The UK administration’s plans for new eco-towns are increasingly threadbare, and Labour ministers are rowing back from earlier commitments. As reported in The London Times, I am therefore resigning from the committee which is supposedly advising the towns on their energy footprint.…
The forces gathering to require new British towns and villages to be built off-grid…
Statement by Robert Byrnes, Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems to Congressional Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship, June 11, 2008.
I operate an Energy Farm in Northeast Nebraska that has produced its own energy for years and these advanced biofuels will continue to be part of our mix. This facility is currently in use to as an energy training facility to help others reach these types of energy goals. I co- founded the Nebraska Renewable Energy Association in 2006 and am in the process of spinning off another energy business focused on the needed processing of the materials that will supply these second generation oils and feed to the market. Transportation to (and from) this hearing is being done using 100% biodiesel fuel produced in Nebraska (and Virginia ) using my unmodified 2005 Jeep Liberty.
As the first registered producer of biodiesel in Nebraska, I have been involved with developments in my state from the ground floor and just recently completed technical development and commissioning of a second generation commercial biodiesel facility capable of 5 million gallons of biodiesel per year. This facility is also currently the largest completed facility in Nebraska and is 100% farmer owned. I am now personally involved in the development of second generation feedstocks for biodiesel and processing facilities on a daily basis and appreciate the opportunity to visit with this committee.
Nebraska finds itself way behind in developing these technologies.
US Current Situation:
When we started the Northeast Nebraska Biodiesel facility two years ago, soybean oil was $0.23/lb which reflected the ten year average. Since soybean oil tracks with petroleum, board values have increased as well and are currently trading in the $0.67/lb range which reflects almost a doubling of the cost of a gallon of finished biodiesel. Biodiesel production cost per gallon is 75% feedstock based and currently costs about a dollar a gallon to convert the oil into fuel that meets the strict ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) tests that are established for this material using standard base catalyzed technology. As a result of this surge in commodity vegetable oil costs, at least half of the biodiesel production capacity built in the last three years is currently off line. Similar price surges have also been seen in animal fats and used vegetable oil markets. It is clear that the first generation of feedstocks available for biodiesel have run their course.
A diverse pool of biodiesel plants have been built. The seemingly more profitable large biodiesel facilities in the 30-50million gallon/year (MM GPY) range have not done as well as many would have expected. Most of these larger facilities that were required to buy refined vegetable oil as a biodiesel input became the first to shut down as their processing technology required them to buy the most expensive oils available. Many have looked to increasing their …
Assisted solar cookers and panels are the way to help solve poverty problems in 3rd world.…
Personal Carbon Trading scheme could be the clincher for reducing emissions and engaging people in the battle to save the environment…
Hydrogen as the fuel for our cars hasn’t quite been the magic pill it was toted as being when first introduced. That doesn’t mean that it is not still a viable and essential area that needs to be researched as a renewable energy source. There is a vision for a new hydrogen economy which “will mean a world where our pollution problems are solved and where our need for abundant and affordable energy is secure… and where concerns about dwindling resources are a thing of the past.”– Spencer Abraham, Hydrogen Energy Roadmap, November 2003.
As one of the most abundant elements in the world and even universe using hydrogen to power our way of life has great appeal. Here on Earth it is not alone but we can harvest it from a variety or resources, such as water, biomass, natural gas, oil and even coal. This means that the resources we need can be found wherever we need to produce hydrogen. Right now most, 95%, of the hydrogen used today comes from reforming natural gas. The 5% remaining is high-purity hydrogen produced from water electrolysis, which is done primarily by fossil fuel generated electricity. Though the ideal solution is to do this sustainable through a cycle that produces the hydrogen clean, efficiently, and most important in today’s economy affordably. If this can be accomplished then it can increase our energy security, reduce of greenhouse emissions, and help make the world a better place while giving us the energy we demand.
To have a sustainable production cycle for the production of hydrogen and its use is the ultimate goal. The ideal cycle would start with hydrogen would be harvested using renewable resources; an example would be the photoelectrolysis of water, where solar energy would be used to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen. Then this hydrogen is used to power a fuel cell where the hydrogen is reconnected with the oxygen to produce electricity, water and heat. In this cycle there in no pollution or greenhouse gases produced.
Renewable resources are abundant in the United States for the production of hydrogen. Since it can be made using solar, wind, biomass, etc the resource are enough to take care of the needs of the entire country. Since wide distribution of renewable resources is possible we can use a decentralized production for the hydrogen. One possibility is that in Iowa hydrogen can be a byproduct of corn ethanol production. Another is that in Massachusetts the off shore wind farms could produce the electricity needed to harvest the hydrogen. With decentralized production of hydrogen storage and delivery can be greatly reduced and in some cases eliminated.
At this time wind seems to be at the forefront for hydrogen production. As with a utility size operation the cost typically ranges from 3–7¢/kWh. Production of hydrogen is not where we need technology breakthroughs, storage and transporting
