Ethanol/Alternative Fuel FAQ

Of course you are against ethanol. You work for Big Oil. Is ethanol reducing dependence on foreign oil? What’s this EROI/EROEI/Energy Return Business? Is EROEI the Same Thing as the Process Efficiency? Isn’t the Energy […]

Xethanol: Another Multimillion Dollar Loss

Xethanol continues to demonstrate that even with generous subsidies, they can’t make any money: Xethanol Announces Second Quarter 2007 Financial Results For the second quarter of 2007, the company reported a net loss of $6.6 […]

Jeff Goodell Debates the Rolling Stone Article on CNBC

The guy is very well-spoken. Guess where he got that “recycled natural gas quote.” 🙂

Rolling Stone Article

A few months back, Jeff Goodell, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, contacted me with some questions about ethanol. Jeff’s name may be familiar to those in the energy business, as he is the author […]

Xethanol’s March toward Bankruptcy

In the continuing saga of Xethanol (XNL) – the poster child for overhyped cellulosic ethanol claims – they took one more step toward bankruptcy this week with their earnings release: Xethanol Announces First Quarter 2007 […]

Vinod Khosla in a Solar Fight

Thanks to Bob Rohatensky for bringing this story to my attention. I got a real chuckle out of reading the response of Khosla’s opponent in this debate, PV solar advocate Herman Scheer, because I am […]

TDP: The Next Big Thing

If you are a layperson, it may not be clear to you just how much of the current infatuation with cellulosic ethanol is hype, and how much is based on realistic assessments. So, I thought […]

The Logistics Problem of Cellulosic Ethanol

Update: This article got a mention in today’s Wall Street Journal Energy Roundup. ————————– In my essay Cellulosic Ethanol Reality Check, I identified several big challenges that must be addressed before cellulosic ethanol is commercially […]

Odds and Ends

It has been really difficult to find time to write lately, but I have run across some stories of interest this week that I wanted to comment briefly on. Wall Street Journal Energy Blog First, […]

Xethanol Can’t Deliver on its Promises

The Xethanol saga continues, but is probably nearing an end. I have written a pair of articles about this, after being initially interviewed by Sharesleuth.com for their article: Moonshine Blindness I had indicated my deep […]