BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: It’s blatantly obvious that in order to incorporate renewable energy into the North American energy mix on a meaningful level we’re going to have to significantly expand and upgrade electrical grids. Presently, grids are archaic, fragmented, and not very “intelligent”. Politicians throughout the land are aboard the bandwagon on this one, beating the drum for all they’re worth. And why not? Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot longer, and cost a lot more, than we all would like to admit.
Here in British Columbia, BC Transmission Corporation (BCTC) made a presentation on January 7, 2009 outlining their vision of how BC’s grid expansion should proceed. The presentation highlighted a few “challenges” presented by BANANAs (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) and NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) revealed by a survey conducted by Innovative Research Group Inc. :
70% of respondents agree that new industrial developments should be built as far away from existing neighborhoods as possible.
47% of respondents agree that they like their neighborhood the way it is, and that they don’t want any new development.
Data has been redacted, but in general it shows that hydro generation receives the highest level of support and HV transmission lines less support than nuclear-generated electricity . . . among traditional power projects, nuclear is viewed as the most dangerous, with HV transmission lines a close second.
Major transmission projects take 2-3 times longer to build than new
generation – early regulatory approval of future projects is critical to ensure transmission needs of the province are met.
Subsequent to this presentation, a February 18 Marketwire report outlined how a BC Court of Appeal ruled that BC Hydro and BCTC’s proposed $700 HV transmission line from the interior of BC to the Vancouver area cannot proceed until First Nations are properly consulted and accommodated for infringements to their aboriginal title and rights.
A February 12 Economist.com report highlighted the fact that grid upgrades are equally problematic in the US, and that there is a big divide between environmentalists who are focused on greenhouse gas emissions and those who worry about harm to natural habitats, whether caused by global warming or anything else.
The upshot is that, as we work to overcome the obstacles to grid expansion and upgrades, we also need to pursue other ways of incorporating renewable energy into the energy mix. From the perspective of Blue Fuel Energy, the most obvious way of doing this is to convert renewables to a liquid fuel that can carry this energy to load centers without the grid—which explains why we call Blue Fuel “liquid electricity.”
Showing posts with label Blue-Fuel-DME-USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blue-Fuel-DME-USA. Show all posts
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Swedish BioDME project member forms US subsidiary
BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: On February 10, 2009 the Swedish company, Chemrec AB issued a press release stating that they were forming an American subsidiary, Chemrec USA Inc. The company will be registered in Delaware for the purpose of doing “business in those states where biorefinery and booster projects are being developed.”
Chemrec’s main business in Sweden is providing technology for black liquor gasification in pulp mills, which enables them to produce large quantities of electricity or renewable fuels like DME from biomass. According to Chemrec, their technology has the potential to produce more than 45 billion liters of alternative fuel per year, worldwide.
Chemrec is perhaps best known in the DME world for its participation in the BioDME project as builders of the world’s first BioDME advanced biofuels plant in Piteå, Sweden. By spring 2010, Chemrec intends to deliver 4-5 tons of BioDME daily for powering 14 Volvo-designed DME trucks serviced by four service stations built by Breem. Volvo is the lead partner in this innovative project that demonstrates the entire chain from biomass to trucks running on DME.
In December 2008, Chemrec and ETC (Energy Technology Centre) received the Environmental Prize 2008 from the Swedish National Road Administration. Chemrec’s owners are: VantagePoint Venture Partners, Volvo Technology Transfer, Environmental Technologies Fund and Nykomb Synergetics. For more information on Chemrec, please visit www.chemrec.se
Chemrec’s main business in Sweden is providing technology for black liquor gasification in pulp mills, which enables them to produce large quantities of electricity or renewable fuels like DME from biomass. According to Chemrec, their technology has the potential to produce more than 45 billion liters of alternative fuel per year, worldwide.
Chemrec is perhaps best known in the DME world for its participation in the BioDME project as builders of the world’s first BioDME advanced biofuels plant in Piteå, Sweden. By spring 2010, Chemrec intends to deliver 4-5 tons of BioDME daily for powering 14 Volvo-designed DME trucks serviced by four service stations built by Breem. Volvo is the lead partner in this innovative project that demonstrates the entire chain from biomass to trucks running on DME.
In December 2008, Chemrec and ETC (Energy Technology Centre) received the Environmental Prize 2008 from the Swedish National Road Administration. Chemrec’s owners are: VantagePoint Venture Partners, Volvo Technology Transfer, Environmental Technologies Fund and Nykomb Synergetics. For more information on Chemrec, please visit www.chemrec.se
Monday, January 12, 2009
Blue Fuel/DME, ethanol, and President Obama
BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: Though I can’t say for sure, and would love to be proven wrong, I rather doubt that President Barrack Obama has the slightest idea what the acronym DME stands for. He is in good company, I would think. How many government leaders around the world know what these three letters represent? Precious few. The problem is, President Obama is now laying the foundations for energy policy in the US that will have global implications—for decades. And there is little indication that Blue Fuel/DME is part of that policy.
