$Billins ForDemSenators to opposed Real Healthcare Reform, Why not $288B for Algae Ranch?

CHECK MY MATH

Okay, there are some "problems to be solved" but there are no technology breakthroughs that are needed to achieve a mega-facility that can output 23Billion gallons of algae based diesel/jet fuel each year in a matter of about 5 years. Why 5 years? What's going to happen in 5 years? Nothing. Nothing new or innovative is needed, 5 years is just an estimate of how long it would take to construct a 1 million acre "ranch" to cultivate algae.

Now I grant that 5 years construction for 1 million acres of "ranch" is no small feat. These days it would probably take 5 years of "environmental impact studies" just to get a green light for such a project unless we make this a national priority that limits periods for comments and counterproposals. But if we were to put the herculean effort into this project that saw the creation of the Hoover Dam, or the Panama Canal, it could be done, and neither of those projects (regardless of the environmental impacts) were nearly as important, nay, crucial to the survival of the planet that this undertaking would be.

Indeed, a single 1 million acre ranch is almost certainly nearly impossible because to achieve these kind of high output rates, industrial "waste" carbon dioxide would have to be available and plentiful. One the other hand, if adopted, some exotic schemes of carbon capture and sequestrations might make a single entity possible. Plans to put concentrated CO² into deep salt mines or even into deep undersea storage (where ocean temperature and pressures would hold the compressed gases for long periods with very little leakage according to the advocates). Such unitary storage strategies also suggest that a unitary supply could provide much if not all the CO² for a million acre algae production ranch, though, overall, part of the "alternative energy" strategy is making energy locally so that distribution not only does not have a heavy element of distribution costs (monetary costs), but also keeps the "carbon footprint" of distribution as light as possible as well.

So how much would such a massive construction project cost? Currently my estimates are that this would amount to US$230 billion (excluding land, and permitting). Just to be conservative, let's add another US$56 billion for processing plants. US$286 billion for a production capacity of 23 billion gallons of jet fuel. That is just a little less than US$12.50 per gallon of (annual) capacity. Such a facility however, could also produce some 10 billion gallons of propane, and 200 million tons of high grade proteins and other chemicals, using the "byproducts" of the algae to fuel process.

CHECK THEIR NUMBERS

Much of the above is just my own calculations, but you will find an interesting set of pro-forma financial models for algae cultivation and product output from my friends at Original Oil, Inc. They presented these figures to a conference on September 18 of the National Algae Association at their recent meetings in Houston.

Some of it looks innovative, though much of what they have published here could have been derived from diagrams on my websites of integrated algae production with back-end processes that I have been calling "circular integration" for several years now. Contributions from industry notables such as Desmet Ballestra, on capital costs and Orineo Renewables, for guidance on pricing and value-add product strategy add both prestige and credibility to their presentation.

Novelty - not necessarily Reality

The story title on Treehugger.com is "Man Builds 100 MPG Lotus Replica that Runs on Homebrewed Biodiesel", and a lot of it is almost true. Almost all of it is in the spirit of encouraging others to follow their dreams and to stay true to the admirable objectives of cleaner transportation on a sensible and affordable path. Unfortunately, at the ground truth level, none of the headline is true. By all means you should take a few minutes to glance through the article and especially the many pictures included there.

Facts of the case are that a man started out to build a "replica" ("sorta") or a rather gnatty British sports car, except that it was to be an entry for the automobile X prize which has some rather stringent rules. The base chasis he chose looked like it would be ideal, but got smashed (apparently though no fault of the builder), tragically, read-ended during their first on-road test of the vehicle. But the car never achieved 100mpg, and neither did a second try. The second attempt missed the mark on several technical criteria for the X prize and the inventor/builder bemoans that he now spends far more time trying to figure out a realistic price for 10,000 windshields if he was to submit the thing for X Prize consideration after all.

Still there are some points to be learned here, not least of which is that the engine he chose gave zippy, sporty performance even though it ran on biodiesel (and even SVO), using a turbo-charged 100cc Kubota is rated at just 32 horsepower. Keeping the body light was key in that, although the vintage Toyota chasis was, apparently (according to the crash result) not quite up to the intent of the design.

Television Ads

I apologize to anyone who may be put off by seeing the ad I saw next to one of those videos embedded above when I went to see them on http://Youtube.com/. It was from an anti-reform group called Club for Growth, and was a nasty little scare tactic of half-truths about British health care guidelines, but being the fair minded person I am, I've included the link to their video as well.

Television

I watched the 2 hour season opening episode of Grey's Anatomy this past week. I cried so much I don't even remember half of it. That's a pretty good rating from me. The WHOLE EPISODE is available ONLINE at the link above. If you missed it and are a fan, find a couple of hours (or a few chunks of 1/2 hours) to give it a try. I don't think established fans will be disappointed, though not having knowledge from last season about George's heroic and tragic encounter with the bus will cut the tissue count considerably. I do sincerely hope you enjoyed (or will enjoy) it.

Happy Thought

I am still sleeping almost 16 hours a day recuperating from my minor operation. Thus another abbreviated column this week. More doctor appointments lined up this week. That may not be my happiest thought of the year, but I am still alive and "kicking" as numerous pains, aches and shortness of breath remind me almost momentarily, which is a whole lot better than ... well, better than not, I guess.

Love and warm wishes,

Sincerely,

Stafford "Doc" Williamson

http://daochienergy.com