Using Local Crops and Weeds for Energy

Innovation Fuels Inc. in New York State is looking into using weeds such as mustard seed, penny cress, and camelina, to produce biodiesel in an interplanting scheme with corn and soybeans.

Biodiesel and ethanol -- two alternatives to gasoline and diesel -- have been criticized for diverting food crops to fuel. Ethanol producers mainly use corn to produce the gasoline additive.

Fox blamed the recent surge in food prices on the rising costs of energy, not the production of biofuels.

He said the weeds being explored as oil sources can yield 80 to 100 gallons of biodiesel per acre, compared to 40 gallons per acre for soybeans. __CheckBiotech

In Hawaii, the Oceanic Institute is looking for ways to make the islands more food and energy independent from the mainland. They are looking at tropical crops such as jatropha, castor bean, kukui nut, and coconut for producing biodiesel locally.

The soaring costs of energy means that isolated locations such as Hawaii pay a premium for all food and supplies deliveries.

With shipping fees going up, growing our own food here will keep company costs down.

"Right now a lot of the feed industry is looking for products like this because transportation charges have just doubled," says Warren Dominy Ph.D, Oceanic Institute, Director, Aquatic Feeds and Nutrition department.

..."If we are able to provide a fee from them for these biodiesel plants it will help rebuild this industry and hopefully save a lot of jobs throughout the state," says Dominy..."I think the estimates are anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks of food if we have a major disaster that we could feed everybody in the state so we need to start using some of our ag lands for food," says King, Pacific Biodiesel.

"If we could be making fuel for an island on that island we're saving all that energy going back and forth all that efficiency and conservation is gonna add to sustainability," says King.
__CheckBiotech

The main driver of higher food and commodity prices is the cost of fuel and transportation. The main driver of higher transportation costs is higher fuel costs. The main driver of higher fuel costs is a speculative feeding frenzy combined with rising demand led by China and other emerging nations.

It makes sense for people living in cool and temperate climates to focus on crops that grow readily, like weeds, that can be interplanted with ordinary food crops. It also makes sense for people living in tropical climates to focus on tropical species with high yield. Both approaches use local strengths in an attempt to drive local economies.

The ominous political clouds on the US horizon suggest an intent on the part of future elected officials to drive the US economy toward a socialist, central command economy. That is an entirely counter-productive strategy, but exactly the approach likely to be favoured by the likely incoming junta.

Helix BioReactor Algae from Origin Oil

Origin Oil, Inc. has filed for multiple patents to improve the growth and extraction of oil from algae.

This system will allow both horizontal and vertical “stacking” of many Helix BioReactors™ — OriginOil’s patent-pending system to enhance and optimize algae growth — into an integrated network of fully automated, portable, and remotely monitored growth units.

“OriginOil’s system addresses two key areas: growth of the algae and extraction of the oil,” said Nicholas Eckelberry, OriginOil’s director of development and an inventor of the Transportable Modular Photo Bioreactor. “By using a modular design, we can connect a large number of Helix BioReactors to a small number of extraction units to achieve economies of scale and higher production of algae oil.” __Origin__via__Gas2

Origin's Helix BioReactors involve immersing a helical light-bearing rotor into the growth medium, which provides light energy in multiple layers deep within the algae.

"The key to dependable, high algae yield is continuous lighting of multiple growth planes," said Nicholas Eckelberry, Director of Development and an inventor of the Helix Bioreactor. "In a natural pond, the sun only illuminates one growth plane, down to about half an inch below the surface. In contrast, the Helix Bioreactor features a rotating vertical shaft with very low energy lights arranged in a helix or spiral pattern, which results in a theoretically unlimited number of layers. Additionally, each lighting element is engineered to produce specific light waves and frequencies for optimal algae growth. By giving algae only the light it needs, throughout the growth tank, all of the time, we're growing algae quickly and cost-effectively." __Origin

In addition, Origin has introduced other innovations into its algae oil process.

1.Algae growth is dependent on a calm fluid environment; it does not like agitation. One of the primary challenges is how to optimally introduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and nutrients needed by the growing algae culture without disrupting or over-aerating it.

2.Algae requires light as a source of energy to fuel its growth and oil production facilities. Algae cultivation systems need to cost-effectively and evenly distribute light within the algae culture.

3.Algae organisms are protected by a tough cell wall. That wall must be cracked – an energy-expensive process – to extract the oil. The challenge is to maximize oil yield by cracking as many of the algae cells as possible with the smallest amount of energy... OriginOil’s patent-pending technology, based on the science of mass transfer and fluid fracturing, addresses these specific challenges. We call this breakthrough technology Quantum Fracturing™. This technology is central to OriginOil’s proprietary algae oil production system. __Origin

Up until recently, the production costs for algal biodiesel have approached $20 per gallon. As various innovations are applied to the process of algal biodiesel production, production prices will eventually be reduced to economical levels.

ESolar Heliostat Solar Tower Modules Score

Image Source

ESolar has a signed contract with Southern California Edison to supply 245 MW of solar thermal power. The new plant will supply over 100 MW of power by 2012, ramping up to full production of 245 MW by 2013.

