Redesign the Paradigm

In the previous blog, A Call For The Transition To Renewable Energy  it was discussed that industrialized nations of the world will soon have to address that a world energy crisis driven by demand from developing countries is looming within the next 25 years. Fossil fuels alone will not be able to meet demand. The easier to extract surface sources are rapidly becoming exhausted requiring more difficult and environmentally damaging drilling and mining procedures that are both more time intensive and expensive. The increased costs of energy and potential shortages can create more geopolitical stresses between countries as they scramble to meet their energy demands. It is beyond time to ramp up existing renewable energy sources (biofuels, solar thermal, photovoltaics, wind, geothermal, tidal, and biomass) to supplement fossil fuels over the next 25 years while actively searching for long term, highly efficient energy systems to transition into beyond 2035.

The liquid fuel transportation sector is dominated by petroleum which is refined into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The transition process in this sector would involve escalating biofuels production in order to supplement future petroleum demand. Cellulosic ethanol can be economically derived from gasification processes and will represent the most cost effective and efficient production means of ethanol production. It also doesn’t compete against food crops, requires much less water, and can be attained from a multitude of carbon based sources including the unusable residue from crops, natural fast growing grasses and plants, disposable wood from logging, and even human waste. Increasing the additive rates of ethanol in gasoline up to E30 (30% ethanol / 70% gasoline) and providing government subsidies for fuel line conversions will contribute significantly to mitigating demand and reduce the chance of rampant  price increases due to regional gas shortages.

Diesel fuel necessary for commercial transportation (large trucks and ships) can also be supplemented by biofuels, in this case utilizing bio-algae, jatropha, and halophytes to create bio-diesel.  Microbial organisms can be used during the processing to increase yield and refinement efficiencies and reduce costs. Diesel blends up to B30 (30% biodiesel / 70% petroldiesel) can be attained without major modification in fuel lines. World governments can then provide similar subsides for fuel line conversions to trucking and shipping fleets. Jet fuel blends can be supplemented with bio-algae; the U.S. military and some commercial airlines have already taken keen interest and developed prototypes for this application.  The goal is to supplement petroleum based diesel and jet fuels with biodiesel which will mitigate demand and reduce the chance of price increases in commercial transportation which adversely affects consumer goods pricing and airline ticket prices.

In addition, supplementing petroleum based fuels should be done in unison with the generation of new hybrid (gasoline/battery) or completely battery based automobiles and light truck production over the next 25 years. Battery technology and high capacitance systems need to be elevated in importance and additional government funding for research and development put in place to provide economically viable batteries and ultra capacitors with greater yields and longer life capabilities. If necessary the patents held by the fossil fuel and aerospace defense industries need to be made available for public use instead of being put on ice as a potential threat of substitution to petroleum, or classified for military uses. Suitable battery technology may very well already exist but the public sector does not have access to it. Utilization of hybrid, battery, or high capacitance system will further reduce future demand for liquid petroleum fuels but will require increased demand in electricity production. Heavy trucks, trains, and ships used for commercial transportation require considerable power to move heavy loads. Battery and high capacitor systems are not currently able to provide adequate power to solely meet commercial transportation needs. They will be more reliant on hybrid systems and will require more energy from the biodiesel / petroldiesel blends than are required for cars and light trucks.

The unspoken and long term strategic goal of many developed countries appears to be to use up the petroleum resources of other countries while saving their own reserves for emergency or to sustain their countries liquid fuel needs decades from now.  This strategy needs to be scrapped and replaced with a new 25 year goal that includes drilling and refining the readily available global petroleum resources in combination with increases in cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel production, government subsidization for replacing fuel lines on existing personal and commercial vehicles,  and creating high efficiency hybrid, battery and high capacitance electric cars and light trucks for personal transportation, and hybrid biodiesel large trucks, trains and boats for commercial uses. Then by 2035, begin the process of transitioning into hydrogen fuel based transportation models for developed countries, while allowing undeveloped countries additional time to become petroleum independent. This means limiting expensive and risky deep water drilling rigs, shale extraction, and production of more oil refineries limited only to petroleum. All government subsidization for the petroleum sector should cease and be transferred to companies generating second (cellulosic ethanol), third (bioalgae), and fourth (high yield genetically modified plants combined with microbial catalysts) generation biofuels, and for the development of biofuel infrastructure. This would include refineries that can be utilized for both petroleum and biofuels.

