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Rentech, Inc .( AMEX: RTK ) is Los Angeles, CA based alternative energy firm focusing on turning a wide array of carbon bearing materials into various fuels. The term “carbon bearing” is used for a variety of substances including biomass, coal, and natural gas. Carbon bearing materials are liquefied using a modified Fischer Tropsch process, a process invented in Germany in 1923 and used by WWII Germany to convert coal to diesel. While not much financial information is given, the Fischer Tropsch Diesel is much cleaner than traditional diesel (Check out the photo on the right). It produces 42% fewer hydrocarbon emissions, 33% less carbon monoxide, 9% less nitrous oxide, and 28% fewer particulates. Furthermore, the fuel is biodegradable unlike traditional petroleum based fuels. This means that road runoff and spills will not have a long lasting environmental impact. The company has a product demonstration unit in Colorado that will produce 10 barrels per day of synthetic fuels. Its first commercial scale site is slated for Mississippi. Phase 1, which is expected to be online by 2011 will produce 1,600 barrels per day. Phase 2 will ratchet production up to 28,000 barrels per day. Rentech has also formed a partnership with Peabody Electric LLC, a subsidiary of Peabody Energy, for two separate projects with a total production capacity of 40,000 barrels per day. Expected completion dates were not given. |
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In 1980 it cost approximately $4 million per megawatt of energy produced by wind power. Coal power cost about $300,000 per megawatt at the time. By the year 2000, each megawatt of wind power cost about $1,000,000 while the same amount from coal power cost around $600,000. In 2007, the Global Wind Energy Council estimated that each megawatt of wind is only 5% more expensive than that from coal. The annual price decline from 1980 to 2007 was about 6.5% per annum. 
With the declining prices, wind power generation has increased by enormous amounts. At the end of 2006, there were 74 gigawatts of wind power produced worldwide. By the end of 2007, there was an estimated 94 gigawatts of production. This one year increase was almost 25%. By 2012, the GWEC estimates totaled installed capacity will reach 240 gigawatts and account for 3% of total energy production. The total takes into account both additional installation and decommissioning of current facilities that have reached the end of their useful life span. The growth rate is estimated to exceed 20% per annum. Total investment is estimated to be $277 billion in the five year period ending in2012. The majority of installation will be done in China and the United States. In the United States, 30% of all new power generation plants are wind power. As of 2007, however, the total wind power supply barely exceeded 1% of total power supply. Much of the new supply is attributed to tax credits offered by local and federal governments. |
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Motor Development International (MDI) has just announced news that could change American roadways forever. The highly touted Air Car line of vehicles by Luxembourg based Motor Development International (MDI) is scheduled to be manufactured for the US market. Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) has been granted the US manufacturing license and is scheduled to produce about 10,000 vehicles per year with the first sales expected to begin in late 2009 or early 2010. ZPM is licensed to build several models of Air Car including CityCAT, OneCAT, and MiniCAT. 
Unlike the Indian version of the CityCAT, the US version will include a small onboard diesel powered engine used to compress air into the tanks. The engine will kick in at speeds above 35MPH and extend the range of the vehicle to an estimated 1,000 miles between refueling stops. It can do this at speeds of up to 96MPH on the 75 horsepower equivalent engine. At an estimated retail price of $17,800, this is something the masses can afford.
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