Hydrogen has hit the mainstream! Honda announced today that they are now preparing to lease hydrogen cars on a limited scale in certain areas in the U.S. Their new hydrogen offering, the Honda Clarity, is now in production in Japan, and 200 new fuel cell cars are scheduled to be built over the next 3 years. Some of these cars are scheduled to come to southern california, and several celebrities have got their names on the list to be the first drivers of these sleek, energy efficient cars. The limiting factor on these will be the fueling stations - initially planned to be at Honda dealerships in southern california.
Read more here:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/autos/0806/gallery.honda_fcx_clarity/index.html
You can get the specs on the Honda Clarity here:
http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/specifications.aspx
It's a great start for hydrogen fuel cell cars!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Algae holds great promise for biofuel production
Algae? Pond Scum? Slime? We used to hate it when swimming in farm ponds. But, now there are reasons to love it! Scientists are researching the use of algae on several fronts for biofuels. One direction is to use algae to produce hydrogen. Turns out, under certain conditions algae produces hydrogen as a by-product. Here is a link: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=biofuels&id=19438&a=
And scientists are now developing what they are calling "designer algae" to provide a greater level of hydrogen production. This line of research could be the answer to the downside of the use of hydrogen - the high cost to produce it.
Another branch of research is extracting oil from algae to make biofuels. Here is a link to a site that is developing this technology: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.htmlThey are learning which species of algae work best for this, and how to grow it more efficiently. It is estimated that with the proper growing techniques, algae could produce 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre.
So, there are some great things on the horizon for alternative fuels, or rather, floating on the water...
And scientists are now developing what they are calling "designer algae" to provide a greater level of hydrogen production. This line of research could be the answer to the downside of the use of hydrogen - the high cost to produce it.
Another branch of research is extracting oil from algae to make biofuels. Here is a link to a site that is developing this technology: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.htmlThey are learning which species of algae work best for this, and how to grow it more efficiently. It is estimated that with the proper growing techniques, algae could produce 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre.
So, there are some great things on the horizon for alternative fuels, or rather, floating on the water...
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
New Sporty Electric Car Breaks the Mold of EV
Telsa Company is going into production with it's new sexy electric car this month. This little sports car boasts an un-electric car look, something more like a european high performance sports car in styling. In a news release, Telsa announces it has passed all the regulatory milestones and is beginning production on this award winning electric car design in march. This roadster is 100% electric, will go from 0 - 60 mph in under 4 seconds! This is the first mainstream electric vehicle, coming from a company outside of the big carmakers.
The MPG equivalent is 135 miles per gallon and will go up to 220 miles on a single charge. These are some great numbers and is sending a message to the big car makers that it is time to provide a real alternative vehicle to the consumer. The company says they are booked for the next three years with the vehicle selling for $98,000.
This is a car to watch. I encourage you to read the CEO's blog about his use of the first Telsa Roadster in his daily commute. Good reading!
The MPG equivalent is 135 miles per gallon and will go up to 220 miles on a single charge. These are some great numbers and is sending a message to the big car makers that it is time to provide a real alternative vehicle to the consumer. The company says they are booked for the next three years with the vehicle selling for $98,000.
This is a car to watch. I encourage you to read the CEO's blog about his use of the first Telsa Roadster in his daily commute. Good reading!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Price of Crude Tops $100
Well, Crude finally broke the 100 dollar barrier! This is actually good news for alternative fuels. If it can stay above it, then we will see some real innovation and adoption of alternative fuels result. OPEC is making the same mistake again by letting the price of oil get this high. In the late 70s, the price of oil was up to about what it is now(over $100/barrel in today's dollars) and the US reacted. We insulated our homes, we got better mpg's, we lowered our speed limit, we made more efficient appliances, and we effectively lowered our energy use. The result was an oversupply in the crude market, and eventually lower production. When OPEC lowered the price, the US didn't pull out the insulation or go back to less efficient appliances. All the energy savings that we did actually did make a difference, and OPEC had to wait for demand to ramp back up. You can see this on this graph prepared by the Department of Energy.
It did finally, especially when China and India began to come online.
This price level makes it profitable for all types of alternative fuels. It also makes 2-3 trillion barrels of harder to get to oil resources financially viable also. The good news is much of these harder to refine oil resources are in the western hemisphere, so the major source of oil will change over time if the world continues to rely on fossil fuel.
Anyway, I have added a crude oil price indicator to this blog, so you can easily see the price and see the incentive this will have for alternative fuels. Of course, the other driver for alternative fuels is our environment, I will be looking for an index that will show that as well, if I can find a viable indicator. Any thoughts on what we should watch will be appreciated.
It did finally, especially when China and India began to come online.
This price level makes it profitable for all types of alternative fuels. It also makes 2-3 trillion barrels of harder to get to oil resources financially viable also. The good news is much of these harder to refine oil resources are in the western hemisphere, so the major source of oil will change over time if the world continues to rely on fossil fuel.
Anyway, I have added a crude oil price indicator to this blog, so you can easily see the price and see the incentive this will have for alternative fuels. Of course, the other driver for alternative fuels is our environment, I will be looking for an index that will show that as well, if I can find a viable indicator. Any thoughts on what we should watch will be appreciated.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Great Solar Panel Construction Video
Just found a great little how-to solar power video posted by Mother Earth News. The video shows making solar panels in the simplest way possible. There is some neat technology involved, and I am looking to learn more about it. But this video is promising. Check it out!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Alternative Energy Store
Looking for a place to purchase a Solar Hot Water System? This online store has the most extensive selection of systems and components I've seen anywhere on the web. These systems have everything you need to implement Solar Hot Water Heating in your home. You only add the pipes and electrical wiring. They have extensive performance charts to help you size the system you need for your home, and lot's of good information along with the products listing.
They also have an extensive selection of industrial quality Wind Turbines and Generators. Again, they help you size your system. If you are wanting to put solar or wind power into a cabin or an RV, they have solutions ready to install today.
Check out this great Alternative Energy Store:
Click here to visit the Alternative Energy Store for discount prices on solar panels, wind turbines and renewable energy equipment for your home.
They also have an extensive selection of industrial quality Wind Turbines and Generators. Again, they help you size your system. If you are wanting to put solar or wind power into a cabin or an RV, they have solutions ready to install today.
Check out this great Alternative Energy Store:
Click here to visit the Alternative Energy Store for discount prices on solar panels, wind turbines and renewable energy equipment for your home.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Alternative Fuel Videos Added to Blog
Well, we are still in the start up phases with this blog, but already we are adding to this format. Notice that we are displaying videos from Google in a sidebar. These are videos that contain some of the keywords we are looking at daily.
I noticed one of the videos is the entry of the wreck of the world's fastest electric motorcyle. This was a PR stunt that went bad. The driver (Bill Dube) was injured, but is allright now, and in his blog he explains what happened. You can see the writeup about the interview and crash here: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33853/113/
His video is getting some attention on the web, and this can't help but bring more attention to the use of electricity as an alternative for motor vehicles. Too bad he had to take a spill to get people to watch it.
I noticed one of the videos is the entry of the wreck of the world's fastest electric motorcyle. This was a PR stunt that went bad. The driver (Bill Dube) was injured, but is allright now, and in his blog he explains what happened. You can see the writeup about the interview and crash here: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33853/113/
His video is getting some attention on the web, and this can't help but bring more attention to the use of electricity as an alternative for motor vehicles. Too bad he had to take a spill to get people to watch it.
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