Resistance from the very profitable petroleum sector will be considerable and OPEC nations will put up a strong fight even going so far as to temporarily drop oil prices in order to draw attention away from the need to transition to renewables and to save the petroleum industry’s future profitability. Excuses for why renewables are a panacea will flourish and will need to be set aside. Our next generation of automobiles may not run as fast, or have the same mileage capability, but they will be clean and reduce our reliance on a polluting fuel source that has created enough geo-political instabilities and wars already. This 100 year old technology is past its prime and the world is certainly capable of doing better. The reason fossil fuels have been held in place this long as our dominate source of energy is because of the massive profitability and wealth generation it provides for a small percentage of the world’s population and not for its current benefit to humanity.

The other half of the fossil fuel equation is electricity production which is provided by coal and natural gas. Electricity production actually requires more fossil fuels than the transportation sector and demand is projected to outpace petroleum and will be further increased by the need for hybrids, electric, and high capacitance vehicles all of which will draw additional power from the grid. The transition of this sector, over the next 25 years, should be a move towards the existing renewable energy sources of solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, tidal, geothermal, and biomass facilities. Biomass which uses carbon based refuse (forestry, crop, animal, and industrial) and wastes (sewage and municipal solid) will be the only source that requires commodity based replenishment that could be subject to price fluctuations, but this resource will be derived from throw away material.  The transition process itself can begin with the removal of coal and natural gas subsidies and strict limitations on future coal or natural gas power plant production. One such limitation could require no more coal fired plants built without adjacent bio-algae photo bioreactors for algae based biodiesel production and CO2 sequestration. Instead, funds could be allocated to infrastructure development of large solar thermal, geothermal, tidal and wind generation systems. Subsidies should also be provided to business and homeowners to put photovoltaic arrays on their premises.  If regional electricity service providers heavily vested in coal and natural gas production want to continue as public electricity providers they will need to be required to build an increasing number of energy facilities that are completely renewable in nature. Some renewable energy plants are more expensive to construct than traditional coal and natural gas facilities, certainly the case for large solar thermal operations. However, over the 25 year life span of the facility the infrastructure costs become offset within a few years since there are no ongoing requirements for expensive and environmentally damaging drilling, mining, refining, and distribution expenses associated with acquiring oil, coal, and natural gas.  Renewable energy power plants will be cheaper for developed and developing countries in the long run, providing clean energy, and not require purchasing or extracting fossil fuel commodities from potential hostile countries.

Synergies exist between complimentary renewable energy sources and with existing fossil fuel sources. Large megawatt solar thermal facilities can be designed to provide power for cities, or smaller solar thermal power plants can be utilized for neighborhood or suburb electricity generation.  Residential and commercial photovoltaic arrays with government subsidies to assist business and resident affordability can be utilized in conjunction with solar thermal (or other renewable energy sources) to help reduce the regions demand. Solar thermal, geothermal, and wind farms can share space with bio-algae photo bioreactors (PBR’s) to reduce land costs and reduce space requirements.  Biofuels can be generated from sewage, waste material, food crop residue, and wood residues creating fuel sources from material that would otherwise be burned or sent to landfills. Fast growing and drought resistant plants requiring little irrigation can be grown and harvested on lands unsuitable for crops and utilize husks, stovers, and other discardable material from traditional crop harvesting.  All existing coal fire and natural gas plants could have bio-algae PBR’s in place to absorb the CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. In developed countries all new power plants should be renewable where possible and only natural gas if not. Coal plants should only be considered for poorer developing countries with large coal reserves.  

