Ethanol and Petroleum Imports

This is the concluding post in a series looking at the impact of increased ethanol production on petroleum imports. Previous posts concluded that there has been little measurable impact on our petroleum imports as a […]

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. […]

Top 10 Energy Stories of 2008

Tis the season for Top 10 stories, and here are what I think were the Top 10 energy stories of the year. 1. Unprecedented volatility in the energy markets Oil prices raced to nearly $150 […]

Coskata Due Diligence

I hadn’t intended to spend the entire week talking about Coskata, but that’s the way things are shaping up. After Monday’s essay in which I expressed strong skepticism that Coskata could deliver, I received a […]

Coskata Responds

Following my previous essay explaining my skepticism that Coskata can make ethanol economically with their process, Wes Bolsen (see his profile here), the Chief Marketing Officer & Vice President of Coskata dropped by and made […]

Coskata: Dead Man Walking

Since the Coskata announcement that they were going to be able to produce ethanol for “under US $1.00 a gallon anywhere in the world” – documented here – I have gotten a number of requests […]

Ethanol Roundup

Couple of ethanol-related stories of note in the past few days: Corn prices hurt ethanol industry Iowa’s ethanol industry is being squeezed by high corn prices that are partly due to the estimated 3.3 million […]

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 […]

The Crumbling Ethanol Facade

I have seen it all now. When the biggest ethanol boosters are starting to suggest that maybe we have a problem, you know we have a problem. And that is exactly what is happening. I […]

The Mythical Ethanol Threat

There have been many claims in recent years that ethanol is going to help wean us off of fossil fuels. In fact, many of our political leaders claim that as long as we just keep […]