Biofuels

Biofuels and food prices: Running the numbers

Clean-energy research firm New Energy Finance has waded into the "food versus fuel" debate and finds that oil is a bigger factor in rising food prices than biofuels.

New Energy Finance, which will release its report Tuesday, also finds that changing food patterns around the world, growing population, and rising input costs, such as fertilizers, are contributing to upward pressure on food prices.

Biofuels production, too, is contributing to food price inflation, but New Energy Finance said that is "far from the dominant factor." It found that areas where biofuel productions have had a significant impact … Read more

Green-tech news harvest: Data centers sensors, oil supply worries

A sampling of green-tech news:

Saving Energy in Data Centers with Smart Sensors and Algorithms - TreeHuggerMicrosoft Research is looking to use sensors in power-gobbling data centers to make them more energy-efficient.

SunEdison to Build Largest U.S. PV Farm - Greentech MediaDuke Energy will buy the electricity from SunEdison from this plant, which, at 16 megawatts, is expected to be the biggest photovoltaic-solar farm.

Hydrogen-powered phones on the horizon - AFPFrench researchers at STMicroelectronics say they are making a hydrogen fuel cell to charge cell phone batteries.

Fungus That Produces Biofuels From Plants - ScienceDaily A … Read more

Green energy needs to be more than just clean

CORONADO, Calif.--Looming energy problems present noteworthy challenges for the world, but big thinkers in science, business, and technology know they have to compete with the status quo without a helping hand.

The Future in Review conference has always been about sketching a picture of the technology and business landscape five years into the future. But this year, attendees and presenters are focused on a more pressing issue: the need for alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels sooner, rather than later.

As such, the early talk at the Hotel Del Coronado is all about alternative energy, whether that's … Read more

Green-tech news harvest: Wind-powered sports car

Here's a sampling of recent green-tech news:

Sony Unveils Ultrasmall Hybrid Fuel Cell -- Tech-On Sony looks to put fuel cells in gadgets, following a prototype that Sharp demonstrated last week that uses methanol as a fuel.

Canon patents fuel cell-powered cameras -- Crave -- CNET AsiaFuel cells are coming to consumer electronics, it seems. Quite a bit of activity on this front in the past week.

Oil Left in the Ground -- Technology ReviewWe have smart grids--why not have "smart oil fields?" Interest in existing oil fields, where as much as 75 percent of … Read more

Biofuel gets lift from Honeywell, Airbus, JetBlue

Algae may someday become a part of the jet set.

The pond plant is getting a boost from a joint biofuel effort announced Thursday that involves some marquee names in the aviation industry--Airbus and JetBlue Airways--along with International Aero Engines, Honeywell Aerospace, and a second Honeywell company called UOP. The group plans to study ways to make commercial aviation fuels out of so-called second-generation feedstocks such as algae.

Success with algae would be a salve for biofuel boosters who are feeling the sting of a backlash against early hype. Hailed just a few years ago as a potentially quick … Read more

Is ethanol lowering prices at the pump for consumers?

Despite providing the largest portion of alternative fuel in the US, corn ethanol gets a lot of flack in the circles Cleantech Blog runs in. The usual culprits go something like this: Corn ethanol is heavily subsidized (yes it is). Corn ethanol does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions (sort of, it really, really depends on your assumptions). Corn ethanol contributes to the fertilizer driven "deadzone" in the Gulf of Mexico (maybe, another complicated topic). Corn ethanol drives up the price of food (a topic for another day).

But the main argument for supporting corn ethanol production has always … Read more

Green car buying guide

If you think buying a "green" car is as easy as picking the paint color, we've got news for you--there are different types of green and many different car choices. Are you trying to reduce smog and its attendant health risks, or are greenhouse gases and global climate change your biggest concern? And those aren't exclusive concerns, either. Amongst the types of cars you can choose, there are hybrids, PZEVs, SULEVs, flex fuel vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and even diesels. We also take a look at future technologies that are in heavy development and could the … Read more

Algae maker GreenFuel Technologies scores cash and customer

GreenFuel Technologies on Wednesday said that it has completed a round of funding to ramp up its algae-farming projects.

The company landed $13.9 million, which was led by Access Private Equity, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Polaris Venture Partners.

A portion of the money will retire debt the company borrowed following a corporate shakeup last year that put Bob Metcalfe in as interim-CEO. The remaining $7.6 million in new capital, which completes its series B round, will go to scale up technology projects.

In a statement, Metcalfe said the company will announce a new CEO, a C round of … Read more

Trash-to-ethanol firms get digging

The trash-powered car may someday see the light of day.

CleanTech Biofuels is developing a multistep process designed to take municipal solid waste from a transfer station and turn out ethanol on the other side.

The company recently purchased the equipment and found a site in Golden, Colo., to test it using trash, as well other agricultural and forest wastes, to make ethanol. On Tuesday, it said that it trying to identify a site near landfills and garbage haulers to construct a commercial plant.

Within two years, the company expects to move from a proof-of-concept plant to a commercial plant, … Read more

Green-tech news harvest: McCain on climate, biofuels scorecard

A sampling of the latest green-tech news.

Blow Hard: Wind to Supply 20% of U.S. Power? - Environmental Capital - WSJ.com

- The Department of Energy says wind can supply 20 percent of U.S. power, the same target as Europe. Sounds awfully ambitious, unless NIMBY sentiment dies down significantly.

John McCain fleshes out his climate policy, draws contrast with Obama - VentureBeat

- A carbon cap-and-trade system is in our future. Now it's just the dirty details and the role of government and industry. The story includes a link to text of McCain's climate change … Read more