Henry Phish

So in part 1 of this article, I wrote about several car companies that were making the leap into the Plug-In Hybrid business with cars and SUV’s. In Part 2, I want to discuss the eventual results of these technological enhancements and how they may affect the world at large.

First, we’ll start by saying that the current infrastructure we have in the United States will not be enough to support future growth of the automotive sector.

Automobiles that require a plug-in jack will require electricity from power plants, and the added drain on the current power grid would most likely not leave enough electricity for everyone. Even today, many parts of the country have difficulty keeping up with demand for electricity, and the added strain on the system would most likely cause brown outs in many parts of the United States.

Ultimately, this means we need more power plants, and that electricity will become more expensive as demand increases. Coal and nuclear power are the two most likely utilities to be affected by this change, and it wouldn’t surprise to see a change in the pricing of these utilities even within the next few years.

The positive side of moving from gas power automobiles to coal and nuclear power plants is the resulting drop in carbon emissions. Air quality across much of the US will increase. Pollution caused by the power plants themselves will rise, but will only affect localized areas.

As paraphrased in an article by one author:

One criticism of plug-ins is that, by shifting fuel consumption from cars to electric utilities, they potentially concentrate particulates and other nasty emissions in certain geographical areas. The study mostly allays these concerns. A small number of areas do see an increase in pollutants, but the large majority of the U.S. will experience a meaningful improvement in air quality.

One final result of moving from a traditional gas engine to electric hybrid is the ability to build these vehicles with the idea of using non-traditional fuels such as ethanol blend or biodiesel, both of which are renewable resources and burn cleaner than traditional fuels.

As stated in the study above, adopting plug-in technology could result in about 10% of the carbon exhaust reductions we need to stabilize the climate.

I’ve written about Hybrid Plug In’s before in relation to my ethanol articles, but having read an article on the future of the industry, I thought it only safe to say I should address it again.

I’ve mentioned before in the article The Bad Side of Ethanol that a few third party companies have begun retrofitting cars to use a battery that can plug into a standard wall socket to recharge. Charging takes something along the lines of 9 hours with a traditional socket or less with an upgraded supercharger. Officially, these after market cars have never been officially sanctioned by the automotive industry, but now companies such as Chevrolet, Saturn, and Toyota are jumping into the mix with cars of their own.

Cars such as the Chevy Volt, Saturn Vue, Ford Escape, Ford Edge, Toyota Prius and 1/X Concept, Dodge Sprinter, and Jeep Renegade are leading the pack to bring this relatively recent technology into the mainstream. Of special note is the Chevy Volt, which in a departure from its predecessors, runs completely on electricity, a significant change that could inspire a whole generation of clones.

Another interesting side note is that most of these cars are actually SUV’s, which makes an interesting point: how do you continue to sell automobiles that have consistently had the worst gas mileage in the market? The other day I saw a documentary that stated that mpg for SUV’s has barely changed since the 80’s in comparison to the dramatic changes we’ve seen in cars over the last few years. With high interest in these continued markets, and the high rate of return for these big ticket items for the sellers, these items should continue to set a precedent over time.

Otherwise, the more or less traditional Toyota 1/X Concept and the Prius Hybrid come as no surprise but continue to support rising demand. Still, as technology changes, the future of the hybrid industry seems more and more to be in all electric cars such as the Volt, as opposed to the more traditional gas guzzling models of yesteryear.

So I guess my only questions are: how does this affect the power companies as they try to keep up with new demands for electricity? Also, how does this affect the fuel cell industry?

Just some things to think about.

Carmakers’ Plug-In Plans

It’s interesting to see how complex factors interact to create new business opportunities for aspiring companies as well as new trends in how people and companies spend their money.

Examples of these trends can be seen in the article: How to Guard Against High Gas Prices. It’s key points are a new company called MyGallons.com, a website that lets you pre-buy gas at a flat rate, and investing in stocks that tend to rise along with the price of gasoline.

As listed in the article, MyGallons.com makes their money less on the gas and more on the $30 yearly membership fee, so near as I can tell it sounds like a pretty good deal. With the constant threat of gas price hikes driving people crazy at $4 a gallon anyway, you could easily save a few dollars in price fluctuations over the course of a year.

