Dept. of Energy News- Secretary Chu Op-Ed on Energy Efficiency from the World Economic Forum March 16, 2010
- Department of Energy Issues Requests for Applications for Nuclear-Related Science and Engineering Scholarships and Fellowships March 12, 2010
- Treasury, Energy Announce Guidance for Tax Treatment of Smart Grid Investment Grants March 10, 2010
- Secretary Chu Announces Up To $154 Million for NRG Energy's Carbon Capture and Storage Project in Texas March 9, 2010
- NREL News
- Tool That Tracks Solar Installations is Open to All March 12, 2010
- High-Speed Pipeline Revs Up Biomass Analysis March 8, 2010
- Light Inspires Energy Efficient Building Design March 1, 2010
- Making Wind Turbines Builds Career Interest February 22, 2010
Current and future renewable energy topics explained and discussed.
Ethanol Fuel Stations
There are quite a few ethanol fuel stations in the world today but the trend is not picking up. Concerns of the true sustainability of ethanol as a fuel, renovation costs of existing infrastructure, and a lack of consumers buying ethanol capable vehicles have all hurt. Personally I feel that ethanol, hydrogen, and other liquid “alternative” fuels are really just ways for the existing oil companies to easily switch over to a “green” fuel.
They’ll still be refining, processing, and delivering a liquid fuel and thus most of their infrastructure can remain just as it is. However, this doesn’t make these fuels ideal for the next generation of consumer vehicle energy sources. Renewable energy sources like solar power get much less support from the existing energy infrastructure because the energy exists everywhere on the surface of the Earth and can be collected by anyone who buys a panel to use in whatever way they want with existing electrical appliances (and hopefully soon vehicles). Basically there is a lot less money to be made with these kinds of alternative energies even if they do make more sense in terms of the environment and energy independence.