News Coverage
Green Gold: Researchers Say Algae May Someday Replace Fossil Fuels, But Major Hurdles Exist
John FleckDoug Lynn waxes poetic about the green glop he's growing in research ponds north of Carlsbad.
Lynn and others believe turning algae into biofuel has the potential to provide an important new source of energy for the United States, and a significant new economic engine for New Mexico. In fact, the federal government just placed a $100 million bet on it, to fund a pilot plant in southern New Mexico.
But experts who have worked in the field for decades say there are enormous technical hurdles to overcome before biofuel from algae is an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Algae's attraction, enthusiasts say, comes from the fact that it grows fast. When well-bred, they say, the same organisms that create pond scum produce enormous quantities of fatty tissue within their little bodies. Fat equals stored energy, so when the glop is processed, you can get the equivalent of crude oil.
Green Gold?
John FleckBeginning some time late this year, a site in the Deming-Columbus area will be home to a bold experiment aimed at developing the next generation of renewable fuels: algae.
The project, a federal-private partnership headed by California-based Sapphire Energy, is an attempt to demonstrate the viability of growing algae in ponds and squeezing out the fatty tissues to make a drop-in replacement for crude oil-based fossil fuels.
"We call it 'green crude,'" Sapphire vice president Tim Zenk told me in an interview.
There is a lot of enthusiasm in New Mexico right now about the promise of what Zenk and other algae biofuel developers hope to achieve. But algae-based fuel production has a long history, a review of which suggests caution is in order this time 'round.
Algae can churn out oil: Feds dole out over $104 million to put the scum to work
Amy Lou JenkinsSapphire Energy can produce direct replacements for today's fuels from CO2 and sunshine. Sapphire Energy, a San Francisco based leader in algae-based fuel technology, recently received a big boost for groundbreaking energy work. They were awarded nearly $104.5 million as part of President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Biorefinery Assistance Program, authorized through the 2008 Farm Bill.
The grant is from the U.S. Dept. of Energy for the $50 million and the loan guarantee from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture for $54.5 million.
Biofuels coming of age: Green crude gains ground in the desert in 2009
Kevin Robinson-AvilaSapphire Energy is helping to build a new industry in New Mexico, literally from the ground up.
The company will invest $100 million over the next two years in a 300-acre biofuel operation in Luna County in southern New Mexico that will convert desert-grown algae into more than 1 million gallons per year of gasoline, biodiesel and jet fuel.
In the long-term, Sapphire plans to expand the operation to 1,200 acres or more, employing thousands of workers in one of the state’s poorest counties, said CEO Jason Pyle.
Research Plus Innovation Propel Clean-Tech Growth in 2010
Andrea SiedsmaCLEAN TECHNOLOGY: Green to Gold, Expansion in Local Sector Promises Business Opportunities and Jobs
San Diego’s emerging clean technology cluster continues to help green the local economy. From solar power and wind technologies to clean transportation, smart sensors, energy-storage systems and biofuels, the region is chock-full of companies that are making great strides in sustainability as well as creating new jobs.
Federal grants for biofuels projects help cultivate California companies
Todd WoodyThe federal government this morning announced it will hand out $600 million for next-generation biofuels projects, including those being developed by several California companies.
“Advanced biofuels are critical to building a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system in the U.S.,” Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said in a statement. “These projects will help establish a domestic industry that will create jobs here at home and open new markets across rural America.”
Sapphire Energy of San Diego chosen by U.S. to participate in biorefinery project
Ronald D. WhiteSapphire Energy Inc., a San Diego biofuels company that has developed an algae-based fuel used experimentally to power airplanes and drive a car cross country, has been selected to participate in a $564-million biorefinery project, the U.S. Energy and Agriculture Departments announced Friday.
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that Sapphire Energy would receive a federal loan guarantee of up to $54.5 million as part of the project. A total of $564 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used for "pilot, demonstration, and commercial scale facilities" in a total of 15 states. The goal is to "lay the foundation for full commercial-scale development of a biomass industry in the United States," according to a press release.
Secretaries Chu and Vilsack Announce More Than $600 Million Investment in Advanced Biorefinery Projects
Secretaries Chu and Vilsack Announce More Than $600 Million Investment in Advanced Biorefinery Projects
Private company investment brings total to nearly $1.3 billion for 19 biorefinery projects to create jobs and new markets for rural America
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of 19 integrated biorefinery projects to receive up to $564 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate the construction and operation of pilot, demonstration, and commercial scale facilities. The projects – in 15 states – will validate refining technologies and help lay the foundation for full commercial-scale development of a biomass industry in the United States. The projects selected today will produce advanced biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts using biomass feedstocks at the pilot, demonstration, and full commercial scale. The projects selected today are part of the ongoing effort to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry and provide new jobs in many rural areas of the country.
Sapphire's Superior Strain Of Algae
Jim LaneThanksgiving approaches and holiday baking looms – a week when family recipes are swapped and downloaded in huge volumes. In the business of biofuels, one of the more elusive recipes is the one for making commercial-scale, affordable algae as a platform for conversion to biofuels.
But there’s not too much mystery to it. By now, practically everyone in biofuels knows the basic recipe for making a gallon of algal fuel from an open pond environment. As great cooks advise, the potential is in the ingredients, but the flavor is in the execution.
America's energy policy dilemma
David ShukmanDavid Shukman gets knee-deep in an algae-filled pond to find out how these swampy waters could transform the oil industry
Stand in the warm sunshine of an autumn morning near Houston, Texas, watching an immense rig towering over a new oil well, and the future of the fuel that made this state rich looks rosy.
With me is a third-generation oil man, "Tad" Mayfield, a spokesman for Texan producers. He doubts that climate change is man-made and is campaigning hard against measures planned in Congress to limit greenhouse gases.
"The question is how much difference does CO2 really make in our atmosphere? That question should be debated," he says.
