Hawaii Releaes Energy Report Card

Hawaii is in a vulnerable position since nearly 77% of it's electricity and over 99% of it's transportation fuels come from petroleum, all of which has to be imported into the state. And because of the high cost of petroleum Hawaii pays some of the highest energy prices in the nation. So the state has more incentive than most to do something about their energy situation.

Hawaii recently released a report detailing their efforts and progress towards greater energy security. Here are some of the highlights.

Hawai‘i's primary energy consumption in 2006 was down 1.8 percent compared to 2005.

Petroleum use in the state declined 2.7 percent between 2005 and 2006.

Renewable energy production increased by 9.8 percent in 2006. This increase can be attributed to generation from municipal solid waste, hydroelectricity and wind.

Municipal solid waste energy and hydropower production increased by about 12 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Wind power increased by a dramatic 1,123 percent due to the influx from the new facilities at Kaheawa Wind Power and Hawai‘i Renewable Development.

Although they still have a long way to go, they have made some substantial progress for one years period of time. The full report is especially interesting since it goes into detail about the states present and future efforts including projects for both ethanol and biodiesel.

Full Press Release
Full Report (PDF)

Broward's First Ethanol Shipment Arrives At Port Everglades

As I posted a few days back Florida, just recently changed their fuel rules to allow for more ethanol blending in the state. Well, I noticed an article today that talks about the first shipment of ethanol, 2.52 million gallons coming into Florida through the Port Everglades on the same day the new fuel rules were adopted. Looks like Florida is moved ahead at full speed to get ethanol into their fuel supply.

On the heels of Congressional approval and President George W. Bush signing into legislation the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Broward County’s Port Everglades received its first shipment of ethanol fuel today.

The ethanol shipment of 2.52 million gallons will go to multiple petroleum terminals at Port Everglades. Several terminal operators are preparing for the future distribution of alternative fuels by constructing new tanks or converting existing tanks to handle ethanol and other “green” fuels.

Full Press Release

Ethanol and the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone

I have seen several articles talking about the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico and how ethanol production is going to make it worse. One article plainly stated in it's headline, As ethanol demand grows, so does 'Dead Zone' in Gulf of Mexico.

Now I will be the first to admit that I am no expert on what causes the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. But if ethanol production, and more specifically the growing of corn is to blame then there should a statistical correlation between the size of the yearly corn crop and the size of the Dead Zone. So I decided to pull together the numbers and see if a trend could be seen.

In the first column are numbers for the yearly size of the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. I pulled these together from news articles. If anyone knows of another site where the numbers can be found please let me know.

In the second column is the number of acres of corn planted in each year.

2007 - 7900 square miles      93,616,000 acres of corn planted
2006 - 6662 square miles      78,327,000 acres of corn planted
2005 - 4564 square miles      81,779,000 acres of corn planted
2004 - 5800 square miles      80,929,000 acres of corn planted
2003 - 3220 square miles      78,736,000 acres of corn planted
2002 - 8500 square miles      79,054,000 acres of corn planted
2001 - 8006 square miles      75,752,000 acres of corn planted

From looking at the numbers there doesn't seem to be any direct correlation. The two largest years for corn production (2007 and 2005) didn't result in the largest yearly dead zone. And the smallest corn crop (2001) corresponded to the second largest yearly dead zone. Clearly other factors besides corn production are involved.

From reading around from various sources I have found that the dead zone is caused in part by fertilizer use. And since corn production requires large amounts of fertilizer, it stands to reason that corn production has an effect on the size of the Dead Zone. But it isn't the only factor that contributes. Soil erosion and sewage spilled into waterways also has an effect. As does weather conditions.

But if you read the article I posted above no other possible cause is explored other than corn production for the ethanol industry. Clearly the numbers do not support such a claim.

Sources:

December 2007 Crop Summary
2003 Crop Production Summary
2006 Crop Production Summary
'Dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico among top 3 ever mapped
Gulf dead zone larger than expected
Gulf Dead Zone Likely to Be Smaller
Record Size Dead Zone Forecast in Gulf of Mexico
Shrimp Industry Finds Life in Gulf Coast 'Dead Zone'

Louisiana Oil and Gas Association: Corn ethanol is more about politics than price

Ever wonder exactly what the oil industry thinks of ethanol? Well, this article written by the president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association pretty well shows just how they feel about it.

Today we are faced with record high oil prices, soaring gasoline prices, the value of the dollar in decline and an economy teetering on recession; all of this is being caused by a rapid growth in oil demand, tight oil supplies and limited surplus oil production capacity.

With that in mind, you would think the Energy Bill passed by Congress three weeks ago would provide incentives encouraging domestic exploration, such as opening federal lands and waters that are restricted for oil and gas exploration. The United States is the only country that restricts development of its natural resources. Not this Energy Bill. Instead of drilling our way to energy security, Congress proposes to "grow" our way to energy security with corn ethanol, or should I say corn politics.

Full Article

And of course just like all statements issued by the oil industry in regards to biofuels, there are several inaccuracies (misinformation?).

American farmers increase use of biodiesel.

While most farmers are dabbling in a 2% blend of biodiesel, at least two farmers from Iowa have taken biodiesel usage to a new level. David Oberbroeckling and Roger Halliday use anywhere from a 20% to 100% blend on their farms.

In September of 2001, Oberbroeckling, who farms in Davenport, IA, started using a 20% blend after several months of requesting that his distributor provide soy diesel (commonly referred to as B20). He wanted the advantages that straight petroleum diesel simply can't offer.


For the rest of the article. http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/mag/soybean_big_biodiesel/index.html

There are also many great links to articles on this page from the Corn and Soybean Digest.