What can be said about the American movement toward energy sanity? It's sluggish but gaining momentum. And as long as gas prices at the pump stay high we'll see more consumers interested in solar solutions. So what's my angle? I think we've been spoiling this planet for decades unnecessarily. I think that the corporations that own America don't care about the air, water and soil quality - at least not anywhere where they can profit and spoil those things with impunity.
So the corporations with a vested interest in the status quo will have to curb their greed, which would be good; or continue with their blind profiteering and keep prices high, which would also be good; or figure out a way to make money in the new renewable paradigm, also good. Its all good. It only varies in the degree of pain WE want to endure. In that regard - we control a slice of our destiny. If the gas prices stay high, the chances of better alternative fuel cars increases. If gas prices go low (my personal worst case scenario) then alternative promotion will be weakened but at least you and I will save some money. I feel the lethargy setting in even at $2.50 a gallon and I'm not proud to admit it. My favorite scenario is that the big industry embraces the renewable paradigm, researches and develops for it, figures out how to make it work for them and us. After all there are many arguments for making energy independence the new American dream.
Whatever happens we can still act individually in our own self interest and move toward energy independence. Let's start a list - the "Green 500" - the people who have most successfully moved off the grid. Rather than comparing who earns the most cash - how about those who pay the least for energy because they're proving the renewable paradigm works.
Yeah - let oil prices stay high. The consumer will get madder. Maybe something will happen to change the path (rut) we've been on.
So the corporations with a vested interest in the status quo will have to curb their greed, which would be good; or continue with their blind profiteering and keep prices high, which would also be good; or figure out a way to make money in the new renewable paradigm, also good. Its all good. It only varies in the degree of pain WE want to endure. In that regard - we control a slice of our destiny. If the gas prices stay high, the chances of better alternative fuel cars increases. If gas prices go low (my personal worst case scenario) then alternative promotion will be weakened but at least you and I will save some money. I feel the lethargy setting in even at $2.50 a gallon and I'm not proud to admit it. My favorite scenario is that the big industry embraces the renewable paradigm, researches and develops for it, figures out how to make it work for them and us. After all there are many arguments for making energy independence the new American dream.
Whatever happens we can still act individually in our own self interest and move toward energy independence. Let's start a list - the "Green 500" - the people who have most successfully moved off the grid. Rather than comparing who earns the most cash - how about those who pay the least for energy because they're proving the renewable paradigm works.
Yeah - let oil prices stay high. The consumer will get madder. Maybe something will happen to change the path (rut) we've been on.
2 comments:
The "political will" doesn't kick in until $3.50 a gallon. Right now (9/27/07) a barrel of oil is at an all time high ($82) but gas at the pump still below $3. To force a shift to non-fossils both have to go much higher but to get people riled up enough to write Congress - I think $3.50 will do it.
I highly recommend writing to the rascals at every opportunity. They figure one opinionated letter equals thousands of voters who agree with the writer but wouldn't bother to write themselves.
Investors are betting that large-scale solar from companies like Ausra are the most cost-competitive.
Ausra, which presented at the Clean Energy Venture Summit here on Tuesday, is testing a system to generate power at centralized stations. These solar parks use concentrating solar power to create steam that turns a turbine to make electricity.
If constructed on a large enough scale,these solar thermal plants are already cost-effective when compared with fossil-fuel power generation, according to advocates of the approach.
Such advocates include Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures and Ausra investor and board member. “Ausra’s technology replaces smoke with mirrors by eliminating fuel use for power generation, and sets a new benchmark for the cost and scale of solar power.”
Ausra has hit on the grail of solar energy systems - "thermal storage." In addition to generating steam from its array of special metal tubes, Ausra stores hot water that a power plant can draw on during times when the sun is not shining.
That thermal storage is key to competing on price even at peak demand times, said Robert Morgan, the chief development officer of Ausra. Right now Ausra is testing systems in Australia that expects prices of electricity to set at $.10 per kilowatt hour for plants between 100 and 200 megawatts. For plants between 100 and 500 mw, the cost goes down to 8 cents kwh.
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