Hybrid News

Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel

One of the problems major automakers cite as a reason that more ethanol isn’t used in their flex-fuel vehicles is that the people who own the cars just don’t know that you can put E85 into the tank. But there is another problem: not having any E85 available in your area. If you want to find out if you can get E85 locally, there has long been an ethanol station search available at the website of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. Douglas Cottrell over at Drive Flex Fuel thought that another E85 station locater was in order.

A quick check using my home Zip code turned up 80 E85 stations from NEVC and almost twice that (157) on Drive Flex Fuel within a 200 mile range. DFF allows you to limit your search to 10 miles (or 25 or other limits) of your home while the NEVC site only allows you to search for stations within 200 miles of your home (and how useful is that?). From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem that DFF discriminates between public and industrial sites. Cottrell wrote to AutoblogGreen to say that he updates the station list every month and has all states and zip codes listed.

[Source: Drive Flex Fuel]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Ethanol

With a website that looks like it was made in about four minutes, the Alliance for a Safe Alternative Fuels Environment (AllSAFE) is continuing its mission to make ethanol pumps less confusing for people pumping gas. It’s no surprise that filling your tank with E85 when you car is not flex-fuel capable is not a good idea, and AllSAFE is supporting the EPA′s recent enforcement letter that addresses gas stations selling gasoline blended with more than 10 percent ethanol. AllSAFE’s press release quotes the EPA as saying that gasoline blends higher than E10 “may cause damage to certain emissions control devices and systems and increased emissions from gasoline-only vehicles and engines. For this reason, the Clean Air Act prohibits retail gasoline stations from selling gasoline blended with more than 10 percent ethanol for use in gasoline-only vehicles and engines.”

While AllSAFE is in favor of better labeling on gas station pumps, the release (available after the jump) also has a pretty strong anti-ethanol feel: AllSAFE spokesman Kris Kiser is quoted as saying, “The proliferation of ethanol blender pumps at retail outlets in some regions of the country pose potentially serious problems for consumers and manufacturers alike.” Nonetheless, AllSAFE’s position paper states that the group is in favor of more ethanol in the nation fuel supply.

[Source: AllSAFE]

Continue reading AllSAFE supports go-slow approach to more ethanol blends at the pump

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Diesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, Suzuki

So far, Suzuki has steered clear of alternative fuel vehicles in the American market. They haven’t offered any diesels, flex-fuel or hybrid vehicles yet. That may soon change as the company will reportedly launch some vehicles that can run on not just E85, but also E100 as soon as 2010. The powertrains will be targeted at both the U.S. and Brazilian markets were E100 is commonly available. By March of 2009, Suzuki plans to launch a product in Brazil that can handle E25. Suzuki could also use its General Motors connections to bring a hybrid vehicle to market. In this case, it will more likely be the mild hybrid BAS system rather than the much more expensive Two-Mode hybrid. We might even get some of the diesels that Suzuki offers in other parts of the world.

[Source: Green Car Congress]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Ethanol, Legislation and Policy, USA

Texas Governor Rick Perry had requested that the EPA revise its Renewable Fuels Standard requirement to lessen the amount of ethanol for use in automobiles. Between September 1 of this year till August 31 of 2009, the EPA has mandated that 9 billion gallons of ethanol be blended into gasoline, a number which Perry wanted to see cut in half. In the United States, the vast majority of the available ethanol is produced from corn, a process which has drawn more than its fair share of criticism from many parties due to its inefficiencies and its possible impact on food prices. The EPA, though, denied Perry’s request.

Perry responded to the decision this way, “I am greatly disappointed with the EPA’s inability to look past the good intentions of this policy to see the significant harm it is doing to farmers, ranchers and American households. For the EPA to assert that this federal mandate is not affecting food prices not only goes against common sense, but every American’s grocery bill.” We don’t imagine this is the last we’ll hear from ethanol opponents regarding the issue. Thanks for the tip, Razpez!

[Source: AP via Google News]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Ethanol, USA

Driving around South Carolina and Iowa in a flex-fuel vehicle? Time for you to fill up your tank with E85 at a promotional price on Wednesday, July 23, a Kum & Go station in Elk Point, South Dakota. The stations with the odd spelling are offering E85 for $1.85 a gallon. The following day, July 24, the Kum & Go in Sloan, Iowa is matching the deal offered at the South Dakota station. Both fuel promotions begin at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m., and are being sponsored by Kum & Go, the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest and the Iowa and South Dakota Clean Air Choice Teams. Thanks to Bob for the tip.

