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Lotus Engineering has kept on hard at attempt developing new engine technologies too aide the use of replenish&wshyp;able alcohol fuels. It’s newly drafted Exige 270E Tri-Fuel idea contended overly the British establishment knows how to initiate an engine run on a large number of fuels, combined with gasoline, ethanol and methanol. In fact, the 270E Tri-Fuel idea was the a large amount of powerful Exige repeatedly conceived by the Hethel-based establishment and earned its largest electricity output paying synthetic methanol fuel. Lotus has began a new investigation anticipate dubbed the OMNIVORE engine — cleverly signaling the present it serves to run on everything — this uses a single cylinder investing in direct injection and a variable compression ratio in circumstances to maximize fuel and efficiency additonally running on a large number of alcohol fuels. The even greater octane screen of alcohol fuels ought to let the engine to run among bigger compression, thereby giving a greater amount of power, additonally additionally toning itself downhill to run on lower-grade fuels as well. Read the urge release subsequent to the break for a great deal more details.

In the fuel economy and future tech debate, the hybrid vs. diesel vs. hydrogen fuel cells vs. smaller cars and smaller engines always provokes a fair bit of discussion among Autoblog commentators. At this point, no one yet knows what’s going to win since nobody knows how the volatile mix of products, timelines, prices, regulations, legislation, state standards, and gas prices will ultimately pan out. Bob Lutz’s prediction is that diesels, at least as far as the US is concerned, won’t be much of a factor.

His reasoning is simple: “I think customers are going to say, ‘Wait a minute. At equal fuel prices I’m paying $4,000 more for this.” Unlike many countries in Europe, the US offers no incentive for people to buy diesels. In the States the price of a diesel vehicle is often more than $1,000 higher than that of a gasoline-engined car, and diesel fuel is just as expensive as gas (throughout California and other states, it’s slightly more expensive than premium unleaded). In that case, Lutz’s opinion is that just about all the customer will glean from an oilburner is a higher car payment.

Lutz sees diesel uptake in the US hovering at about eight-percent. The technology he sees as winning the day: ethanol. It’s clean, it’s easy to integrate into the refueling infrastructure, and it “doesn’t require a change in consumer behavior.” (Except for the people in emerging markets who’ve seen the price of corn skyrocket.) For another take on the fuel economy battle, according to Kelly Blue Book, 40-percent of US new car shoppers think hybrids are the future, with just 17-percent citing flex-fuel.
[Source: The Car Connection]

Indiana may soon get a whole bunch of new E85 outlets, or not. At least station owners inclined to sell E85 will be able to get a helping hand from the state government thanks to newly-passed legislation. The state has set aside $1 million that will be available to filling stations of the retail and government variety in $20,000 increments. That money will help offset the cost of installing E85 capable pumps to fill up some of those flex-fuel vehicles. Unlike most such programs, private operators aren’t the only ones eligible. So-called “local units” can also apply for the grants. These are municipal fleets that include police and fire departments many of which now have flex-fuel vehicles. Indiana also offers other incentives such as an 18-cent-a-gallon sales tax break on ethanol fuel. Over the past year, Indiana has opened four new biodiesel and eleven ethanol plants in addition to one existing plant that previously existed.

[Source: Ethanol Producer]

The Grocery Manufacturers Association. Not a group we hear from a lot on a site dedicated to cleaner vehicle technology. Today, though, in preparation for Earth Day, we saw a message from the GMA titled “This Earth Day, an Unlikely Foe: Biofuels” and wanted to see what they had to say. As the headline suggests, the GMA is taking a stance against biofuels made from food sources and all of the problems that can occur thanks to “the rush to find a ‘homegrown’ solution to global warming.” The GMA invited three people - Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group, and Jonathan Lewis of the Clean Air Task Force - to Washington, D.C. this week to speak out against using food sources to make biofuels. The short list of what’s wrong with growing crops to make fuel are:
increased environmental damage in the form of pollution from coal-fired ethanol refineries
runoff from fertilizer
rapid deforestation in the developing world
an inflationary effect on food prices
potential to prove a major setback to organic farming

We’ve heard a lot of criticisms of corn-based ethanol in the past, but that the drive to grow more corn for ethanol could hurt the organic farming movement in the U.S. is a new one. Makes sense to me, though. More details in the press release after the jump.

Press Release:

This Earth Day, an Unlikely Foe: Biofuels

Experts discuss unintended environmental and social consequences of “food-to-fuel” mandates

WASHINGTON, April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today, three top environmental experts addressed reporters, calling attention to the serious consequences of Congressional food-to-fuel mandates on the environment, world hunger, and American consumers. The experts also urged Congress to revisit these policies.

Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group, and Jonathan Lewis of the Clean Air Task Force were invited by the Grocery Manufacturers Association to share their views on biofuels. They argued that in the rush to find a “homegrown” solution to global warming, the United States ignored the unintended consequences of such policies. The biofuel boom, they explained, has led to increased environmental damage in the form of pollution from coal-fired ethanol refineries, runoff from fertilizer and rapid deforestation in the developing world as farmers rush to take advantage of high commodity prices.

“Congressional biofuel mandates were meant to help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions associated with gasoline consumption,” said Jonathan Lewis of the Clean Air Task Force. “However, recent studies show that this well-intentioned policy has actually led to greater environmental challenges, including a net increase in carbon emissions from deforestation.”

Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group added that food-to-fuel mandates are also having an inflationary effect on food prices, and have the potential to prove a major setback to organic farming.

“With over a quarter of American corn being diverted to ethanol production, food prices have been rising at twice the pace of overall inflation,” Cook said. “At that rate, many farmers will opt out of organic agriculture, seeking instead to maximize chemically-intensive conventional production. And after decades of encouraging growth, we will see a contraction in the organic agriculture industry.”

Cook noted that with tightening supplies for organic grains, the organic dairy and poultry industries would be particularly vulnerable.

“We are importing more of our organic grain and soybeans from China,” said Cook.

Recent Producer Price Index data shows that the price of “intermediate goods” used in food production and for animal feed have increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of almost 40%. At the same time, global food prices have increased by 57% over the past year, leading to hunger strikes and violence around the world. World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently called on all the world’s rich nations to act immediately in order to avoid widespread unrest and conflict.

The three experts argued that a “flying-blind” approach to U.S. biofuel policy has played a role in recent global strife.

“This Earth Day, it is imperative that we examine the effects our so-called environmental ’solutions’ are having on vulnerable ecosystems and populations,” said Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute. “As we are rushing to fill our fuel tanks with corn, we are affecting the global price of food and contributing to the destruction of the forests and other vital natural systems we meant to protect. Misguided biofuel mandates are actually exacerbating environmental harms and causing human suffering while failing to truly deliver energy independence,” said Brown.

The panelists also called on Congress to put added emphasis on developing cellulosic fuels that are derived from plant-waste, switchgrass, and other non-food stock.

Lewis noted, “The environment, American consumers, and vulnerable populations around the world need Congress to revisit these food-to-fuel mandates immediately. Our policies to fight climate change shouldn’t make winning that fight more difficult.”

[Source: Grocery Manufacturers Association]