infidel

That's my governor and unfortunately it's political because he's a demo and the republicans control the state house. Only reason I can figure they block his proposals is pure jealousy.

nfsommer

Lol /\ .......................................

t-boe

I finally get the truck of my dreams and I'm not going to afford the fuel. I'm still never getting rid of it though. I'll drive my Harley year round and get 50mpg regardless of temperature.

rattlerbob5.9

Infidel -whats the scoop on this operation do you guys have that much coal up top easy to get to? If this process of converting coal works like the story reads it sure sounds like a viable deal to me. These knotheads around here are all wound up about about making e85 and how it is going to save us-i think not! (costs 20-30 percent more got to burn up dino fuels to make it and then it only gives 20-30 percent less mileage than regular gas) Bio diesel and diesel cars make a heck of a lot more sense to me!
They have already driven the price of corn up well over $4 from just $1.76 in the last year.Guys are plowing under this years wheat to plant more corn and now there goes the crop rotations.

Tell us your perspective and words of wisdom from over yonder there please Bill.

ross236

Diesel is already $4.00 a gallon here in Vancouver.
We pay .99 cents a litre and 4 litres to a gallon

kawi600

Yeah I was just telling folks here I bet diesel will top 3.75/gal this summer.
Im already working every weekend on the veggie and biodiesel projects in preparation for the summer. Tell these crooks where they can stuff these prices. Id rant some more but then the thread would get closed for politics

rattlerbob5.9

I guess fuel is too cheap here only jacked 3 times in 5 days!
Now today state says it is going to raise the diesel tax .13 per gal and gas .03 per year for the next 3 years Thats the GOOD news now for the real fun we are going to raise the vehicle anual registation fees 50 PERCENT WHAT THE @#$%
The economy in this state is already in the crapper and we have some of the highest unemployment in the country What is the deal how do they expect people to be able to absorb this they were talking of the same 50 percent increase for hunting and fishing licenses that will for sure help to boost the sagging sales and tourism right??????

I guess we are trying real hard to be #1 if this goes thru we will then have the second highest combined gas tax and registration fees in the nation!!!!!!

Can someone please explain to me how this is going to help turn this state around??

kawi600

healthcare costs are most of whats driving the taxes up. Eventually were going to run out of credit to put all these extra costs on (since salaries arent really climbing but everything else is).
Theres a lot of folks in govt. that dont want alternatives to happen quickly since their major donors benefit from high prices, not to mention their own investments. The economy suffers when money pools in a few places instead of moving everywhere.
Best bet is to jump on the veg/biodiesel bandwagon and tell them where to stick it.

infidel

There is enough coal in Montana to supposedly supply the US for 100 years of transportation fuel.
It will have to be stripped mined, could be called a problem by some.
Another problem is the start up costs for a coal liquidification plant are in the billions. Not many producers want to stick their neck out that far if the price for crude should suddenly drop. They want assurance($$$) from the government that they won't lose their shirts on the deal, this is what the political wrangling is all about.

rattlerbob5.9

Bill are they currently mining very much out and shipping it out for heat/power generation? I know the startup costs for these ethenol plants are not cheap either but they are throwing them up all over. Have you got any out your way?

I must be getting old and stupid sure looks to me like setting up a liquidifacation plant right there at the coal source would be a lot better than poping up the ethenol plants all over and then burning up all the #2 to produce and truck corn all over and then again moving the by products and fuel out again.

infidel

No, the resource isn't being utilized at all currently. The coal seams are in a very isolated part of the state that doesn't need power because no one lives there. Also no rail tracks to haul the coal away to a power plant. The coal just sits waiting for someone to invest in it. The entire deposit covers just 14 square miles in the middle of nowhere.
It very well could be that Wyoming gets the jump on the liquidification project sooner. They have huge coal deposits also and their politics aren't as divisive.

sleepr tsi

WVO FTW.

I wouldn't be the least bit suprised if we see close to 3.75 a gallon this summer.

woodrat

diesel just went up another 12 cents since three days ago here. We're now at $3.05 at the local pump.

farmer dave

rattlerbob5.9,

I know what you mean about the ethanol not solving the problem. And I don't see the price of corn staying around $4, someone told me that is has dropped to around $3 now.

And I don't see how increase the road tax is going to fix anything. It is only goingto make things worse because shipping will go up which will cause everything else to go up. And who will be able to pay for $4 diesel? I know that I will be riding a motorcycle this summer. And the increase of plates by 50% is just going to compound the situation of things.

And the license prices going up isn't going to help any. We will just see more poaching and there isn't enough DNR staff to control it.

I know that we need more money in alot of areas in the state but why didn't they wait until hard times to increase things?

Like you said, Last one out turn off the lights!

ROOSTER108BM

Southern Co runs a gasification plant here in Alabama for the Dept of Energy.
We built this plant in early 90s. This is a very viable alternative to petrodiesel.

Ethanol is also a good cheap fuel when made from sugar cane,which is the cheapest way to make alcohol considering that you have to turn corn/wood(or whatever product you use) into sugar first which wastes more energy.

But you know the corn lobby wont let that happen

Lobbists should be outlawed or whats needed will never happen.