A careful study of these documents lets us know the state of energy and where we need to make up ground–as if we didn’t already know. There are some issues here that we really need to scrutinize because we should be demanding more. We’d love to hear what you are thinking.
Economically, personal energy independence just makes sense. Whether it be wind, solar, gasification, other renewable sources, or a mix of few of these, there are some serious adavantages. And while it will be tough for an individual to become fully independent, our furture may count on getting as close to that mark as we can.
Let’s imagine that you didn’t have a monthly power bill, what would you do with the extra money? As energy prices keep rising they steal more and more of our discretionary income, which is income that doesn’t see its way back into the market to help bolster the economy. And what about the other energy cost we have…how free would you feel emotionally and econmically if you didn’t have to stop at a gas station for your everyday fuel needs? Converting to a renewable home power system cuts out the middleman, and you produce the energy you need when you need it. In addition, converting to an electric car lets you use that energy for all of your basic fuel needs. Those changes make a big dent in the outflow of your hard earned money and give you more to spend on the other important and sometimes non-important expendatures.
Keeping more money in the checking account should get just about everyone excited, but there’s also another consideration: the energy crisis. There are energy resources in this country that are getting old and need to be decommissioned. These power plants are going to have to be replaced, and it gets hard to keep up with power requirements when U.S. power demand is growing, plants are closing, and our economy is dragging its feet. Disastrous things happen when we start to have energy shortages. We need leadership and personal initiative. We could take responsibility in this crisis and calm the stress on the power infrastructure by making power locally in the home. If we don’t look at this problem as it is and leave it to the same people that have been dealing with it for decades, we are in for a rough ride.
One of the great side effects of working toward personal energy independence is that we cut down on our use of carbon based fuels. Athough the debate rages on about the environment, there is no doubt that fossil fuels will someday run out. We need to prepare for that right now with renewables. If indeed we are doing damage to our surroundings, then renewables offer a responsible way to power us into the future.
All of these great things and it seems like we’re crawling to implementation. Unfortunately, many of the renewable technologies aren’t ready for primetime, and their infant state makes them expensive (we still think the econmics work in their favor). On the bright side Americans have shown the will in past times to push through difficulties and do what is right for the good of the many. Call us hopeful, but we believe it can be done. It is just going to take an attitude that doens’t accept business as usual. So, whether it’s wind, solar, or a hybrid, let’s do the hard stuff now so that we can survive the future.
Here’s a term you should know: Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). These power systems create electricity by using the heat deep below the Earth’s surface. The government and Google.org (a great outfit) showed their support for this young technology by throwing a combined $100 million at it, and while that initial investment is only the beginning of what is needed, it shows that the technology is getting some much needed attention.
Perhaps a better explanation:
EGS is a baseload resource, meaning that unlike wind or solar power, it will operate all day/all year whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. Another advantage is that this type of power is essentially engineered into a closed system where the water used to run the turbines is recycled. Sounds game changing, huh.
Well as great as Enhanced Geothermal is, it is still a long way from large-scale, commercial deployment. It is reassuring to know, however, that we have money and brainpower flowing into these projects. And the combination of these renewable resources is the only way we can count on a bright future. A future where EGS counts on one of our oldest constants, Mother Earth.
What if every home could become a mini-powerplant? Instead of sucking power from some central repository, houses across the nation would create enough energy to support those inside and maybe a little extra for the grid. This is the ultimate idea of distributed generation–producing power at many small sites rather than a few big ones. Perhaps the most exciting recent development in making this sort of dream a reality is new science out of MIT. It is what many would call a hybrid system, and it is impressive because it combines solar and hydrogen technologies to produce energy even when the sun is not shining.
The system relies on solar panels to provide energy during the day when the sun is available, and it borrows a small amount of power from the panels to split water into its basic parts: hydrogen and oxygen. Then, at night when the sun has gone down and the panels are no longer producing power, it combines the stored hydrogen and oxygen over a fuel cell to create electricity. Power during the day or night. What is so great about this system? It is energy that is almost free. If a homeowner were to have an all electric car, she could recharge the batteries with energy produced right at home. No more trips to the gas station. In addtion the scientists working on the system say that they are designing it to be closed, meaning that you would put water into it once and it would hum away creating electricity for the duration of its lifetime. This is exciting stuff.
There are still hurdles to overcome, but technologies like this are just the kind of thing the world needs right now. Information about the scientists (Daniel Nocera and Matthew Kanan) and the technology can be found all over the internet as this has been a hot topic over the last few weeks. This Wikipedia page is a good start.
Week after week it seems like more projects to produce electricity via wind are popping up. It’s a new fad, and tons of companies want to get in on the fun. Take the already mentioned Pickens’ Plan. He proposes a huge farm in Texas that will produce thousands of megawatts of power. Pickens also wants to push the percentage of wind power generation into the twenties, which is a tall order considering it is currently at about one percent. That shouldn’t be much of a detterent though because we have the capability (money) and the geography (the U.S. is considered the Saudia Arabia of wind power).
The problem
There is, however, an issue. Despite the fact that an annual U.S. Department of Energy report shows a 46% growth in wind energy in 2007, the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) is set to expire at the end of 2008. This legislation provides major support for building new, more responsible ways to produce energy in this country, and it needs to be, funny as it may sound, renewed. That 46% growth broke records and with incentives to keep growing the industry it will keep breaking records, but there is also the potential that it could come to a screeching halt.
What to do
What is the endgame to all of this: To have a more efficient and responsible way of life. We are not talking about giving up the creature comforts that Americans are used to, although we may have to rethink the way some things are done. The bottom line is that there are many benefits to renewable, and the biggest of them may be that it hits you directly in the pocketbook–favorably. What should you do now? Go over to this American Wind Energy Association webpage where you can send a message to Congress telling them to renew the renewable PTC.
Afterthoughts
I’m a huge proponent of electrifying the fleet. Wind power, along with other sources of renewable energy generation, can take us a step in the right direction. There are two pressing things to think about (and discuss in another post):
1. What if you never again had to pay for fuel for your automobile? (I know it’s crazy, but we’ll talk about it)
2. The grid as it is may not be ready for all of the power we can send to it. (A big issue that we all need to help change)
