Biofuel

Biofuel -solid, liquid or gas fuel derived from relatively recently dead biological material and is distinguished from fossil fuels, which are derived from long dead biological material. Theoretically, biofuels can be produced from any (biological) carbon source; although, the most common sources are photosynthetic plants. Various plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacturing. Globally, biofuels are most commonly used to power vehicles, heating homes cornstoves and cooking stoves. Recent technology developed at Los Alamos National Lab even allows for the conversion of pollution into renewable bio fuel. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005 and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8 2005 at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems, changed the energy policy of the United States by providing tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types. In 2006, the United States president George W. Bush said in a State of the Union speech that the US is "addicted to oil" and should replace 75% of imported oil by 2025 by alternative sources of energy including biofuels. General Motors is starting a project to produce E85 fuel from cellulose ethanol for a projected cost of $1 a gallon. This is optimistic, because $l/gal equates to S10/MBTU which is comparable to woodchips at S7/MBTU or cord wood at $6- $12/MBTU, and this does not account for conversion losses and plant operating and capital costs which are significant. The raw materials can be as simple as corn stalks and scrap petroleum-based vehicle tires,'201 but used tires are an expensive feedstock with other more-valuable uses. GM has over 4 million E85 cars on the road now, and by 2012 half of the production cars for the US will be capable of running on E85 fuel. But by 2012, the supply of ethanol will not even be close to supplying this much E85. Coskata Inc. is building two new plants for the ethanol fuel. Theoretically, the process is claimed to be five tunes more energy efficient than corn based ethanol, but it is still in development and has not been proven to be cost effective in a free market. Biomass — living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burnt as fuel. It excludes organic material which has been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum. Industrial biomass can be grown from numerous types of plants, including miscanthus, switchgrass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow, sorghum, sugarcane, and a variety of tree species, ranging from eucalyptus to oil palm (palm oil). The particular plant used is   usually not very important to the end products, but it does affect the processing of the raw material. Production of biomass is   a growing industry as interest in sustainable fuel sources is growing. Geothermal power ~ energy generated by heat stored in the earth, or the collection of absorbed heat derived from underground, in  the atmosphere and oceans The United States of America is the country with the greatest geothermal energy production. Calpine Corporation now owns 19 of the 21 plants in The Geysers and is currently the United States' largest producer of renewable geothermal energy. The other two plants are owned jointly by the Northern California Power Agency and the City of Santa Clara's municipal Electric Utility (now called Silicon Valley Power). The Geysers is now recharged by injecting treated sewage effluent from the City of Santa Rosa and the Lake County sewage treatment plant. This sewage effluent used to be dumped into rivers and streams and is now piped to the geothermal field where it replenishes the steam produced for power generation. Another major geothermal area is located in south central California, on the southeast side of the Salton Sea, near the cities of Niland and Calipatria, California. As of 2001, there were 15 geothermal plants producing electricity in the area. CalEnergy owns about half of them and the rest are owned by various companies. Combined the plants have a capacity of about 570 megawatts. The Basin and Range geologic province hi Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, Arizona and western Utah is now an area of rapid geothermal development. Several small power plants were built during the late 1980s during times of high power prices. Rising energy costs have spurred new development. Plants in Nevada at Steamboat near Reno, Brady/Desert Peak, Dixie Valley, Soda Lake, Stillwater and Beowawe now produce about 235 MW   Hydroelectricity - the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably different output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants. Worldwide, hydroelectricity supplied an estimated 715,000 MWe in 2005. This was approximately 19% of the world's electricity (up from 16% in 2003), and accounted for over 63% of electricity from renewable sources.UJ  Some jurisdictions do not consider large hydro projects to be a sustainable energy source, due to the human, economic and environmental impacts of dam construction and maintenance. In the United States, a study is required before constructing a hydroelectric project. In 2008, a study could cost up to $50,000 for a 100 feet (30 m) run of a stream. Both federal and state licenses were required. A license typically cost between $150,000 and $1 million. A project earns money from the sale of energy, the sale of capacity, and the sale of renewable energy credit Obama • Obama and Biden will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000 emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills. This relief would be a down payment on the Obama-Biden long-term plan to provide middle-class families with at least $1,000 per year in permanent tax relief. • Barack Obama and Joe Biden will close energy industry market loopholes and increase transparency to prevent traders from unfairly lining their pockets, while driving up oil prices at the expense of the American people. • With oil prices doubling in the past year, Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we have an economic emergency that requires a limited, responsible swap of light oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for heavy crude oil to help bring down prices at the pump. « Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years o **Increase Fuel Economy Standards.