CNX GAS (CXG): This is the future -- a stock ready to rise originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this month, Green Progress News reported that Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was teaming up with the city of Rialto, California, in the construction of a system to take the greasy waste water and sludge generated by restaurants and transform it into a usable energy source. The team is using the impending necessity of waste-water treatment facility expansion for Rialto to take advantage of construction expense outlays that would have been expected anyway.

Fats, oils, and grease that are routinely sent out as waste from restaurants, and that currently go directly to landfills will instead be deposited at the Chevron/Rialto facility, which shall be the recipient of the waste hauler's "tipping fees" also. Tipping fees are simply the haulers' cost for emptying their loads. Typically, all that restaurant waste, and the potential trapped within it, ferments in our landfills, creating methane gas, most of which ends up in our atmosphere unless it's burned off immediately. The Rialto/Chevron project will instead process these wastes utilizing an organic matter "digester," producing methane for conversion into hydrogen, which can then be used to generate electricity.

The financial angles on this project will present some noticeable impact both in expenditure and returns. It is estimated it shall cost a bit over $15 million to build the system and bring it to operational status. When completed, the project will become eligible for a $4.05 million rebate on the fuel-cell plant cost from California's Self-Generation Incentive Program. The balance of the costs will reportedly be recovered through energy cost savings, and there are no expected taxpayer costs. Additionally, the system will be utilizing a bit less than 1,000 kilowatts of generating capacity to provide baseload power, which should assist in keeping consumer electricity costs stable. Grace Vargas, Rialto's mayor, has stated: "It's a 'win' for multiple stakeholders -- our city taxpayers, restaurants, grease haulers, and the environment."

Chevron sticks a spatula under the restaurant trade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 May 2007 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On April 26, 2007, Allied Waste Industries (NYSE: AW) announced yet another waste-to-gas project in their continuing effort to put a dent in America's dependence on petroleum fuels. The newest methane production project is being undertaken in concert with Ameresco, Inc., Columbia Water & Light, and the State of Missouri. It is expected that the methane recovery project situated at the Jefferson City Landfill in Jefferson City, Missouri, will produce more than 3 megawatts of electricity. That's enough wattage to power up to two thousand homes. Additionally, heat generated at the facility will be used to power two Missouri prisons.

The story as reported by Green Progress News indicates growing trash conversion interests for Allied Waste. To me, this signals excellent long-term prospects for growth and sustainability for the company. Donald W. Slager, president and chief operating officer for Allied Waste, stated: "With over a dozen alternative-energy projects in the various stages of approval and development, we expect that our portfolio will continue to grow in the future." Do these types of trash-conversion projects offer long-term profitability? Given their growing popularity I would like to think so, but experts in the field indicate that the conversion of trash to usable energy and the associated compounds produced through the process is a science that is still early in its learning curve. An enlightening discussion on the subject is presented by the Science to Life blog.

I tend to believe that investment in these types of ventures should for now remain restricted to simple methane-capture propositions, such as those being utilized by Allied Waste. There are some very futuristic developments on the horizon, and as with any budding technological field there is much yet to be learned and confirmed. Governments and industry are steadily pushing to find the holy grail of successful waste conversion, and there are some promising developments in the works, but it's all just science for now and there's little to find in practical use.

Perhaps the Flux Capacitor is just around the corner but I'm not holding my breath just yet.

Allied Waste continues to put trash to work originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 May 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have been feeling guilty about not posting in a while but I have been traveling and just came upon something worthy and a terminal that is convenient at the same time. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) has made big news recently having purchasing an Israeli metal working company named Iscar, his first outside the United States. My day has been spent with Jonathan Medved of Israel Seed Capital, that most notably just sold Shopping.com (another Israeli Company) to eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)...so what now?

It turns out that a company called GNRY Green Energy has started generating substantial amounts of power utilizing steam generators for industrial use primarily associated with food processing plants. GNRY has taken equipment readily available in the United States and waste product from trees in Israel, and instead of disposing of them in landfills is using them as fuel. By utilizing existing technology, looking backwards -- wood is an ancient fuel -- and extending its usefulness in a way not previously used in these types of factories, they are moving forward by salvaging waste to reduce energy consumption at the plants and conserve precious land.

Continue reading Energy: Going forward while looking back

Energy: Going forward while looking back originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Oct 2006 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.