Renewable alternative energy sources - solar energy, biodiesel, ethanol, wind power, tidal power - are the world's best hope for a permanent answer to Peak Oil and the energy crisis. Unfortunately, these energy sources are, by no means, fully developed. Can we wait until their development is complete?
I think the answer to that question is a definite no! Conventional energy sources - oil, natural gas and coal - must carry the burden until the renewable energy sources are developed. Conventional energy will be assisted in this task by certain nonrenewable but fairly plentiful energy sources: oil and tar sands, nuclear energy, geothermal energy, LNG, GTL, shale oil, and, possibly, several very exotic energy sources, e.g., methane hydrates, very deep natural gas, etc. - if these exotic energy sources can be developed (or, in the case of very deep natural gas, if they even exist.)
This web site will focus on the renewable energy sources of solar energy, biodiesel, ethanol, wind power, and tidal power.
For an overview of alternative energy sources, see Alternative Energy Sources.
During the past energy crisis back in the latter part of the past century, it was widely believed that solar energy was going to be our savior. A virtually infinite amount of energy from the Sun arrives on the Earth each year. All we had to do was harness it and our energy problems would be over......forever!
How have we done with solar energy in the past 20 or 30 years since the past energy crises?
A few years ago, I would have answered that question with another question: "Have you driven any solar-powered cars lately?"
Excuse my former cynicism....things have changed a lot in the past few years and I am now having to eat crow as the development of solar energy appears finally to be moving at a fast pace. This advancement of solar energy is reflected in some of the alternative energy stock funds where the solar stocks represent the largest percentage holding of any of the alternative energy sectors.
The advancement in the solar energy field is dramatically shown in the cost per unit of producing solar energy. This cost is reported to have dropped to about 1/100 of the cost that existed during the energy crises referred to above. The design of most new buildings and some new homes now at least consider the use of solar energy in heating, cooling or electrical generation. Yes, even though I don't see any cars directly powered by solar energy, the solar energy people have found numerous markets for the energy source. (The generation of electricity for charging car batteries which, in hybrid cars, provide some of the operating power for the car will make moot my above cynical observation about solar-powered cars).
Yes, I am eating crow over solar energy and am happy to do so! Solar energy has a great future!
The potential for solar energy is best illustrated by quoting Wikipedia: "If built out as solar collectors, 1 percent of the land used for crops or pasture could supply the world's total energy consumption."
Of course, 1 percent of all the land used for crops or pasture is still an awful lot of land. But the solar energy technology is now growing rapidly and there are undoubtedly technical means to catalyze the conversion rate. Algae farms were mentioned in the Wikipedia article as one means of efficiently converting solar energy into biodiesel energy.
Solar energy has arrived!
Ethanol has so much propaganda associated with it that it is hard to separate truth from fiction. To listen to the Bush Administration, congress, and the corn farmers, ethanol leads the list of alternative energy sources. Government subsidies are being poured into corn crops which are converted into ethanol.
Is corn ethanol really our energy savior or is the stuff being promoted more to appease the corn growers than to provide an important element in solving the energy crisis?
I am normally suspicious of an alternative energy source that requires large government subsidies for it to be marketed. However, government subsidies have been heavily used in Europe to promote alternative energy development and the subsidies have been successful there. Maybe, I have been too market-oriented and the subsidizing of corn ethanol production is necessary.
But there are a number of things that bother me about ethanol produced from corn:
1. Many, if not most energy experts, say as much energy is required to produce ethanol from corn as the energy you get out of the ethanol product. If that is true, then we are just playing with ourselves in subsidizing ethanol and thinking we are solving our energy problems.
The success that Brazil has had with ethanol produced from sugar cane is often touted to support U.S. corn subsidies. But ethanol production from sugar cane is, at least, slightly more efficient. More important, Brazil can grow three sugar cane crops per year in their climate and that changes the dynamics. Brazilian ethanol can compete in price with gasoline without government subsidies.
Corn is not sugar cane and Brazil is not the United States!
2. The use of corn for producing ethanol has raised the price of corn around the world. This is not good for several of the Latin American nations where corn is a staple food. I prefer to see corn used to feed hungry people than to see it used to feed our over-sized SUVs and monstrous pick-ups.
Of course, much of the corn grown in the U.S. is used to fatten cattle. It has been suggested the cattle be fattened with grass instead of corn. But the meat is less tasty with grass fattening and good luck in selling Americans on the idea of giving up their tasty, fat-loaded hamburgers and steaks!
It should be noted that processes for producing ethanol from non-edible sources, e.g. corn cobs, grass, citrus fruit wastes, and other agriculture waste are being worked on but are not yet fully developed. Use of these cellulosic sources would help with the problems noted with corn ethanol but we better work the problems out of the processes before we declare a victory.
