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For the same reason most of the older homes in parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, etc. still depend at least partially on a coal fireplace for heat in the winter.
As Big puts it, inertia.
When the place was built way back when, they built in a coal fireplace and that means, to the newest generation of residents, it is to be used. Then too, they can pick up a phone and order a load of coal dumped by the back door and they can't figure out how to order hydrogen or from whom or where to tell anyone to put it.
Damn, are you really so fixed on the wonders of the modern world you can't think past what Toyota and Dupont and Exxon are doing with the economy and our health?
Posts: 11304 | From: Fort Worth, Texas | Registered: Mar 2005
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Wind power: A reality check Plans are afoot to prod the nation into using much more renewable energy. Can it be done, and what's the cost? By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: July 22, 2008: 2:35 PM EDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- High-profile personalities have been telling the nation to ditch that dirty fossil fuel and turn to renewable energy.
T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oil man, has been hitting the airwaves pitching a plan to use wind to replace all the natural gas that's used to produce electricity, then using that saved natural gas to fuel cars.
In addition to weaning the nation from foreign oil, Pickens plan is not entirely altruistic. He's investing hundreds of millions of dollars on a giant wind farm in the Texas panhandle, and his hedge fund, BP Capital, is said to own stakes in several companies that equip cars to run on natural gas. If his energy efforts pan out, he could get even more rich in the process.
Then there's Al Gore. The former VP, then known as "Ozone Al" but now probably more famous for his Nobel-prize winning climate work, said last week that electricity generation should be completely fossil-fuel free in 10 years.
The question is, are these plans realistic or just dreams?
"It's not out of the realm of technical feasibility," said Chris Namovicz, a renewable energy analyst at the government's Energy Information Agency. "But they come with pretty significant price tags."
The order is indeed tall.
The nation currently relies on coal - the dirtiest of all fossil fuels - for 50% of its electricity production. Natural gas makes up about 21%, and nuclear comprises about 20%. Hydro and oil contribute a bit each as well, while traditional renewables - wind, solar, biomass and geothermal - ring in at only 3%, combined, according to EIA.
Pickens has a loosely detailed plan to replace the natural-gas produced electricity with wind energy. He says it could be done in 10 years.
"That is extremely aggressive," said Dave Hamilton, director for global warming and energy projects at the Sierra Club. "But it's in the right direction. It's a good thing we have an oilman saying we can't drill our way out of this problem."
Unpredictable wind One of the big challenges with using wind to replace natural gas is that, unlike the steady flame from natural gas, the wind doesn't blow all the time.
To make sure enough power is available when the wind isn't blowing, back up generators would be needed, said Paul Fremont, an electric-utility analyst at the investment bank Jefferies & Co.
That could mean maintaining those natural gas plants in case of emergency, or implementing even more novel ideas like systems in Europe that use excess wind electricity to pump water uphill when the wind is blowing, then release it through hydro dams when the wind stops.
Either way, any type of back up system comes with a price.
"It's very costly, and very inefficient for society as a whole," said Fremont. "Policy makers will have to decide if the benefits are worth it."
The utility industry also has reservations about using wind on a large scale, again pointing to the fact that it doesn't blow all the time.
The Sierra Club's Becker downplayed the problem. While a challenge now, he said advances in the electricity grid will allow several wind farms from varying regions of the country to be tied together in the same grid, so that when some are idle others can make up the difference.
"The more we focus on how to get this done, the quicker we'll solve our problems," he said.
Another impediment to large-scale wind generation is a lack of turbines and infrastructure, said Hamilton. Companies like GE, India's Suzlon, Spain's Gamesa that make wind turbines aren't building enough wind turbines to meet demandbecause government tax credits offered to energy producers expire every two years. These tax credits are a big incentive for people to invest in wind energy - Pickens would net $60 million a year, according to Jefferies' Fremont, and is likely why he's currently pitching his plan to lawmakers.
Companies fear that if the tax credits aren't renewed they will be stuck with unwanted wind turbines if energy producers scale back their demand for wind power.
Also impeding the development of wind power is the fact that the government is unclear about how or whether it will regulate greenhouse gas emissions. If regulations were enacted, investments in wind energy would likely increase as utilities seek cleaner sources of power.
Wind farms could also benefit when companies or people buy carbon offsets - essentially payments to producers of clean energy and others who take steps in reducing greenhouse gasses.
Despite these challenges, wind power's ability to produce 21% of the nation's electricity needs isn't out of the question. While wind currently only makes up 0.8% of the country's total electricity production, and would need to grow well over 20 times that to replace gas, it's worth noting that wind capacity has increased 12 fold since 1990, according to EIA.
