ethanol markets will reach $247 billion in sales by 2020, up from just $76 billion in 2010. Total job creation, accounting for economic multiplier effects, could reach 123,000 in 2012, 383,000 in 2016, and 807,000 by 2022.

Reining in the Agri-Biz Juggernaut

This the third article in the series The Two-Headed Dragon ~ Energy/Water/Food Scarcity and Climate Change. Top Ten Policies that Feed it, and Two New Technologies that Could Enable us to Slay It and Save the Planet focuses on the issue of big agribusiness; how it is is dominated by a very few very large corporations; the big problems this dominance is creating for farmers and the environment and some things we can do to restore our agricultural system to one more in tune with nature and that serves the interests of most citizens.

Algenol Biofuels and DOW Announce Pilot Project to Produce Ethanol from CO2, Salt Water, Sunlight and non-Arable Land

Algenol Biofuels, a Florida biofuels startup and DOW Chemical Company announced a pilot-scale algae-based integrated biorefinery that will convert CO2 into ethanol. The patented technology developed by Algenol Biofuels uses CO2, salt water, sunlight and non-arable land to produce ethanol, which can be used as a fuel or as a feedstock, replacing natural gas in the production of plastic. The algae is grown in long plastic covered troughs, called bioreactors that are filled with salt water that has been saturated with carbon dioxide gas, which provides the carbon the algae needs for photosynthesis.

Study Reveals Bioelectricity Could Be More Efficient than Ethanol to Power Vehicles

Scientists are examining biomass – plant matter that’s grown and used to generate energy – as a potential power source. Two biomass technologies involve ethanol and electricity. Biomass converted into ethanol, a corn-based fuel, can power internal combustion vehicles. Biomass converted into electricity can fuel a vehicle powered by an electric battery. A study by University of California, Merced, Assistant Professor Elliott Campbell and two other researchers in the online edition of this week’s Science journal suggests that biomass used to generate electricity could be the more efficient solution.