A new paradigm for worldwide renewable energy production can be implemented where profitability expectations are removed from future State owned and privately held renewable energy companies.  In countries with a private sector, existing renewable energy companies could be incentivized by their governments to switch to a strictly non-profit model. Another option is the creation of new private non-profit renewable energy companies with infrastructure development and scaling subsidies provided by their governments that would allow them to provide energy at lower costs to consumers and compete directly against for-profit renewable energy (and fossil fuel).  If full government subsidization is not possible then 0% infrastructure and scaling loans could be made available with repayment plans established that assure competitive energy pricing remains available to the public.  State owned energy companies with little incentive to eliminate their profit structure will still be able to provide energy indigenously and to the developing nations but in time will be hard press to remain competitive outside their own borders.

The goal of the non-profit renewable energy provider is to be able to produce and distribute electricity in the most efficient and low cost manner possible and to pass those savings onto their customers. It is also to provide energy sector jobs to replace those jobs lost from the fossil fuel industries.  Favorable government legislation and subsidization for private sector non-profits will be essential to ensure political barriers to entry are removed and to meet infrastructure costs and to develop economies of scale.  Subsidization can come from removing subsidies provided to very profitable oil, coal and natural gas companies and from tax revenues associated with providing clean energy. A non-profit model focused on efficiency and removing unnecessary expenses associated with pay for performance executive compensations, investor ROI expectations, profits for mining and drilling operations, costs related to exporting of fossil fuels, and short sighted profit maximizing decision making will be removed from the future energy equation.  I am not advocating government takeover of the western energy industry, but the establishment of true non-profit private companies in the free market economies. For already established state owned companies heavily vested in fossil fuels my hope is they will eventually operate under the same non-profit guidelines as they to transition towards renewable.  This should also decrease geo-political instability in certain regions of the world that use energy profits to sponsor terrorism or as funds to support military buildup and wars.

It is time for world governments especially those in developed countries with free market to start acting responsibly and considering its citizens. Energy is a basic requirement for all societies and the world has been limited to technology and policies that are outdated and no longer in its best interests. The question of how to pay for the transition to renewable energy is legitimate. Whether governments should increase taxes or use existing tax dollars to subsidize renewable energy infrastructure and provide assistance for companies to scale up production will be debate and heavily resisted from many channels. Interestingly enough, funding didn’t appear to difficult to acquire when it was necessary for bailing out irresponsible financial companies or providing massive subsidies to the ridiculously profitable fossil fuel industry. Fossil fuel based companies know they will eventually have to venture into the renewable market as oil, coal, and natural gas become to scarce or expensive. Why should the world wait until governments are near financial collapse due to high energy costs affecting nearly every sector of their economies, or countries are on the brink of war due to scarcity and conflicts over meeting demand?

Prior to 2035, world governments, academia, and even private sector labs should have been be utilized to search out the most promising energy sources with the greatest efficiencies that will meet the world’s long term energy needs. The push should be to develop free or extremely low cost energy systems such as fusion or kinetic systems for electricity production, and a hydrogen based fuel source for vehicles. We must begin this researching process and planning for this process now.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/highlights.html

In 2008 28% of total U.S. energy demand was for transportation, and petroleum was used to meet 93% of those transportation needs.  The remaining 7% is from a combination of natural gas (2%), electricity, propane, and bio fuels (2%). The principle bio fuel in use today is ethanol used primarily to supplement gasoline.

The U.S. consumed approximately 819 million gallons of petroleum per day (worldwide consumption was 3.55 million gallons per day). 581 million gallons per day or 71% of that petroleum was used for transportation. Petroleum use in transportation breaks down as follows: 64% for gasoline to fuel cars and light trucks (378 million gallons per day), 22% for diesel to fuel commercial trucks, trains, and boats (128 million gallons per day), and 9% to provide for jet fuels (52 million gallons per day).

