Renewable Energy Blog

We live in a society largely reliant on unsustainable resources. As if that weren’t enough of a problem on its own, by some estimates nearly 10% of our GDP is spent on imported energy. What key technologies could serve our growing energy needs and stabilize our economy?

Utility-scale wind power in a class 4 or higher resource area (16 MPH average wind speed) is currently the only widely deployable (renewable) technology that makes economic sense without government mandated incentive. Utility-scale solar thermal, again in a strong resource area like the Mojave Desert, is also close to economic viability. But what about the majority of the US, areas without these resources?

It is here that many opinions diverge. Some think nuclear is the answer, some believe cleaning up coal will push the problem out in the future, and others feel we can achieve huge reductions in energy usage through conservation and efficiency.

While all of these solutions may have future roles, don't we have a long history of developing technology and improving cost effectiveness when there's an economic need? Computers, mobile phones, and even cars are examples of how markets drive technology to affordable levels. In the 1980's it wasn't widely accepted that in just 20 years nearly everyone over 13 years old would have a phone in their pocket. Along those same lines it isn't generally accepted today that in 20 years nearly all of our energy could come from renewable resources.
So back to the question at hand: what technologies are needed?

Here are my picks:

(1) More efficient wind power. By this I mean less expensive turbines that produce more output with lower wind velocities. These efficiencies would allow development in much broader geographical regions, and would also foster more non-utility scale development. For this reason these new turbines wouldn't all need to be multi-megawatt machines. Imagine every school, housing development, or office building having a wind production machine on-site.
(2)  Ocean energy. Whether OTEC (ocean thermal), ruggedized offshore wind, wave power, ocean current power, or all of the above; the ocean is a very powerful resource. In Florida we have the Gulf Stream, a 50 mile wide and nearly one mile deep stretch of ocean that flows at a vigorous pace of about 3 knots. The kinetic energy of this is the equivalent of terawatts of continuous electrical power. It is only now that the very first turbines are being considered for testing here.
(3) Solar assisted air conditioning. AC is under the highest load when buildings are in direct sunlight, and the compressor is the highest energy consumer in a typical system. Concentrating solar power can heat fluids or gases to extremely high temperatures. It would seem that this heat could be used with minimal energy conversion to compress refrigerant for the AC system. This is just one of many possible solutions for using our prime heater, the sun, to keep us cool too.
(4) Renewable, carbon-free fuels. T. Boone Pickens says it best “you can’t run an 18 wheeler on a battery”. It is clear that transportation applications will need energy storage densities far greater than near-term electron-based storage mediums. Hydrogen has proven to be difficult to achieve high storage densities, but there are alternatives. One promising candidate is ammonia (NH3). It stores like propane, has a similar energy density, and is carbon-free.