Peri Hartman via EV wrote:
Yep, these are all good ideas, including making H2 for grid storage. All have their problems, but all can help with the "no wind" days, etc.
The big question will be just how much energy can we store with such solutions? Society's thirst for power seems unquenchable! Cheap energy has lulled us into using all sorts of highly inefficient devices. "Who cares if my SUV gets 10 mpg... gas is cheap." Huge savings are possible just by promoting more efficient technologies (like EVs).
Engineers are good at devising all sorts of clever schemes for providing energy. Most of the problems are not technical (they can be solved) but are instead political and financial.
There are still places in the world where gigantic dams could be built; but they cross international borders, and so lead to endless debates.
There are places where huge solar or wind farms could be placed without serious impacts (certainly less than other power plants). But the power would have to cross borders, which also leads to arguments.
There are ways to put PV plants in space so they get sunlight virtually continuously, and then "beam" the power down to earth. But no one wants to spend the money to develop them. (What if an enemy shoots it down?)
We've learned a lot about nuclear power. There are newer safer ways to build them and handle the waste disposal problem. But we don't have the political "will" to proceed.
-- Life is simple. Try something. If it works, do more of it. If it stops working, try something else. The secret is the "something else". -- Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
