(NGV Journal) Queensland Urban Utilities has unveiled the so-called “Poo-powered Car”, which runs on biogas generated from sewage at the Oxley Creek Sewage Treatment Plant in Brisbane’s west. “If you live in Brisbane’s south or west, every time you flush
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)
Back TO HOMENew Analysis Shows Fuel Economy and Emissions Standards Enhance Auto Industry Financial Prospects
(Ceres) Financial risks faced by legacy automakers due to evolving marketplace, not fuel economy standards -- As disruption from new technologies, mobility models and global trends threaten financial prospects for legacy automakers, national fuel economy and emissions standards can help
August 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Interview: Finnish Love with Biofuels May Lead to Wrong Choices in Transport: Expert
(XinhuaNet) Finnish love with biofuels as a key approach to reduce emissions has made the Nordic country one of the least active Western European countries to prepare for the arrival of electric car era, an expert said on Wednesday. Pekka Leviakangas,
August 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Democrats Look to Fit Electric Car Credits into EPA's Ethanol Mandate
by John Siciliano (Washington Examiner) The Environmental Protection Agency's renewable fuel mandate could get a whole lot more complicated if Democrats are able to add electric cars to a credit program designed to boost corn ethanol and other liquid biofuels
August 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away?
by Ron Lamberty (American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) “Fossil fuels have lost. The rest of the world just doesn’t know it yet.” Some of you may have seen that quote earlier this summer, after it first appeared in an
August 04, 2017 Read Full Article
Why We Need to Clean Up Mining if We Want a Renewable Energy Economy
by James Wilt (Renewable Energy World) A massive open-pit copper mine might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about solar power. But the construction of photovoltaic panels actually requires a wide range of metals and minerals to
August 04, 2017 Read Full Article
Research Aims to ‘Co-Optimize’ Biofuels for Future Engines
(Agri-Pulse) Research aimed at finding the right combination of fuels and engine technology that would maximize a car's performance while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions has reached a milestone that ethanol advocates hope gets wider acknowledgement from policy makers. The Co-Optimization of
August 03, 2017 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
In commenting to Biofuels International about the UK government's decision to ban new petroleum and diesel cars by 2040, Devin Walker, chief technical officer of Renovare Fuels based in London noted that in some circumstances the manufacture of electric cars
August 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Electric Cars Have Higher Lifecycle Emissions than Liquid Fuels, Says Renewables Expert
(Biofuels International) The UK government’s decision to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040 risks “handcuffing” the country to an “unrealistic policy”, according to renewable energy expert Devin Walker. Significantly, Walker also notes that in some circumstances the manufacture of
August 03, 2017 Read Full Article
LA Transitioning to Fully Electric Bus Fleet – But Is It Really the Answer?
(Biofuels International) Los Angeles is to transition to a fully electric, zero-emissions bus fleet by 2030, according to recently announced plans. The Californian city has a reputation for extreme bouts of smog, something city authorities hope the electricity transition will
August 03, 2017 Read Full Article
'We’ll Have to Become Electricity Traders' - Biofuels Market Reacts to UK Petrol Ban
by Vicky Ellis (ICIS) European biofuels market participants are wondering what their role will be in the future after the UK became the latest country to announce on Wednesday a ban on all conventional petrol and diesel car sales by 2040. The
August 02, 2017 Read Full Article
Could Clean Energy Spark A Mineral Boom?
(Energy Today/Oilprice.com) A new World Bank report released today (July 18, 2017) highlights the potential impacts that the expected continuing boom in low-carbon energy technologies will have on demand for many minerals and metals. Using wind, solar, and energy storage batteries as
July 31, 2017 Read Full Article
Motorists Give Green Light to E10 Fuel
(Biofuels International) ... A survey of over 25,000 motorists by Fair Fuel UK, the ‘independent voice of UK drivers’, revealed that over 82% of motorists supported the Government promoting E10 – a more environmentally friendly fuel consisting of 10% ethanol
July 25, 2017 Read Full Article
Brazil's Ethanol Producers and Automakers Sign Cooperation Accord
by Fernando Calmon (Just Auto) ... Sugar cane-based ethanol, besides powering electricity generation, manages to capture 90% of CO2 emissions throughout its life cycle (from well to wheel). Yet this sector here in Brazil has plotted an erratic course over four decades,
July 25, 2017 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Ramanan Krishnamoorti (University of Houston/Houston Chronicle), commenting on what is needed for a transition to electric vehicles: "Without big jumps in energy efficiency and conservation, an all electric fleet will require doubling existing base load electricity generation in the United
July 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Welcome to 'All of the Above' Transportation
by Ramanan Krishnamoorti (University of Houston/Houston Chronicle) ... It won't happen overnight. Barriers remain, from range anxiety with full electric vehicles to an already overburdened and aging electric grid. Affordable grid-scale energy storage remains elusive. ... Transportation makes up roughly a third of energy
July 24, 2017 Read Full Article
France Plans to End Sales of All Gasoline, Diesel Vehicles by 2040 (and UK)
