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U.S. Senate Panel Sets 35 Mpg Auto Standard by 2020

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved the first vehicle fuel economy act in 16 years. S. 357, the Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act, would revise corporate average fuel economy standards to achieve a nationwide fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. The bill also would create, for the first time, fuel economy standards for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, and would provide the Secretary of Transportation expanded authority to prescribe and enforce fuel economy standards. Said Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), “In the last sixteen years, our passenger car and light truck fleets have been virtually frozen in terms of fuel economy savings, while the effects of global warming have become more pronounced and the oil exporting regions of the world have become more hostile and more unstable.” “Ten-in-Ten mandates the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to increase the fuel economy of the nationwide fleet of passenger cars and light trucks to 35 mpg by 2020, and then continue to improve fuel economy by four percent per year for the next ten years. For the first time, medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks will be subject to fuel economy standards, which will address a significant […]

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U.S. Senators Obama, Harkin Introduce Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Legislation

U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) have introduced legislation establishing a National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions in the short and long-term. The bill requires a reduction of about 180 million metric tons in emissions in 2020 – the equivalent of taking over 30 million cars off the road. The standard embraces the growth of the renewable fuels market and and provides incentives for lower carbon emissions in their production. “It’s time to act on climate change,” said Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “We’ve got to begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and emissions from our vehicles need to be a part of that. This bill sets a standard that establishes a steady downward trend for life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of our transportation fuels. Because biofuels generally have lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, this bill also promotes rural economic development and national energy security.” The U.S. relies on imports for 60% of the petroleum it consumes, and the oil used in the U.S. transportation sector accounts for one-third of our nation’s emissions of greenhouse gases. The National Low Carbon Fuel Standard Act of 2007 will: * Provide near-term demand certainty […]

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Electric Car Firm Tesla Raises $45M

Tesla Motors, an emerging electric car manufacturer, has completed a $45 million venture funding round, the fourth since its 2003 launch. The latest round brings Tesla’s total funding to $105 million. Tesla plans to use the funding to begin mass production of the Tesla Roadster, to launch a company-owned sales operation and to develop the electric sports sedan, “WhiteStar.” The Tesla Roadster, priced at over $90,000 and designed to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in four seconds, sold out its first production run in four months. There are 400 reservations on its waiting list, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The “WhiteStar” will be a five-passenger sedan for the 2010 model year. The investment round was led by venture capital firm Technology Partners and Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal. All of Tesla’s major investors also participated, including Vantage Point Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, JP Morgan Bay Area Equity Fund, Valor Equity Partners and Compass Venture Partners.

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PetroSun Issues Algae Biofuels License; Creates New Company

PetroSun, Inc (Other OTC:PSUD.PK) announced its Algae BioFuels subsidiary issued an exclusive algae to biofuel production technology license to ETC Energy for the Native American markets. ETC Energy will seek to enter into joint venture agreements with Native American tribes to produce biodiesel, electricity and animal feed from the algae to biofuel technology on tribal lands. Independent studies demonstrate that algae are capable of producing oil yields in excess of 10,000 gallons per acre annually. The oil yield per acre annually from conventional crops such as corn (80 gallons) and soybeans (40 gallons) are far less than algae. Biodiesel produced from algae offers an alternative that is not subject to commodity risks as is crude oil, corn and soybeans and is capable of supplying a sustainable feedstock. ETC Energy will also be producing high protein animal feed from the algae biomass, ethanol and potential excess electricity as additional revenue streams from plant operations. The production process will also have a beneficial affect to the environment as algae consume carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight. The source of the carbon dioxide can come from power plant emissions that would create CO2 credits. PetroSun also announced its subsidiary, PetroSun BioFuels Australasia, […]

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