Each pre-fabricated module consists of several solar towers each associated with thousands of heliostats, or mirrors. The mirrors precisely track the sun over the course of the day and reflect light to a receiver at the top of each tower. The concentrated light boils water in a central receiver, routing the steam to a traditional turbine to produce electricity. eSolar’s solar thermal technology is unique in that it uses shorter towers, small mass-manufactured mirrors and advanced tracking software, achieving economies of scale within a minimal footprint and easy connection to transmission lines. __Source

More information about the deal at LATimes
H/T NextEnergyNews

ESolar's modular heliostat technology appears to share many advantages with BrightSource solar thermal technology. Both technologies should allow quicker and cheaper construction, with lower operating costs and lower demands for on-site cooling water. Solar thermal is currently superior to photovoltaic solar due to higher efficiences and much cheaper storage options.

Recovery of Waste Heat Biggest US Renewable

The US government has estimated that waste heat recovery could easily become the largest source of renewable energy in the country. Combustion generators are rarely more than 30% efficient in doing work or generating electricity. Most fuel used in combustion goes to waste heat and emissions--entropy. Although the US Congress is asleep at the wheel, savvy entrepreneurs and engineers are busy designing ways to tap into that huge potential resource of waste heat recovery.

"ElectraTherm has unlocked the power of recycling the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S. - waste heat," said ElectraTherm CEO Richard Langson. "This technology has the power to increase electrical output at every fossil fuel burning power plant without burning oil, gas or coal, and without further pollution or damage to the environment."

...ElectraTherm estimates that its units have a subsidy-free payback period of three years or less, and company officials claim "the implications on the world stage of a modular, scalable (50-500kW output) unit making electricity from unused, accessible heat are huge."


The company's patented Twin Screw Expander enables the ElectraTherm Green Machine to do its work. The expander is one-tenth the cost of a turbine as the energy block, according to ElectraTherm. Since the energy block generally constitutes 30 to 40 percent of the cost of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system, the ElectraTherm Green Machine will cost approximately 30 percent less than turbine ORC systems.


The unit operates without gearboxes or the high end electronics required to synchronize a turbine to a generator. Inline process lubrication eliminates oil pumps, filters, separator tanks, parasitic loads and maintenance issues usually associated with lubrication. ElectraTherm officials say the technology reduces maintenance and extends the life of the ElectraTherm Green Machine compared to turbine-based energy solutions. __EC__via__NEN

In other energy news, a Kentucky inventor claims to have devised a way to make gasoline from coal for a cost of US $1.15 a gallon.

"We can make this the equivalent of 25 dollars per barrel of oil, which will come out about $1.10 gasoline at the pump,".

If companies buy it, the idea could take 20 years to become reality at pumps. The U.S. Department of Energy wants to make sure it won't pollute the atmosphere. __NEN

Expanding Use of Bio-Coal, Torrefied Biomass

The process of biomass torrefaction is an excellent way of concentrating the energy of biomass into a smaller bulk. The simple heat processing of solid biomass allows much easier use of such "bio-coal" in coal-fired boilers and CHP systems.

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - RWE AG. said it is taking a 25 percent stake in the Netherland's Topell, a company which converts biomass into coal pellets....The German utility's renewables unit RWE Innogy is seeking to take stakes in start-ups that develop new renewable technologies, and has to that effect budgeted funds of 50 million euros for 2008.

Topell has developed a technology to convert biomass such as roots and grasses to coal pellets that can be co-fired in coal-fired power plants.

The company plans to start operating a site for the commercial production of biomass-based coal pellets in 2009. __Forbes

Biomass is a sustainable form of solar energy, with its own built-in storage. By torrefying biomass-including wood, straw, grass, waste, etc--small regional processing plants can provide a high energy, renewable source of heat and power to local, regional, and more distant energy consumers. The more compact form of energy allows for easier and more economical transportation to point of use.

Beware the Oil Bubble

More people are starting to worry about the big moves into oil speculation by people, groups, and funds that probably should not be investing in speculative commodities.

A sell-off in oil could spell big losses for the pension funds, municipal funds, college funds, unions and other groups that jumped out of equities-market plays and into the indexes, but have little experience or flexibility to deal with fundamental changes in commodities.

"A lot of the accounts that that have moved into commodities over the last 8-12 months clearly don't belong in this forum," said Peter Beutel, president of Cameron Hanover.

"It means that when this market turns, these people are going to get hurt, and they are going to get hurt badly, and there will be tons of lawsuits because they have no understanding how quickly commodities markets can turn and leave them in the dust," he explained.

While many in the energy sector, such as U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, argue that fundamentals are driving oil's rally, others say investment in commodity indexes has pushed prices beyond what supply and demand may justify, contributing to the 30 percent price rise over $130 per barrel this year.

