America’s oil imports are higher than you think
It seems like every day there’s a new headline about the dominance of America’s petroleum sector. Read more →
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New Releases: Movies, DVDs and Netflix Streaming for Week of September 14th
PUMP is an inspiring, eye-opening documentary that tells the story of America’s addiction to oil, from its corporate conspiracy beginnings to its current monopoly today, and explains clearly and simply how we can end it – and finally win choice at the pump.
U.S. Natural Gas Export Boom Quietly Begins
While many are breathlessly waiting for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the United States to begin in 2015, there’s a natural gas export boom already happening right under the noses of most investors. I’m talking about rapidly growing gas exports from the United States to our southern neighbor, Mexico. LNG exports, which are travelling via pipeline, are at their highest levels ever and growing.
Beating Our Enemies By Energy Independence
It doesn’t take an international studies scholar to realize that the chaos level in the world is surging upwards. Sectarian violence in Iraq is on the rise once again. Syria is still mired in a bloody civil war with no end in sight. Russia continues to inflame tensions in Ukraine, even after its annexation of Crimea. And Israel and Hamas are once again clashing in Gaza.
Investing in the American energy renaissance
Every once in a while, you see something you’ve never seen before, such as a spiny bandicoot or a Canadian militant. But here’s something you really haven’t seen before: A period of seething Middle Eastern unrest — and falling energy prices.
Madera Pacific Ethanol plant lands sweet neighbor
It’s better times for California’s ethanol producers, with investment dollars flowing into technology to make production plants more efficient and diverse in the feedstocks they accept.
“We are just about there,” said Paul Koehler, spokesman for Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol, referring to the long-time effort to begin making ethanol from farm waste and nonfood feedstock instead of corn
PUMP Documentary Opening Day September 19th, 2014
PUMP the new documentary about America and oil to be released September 19th.
UBS Strategist: U.S. will be energy independent by 2020
News.Yahoo.com
Despite the Keystone XL pipeline still waiting final approval (currently in a review process that won’t be finished until after the 2014 midterm), one thing that is for certain is the North American energy renaissance is for real. Domestic production of crude oil and natural gas is on the rise, as the U.S. eyes the possibility of finally achieving energy independence.
The Battle Over Ethanol Takes Shape
The decision isn’t scheduled until June but already opposing sides are converging on Washington, trying to pressure the Environmental Protection Agency over the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard for ethanol.
Last week almost 100 members of the American Coalition for Ethanol descended on the nation’s capital for its annual “Biofuels Beltway March,” buttonholing 170 lawmakers and staffers from 45 states. The object was to send a message to EPA Administrators Gina McCarthy to up the ante on how many billions of gallons the oil refining industry will be required to purchase this year.
The ethanol program is currently in turmoil. The latest problem is rail bottlenecks that have slowed shipments and created supply shortages over the winter months. Record-breaking cold and four-foot snow pack have been partly responsible but the rail lines are also becoming overcrowded. With all that oil gushing down from the Bakken and Canadian crude now finding its way into tank cars as the Obama Administration postpones its decision over the Keystone Pipeline, ethanol is getting tangled in traffic. .
“Ethanol for April delivery sold for about $3.02 a gallon on the Chico Board of Trade, an 81 percent increase over the low price during the past 12 months of $1.67 a gallon reached in November,” reported the Omaha World-Herald last Friday “This weeks settlement price of $2.98 a gallon was the highest since July 2011.” With only so much storage capacity, some ethanol refineries have been forced to shut down until the next train arrives to carry off the inventory. As ethanol becomes mainstream, it is becoming more and more subject to market events beyond its control.
But the big decision will be EPA’s ruling in June. In accord with the 2008 Renewable Fuel Act, Administrator McCarthy must set a “floor” for amount of ethanol refiners will have to incorporate into their blends during 2014. The program ran into trouble last year when the 13.8 billion gallon requirement pushed ethanol beyond the 10 percent “blend wall” where the auto companies will not honor warrantees in older cars. Refiners were forced to purchase compensating Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which exploded in value from pennies to $1.30 per gallon, forcing up the price of gasoline. Contrary to expectations, gasoline consumption has actually declined over the last six years, from 142 billion gallons in 2008 to 134 billion in 2013 as a result of mileage improvements plus the lingering effects of the recession. Last November McCarthy proposed reducing the 2014 from 14.4 billion gallons to 13 billion. The industry has been crying “foul” ever since.
But there are other ways to fight back. Last week in Crookson, gas stations were offering Minnesota drivers 85 cents off a gallon for filling up with E-85, the blend of 85 percent ethanol that many see as the real solution to the blend-wall problem. “We want the public to understand there are different ratios of gasoline and ethanol and how they can save you money,” Greg LeBlac, of the Polk County Corn Growers, told the Fargo Valley News.
At the annual meeting of the American Fuel and Petroleum Manufacturers (APFM) in Orlando last week, Anna Temple, product manager at WoodMac, made the case that the industry should forego efforts to raise the blend wall from 10 to 15 percent and instead shoot for the moon, leapfrogging all the way to E-85, where ethanol essentially replaces gasoline completely. (The 15 percent only ensures starts in cold weather.)
