MERGED: All About OIL PRICE HIKE

[Miguel]

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HERE'S ANOTHER GOOD NEWS, AND ALSO PROBABLY TO FILIPINO INVENTORS.

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With attractive incentives
Alternative fuel vehicle program set


By BERNIE CAHILES–MAGKILAT

The government is crafting an Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program (AFVP) granting juicy tax perks to assemblers and manufacturers of vehicles and auto components powered by alternative fuel sources.



Documents showed this new program aims to grant incentives to four vehicle categories: hybrid, electric, flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

The BOI, which administers the Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP), shall also be the implementing agency of the program except for the assembly of NGV which shall be handled by the Department of Energy in coordination with the BOI.

Hybrid vehicles are those that use electric batteries and gasoline/diesel to power internal-combustion engines and electric motors while the electric vehicles are those that are designed to run solely on electric power.

The FFVs are vehicles that are designed to run on regular unleaded gasoline and an alcohol fuel. To qualify for this category, the FF vehicle must run on gasoline and minimum ethanol content/blend of at least 20 percent or the FFV run on diesel and a minimum coco-methyl ester blend of at least 5 percent

On the other hand, the NG vehicles are vehicles that are dedicated to use CNG.

Based on the plan, importation of knocked-down parts and components for the assembly/manufacture of the four categories for alternative fuel vehicles is duty fee.

The duty-free tariff lines covers ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature 8702, 8703, 8704 and 87011encompassing all vehicle categories under the existing Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP).

To qualify for registration under the AFVP, the applicant must be an existing MVDP participant of good standing. New applicants must first register under the MVDP to be able to participate in the AFVP.

Registration and assembly of AFVP shall be covered by existing rules and regulations of the MVDP, which will treat the alternative fuel vehicles as new basic models.

After two years from its commercial operation, program participants are required to develop a vehicle parts development program in coordination with concerned morot vehicle parts manufacturers association.

The assembly or manufacture of NGVs shall be covered by existing rules and regulations under Executive Order 290, implementing the NGVP for public transport.

The creation of the ALVP is based on earlier EOs that seek to promote motor vehicle development in the country.

EO 156 was issued in 2002 establishing a Comprehensive Industrial Policy Directions for the MVDP, which provides for the development of the Philippines as the manufacturing hub for certain motor vehicles, parts and components.

In addition, EO 472 was issued in 1998 institutionalized the Committee on Fuel Conservation and Efficiency in Road Transport and targets 5 percent reduction in fuel consumption by road transport users.

The government also sees the need for the transport sector, being one of the highest fuel-consuming sector to address the ever increasing cost of fuel in the world market.

In addition, the government is implementing the Philippine Clear Air Act.

The promotion of AFVP is expected to create additional investment, employment opportunities, tax revenue and provide positive export earnings to the Philippine economy.

[enkoco]

Vegetable energy' Produced by a Cebuano Inventor
PNA-Cebu
A CEBUANO expert in agriculture is among those tapped by the Macapagal government to promote its food security and energy programs.
Newly appointed secretary of National Food Security Council (NFSC) Jose "Peping" Cojuangco said the expert would be working in a factory that would extract 2T lubricating oil used in motorcycles from coconut.
The factory, which will be built soon, would produce diesel and gasoline without the pollutants coming from sulfur and hydrogenated carbon, which causes pollution, he said.
Cebuano Vick Medel is credited for the innovation, which he calls "vegetable energy."
Medel is a member of the committees on coconut oil, job creation and aquaculture under the NFSC.
He runs a variety of businesses that bank on his inventions, ranging from chemicals to household products and engine oil.
"The President has ordered that we build the factory as soon as possible, her deadline for us is 60 days," Cojuangco said after attending a wedding ceremony here Saturday.
The factory will rise in Tiaong, Quezon Province.
The government hopes to come up with a program that will make the country less dependent on foreign oil supply, Cojuangco said.
Cojuangco said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has approved the release of 250 million pesos for the NFSC.
The first projects of the NFSC would be to fund Medel's invention costing 31million pesos and the establishment of a system in distributing corn all over the country, according to Cojuangco.
"After that, we will build factories all over the country. As many as possible," added Cojuangco, a former Tarlac House representative.
Medel's invention obtains more than 20 by-products from raw coconut, including oil, which can be easily catalyzed into diesel, gasoline and lubricating oil.
He convinced the President with a three-page proposal that Cojuangco asked him to present. Medel and Cojuangco were introduced to each other by former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia.
"We are hoping to save a lot of money for the people especially since tricycles are the most common means of transportation in the provinces," Cojuangco added.
Medel's invention, which he simply calls "vegetable energy," will generate close to 15 products out of raw coconut, including oil which can be used as fuel for energy.
"In fact, the by-products can already offset the cost in producing the oil. We can actually give the oil for free," Medel said.
Based on government computations, they will sell the lubricating oil at 20 pesos per liter, compared to 100 pesos for its commercially sold counterpart.
From raw coconuts, coir (out of the skin) can be obtained, as well as charcoal and activated carbon (from the shell), vinegar or wine (from the water) and ultimately oil (from the meat).
By his own computations which he himself presented to the President, Medel said the ratio of oil to its raw material is at 25 percent. Thus, for every 1,000 coconuts for around 157 kilograms of oil can be obtained.
Cojuangco explained that the program will primarily focus in the 2T lubricating oil since it is the most pressing need. With the passage of the Clean Air Act, the government is set to crack down on 2-stroke motorcycles used in tricycles.
"There are around 4 million tricycles all over the country, we can just imagine how difficult it is for the drivers if they are forced to change their engines," Cojuangco further explained.
Ultimately however, Medel said he would venture into producing diesel and gasoline hoping to ultimately free the country of its dependence on foreign oil.