by Bate Felix and Simon Carraud (Reuters) France aims to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040 and become carbon neutral 10 years later, Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot said on Thursday at a presentation of measures to keep
July 11, 2017 Read Full Article
13 States Now Charge Fees for Electric Vehicles
by Julian Spector, Julia Pyper (Greentech Media) States are imposing fees on the small population of EV drivers in a broader push to shore up road repairs. -- Several states have passed or enacted new fees this year, bringing the
July 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Cost of Elon Musk's Dream Much Higher Than He and Others Imagine
by Brian Rogers (America Rising Squared/Real Clear Energy) ... It’s what Greenpeace International co-founder Rex Weyler calls “The Tesla dream,” the false idea that Mr. Musk’s electric vehicles (EVs) are a true game-changing “clean energy” solution to global climate
June 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Calls for Indian Government to Lower Taxes on Biodiesel and Hybrid Cars
(Biofuels International) Indian union minister Nitin Gadkari will urge the country’s finance minister to reduce the goods and services tax (GST) rates on cars that run on biodiesel, as well as hybrid vehicles, according to Times of India’s The Economic
May 25, 2017 Read Full Article
RethinkX: Self-Driving Electric Cars Will Dominate Roads by 2030
by Mark Anderson (IEEE Spectrum) Within 13 years self-driving cars will dominate the roads, representing some 95% of all car miles driven, according to a new study released this week. And while 40% of the cars in 2030 will still
May 18, 2017 Read Full Article
Big Oil Betting On Electric Vehicles
by Jon LeSage (OilPrice.com) Speaking this week at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in New York, Total SA’s chief energy economist, Joel Couse, forecasted that EVs will make up 15 to 30 percent of global new vehicle sales by
May 02, 2017 Read Full Article
Electromobility - Further Development of Fuels for Use in Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles
(UFOP (Google Translation)) The cars of the future are also supposed to drive electrically. Today, the share of hybrid vehicles with an electric and an internal combustion engine (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, PHEV) is increasing. This has an effect on
April 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Face Obstacle - Few Fueling Stations
by Dee-Ann Durbin (Associated Press) Hydrogen fuel cell cars could one day challenge electric cars in the race for pollution-free roads — but only if more stations are built to fuel them. Honda, Toyota and Hyundai have leased a few hundred
April 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Report Analyzes the Use of Biogas-Derived Electricity To Power Electric Vehicles
(U.S. Department of Energy) With joint funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Strategic Programs, Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), and Vehicle Technologies Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) published a report titled Analyzing the Impacts of a Biogas-to-Electricity
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
US Drivers to Rely on Internal Combustion for Decades to Come
(Fuel Freedom Foundation/Ethanol Producer Magazine) By 2050, there will be three billion light-duty vehicles (LDVs) on the road. Even under the most optimistic forecast, alternative vehicles will account for — at best — 50 percent of the total worldwide fleet,
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Propel Fuels Serves Largest US E85 Market in California
(Propel Fuels/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Propel Fuels, the nation’s leading retailer of E85 Flex Fuel, welcomed the 2017 National Ethanol Conference to California, America’s largest E85 market. Having cracked the code to high volume E85 sales, Propel sells more than 500
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Report: Six States Propose New Electric Vehicle Fees
by Robert Walton (Utility Dive) The Sierra Club says six states have proposed legislation this year that would add to the cost of owning an electric vehicle, worrying clean energy advocates who say owning emissions-free vehicles should be incentivized rather
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Big Corn Courts Old Foe Big Oil to Combat Electric Car Threat
by Chris Prentice (Reuters) A U.S. biofuels lobbying group on Tuesday said it is seeking to work with longtime rival the oil industry to fight the threat to both from subsidies for electric vehicles. The two industries have been at loggerheads
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
ZEVs Don’t Have Zero Emissions: Letter
by Don Siefkes (E100 Ethanol Group/Biofuels Digest) In an unpublished letter to the Wall Street Journal, Don Siefkes, Executive Director of the E100 Ethanol Group writes: Regarding Mike Spector’s Feb. 13 article, “Biggest Driver of Cleaner-Car Rules …,” Ms. Mary Nichols, Chairwoman
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
EPA’s Plan for Electric Vehicles Could Upend RFS Politics
by Eric Wolff (Politico/Governors' Biofuels Coalition) The Obama administration’s newest plan to stimulate sales of electric vehicles could deliver a political boost to supporters of the Renewable Fuel Standard, aligning automakers with biofuel backers against the oil industry’s attacks on
October 14, 2016 Read Full Article
Jolt of Electricity for RFS
by Anthony Adragna (Politico's Morning Energy) The Obama administration's latest effort to stimulate sales of electric vehicles could deliver a political boost to supporters of the Renewable Fuel Standard, aligning automakers with biofuel backers against the oil industry's attacks on the
October 10, 2016 Read Full Article
In Your Phone, in Their Air: A Trace of Graphite Is in Consumer Tech. In These Chinese Villages, It’s Everywhere.
