Skyonic raises $128M, plans its first commercial CO2-to-baking soda plant this summer

A Texan startup that turns carbon emissions into baking soda (among other things) has raised a huge new round and plans to break ground on its first commercial scale plant this summer. And we thought all those capital intensive cleantech startups were long gone.Austin-based Skyonic announced on Tuesday that it's raised a $128 million Series C round from big name players in the oil and gas industries, which will help fund its inaugural commercial ...

http://gigaom.com/2013/06/25/skyonic-raises-128m-plans-to-start-buildi

Video: 16 yr-old Turns Algae to Biofuel and Wins Intel Science Award

Evie Sobczak is a freakin' rock star, and you want to know her. Why? Because what started out as Evie's 8th grade science fair project just won Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair. That's a big deal because, as Sobczak puts it, "It's, like, the biggest science fair ever!"

Evie's project is, in a nutshell, a chemical/catalyst-free process in which algae is processed into fuel-grade ethanol. In addition to collecting her algae stock from the type of blooms common in Florida (ensuring that no special processes or algae strains are required), Sobczak designed and engineered all of the equipment for her project herself, creating a totally chemical-free way to grow algae, extract the oil, and use it as biodiesel. Plus, her process produced as much as 20 percent more oil than current methods, which could make biofuels even cheaper (compared to gasoline) than they already are!

You can check out Evie's summary of her project, in her own words, below. Enjoy!

Source: Tampa Tribune, via Grist.
The post Video: 16 yr-old Turns Algae to Biofuel and Wins Intel Science Award appeared first on Gas 2.

http://gas2.org/2013/06/21/16-yr-old-evie-sobczak-turns-algae-into-bio

Energy Risk: Fracking Increasing Competition for Water

A new investigation by AP has found that the vast majority of counties where fracking is occurring in seven states are also suffering from drought. and that fracking is presenting new strains on water supplies.

http://theenergycollective.com/amymall/239596/new-investigation-fracki

Emergency Eton Radio

Website: http://MrEnergyCzar.com Hi everybody, MrEnergyCzar here. This video is about an emergency back-up multi-purpose communications radio. Facebook: http...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGKuSZjsamY&feature=youtube_gdat

Credit: mrenergyczar

Fracking The Amish

Jesus said, "Turn the other cheek". So if you are of the Amish faith you prefer to settle legal disputes within your own community, without litigation. In other words the Amish will not sue, and if you're a natural gas company, that's very good news. Turns out that whole "Amish Mafia" thing might be blown out of proportion.

To say that many natural gas companies are taking advantage of people of the Amish faith would be an understatement. In an article written for the New Republic, Molly Redden shares a story where an Amish couple was paid $10 an acre to have a natural gas company come in and start fracking. The couple was told that that was the best offer the company could make. Turns out neighboring farm were receiving upwards of $1,000 an acre. Rather than take legal action, because by their faith they cannot, the Amish couple admits they made a mistake and have to live with it.

This is just one of many similar instances. Not only did the Amish family lose out on a ton of cash, but they also put their farm, crops, and livestock in danger, and unknowingly jeopardized their livelihood due to the chemicals used in the fracking process. Check out the documentary Gas Land for a good idea of this.

The Amish couple did indeed make a colossal mistake, and should have done some investigating on their own. But they were also intentionally misled and outright lied to by a billion-dollar company that can afford to be honest. With the advent of hydraulic fracturing or fracking, this is the process of fracturing rock layers using a pressurized chemical mixture to release natural gas, natural gas companies are tapping into natural gas holds that were once unobtainable. This has created a massive boom in the natural gas industry and has taken the natural companies to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, places with large Amish populations .

With the knowledge that the Amish will not sue, this really opens the door for gas companies to do whatever they want without the risk of legal action. The impact of this is enormous. Other than outright lying about land value, let's say a lease ends and the company just keeps on fracking; the Amish can do nothing legally. It is easy to see how this can get really bad and fast.

