The Oil Drum: Cellulosic Ethanol vs. Biomass Gasification

I have this neat new cellulose conversion process. I am looking for funding and working on a patent application. The invention is a personal cellulosic biomass reactor. In the first reaction step, the cellulose is partially converted to CO and H2 (syngas). In the second step, one could do many things with the syngas: produce […]

Lighting up the $1 trillion power market

Silicon Valley has changed the world once. Now, thanks to a wave of investment and innovation in solar power, it’s on to the next revolution: A massive disruption of the U.S. electricity market. There’s a missile-bunker vibe you get when walking into Solaicx, a Silicon Valley startup that manufactures the silicon wafers that are the […]

The Path Beyond Petroleum: Twelve Theses

1. Oil production in the year 2025 will be half that of the year 2000. If we combine those figures with those of world population, we find a ratio of 5 barrels of oil per person per year in 2000, but only 2 barrels of oil per person per year in 2025. 2. Alternative sources […]

Professor says days of ‘no oil’ are nearing

FALL RIVER, MA – What’s worse than $3-a-gallon gasoline? No gasoline. If New College of California Professor Richard Heinberg is right, we’ll be dealing with “no gasoline” as early as 2010 and definitely by 2030. That’s it. No gasoline. Out. No more oil. Speaking at Bristol Community College, Heinberg said that history offers many examples […]

Nigeria veering toward instability

Brussels – Nigeria’s federal system is so deeply flawed and its politics so corrupt as to risk destabilizing Africa’s most populous country and largest oil producer, according to an International Crisis Group report. The study, entitled Nigeria’s Faltering Federal Experiment, warned that unless the nation’s leaders address “the underlying issues of resource control, equal rights, […]

Oil shock absorber costing Saudi Arabia $1bn a year

LONDON: The cost of keeping spare oil output capacity ready to plug any gaps in global supply is costing Saudi Arabia more than $1bn a year. After reducing output in line with an Opec agreement to trim supplies last week, Saudi Arabia The world

Rising Seas and Stronger Storms Threaten New York City

Global warming could substantially raise sea levels around New York City over the next century and put the Big Apple at greater risk of being flooded by hurricane waves, a new computer model predicts. Sea level around the city could jump 15 to 19 inches by 2050 and by more than three feet by 2080, […]

Energy crisis looming for UK data centres

A crisis is looming in the UK’s data centres around the most fundamental of requirements: the need for power, according to a study published by BroadGroup consultants. The average energy bill to run a corporate UK data centre is currently about The rise in costs will make the UK the most expensive place in Europe […]

More wind power viable

A study released yesterday by Ontario’s electricity authorities says wind power could represent nearly 20 per cent of the province’s power-generation capacity with little compromise to system reliability. Critics say the numbers are suspiciously high. Ontario has four major wind farms in service now with a potential of producing 396 megawatts of emission-free electricity. About […]

BP and Shell are defined by differences

…BP and Shell look increasingly defined by their differences, rather than how they could complement each other. Shell, which reports its third-quarter results this morning, is investing ever more in the kind of unconventional energy assets such as oilsands in Canada and elephantine engineering projects such as Sakhalin-2 that BP has been shunning. Lord Browne […]

Turkmen leader promises free gas, power

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan – Turkmenistan’s eccentric leader announced Wednesday that his energy-rich Central Asian nation would provide citizens with natural gas and power free of charge through 2030. “This decision would help ensure a carefree life for our people,” said President Saparmurat Niyazov. He said parliament had approved the action. Turkmenistan is the second-biggest natural gas […]

Canada takes a right turn on green

Just a few years ago, Canada was a country proud of its natural beauty and its UN peacekeepers. Today, it’s a highly polluting nation engaged in full-blown warfare. Internationally, Canada’s image changes fast.

Canada is 35 to 40 per cent over its Kyoto targets. Not only are per capita energy use and CO2 emissions arguably the highest in the world, they also increase faster than anywhere else.

HOUR Magazine

UK: Miliband’s power firms reward hint

Power companies could be paid in the future not for producing energy, but for saving it, Environment Secretary David Miliband has said. In comments certain to be seen as a preview of the Climate Change Bill expected in the Queen’s Speech, Mr Miliband said energy production could no longer continue as if it had no […]

Biofuels could create new kind of corn

Corn raised by future Iowa farmers could look more like the corn produced by their ancestors, with more substantial stalks, biofuels industry experts said Wednesday. As investment in biomass-based, or cellulosic, ethanol production grows, so will demand for crop residue. At the same time, corn-based ethanol production will continue to drive demand for grain. Look […]

Saab drives biofuel debate

SAAB is to reignite the ethanol debate with a car powered by a Victorian-built engine that runs entirely on biofuel. The Aero X concept car will be a star attraction at the Sydney Motor Show, which opens today. Although it is unlikely to enter production, its makers predict its green and clean credentials will set […]