by Peter Whoriskey (The Washington Post) ... Smaller and more powerful than their predecessors, lithium batteries power smartphones and laptop computers and appear destined to become even more essential as companies make much larger ones to power electric cars. The companies making those
October 03, 2016 Read Full Article
The Cobalt Pipeline: Tracing the Path from Deadly Hand-Dug Mines in Congo to Consumers’ Phones and Laptops
by Todd C. Frankel (The Washington Post) ... This remote landscape in southern Africa lies at the heart of the world’s mad scramble for cheap cobalt, a mineral essential to the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power smartphones, laptops and electric
September 30, 2016 Read Full Article
The Kochs Are Plotting A Multimillion-Dollar Assault On Electric Vehicles
by Peter Stone (The Huffington Post) ... A new group that’s being cobbled together with fossil fuel backing hopes to spend about $10 million dollars per year to boost petroleum-based transportation fuels and attack government subsidies for electric vehicles, according to
September 30, 2016 Read Full Article
Sell Last Gasoline Car by 2035 to Meet Climate Goals, Study Says
by Alister Doyle (Reuters) The last gasoline-powered car will have to be sold by about 2035 to put the world on track to limit global warming to the most stringent goal set by world leaders last year, a study said on
September 19, 2016 Read Full Article
Survey Shows Suppliers Support for Existing 2025 Federal Light-duty Vehicle Fuel Economy Regulation
(CALSTART) First-ever fuel economy survey of auto suppliers: 70 percent don’t want policymakers to change standards -- Tier 1 suppliers want long-term goals, support 2025 targets Major automotive suppliers see national fuel economy standards as important for long-term planning and investment and
September 15, 2016 Read Full Article
Could A Lithium Shortage De-Rail The Electric Car Boom?
by James Stafford (OilPrice.com) ... Lithium is our new fuel, but like fossil fuels, the reserves we’re currently tapping into are finite—and that’s what investors can take to the bank. ... And yet, despite this skepticism, lithium demand is rising steadily and
August 25, 2016 Read Full Article
Maryland Launches AFV Incentive, Infrastructure Programs
(NGT News) The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) says that it is now accepting applications for the Maryland Freedom Fleet Voucher (FFV) Program, which intends to provide incentives for various alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), over the 2017 fiscal year. ... As reported, eligible vehicles
August 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Sustainable Transportation Summit--Day 1 Bits and Pieces
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) When it's called the "inaugral Sustainable Transportation Summit," you know the organizers anticipate more to come. Discussed for the past four years or so, the US Department of Transportation's Office of Energy Efficiency &
July 12, 2016 Read Full Article
California Ponders Changes to Fuel Rules as Tesla Cries Foul
by John Lippert (Bloomberg) ... The rapid growth of Tesla Motors Inc. and the increasing range of other electric vehicles have the state contemplating new requirements that anger both Tesla and competitors like Honda Motor Co. They say California is changing
July 08, 2016 Read Full Article
Modernizing the Electric Grid and Its Integration with the Transportation Sector
by Bill Brandon (Biofuels Digest/) ... Some, like Mark Z. Jacobson, assert battery electric vehicles (BEV) are “the key transportation solution”. ... Just deploying BEVs does not guarantee they will be clean. The Dutch effort to push BEVs resulted in an increased
June 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Electric Cars Are Not Necessarily Clean
by David Biello (Scientific American) Your battery-powered vehicle is only as green as your electricity supplier -- ... Tesla has advertised its vehicles as having zero emissions, helping fuel the mania for the fun-driving sedan, but that's not necessarily true. Although the
May 26, 2016 Read Full Article
California Zero Emissions Demonstration Project Includes Diesel Plug-In Hybrid Trucks
(Diesel Technology Forum/PR Newswire) Immediate Air Quality & Climate Benefits Are Available From Existing & Proven Technologies -- New diesel technology will be part of a $23.6 million zero-emission transportation test program in California for emerging commercial vehicle technologies designed
May 20, 2016 Read Full Article
Volkswagen Teams with Shell to Convince EU the Way to Decarbonize Transport
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Belgium, Volkswagen has teamed with Shell on a new report by Roland Berger promoting a policy path forward towards a European transport market that achieves environmental and GHG goals set at the COP21 meeting
April 29, 2016 Read Full Article
Tesla And Other Tech Giants Scramble For Lithium As Prices Double
