On March 1, 2008 I sold my Nissan Micra in Aberdeen, Scotland and hopped a plane to Amsterdam to take up a new position. I have not owned a car since that time. A while […]
Update on CWT IPO
A couple of months ago, in response to a story that Changing World Technologies was going to file an IPO to help commercialize their TPD technology, I reposted my story: TDP: The Next Big Thing […]
About That Logistics Problem
In 2006 I warned about just how many trees a cellulosic ethanol plant could consume: Cellulosic Ethanol Reality Check Let’s consider a typical mid-sized 50 million gallon per year ethanol plant. Using Iogen’s demonstrated yields, […]
Helicopter Crash Near Canada
While last month’s helicopter crash into the North Sea had a happy ending with everyone surviving, today’s crash off the coast of Canada did not. Like last month’s crash, there were 18 on board, but […]
Coskata on Life Support?
Remember my story Coskata: Dead Man Walking? As I wrote in that essay six months ago: I predict that Coskata’s suggestions that they will produce ethanol for less than $1/gal will look ridiculous in hindsight. […]
The 2005 Peak Falls
Today the Energy Information Administration released the December 2008 oil production numbers. Peak Oil 2005 is now history. 2008 has officially eclipsed the previous 2005 peak for the all-time annual oil production record, albeit just […]
The Prospects for Algal Biodiesel Dim
As I noted in my earlier essay More Reality Checks for Algal Biodiesel, I initially had high hopes for the idea that we might make significant amounts of biodiesel from algae. A few years ago […]
How To Sniff Out a Fraud
I tend to get a lot of e-mails from people either claiming to have invented the next big thing in alternative energy, or from people who want to know if a particular company has something […]
Fortune Says Oil Stocks are a Bargain
I certainly can’t disagree with this: Betting on big oil’s comeback The article first argues that oil prices are unlikely to stay low for too long: “Right now, the upsides in the oil sector far […]
Fuel Efficiency of Ethanol in the Real World
There is a particular poster at The Oil Drum who frequently claims that a gallon of ethanol can replace a gallon of gasoline in a car. Although he denies it, his over-the-top defenses of corn […]