[Source: Clean Air Choice]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: Ethanol, GM

The National Governors Association is teaming up with General Motors to promote the expansion of E85 distribution around the country. While no one seriously expects the corn-based ethanol that we have today to be anything more than a very small piece of the fuel puzzle, GM is firmly committed to next-generation biofuels. Since the start of this year, GM has made equity investments in two different companies (Coskata and Maskoma) developing processes to produce low-cost cellulosic ethanol.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced the agreement at the NGA meeting in Philadelphia. Pawlenty has been a major proponent of biofuels in his own state, having recently proposed making all gasoline sold be a 20-percent ethanol blend. Under the agreement, GM will work with state governments to determine where best to locate E85 pumps to make them most accessible to drivers of flex-fuel vehicles. Currently there are just under 1,700 E85 pumps available nationwide out of the total of 170,000 filling stations. The intent of this partnership is to ensure that over the next few years as cellulosic ethanol gets commercialized, there will be easily-accessible locations where drivers of the millions of flex-fuel vehicles on the road can get biofuel. The GM press release is included after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM and National Governors Association team on E85 infrastructure

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Ethanol, Legislation and Policy, South/Latin America, USA

Fourth of July equals fireworks, parades and, if the Brazilian sugarcane growers - represented by UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association - get their way, a reduced or eliminated ethanol import tariff. UNICA is calling on the U.S. Congress to eliminate the 54-cent tariff on each imported gallon of ethanol. Doing so, they argue, would reduce the cost of using cars for U.S. drivers as UNICA’s “Are We There Yet?” campaign will try to prove. After all, UNICA says, the ethanol tariff is a relic from 1980 and was never meant to be permanent anyway.

UNICA’s website, which features the oh-so-subtle graphic seen above, doesn’t highlight how badly American ethanol producers would be hurt by letting Brazilian ethanol flow more cheaply in U.S. pumps. Still, if cheaper gas is the result, then I’m sure not many drivers will really care where their fuel comes from (see also *cough* Wal-Mart *cough* China). Read more after the jump.

[Source: UNICA]

Continue reading UNICA says 4th of July is the right time to end ethanol tariffs

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Ethanol, USA

Holidays in the U.S. are used for so much more than celebrating. We’ve got President’s day sales, the Christmas shopping season, special Easter candy flavors (notice a trend?). For the Fourth of July, something to do with being free is often in order, and this year the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has decided that it’s energy independence that we need to focus on as a country, dagnabit.

EPIC has put out a statement calling for “unity in search of solutions.” By coming together, fellow Americans, EPIC thinks that July 4th could become Energy Independence Day, with ethanol and other renewables for all. A few smarter driving sacrifices (if you can call consolidating trips when gas is at $4/gallon a sacrifice) and increased biofuel output would shift the balance of domestic vs. foreign energy sources to a more homegrown one.

Note: if we’re going to be using corn to make all of this ethanol, let’s not forget that October 16 is World Food Day.

[Source: EPIC]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Vinod Khosla partners with Rick Wagoner and GM

GM hasn′t announced any new hybrid vehicles today, although Rick Wagoner announced today that there would in the near future be a press release on the Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid.

Nonetheless, GM did make another very interesting announcement. GM is partnering with Vinod Khosla’sCoskata, a company that believes it is ready to take ethanol to the next level, cellulosic ethanol and leave grain based ethanol in the past.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Filed under: Ethanol, Green Daily, Holidash

Is the ethanol lobby prepared to be the grinch of Christmas present? According to a recent article in The Economist, growing more profitable corn (for the ethanol market ) turned many Pacific Northwest farmers away from hops and barley and onto corn. Therefore, small beer brewers are having a hard time finding enough hops to make their beer. This in turn, is making some beers more expensive or simply not available. A Santa without beer? Tragedy.

According to the article, hop prices for at least one small brewer jumped up to five times as expensive as before. While larger beermakers have long-term contracts that have sheltered them thus far, The Economist writes that, “Without their supply of hops, some smaller producers are going out of business, bringing to a halt the fastest-growing segment of the industry. Other craft brewers and brewpubs are experimenting with new recipes, hoping their customers will adapt.”

The shift away from beer crops is not the only thing that threatens small breweries at the present time, but who knew that filing the tank with ethanol could have such wide-ranging effects? Merry Christmas!

[Source: The Economist via TTAC]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, MPG

In the video above from the Sundance Channel show, Big Ideas for a Small Planet, an Indy race car driver says he gets better mileage on ethanol. First he says racing can be green, that the car gets more power on ethanol and then he says he gets a lot better mileage. So much better mileage, in fact, they had to shrink the size of the fuel tank. Here is the exact quote:

First thing that we’ve noticed with the transition, from the ten percent to hundred percent ethanol this year, is that we have a broader power band and more torque. So the car is pulling better and accelerating better out of the corner. We also have gotten a lot better mileage, so we are reducing the size of the fuel cell from 30 gallons down to 22 gallons. We are out there testing this under the toughest conditions that we can and that’s going to make better-performing cars that can run ethanol more efficiently out on the road.

FYI, “fuel cell″ in Indy race cars are just fuel tanks and have nothing to do with hydrogen fuel cells. Anyway, this is the tipping point for me. I think it’s high time we get some serious money behind researching and getting to market technology that makes ethanol more efficient than gas. If half of what this Indy racer (and this study) says are true, ethanol engine technology should be the first and central focus ahead of hybrids or hydrogen.