by James Stafford (OilPrice.com) Demand for lithium—the hottest commodity on the planet and the only commodity to show positive price movement in 2015—is poised to continue on its upward trajectory, becoming the world’s new gasoline and earning the moniker of
April 14, 2016 Read Full Article
Fuel Option that Reduces Emissions Already Exists
by Mark Dorenkamp (Brownfield Ag News) ... A proposal introduced last week by Representative Pat Garofalo would provide rebates of up to $2,500 dollars for those who buy or lease a new electric or plug-in hybrid car. Minnesota Biofuels Association executive director
April 05, 2016 Read Full Article
Tesla’s Model 3 Could Destroy Elon Musk’s Company
by Edward Niedermeyer (The Daily Beast) It won’t hit the road for two years, it won’t be as cheap as promised, and it will be plagued with problems. Worst of all, the firm may run out of money before the
April 01, 2016 Read Full Article
Electric Car Bill Will Do Little to Reduce Emissions
(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) Today’s Star Tribune reported of a proposal in the Minnesota legislature that calls for a financial incentive to boost electric or plug-in hybrid sales in the state to reduce emissions. According to the report, consumers would receive rebates
March 31, 2016 Read Full Article
2016 National Renewable Energy Policy Forum: What's Next? Driving Growth in a New Policy Landscape Explores a World of Clean Power Plans and Favorable Tax Incentives; Exposes Potential Cracks
by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) For a meeting about renewable energy held on St. Patrick's Day, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, Janet McCabe, began her address with appropriate words from an old Irish
March 19, 2016 Read Full Article
Commentary: Implementing The Electric RFS
by Jim Lemon and Michael Lemon (BioCycle/Biogas Researchers, Inc.) Michael Lemon describes steps to move EPA forward on the RFS renewable electricity pathway on Tuesday, April 5 at BioCycle WEST COAST16. ... Steps to expand deployment of clean energy technologies like renewable
March 18, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels Are Back on the EU Agenda
by Sonja van Renssen (Energy Post) Biofuels are returning to the political agenda in Europe as EU policymakers start to shape a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport after 2020. Biofuels producers continue to argue that they are
March 03, 2016 Read Full Article
Is The Electric Vehicle A Crude Oil Killer?
by Robert Rapier (Forbes) ... Petroleum is in an entirely different category. It is used primarily for transportation, and it has held more than 90% of the transportation market for over 60 years. ... Biofuels made a push in the 2nd half of
February 26, 2016 Read Full Article
Yogi Berra on Bioenergy
by Douglas Faulkner (Biofuels Digest/Leatherstocking) ... In reflecting recently about the state of bioenergy and trends in the transportation industry, I was reminded of one of my favorite sayings of his (Yogi Berra's): “The future ain’t what it used to be”. Yogi
February 23, 2016 Read Full Article
Gasoline Keeps Getting Dirtier while Alternatives Keep Getting Cleaner
by David Roberts (VOX) The Union of Concerned Scientists has issued a new report that takes a high-level look at three key transportation fuels: gasoline, biofuels, and electricity. It compares their greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account their full life cycle,
February 10, 2016 Read Full Article
Why Flint? Why Dieselgate? Why Was the EPA Prevented From Acting?
by Robert E. Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Of all the grandstanding by politicians over the Flint, Michigan, drinking water disaster perhaps the most hypocritical has been that of Democrats such as Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton heaping all the blame on
February 09, 2016 Read Full Article
Next Step for Volt, Green Car of the Year, Should Be E85 Capability
by Landon Hall (Fuel Freedom Foundation) Don’t let all the accolades go to your head, Chevy Volt. You’re still not a truly green car, despite what it says on your new piece of hardware. ... But the label of “green car” should
January 25, 2016 Read Full Article
Why Isn't The 2016 Chevy Volt A Flex-Fuel Plug-In Hybrid That Can Use E85 Ethanol?
by John Voelcker (Green Car Reports) ... Michelle Malcho from Chevy's communications group responded: The engine was chosen to be the most efficient overall for the entire system. Plus, the goal was to get to regular unleaded gasoline as it was a top
January 25, 2016 Read Full Article
Energy Department Announces $58 Million to Advance Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Technologies
(U.S. Department of Energy) U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced more than $58 million in funding for vehicle technology advancements and released a report highlighting the successes of DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program while touring the
January 23, 2016 Read Full Article
The Government Has Spent a Lot on Electric Cars, but Was It Worth It?
