SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Southern Maine Community College and Maine Clean Communities teamed up to host the National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day Odyssey on Friday and Saturday.
The event is free and open to the public, and features more than 30 alternative fuel vehicles, from trucks and buses powered by compressed natural gas and propane, to electric vehicles such as Chevy Volts and Teslas, to biofuel vehicles.
Experts are on hand to talk about the vehicles and the technologies, and provide an opportunity for those interested in alternative fuel vehicles to learn more about their benefits and options.
The Odyssey is a biennial event dedicated to promoting cleaner choices in transportation, organized by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium at West Virginia University. The South Portland event will be one of dozens around the country.
The event continues from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, at SMCC’s Automotive Technology Center, 123 McKernan Drive on the South Portland Campus.
Anyone that can produce a bio-diesel up here in The County, and finally get over the ‘diesel freeze’ problem, is gonna make more money than even LePage could imagine. With gas running at $3.95 / gal and diesel at $ 4.19, a viable, locally made bio-fuel up here in Maine could do alot for the State, Maine business’s and the voter’s. And since Maine has such a strong history of agriculture, and the bio-type fuel’s use primarily ‘ag’ waste, like potato skin’s, berry leftover’s and cabbage stalk’s, as a raw material, this would seem to be a ‘no-brainer’ issue. This is also what, if Paulie can ever got off his keester and actually took the time to see the potential that this can provide Maine for the foreseeable future, the voter’s and the Legislature intended for those R&D Bond’s to be used for. This technology demonstration needs to be repeated, in January in Augusta, where the technology and it’s application’s, and it’s cost’s in fairness, can be actually seen by the Legislature so they can make a responsible decision regarding Paulie’s constant threat to veto any Bond sale’s vs the potential good that the Bond’s can do for Maine.
Bio-fuel is a huge business in the Southern State’s, primarily since it can more than compete with the big diesel company’s on both a production cost and sales margin’s. There are even Intenet article’s on how to make your own so it’s obviously not that hard. BUT up here inthe North we have the ‘diesel freeze’ problem. Get this solved, and successfully apply it to bio-diesel, and we can all say goodbye to ridiculous fuel prices. We can also make Maine a lot less energy dependent. And that’s good for all of us !
You REALLY do not have a clue do you?
Then Sir, if you have a better idea, put it out there. Whining and crying, and not contributing, is what we have now in Augusta. And we have all seen where that’s heading. As has been said before “If you’re not contributing to the solution then you’re adding to the problem”. The SMCC Demonstration is great start but it needs to go further. No one ever thought Maine could ever contribute to anything more than agriculture, fishing and wood. Now Maine’s one of the, if not THE, leader in composite manufacturing technology. Like them or not, the windmill blade’s are proof of that. Detrout s even now looking at composite bodies for their car’s. Chevy’s CORVETTE is suppossed to be out with one either this year or next. Once the high end auto’s get them the trickle down effect is inevitable. Boeing’s new airliner is another commercially proven Proof of Concept that composite manufacturing can be done on thing’s beside wind turbine blade’s. And the military has proven the layering concept thru the M-1’s composite armor and the Air Force’s use of it in their aircraft. It’s trial and error, thru R&D, that has gotten these technology’s commercially making money. The SMCC Demonstration is Maine’s next step in being a part of, and making it, Maine’s business community. It’s time that Maine stepped up, and quit looking back and crying.
Your ignorance about biodiesel alone tells me that you have not a clue about alternative fuels.
Better to stick with what yoiu are familiar with, or say nothing at all.
The alternative energy field will benefit.
Oh, and by the way, The Air Force is testing bio-fuel’s in it’s bomber’s right now. Amazing how bio-kerosene burns just like the real thing. Go argure alternative with them if you have gripe.