On Jun 17, 2007, at 12:30 AM, Robin van Spaandonk wrote:
Horace if I misread your intentions while reading between the
lines, then I
apologize.
Likewise, if I misread your intentions I apologize too.
If people can refrain from fighting one another, then I think a
gradual increase
in the price of gasoline, and a concomitant increase in alternative
fuels is
more likely than an actual bump. With the tar sands in Canada and
the shale oil
in the US there is actually enough (more or less expensive?) oil to
last for
decades, during which time alternatives can be brought online.
Though I don't like admitting it, there's a possibility that
current price rises
are being deliberately introduced in order to provide a price
signal that will
hasten the introduction of alternatives, and concurrently help to
alleviate
global warming. IOW someone may actually be doing some long term
planning and
manipulating the market accordingly.
I hope you are right. I do expect very long term, even with existing
technology, coal, oil and gas will become exclusively dedicated to
and far more valuable as raw materials for chemical processes and
fabrication rather than for energy. It would be unfortunate if, for
fear of losing profits, we rushed to burn it up in the final days of
its use as a fuel.
I still think all that is missing is the political will to convert
the world to renewable energy.
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/BigPicture.pdf
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/EnergyCosts.pdf (updated)
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/HotCold.pdf (updated)
However, I now think maybe the solar tower concept is flawed, due to
an overlooked venturi effect from wind in the pilot programs. I
think it can be reborn in the form of wind walls, a stretched out
version of the solar tower that gains most of its energy from an
airfoil aided venturi effect. Equator facing walls would make good
mounting surfaces for solar cells or solar collectors, especially in
more polar lattitudes. Wind walls are ideal for citing on mountain
ridges, and large ones can turn a class I wind location into a class
IV location. It concerns me that the Australian solar tower pilot
project, if still alive, is located far inland, instead of near shore
where there is some wind.
Regards,
Horace Heffner