"If the President is looking for a legacy, we hope this would be it," he added.

[omad]

With Big Boost From Sugar Cane, Brazil Is Satisfying Its Fuel Needs

[img width=500 height=233]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c251/omad_okoy/brazil.jpg[/img]
Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times
A man headed to work at a sugar plantation in Orlandia in São Paulo State, which accounts for 60 percent of the sugar production in Brazil.

By LARRY ROHTER
Published: April 10, 2006

PIRACICABA, Brazil — At the dawn of the automobile age, Henry Ford predicted that "ethyl alcohol is the fuel of the future." With petroleum about $65 a barrel, President Bush has now embraced that view, too. But Brazil is already there.

This country expects to become energy self-sufficient this year, meeting its growing demand for fuel by increasing production from petroleum and ethanol. Already the use of ethanol, derived in Brazil from sugar cane, is so widespread that some gas stations have two sets of pumps, marked A for alcohol and G for gas.

In his State of the Union address in January, Mr. Bush backed financing for "cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but wood chips and stalks or switch grass" with the goal of making ethanol competitive in six years.

But Brazil's path has taken 30 years of effort, required several billion dollars in incentives and involved many missteps. While not always easy, it provides clues to the real challenges facing the United States' ambitions.

Brazilian officials and scientists say that, in their country at least, the main barriers to the broader use of ethanol today come from outside. Brazil's ethanol yields nearly eight times as much energy as corn-based options, according to scientific data. Yet heavy import duties on the Brazilian product have limited its entry into the United States and Europe.

Brazilian officials and scientists say sugar cane yields are likely to increase because of recent research.

"Renewable fuel has been a fantastic solution for us," Brazil's minister of agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues, said in a recent interview in São Paulo, the capital of São Paulo State, which accounts for 60 percent of sugar production in Brazil. "And it offers a way out of the fossil fuel trap for others as well."

full story

P.S: pls register with NYT (free) for you to be able to read the whole article.

[omad]

quote from the same article:

Brazil says those and other outsiders are welcome. Aware that the United States and other industrialized countries are reluctant to trade their longstanding dependence on oil for a new dependence on renewable fuels, government and industry officials say they are willing to share technology with those interested in following Brazil's example.

sugarcane? yes, RP has a lot of it.
technology? yes, Brazil is willing to share technology with those interested.
the will and focus to do it? that's where the problem lies.

[omad]

also from the same article:

In the past, the residue left when cane stalks are compressed to squeeze out juice was discarded. Today, Brazilian sugar mills use that residue to generate the electricity to process cane into ethanol, and use other byproducts to fertilize the fields where cane is planted.

Some mills are now producing so much electricity that they sell their excess to the national grid. In addition, Brazilian scientists, with money from São Paulo State, have mapped the sugar cane genome. That opens the prospect of planting genetically modified sugar, if the government allows, that could be made into ethanol even more efficiently.


not only that they used ethanol from sugarcane to fuel their vehicles (flex fuel engines), the Brazilians used the residue to generate electricity. it's kinda like "hitting two birds with one stone".

[omar50071]

Very nice...Philippines is very rich in natural resource, one of those are sugar canes. The only problem is that stinking politics whose like cancer cells creeping into the system, killing me softly.

[potterboy]

theres no other way for phils to progress. we cant rely entirely on other country's fuel. and besides, we have lots of sugar cane plantation round here.

how bout the manila kid who discovered fuel in janitor fishes' oil?

[grabehbebe]

NEWS: DaimlerChrysler backs use of alternative fuels

DaimlerChrysler AG, a joint venture partner of automaker Mercedes Benz, has expressed support for the use of alternative fuels such as coco-biodiesel and ethanol in the transport sector.

Peter Froeschle, senior manager for strategic energy projects and fuel cell market development of DaimlerChrysler, said they have conducted a number of tests on these biofuels and "our engine could accommodate these fuels."

So far, he said "we found no problem with the use of five-percent blend of coco-biodiesel and ethanol in our cars."

Froeschle said in five to 10 years, they expect the blend to increase to 10 percent.

According to the DaimlerChrysler official, giving support to these kinds of clean fuel is part of the company’s overall effort to discover technology that would eventually result to "zero-emission".

