With gas prices continually in flux, interest in domestically produced bio-fuels like ethanol (E85) is on the rise. These flex fuels have been gaining popularity not only for their lower cost, but also their lessened impact on the environment. Flex Fuel vehicles that can run on gas, E85 or a combination of both, are already available from Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, and GMC.

Helping to lessen the impact on the environment even more, Coskata Inc., a leading developer of alternative bio-fuels, has just announced the successful start-up of "Project Lighthouse" its semi-commercial flex-ethanol facility. We first heard of Coskata when General Motors announced their partnership with the energy company at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.  It's an especially suitable partnership, since General Motors has built 5 million of these Flex Fuel vehicles to date, and has committed to making 50 percent of its fleet Flex Fuel compatible by 2012.

Unlike other technologies and facilities that often rely on one primary source of feedstock, the company's flexible ethanol facility will be producing ethanol from numerous sources, including wood biomass, agricultural waste, construction waste, and even household garbage.  They expect to produce about 100 gallons of ethanol per dry ton of biomass material. That's energy out of trash, people!

In addition, Coskata says their patented microorganisms and bioreactor designs will produce ethanol for the same as, and in some cases less than, the cost of producing a gallon of gasoline. In the future, these refineries could be built where people need them, and use locally gathered materials to produce fuel for that area, reducing transportation costs as well. This new technology also reduces CO2 emissions by as much as 96 percent compared to gasoline.