Today we continue our series on surprising facts about the BP oil spill:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-facts

And today, rather than focus on the result of the oil spill, we’re going to focus on the cause. And the cause is our reliance on oil. Here are some interesting facts:

“30 percent: Percent of the nation’s oil production derived from the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: E2 Wire)

1 billion: Number of gallons of oil spilled into the oceans each year, Gulf of Mexico spill notwithstanding. (Source: Union of Concerned Scientists)

137.8 billion gallons: Amount of gasoline Americans consumed in 2008, down 3% from 2007. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)

19.5 million barrels: Amount of oil consumed in the United States per day.”

Isn’t it time we started getting serious about alternative energy?

This week we’ll continue to discuss the BP oil spill, but with a twist. We’ll be focusing on items that most people don’t know about the spill:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/gulf-oil-spill-still-no-o_n_581424.html

One of the things that most people don’t realize is that BP doesn’t really know how to fix this. In fact, BP has set up a hotline to receive tips from the public on what might be done to stop the oil flow.

One idea that BP is considering is a giant vacuum created by actor Kevin Costner. I’m not making this up:

“Costner, the ‘Waterworld’ and ‘Field of Dreams’ actor, has invested more than$24 million in developing the centrifuge invention, along with business partner John Houghtaling II of New Orleans. On Tuesday, Houghtaling said BP has agreed to test the devices, which can be dropped into the oil spill and separate water from oil, storing the petroleum in tanks. The smallest weighs 150 pounds; the largest 4,500 pounds.”

Let’s hope that Costner’s vacuum works better than his movies.

Earlier this week, we commented on this blog about Texas Tech’s new center that will research wind.  Today, we should comment on how we got to this point:

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/infrastructure/energy/expansion_of_renewable_energy/

Governor Rick Perry deserves enormous credit for laying down the foundation to make Texas the leader in renewable energy:

“Senate Bill 20, signed by Governor Perry in 2005, contained a critical commitment to expand the state’s transmission grid in order to maximize the ability to move wind power from West Texas to the rest of the state. This unique commitment has provided needed certainty to renewable energy developers and, in conjunction with Texas’ abundant wind resources, competitive marketplace for electricity, and stable regulatory structure, has made Texas the easiest state to develop renewable energy.”

This is what leadership is all about.  It’s about looking beyond today for tomorrow. It’s about turning obstacles into opportunity.  That’s what we’ve done in Texas with renewable energy; and that’s what we need to do in America.

Big news in the alternative energy world: Texas Tech is establishing a wind energy institute:

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2010/may/24/tech-announces-wind-energy-institute/

“Texas Tech University has announced it will become the research hub for the newly formed National Institute for Renewable Energy, a wind energy consortium started with financial help from West Texas organizations such as the Development Corporation of Abilene.”

This is a great next step in the development of alternative energy research. We also need to research renewable sources other than wind, like biomass. That’s why I’m here this week at the University of Idaho looking into the research that the university is doing with my Advanced Trailer for Biomass.

I’m excited about what biomass is and what it could mean to our future.

This week I’ll be in Moscow, Idaho checking in on the research that my company, Advanced Trailer, has been conducting with the University of Idaho.

As readers of this blog know, I believe the Advanced Trailer is perfect for biomass. The trailer can be used to transport, dry and store the wood chips that fuel biomass energy. This has long been the missing link in biomass–how to move, dry and store. But no more. The Advanced Trailer has revolutionized biomass. And biomass is about to revolutionize America.

Check in this week for more about the Biomass Revolution!

If you had any doubt about whether alternative energy is the way to go, look no farther than the Gulf of Mexico:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/18/gulf.oil.spill.main/?hpt=Sbin

This has always been one of the downsides to oil: it’s dangerous. As the article notes:

“But the well has been spewing an estimated 5,000 barrels a day into the Gulf since late April, when the drill rig Deepwater Horizon blew up and sank about 40 miles off Louisiana. Eleven workers are presumed dead after the sinking, and the cause has not been determined.”

For generations, oil has resulted in ecological problems and even endangered oil well workers. For safety reason alone, shouldn’t we look for an alternative? We have it. It’s called wind, solar and biomass. It’s better for our economy, better for our environment and better for our safety.

Much has been made in the media about the recent oil spill in the gulf. But not enough has been said about what this means for alternative energy:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/energy/gulf-leak-bump-road-game-changer/

Let me say that I remain a fan of all types of domestic energy production. But I also recognize that not all forms of energy are equal. Oil production is inherently messy, as we’ve just seen in the Gulf of Mexico. And it can be detrimental to the environment.

But not renewable energy. It’s the safest and cleanest way to fuel our economy.

And isn’t the recent oil spill in the gulf just one more reason why we need to invest in clean energy now?