"We are seeing the classic ingredients of an asset class bubble," said Edward Morse, chief energy economist for Lehman Brothers. "Financial investors tend to 'herd' and chase past performance, comforted by the growing analytical conclusion that markets are tightening, and new flows, in turn, drive prices higher." __Reuters

Because high oil prices play so easily into preconceived notions of "peak oil", too many fund managers have been lulled into thinking that an ever driving oil market is a sure thing from now on out. They have not done their homework.

Present oil prices are not supported by fundamentals of supply and demand. Which means that when reality catches up to the market, and demand over-reacts in a downward direction to over-inflated prices, the downturn could hurt a lot of people.

The US Congress--a zoo of incompetent piglets--has fed into this problem by shutting off normal avenues of expansion in oil production and refineries. This artificial "political peak oil" cannot help but feed into the sense of unreality in the oil markets.

Recycling Nuclear Waste

Unlike most European countries and Japan, the US stores perfectly good used nuclear material that might be recycled back into valuable reactor fuel.

In other countries - like the UK, Japan, Russia, and France - the removed fuel is recycled to recover the uranium and plutonium that can be put back into the fuel cycle so that they can later be split (fissioned) to release heat. Those components of used nuclear fuel are also the ones that have long half lives, ranging from a few thousand years in the case of some plutonium isotopes to several billion years in the case of the uranium-238 that is a major component of the material.

Currently, the used fuel recycling regimes in operation still consider the lighter parts of used fuel to be a waste material that needs to be put into long term storage, but there are some very bright people who believe that even that material is far to valuable to throw away. NNadir, a diarist on Daily Kos has written extensively on this issue in commentary like Profile of a “Dangerous Nuclear Waste,” Cesium, Part 5.

The US used to have a plan to recycle our fuel as well, but a great deal of marketing and pressure by people that do not like the idea of using plutonium as a source of commercial heat resulted in President Ford issuing a presidential order to temporarily halt nuclear fuel recycling in 1976. President Carter, a man who claimed to be a nuclear engineer, made that ban permanent in the hopes that forcing US companies to avoid fuel recycling would cause others to abandon the very logical idea.

That effort did not work as planned, but the people who had invested large amounts of time and money into building three recycling plants in the US only to have them shut down with the stroke of a pen decided “once bitten, twice shy.” Though President Reagan removed the ban, President Clinton essentially reinstated it and no commercial company has been willing to build a facility and risk having it turn into a white elephant after an election.

The US is now back to considering the idea that used fuel should be recycled, a concept that makes a world of sense. That is especially true since it looks like there will be a number of new reactors under construction soon and they will provide a ready market for the recycled fuel. __CleanTechnica

As the number of nuclear fission power plants increases across the developed world and the Persian Gulf area, the need for recycled fuel will increase. In North America, a radically bad form of environmentalism has held sway for the last few decades, leading many parts of the continent into energy starvation. As the stupidity of many of the radical environmentalist's causes grows more apparent, a larger portion of the more technically knowledgeable public is beginning to demand a change in government's approach to various energy technologies.

That would come none too soon, as the planet considers the implications of a prolonged solar minimum.

Biofuels Digest Algae Update, with Caution

Biofuels Digest has an ongoing update and wrapup of the state-of-the-art in algae biofuels research and development. Today's update also links to some cautionary words from a Popular Mechanics article out of yesterday's online edition.

This is algae's second coming. The first attempt, run by the U.S. government in the wake of the last oil crisis, was killed in 1996 by the Clinton administration while oil hovered around $20 per barrel. But even now, with record-high petroleum prices, algae stands in no position to compete, and hurdles remain at every stage of production.

Just choosing which kind of algae to start with is a herculean task. There are well over 100,000 species, each adapted to grow in different environments at different rates, and each capable of producing different amounts of oil—or none at all. The government collected more than 3000 different strains from all over the world in the 1980s, 300 of which were deemed promising. Today, many algal strains have been engineered into genetically modified superplants—the secret formulas of biofuel startups—but there is, as yet, no proven winner. Not to mention, there remains the small matter of how to make the algae flourish, how to cheaply dry several million gallons of subsequent slush, and how to get the oil out of minuscule cell walls and into the metaphorical barrel.

"It's not as easy as running a combine through a field of canola to get the seeds and crush them," says Michael Weaver, CEO of the Washington biofuels company Bionavitas. "For anybody who thinks that we can go from ‘Hey, let's look at algae,' to full-on fuel production in the period of the past three to five years, it's just never going to happen that way."

A number of pilot plants scheduled to come online in the next several months will likely give the most accurate glimpse of algae's future: how much oil it can produce, how soon and whether it will live up to its promise. GreenFuel, one of the oldest names in algae, already operates a pilot plant in Arizona, where it houses algae in large, clear plastic bags. Solix will break ground this summer on a new plant in Colorado, growing algae in what are essentially 230-ft.-long, 5-ft.-high freezer pops, suspended vertically in shallow pools; a smaller array, with eight 65-ft.-long bioreactors, has entered production in recent weeks. HR BioPetroleum, which signed a deal with Shell last year to produce biodiesel from algae, is currently building a pilot plant in Hawaii using a "hybrid system"—growth begins in long, clear, horizontal tubes before being dumped into open ponds to multiply further. Blitzing the ponds with algae for a short time has the advantage of rendering species invasion a nonissue, the company says.

