GEORGIA MAN IS ONTO SOMETHING FOR FUELING OUR CARS

Now if all other states would do the same this may help take car of our need for oil to get by in the future. I hope this works out. It will sure help.

Ga.-Grown Moonshine for Fuel?

Jimmy Griner and his 180-proof moonshine.








Jimmy Griner, a part-time farmer and retired college physics professor, holds up a jar of his 180-proof moonshine at the Georgia Bioenergy Conference in Tifton, Ga., Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006. The car to the left was powered by a blend of gasoline and his moonshine, made from fermented Georgia-grown wheat. Griner is licensed to make 10,000 gallons of the moonshine a year strictly for use as an alternative fuel.


Local News Headlines
Ga.-Grown Moonshine for Fuel?

Provided By: The Associated Press

By ELLIOTT MINOR
Associated Press Writer

TIFTON, Ga. (AP) -- Part-time farmer Jimmy Griner hopes his ever-so-fragrant, crystal-clear, 180-proof moonshine can help solve the nation's energy problems.

Griner arrived at the Georgia Bioenergy Conference this week carrying of quart of the stuff in a Mason jar. He's licensed to make 10,000 gallons a year of the high-octane elixir that's distilled from fermented Georgia-grown wheat.

Sponsored by the University of Georgia, the three-day conference attracted about 500 farmers, scientists, engineers and politicians. Speakers from across the nation and at least one foreign country, Brazil, discussed the future of global energy supplies, the economics of biofuels, energy legislation and Georgia products that could be converted into fuels.

Gov. Sonny Perdue said promoting alternative fuels is "a significant step" toward important goals.

"First, we are ensuring long-term fuel stability, and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil," he said. "If we can grow our own fuel, why would we purchase it from dictators, or from countries who have pledged support for terrorist regimes?

"These initiatives add value to our farmers' crops," he added. "They will generate renewed interest and increased demand in agriculture."

Perdue said Georgia already has a few bioenergy companies that produced more than 3 million gallons of ethanol and biodiesel last year, most of it shipped out of state.

Plans are under way to build a $132 million plant in Camilla, about 175 miles south of Atlanta, that would produce 100 million gallons of ethanol a year from corn. Another company is considering a $150 million to $200 million plant in south Georgia that would make 50 million gallons of ethanol annually from the cellulose in wood.

Perdue said the state has supported alternative fuels by providing nearly $1 million to fund a biorefinery at the University of Georgia in Athens and research at Georgia Tech to convert pine cellulose to ethanol.

In addition, the state is working on a comprehensive energy strategy that should be completed by December, and Georgians will eventually have a "roadmap" of affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible energy sources, he said.

With almost 25 million of Georgia's 37 million acres covered with forests, there's a big push to produce ethanol from pine trees. But experts say the technology for doing it on a commercial scale is still years away.

The state already generates 18 million dry tons of waste wood each year, including limbs and tree tops, Georgia Forestry Commission director Ken Stewart said. The amount of ethanol available from the waste wood alone — 80 gallons per ton — would be enough to replace 18 percent of the gasoline and diesel fuels consumed in the state each year, he said.

After his speech, the governor toured an outdoor display of tractors and trucks powered by ethanol made from Georgia-grown peaches, wheat and pine trees and others powered by biodiesel made from chicken fat, peanuts, cotton seeds and soybeans.

Standing beside a large sedan powered by a blend of gasoline and his white lightning, Griner greeted the governor, unscrewed the lid and gave the governor a whiff.

"It's the real deal," Perdue said with a smile.

"I have a license to make it," said Griner, 70, a retired college physics professor who has a small farm in south Georgia's Berrien County.

"I'm going to tell the revenue department to leave you alone," Perdue said.

READ MORE..


We Can End Oil Addiction
By Richard Lugar and Vinod KhoslaWashington Times August 4, 2006
There is a growing consensus America must end its addiction to oil. Yet there is despair we can actually do so, short of draconian cuts in energy use that would leave Americans sweltering -- or shivering -- in the dark and trudging to work for miles on foot. Such defeatism is unworthy and unwarranted. America can end its addiction. Thanks to technology and the new economics of energy, the time is ripe to launch an energy revolution and shift toward ethanol as a major transportation fuel.
Unlike exotic alternatives such as hydrogen, with ethanol we don't need new engines, or new fuel distribution and storage. And we don't need a lot of time or taxpayer money. With the right incentives, a revolutionary transformation could kick off tomorrow. In 25 years, ethanol produced from corn, biomass and other renewable material could be the dominant fuel for cars, SUVs and light trucks.
This is not a utopian scenario. It is rooted in sound technology, science and economics. It is a common view we come to from different perspectives: on the one hand, that of a senator long concerned with national security who believes energy dependence is one of the most serious crises we face; on the other, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who has invested millions in revolutionary technologies, now including ethanol.
The need to end our oil dependence grows clearer by the day. Oil is a magnet for conflict, a weapon for petrostates and a stimulant for terrorism. The hundreds of billions we spend on imported oil weakens our economy, strengthens unfriendly regimes and hobbles our diplomacy around the world. Petroleum is a source of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
At the same time, the business case for ethanol has never been stronger. With crude oil at $70 a barrel, corn-based ethanol today is cheaper to produce than gasoline before all subsidies and taxes. Ethanol from switchgrass and other biomass using soon-to-be-available cellulosic technology will cost still less, with dramatic greenhouse gas reductions.
New cars can easily be fitted to burn a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, called E85, as well as regular fuel. These flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), already on the road in limited numbers, use low-cost, well-proven technology.
Moreover, studies have debunked the old anti-ethanol myths. We'll have enough land for energy crops given the projected strides in ethanol yield per acre, and both corn and cellulosic ethanol, using the latest farm techniques and modern processing facilities, have a high net energy gain. Even if crude dropped to $40 a barrel, ethanol would still be cheaper to make than gasoline.
With economics, consumer interests and national security aligned, how do we launch this ethanol revolution? The key will be large investments from Wall Street. Market forces begin to elicit private funding, but far too slowly.
It is time for government to focus the market's power through incentives and mandates to give investors minimal assurances needed to plunge into ethanol with truly transformative investments. Three steps -- each requiring some political courage but not much money -- will help jump-start the flow of private capital to this new energy future:
• Require that most new vehicles sold in America be FFVs by 2016 or sooner, a modification that should play to the strength of U.S. automakers.
• Require all major gasoline companies to have E85 pumps at half of their stations by at least 2016. The tax incentives and mandates for these two steps are in the Harkin-Lugar Biofuels Security Act, introduced into the Senate in May.
• Ensure market certainty for investors so the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) or others can't temporarily push down the price of oil and drive ethanol makers out of business. This could involve a variable ethanol tax credit, or a crude oil price floor, to expire once the industry gains strength.
By assuring investors a permanent market will exist for ethanol and won't be undercut by the oil nations, these simple, pragmatic moves could turbo-charge the industry transformation. The Energy Department targets 60 billion gallons of ethanol a year by 2030, using conservative assumptions. We say American ingenuity and entrepreneurship could raise that to 150 billion gallons, or roughly 10 million barrels a day, versus current crude oil imports of 12 million barrels day.
This modest government push would provide more jobs for Americans instead of more money for hostile regimes, support farmers instead of terrorism, and promote green fuels over fossil fuels. Let's start the revolution.