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Gore: U.S. corn ethanol 'was not a good policy'

Reuters

Former vice president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was "not a good policy," weeks before tax credits are up for renewal.

U.S. blending tax breaks for ethanol make it profitable for refiners to use the fuel even when it is more expensive than gasoline. The credits are up for renewal on December 31.

Total U.S. ethanol subsidies reached $7.7 billion last year according to the International Energy Industry, which said biofuels worldwide received more subsidies than any other form of renewable energy.

"It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for [U.S.] first-generation ethanol," said Gore, speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank.

"First-generation ethanol, I think, was a mistake. The energy conversion ratios are at best very small," he said "It's hard once such a program is put in place to deal with the lobbies that keep it going."

He explained his own support for the original program on his presidential ambitions.

"One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president."

U.S. ethanol is made by extracting sugar from corn, an energy-intensive process. The U.S. ethanol industry will consume about 41 percent of the U.S. corn crop this year, or 15 percent of the global corn crop, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.

A food-versus-fuel debate erupted in 2008, in the wake of record food prices, where the biofuel industry was criticized for helping stoke food prices. … Read more

India, U.S. to cooperate on clean energy

Reuters

India and the United States have agreed to cooperate on energy projects, including shale gas and clean energy, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President Barack Obama told a press conference today.

The two countries will set up a research and development center for clean energy in India and will provide annual funding of $5 million each for five years, with matching investment from the private sector, they said in a joint statement made in India during Obama's three-day visit there.

"We agreed to deepen our cooperation in pursuit of clean energy technologies, including the creation … Read more

MIT's new paper chase: Cheap solar cells

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Rather than close the blinds on a sunny day, perhaps you'll pull down the solar panel.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology here today presented early results of research projects funded by Italian oil company Eni, including paper-thin solar cells, which could be used as window covers, and a paper-based material to collect oil spilled in water.

MIT showed prototypes of paper solar cells able to generate enough current to light a small LED display. A commercial solar paper device could be available in five years, said chemical engineering professor Karen Gleason, whose lab is doing the work. … Read more

Nukes 101: Up close and personal with nuclear power

SEABROOK, N.H.--After a period of stagnation, the U.S. nuclear power industry is pushing for another chance--both to build new power plants and to reshape popular opinion.

Earlier this week, I took a tour of the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant on the New Hampshire coast, just north of the Massachusetts border. I got to see some impressive engineering, relearn the physics of nuclear fission, and ponder the future of nuclear power.

In a way, the Seabrook Station reflects the crossroads that nuclear power in the U.S. finds itself at. Construction of the plant, located on a … Read more

Clean-energy miracles: Myth or viable strategy?

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--As people consider the best path to a sustainable energy future, two polar ends of a debate are emerging between those who argue for a big boost in technology research and those who advocate more aggressive use of existing technology.

Those who work at incumbent companies in the oil and gas industry don't expect miracles with the ability to transform energy overnight, according to speakers at the EmTech conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology yesterday.

At the opposite extreme are techno-optimists, such as Bill Gates and venture capitalist John Doerr, who say that much more money … Read more

Controversy brews over increased ethanol fuels for older cars

Two organizations have squared off this week regarding whether increasing ethanol in fuels from 10 to 15 percent will damage engines in vehicles older than 2001, smaller gas-powered motors, and increase the cost of corn production.

One out-spoken organization, Renewable Fuels Association, hopes the Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider the limits they place on ethanol fuels based on a new study.

In a press conference today, Renewable Fuels revealed the findings of a new study conducted by Ricardo Inc. (the company that set octane standards). The study finds that moving from 10 percent ethanol (E10) in gasoline to 15 percent (… Read more

Microbes may be to thank for BP oil spill cleanup

Humans may have naturally occurring nanotechnology to thank for partially cleaning up the oil spill from BP's Deepwater Horizon rig.

Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that previously undiscovered ocean floor microbes have literally risen to the occasion and begun degrading the giant underwater oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico.

While there was belief that some ocean microbes might aid in the degradation of the oil spill, the process has happened more aggressively than anyone predicted it would, according to a report from environmental biotechnologists at the Berkeley Lab.

One of the giant oil plumes that formed … Read more

Luca Tech feeds coal-eating microbes to make gas

Rather than drill more holes to get natural gas, Luca Technologies wants "grow" more gas in existing wells.

The Golden, Colo.-based company has developed a process to generate and then extract more natural gas from depleted coalbed methane wells by injecting water, microbes, and nutrients into the coal seams.

The company is now pursuing permitting in Wyoming's Powder River Basin to expand pilot testing of its technology, said CEO Robert Pfeiffer. He anticipates that Luca will get permits for larger-scale pilot projects of "restoring" existing wells in the next four to six months, he … Read more

FutureGen clean-coal project gets $1 billion from U.S.

Reuters

The U.S. Energy Department on Thursday awarded $1 billion for the FutureGen clean-coal power program and carbon dioxide storage network in Illinois, aiming to cut emissions of greenhouse gases from coal-fired electric generating plants.

"This investment in the world's first, commercial-scale, oxy-combustion power plant will help to open up the over $300 billion market for coal unit repowering and position the country as a leader in an important part of the global clean energy economy," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Oxy-combustion burns coal with a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of … Read more

BP plagued by storm delay, claims concerns, Lockerbie query

Reuters

BP moved ships and workers back to a Gulf of Mexico oil spill as a storm diminished on Saturday, but work to permanently seal the blown-out well could be delayed at least a week.

Ships and rigs working to drill a relief well intended to halt the leak for good were expected back in place on Sunday, but reconnecting the piping to the well could delay the operation seven to nine days, officials said.

Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, head of the U.S. spill response, said the launch of a "static kill" operation to plug the … Read more