Biofuel Blog War

It looks like the new line of clean diesels from VW, including the new Jetta TDI and SportWagen, will be eligible for a $1,300 Federal Income Tax Credit.
VW made the announcement earlier in the week after receiving notification from the IRS that clean diesels would meet the “Advanced Lean Burn” motor vehicle income tax credit.
This [...]

That’s 195,000 Vehicles.
The U.S. Postal service is looking to move away from petroleum based fuels as quickly as possible since, as Environmental Leader reports, a 1-cent increase in a gallon of fuel costs them an additional $8 million annually.
It looks like USPS will be getting a free fuel-cell test-vehicle from GM’s Project Driveway, which is [...]

Recently, a man named Ben Nelson put the finishing touches on his DIY electric motorcycle. His first electric vehicle project, Ben started by finding a motorcycle he liked with a blown engine and stripping it of all it’s old, gas-burning components. From there he did some research on electric vehicles, and was able to put together a great bike for a low price.

The bike certainly isn’t made for the race track, but can hit speeds of 45 mph and has a range of just over 20 miles. I just talked to Ben, as we are staying together this weekend while we attend HybridFest, and he’s definitely getting a lot of use out of the bike, as well as planning future modifications. I’m sure we’ll hear more about it in the future.

Though Ben still tinkers with the motorcycle, his current project is an electric Geo Metro. Much like its predecessor the ForkenSwift, Ben hopes that this car will be both useful and cheap, and has based the project around an old electric forklift.

If you’re in Madison, you can come check out the bike at HybridFest in the EcoModder booth all weekend.

Around the World in 60 Days

The sleek tri-hull Earthrace eco-boat, has beaten the world speed record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe.  The biodiesel powered craft traveled 24,000 nautical miles in 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, finishing its journey by crossing the finish line in Sagunto, Spain.

That beat a record set in 1998 by the British boat, Cable and wireless Adventurer.

According to a news release from Earthrace, skipper Pete Bethune, a former oil worker, had this to say about the achievement:

“We’re completely stoked to have achieved something so incredible,” says Bethune.
“Earthrace’s success has proved that any form of transport, including marine, can be nondamaging to the environment as well as being high performance. It is still early days for alternative fuel and there are issues that need to be addressed by those with the power to make change happen. But I hope that Earthrace and her adventure highlight to the world the importance of continuing to research and develop alternative fuel sources for global use.”

The trip was not without its problems, however.  The craft hit sea debris in Palau and forced replacement of the boat’s drive shaft and propeller.  It navigated through monsoon conditions in the Indian Ocean, and bypassed a backlog of ships waiting to transit the Panama Canal.

The boat is a 24m tri-hull wavepiercer, and was built in New Zealand.

More on the Earthrace Biodiesel Boat and Biodiesel:

• NEW: Biodiesel’s New Approval Rating Could Ease Warranty Concerns
• Earthrace Biodiesel Boat Circumnavigates Globe, Aims For World Speed Record
• First Heavy-Duty Diesel Powered By Algae Biodiesel, Solazyme’s “Soladiesel”
• Biodiesel Mythbuster 2.0: Twenty-Two Biodiesel Myths Dispelled
• Top 15 Unexpected Uses For Biodiesel
• How Biodiesel Fuel-Cells Could Power The Future (And Your Car)
• Study: Buying Biodiesel May Be A Gamble
• 6 Ways To Find And Use Biodiesel Anywhere
• Biodiesel Guide: 7 Steps to Buying a Diesel

Image Credit:  Earthrace

On Monday the USDA held a press briefing. The subject? Food and fuel.
One theory that has been widely discussed in recent weeks is that the nation’s growing demand for biofuels and the crops needed to produce them is the real culprit behind higher food prices, both at home and abroad. Yet the evidence [...]

There’s been a lot of hype lately over biofuels starving the world, and unfortunately there’s not better way to say it than that — hype.
Instead of having the knee-jerk reaction, of panic, we need to think carefully about the problem, for starters, we need to actually identify the problem.
In a recent op-ed in the Minneapolis [...]

There has been much in the media lately on biofuels, climate change and the food crisis.
The International Energy Agency, energy policy advisor to 27 member countries (one of which is the United States) formed during the oil crisis of 1973-74 recently released a statement on biofuels,
“The recent shortage in grain stocks and surge in [...]