In 2008 9.6 billion gallons of bio fuels were used in the U.S. (26 million gallons per day). Production rates have increased seven fold in the past thirteen years driven by high oil prices, mandates and incentives in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the requirements of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that mandated the use of 9 billion gallons of renewable fuels in 2008. That number will rise to 36 billion gallons per year by 2022.

Gasoline consumption in 2008 was 378 million gallons per day. Currently, we produce and refine domestically about 34% of all our gasoline needs. The rest must come from imports. In 2008 ethanol consumption was 9.3 billion gallons (25.5 million gallons per day). That equates to roughly 7% of gasoline consumption. Almost this entire amount has been used to supplement gasoline replacing MTBE when it was deemed hazardous and seeping into the groundwater.

Blends of gasoline and ethanol vary from zero to around 10% (E10). After 10% ethanol, vehicles need to be outfitted with special lines and injectors. The flex fuel modification cost for new vehicles is $200 when incorporated into vehicle mass production, but can be much more in older vehicles and void warranties.

The future of ethanol is not in corn which represents the vast majority of current ethanol production. The second generation of ethanol will be cellulosic ethanol that can be made from a variety of sources including switch grass, wheat straw, corn stover, wood chips, forest waste, fast growing trees, and other plant material. The advantage is that the whole plant can be used instead of only the grain. Raw materials can be collected from all over the country and production facilities can be located near potential sources and even be transportable. Subsidies or tax incentives can be and have been provided to farmers, loggers, and waste management companies to provide direct feeds into those production facilities providing benefits to both parties.

Cellulosic ethanol is not without its problems. Although Cellulosic material (basically anything carbon based) is readily available and less expensive than corn, the conversion process is more expensive and more complex. But even this is being over come; traditional methods have focused on enzymatic processes that have historically generated lower concentrations of ethanol. New methods use a thermo chemical gasification process which is more efficient, contains greater yield and is also competitive with sugar based ethanol production costs (Brazil’s method).

In addition, ongoing research from private ethanol companies, and national and university laboratories will continue looking at new methods of converting biomass, engineering and growing more productive strains of crops, and maybe even genetically engineering single organisms (microbes) capable of breaking down simple sugars and fermenting alcohols, thereby eliminating some of the conversion process and further decreasing costs.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has finally provided $385 million for six different companies utilizing slightly different bio refinery processes ranging from different types of thermo chemical gasification to concentrated acid and catalytic processes. The success of these companies and their processes will be monitored over the next few years.  By the time they become fully operational; the bio refineries may become eligible for additional financing and are projected to produce in excess of 225 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol each year (616,000 gallons per day). 

While these projections are impressive they fall far short of replacing the existing inefficient corn based ethanol production by many magnitudes. There have already been considerable investments from agribusiness, venture capitalists, and private equity groups who certainly don’t want their product overtaken by cellulosic ethanol. However, cellulosic ethanol can be an enabling technology that allows the harvest of two crops from each field; a food production crop from the grains and a biomass crop from the residual stalks, leaves, husks, etc. Existing ethanol refineries will continue to be required for many years before eventually being converted.

In order to move beyond prototype demonstrations and into mass production with large economies of scale, second generation cellulosic ethanol will need significant loan guarantees and federal and state grants, subsidies, and tax incentives. These projects are for the benefit of all Americans and are a vital element to our country’s ability to sustain itself, not simply for the profit generation of companies or to create wealth for investors. We need to stop being so concerned about the private sector’s return on investment (ROI). Investors assume risk and expect to be justly compensated if the venture proves profitable. However, in the event taxpayer money is used to subsidize infrastructure development for bio fuel refineries and production facilities, the U.S. government should either be adequately compensated for its investment before turning it over to private companies, or profitability taken out of the equation allowing ethanol into the U.S. market at cost of production via a non profit entity or state ownership through the DOE. The latter possibility forgoes government tax revenues from ethanol sales for lower prices to consumers. I am not really sure that state ownership option would work in the U.S. It does appear to work for many other countries since the majority of the world’s largest oil companies are now state owned and control 77% of oil reserves.