"The jury is out on all of them—nobody has fully demonstrated that their system is going to be affordable and scalable, and be robust in terms of operations and maintenance and the ability to produce a large amount of oil routinely," says Ron Pate, a researcher at Sandia National Laboratories who evaluated algal oil in conjunction with DARPA's jet fuel project last year. "There are a lot of naysayers out there, and that's fine. It's good to be skeptical. But at the same time, I think there's enough promise with algae that it needs to be given a better shot than what's been done in the past." __PopMech

The latest cost estimates from the US DOD continue to price algal biodiesel's production costs at around US $20 a gallon. I would expect that number to be reduced by a factor of 4 or 5 based upon some of the more recent developments from state of the art research, but even at production costs near US $3 or $4 a gallon, the fuel could not be sold competitively at today's prices. Scaling to industrial production would take about 5 years.

Read both links (Biofuels Digest and Popular Mechanics) to understand both the progress being made and the challenges remaining. One other interesting development in biodiesel, is the expansion of the Neste NExBTL process for hydrogenating biodiesel to an improved "next generation" biodiesel, which has superior cold weather performance to biodiesel and superior emissions characteristics to petro-diesel.

Today's energy shortages are due to high demand from the emerging worlds of China, India, etc. There is still room to increase oil production over time, but it will become more expensive. Our current speculative oil price bubble may prove to be good training for the years ahead.

Sadly, if the past is any guide, we too quickly forget earlier lessons learned under duress.

Gasoline from Algae, Miles from Electricity

Bio-crude from algae can be refined to several different products, including gasoline. Yesterday, Sapphire Energy in San Diego announced their innovative "green crude", a gasoline equivalent from algae oil.

On Wednesday, the company took the covers off what it calls "green crude"--a liquid fuel chemically identical to gasoline but not dependent on either a food source or agricultural land. Even better, it promises to be "carbon neutral"; even though vehicles that burn the fuel will emit carbon, creating green crude involves pulling just as much carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as it will put back in.

Sapphire, based in San Diego, plans to make its fuel from algae microorganisms, salt water, carbon dioxide and the power of the sun. Chief Executive Jason Pyle was deliberately vague concerning how the technology works, but he says the company, which was formed in May 2007, has been able to produce 91 octane gasoline and has had it analyzed at a refinery.

"We created a process that relies on photosynthesis. It absorbs CO2 to produce a carbon molecule," Pyle said in an interview with Forbes.com. Pyle has been involved in two other start-ups and has a background in biotechnology, engineering and physics. "We believe we're setting the benchmark for an entire new industry."

Other alternative fuel companies such as Solazyme of South San Francisco, Calif., are using algae to produce biodiesel. Like ethanol, biodiesel attracts water and thus cannot be shipped in existing pipelines. Both ethanol and biodiesel also have lower energy density than traditional gasoline and diesel fuels. Pyle says Sapphire's green crude has the same energy density as gasoline and can be shipped in existing pipelines and refined the same way gasoline and diesel are.

Amyris Biotechnologies of Emeryville, Calif., is also developing renewable fuels that are chemically identical to gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. Amyris announced in April that it will develop a diesel fuel in Brazil from sugarcane, with a production target date of 2010. (See: "Sweet New Fuel.")

But Pyle asserts that Sapphire's technology can scale to a much greater degree than Amyris can, because Sapphire is not dependent on a food source as its fuel. "Agricultural land is of limited supply. We have a huge amount of land that is completely non-agricultural that we can use, desert land," says Pyle. His aim is to produce 10,000 barrels a day in facilities that may be located on desert land across the southwestern and southern U.S. __Forbes__via__ Earth2Tech

On the electrical front, Brian Westenhaus at New Energy and Fuel takes a look at the A123 advanced battery, and announces that it is ready for prime time. According to the story, GE has reported that if half the US auto fleet was converted to electrical drive, the US could reduce its oil use by 6 million barrels a day. That is very significant.

If you do both--convert part of the fleet to electricity, and run the rest on algal biodiesel and bio-gasoline, you could reduce oil use by perhaps another 6 million barrels a day. At that point, North America becomes energy independent.

Enhanced Geothermal News

Enhanced geothermal power uses drilling technology to punch two or more holes down into the "hot dry rock" layer of the Earth's crust. Water is then pumped into one hole and steam is extracted from the other hole(s), to drive a turbine generator for electric power. Enhanced geothermal is being pursued in Israel by Ormat Technologies.

Executives at Google have been clear that so-called enhanced geothermal is on the list of technologies they see as cost effective, compared with fossil fuel energy.

The idea behind enhanced, or engineered, geothermal systems is to inject water underground to enhance the permeability of rock, allowing for the release and capture of more heat.