Blue Fuel/DME has indeed kept a low profile in the US, despite merits that had authors of a 2005 study partially funded by the US Department of Energy concluding:
Compared to some of the other leading alternative fuel candidates (i.e., methane, methanol, ethanol, and Fischer–Tropsch fuels), dimethyl ether appears to have the largest potential impact on society, and should be considered as the fuel of choice for eliminating the dependency on petroleum.
–Journal of Power Sources Volume 156, Issue 2, 1 June 2006, Pages 497-511
Blue Fuel/DME has run into roadblocks in the US that have prevented it from reaching its rightful position as the alternative fuel of choice, one of the most unfortunate of which is the corn-based ethanol industry. Nicholas Hollis, president of an agriculture industry watchdog in the US called Agribusiness Council, has described ethanol as the largest scam in American history. This assessment is not only based on years of unethical, illegal and monopolistic practices, but also because so many prominent scientists have concluded that ethanol’s low energy conversion efficiency, and the energy intensive process to produce corn ethanol, result in an overall process that yields no significant net energy benefit. In other words, it takes as much energy to make it as you get from burning it. Worse than the tar sands of Alberta, Canada! On top of that, the production of corn-based ethanol is associated with a host of other problems, including the production of fuel from food in a hungry world, destruction of the soil, depletion of water resources—and a host of others. In 2008, some 30% of the US grain harvest went straight to ethanol distilleries—to provide energy security. A scam indeed. One subsidized by the US Government.
The reason I link Blue Fuel/DME, ethanol, and President Obama is that the president is from Illinois, where the corn-based ethanol industry is a powerful force. In fact the New York Times has noted that President Obama’s strong support of ethanol helped propel him to his first caucus victory in Illinois. “As befits a senator from the country’s second largest corn-producing state, he delivered a ringing endorsement of ethanol as an alternative fuel.” This, of course, raises the question of whether President Obama is a true reformer, or a lesser, mortal politician, one whose views are shaped by special interests. Is politics as usual going to prevail—in a field as crucial to the future of the planet as energy? A full read of this New York Times article is disturbing and highlights the challenges facing proponents of Blue Fuel/DME in the US.
But persevere we must. The key, of course, is getting access to President Obama—as soon as possible—to explain in no uncertain terms why Blue Fuel/DME, and not ethanol, is the fuel for today. This access will no doubt be gained through a trusted ally of the president. Mr. Gore, perhaps? A man who not only knows about Blue Fuel/DME, but who once had a prototype Blue Fuel/DME vehicle. Where there’s a will there’s a way. . .
Blue Fuel/DME has indeed kept a low profile in the US, despite merits that had authors of a 2005 study partially funded by the US Department of Energy concluding:
Compared to some of the other leading alternative fuel candidates (i.e., methane, methanol, ethanol, and Fischer–Tropsch fuels), dimethyl ether appears to have the largest potential impact on society, and should be considered as the fuel of choice for eliminating the dependency on petroleum.
–Journal of Power Sources Volume 156, Issue 2, 1 June 2006, Pages 497-511
Blue Fuel/DME has run into roadblocks in the US that have prevented it from reaching its rightful position as the alternative fuel of choice, one of the most unfortunate of which is the corn-based ethanol industry. Nicholas Hollis, president of an agriculture industry watchdog in the US called Agribusiness Council, has described ethanol as the largest scam in American history. This assessment is not only based on years of unethical, illegal and monopolistic practices, but also because so many prominent scientists have concluded that ethanol’s low energy conversion efficiency, and the energy intensive process to produce corn ethanol, result in an overall process that yields no significant net energy benefit. In other words, it takes as much energy to make it as you get from burning it. Worse than the tar sands of Alberta, Canada! On top of that, the production of corn-based ethanol is associated with a host of other problems, including the production of fuel from food in a hungry world, destruction of the soil, depletion of water resources—and a host of others. In 2008, some 30% of the US grain harvest went straight to ethanol distilleries—to provide energy security. A scam indeed. One subsidized by the US Government.
The reason I link Blue Fuel/DME, ethanol, and President Obama is that the president is from Illinois, where the corn-based ethanol industry is a powerful force. In fact the New York Times has noted that President Obama’s strong support of ethanol helped propel him to his first caucus victory in Illinois. “As befits a senator from the country’s second largest corn-producing state, he delivered a ringing endorsement of ethanol as an alternative fuel.” This, of course, raises the question of whether President Obama is a true reformer, or a lesser, mortal politician, one whose views are shaped by special interests. Is politics as usual going to prevail—in a field as crucial to the future of the planet as energy? A full read of this New York Times article is disturbing and highlights the challenges facing proponents of Blue Fuel/DME in the US.
But persevere we must. The key, of course, is getting access to President Obama—as soon as possible—to explain in no uncertain terms why Blue Fuel/DME, and not ethanol, is the fuel for today. This access will no doubt be gained through a trusted ally of the president. Mr. Gore, perhaps? A man who not only knows about Blue Fuel/DME, but who once had a prototype Blue Fuel/DME vehicle. Where there’s a will there’s a way. . .
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