1. Home
  2. Articles posted by: Rona Fried (Page 1843)

NY Governor Wants Drivers to Fill Up With Ethanol or Biodiesel

Some 200,000 New Yorkers own vehicles that can run on corn-based ethanol instead of gasoline. But many have no idea that their Ford Explorers, Chevy Impalas or Nissan Titans can use this type of fuel, which some view as a way to liberate Americans from Middle Eastern oil. In any case, the closest station carrying ethanol is in Ottawa, as the Northeast is the one region of the United States that uniformly does not offer ethanol to the public. But Gov. George E. Pataki wants to change that and make ethanol and biodiesel, two controversial alternative fuels, available in the 27 service areas on the New York State Thruway and in 100 more stations throughout the state as early as this year, in a first small step toward reducing the state’s petroleum consumption. The governor is also proposing incentives to bring refineries that produce ethanol into the state. Costs and further details of the plan, which Mr. Pataki first sketched out in his State of the State address on Wednesday, will not be disclosed until he makes his budget proposal later this month. If the plan is approved by the Legislature, it will give New Yorkers one of the nation’s […]

Read More

New U.S. Wind Power Projects Come Online

Several new wind power projects came online at the end of last year, contributing to the U.S.’s biggest year ever in terms of new installations. AWEA is working on confirming year-end numbers, which should be released by the end of January. In the meantime, companies involved in several large projects released information stating that they are up and running. Kumeyaay Wind Babcock & Brown and GE Energy Financial Services invested in Superior Renewable Energy’s 50-MW Kumeyaay Wind project that was completed near San Diego. The wind farm consists of 25 Gamesa 2-MW wind turbines. After eight months of construction and a month of testing, the turbines are feeding power into the San Diego Gas & Electric grid from the Campo Indian Reservation east of San Diego. GE Energy Financial Services invested $51 million in the project. Babcock & Brown, which will retain an equity interest and remain the long-term manager, said that it has six wind facilities in the U.S. that will go into service by year’s end. For the Campo tribe, the wind farm – the largest on American Indian land – diversifies income through the lease of the land beneath the turbines. The investors estimate that the wind […]

Read More