Ormat is working on an enhanced geothermal project organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, which says that these advanced techniques can dramatically increase geothermal potential--by 40 times. __Cnet_via_NextBigFuture

The US DOE believes enhanced geothermal to have the potential to generate thousands of times the energy and power used by humans over the entire planet.

Humans have access to three virtually unlimited sources of energy that can supply their energy needs thousands of times over into the indefinite future. Solar--which needs better storage. Geothermal--which needs technology development. Nuclear fusion--which needs technology development. Biomass could easily supply all of humanities energy needs given more development--but probably not thousands of times over.

We are living in and near an abundance of energy. If you want to play out adolescent fantasies of living in a post-apocalyptic world instead of working to solve problems, go to the peak oil sites. You will find your soul mates there.

Much more at Brian Wang's NextBigFuture

Chicken Manure to Energy Plant in Connecticut

Poultry manure contains a high energy content. A chicken farm in Bozrah, Connecticut, is proposing to build a 30 MW gasification bioenergy plant, using a mix of chicken manure and clean wood.

Plans for a 30-megawatt biomass power plant in town moved closer to reality last week when Clearview Renewable Energy officials chose KofKoff Egg Farm as its location.

If approved, Clearview, a New Hampshire and New York power company’s project, will help solve Kofkoff’s biggest problem — disposing of chicken manure. The company will use manure from the egg farm at 17 Schwartz Road to produce power.

State Agriculture Commissioner F. Philip Prelli said the project will produce clean energy and provide a use for the chicken manure. The residue from the manure and wood would be sold as organic fertilizer and the remaining steam would be used to warm the farm’s eggs, he said.

Kofkoff, which has four other locations — in Franklin, Lebanon, Hebron and Colchester — is the state’s top egg farm, producing more than 12 million eggs per week.

Plans for the project at Kofkoff have been in the works since 2004. The state Department of Public Utility Control’s decision in January gave the green light for Clearview to move its plans forward.

Once up and operating, Clearview’s project, along with six other renewable energy projects DPUC approved, could inject nearly 110 megawatts into the state’s fossil-fuel energy grid, helping to light more than 110 homes. It will cost ratepayers approximately $101 million over 20 years.
__Source

This project represents just one farm which produces large amounts of animal waste that could be processed to energy. As farms and ranches across North America better learn how to utilise waste for energy and profit, they will become something of an example for other industries.

50 GW of Solar by 2020?

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Currently there are only 430 MW of concentrating solar thermal worldwide.

California and Spain are the biggest markets for these concentrating solar power systems. If renewable portfolio standards get passed in more states, we could see a much greater diversity of technologies beyond the solar trough and solar tower.

The Prometheus Institute forecasts that concentrating photovoltaic technologies will be used in midsize to large power plants that range from about 1 megawatt of production to about 100 megawatts.

Concentrating solar thermal systems, meanwhile, will dominate very large centralized power generation. __Cnet_via_Kurzweilai.net

The Bright Source solar tower heliostat design above provides efficient steam-turbine power production combined with air-cooling of steam--which is important in desert areas. Parabolic trough designs are more expensive to build and will likely require more upkeep.

Photovoltaics will continue to lag behind solar thermal in the utility scale market until better utility energy storage is perfected. For smaller, specialised plants, photovoltaics can be closer to ideal, being simpler systems with fewer mechanical moving parts. Just one breakthrough in storage--a perfected redox flow cell technology for example--would change the equation of cost/benefit very quickly.

Japanese Scientist Demonstrates Cold Fusion

Osaka University emeritus physics professor Yoshiaki Arata demonstrated his cold fusion process to a group of about 60 people recently.

The process consisted of Arata and his co-researcher Yue-Chang Zhang, forcing deuterium gas under pressure into an evacuated cell. The cell contains palladium dispersed in zirconium oxide. Arata claims the deuterium is absorbed by the Palladium sample to produce dense or "pynco" deuterium. The deuterium nuclei are then close enough to fuse releasing heat and helium. After the injection of deuterium gas, the temperature rose to about 70 °C, which according to Arata was due to both chemical and nuclear reactions. With the gas turned off the temperature in the centre of the cell remained significantly warmer than the cell wall for 50 hours. __AzoNano

And more:

Jed Rothwell, who is editor of the US site LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reactions) and who has long thought that cold-fusion research shows promise, said that after Arata had started the injection of gas, the temperature rose to about 70 °C, which according to Arata was due to both chemical and nuclear reactions. When the gas was shut off, the temperature in the centre of the cell remained significantly warmer than the cell wall for 50 hours. This, according to Arata, was due solely to nuclear fusion.

Rothwell also pointed out that Arata performed three other control experiments: hydrogen with the ZrO2–Pd sample (no lasting heat); deuterium with no ZrO2–Pd sample (no heating at all); and hydrogen with no ZrO2–Pd sample (again, no heating). Nevertheless, Rothwell added that Arata neglected to mention certain details, such as the method of calibration. "His lecture was very difficult to follow, even for native speakers, so I may have overlooked something," he wrote.