by Charles Lane (Washington Post) In August 2010, I proposed this wager to a fellow journalist: President Obama’s declared goal was to get 1 million plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars on the road in the United States by 2015. I
January 11, 2016 Read Full Article
West Coast Mayors Form EV Consortium, Pledge Carbon Reductions
by Bengt Halvorson (Clean Car Reports) ... (M)ayors of four large West Coast cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland—met in Portland for a two-day summit and united to reduce carbon emissions on a regional level. The signed declaration, by the
December 17, 2015 Read Full Article
Electric Cars Can’t Take the Cold
by Jeff Plungis (Bloomberg) Batteries generate power less efficiently as temperatures drop. --- ... The trouble is, except for Oregon, none of the states have California’s temperate weather. The batteries used by the greener cars generate electricity from chemical reactions that work
December 07, 2015 Read Full Article
Ten States Impose EV Flat Fees; Georgia Is Highest
by Danny King (AutoBlog) Washington, Colorado, Virginia And Oregon Also On Growing List -- These fees were put into place in order to offset the revenue shortfall from more fuel efficient vehicles, electrified powertrains, and the resulting lower gas
December 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Here’s How the U.S. Can Dump Fossil Fuels for Good
by Joe Uehlein and May Boeve (Grist.org) The world must go fossil-free — and fast. But the proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that the U.S. and other countries are proposing for the upcoming climate summit in Paris will still allow
November 24, 2015 Read Full Article
Electric Cars and the Coal that Runs Them
by Michael Birnbaum (The Washington Post) Cheap electricity, a changing climate This is part of a series exploring how the world’s hunger for cheap electricity is complicating efforts to combat climate change. --- ... But behind the green growth is
November 24, 2015 Read Full Article
Energy Security and Reducing GHGs in Transportation: The Vital Role of Biofuels
by Dr. Bruce E. Dale (Michigan State University/25 x '25) U. S. renewable fuel policy has two primary objectives: 1) to reduce petroleum imports and thereby increase energy security and 2) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) generation in the transportation
November 20, 2015 Read Full Article
How Michigan’s New Road Funding Plan Affects Alt-Fuel Vehicles
by Tony Antonelli (Next Gen Transportation News) ... Notably, three of the bills – H.B.4736, H.B.4738 and H.B.4614 (now P.A.174, P.A.176 and P.A.178, respectively) – directly impact the clean fuels industry. P.A.174: Sponsored by State Rep. Michael McCready, this legislation increases registration
November 19, 2015 Read Full Article
New Research Shows Electric Cars 50 Percent Cleaner Compared to Gasoline Over Their Lifetime
(Union of Concerned Scientists) Do battery electric vehicles really reduce global warming emissions compared to gasoline cars? The answer is a clear yes, according to a new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Over their entire lifetimes—from manufacturing to driving
November 17, 2015 Read Full Article
No Rich White Guy Left Behind: The Selling of Electric Cars as Zero Emission Vehicles
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Electric cars and their $1600 cost per ton for CO2 reduction. And, yep, you’re paying for it. Electric cars have environmental benefits, no doubt about it, and anyone who drives one is making a contribution to
October 26, 2015 Read Full Article
Big Electric Shocks Big Oil: California’s New Emissions Law Enlists Utilities to Help Wean Drivers off Gasoline.
by Mark Hertsgaard (Bloomberg Businessweek) When California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 350 on Oct. 7, it looked like a huge win for the oil industry. The original version of the bill included a mandate to cut the state’s petroleum
October 23, 2015 Read Full Article
Zero Emission Vehicles: Not Really
by Don Siefkes, Debbie Baron and Eileen Broderick (E100 Ethanol Group, Mendo Alcohol Fuel Group) ... California Governor Jerry Brown and other Governors, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and much of the major media are continuing their unnerving habit
September 21, 2015 Read Full Article
EVs Could Cut Global Gasoline Use By 2040
by Mike Barnard (Clean Technica) ... The good news is that electric vehicles will reduce gasoline consumption even if no other levers are used related to personal transportation. The bad news is that it will be 15 to 20 years before gasoline consumption
September 08, 2015 Read Full Article
As California Sizzles: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Propel operates 43 Flex Fuel and 31 Biodiesel retail locations statewide, representing over 50,000 clean fuel transactions per month and 10,000,000 gallons of fuel sold to individual consumers annually. Between 2012 and 2014, Propel Fuels conducted
September 01, 2015 Read Full Article
Tensions over U.S. Electric Vehicle Mandates Spill into the Open
by Joseph White (PlanetArk) A long-simmering dispute between automakers and U.S. regulators over policies to promote electric vehicles spilled into the open on Tuesday, in the high stakes struggle over the future of automotive technology. The heads of two major lobby groups
August 05, 2015 Read Full Article
The Future of Low-Carbon Road Transport: What Role for Second-Generation Biofuels?
by Joern Huenteler and Henry Lee (Belfer Center Programs or Projects) The promise, prospects, and public policy trade-offs related to second-generation biofuels in road transport were addressed in an executive session convened at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan,
July 29, 2015 Read Full Article
Hybrid Electric-Biodiesel Buses: Cleaner, Fuel-Saving Alternative for Public Transportation
by Milsa Vijayadharan* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Hybrid Electric-Biodiesel Buses used in California, Washington and Michigan Model Lower GHG Emissions Options for Cities Everywhere Public transportation plays an important role in green and sustainable practices. Public transportation use means fewer cars on the road and a cleaner environment.