Cellulosic ethanol will be critical to supplement our gasoline until automobiles can be run on batteries or water. With China and India each creating a middle class at alarming rates demand for oil will soon exceed the ability to extract, refine, and distribute enough petroleum quick enough to meet that demand. It is no longer an issue of when or if we will hit peak oil in our lifetimes but simple supply versus demand. We cannot wait or throw token dollars at a few companies and their refineries.  Oil companies have already demonstrated reluctance to drilling the expensive oil rich off shore sites preferring instead to drill less in deep water, tap easier sources, wait for the next run on oil prices, and buy back their shares of stock. They are investing in bio fuel research at a rate of about 1% – 2% of profits, probably the same amount used to market themselves as energy providers instead of oil companies. It is quite substantial when you consider the billions they make each quarter, but they haven’t done much beyond that.

We need to choose a couple of promising thermo chemical gasification processes or develop our own (these technologies are only modifications to existing gasification technology  used by chemical companies for years ) and ramp up production of fast, easy to grow, drought resistant crops. Combine this with incentives for agricultural waste, forestry waste, and landfill waste to be made available as a raw material. Then provide for immediate infrastructure financing for the next generation of refineries and facilities. Finally provide tax or relief incentives for fuel line conversion while the federal government or states mandate the use of greater concentrations of ethanol in gasoline. At minimum all service stations should be providing E10 which require no conversion.

 http://www.eia.doe.gov/

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18227/

http://www.energy.gov/news/4827.htm

http://webecoist.com/2009/03/31/burning-green-15-cutting-edge-biofuel-sources/

The United States consumed 99.3 Quadrillion total btu’s of energy in 2008 (British thermal unit (Btu) is a unit of energy needed to heat 1 lb. of water 1 degree F). The breakdown follows below. What I found to be of interest is that for all the talk over the past several years regarding renewable energy we don’t produce or consume much of it. Solar is only one tenth of one percent of total consumption and it’s been around for 30 years. All the private equity money going into wind generation represents one half of one percent, and the bio fuels hope about replacing gasoline with ethanol and diesel with bio diesel appear to have stalled at about one half of one percent. I realize there are efficiency concerns and infrastructure costs related to establishing these sectors but for all the media discussion and political wrangling we have actually moved little.

When considering consumption by sector (table below), petroleum is primarily used for transportation (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel). Natural gas usage breaks down to 29% for electricity production, 29% for industrial uses and is utilized for building steel, glass, brick, etc. and 34% is for heating residential homes and commercial buildings. Coal has always been used for electric power generation and equates to almost half of the energy sources used to generate electricity. Nuclear is also almost exclusively for electricity generation as well and represents 20% of the energy sources used to generate electricity. All of these are considered non-renewable forms of energy.

U.S. Energy Consumption by sector for 2008:

• Petroleum                                      37.4%     36.7 Quadrillion Btu
• Natural Gas                                   24.0%     23.8 Quadrillion Btu
• Coal                                              22.6%     22.8 Quadrillion Btu
• Nuclear (Uranium)                           8.5%       8.9 Quadrillion Btu
• Renewable Energy                          7.0%       7.3 Quadrillion Btu

Breakdown of Renewable Energy sector for 2008

• Biomass                                        53%        3.9% of total sources of energy
• Hydroelectric                                 34%        2.5% of total sources of energy
• Wind                                               7%          .5% of total sources of energy
• Geothermal                                     5%          .4% of total sources of energy
• Solar                                               1%          .1% of total sources of energy

Breakdown of Biomass sub-sector for 2008

• Wood and wood waste                 64.5%     2.5% of total sources of energy
• Biofuels (ethanol & biodiesel)        23.5%       .9% of total sources of energy
• Garbage & Landfill gases               12.0%       .5% of total sources of energy

Although the total number for renewable energy comes in at 7% of consumption it is largely made up of wood burning in the biomass sub-sector and hydroelectric power generation both of which have been in use for years. The newer technologies of wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and bio fuels barely scratch 1.5% of total U.S. energy consumption. Total energy consumed from all sources indicates that traditional non renewable sources still dominate and will likely continue to dominate U.S. energy supply side.