“E-15 is a non-starter in terms of market share,” Temple told her audience, as reported by John Kingston’s in Platts. http://blogs.platts.com/2014/03/25/eight-fillups/ She argued the incremental battle would absorb vast amounts of political capital yet still not be enough to absorb the 15-billion-gallon target for 2021. Instead, Temple pointed to the growing fleet of flex-fuel vehicles that now numbers around 15 million, headed for 25 million in 2021 or 10 percent of the nation’s 250-million-car fleet.
“If U.S. drivers poured about 200,000 barrels-per-day of E-85 into their flex fuel cars in 2021, that would take care of about 17 percent of the scheduled ethanol mandate,” Temple said. “It would only require that flex-fuel owners fill a 15-gallon tank eight times a year.” The remainder would be absorbed in the 10 percent blend and ethanol producers would not have to cut output.
Platts’ Kingston checked the math and found that even this goal would leave ethanol consumption slightly above the blend wall at 10.5 percent. “Still, the very modest number of eight fill-ups per flex fuel vehicles per year makes the whole blend wall issue seems a lot less daunting,” he confessed.
Of the 15 million people who own flex-fuel vehicles, of course, many don’t even realize it. (The yellow gas cap or a rear-end decal are the giveaway.) But the number of gas stations offering E-85 pumps is rising. The Energy Information Administration now estimates the number at 2,500 with most of the growth taking place outside the Midwestern homeland. California and New York each have more than 80 stations apiece.
The problem of rail bottlenecks can probably be solved by increasing the number of E-85 outlets and flex-fuel vehicles to bring supplies closer to the place of consumption. Still, the industry would probably be happy to have a bigger renewable fuel mandate as well.
Hawks Are Out Again: Mistakenly Casting Doubt on Ethanol
The Hawks are out again. One of my favorite service organizations, the American Automobile Association (AAA), in conjunction with media outlets, has again attacked the use of ethanol in cars. It’s quite sad.
I will still keep my membership card. The AAA is the Walmart, Costco or Nordstrom of the automobile industry when it comes to service at relatively low costs to its members. If you get a flat tire on a sparsely traveled road when it’s raining or snowing, the AAA, following the Postal Service norm, “come rain or snow,” will get there reasonably quickly to help you. Get stuck in your four story garage with a dead battery! Don’t fret or fear, your neighborhood AAA repair truck will be at your side within a relatively short time. It,generally, will “get you to your work on time.” Do I sound like Julie Andrews or the cast in “My Fair Lady?”
While I don’t lose sleep over the question (I only get two hours of sleep even without thinking about the AAA), I often wonder why the AAA appears to join with those, particularly in the oil industry, who seem to want to confuse flex fuel vehicle owners and owners of older cars able to convert their engines easily and cheaply, about the wisdom of using ethanol.
Conversion of older cars and extended use of already approved flex fuel cars as well as increased use of ethanol by both sets of vehicles will result in many benefits, particularly when compared to gasoline. For example, ethanol according to many, many independent studies by qualified researchers is a safer, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly fuel than gasoline. While what is and what is not a fact often becomes a metaphysical question and 100% certainty becomes a question often for philosophers more than scientists, trust me — ethanol is a good but is not a perfect alternative fuel. It is better than gasoline. Right now a perfect fuel does not exist! Remember that the enemy of the present good is often the distant perfect.
Despite AAA’s press releases, EPA studies involving more rigorous methodology, including strategic sampling of a range of cars, indicate that engine damage is almost a nonoccurrence when using E15. E10 has been around for a long time with no discernable engine impact and E85, after extensive testing, has been approved for flex fuel cars.
Understandably, ethanol, given improvements in new car engines and tighter fuel standards, reflects fewer benefits than shown in relatively recent studies concerning ghg emissions, and pollutants like SOx and NOx. But ethanol still provides significantly more environmental benefits and less costs to the consumer now than gasoline.
The differences between ethanol and gasoline will become even more apparent if you assume that Americans use their God-given noggin and opt to convert their older cars to accept alternative fuels. It’s cheap and safe and can be done with a kit, or with quick software or tuning fix for some cars. Similarly, there are nearly 15,000,000 flex fuel cars in the U.S. Most owners do not know they have such a car. Look at the sticker in the back of the car or fuel cap. You probably are the proud owner of a flex fuel vehicle and, once you recognize this fact, you can use ethanol without risk. Using ethanol, both for flex fuel cars and converted older vehicles will likely lower your gasoline costs and will contribute to a healthier environment. Tell your neighbors! Tell your friends! Tell your significant other! Tell your spouse!
Clearly, you will see the environmental benefits to your community, state and nation, if you abandon the conventional way of measuring emissions and pollutant reductions and use tons. The new graphic will portray a visible and important increase in the actual emissions and pollutants eliminated from the atmosphere. It also will emphasize the importance of extending the number of vehicles that can use ethanol through conversion of older cars to flex fuel vehicles and the production of increased numbers of flex fuel vehicles. If the owners of both sets of cars increasingly fuel their vehicles with mostly ethanol (an objective of a number of demonstrations and pilot programs in several states), the President’s desire to wean the nation off of gasoline will come closer to fruition. The scale up will provide a transition approach to open fuel markets until competitive renewable fuels become ready for prime market time.