Today the Biomass Conference and Expo ends and I’m on my way back to Texas.

But the cause of biomass goes on.

It goes on because the stakes are too high not to invest in biomass. We can’t continue to fuel our economy with foreign sources of oil. It’s bad for our economy; it’s even worse for our security. We need domestic sources of energy and we need them now. That’s why I’m so excited that the US government is doing so much to promote biomass. Just this week, you might have seen this in the news:

“The US Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) jointly announced up to $33 million in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products.”

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/20273

Biomass is the future. Biomass is the answer.

Every great change in history has begun with a single step.

And this has been no less true in the business world. When NASA was building spaceships to carry man to the moon, it had to invent smaller computers that would fit on board. This helped begin the computer revolution. When Ross Perot was a salesman at IBM, he noticed that companies needed service as much as equipment. He decided to launch the IT services industry. And years from now when we look back at our energy supply, we’ll see this moment in time as a step forward.

Why? Because inventors are figuring out ways to get us off of foreign oil and into renewable energy like biomass. That’s why I’m in Minnesota this week at the Biomass Expo. The meetings start tomorrow and I’ll be live blogging the rest of the week. So check it out each day. And remember: the future begins with a single step.

This week I’ll be live blogging from the 2010 Biomass Conference and Expo in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This is the annual event where all the major players in the biomass industry get together and discuss the future. Exhibits will be set up showing all kinds of new applications for biomass. And speakers will discuss the latest developments in energy policy.

Check in each day this week as I live blog from this important conference.

So gas prices are heading back up. That’s expected as we approach the summer and the driving months. But it’s also a good time to re-examine why gas prices are so out of whack and why we need to re-focus our efforts on renewable energy.

That’s what we’ll be talking about this week on the blog. Join us each day!

Today we wrap up our series on rising oil prices with a solution.

Instead of leaving ourselves vulnerable to so many variables–foreign imports, speculation, value of the dollar–why not develop new sources of domestic energy? It’s a proven fact that the energy market is not a truly free market. And our use of foreign oil only empowers those in the Middle East who are not our friends.

What if we invested in renewable energy sources like biomass, solar and wind? These sources can be re-produced. And even better, they can all be produced right here in the United States.

Ronald Reagan said that America is the “country of tomorrow.” Let’s prove it by finding tomorrow’s energy sources today. That’s the real solution to high gas prices.

As readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of big government. However, I do favor government incentives to help the private sector to create economic solutions. And I have especially supported the administration’s efforts to encourage biomass. It seems to be working already:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010026290_apwabiomassplant.html

“Officials like an Olympia man’s proposal to build a plant in Longview that would turn wood waste into a hot gas to generate electricity and produce ethanol. The state Department of Commerce selected Marc Rappaport for a $1.5 low-interest loan from federal stimulus money. And The Daily News of Longview reports the Cowlitz PUD lists his plan at the top of several possible biomass projects.”

This project would not have happened with the federal stimulus money.  So when it comes to biomass incentives, I say that this is money that is well spent and will produce big results for our country.

One of the arguments sometimes used against biomass is that it can’t generate enough power for enough homes.  That’s another argument that doesn’t hold up:

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/akeida-capital-finances-biomass-plant-in-blue-lake-california,987062.shtml

As the article notes:

“Akeida Capital Management, LLC, an environmental asset management firm focused on originating and investing in sustainable energy projects, today announced it has closed on senior secured financing for a biomass power generation facility located in Blue Lake, California. The facility has a capacity of 12.5-megawatts and can generate enough electricity to power 25,000 homes.”

One biomass generation facility can provide enough power for a small city.  Imagine how many cities could be powered by biomass if we created even more biomass generation facilities.  And that’s exactly what is about to start happening.  Change isn’t just coming; change is already here.

Here is more proof that the biomass revolution is sweeping the nation:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/09/30/business-energy-us-nrg-biomass_6950395.html

“Power generator NRG Energy Inc. said Wednesday that it is testing whether switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum could be used to replace some of the coal used at the company’s Big Cajun II power plant in Louisiana. NRG said the project could lead to commercial-scale projects using biomass fuels to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from other coal-fired plants.”

This new development in Louisiana shows that even traditional power companies are looking for non-traditional ways to fuel the economy.  Biomass is building momentum.  It is here to stay.

Advanced Trailer adds second U.S. University to its team to research biomass drying, storage and handling

Advanced Trailer selects Iowa State University for second research grant to test the benefits of using Advanced Drying Trailers to remove moisture from biomass. Iowa State to dry multiple biomass products during fall semester.

Abilene, TX, October 7th, 2009: Texas entrepreneur Randy Hill today announced he has selected Iowa State University as the recipient of a grant to study the use of his patent-pending Advanced Trailer to remove moisture from another potential biomass source, corn residue.