It will be interesting to see what other scientists think of Arata's demonstration. Last week Augustin McEvoy, a retired condensed-matter physicist who has studied Arata's previous cold-fusion experiments in detail said that he has found "no conclusive evidence of excess heat" before, though he would like to know how this demonstration turned out. __NextEnergyNews

The fact that cold fusion research has survived in reputable institutions this long after the mainstream turned its back on the procedure, suggests that some phenomenon is taking place that is not terribly easy to explain away.

The best question to ask may be: "If cold fusion does indeed produce a small amount of excess heat, what is the greatest benefit that we can expect to derive from cold fusion, other than a basic scientific understanding?" Of course, no one can know the answer to that question. It is almost the same question as "Of what use is a newborn baby?" No one can truly know until it grows up and speaks for itself.

Power-Spar Combines PV, Solar Thermal, Solar Lighting, and Thermal Cooling

Canadian company Menova Energy manufactures the Power-Spar, an all-purpose solar energy device that can heat, cool, provide natural indoor solar lighting, and generate electricity with PV.

The system is designed for easy integration with heat recovery systems, turbines, thermal based chillers and geo-thermal solutions to maximize the thermal, electrical and lighting outputs. This efficient co-generation yields unprecedented dollar value.

Capable of capturing up to 80% of the sun's energy, Power- Spar systems can reduce typical building energy bills by as much as 70%/year! __PowerSpar_via_CleanBreak

A Wal-Mart in the Markham, Ontario area is slated to be the first commercial scale demonstration of the Power-Spar concept. Read more at the links above.

Nuclear Battery Powered Oil Sands Extraction

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Canadian tar sands represent most of the oil that the US will be using in 20 years, unless US voters elect a more honest and rational Congress. A better US Congress would also open up shale oil in the Green River Basin for development--with more oil resource than in all of Saudi Arabia. As it is, the inept current US Congress may make Canadian tar sands off limits to US refiners and distributors. Yes, they are that stupid now in Washington DC.

Just when better ways of extracting Canadian tar sands are coming along. Like the new Hyperion nuclear battery, that can be used for in situ tar sand extraction.

Since it is portable, the reactor can be deployed virtually anywhere power is needed -- remote industrial operations such as the Alberta oil sands, military installations or communities looking to supplement grid-supplied power. Once deployed, the Hyperion module delivers approximately 70 megawatts (MW) of heat (thermal energy) and 25 megawatts (MW) of electrical power via steam turbine. This is enough power to provide electricity for a community of 20,000 average-sized, American-style homes. Hyperion modules can also be "ganged" to provide even more power.

...About 4,000 units of the initial design will be manufactured at a new U.S. site yet to be determined. The initial rector will be a compact, self-regulating, self-contained design with no moving parts and about the size of a hot tub. Sealed at the factory, the module is not opened until it is time for the unit to be refueled — at the factory — approximately every five years or so. This helps guard against tampering. __Source__via__NextBigFuture

While the US Congress is only interested in political power and pillage, most intelligent observers understand that nuclear energy is the key to a better long-term future. Nuclear batteries such as Hyperion are a small, unconventional form of fission power, but they can fit into incredibly important niches. Incrementally larger and more conventional nuclear fission reactors can provide reliable baseload power for large towns and small cities, large industrial facilities and developments, and could be ganged together to provide larger quantities of power if needed.

We at Oynklent Green [OTC:OYNK] have become unhappily aware of the fact that the current US Congress is all about restricting energy--depriving the US citizen and resident of access to energy. That is why we developed our patented "corrupt politician to bio-energy" thermochemical process. We believe that if an elected official betrays his duty to the public's trust, that he should be utilised for the benefit of the public in one way or another. At OYNK, we are all about a better future, no matter what the politicians want. ;-)

Peak Oil? Not Even Close

While the marching morons of peak oil continue their adolescent doom-seeking, the realists of the world understand one simple fact: there is a lot more oil in the ground than has ever been pumped for fuel.

Even with record-high oil prices, about two-thirds of the oil in known oil fields is being left in the ground. That's because existing technologies that could extract far more oil--as much as about 75 percent of the oil in some oil fields--aren't being widely used, according to experts in the petroleum industry.

Several well-established technologies, including "smart oil fields," exist that could significantly boost the supply of petroleum from oil reservoirs. But a lack of investment in such technologies, particularly by the national oil companies that control the vast majority of the world's oil reserves, is holding back implementation. When oil is drawn from a field too quickly, or from a bad location, or with the wrong kind of well, large amounts of oil can be left behind, says Richard Sears, a visiting scientist at MIT who has served as a vice president for exploration at Royal Dutch Shell, based in the Netherlands. But the best technologies for managing an oil field require up-front investment--when an oil field is mapped and characterized and the first wells are drilled--and the payoff can take decades.

...Such smart oil fields have started to become more common for international oil companies such as Shell, Exxon-Mobil, and BP. But they still aren't used in most oil fields. And their use is particularly low in fields run by national oil companies, says Larry Schwartz, a longtime researcher and scientific advisor for Schlumberger, a Houston-based company that provides various services to oil companies.