July 10, 2015 Read Full Article
Study: Even with High LDV Electrification, Low-Carbon Biofuels Will Be Necessary to Meet 80% GHG Reduction Target; “Daunting” Policy Implications
(Green Car Congress) A study by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Michigan State University colleague has concluded that even with a relatively high rate of electrification of the US light-duty fleet (40% of vehicle miles traveled and
July 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Energy Department Announces Funding to Develop Aggregate Purchasing Models
(U.S. Department of Energy) The Energy Department today (June 8, 2015) announced up to $2 million to support aggregate purchasing models for plug-in electric and other alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, subsystems, components, alternative fuels, and refueling/charging infrastructure. Aggregated
June 22, 2015 Read Full Article
Usage of Non-Petroleum Fuels on the Rise, Yet Vehicle Sales Stall
by Braden Kelner (Power Source) Non-petroleum fuels are being used for transportation in amounts not seen in 60 years, according to federal data. Alternative fuels — ethanol, natural gas and electricity — have more than doubled their share of the transportation sector since the
June 17, 2015 Read Full Article
Obama Scales Back Overly Ambitious Goals for Electric Car Use
by Jeff Green/Angela Greiling Keane (Bloomberg) In a 2009 executive order, the president had called for 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015, but poor sales and lower gas prices have intervened. President Barack Obama's long-standing goal to have
May 26, 2015 Read Full Article
Energy Union Pushes for E-Mobility and Alternative Fuels in Transport
(EurActiv) The European Commission plans further steps to decarbonise the transport sector through a shift to alternative fuels and electro-mobility, according to the latest draft of the Energy Union proposal, ... According to the draft proposal, the Commission will take steps to
February 27, 2015 Read Full Article
Biofuels vs Hybrids vs Plug-ins vs Gasoline: Who’s the Cost Winner?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Have low gas prices changed the equation for drivers looking to reduce pain at the pump? Who’s the best on cost? And, is there surprising news on emissions? ... We looked at a couple of good data
February 10, 2015 Read Full Article
Father of the Prius Sees Long Road to a Fully Electric Future
by Howard Schneider (The Washington Post) Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada rode his pioneering work on the Prius hybrid to the top of the world’s biggest car company. But that doesn’t mean he is a zealot when it comes to
October 01, 2013 Read Full Article
Unclean at Any Speed: Electric Cars Don’t Solve the Automobile’s Environmental Problems
by Ozzie Zehner (IEEE Spectrum) ...Some states offer additional tax incentives. California brings the total credit up to $10 000, and Colorado to $13 500—more than the base price of a brand new Ford Fiesta. West Virginia offers the sweetest
July 02, 2013 Read Full Article
The Electric Car Mistake
by Charles Lane (The Washington Post) The Obama administration’s electric-car fantasy finally may have died on the road between Newark, Del., and Milford, Conn. The New York Times’s John M. Broder reported Friday that the Tesla Model S electric car he was test-driving repeatedly
February 12, 2013 Read Full Article
Energy Secretary Steven Chu Ignores Biofuels at DC Auto Show and in Resignation Remarks
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) In yesterday’s address on Policy Day at the Washington, DC Auto Show, Energy Secretary Steven Chu spoke passionately about the need for the US to reduce dependence on foreign oil. He listed the ways
February 01, 2013 Read Full Article
Washington Auto Show Policy Day Brings Biofuels Conversation to Capitol Hill
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) “Affordable Mobility: A Roadmap to Energy Efficiency” framed a public discussion of automotive issues for Capitol Hill staff which ranged from fuel efficiency and the new CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards to increasing
January 30, 2013 Read Full Article
Are Electric Cars Bad for the Environment?
by Leo Hickman (The Guardian) Academics in Norway have published a study arguing that electric cars can be more polluting than is widely assumed. Leo Hickman, with your help, investigates. A study by engineers based at the Norwegian University of Science and
October 23, 2012 Read Full Article
Representative Bob Filner Introduced the Clean Energy Victory Bonds Act of 2012, H.R. 6275
(Clean Energy Victory Bonds) On August 2, Representative Bob Filner and 10 cosponsors introduced the Clean Energy Victory Bonds Act of 2012, H.R. 6275 in the House of Representatives. The bill, officially entitled “To promote the domestic development and deployment
August 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Electric Cars and Liberals’ Refusal to Accept Science
by Charles Lane (The Washinton Post) OpEd: President Obama boasted at a United Auto Workers conference last week that General Motors was back in business, producing cutting-edge vehicles like the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt. He even promised to buy one when his time
March 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Crash-Testing the Plug-In: Ford CEO Alan Mulally on the Pitfalls of His Company’s Newest Car.
