Alternative Energy for Dummies

Let's take a look at some alternative energy technologies.

Advances have recently been made in solar to bring down the cost to a more reasonable level. Costs for photovoltaics have dropped from $27 per installed peak wattage to $4 per installed peak wattage recently. A company called Nanosolar, funded by the founders of Google, has technology to print solar cells at much lower cost. They claim they will be able to profitably sell them at $1 per installed watt quite soon. This technology could be deployed across large parts of the southwestern United States. This new solar technology combined with better storage and power transport technologies could spur a switch to solar energy.

The price of wind generators has also fallen greatly in the last few decades. Major companies like GE and Siemens as well as dedicated wind generation firms like Vestas. Generator technology is mature technology. However, many improvements have been made in blade design and materials, gearing, and computer controls. Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens is currently investing in the world's largest wind farm with over 2,000 turbines. In some areas, prices can rival coal or nuclear. With better storage and grid technologies, wind can provide a large amount of useful energy.

For automobile transport, we'll need either better batteries or some sort of manufactured liquid fuel such as hydrogen. Battery technology is improving quickly, and this means acceptable range and fast charging times with falling prices for batteries. Hydrogen fuel cells for cars do not seem practical in the near future. In addition to a workable battery technology, we need plentiful electricity. For the long-term this will need to be based on a renewable resource such as solar or wind. As for air transport, it's not quite as easy. Batteries do not have anywhere near the power density for air travel. Hydrogen could be manufactured for aircraft use provided there is cheap energy and a way to store it.

Biofuels might solve both the transport and the collection problem. While current technology with corn ethanol is expensive and requires huge inputs of energy, it might be better in the future. There are also a number of other technologies on the horizon. Algae can produce bio diesel and bacteria can produce a very high quality of crude oil. This technology is quite promising in that it would not require a shift in technology by users of energy. We could continue to use our regular automobiles and airplanes while using a renewable feedstock.

While there may be pain in the near term with higher energy prices, new technologies are promising. We must not be tempted to reduce the pain by price controls or subsidies that will only prolong difficulties. High prices more than anything else will make us switch.