...Steven Koonin, BP's chief scientist, says that cutting-edge research could lead to automated oil rigs on the sea floor, ultra-deep-water ocean drilling, and arctic exploration and production, as well as to technology for extracting oil from unconventional sources, such as shale. But although oil prices have been higher than $60 a barrel for almost three years, Koonin says that for the most advanced technologies, "oil prices will have to stay high for a couple of years longer before companies think they can make big investments." __TechReview

The situation is even more counterintuitive than that. Huge oil fields which adolescent doom-seekers claim are "tapped out" still often contain most of their oil, because corrupt national oil companies will not invest in better technology. Most of Saudi Arabia and the middle east have not even been properly surveyed, explored, or test drilled for oil.

And still there are the huge reserves of heavy oils, tar sands, and oil shales which lie undisturbed due to incompetence of corrupt governments such as Venezuela, and the ideological incompetence of the current US Congress.

Biomass Gasification for Electricity, Liquid Fuels

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Biomass gasification is the most versatile approach to bioenergy at this time. The gas produced by rapid pyrolysis can fire gas turbines to generate electricity, process heat for industry, or can be turned into liquid fuels for transportation and heavy machinery. Iowa's Frontline Bioenergy plans to use corncobs to replace natural gas, in the production of maize ethanol. Given natural gas prices lately, that substitution should certainly help the bottom line.

Chippewa Valley is owned by 980 farmers, so it's natural that the company wants to make its ethanol using a natural resource that is grown close to home.

"We're looking at harvesting 5,000 acres of cobs next fall" for use at the plant, Lee said.

The biomass gasification technology developed by Frontline BioEnergy uses a thermochemical process to break down wood residues, corncobs or prairie grasses into a substance known as producer gas.

Producer gas is a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane that can be burned like natural gas.

Frontline provides a proprietary process called Cleangas that allows producer gas to be piped to several locations within an industrial facility without the typical hydrocarbon condensation concerns associated with conventional biomass gasification.

Besides providing a source of heat, Frontline BioEnergy's biomass gasifiers will be able to produce synthesis gas that can be converted to ethanol through catalytic or biological methods, the company said. __Source

The chemistry of pyrolysis gas was worked out a century ago or more. The work being done now is to adapt the process to different types of waste biomass feedstocks, such as corncobs, grasses, garbage, etc.

The main problem is the lack of developed infrastructure in farming country, to take low energy density, distributed biomass, and pre-process it into higher density, more compact biomass. Bailing, pelleting, briquetting, torrefaction, and other processes are being perfected to accommodate that need.

The US has never had as incompetent a US Congress as now. The Congress is doing everything possible to reduce the ability of the US to become more energy self sufficient. Oynklent Green [OTC:OYNK] officials are monitoring the situation closely.

Boosting Algae Production: Montana-Mexico Axis

Greenstar has announced a new micro-nutrient solution that it claims can boost algae growth rates over 30%.

Algae scientists have long searched for a micronutrient formula to increase the growth rate of algae biomass. Now, Biotech Research, Inc., a consortium partner of Green Star, has confirmed a daily growth rate increase of 34% using the “Montana Micronutrient Booster (MMB)” formula. This growth rate booster can increase the total biomass quantity in a harvest algae growth cycle by well over 100%. The tests where conducted at Biotech Research’s lab facility at the UABC University in Ensenada, Mexico (see press release dated Nov. 20, 2007).

Joseph LaStella, president of Green Star Products, stated, “This breakthrough formula is too important to the algae processing industry for any single company to hold for their personal use. Microalgae production holds real answers to the many serious problems facing the world today, including global fuel shortages, global warming and food supply shortages.” __Source__via_GCC

Algae growth rate is not the same thing as oil production. But assuming that the faster growing algae produce the same amount of oil per algal cell, a 30% production boost could make a near-profitable venture into a profitable one.

Algal biodiesel remains in the development stage, with production costs at least a factor of 5 too high for profitability in North America. With competition from vast new oil palm plantations in Africa and Southeast Asia, algae will soon be pressed to begin delivering on its many promises.

Biofuels Reports

Blue Fire Ethanol is betting on the rapid US expansion of cellulosic ethanol over the next 5 years. Officials at Blue Fire say the technology is in place, and it is the financing that is slowing down the revolution.

The company plans to build 10 plants with at least 55 million gpy of capacity in five years throughout the United States to make cellulosic ethanol, the new fuel, Arnold Klann, said by telephone on Wednesday. The feedstocks would include agricultural waste, wood scraps and non-food crops such as switchgrass...Cellulosic has been touted as a fuel that won't raise food prices.. __CheckBiotech

The Tri-Cities of Washington State will host the new biofuel laboratory. The new world-class R&D biofuels lab aims to help speed the movement of biofuels discoveries from the lab to production.

Birgitte Ahring, one of the world's leading researchers in ways to convert biological byproducts like wood debris or wheat straw into ethanol, will head the lab.