The second part of Pickens' plan - using natural gas to power vehicles - is perhaps easier.
While automakers are betting on electric cars as the vehicle of the future, those electric cars will still need back-up engines to recharge the battery on long trips, at least for the foreseeable future.
Those back up engines could run on natural gas, said Julius Pretterebner, a vehicles and alternative-fuels expert at Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
Pretterebner also pointed to a host of other reasons why natural gas in cars is a good idea: It's about half as expensive as gasoline and 30% cleaner, the infrastructure to get it to service stations already exists, it's relatively cheap to convert existing cars ($500 to $2,000 a car, he said), and natural gas can be carbon neutral, if it's made from plants, a process he says requires no new technology.
"It's maybe the best alternative fuel we have, and the quickest way to get off foreign imports," he said.
As for Gore's call, there aren't any specific measures to analyze. But if Pickens' timetable is aggressive, Gore's is like Pickens' gone wild.
"It's completely impractical to imagine that we could totally wean ourselves off fossil fuels," said Jim Owen, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, the utility industry's trade association.
Impractical, maybe. But using more renewables is certainly worth looking into. EIA estimates that by 2015, wind energy will cost 7 cents a kilowatt hour to produce, just a half cent more than coal or natural gas.
EIA says if strict greenhouse gas restrictions became law, renewables might go from 3% percent of the nation's electricity mix to around 25%. Coal, meanwhile, would likely go from over half to under a quarter. EIA said under the worst case scenario in bringing about this shift, electricity prices may double.
Given the dangers global warming may pose - U.N. scientists predict severe droughts and floods unless greenhouse gasses are drastically reduced - more expensive electricity may be a cost Americans are willing to bear.
-------------------- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. Posts: 3311 | From: St. Louis | Registered: Feb 2005
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In addition to weaning the nation from foreign oil, Pickens plan is not entirely altruistic. He's investing hundreds of millions of dollars on a giant wind farm in the Texas panhandle, and his hedge fund, BP Capital, is said to own stakes in several companies that equip cars to run on natural gas. If his energy efforts pan out, he could get even more rich in the process.
this is not news to anybody that follows the market, heck, i wouldn' trust anybody who is doing it as a "favor" to US... if anything? him making money should lead other less adventurous investors to follow, and that is what we need badly.
To make sure enough power is available when the wind isn't blowing, back up generators would be needed, said Paul Fremont, an electric-utility analyst at the investment bank Jefferies & Co.
absolutely true, and we already have that backup built. instead of building MORE of them to meet future demand? we need to be meeting that with renewables and maintaining our old systems (some of which are 50+years old) for a reserve that is scalable...
part of the problem i have with this analyst is that he is looking 3-4 years down the road instead of 10-15 ... remeber Pickens is in his 80's so he isn't exaclty doing it for himself, but his heirs, which is a good thing IMO...
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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part of the problem i have with this analyst is that he is looking 3-4 years down the road instead of 10-15 ... remeber Pickens is in his 80's so he isn't exaclty doing it for himself, but his heirs, which is a good thing IMO...
Agreed, I think Pickens is looking for the immortality that Carnegie, Rockefeller and others have achieved.
T.Boone...Father of renewable energy...
Not criticizing him by any means, if you have 4 billion and want a legacy, there are worse ones to pick.
Posts: 1802 | From: Utah | Registered: Mar 2008
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-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues. Posts: 5178 | From: Up North | Registered: Dec 2005
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I personally think Gas will be back down between $60 - $70 a barrel in a year. 2 countries will fluid the market with oil.....Indonesia and Russia. hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Posts: 1178 | From: Mobile, AL | Registered: Aug 2005
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U.S., China lead way in tapping wind power Texas energy group launch bid to develop "renewable energy superhighway" Texas given preliminary approval for a $4.9 billion plan to build new power lines
Wind energy production in China set to overtake the U.S. experts say
By Stephanie Busari For CNN
LONDON, England (CNN) -- From Dallas, Texas to Dabancheng, China, energy companies are staking fortunes on harnessing wind power.
Several Texan transmission companies announced Monday they were forming a consortium to invest in the $5 billion cost of building new power lines to take advantage of the state's vast wind power.
The consortium, comprised of existing transmission operators, includes Dallas-based Oncor, the state's largest power delivery company, Electric Transmission Texas (ETT) and units of American Electric Power Co. among others.