“The goal of this grant is to explore the possibility of the Advanced Trailer for drying freshly-harvested cobs and corn stover,” Hill said in making the announcement. “This grant will provide research funding, along with the use of two Advanced Drying Trailers and a dryer during this year’s corn harvest. The research will measure load weight, load depth, propane and or natural gas consumption, electrical energy use, ambient temperature and relative humidity, drying air temperature, and airflow rate. We believe this testing will conclusively demonstrate that the Advanced Trailer for Biomass is the key to drying and transporting corn residue that can help fuel biomass.”

ABOUT ADVANCED TRAILER: APT Advanced Trailer and Equipment LP is best known for their trailers which are used to procure (dry) various agricultural products. Currently Advanced Trailer has over 3,000 drying trailers in service in all 10 U.S.  peanut producing states. Additionally Advanced Drying Trailer’s are used to dry almonds in California and grass seed in Kansas. In April Advanced Trailer founder and CEO, Randy Hill announced that the University of Idaho had been selected as the recipient of a grant to implement the use of Advanced Drying Trailers to remove moisture from woody biomass used to fuel the universities steam boiler plant at their campus in Moscow Idaho. Texas Tech has also used an Advanced Trailer to dry manure for bio fuel-methane gas conversion. Advanced Trailer is Headquartered in Abilene Texas with a semi trailer conversion plant located in Vienna Georgia. Patent applications are currently pending in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering various aspects of the Advanced Trailer and including over 50 patent claims.

To show how serious it is about creating renewable energy, the federal government is now exploring the possibility of using federal land for solar farms:

http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=17388

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar visited Colorado recently to talk about the importance of renewable energy. As the article notes:

“Reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs in this country and protecting the environment are three of the top goals of the Obama administration, Salazar told a small crowd gathered at the company Tuesday afternoon….”

Salazar said that he is looking at using 1000 acres of public land at 24 sites to develop solar farms. Meanwhile, when Congress returns from the August recess it is expected to take up legislation to create more renewable energy.

Whether its solar or wind or biomass, the future of energy will be powered by alternative, renewable sources.

Today we conclude our five-part series on cap-and-trade. And we do so by looking at the political gamesmanship that went into writing this bill.

Want to know how insincere the authors of this bill were? Insincere enough that they wrote in key exceptions, usually timed to coince with elections:

“Consider also that electoral politics are practically written into the bill. The first year of cap and trade would be the presidential election year of 2012, when emissions would be limited to 97 percent of 2005 levels. So, not overly draconian while Barack Obama faces re-election.

“Democrats have also actually scheduled emissions increases in 2014, just in time for mid-term elections, and in 2016. Clearly, they are trying to limit cap and trade’s effect on the next few elections.”

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/07/02/wingfielded0702.html

My question is: if cap-and-trade is such a great answer to global warming, then why don’t these Washington lawmakers have the courage of their convictions and implement these regulations even during election cycles?

Of course, that question answers itself.

The sooner we get past cap-and-trade and get onto alternative energy like biomass, solar and wind, the better off we will all be.

This week we’ve focused on the cap-and-trade legislation that the Senate will soon take up in Washington. Until now, we’ve talked about the impact it will have on America. Today, I want to talk about the impact it will have on Texas:

http://www.azle-news.com/news/get-news.asp?id=9948&catid=5&cpg=get-news.asp

As Comptroller Susan Combs points out, Texas will be disproportionately impacted by this legislation.  Why?  Because we are an energy-producing state, for starters.  But more importantly, because our summers get hot.  You think your electricity bill is high this summer?  Just wait until this bill passes.

And Comptroller Combs is also right to point out that the solution to our problem is already being worked on right here in Texas:

“Texas also has enormous potential to develop solar, nuclear, biomass and other alternative sources of energy.”

Exactly.  Let’s not make people pay more for electricity; let’s find new ways to create more energy.

Mark Twain once joked that Wagner’s music was much better than it sounded.

Washington wants us to think the same thing about cap-and-trade. Even though it’s obviously going to mean higher costs for consumers, we’re supposed to believe it’s going to be better than that.

It’s not. And now, even Democrats are beginning to realize it:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cap-and-trade-faces-uphill-climb-in-senate

As the article notes, some Senate Democrats are already warning that the bill must be fixed. Here is how Senator Claire McCaskill tweeted about it:

“I hope we can fix cap and trade so it doesn’t unfairly punish businesses and families in coal dependent states like Missouri.”

But cap-and-trade can’t be fixed because it inevitably means raising prices for consumers. That’s how the whole thing works.

A better solution would be to invest in renewable energy. That’s a plan that doesn’t rob working people; in fact, it helps them and it helps the entire country.