When considering our nation’s demand for energy and how we use it, demand for transportation and electrical power generation make up more than half of that demand. Transportation represents 29% of energy demand. Electricity represents a 21.6% of energy demand. When considering electricity demand.  Industries and all their associated production facilities require 31% and electricity demand from industrial uses is 4.3%. The construction / maintenance of our commercial sector require 19% and electricity demands from commercial development are 7.8%. Residential construction represents requires 22%, and electricity demand for residential housing is 9.5%. The two most important energy demands regarding renewable energy is also for transportation and electrical power. 

Transportation needs are met through either importing petroleum/oil or domestically producing it. The United States produces 10% of the world’s petroleum and consumes 24%. We import 57% of our demand and, we produce 43% domestically. Of the 57% of our imports about half come from North and South America, including Venezuela. The Persian Gulf represents only 16% of our total imports, with 12% of that amount supplied by our ally Saudi Arabia. I am now wondering why there is so much diplomatic, military, and economic emphasis placed on a region that provides only 16% of the total imports of oil for our transportation needs.

More than half of U.S. Petroleum Imports Come from the Western Hemisphere

• Canada            19%
• Mexico              10%
• Venezuela          9%
• Others              10%

Remaining U.S. Petroleum imports come from the rest of the world

• Africa                   21%       (Nigeria              8%)
• Persian Gulf         16%       (Saudi Arabia   12%)
• Others                 14%

70% of all oil produced domestically or imported goes towards transportation, 24% towards industrial production, and 5% for residential / commercial heating oil. If we look at the transportation sector closely, oil constitutes 96% of the demand. The remaining 4% is made up of natural gas and biofuels. Even that is a bit misleading since the vast majority of the 2% from biofuels is ecorn based ethanol that is supposed to be used to supplement gasoline. Ethanol production has certainly seen its share of difficulties but remains the supplement of choice since it increases octane levels, and providing a safe alternative for oxygenation , and helps meet stricter emission guidelines.

62% of our oil imports are used for gasoline. Why is only 2% of ethanol being used with gasoline or as a replacement for gasoline? Ethanol is probably not going to be the sole replacement as an automobile energy source. It doesn’t have the high BTU/energy efficiency ratio that gasoline has, but it is a great supplement to our gasoline and we could be using it in greater concentrations. Current mixtures now range from 100% gasoline / 0% ethanol to 90% gasoline / 10% ethanol (E10). The E10 mixtures have had minimal negative effect on gas lines, but even E10 isn’t used throughout the country.

Second generation cellulosic ethanol can be a reality quickly. There are already cellulosic ethanol companies that have completed the prototype generation stage and are ready for full production. An additional bonus for cellulosic production is that it will not strain food crops or require thousands of gallons of water to produce one plant. We need to be stretching the use of existing oil/gas inventories and that can be done by integrating cellulosic ethanol. I don’t accept the arguments about it always costing $1000 to change fuel lines, injectors, etc. Once a mixture system for E15 or above is mandated, company’s will compete as they always do and drive prices down. So, why is this not being done immediately to relieve the pressure from all the imports? Maybe there are too many hands in the pot? Is big agribusiness trying to generate more demand from its biggest commodity cash crop, corn? Maybe big oil doesn’t like to have to share the profits with some upstart potential substitute? Maybe there is no rush to get the U.S. off of the imports from the Middle East because we really aren’t importing much from that region since 12% comes from our stable ally Saudia Arabia, leaving only 4% to come from other areas within the Middle East (essentially from Iraq). I certainly hope we end up with more oil from Iraq and that oil drilling rights do not end up in Russia’s hands for all that we have invested in the area.

