JoeTaxpayer

My readers know that I have great optimism for the future of solar power. As the cost of solar cells drops, the challenge is to bridge the gap from sundown to sunrise. A recent article “‘Major Discovery’ Primed To Unleash Solar Revolution” suggests that “MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn’t shine.”

The article goes on to describe a low cost, low loss method used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, in effect creating a household fuel cell. While this system may still be years away, it may provide the much needed storage solution once solar (and wind) power becomes economically viable.

Joe

written by JOE \\ tags: energy, fuel, power, solar, solar batteries, Solar cell, solar power, solar revolution

As I hear more people talk on this topic, I grow more hopeful that the pain we are feeling in our wallets at the gas pump will pave the way toward a better future.
In an interview with the former mayor of New York, Ed Koch, I heard him call for a “Manhattan Project” for alternative energy. Let’s hope other politicians share his view. Al Gore seems to be on a similar path, he calls for a ten year plan to produce 100% of our energy needs from renewable resources within the next 10 years. T Boone Pickens (whose site I added to my link list, right) also proposes a plan for renewable energy. His plan differs slightly from Gore’s in that he feels it would be faster to introduce the widespread use of natural gas powered vehicles as an interim step to the electric car.
In the end, I look forward to a world where our children breathe cleaner air and see a clearer sky. More to come.
Joe

written by JOE \\ tags: Al Gore, Alternative Energy, Ed Koch, electric car, energy, manhattan project, power, renewable energy, t boone pickens

With all my discussion about Solar Energy and the rise in Gas prices, here’s a timely Mike Keefe cartoon from the Denver Post;

Enjoy the weekend!
Joe

written by JOE \\ tags: cartoon, denver post, energy, gas prices, mike keefe, solar, Solar energy

Usually, such questions are rhetorical. By I have an answer to this one. They are so stupid that yesterday the Associated Press reported, “Republicans for the second time in a week prevented the Senate from taking up a tax bill providing more than $50 billion in renewable energy credits and tax breaks for families and businesses.” I wrote in Bad Energy Mojo a couple weeks back that congress was still bickering over this, but the news came out yesterday that they defeated this bill. Some things are simply beyond my comprehension,  add this to my list.

written by JOE \\ tags: congressmen, energy, renewable energy, tax breaks

I received enough email asking why I picked on Obama for what may have been a slip of the tongue regarding distribution of income gains. I think that our elected officials, whoever they are, need to speak with precision and when it comes to numbers, be close enough to exhibit an understanding of what they are discussing.

So, this past Tuesday, I hear Sen John Barrasso (WI) being interviewed by CNBC on the current gas price concerns. He offered that the average American uses 1500 gallons of gasoline each year. I’ll not split hairs to suggest that he meant the average driver, that was understood. But let’s think for a minute. 1500 gallons, even at 20 MPG (which is low, earlier, CNBC said the MPG was up to 30 MPG this year, which seemed high) that’s 30,000 miles per year. That just seemed wrong to me, so a few seconds with The Google and I found the Energy Kid’s Page, a site hosted by the department of energy. There, I found the number to be 500 gallons average with 12,000 miles driven by the average driver. This made a bit more sense to me, and this data was confirmed by the California Energy Commission, which states a US average of 464 gallons used per year. These numbers differ by less than 10%, but are far from the 1500 gallons the honorable Senator from Wisconsin stated.

The price of gas is high, painfully so. In any dialog about economics, it’s important to have your numbers right. Now, at work on Monday, I know that every dollar rise in gasoline impacts the average driver by $500 per year. I don’t aspire to the Cliff Clavin award, but I do want to know my facts before I quote them.

(I just found another beautiful New York Times graphic titled, “The Varying Impact of Gas Prices” illustrating the percent of one’s income going to gasoline purchases, across the country. Take a peek.)
Enjoy the weekend!

Joe

written by JOE \\ tags: barack obama, distribution of income, economics, energy, Finance, gasoline, innumeracy, john barrasso, mpg, president

The May 2 Issue of The Week magazine had an interesting article titled “The Global Food Crisis“. While I held the belief that the move to bio fuels was the major cause of the recent rise in food prices, this article gave me a better view of the big picture. While bio fuel demand is one of the causes, six years of drought in Australia, flooding in Argentina and other weather related events added to the crisis. What I missed completely was the shift in diet within China. The average Chinese person now consumes 110 pounds of meat per year, up from 44 pounds two decades ago. It takes 10 pounds of grain to produce one pound of pork and 20 pounds of grain to produce a pound of beef, so it would seem that the rise of the Asian middle class was a major factor in the current crisis. This raises new and troubling questions. Can the world shift from being largely vegetarian to omnivore and not create its own ongoing crisis? Perhaps when we realize that bio fuels are a misguided solution to this problem will we get on with the research that will lead toward a lasting solution - the alternate energy provided by solar and wind. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Joe

written by JOE \\ tags: bio fuel, energy, Finance, food crisis, money

I know, I am going to run out of Sun related puns and allusions pretty soon, but until then, I remain excited about the prospects of a solar powered world, and will continue to follow what I believe to be the most exciting innovation that we are continuing to ignore.

The New York Times recently published an article, “Silicon Valley Starts to Turn Its Face to the Sun” in which they reference Moore’s Law and how since solar panels are made of silicon, we may continue to see Moore type leap in efficiency. I remarked last week that the recent run up in oil prices will only serve to push the demand for solar. The one concern I had on solar as a power source is that by definition, it’s not available 24 hours per day in every area. I was looking for a sign that storage (batteries) that would bridge the gaps (nighttime) in availability. A story just crossed the wire titled “Sharp to make solar power storage batteries” and that helped to boost my optimism that as the cost of solar continues to drop, we will have a new storage technology available.

I dream of the electric car that when charged has a range of 240 miles. I dream of charging stations at every rest area and gas station, with a simple metered system to draw power and bill your credit card. A half hour fast charge to get that 240 mile range would be ideal. Even the 240 range would cover 90% of people’s regular daily use, and would have enough range for an ideal second family car. The lower emissions would only be an extra perk in this scenario.

JOE

written by JOE \\ tags: energy, Finance, gas prices, pollution, solar

In September and October, I talked about unintended consequences. I can’t help but ponder the concept, and will continue to post those that strike me as more than a passing thought.

We, as a country, are trying to get away from the stranglehold the oil producing nations seem to have over us. The current $3/gallon price of gasoline is putting a dent in all of our budgets, and the search for alternative fuel is on. Now, I believe that once an ideal storage system (read that - a better battery) is created, we will all be better off as wind and solar energy will gain favor. But, meanwhile, I hear a demand growing for “home grown” fuel in the form of ethanol, created from corn (or other grain). This scares me. It’s not too tough to see that any large use of this piece of the food chain will have a ripple effect on the rest of the system. First the cost of all grains will rise due to the increase in demand. Then the cost of any grain-fed livestock will rise as well. We will have a solution that’s far worse than the original problem. I welcome any view to the contrary.

Here is the futures chart for corn, a scary picture to say the least.

JOE

written by JOE \\ tags: energy, Finance, food, unintended consequences