Fossil fuels

Solar power glass house helps pump oil

The sun's energy will replace natural gas as the fuel for drawing more oil from the ground in Oman.

GlassPoint Solar yesterday announced that it has signed a deal to install a 7-megawatt solar power system for Petroleum Development Oman to aid oil extraction. The solar system, which is essentially a glass house with solar concentrators, will generate the steam needed to pump oil from existing fields.

In many existing oil wells, there is a substantial amount of oil underground, but it has become more expensive to pull out. In an enhanced oil recovery field, steam is pumped into … Read more

Cellulosic-ethanol industry struggles to take off

The great promise of a car fuel made from cheap, clean-burning prairie grass or wood chips--and not from expensive corn that feeds the world--is more mirage than reality.

Despite years of research, testing, and some hype, the next-generation ethanol industry is far from the commercial success envisioned by President George W. Bush in 2006, when he pledged so-called cellulosic biofuels would be "practical and competitive" by 2012.

Instead the only real alternative to traditional gasoline is ethanol made from corn, a fuel environmentalists say is not green at all because of the energy-intensive nature of modern farming.

Critics … Read more

Orphiro: The Tesla Roadster of electric motorcycles

Electric motorcycles have been around for a while, but most of them look like glorified dirt bikes where styling takes a backseat to function.

The upcoming Orphiro electric motorcycle is pretty, oh so pretty. Rounded lines, spoke wheels, sliver paint, and bronze accents harken back to the days when motorcycles were gorgeous creatures, long before the Honda Gold Wing came around.

What's missing is the big chrome gas engine. The Dutch-designed, fully electric Orphiro has a range of 60 miles and a top speed of 75 miles per hour. This is definitely meant for laid-back cruising on scenic roads (near an electrical outlet).

Related links • CES: Electric Uno scooter doubles as a unicycle • Jackie Chan pens deal with electric motorcycle maker

The bike is expected to launch this fall, but the official price tag hasn't been announced. Don't expect to find one at your local Harley dealer. Production will be very limited.

Just as the Tesla Roadster brought glamor to electric cars, the Orphiro is bringing class and slick styling to electric motorcycles. That makes this creation a shoe-in for celebrity buyers from Hollywood. You get both a rebel image and an environmentally conscious glow at the same time.… Read more

Planes to fly on cooking oil

Is it fair to imagine that some people just don't want to know about how certain things are done? If they did, perhaps their irrational side might overwhelm the blinkered side that helps them get through each and every painful day.

Does everyone want to know, for example, that the Boeing 737 in which they are strapped is flying on the detritus of some very fine french fries?

In the last few days, KLM and Thomson Airways, two European airlines, announced that they would be flying a plane or two using cooking oil.

In KLM's case, the BBC reported … Read more

ReFuel races spur electric-car innovation (audio slideshow)

Engineers searching for ways to redefine the American car, moving away from gasoline engines and toward cleaner battery-powered electric transportation, had a chance to put their designs to the test this weekend on a big-time track, the MAZDA Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. In the coming years, production standards for battery-management systems and charging systems will emerge, and today, these innovators are experimenting with what works and what doesn't, searching for the best new methods with which to manufacture the next generation of vehicles. The ReFuel Clean Power Motorsports Event, now in its third year, gives electric-car builders … Read more

U.S. seeks exemption to EU aviation CO2 plan

The United States demanded today that the European Union exempt U.S. airlines from an EU law widening carbon permits to aviation, hardening a standoff over a scheme due to start in 2012.

After talks in Oslo, the European Union insisted it would not back down on its unilateral plan to penalize greenhouse gas emissions from planes taking off and landing in the European Union as part of efforts to slow climate change.

"We clearly stated our strong objections to the EU plans on both legal and policy grounds," a U.S. administration official told a telephone news conference after talks between EU and U.S. negotiators.

In the strongest public criticism of the EU carbon scheme to date by President Barack Obama's administration, Washington said U.S. airlines should be exempt from greenhouse gas penalties.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity like all other delegates, said the EU was using "the wrong way to pursue the right objective" of slowing global warming that is predicted to cause more droughts, floods, and rising sea levels.

The European Commission said there were no plans to back down, echoing… Read more

Senate vote marks start of end for ethanol subsidies

The Senate voted overwhelmingly today to eliminate billions of dollars in support for the U.S. ethanol industry, sending a strong message that the era of big taxpayer support for biofuels is ending.

The 73-27 vote may ultimately be symbolic since the White House has vowed not to repeal ethanol subsidies fully and the bill the repeal language is attached to is not expected to make it into law. But it underscores the growing desperation to find savings in a budget crisis that is forcing both sides of the aisle to consider sacrificing once-sacred government programs.

"Ending this wasteful handout would ensure taxpayers no longer subsidize the already profitable corn ethanol industry," Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg said.

The increasingly hostile attitude toward federal ethanol support has added fuel to a steep fall this week in the price of corn, from which most U.S. ethanol is made.

The Senate vote shows the odds are diminishing that the 45-cent-a-gallon subsidy the government gives refiners and the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol--both targeted in today's vote--will be extended at current rates beyond their scheduled expiration at the end of this year. … Read more

Agencies: Scrap biofuel support to curb food costs

Governments should scrap policies to support biofuels because they are forcing up global food prices, according to a report by 10 international agencies including the World Bank and World Trade Organization.

The report adds to growing opposition to biofuels targets and subsidies such as those in Europe, Canada, India, and the United States.

"If oil prices are high and a crop's value in the energy market exceeds that in the food market, crops will be diverted to the production of biofuels, which will increase the price of food," said the report.

"Changes in the price of oil can be abrupt and may cause increased food price volatility," said the report.

Prepared at the request of the Group of 20 major economies, the report addressed price volatility in food and agriculture, and its authors also included experts from the World Food Programme, International Monetary Fund, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. … Read more

Future bright for cleaner-burning natural gas

For natural gas, the stars are aligned for it to play a far more substantial role in the world energy mix, according to a pair of reports this week.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology today published its report on natural gas, which it characterized as an abundant and reasonably priced resource able to act as a bridge to a low-carbon future. The International Energy Agency released its own study (PDF) Monday, where it said natural gas is poised to enter a "golden age."

The key driver for the optimism around natural gas is supply as well as societal … Read more