The article also suggests investing in stocks that rise with the sale of gas such as oil companies and companies that indirectly benefit from these high costs, such as railroads, an economical alternative to trucks for moving freight. I myself need to start using my credit card that gives me money back for buying gas; I have the feeling I’m going to need it.

Update: World must brace for oil beyond $150 a barrel

It’s interesting to see how changes in the market have affected a growing and wildly popular industry such as ethanol production. While it’s always been a speculative industry at best, in it’s current state, it has gained a significant foothold in the United States for its use as an alternative fuel. Though it’s obvious that without continued research into better methods of processing and alternate sources of raw materials, it is a temporary solution at best.

With the corn shortage caused by the recent flooding in Iowa and Minnesota raising the cost of corn to record highs, the Ethanol Industry has suddenly seen a drastic decline in profits and speculation. Since corn in the last year has been in short supply anyway, these events have led to anxiety amongst farmers and business people in Minnesota particularly, where ethanol production has become something of a cottage industry.

Check out this article from the Star Tribune for more information.

For more info on all facets of Ethanol production and its uses visit:

Understanding Ethanol Production and Use

So a few years ago, a little movie came out called: An Inconvenient Truth, which spoke out on the dangers of global warming and global climate change. With Vice President Al Gore as its narrator and chief spokesperson, the film managed to garnish itself a pair of Oscars and grossed over $23,808,111 as of Oct 29. 2006 according to imdb.com. People were ready for a change…

When I was growing up in the 80’s, solar power was just becoming popular, wind energy was hardly even heard of, and in 50 years we were supposed to have completely run out of fossil fuels. We’d heard the stories about the rain forest depletion, the ever popular ozone hole, cow farts and automobile exhaust causing global warming, and CFCs. No one knew what to think of any of it…except that one day everything we knew would be gone.

I remember an advertisement on television in which a little boy and his parents get dressed in space suits and walked across an alien planet on their way to “somewhere.” Along the way, they converse of everyday things such as school and life, and when the family finally reaches their destination, we realize that it is a greenhouse, where they can view one of the last remaining trees on earth.

Images such as that last remaining tree stick with you over the years, and give you the realization that without continued stewardship, we would eventually end up with one tree in a museum.

It was in this early atmosphere of rising environmental importance that I wrote a letter to my senator, Tom Harkin, about the growing danger of deforestation and the need for more uses of clean energy to decrease our dependence on coal and oil. His response was a bit surprising to an 8 year old boy…alternative energy was inefficient, and while he supported the effort, as well as my interest, for the immediate future there were severe hurdles to be overcome.

That was the letter that opened my eyes to how complex the world could be. In all my naivety, I hadn’t realized that if the problem had been a simple one, then the solution would have already been found. What I would realize later, is that it was this continual environmental awareness…little by little, drop by drop…that ultimately would lead to a change in the environment as a whole. As time progressed, so would technology. Solar power became more efficient. Solar cells currently designed by Sunpower Corp rate at 21 to 22% efficient and are near their theoretical max of 26% according to an engineering friend of mine who makes them. Wind power is alive and well outside the front door of my grandmothers house in rural Iowa and is popular in the desert regions of California as well. And in 50 years we’re still going to run out of fossil fuels. But ultimately, in the social conscience, it became easier to think green, feel green, and be green.

The truth is that the 80’s were just sowing the seeds of environmentalism that later culminated in the growing activism of the 00’s. Today, environmentalism seems commonplace. Every corner on trash day contains a recycling bin full of everything from pop bottles, to tin cans, to cardboard, to glass. Nearly everything we dispose of on a daily basis is in some way recyclable if we put forth the effort. These days, you don’t even have to sort the paper from the plastics, it’s all done for you by a machine that magically takes the work out of it. Further evidence can be seen in the popularity of gas economical vehicles such as the Corolla, Civic, and Prius. The growing use of biological additives to fossil fuels such as Ethanol. And the growing popularity of green culture springing up all around us.

By the time Al Gore crossed the stage of the Grauman Chinese Theater in Hollywood, and accepted an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth. America was already gearing up for a change.

