The previous essay on solar energy got picked up and linked to from a number of places. Between those links and the original blog entry, some of the comments I read were largely in left […]
Tag: biodiesel
The Future is Solar
I have done a lot of research lately into various alternative diesel technologies as I was working on my renewable diesel chapter. One thing that became very clear to me is that the world will […]
Current Status of the Renewable Diesel Chapter
Most sections are pretty well filled in. Below is what the outline looks like. I still have this weekend to work on it. What am I still missing? I am not quite satisfied with all […]
Biodiesel Growth Slowing
From yesterday’s OPIS: It has been a tough year for biodiesel markets as well as for biodiesel producers. Plants are struggling to break even against high feedstock costs including near-record high soy oil prices. That […]
Requesting Feedback on Renewable Diesel Essay
As some of you may know, I am writing the renewable diesel chapter for a book on renewable energy. My submission is due at the end of July. The chapter is well underway, but I […]
Are Subsidies to Oil Companies Ever Justified?
Should We Ever Subsidize an Oil Company? “Of course not!” might be the immediate reaction of most people. But doesn’t it depend on the objectives you are trying to achieve or the behaviors you wish […]
Democrats Plan to Reverse Tax Break
As someone said to me just now by e-mail, “It ain’t about the fuel… it’s about a piece of the pie.” Democrats Plan to Reverse Tax Break for ConocoPhillips, Tyson April 20 (Bloomberg) — Democrats […]
The Biodiesel Lobby Cries Foul
Let me be clear that I strongly support biodiesel. It has a better energy return than does corn ethanol, and diesel engines are far more efficient than gasoline engines. Each gallon of biodiesel displaces far […]
TDP: What Went Wrong
I am still working on an essay on butanol, pentanol, and higher-chain alcohols, but it has been really difficult to find the information I am looking for. (But I have figured out why bio-butanol has […]
Key Questions on Energy Options
A question was recently posed to me: What is the most important question concerning ethanol production? That got me to thinking about important questions regarding not only ethanol, but all of our energy sources. There […]