It was announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) along with the International Energy Agency would be releasing 60 million barrels of oil over the next month.

The U.S. will be contributing half of the oil as the two groups attempt to offset the drain on available oil caused by all the conflict in the Middle East.

The U.S oil contribution will come out the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) which currently holds 727 million barrels of oil.

The DOE reports that the disruption in Libya alone is responsible for a loss of about 1.5 million barrels each day. With gas prices rising steadily due to the various disruptions in the Middle East it is expected that this contribution from the SPR will help drive gas prices at the pump down in the relatively near future.

If we are to believe the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, electric cars might be poised to make a huge leap in technology in the next 6 years. Secretary Chu attended the installation of the 500th Coulomb Technologies electric car charging station on Friday where he made some very optimistic, yet exciting, claims.

Chu pointed out that batteries are the key component behind improving electric cars and reducing their cost. He said that the Department of Energy is funding battery research that will see their cost cut in half within 3-4 years. He also claimed that their energy output will see an even greater improvement that will result in electric cars that cost $20,000 – $25,000 and have a range of 350 miles.

Here’s to hoping Chu’s words aren’t just smoke.

Based on the current average price of gas in the U.S. being $3.53 per gallon, the DOE is expecting that the typical American household will spend an extra $700 on gas this year compared to last year. The total average cost of gas for U.S. family this year is expected to run about $3,235 representing a 28% increase over 2010.

While that might not seem devastating to most families, it does represent a sizable chunk of money that is going primarily into the pockets of foreign countries instead of back into the U.S. economy where the bulk of it would otherwise end up.

The DOE is predicting a sharp increase in gas prices over the next couple weeks in the range of about 10 cents per gallon to drive the point home. They go on to say that there’s about a 25% chance that gas prices will continue to go up throughout the year to the point that they are above $4 by September.

If this proves true it might mean that eco-friendly vehicles like electric cars and hybrids are going to start making even more sense than ever

Algae biofuels have been one of several beacons of hope for those looking to reduce or end our dependence on oil. In fact last year the DOE gave $24 million to a partnership between Shell Oil and HR Biopetroleum for reseach in algae biofuels.

Now it seems that Shell has dropped that direction of research stating that “In keeping with Shell’s portfolio approach to the research, development and commercialization of advanced biofuels, this decision will allow Shell to focus on other options that have shown a better fit with Shell’s biofuel portfolio and strategy.”

With a major player like Shell deeming algae-based biofuels a dead-end, does that mean that the algae biofuel dream is dead? Not necessarily. These does seem like the nail in the coffin of lipid-based algae biofuels that require the process of separating the algae from the fuel. The conversion of Algae to ethanol may still prove to be a viable alternative fuel production method for the foreseeable future.

The Department of Energy is licking its lips at the prospect of finding a way to turn algae into biofuel in a financially viable way so they have just invested $25 million to spur that research on.

Algue biofuels have represented a bit of a holy grail to the biofuel industry as it can yield 100 times more biofuel per acre than land-based sources like soy or corn. While this sounds nice, the cost of harvesting and using currently makes algae farming for biofuel cost-prohibitive.

Six of the DOE’s $25 million will go to an Arizona State University team who will be looking at the best ways to use algae biofuels. A University of California, San Diego will get $9 million to work on developing algae strains that are best for biofuel. The remaining money will go to Cellana, LLC and their work on developing large-scale production processes.

We received some very impassioned comments back in May when the Obama Administrations cut hydrogen fuel cell funding for research and development. Several readers felt that a huge opportunity for a long-term eco-friendly vehicle solution had been missed.

Well, those same readers will be pleased to know that Senator Byron Dorgan (D) and the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, which he heads, has overturned the DOE’s initial slashing of the hydrogen fuel cell research budget.

The subcommittee has finished altering the DOE’s 2010 budget to now include $190 million for hydrogen research and development.

So tell us what you think? Waste of money or is hydrogen fuel research that might benefit the proliferation of hydrogen vehicles like the Honda FCX Clarity (pictured above) a good investment for the future?

While the Obama Administration is definitely behind green initiatives and reducing vehicular carbon emissions, they have officially started cutting ties with hydrogen fuel-cell technology in favor of plug-in electric vehicles.

The DOE secretary Steven Chu stated yesterday that hydrogen vehicles are still 10 to 20 years from being practical and consequently the federal government will be dropping millions of dollars of hydrogen fuel cell funding from next year’s budget.

This announcement was in stark contrast to what Chu stated several weeks ago when he announced that $41.9 million for hydrogen projects.

Obviously the latest announcement has ruffled some feathers. The National Hydrogen Association immediately fired off a statement that decries the cuts as stifling to hydrogen fuel cell technology development, which they claim is showing “exceptional promise and beginning to gain market traction.”

A sentiment reflected in the fact that this year’s New York Auto Show named the hydrogen fuel cell powered Honda FCX Clarity (pictured above) was named the World Green Car of the Year.

What do you think? Is hydrogen technology worth investing in or is the Obama Administration right to just focus on electric cars?

With all the talk about investing in electric and hybrid cars and the necessary infrastructure it’s easy to forget about hydrogen fuel cells.

There are still plenty of hardcore hydrogen proponents and with the Honda FCX Clarity (pictured above) winning the Green Car of the Year Award it’s no wonder.

It also seems the Department of Energy (DOE) has not forgotten about hydrogen powered vehicle either. In what they have described as an effort to lay “the foundation for a green energy eonomy,” the DOE is putting $41.9 million from the Stimulus Bill into hydrogen fuel cell technology. They predict this will lead to an immediate deployment of almost 1,000 new hydrogen fuel cell systems.

Bankrupt auto parts supplier Delphi will make use of a $2.4 million grant allowing for the development of a 3-5kW solid oxide fuel cell auxiliary power unit for class 8 trucks.

While this should help hydrogen fuel cells see more action while creating new jobs hydrogen vehicle proponents might still be a little ticked off that at the relative difference of the $41.9 million for hydrogen compared to the more than $2 billion that is going towards advanced battery research for electric vehicles.