by Joanne Lipman (The Daily Beast) For more than three years, President Obama has been singing the praises of electric cars. He’s repeatedly called for 1 million plug-in and hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015. He’s ignored the skeptics who said
January 26, 2012 Read Full Article
Flex-Fuel Cars Find Few Pumps, Chargers Aplenty: BGOV Barometer
by Angela Greiling Keane (Bloomberg) Public charging stations for electric autos outnumber outlets for alternative motor fuels by almost two to one, even though there are hundreds of times more flex- fuel vehicles than plug-in cars on U.S. roads. The BGOV
December 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Battery-Car Future Undercut by Europe, Improvements in ICE Technology
by Neil Winton (Detroit News) Investment bank Morgan Stanley came up with a nasty surprise for Nissan-Renault and other cheer-leaders for battery powered cars when it cut its electric vehicle sales forecast by nearly 50 per cent for 2025. Europe’s economic
December 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Electric Cars May Not Be So Green after All, Says British Study
by Ben Webster (The Australian) Electric cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries, a study has found. An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km
June 20, 2011 Read Full Article
LowCVP Study Demonstrates the Increasing Importance of Measuring Whole Life Carbon Emissions to Compare Vehicle Performanc
(Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership) Electric and hybrid cars create more carbon emissions during their production than standard vehicles – but are still greener overall, according to a new report. The report highlights the increasing importance of accounting for whole life carbon
June 20, 2011 Read Full Article
JD Power: Battery, Hybrid-Electric Cars Are Overhyped
by Matthew Lynley (VentureBeat/Reuters) Plug-in electric and hybrid electric vehicles are over-hyped and won’t meet many car companies’ 2020 sales targets, according to global marketing information firm JD Power & Associates. Battery-powered and hybrid-electric cars will only capture around 7.3 percent
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Twin Cities Clean City Coalition Top Gas Use Reducer
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The U.S. Department of Energy has released a national ranking of Clean Cities programs that have had the most impact in the reduction of gasoline use. At the top of the list is the Saint-Paul-based Twin
April 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Lott, Dorgan, Jones, Reilly form Bipartisan Policy Center Energy Project
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, former Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), former National Security Advisor General Jim Jones (Ret.) and former EPA Administrator William K. Reilly announced they will lead the new Bipartisan Policy Center
April 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Volvo's Ethanol-Powered Electric Car
by Gary Gastelu (Fox News) ...Starting in 2012 the Swedish automaker will begin selling a plug-in hybrid version of the V60 - a wagon version of the S60 sedan that is not offered in the United States. Not only will the
March 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Chevy Volt to Get California Tax Credit in 2012
by Michael Kanellos (GreenTechMedia) A crazy wrinkle in a California law makes it a bit difficult for the Volt to qualify for the $5,000 rebate, but the company believes it will make it. Also, updates on Volt shipments. ...General Motors won't
February 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Cost of Electricity Will Not Rise: Dr. Joseph Romm at the Green Car Summit. Bartlett Proposes Open Fuels Act
[caption id="attachment_16299" align="alignleft" width="300"] Warren Brown, automotive columnist for the Washington Post, discusses Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's Open Fuel legislation with Astrid Dorner, US Correspondent for Handelsblatt, Lisa Lyons Wright, Energy and Stem Cell Legislative Assistant and Press Secretary for Congressman
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Plug-in Vehicles and Their Dirty Little Secret
by John Petersen (Renewable Energy World) ...The dirty little secret of plug-in vehicles is that they'll all charge their batteries with inherently dirty night-time power and be responsible for more CO2 emissions than a fuel efficient Prius-class HEV that costs
January 07, 2011 Read Full Article
GM Exploring Increased Production of Chevrolet Volt, New E85 Flex-Fuel Version
(MLive.com) ...The Volt is capable of traveling around 35 miles on electricity before a gasoline-powered generator kicks to provide up to an additional 300 miles. GM global product chief Tom Stephens on Tuesday told Barkholz the company is considering a new
December 03, 2010 Read Full Article
EU-Wide Study Confirms Hydrogen Is a Key to Zero-Emission Road Transport
(MarketWatch/Linde) ...Linde is currently researching various production options aimed at gradually increasing the share of "green" sources in the hydrogen landscape. One of these uses liquid biomass (glycerine), a by-product of biodiesel production, as the feedstock. READ MORE From the report: The
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Governor Rendell Says Latest Investments in Alternative Fuels Make PA More Energy Independent, Spur Innovation
(Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection) Announces Nearly $8 Million for 21 Projects Promoting Biofuels, Natural Gas- and Electric-Powered Vehicles Governor Edward G. Rendell said today that Pennsylvania is cutting its appetite for foreign oil by more than a half-million gallons as
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Survey: Interest in Electric Cars Is growing, but Practical Concerns Remain
by Eric Evarts (Consumer Reports) ...Overall, 63 percent expect to get a significant increase in fuel economy, regardless of the type of vehicle they buy. Only 67 percent said they are considering a traditional gasoline engine in their next new-car
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Obama's Electric-Car Cult
by Charles Lane (The Washington Post) ...The pitch is lyrical, almost religious. It asks consumers to make an economic and technological leap of faith - just as both GM and the firm's biggest backer, the Obama administration, have invested, financially,
October 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Why Is China Still Hoarding Its Rare Earths?