So I was watching the news the other day and a story on a growing trend in corn farming was on. Harking back to a series of articles I wrote a couple of years ago on the creation of alternate methods of Ethanol production, the story followed the rising use of Minnesota corn for the dinner table being boughten instead by manufacturers for use in Ethanol production. As one farmer put it, this was a good step for his industry, as the price of feed and dinner table corn was flat, and the use of corn as an alternate and popular fuel source opened up the market for both small and large farmers alike.

While I have several pages of writing on Ethanol in the archives, the story got me thinking about current trends in our economy and how they might grow in the future. Tech was big in the 90’s. The early 00’s were big into disposable culture. But I think that the latter half of this decade and the early part of the next are going to be green.

So stay tuned, as for the next few posts we’ll look into past and the future to see what might become of our brighter tomorrow.

This was a pretty interesting article on using beer water to create energy. Apparently, Fosters Brewery and Australian scientists have come up with a method of creating energy using brewery waste water…using sugar-consuming bacteria.

According to the article:

“The fuel cell is essentially a battery in which bacteria consume water-soluble brewing waste such as sugar, starch and alcohol.”

The resulting product is electricity and clean water.

The fuel cell will be a 660-gallon fuel cell capable of providing enough power to run a household, though it’s primary purpose is as a water treatment facility. The energy it produces isn’t a lot, but still pretty impressive.

Beer maker, scientists to create energy

Google Trends is a great way to find out what the world is searching for. It connects news stories to search volumes and even provides information on where the searches are taking place.

I tested the site by searching for ethanol. Everyone seems to be researching ethanol lately. I was surprised that Brisbane, Australia was listed as the top city. I had expected a US city to rank at the top of the list. I’m not surprised that Minneapolis, MN, USA came in at the second spot though.

Take a look for yourself:

Trend History for Ethanol

Well, this article is way too complicated to really dig into on this site, but I figure some people might be of interest, so here’s a summation. 

Basically, as ethanol becomes more and more popular due to changes in federal regulations and consumer demand, it’s opened the doors for quite a few companies to come out of the closet…so to speak.  Looking to expand, they need capital, so they go public to finance they’re continued growth.  Company’s such as Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) have made the papers as of recent because of large investments by the likes of Bill Gates.  These investment dollars go toward building manufacturing facilities and creating a means for distribution.  For instance Pacific Ethanol’s plan calls for 5 manufacturing plants by 2008.  Other companies include, Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) and Xethanol Corp (XTHN).  The first of these is building a plant, while the later has plans to acquire a second.  MPG Ingredients (MGPI) and Anderson’s Inc (ANDE) here in Minnesota are also in the mix.  And one of the largest current ethanol producers continues to be Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), with over 1 billion gallons a year in ethanol production. 

Also in the mix as a soon to be public offering is Verasun, which according to the article is “the first standalone company currently producing significant amounts of ethanol to debut its shares on Wall Street.”  It will set the price for future entrants into the market starting with $18 to $20 dollars a share.  Following its debut, other companies going public include Aventine Renewable and Hawkeye Holdings.

According to the article, “The U.S. will need to invest about $7 billion in the ethanol business and import sugar cane from Brazil to significantly displace imported oil used in cars’ gas tanks, according to a study by Bear Stearns.”

The article goes into more depth on the growth of the industry, but I see this article as more of a place to start looking for information than necessarly something that would make me want to invest.  However, if you are seriously looking at the subject, it lays out the playing field pretty nicely.

Have fun!

Big Test for Ethanol Makers Going Public

By the way, as a reference, the article is by Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch and is called Ethanol maker VeraSun hopes to shine in debut

Well seeing as there seems to be a trend in the type of searches we’ve been getting on the site, I find it ironic that a friend of mine sent me this link.  It seems, that beyond the normal reasons to promote ethenol use, you can also drink it…imagine that.  Wine, beer, spirits…and you can power your car with it….you’ve got to love it.

Check out this site to build your own alcohol reflux still.  They show you how to do it as well as providing most of the basic supplies.

My friend, he just likes drinking the stuff…what you do with this contraption is up to you:)

Build Your Own Alcohol Still