Surrette Battery introduces new solar energy battery

Surrette Battery has added a new product to its line of Solar/Renewable Energy batteries. The 2-YS-31PS features high durability, performance and ease of maintenance. Its large size and additional capacity of 3424AH allow the system to minimize parallel connections, thereby maximizing charge efficiency and reliability. nestor

Total Sets Deadlines for Solar, Wind to be Viable

French oil company Total believes wind energy must prove it is competitive by 2020 and solar power must do the same by 2050 if they are to avoid being sidelined, it said on Tuesday. In France, Total aims to spend 500 million euros ($627 million) by 2010 on renewable energy sources, including 100 million euros […]

Compact Signed to Raise Renewable Energy to 25% of Global Energy Supply

A historic agreement was forged today among four renewable energy organizations to assess the feasibility of increasing the use of renewable energy to 25% of global primary energy supply by the year 2025. renewableenergyaccess

Tiny Island States Seek Help From Rising Pacific

As the rising Pacific Ocean laps at their doorsteps, tiny Tuvalu and Kiribati fear becoming environmental refugees and said major greenhouse gas emitters Australia and the United States have a moral obligation to help. Aid and scientific groups have warned that millions in the Asia-Pacific region may be made homeless by sea level rises of […]

More energy policy gridlock seen in next Congress

If Democrats gain control of one or both houses of the U.S. Congress, they will likely face continued energy policy gridlock, industry lobbyists and congressional experts say. The issues that could see action include boosting U.S. ethanol use, limited offshore drilling, and a possible push by Democrats to put first-ever caps on U.S. greenhouse gas […]

China: Massive capital for renewable power

China will invest 1.5 trillion yuan (US$187.5 billion) to increase the ratio of renewable energy consumption, said Wu Guihui, vice-director-general of the Bureau of Energy under the National Development and Reform Commission. Currently, 7.5 per cent of China’s energy comes from renewable sources. The country’s goal is to make it 10 per cent by 2010 […]

UK: Energy prices will rise, say experts

Problems at Britain’s nuclear power stations will put pressure on energy bills and increase the risk of blackouts during any winter cold snap, a leading market analysis group warned yesterday. Wood Mackenzie said price rises were “inevitable”, given the significant reduction in Britain’s power output as a result of technical problems which led to reactors […]

Iraqis fight over oil spoils

Through a steadily worsening security situation and deepening political divisions, a dispute is erupting between Kurdish leaders and the Baghdad regime over access to oil resources. Kurdish authorities and the federal government in Baghdad have exchanged sharply worded statements recently in their rival claims for control over northern oilfields. The row is expected to intensify […]

Washington’s nightmare

F William Engdahl’s THE EMERGING RUSSIAN GIANT, Part 2 Ironically, the aggressive Washington foreign policy of the era of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld since 2001 has done more to nurture the one strategic combination in Eurasia most dreaded by Washington political realists such as Henry Kissinger or Zbigniew Brzezinski, namely […]

Sakhalin Energy Admits to Environmental Violations

Sakhalin Energy, operator of Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project, admitted to damaging the eco-system of Russia’s Sakhalin Island, while the country’s Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev gave environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor another month to complete its inquire into alleged violations at Shell-led project.CEO Ian Craig said Sakhalin Energy will be willing to compensate for the damage, […]

Production in Saskatchewan Oil Sands Years Away

It will likely be a decade before any oil is recovered from a huge oil sands deposit in Northern Saskatchewan. But a Calgary based exploration company says its excited about the potential. saskatoonhomepage

Oil companies get new Alaska exploration rights

Energy companies and private investors won the rights to explore for oil and gas in one of the most promising areas of Alaska’s North Slope region in a pair of lease sales held on Wednesday. The bidding focused on more than 200,000 acres of land and state-controlled waters bordering the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a federally […]

Japan Hits Big Setbacks in Push for Energy

Just five months after it was unveiled, Japan’s ambitious 25-year plan to sharply increase oil and gas development is hitting snags, suggesting Tokyo may find it even harder than expected to stabilize the nation’s future energy supply. rigzone

Climate change could tilt world’s economy into history’s worst global recession

Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist with the World Bank, will warn that governments need to tackle the problem head-on by cutting emissions or face economic ruin. Speaking at a climate change conference in Birmingham, he said: “All of [Stern’s] detailed modelling out to the year 2100 is going to indicate first of all […]

Pint-sized car engine promises high efficiency

MIT researchers are developing a half-sized gasoline engine that performs like its full-sized cousin but offers fuel efficiency approaching that of today’s hybrid engine system–at a far lower cost. The key? Carefully controlled injection of ethanol, an increasingly common biofuel, directly into the engine’s cylinders when there’s a hill to be climbed or a car […]

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