Alternative Energy Using Renewable Fuels

Alternative Energy Using Renewable Fuels

When it comes to renewable fuel sources, the Germans have really taken off, and they have become one of the big participants in the alternative energy business. Under the auspices of the country's electricity feed legislation, the German people established a global record in 2006 by spending more than $10 billion (US) in wind turbines, biogas power plants, and solar collecting cells. Germany's "feed laws" allow German homes to connect to an electrical grid using renewable energy and then sell any surplus energy generated to the power company at retail pricing. This economic incentive has propelled Germany to the top of the world in terms of the number of operating solar arrays, biogas plants, and wind turbines. These renewable energy sources provide 50 terawatt hours of power each year, accounting for 10% of total German energy output. Germany alone built 100,000 solar energy gathering installations in 2006.

BP has created an Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) in the United States to lead major new research and development initiatives into clean-burning renewable energy sources, most notably biofuels for ground vehicles. BP's contribution will be $50 million (US) every year over the next decade. This EBI will be housed at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. In collaboration with BP, the university will be responsible for the research and development of novel biofuel crops, biofuel-delivery agricultural systems, and machinery to manufacture sustainable liquid fuels for automotive usage. The university will lead efforts in the area of genetic engineering in order to develop more sophisticated biofuel crops. The EBI will also place a strong emphasis on technical advancements for turning heavy hydrocarbons into clean, efficient fuels.

In the United States, the conflict between Congress and the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) continues. According to the GEA's Executive Director, Karl Gawell, the only way to ensure that DOE and OMB do not simply revert to their irrational insistence on terminating the geothermal research program is to schedule a congressional hearing specifically on geothermal energy, its potential, and the role of federal research. Furthermore, Gawell claims that recent studies conducted by the National Research Council, the Western Governors' Association Clean Energy Task Force, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology all support increasing geothermal research funding in order to develop the technology required to utilize this vast, untapped domestic renewable energy resource. Supporters of geothermal energy, such as this writer, are astounded by the public's lack of understanding of the enormous advantages that study and development of a sustainable alternative energy source would give the US, both practically and monetarily. In terms of kilowatt-hours, geothermal energy is already less costly to create than the coal that the United States continues to mine. Geothermal energy is abundant, lying only a few kilometers under our feet and easily accessible via drilling. Ormat, the third biggest geothermal energy generator in the United States with facilities in various countries, is already a billion-dollar-per-year business—geothermal energy is clearly commercially feasible.