Diesel and jet fuel make up another 31% of our oil imports. Both can be made from biodiesel. Biodiesel consumption currently represents less than one half of 1%. This technology has been around for a while and bio algae represents one of the greatest potentials in this field. Algae are the fastest growing organisms on the planet able to replicate themselves in a few days and some varieties can produce yields up to 50% oil. Why did all government funding get pulled from this potentially useful technology? Why is it that when a university has a breakthrough, a military defense contractor steps in and overtakes the project? Not that I don’t agree with running our fighters and transports off of biodiesel generated onsite via bio algae production, I would just like to see it fueling our semi-tractor trailers domestically as well. Trucking compannies could also benefit from access to simple inexpensive conversion processes that don’t void warranties. Perhaps federal tax incentives could be provided to trucking companies to help fund the conversion process for at least some trucks that are no longer under warranty. At the minimum the U.S. should be significantly funding research to try to increase the efficiencies of bio algae/bio diesel production.

The following breaks down the transportation sector:

Transportation    96% of all transportation needs are met by petroleum

• Gasoline              62%   Cars, Motorcycles, Light Trucks
• Diesel                  22%   Heavier Trucks, Buses, Trains
• Jet Fuel                 9%    Airplane
• Other                    5%    Cars, Light Trucks, Heavier trucks (2% from renewable energy)
• Natural Gas          2%    City fleet Cars & Light duty trucks

Energy consumption by vehicle type

• Cars & Trucks          60% of total energy used for transportation       – Gasoline
• Large Trucks            16% of total energy used for transportation       – Diesel
• Aircraft                      9% of total energy used for transportation        – Jet Fuel
• Boats                        5% of total energy used for transportation        – Gasoline & Diesel
• Agriculture                4% of total energy used for transportation        –  Diesel
• Trains & Buses          3% of total energy used for transportation        –  Diesel

In electric power generation, we clearly use non-renewable energy sources as well, and this constitute s almost 90% of electricity production. Renewable energy, when hydro-electric is taken out, is 2.5% and half of that is old style wood burning.

Electric Power – Used for electrical energy accessed through the grid

• Coal                                 48.5%
• Natural Gas                      21.6%
• Nuclear                            19.4%
• Hydroelectric                     5.8%
• Renewable Energy            2.5%
• Petroleum                         1.6%

Sources of the 2.5% Renewable Energy used for electric power generation

• Biomass                    1.3%
• Wind                           .8%
• Geothermal                 .3%
• Solar                           .02%

Percentage breakdown of the Biomass sources in electric power generation

• Wood and wood waste             70.2%
• Biofuels                                       3.7%
• Garbage & Landfill gases          26.0%

I am sorry, but these numbers seem ridiculous. I have heard all of the arguments about the inefficiencies of photo-voltaics, the poor birds hitting the wind turbines, and how geothermal is too expensive and can only be placed deep under water in volcanic rifts. But unless I’m mistaken, aren’t we one of the most advanced countries in the world? I cannot believe that we cannot come up with better electricity generation solutions than burning coal. Wasn’t this technology being used in the…1800’s?  Maybe in promoting our energy crisis we are simply guaranteeing that everyone stays in “crisis mode” and allows business as usual to continue. I do not think that there have been any serious attempts to do anything but keep the major players in place while throwing a few token renewable energy gestures out to the public. 

I wonder if oil and coal had to deal with the same litany of excuses of why things can’t be done as renewable energy has faced. How were they ever able to start production in the … early 1900’s? Personally, I am grateful that we have oil and coal, they have gotten our country to where it is today, but they are polluting our environment and they are technology from our grandparent’s day. (I know, they have made amazing incremental advances in production over the years). Maybe 100 years ago we didn’t tell each other how we couldn’t do something and instead we set out to do it no matter what. Well, I think we are passed that stage. Let’s pull our heads out of our proverbial oil tanks and set to work to provide an economically viable solution for renewable energy integration.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

http://www.planetforward.org/pages/energy-consumption-by-sector

http://www.need.org/needpdf/infobook_activities/IntInfo/BiomassI.pdf

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/foreign_oil_dependence