"We have invested a lot in testing biofuels to reduce the CO2 emissions," he said.

He said one of the major challenges of using these biofuels is the availability of infrastructure.

"We have developed a careful balance and can retrofit flex fuel engines. If the market is ready, we can deliver them. Appropriate infrastructure should be in place. All we have to do is follow certain specifications to fit the requirements of the clients based on the fuel that they want to use. So it will be up to the fuel providers to meet the other specs," he said.

As an advocate of clean environment, he said "As a car manufacturer, we continue to encourage our clients to use these clean fuels."

He said there is a need for the government and the biofuel providers to join hands in coming up with appropriate incentives and programs to promote the use of these alternative fuels.

"In Singapore, they give tax breaks for those that use alternative fuels in their automobiles," he said.

Recently, DaimlerChrysler officials presented the company’s road map to sustainable mobility by offering the broadest spectrum of technologies for a reduction of fuel consumption and emissions in passenger cars and commercial vehicles. These measures are focused on the initiative "Energy for the Future".

In the short and medium term, the Stuttgart auto manufacturer is continuing to set store by the great potential still offered by petrol and diesel engines. It is also working together with the petroleum industry on the development of environment-friendly "designer" fuels, derived for example from natural gas or biomass. At the same time, DaimlerChrysler is pressing ahead with the development of hybrid drive systems as an interim solution along the road to zero-emission mobility with fuel cell vehicles.

In view of framework conditions prevalent in some markets, hybrid vehicles powered by an electric motor in tandem with a combustion engine could gain significance within the foreseeable future.

In hybrid technology, DaimlerChrysler also sees an important interim solution along the road to the fuel cell – the long-term objective of the company’s drive strategy.

Once driving dynamics, ride comfort and driving pleasure can be realized at competitive prices, DaimlerChrysler will offer its customers hybrid vehicles. As a prerequisite, however, the fuel consumption level must undercut that of a comparable CDI diesel engine.

DaimlerChrysler is the pioneer in fuel cell development. Ever since the early 90s, researchers and engineers have been working towards practical implementation of this technology.

Some 20 research vehicles and prototypes have already come into being along the road to series maturity. With the Chrysler "Natrium" (the German and Latin word for sodium) presented in 2001, DaimlerChrysler demonstrated an innovative and unconventional method of storing hydrogen: on board this minivan, the hydrogen is generated directly from sodium borohydride, a white salt.

NECAR 5, a fuel cell running on methanol on the basis of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, set a long-distance record in 2002 by crossing the USA from San Francisco to Washington – thereby impressively demonstrating the reliability of fuel cell technology.

At the 2004 Geneva International Motor Show, DaimlerChrysler presented the Jeep Treo concept study, which demonstrates how the fuel cell can power a vehicle with two electric motors and four-wheel drive.

In 2003, fuel-cell operation at DaimlerChrysler outgrew the research stage with vehicles based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and powered by this technology are already being produced under near-series conditions. Since 2003, 60 of these cars have now been subjected to tests in everyday operation with selected customers in the USA, Europe, Japan and Singapore.

In 10 European cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Porto, ReykjavÃ*k, Stockholm and Stuttgart), 30 fuel cell buses are already in operation in regular route service. Later this year, they will be joined by a further three buses in Perth (Australia). The company Hermes-Versand in Hamburg has already been delivering packages in a fuel cell Sprinter vehicle since 2001. From March 2004, the Dodge Sprinter will be powered by the fuel cell in practical operation for the UPS delivery service in the USA.

To date, DaimlerChrysler will thus have over 100 fuel cell vehicles on the road and be gaining experience in day-to-day operations.



-By Donnabelle L. Gatdula
The Philippine Star 04/12/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200604120705.htm

[cool]

NO,
WE DONT HAVE A BIG LAND LIKE BRAZIL.
BRAZIL IS A LITTLE SMALLER THAN THAN THE USA without alaska and hawaii.

BUT WE CAN BUY AND SHOULD USE IT.

[omad]

from www.fueleconomy.gov website:

Flex-Fuel Vehicles

A flexible fueled vehicle (FFV) has a single fuel tank, fuel system, and engine. The vehicle is designed to run on unleaded gasoline and an alcohol fuel (usually ethanol) in any mixture. The engine and fuel system in a flex-fuel vehicle must be adapted slightly to run on alcohol fuels because they are corrosive. There must also be a special sensor in the fuel line to analyze the fuel mixture and control the fuel injection and timing to adjust for different fuel compositions. The flex-fuel vehicle offers its owner an environmentally beneficial option whenever the alternative fuel is available.

Flex-fuel technology was created by Ford Motor Company in the mid-1980s. Flexible fueled vehicles (also called variable fuel vehicles) have been produced by Ford (Ranger, Crown Victoria and Taurus), GM (Chevy S-10 and GMC Sonoma), and Daimler-Chrysler (Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan).

to visit the website click here