I mentioned, above, at being surprised at solar energy development. The recent success of wind energy devices is even more of a shock to me. One of the reasons, I had minimized the future of wind energy if that I live in Louisiana which is the home of powerful hurricanes and, possibly even more important, the home of fanatical bird (ducks, geese, etc) hunters. Theoretically, Louisiana would be ideal for wind power devices because of average wind speed but would the windmills hold up to hurricanes and would the duck hunters allow their ducks to be slaughtered trying to fly through the windmills? I guess I assumed the same type questions existed about wind power elsewhere
Truthfully, I don't think the above questions have been answered for Louisiana and wind energy development appears to be moving slowly here, but the world certainly has not waited on Louisiana getting up to speed. The cost of energy from wind is very cost competitive with other alternative energy forms. Some experts say that wind energy is the least expensive way to go among the alternative energy sources.
The market for wind energy is booming! For example, in Denmark, 20% of the nation's energy requirements are being met with wind energy. Even in the larger countries of Germany and Spain, wind energy is providing 7% of energy requirements. One projection indicated that wind power would be supplying 15% of Europe's energy requirements by 2020. In the U.S., some states, e.g., Texas, are moving aggressively into the development of wind power.
As the demand for wind energy increases, so will the demand for wind turbines and the turbine manufacturers should become popular with alternative energy investors.
All in all, I see a great future for wind energy!
Biodiesel is still another alternative energy source that I may have underestimated. This energy source is looking better as time goes by even as its highly-publicized, sister alternative energy source - ethanol - still has problems proving itself to suspicious folks like myself.
Biodiesel is produced from oils and fat. The major feedstock at the moment are plant seed oils such as soybean oil and palm oil. It now appears that waste livestock fats from the slaughter houses will be increasingly added to the list of biodiesel feedstock sources. Further down the line, processes using pond-grown algae may produce a feedstock suitable for biodiesel.
One problem with feedstock availability is that, due to government subsidies for corn ethanol, land formerly planted in soybeans is increasingly being planted in corn. As less soybeans are produced, the price of soybeans will increase. This price rise will negatively impact the food costs for many people.
The Jatropha plant is a good possibility to become an important feedstock for biodiesel. Its seeds contain about 40 % oil compared to less than half that of soybeans. In addition to that advantage, the Jatropha plant grows well on arid soils and there are a lot of arid soil around (deserts & semi-deserts). Since the plant is inedible, you don't have to worry about wild animals going after it.
Both India and China have gotten involved in Jatropha development. A major oil company - British Petroleum - has also become involved in the plant's development.
It should be noted that some biodiesel processes produce a biodiesel which is substantially cleaner than petro-diesel. That will be a great advantage in the marketability of the biodiesel.
The March 7, 2008 edition of Time had a cover story on the biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel. The article was very pessimistic about the two biofuels. For example, it stated that the massive production of the two biofuels was greatly accelerating global warming. It also stated that biofuel production was causing a rapid rise in food prices and, as a result, world hunger will rapidly increase.
Hopefully, the Time story is exaggerated but it was well written and had an authentic read to it. If it turns out to be a completely factual report, this alternative energy web site will require revision as well as the entire projections about the future of the biofuels.
1. Alternative Energy Sources. An overview of the major alternative energy sources is provided. These sources include solar energy, biodiesel, ethanol, wind power, hybrid cars, geothermal energy, tidal energy, nuclear energy, oil sands, shale oil, and energy efficiency improvements.
2. Global Warming. If we don't get some Alternative Energy Sources going, Global Warming is going to get out of hand. Do you want Al Gore to be proven right on Global Warming?
3. Alternative Energy Company Stocks. Peak Oil & an energy crisis are on the way. We need alternative energy sources. Are alternative energy stocks a good buy now?
4. Hybrid Cars. An Alternative Energy Source that works! The Japanese have been eating our lunch on hybrid cars but we are starting to catch up.
5. German Fuel Shortage of World War 2. The Germans had a severe fuel shortage in World War 2. They needed an alternative fuel source and developed synthetic liquid fuels from coal..... but it wasn't enough. Can we learn from them?
6. Oil Company Stocks. In the past few weeks, the discovery and/or development of giant new oil fields has been publicized. These giant fields are the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and the Carioca field of offshore Brazil. These are impressive oil strikes and especially valuable because of disappointments in alternative energy sources development (see above breaking news discussion). It now appears that we will need conventional oil a little longer while we work out the many kinks in alternative energy.
At this time, it is a difficult to determine which are the best oil company stocks to buy to take advantage of the new oil field discoveries. So, do a little research and see if you can come up with a winner. Someone is going to make money off the new oil fields....it might as well be you!
The renewable alternative energy sources - solar energy, wind energy, biodiesel, and ethanol - offer hope that we can overcome the energy crisis. However, as the use of the two biofuel sources, biodiesel and ethanol, grows, there have been disturbing reports about the ineffectiveness of the biofuels in solving the energy problems.
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