Alternative Energy-Part 2. Transportation

In part one of this article, I looked at a number of technologies that might replace coal.  In this one, I want to look at the technologies and fuels that could replace oil.  The majority of oil is used in transportation, cars, trucks, airlines, shipping, though a small portion is used for home heating.  The latter will fall under the replacing of coal, though, if we can change all the vehicles now using oil-based fuels, those people using oil for their heating will be a very small percentage of our present national oil use.  Once again, considering that we will have to be phasing in new technologies, we will have to consider both short and long term solutions.

In the short term as far as fuels are concerned, I think the best alternative fuel is natural gas.  As you can see from the map to the right (click for a larger image), the infrastructure already exists to move natural gas around the country.  The map brings up another point in the natural gas/hydrogen decision, hydrogen can not be transported in pipelines like natural gas can be, thus it would have to be trucked to all stations providing it, or made on site, which will take either electricity or, again, natural gas (though I will discuss a method for producing natural gas below).  In addition to this, natural gas contains more energy per cubic foot than does hydrogen, 1042 BTUs and 783 BTUs respectively.  While present cars can be retrofitted to run on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), the cost is prohibitive.  Incentives to automakers to produce cars that will run on CNG would be more productive, and allow the placement of CNG pumps at gas stations to be phased in.  Even though I am advocating a switch to natural gas, this doesn’t mean that I think this is an end in and of itself, rather, it is a move that will bring us to a truly green and easily replenished fuel source.

At this point, many of you may presume that I will next address ethanol, in its variety of forms, and I will, but perhaps not in the way you think.  First of all, I think that corn-based ethanol is one of the biggest red herrings ever passed off on the American public.  The only people that benefit from this type of ethanol are the farmers, and while I have nothing against farmers, and would like to see them prosper, this is not the way to do it.  The amount of energy it takes to turn corn into fuel negates any benefit that we derive from that fuel.  In addition, the amount of water needed to grow the crops is a reason to stop this method of production altogether (this does not include the use of fertilizer and pesticides).  In the decades to come, it will not be oil that wars will be fought over, but water and arable land.  Let’s not waste ours.  There is cellulosic ethanol, which is a more efficient use of crops and resources, but even this method has a costly processing schedule.  As you can see in the chart to the left, the production of ethanol from a wide variety of sources is either inefficient, reduces our food supply, or will take up more land than we have to grow the crops.  The best source of energy that can be grown is biodiesel made from either canola or grown from algae.

Even though the technology and processing of algae for biodeisel is still a long term goal, this seems to present the best source of fuel with the least impact to the environment and minimal processing.  There are already universities working on the expansion of this resource, and Petrosun opened the first algae/biofuel production plant this year.  But biodiesel isn’t the only thing that algae can produce.  Even though I prefer CNG for a short term replacement to oil, algae can also be used to produce hydrogen (see the previous link for an indepth article on this process).   Hydrogen from this type of production can be used to power fuel cells, whether they are in vehicles or in buildings to add additional energy needs that may not be able to be met by solar cells.

There are other things that must be done concerning vehicles besides finding a new fuel source.  No matter if it is CNG, biodiesel, or hydrogen, I believe that one of the most beneficial goals, both in the long term and the short term, is the production of plug-in hybrids.  Given that we are moving toward a non-coal based energy infrastructure from diverse sources, the majority of trips made being under 40 miles, electric engines with a fuel based generator seem the best combination to me.  But this is not the only thing we can do to increase efficiency and decrease the use of oil, in the short or long term.  The production of carbon fiber panels must be increased if the price of them is to come down to a usable point.

It is widely reported that Obama’s stimulus package that will come next year will be 500 billion dollars, though I have heard reports of closer to one trillion dollars.  These technologies, especially the latter, concerning carbon fiber production, would be good places to invest much of the money.  Even if we still go on using gasoline powered vehicles, lowering the weight of those vehicles is the best ways to conserve fuel.  The best way to do this is to move away from steel toward carbon fiber.  Another good investment of the stimulus package and the best way to conserve fuel in the short term, decreasing our dependency and usage of oil, is mass transit.  Trains, subways, buses are the most efficient use of energy to transport people.

I was pleased to see Dr Chu appointed as Secretary of Energy, as he has a tremendous amount of experience in dealing with alternative sources of energy.  In addition, he also advocates a hike in the gas price.  While I expect gas prices will only remain low as long as the economy is doing poorly, I think that higher prices will do a number of things.  It will remind Americans where it was only a few short months ago; the high price of gas will keep the focus on divorcing us from oil.  As it is, with oil prices down, and SUV inventories high, I have already seen commercials advertising the worst types of vehicles at low prices.  Luckily, no one can get a loan for these gas guzzlers.  The increased fuel prices will also provide a tax revenue for increased support of infrastructure and technology for a new energy paradigm.

OPEC is already seeking to cut production to bring the price of oil back up, and once the world’s economy and growth regain their momentum, it may seem like the days of four dollars a gallon for gas were the good old days.  We need to work on bringing these new fuels and technologies on line as soon as we can, and if we have to sacrifice something personally to see it through, then so be it.  Both the citizens and politicians of America can be short-sighted, and with short memories as well.  We need to get this started and well underway before we are sidetracked or loose interest.  There have been many generations in the growth of this country who sacrificed a great deal so that the country could become better, what it is today.  The question you have to ask yourself is, what are you willing to sacrifice to make it a better, and sustainable, place for those generations that will come after us?