** • Obama and Biden will increase fuel economy standards 4 percent per year while providing $4 billion for domestic automakers to retool their manufacturing facilities in America to produce these vehicles. • These vehicles can get up to 150 miles per gallon. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we should work to ensure these cars are built here in America, instead of factories overseas. • Obama and Biden will establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to reduce the carbon in our fuels 10 percent by 2020. Obama and Biden will also require 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels to be phased into our fuel supply by 2030. • Obama and Biden will require oil companies to develop the 68 million acres of land (over 40 million of which are offshore) which they have already leased and are not drilling on. • An Obama-Biden administration will establish a process for early identification of any infrastructure obstacles/shortages or possible federal permitting process delays to drilling in the Bakken Shale formation, the Barnett shale formation, and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. • Create Millions of New Green Jobs • Obama and Biden will set an aggressive energy efficiency goal — to reduce electricity demand 15 percent from projected levels by 2020. • Obama and Biden will make a national commitment to weatherize at least one million low-income homes each year for the next decade, which can reduce energy usage across the economy and help moderate energy prices for all. • Obama's Department of Energy will enter into public private partnerships to develop five "first-of-a-kind" commercial scale coal-fired plants with clean carbon capture and sequestration technology. • As president, Obama will work with stakeholders to facilitate construction of the pipeline. Not only is this pipeline critical to our energy security, it will create thousands of new jobs. • Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80 Percent by 2050 • The Obama-Biden cap-and-trade policy will require all pollution credits to be auctioned, and proceeds will go to investments in a clean energy future, habitat protections, and rebates and other transition relief for families. • Obama and Biden will re-engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) — the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem. They will also create a Global Energy Forum of the world's largest emitters to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues. / Bush o offshore exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) o Congress should clear the way for our Nation to tap into the extraordinary potential of oil shale. o Congress should permit exploration in currently restricted areas of northern Alaska - which could produce roughly the equivalent of two decades of imported oil from Saudi Arabia. o Congress should enable the expansion and enhancement of our domestic refining capacity o In December 2007, Congress responded to the President's "Twenty in Ten" challenge by passing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), which mandates that fuel producers use at least 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022 o EISA also requires a national fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 — which will increase fuel economy standards by 40 percent and save billions of gallons of fuel. o April—Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced a new proposed rule under EISA authority on a fleet-wide basis will increase by an average of 4.5 percent annually through 2015 — a 25 percent improvement over the current standard. This standard exceeds the 3.3 percent average annual increase needed to reach the target passed by Congress last year. o The Administration is working to expand the use of clean, safe nuclear power, solar and wind power, and clean coal technology Current Crises: • price rises of mid-2008 o July 26, 2008—the House passed the Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008 (H.R. 6377), directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to use its authority to deal with issues causing major market disturbances. • excessive speculation • price distortion • sudden or unreasonable fluctuations • unwarranted changes in prices • unlawful activity that is allegedly causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand
 * o Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families. **
 * o Crack Down on Excessive Energy Speculation. **
 * o Swap Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Cut Prices. **
 * o Get 1 Million Plug-In Hybrid Cars on the Road by 2015. **
 * o Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles. **** o Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard. **
 * o A "Use it or Lose It" Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases. **
 * o Promote the Responsible Domestic Production of Oil and Natural Gas. **
 * o Ensure 10 percent of Our Electricity Comes from Renewable Sources by 2012, and ** 25 **percent by 2025. o Deploy the Cheapest, Cleanest, Fastest Energy Source — Energy Efficiency.**
 * o Weatherize One Million Homes Annually. **
 * o Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology. **
 * o Prioritize the Construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline. **
 * o Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. **
 * o Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change. **