Those new lines, dubbed by Oncor as a "renewable energy superhighway," will accommodate about 18,500 megawatts of wind generation by 2012-- enough energy to power 4 million homes.
Texas currently leads the nation in wind capacity at about 5,500 MW.
The companies are hoping to take advantage of a landmark ruling on Friday that gave Texas preliminary approval for a $4.9 billion plan to build transmission lines to carry wind power from West Texas to urban areas.
It is said to be the largest investment in clean, renewable energy in U.S. history. Texas citizens will have to assist with the plan's construction; paying an extra $3 to $4 per month on their bills for the next few years.
However, they stand to recoup these costs in what they will save in energy bills later.
Not surprisingly, energy companies are eager to jump on the bandwagon to build a large part of the superhighway.
Oncor Senior Vice President of Transmission Charles Jenkins said in a news release: "At Oncor we want to be an important part of the solution. Texas is already a leader in wind energy and this is the next step in maintaining that leadership position.
The wind energy industry has benefited from the support of billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens, who is planning to build the world's largest wind farm on about 200,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle.
When completed, his 2,700 turbines will be capable of producing enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes.
Pickens spoke to CNN about his plans to increase reliance on natural resources like wind and solar.
He said: "What I want to do is to fold in the great resource we have in the central part of this country, which is wind. And then you have resource from Texas west to California.
"You've got solar. Those two resources have to be developed. So when you develop the wind, you can then remove natural gas from power generation and put it into a transportation fuel market.
"Wind power is ... clean, it's renewable. It's everything you want. And it's a stable supply of energy. It's unbelievable that we have not done more with wind."
Meanwhile, China could well be on its way to blowing the U.S. out of the water when it comes to harnessing wind energy.
This is a rare energy success story for a country whose carbon emissions were recorded as the highest in the world last year, according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
But the Chinese energy revolution has been quietly gaining strength, observers say.
Like their American counterparts, Chinese tycoons are increasingly directing their investment into renewable power.
Zhu Yuguo, ranks at 102 on the Forbes China Rich List, with a personal fortune of 5.71 billion Yuan and has invested heavily in the wind power industry.
Steve Sawyer of the Global Wind Energy Council said: "China's wind energy market is unrecognizable from two years ago."
"It is huge, huge, huge. But it is not realized yet in the outside world," Sawyer said in an interview with London's Guardian newspaper.
China's wind generation has increased by more than 100 percent per year since 2005 and 20 per cent of the power supply to the venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will come from wind generators, according to the official state agency, Xinhua.
It was initially hoped the country would generate 5 gigawatts of wind by 2010, but that goal was met three years early in 2007. The 2010 goal has now been revised to 10 gigawatts but experts say this could well hit 20 gigawatts.
The Guanting Wind Farm in Beijing has installed capacity of 64.5 megawatts and has supplied 35 million kilowatts of electricity to Beijing so far.
The wind farm is estimated to supply 100 million KWH per year to Beijing, or 300,000 KWH per day, enough to satisfy the consumption of 100,000 households.
However, China still relies heavily on using coal, which supplies 70 per cent of China's energy needs.
But Junfeng Li of the China Renewable Energy Industries Association has a more optimistic outlook.
In a paper last month, he wrote: "China is witnessing the start of a golden age of wind power development and the magnitude of the growth has caught policymakers off guard.
"It is widely believed that wind power will be able to compete with coal generation by as early as 2015."
-------------------- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. Posts: 3311 | From: St. Louis | Registered: Feb 2005
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Offshore wind farms may line U.S. coast Wind-driven turbines probably will be operating offshore before oil platforms appear Delaware hopes to be the first state to construct a wind farm off its coast, by 2012 Most such projects are proposed for the Atlantic coast, where the seabed is shallow Significant obstacles to offshore wind, such as high construction costs, still remain
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Visitors to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, soon may be greeted by more than sand dunes, seagulls and beach umbrellas.
If offshore wind advocates have their way, scores of 140-foot blades will be spinning in the ocean breeze nearly a dozen miles away, barely visible to the sunbathers.
Offshore wind has taken a back seat to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in the current energy debate. But those wind-driven turbines probably will be operating long before oil platforms appear off Atlantic Coast states.
Delaware hopes to be the first state to construct a wind farm off its coast. The project, scheduled to be completed in 2012, is one of several offshore wind proposals that have cleared significant hurdles in recent months.
Proponents say wind offers more long-term energy independence than offshore oil. Residents along the Eastern seaboard are embracing it as a stable-priced, environmentally friendly energy alternative.
