article thumbnail

Report suggests low-speed electric vehicles could affect Chinese demand for gasoline and disrupt oil prices worldwide

Green Car Congress

Low-speed electric vehicles (LSEVs) could reduce China’s demand for gasoline and, in turn, impact global oil prices, according to a new issue brief by an expert in the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “

article thumbnail

Opinion: Consumers winning with low oil prices, for now

Green Car Congress

Columbia and Associate Director of the Maguire Energy Institute at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas says it has: “No question we’re seeing the effects of lower oil prices throughout the economy.”. Bernard Weinstein, Ph.D., However, the decline continues to hammer drillers and producers hardest.

article thumbnail

CSIRO and partners to test Direct Injection Carbon Engine to reduce brown coal emissions by up to 50%

Green Car Congress

DICE involves converting coal or biomass into a water-based slurry (called micronised refined carbon, MRC) that is directly injected into a large, specially adapted diesel engine. The fuel burns to produce intense temperature and pressure in the engine, which provides highly efficient power to turn electrical generators.

Coal 257
article thumbnail

Report finds Coal-to-Liquids and Oil Shale pose significant financial and environmental risks to investors

Green Car Congress

Ceres recently released a new report concluding that coal-to-liquid (CTL) and oil shale technologies face significant environmental and financial obstacles—from water constraints, to technological uncertainties to regulatory and market risks—that pose substantial financial risks for investors involved in such projects.

Coal 210
article thumbnail

Perspective: US Needs to Transition to Hydrous Ethanol as the Primary Renewable Transportation Fuel

Green Car Congress

The oil price shocks of the 1970s led the Brazilian government to address the strain high prices were placing on its fragile economy. Brazil, the largest and most populous country in South America, was importing 80% of its oil and 40% of its foreign exchange was used to pay for that imported oil. by Brian J.

article thumbnail

Updated NETL study provides more detailed economic and environmental assessment of coal-to-liquids and CTL with modest biomass

Green Car Congress

Performance in the study is measured by such metrics as: (1) required selling price of the fuel; (2) crude oil price when the process will become economically viable; (3) the Well-to-Wheels (WTW) life cycle GHG emissions profile of the diesel fuel; and (4) the water usage associated with the facility.

Coal 225
article thumbnail

EIA: China’s use of methanol in liquid fuels has grown rapidly since 2000; >500K bpd in 2016

Green Car Congress

After completing a re-assessment of energy use for a broad range of countries for the period 2013-14, EIA updated its historical data, with the largest changes occurring in China and other non-OECD countries. Methanol, like ethanol, is an alcohol with inherent issues such as its solubility in water and corrosiveness. Methanol in China.

2000 150