Related:

• Study: non-flex fuel cars get better fuel economy on ethanol
• Video: Toyota racing series the first to use cars powered by E85
• Can any car use E85?
• Is Biowillie misleading customers?

[Source: Sundance Channel via Hulu on AOL]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Chevrolet, GM

While sitting around a table speaking to some of General Motors performance-minded engineers, I decided to bring up the topic of using E85 as both a green and a performance fuel. I was a little surprised to hear that they had already debated this topic. Of course, GM is already making quite a few vehicles which are E85-capable, but the vehicles have not been given any modifications to take advantage of the higher-performing properties of the alcohol, they have been changed only to be capable of running on the fuel. What are the chances that we′ll be seeing high-performance GM vehicles set up to run E85? It’s a distinct possibility as more and more fuel stations begin to carry the fuel, but we don’t suggest holding your breath for any alcohol-based performance changes being made to the vehicle. The Chevy HHR SS would have been a perfect candidate for such an option, as the vehicle features a turbocharged engine. GM went ahead and offered the launch-control and the no-lift shifting but did not decide to make it ethanol-capable. Ah well, can’t win ‘em all, right?

FYI - that would be your humble narrator autocrossing the HHR. Good times!

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Ethanol, Legislation and Policy

Following the passage of the Senate energy bill, what’s the future of corn ethanol in the U.S.? We already know that the marketplace is not too keen on corn ethanol these days, thanks to a glut of the stuff. According to this article in the Chicago Tribune, corn ethanol’s declining role will be hastened by the bill - in favor of ethanol made from the non-edible parts of the corn cob and other cellulosic feedstocks. As Tribune reporter Joshua Boak writes, “Of the 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels ordered for vehicles by 2022, 21 billion would come from biomass diesel and cellulosic sources that are still under development.” That’s almost 60 percent of the expected biofuel. Good news for, as Boak says, creating “commercial opportunities for finding new ways of unlocking ethanol from a harvest’s remainders, reinforcing a young industry that views its chief adversary as big oil.” There are plenty of companies already trying to make cellulosic ethanol in a commercially-viable way (Range Fuels and Mascoma, for example), and if this legislation can make that happen sooner, you can trust it will shift the ethanol debate once again. E85 haters get ready.

[Source: Joshua Boak, Chicago Tribune]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Diesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, Honda

The Wall Street Journal reports Honda is considering ethanol and more natural gas-powered cars. In the past Honda has not been positive on ethanol. Here is Honda’s U.S. sales chief John Mendel, speaking in August 2006, when asked about making flex fuel cars:

We’re not against it. … In the list of priorities right now, we haven’t moved it up the list. It is less efficient from a fuel-economy standpoint.

Why is ethanol suddenly a priority a little over a year later? The ethanol glut currently in the market and the energy bill’s inclusion of an even greater push for biofuels, makes adding a $100 worth of technology to your car a no-brainer.

The Wall Street Journal article also mentions a new affordable Honda hybrid in 2009, which seems to be the CR-Z. The only thing new seems to be that by “affordable,” Honda means a hybrid premium under $2,000 which sounds a little higher than the $1,750 premium Honda has said before.

The Wall Street Journal also says Honda is considering diesel for larger cars to comply with new fuel efficiency requirement in the pending energy bill. They would not elaborate on which diesel technology is under consideration.

Related:

• Honda’s new dedicated hybrid to be a high-volume model
• Honda says no to ethanol, says it’s not efficient
• Honda’s environmental strategy includes diesels, affordable hybrid
• 2009 Honda Accord diesel to hit 52 mpg!

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Ethanol, Legislation and Policy, USA

According to the Dept. of Agriculture’s ERS (Economic Research Service), most ethanol plants in the United States are located in rural and economically depressed areas. The huge increase in ethanol production in the US, which has increased threefold from 2000 to 2006, couldn’t be explained without the increase of manufacturing plants (currently at 88), most of which are located where corn is produced.

Each plant averages 35 jobs, which gives us about 3,100 ethanol-related jobs with higher salaries than local averages. Moreover, according to this study, plants generate indirect jobs and have increased corn and land prices. 70 percent of the plants are located in rural counties where population decreased between 2000 and 2006, while the national average is 50 percent of rural counties losing population during the same period. According to the study, this means that plants were located in the most economically deprimed areas.

The same applies for current facilities (67 are being built now), which are larger (and with bigger benefits, according to the ERS), 75 percent of which are placed in counties that are losing population.

The ERS states that all these arguments justify the need for Government protection and subsidies to the ethanol industry.

Related:

• The ethanol backlash is accelerating; even the cows aren′t happy
• New ethanol plants to be built in Midwest by Washington Group
• New ethanol plants face an old problem - NIMBY

[Source: Spanish Ministry of Agriculture via Econoticias]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Xavier Navarro