"Green" fuel plant (Miami, Palm Beach: real estate, construction, income)

[chisoxfan]

Interesting story from the Sun-Sentinel.

I'm not knowledgeable enough about biofuels to know whether something like this is overhyped or if it's really viable, but at least it might be a small step toward diversifying the economy beyond real estate development, construction and tourism:

Joint venture envisages South Florida biodiesel project -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Moderator cut: links only, copyright rule, per TOS

[tallrick]

It's not likely to be much of an income producer as the transportation and farming costs will be too high. However, there is a much better way, algae farming. You would need close proximity to the bio source to make the production feasible. And using an overpriced area with endless regulations like Miami-Dade county is just stupid when a Palm Beach county has plenty of depressed areas near the Lake just eager for a new industry. There is already a company in south Florida, Tallowmasters that picks up restaurant oil for processing. Honestly the best place for bio-algae fuel is in a warm climate like Florida but the land here is already filled with development.

[Wild Style]

tallrick

I thought they hadn't perfect the algae source yet, am I wrong?

Also I think mixing it with petroleum based diesel is dumb. People will still be dependent on oil and we need to get off that like it was coke in the 80s.

[tallrick]

The algae research is still in development. The feasibility has been proven in closed cultures by several studies. There are also "homebrew" experiments going on with mixed results. The theory is that oil came from algae and the best way to get more is to follow a similar process. I think there is a lot of potential in biofuels but we need to let the real estate bubble self-destruct before meaningful investment solves the problems. Personally I would rather have a bio-petroleum factory than a real estate development any day.