The Amish do have certain options though. For example, one Amish family that was a victim of an undervalued lease took the gas company to court to simply void the lease. What makes this acceptable for the Amish couple is that there is no money involved - they just want the gas company to leave.

This isn't capitalism; this is wrong. From causing earthquakes to lighting water on fire, fracking has serious health and environmental complications not entirely understood yet. People But if people are willing to take these enormous risks with their land, they should at the very least be paid well for it. Those who constantly step up to defend the actions of oil companies should ask themselves; if gas companies willing to mislead, ripoff, and outright break contracts with the Amish, is there anything these scumbags won't do?

Source: New Republic

Andrew Meggison was born in the state of Maine and educated in Massachusetts. Andrew earned a Bachelor's Degree in Government and International Relations from Clark University and a Master's Degree in Political Science from Northeastern University. Being an Eagle Scout, Andrew has a passion for all things environmental. In his free time Andrew enjoys writing, exploring the great outdoors, a good film, and a creative cocktail. You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewMeggison

The post Fracking The Amish appeared first on Gas 2.

http://gas2.org/2013/06/13/fracking-the-amish

SoCalGas, California agencies funding $9M RFP to develop ultra-low NOx heavy-duty natural gas engines

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) are jointly funding a request for proposals (RFP) (P2013-22) issued by SCAQMD to support the development of ultra-clean natural gas engines for a variety of heavy-duty vehicle applications in the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB) and San Joaquin Valley Air Basin (SJVAB).

The initiative, funded up to $9 million by the participating agencies together with $500,000 in matching funds from SoCalGas, aims to demonstrate natural gas engines capable of achieving aggressive, near-zero emission standards for on-road, heavy-duty vehicle applications suitable for refuse, goods movement, drayage, transit, or school bus applications.

The purpose of the RFP is to provide financial assistance to contractor teams to develop near-zero NO_x heavy-duty natural gas engines; integrate the engines into heavy-duty vehicles chassis; and evaluate the performance of the vehicles in a variety of heavy-duty vehicle applications in the South Coast and San Joaquin Valley Air Basins.

The principal RFP emission target is 0.02 grams per brake horsepower-hr (g/bhp-hr) NO_x; this represents a 90% reduction from the current EPA 2010 standard of 0.2 g/bhp-hr NO_x. Other targets are 0.01 g/bhp-hr particulate matter (PM); 0.14 g/bhp-hr hydrocarbon (HC); and 15.5 g/bhp-hr carbon monoxide (CO) or lower as determined by the heavy-duty engine Federal Test Procedure (FTP)-comparable to the EPA 2010 limits.

Proposals that address methods to achieve 10 ppm or lower NH₃ emission will score higher, and similarly those that address methods to achieve minimal or zero fuel economy penalties when compared to similar 2010 certified diesel engines, will score higher.

To reach the low NO_x emission target and keep the PM, HC, and CO at current or lower emissions levels, proponents may propose all or combinations of:

• optimized combustion chamber technology;
• advanced fuel delivery system;
• air handling system;
• advanced electronic controls; and
• exhaust after-treatment technologies.

Proponents will be required to build prototype heavy-duty natural gas engines and exhaust after-treatment technology, and to perform transient engine dynamometer tests of the prototype engines to assess fuel consumption, gaseous emissions, and particulate matter emissions.

Production-intent or production engines with exhaust after-treatment technology will then be built based on the prototype engines and integrated into an on-road heavy-duty prototype vehicle chassis suitable for refuse, goods movement, drayage truck, transit, or school bus applications and further developed to ensure adequate transient performance and drivability.

At least three production-intent or production vehicles will then be deployed and demonstrated in commercial services to evaluate performance, reliability, and emissions expectations. A heavy-duty chassis dynamometer will be needed for prototype vehicle development and in-use emissions testing.