by Steve LeVine (Foreign Policy) ...China's ban on the export of the 17 so-called rare-earth metals -- indispensible as of now in the manufacture of high-tech products like wind turbines, advanced batteries and flat-screen TVs -- has now passed three
October 14, 2010 Read Full Article
New Fuel Economy Window Stickers Chock Full 'O Numbers
(Jalopnik) One of the draft window stickers released today will give buyers of 2012 models efficiency data for gas and electric vehicles. U.S. regulators want you to decide: How do you like letter grades? UPDATE: Automakers give it a "F." ...A
August 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Low Voltage
(Washington Post) Editorial: PRESIDENT OBAMA was back in Michigan recently, breaking ground on a plant that will make batteries for the Volt, the plug-in hybrid electric car forthcoming from government-owned General Motors. The Energy Department paid half the factory's $300 million
August 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Firm to Deploy 15,0000 Electric-Car Chargers in 13 Cities, Including District
by Danielle Douglas (Washington Post/Capital Business) ...Many of the nearly 200,000 electric hybrids on U.S. roads use internal generators to create power, but a fraction of these cars are plug-in hybrids, the market's fastest growing segment. Yet, there are only 465
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Likely to Have Major Role as Fuel
by Jim Kenzie (Wheel.ca) ...So far, everyone seems to think that the only way we’ll wean ourselves off decomposed dinosaur remains is if we either can’t find any more, or it becomes so expensive to find/extract/ship/refine that we’ll have to find
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
California Energy Commission Approves $114.3 Million for Electric and Ethanol Vehicle Infrastructure
(Los Angeles Times) ...The California Energy Commission approved three awards to help set up electric- and ethanol-powered vehicle infrastructure around the state. Of the funds, $15.4 million comes from state coffers, $49.6 million is federal money and $49.3 million comes
June 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Battery-Only Cars Face Avalanche of Negatives
by Neil Winton (Detroit News) ...The only way that unaffordable, impractical, battery-only cars will sell is because of huge government subsidies, and a few early-adopter zealots with too much money who don't mind being stranded every couple of weeks. Germany,
June 09, 2010 Read Full Article
230 MPG For Chevy Volt? Not Likely
by Reilly Brennan (AOL Autos) EPA Mulls New Fuel Economy Guidelines The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon draft a new regulation for the way it calculates fuel efficiency for electric cars, potentially deflating the stratospheric fuel economy numbers trumpeted by
April 22, 2010 Read Full Article
V2G: Transportation Electrons vs. Power Electrons
by Eric Weshoff (GreenTechGrid) Integrating electric vehicles into the smart grid is an enormous and potentially explosive challenge. Erfan Ibrahim of EPRI has said that if electric vehicles reached a high level of market penetration and were to charge at night
April 09, 2010 Read Full Article
GSA Doubles the Federal Hybrid Fleet, DOE Takes the Lead in Updating to Hybrids
Agencies Move to Increase Energy Security and Fuel Efficiency. President Obama announced March 31, 2010, that the Federal Government will lead by example in replacing older cars in the federal fleet with fuel efficient hybrids and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, reducing our
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
North American Grid Operators Study Concludes 1M Plug-in Electric Vehicles May Be On the Road by 2020; Staggered Charging Can Reduce Potential Negative Impact on Grid
(Green Car Congress) A group of US and Canadian power grid operators, who manage most of the North American bulk electric grid collectively, studied the effect that plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) would have on the electric power grid. Their study, “Assessment
April 02, 2010 Read Full Article
The View From Big Oil
by Alan Murray and Kimberley Strassel (Wall Street Journal) These days, giant oil companies find themselves trying to balance two big pressures on their business. Governments are trying to slash carbon emissions—but the world's thirst for oil is growing by leaps
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
GM Confirms First Gen Volt Will Not Support E85 Ethanol
by Nick Chambers (Gas2.0) This morning I wrote a piece about how GM is lamenting the lack of E85 fueling stations in the United States. But the other interesting tidbit of information in there was a simple statement by GM’s
February 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Why Does the Electrification Coalition Want $124 Billion of Your Tax Dollars to Charge Electric Cars?
Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) The Electrification Coalition, an industry group composed of Cisco, Pacific Gas and Electric, NRG Energy, Nissan, and various investment bankers among others, wants to spend $124 billion dollars of US taxpayer money to put
January 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Electrification Coalition Publishes Roadmap Describing Challenges Facing Electric Cars
…It is one thing to sprinkle a modest number of electric-drive cars throughout a nation as large as the United States; it is quite another for even a seemingly small number of those cars to operate simultaneously in a specific
January 24, 2010 Read Full Article
As Hybrid Cars Gobble Rare Metals, Shortage Looms
by Steve Gorman (Reuters) The Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods. That