She brings with her a string of research contracts, staff members and a $24.3 million grant from the Department of Energy to partner with Pacific Ethanol in the construction a biofuel demonstration plant in Boardman.

The combination - key researchers, partnership with a national laboratory, promising students, first-class facility - is certain to help fulfill the community's vision for higher education.

The new lab's potential has even broader implications for Washington..."The time students spend here will prepare them to drive next-generation bioproducts and biofuels from concept to reality in the marketplace," WSU President Elson Floyd said during the lab's recent dedication...That transfer from research to enterprise promises to benefit the state's agricultural industry by creating new markets and opportunities to diversify. __CheckBiotech

Meanwhile, Italy's Eni industrial conglomerate is moving to join China in the neo-colonialist movement within Africa. Eni plans to develop large palm oil biodiesel plantations in the Congo, and to also develop Congolese oil sands and heavy oil deposits.

Eni has reached agreement for the exploration and exploitation of non-conventional oil in tar sands in Tchikatanga and Tchikatanga-Makola, two areas covering a total of 1790 square km which show 'enormous potential'. According to preliminary studies undertaken on a 100 square km area, recoverable reserves are estimated at between 2,5 billion barrels unrisked and 500 million barrels risked.

The agreement will allow Eni to consolidate its unique skills in tar sands t aking advantage of proprietary Eni Slurry Technology (EST) for improvement of the quality of heavy oils.

The project will also benefit from synergies resulting from the close proximity of the M'Boundi oilfield. Gas associated with oil production in this area can also be used to supply the EST plant and enrich the heavy oil, while achieving the goal of reducing atmospheric emissions under the Kyoto protocol.

The Memorandum of Understanding on the Food Plus Biodiesel project outlines a framework for collaboration in the use of vegetable oils from palm tree cultivation on approximately 70,000 unfarmed hectares in the Niari region, in the North West of the country . This land is expected to produce approximately 340 thousand tons/year of crude palm oil, enough to cover domestic demand for food uses and produce 250,000 tons/year of biodiesel.

The project will employ approximately 10,000 people and will establish a consortium which will cooperate with the best international organisations to optimise agricultural production and development in local communities operating on the basis of the principles of protection of environment and of biodiversity: __Biopact

Africa has many regions that are ideal for bio-energy development. The thing that Africa lacks, is a skilled and trained workforce. That is why Africa always must look outside--to China, Italy, etc--for the leadership, investment, and expertise in developing Africa's rich resources.

So although China's and Italy's involvement may appear to be neo-colonialism, in reality there is no other way large and technically advanced projects can get done in Africa, at this time. We hope that this situation will eventually change.

Genetic Engineering of Oil Seed Species

The genomes of the Palm Oil and Jatropha Curcus are under intense scrutiny by researchers, who want to tweak their genomes just enough to make farm grown biofuels the next big thing.

The Asiatic Centre for Genome Technology Sdn Bhd (ACGT) and Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) [ed:Craig Venter's company] have completed a first draft assembly and annotation of the oil palm genome....The organizations also announced that they have made progress in sequencing and analyzing the jatropha genome.

The oil palm and jatropha genome projects represent the first stages of research undertaken through a joint venture between SGI and ACGT which was announced in 2007 and is aimed at developing more high-yielding and disease-resistant plant feedstocks.

...The draft oil palm genome is already yielding important information including unique genetic variations linked to traits that differ in the two races. One example of this pertains to kernel shell thickness which differs between the two. Since fruits with thinner kernel shells yield more oil, the groups are seeking to understand the genetic basis for shell thickness. These molecular markers and others can be used in breeding and tissue-culture based approaches to address plant yield, oil quality, growth and height and other important properties, including fertilizer requirements and stress and disease tolerance.

...The Asiatic Group has 66,000 hectares of land in Malaysia and is developing 98,300 hectares in Indonesia on a joint venture basis. The Group owns 5 oil mills with a total milling capacity of 235 tonnes per hour and is reputed to be one of the lowest cost palm oil producers with fresh fruit bunches production of over one million tonnes. Asiatic is one of the early members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Synthetic Genomics Inc. is focusing on genomic-driven solutions to address global energy and environmental challenges. The company’s main research and business programs are focused on major bioenergy areas: designing advanced biofuels with superior properties compared to ethanol and biodiesel; harnessing photosynthetic organisms to produce value added products directly from sunlight and carbon dioxide; developing new biological solutions to increase production and/or recovery rates of subsurface hydrocarbons and developing high-yielding, more disease resistant and economic feedstocks. __GCC

For now, these two species require a tropical or semi-tropical growing environment, which limits the growing regions mainly to countries of the third world. If these countries are able to develop these and similar warm weather cash crops before Venter's crew hits the jackpot, we may see some emerging billionaires from the third world.

Both the Palm Oil and the Jatropha Curcus oil seed species offer relatively high yield bio-oil production. But both suffer from significant weaknesses that limit their ability to make a more significant contribution to world biodiesel production. Genetically engineering the oil seed trees and shrubs to provide higher yield, in more locations, with less costly cultivation, would push them into the forefront of biofuels.