Proposals are due by 24 July 2013.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/06/gas-20130613.htm

Op-Ed: Big Oil Tells More Lies About Ethanol, Only Idiots Believe Them

In a move that should surprise no-one, the whining cry-baby rich-boys at Big Oil are butt-hurt over the latest federal court ruling that upholds the EPA's E15 mandate. In a legal brief filed with the US Supreme Court, the American Petroleum Institute - a powerful, well-funded lobbyist group that represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies - insisted that transportation fuels containing 15 percent ethanol (E15) could damage cars and trucks.

Should we believe them?

Obviously, the answer is a resounding "Haha! F**k no we should not!"

Let's get one thing clear: the oil industry does not give one fat rat's ass about the health, safety, future, or security of you, me, or anyone else. The horrible people involved in the oil industry have proven, again and again - from Washington DC to Canada to Saudi Arabia to the Mississippi Gulf - that lining their own pockets with cash is more important to them than the your continued health or your children's clean drinking water. Still, that hasn't stopped them from faking a concern for your safety.

That's right kids, Big Oil would now have you believe that E15 is downright dangerous! Bob Greco, API's director of downstream and industry operations said that a switch to E15 "could also put motorists in harm's way when vehicles break down in the middle of a busy highway. We are asking the Supreme Court to step in and protect consumers by striking down EPA's dangerous E15 mandate before it's too late."

Too late? Too late for what? OMG ... they mean we might die! This scare-tactics-scumbag Bob "Greasy Pete" Greco is actually implying that switching to E15 is more likely to get you killed than toxic drinking water.

The worst part of all this is that there's a bunch of 70-80s out there who probably believe this nonsense ... and at least one or two of those idiots are already on the Supreme Court. *ahem* Thomas and Scalia *cough-cough*

Big Oil, in the guise of the API and GOP puppet groups like the AAPS, is spending untold millions and billions to fabricate whatever evidence they can to keep them from having to compete with any other fuels. They're clearly running scared, since - even with petroleum's massive government subsidies, many times more than ethanol - they're not exactly winning the hearts and minds of young Americans.

Op-ed: Everyone working with the API in their bid to block ethanol fuels should die a scandalous, camel-driven, bestiality-related death somewhat sooner than later.

For those of you interested in reading things on your own and forming your own conclusions, I've included a number of links throughout this article, and the original text of the story is quoted, below. Enjoy!

The U.S. oil and gas industry on Tuesday bolstered its argument for the Supreme Court to strike down the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to allow a higher blend of ethanol in newer automobiles.

In a legal brief filed with the high court, the American Petroleum Institute, which represents 500 oil and natural gas companies, insisted that transportation fuels containing 15 percent ethanol could damage cars and trucks.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled last August that trade groups representing the automobile, food and other industries did not have sufficient grounds to challenge the use of the new blend known as E15. In response, API appealed to the Supreme Court in February. The high court could make a decision about whether to hear the case soon.

"E15 could leave millions of consumers with broken-down cars and high repair bills," said Bob Greco, API's director of downstream and industry operations. "It could also put motorists in harm's way when vehicles break down in the middle of a busy highway. We are asking the Supreme Court to step in and protect consumers by striking down EPA's dangerous E15 mandate before it's too late."

API's brief was filed as a response to assertions by ethanol backers who have asked the Supreme Court to let the previous ruling stand.

The EPA, which approved the new blend in January 2011, gave the OK for it to go on sale last June. The blend, which has been approved for use in cars and light trucks built since 2000 but is banned from older vehicles and light equipment, has been slow to get off the ground. Only a few stations in the Midwest, including a half dozen in Iowa, have sold the E15 blend.

Ethanol groups said appeal to the Supreme Court was the latest sign of desperation by the oil and gas industry.

"API is basically presenting evidence to prove they will do whatever they can to keep from having to compete with any other fuels," said Ron Lamberty, senior vice president for the American Coalition for Ethanol. "Big Oil will take any approach available to delay E15 implementation while continuing its public smear campaign against it."

Source: DesMoines Register
The post Op-Ed: Big Oil Tells More Lies About Ethanol, Only Idiots Believe Them appeared first on Gas 2.

http://gas2.org/2013/06/11/op-ed-big-oil-tells-more-lies-about-ethanol