"When people see the price of gas hit $4, they are very open to having discussions about alternatives," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a nonprofit group.
Wind energy today accounts for only 1 percent of the nation's electricity. A May report from the Energy Department concluded wind energy could generate 20 percent by 2030, with offshore sources accounting for nearly 20 percent of that. Projects mostly would be located along the Atlantic coast because the seabed floor elsewhere drops off too quickly to anchor turbines.
In Delaware, offshore wind has caught everyone's imagination, said Patricia Gearity, a member of Citizens for Clean Power, a grass-roots organization based in the state.
"People liked that it was homegrown wind, that we weren't going to import it from somewhere else," said Jeremy Firestone, a professor of marine policy at the University of Delaware.
Offshore wind supporters say recent proposals have not faced the same kind of opposition that previously dogged projects off Massachusetts' Cape Cod and New York's Long Island. But even on Cape Cod, attitudes are changing. Where critics once held a floating anti-wind farm demonstration, polls show that public opinion has swung in favor of an offshore project.
The Long Island project was scrapped last year. But fishermen in neighboring New Jersey who once opposed offshore wind power have banded together to submit one of five bids for a 350-megawatt wind farm that would produce enough electricity for up to 100,000 households. Rhode Island may select a developer this fall for a wind energy project.
Delaware residents took to the ****osphere, called their legislators and turned out in droves at public hearings to push for the proposed project off Rehoboth Beach. It stalled last year, but months of negotiations and strong grass-roots organizing resulted in its approval by the Delaware Legislature in June.
"During that period of time, you saw headline after headline roll out about the increase in prices, not only in oil, not only in gas, but the big spike in natural gas and propane costs," said Gearity, a 58-year-old retired lawyer.
The project, proposed by Bluewater Wind, would include between 60 and 200 wind turbines spaced about a half mile apart. Delmarva Power has agreed to buy electricity from the project for 25 years. Bluewater is owned by the global investment firm Babcock & Brown, which operates wind farms in several states.
For each turbine, a pole would be hammered about 90 feet below the seabed floor. Another pole would rise above the water with three 140-foot spinning blades at the top. At the highest point, the turbines would reach up about 400 feet; by comparison, the Washington Monument is about 555 feet.
Unlike its mid-Atlantic neighbor, the Cape Cod project has faced vocal and well-funded opponents who complained it would mar the ocean vista. Rising energy prices have made that argument less persuasive, said Barbara Hill, executive director of Clean Power Now, an independent Hyannis, Massachusetts-based organization that favors the project.
The 130-turbine project has now cleared most of the regulatory hurdles and proponents are hopeful it will be in operation within four years.
Cape Wind Associates, a subsidiary of the New England power company Energy Management Inc., has spent more than $30 million on the Massachusetts project, investing profits from its natural gas-fired power plants, said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers.
In New Jersey, Daniel Cohen, the president of the offshore wind developer Fishermen's Energy, said the organization reassessed its opposition, deciding to view offshore wind as an opportunity, not a threat.
"The public has a heightened interest to finding solutions in what it sees as a growing problem in our dependence on fossil fuels," said Cohen, who owns Atlantic Capes Fisheries in Cape May, New Jersey. Fishing company owners have put up the money for the project's development stage.
Significant obstacles to offshore wind still remain.
Policymakers and utility companies need to commit to long-term contracts, said Firestone, the University of Delaware professor. He pointed out that New Jersey and Rhode Island still do not have buyers for the power from the proposed projects.
There also needs to be more stability in the federal government's support for wind power, said Laurie Jodziewicz, manager of siting policy at the American Wind Energy Association.
When Congress allowed a renewable energy tax credit to expire in the past -- in 2000, 2002 and 2004 -- wind capacity installation dropped 93 percent, 73 percent and 77 percent respectively from the previous year. A current tax credit is set to expire Dec. 31.
Proponents point out that most of the technology hurdles have been cleared, though costs remain high. They look at the almost 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind farms in European waters and say the Cape Cod and projects could jump-start offshore wind energy in the United States.
"This will be a game-changer once this project is built," said Hill, the Cape Wind advocate. "We are going to be dancing on Craigsville Beach someday, looking out and seeing the turbines spinning."
-------------------- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. Posts: 3311 | From: St. Louis | Registered: Feb 2005
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Put a windmill on the front steps of the white house and you would have enough wind to power the country
Posts: 6008 | From: phoenix az | Registered: Mar 2005
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Do better putting it INside Congress or in any major TV news studio.
Posts: 11304 | From: Fort Worth, Texas | Registered: Mar 2005
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