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GE Joined Consortium Established to Develop Australian Biofuel

September 3rd, 2011 · biofuels

GE announced that it has joined Virgin Australia and a consortium of other partners to research and develop commercial biofuel for the aviation industry. The consortium will focus on pyrolytic conversion of biomass from mallee eucalypt trees and intend to have a pilot biofuel production unit operating in Australia by 2012.

The agreement comes as the aviation industry puts added focus on carbon emissions as it becomes covered by emissions trading schemes around the world. As part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, the company is already leading the way in the development of fuel efficient jet engines within its sustainable transport portfolio; the development of biofuels is a natural extension of this.

Ben Waters, Director of ecomagination, GE Australia and New Zealand said:

Innovation and creativity will play enormous roles as part of the transition to a low carbon future. We already invest a huge amount in the development of more efficient and alternative energy sources in the aviation industry and beyond, and we hope to bring a huge amount of knowledge to this partnership.

A recent CSIRO report estimated that the aviation industry could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17%, generate more than 12,000 jobs and reduce Australia’s reliance on aviation fuel imports by $2 billion per annum over the next 20 years through the adoption of biofuels.

The consortium includes Renewable Oil Corporation, the Future Farm Industries CRC, and Canadian biofuels company Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation alongside Virgin Australia and now GE.

As well as the development of the fuels, GE will assist with the certification process. Before being approved for commercial use, new fuels undergo rigorous tests in laboratories, on engine test rigs and then in carefully monitored non-commercial flights.

 

Disclosure:

The publisher of this website is (or may become) a shareholder in some of the aforementioned companies.

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Will Eco TV Save You Money?

April 22nd, 2009 · green appliances

Most people have one or more flat-screen televisions in their home. If you have ever touched one when it has been switched on for a few hours you will have noticed that it can get pretty warm.

An electronic device giving off heat is wasting energy and feeding your electric bill. Especially as the screens get bigger and brighter that has become a factor to consider in our present economy.

A recent study shows that about 10% of energy used in a home is for powering the televisions. You can make the calculation and see it adds up to quite a few dollars a year.

The major manufacturers of flat-screens have come up with new models to solve this problem.

The newest “eco LCD TV” from Sharp, the Aquos D series,  feel quite cool when you touch them.

Sony came out with the new Bravia VE5 models and claims a 40% reduction in electric consumption because they have:

  • a new type of backlight
  • a motion sensor that turns it off when nobody is in the room
  • a light sensor to adapt to ambient light
  • an easy OFF switch, not just standby mode

Panasonic is the market leader in plasma TVs and is also following this eco-televison trend. Their newest line , the Viera V series is using 48% less power than the earlier generation.

In the coming years we can expect more eco friendly TV sets with OLED-screen, which do not use backlighting and laser technology which will be even more energy conserving.

The prices of LCD and plasma TVs have been declining for the past few years and will continue to do so. Especially in the current economic climate where consumers are more reluctant to buy high ticket items, it remains to be seen if this move by the manufacturers will be succesful.

When buying a new TV set you should not only look at the ticket price but you should also consider the energy cost over the lifetime of the TV. You could be saving money with the more expensive green TV and feel less guilty on top.

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Corn Fuel and Sugar Ethanol a Waste of Money?

October 26th, 2008 · biofuels

How well are corn fuel and sugar ethanol doing in the struggle to reduce America’s dependance on foreign oil?

Big companies are losing money converting corn to ethanol in spite of government subsidies (read taxpayer money) for ethanol fuels which are usually a blend with gasoline.

The impact on greenhouse gases is minimal. In theory the advantage over fossil fuels is that plants will absorb CO2 as they grow. It is then released again when burning the fuel, so this should be a carbon neutral process.

But in reality it depends on the efficiency of the production process. If you burn coal to create electricity that is used by an ethanol plant then the net emission of greenhouse gases could be higher than if you just burned gasoline. And then you still have to produce fertilizers.

The US is still highly dependent on foreign oil. American oil imports have fallen but you cannot attribute that to biomass ethanol production alone. Drivers are more conscious about there driving habits and new cars get more fuel efficient.

As always people disagree on the impact of higher demand for corn on food prices. While wholesale prices are skyrocketing the retail cost is also influenced by labor and energy needs.

Of course if you live in a corn growing state like Iowa or Illinois you may enjoy the growth of jobs and businesses around you.

Livestock producers argue that rising corn prices are making it harder for them to make a profit.

To counter this a lot of research is being done on the use of other crops. Switch grass has been proposed as an alternative and so is waste material. The progress in developing cellulose ethanol is very slow though. Another option is improving the corn variants so the contain more sugar.

In Brazil biofuels have been produced from sugar cane in much more efficient ways since many years. To protect their own struggling farmers the US are subjecting imports of foreign ethanol to high tariffs as opposed to the subsidies for the home grown variant. But that is a whole different political discussion.

You can read more about the politics and business interests surrounding biofuels at http://www.ft.com/indepth/ethanol .

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