Original Post
The energy future belongs to wind - I can't say it any better than this:
quote:Of course, the blow hards in Congress can always be counted on to do the wrong thing...
The energy future belongs to wind. The world energy economy became progressively more global during the twentieth century as the world turned to oil. It promises to reverse direction and become more local during the 21st century as the world turns to wind, wind-generated hydrogen, and solar cells. Wind and wind-generated hydrogen will shape not only the energy sector of the global economy but the global economy itself. ... Advances in wind turbine design since 1991 allow turbines to operate at lower wind speeds, to harness more of the wind's energy, and to harvest it at greater heights -- dramatically expanding the harnessable wind resource. Add to this the recent bullish assessments of offshore wind potential, and the enormity of the wind resource becomes apparent. Wind power can meet not only all U.S. electricity needs, but all U.S. energy needs. ... Wind is popular because it is abundant, cheap, inexhaustible, widely distributed, climate-benign, and clean -- attributes that no other energy source can match. The cost of wind-generated electricity has dropped from 38¢ a kilowatt-hour in the early 1980s to roughly 4¢ a kilowatt-hour today on prime wind sites. Some recently signed U.S. and U.K. long-term supply contracts are providing electricity at 3¢ a kilowatt-hour. Wind Force 12 projected that the average cost per kilowatt hour of wind-generated electricity will drop to 2.6¢ by 2010 and to 2.1¢ by 2020. U.S. energy consultant Harry Braun says that if wind turbines are mass-produced on assembly lines like automobiles, the cost of wind-generated electricity could drop to 1-2¢ per kilowatt hour. ... Wind power is now a viable, robust, fast-growing industry. Cheap electricity from wind makes it economical to electrolyze water and produce hydrogen. Hydrogen is the fuel of choice for the highly efficient fuel cells that will be used widely in the future to power motor vehicles and to supply electricity, heating, and cooling for buildings. Hydrogen also offers a way of storing wind energy and of transporting it efficiently by pipeline or in liquefied form by ship. ... For energy investors, growth in the future lies with wind and the hydrogen produced with cheap wind-generated electricity. Solar cell sales are growing at over 30 percent a year and are likely to supply much of the electricity for the 1.7 billion people who are still without electricity, most of them living in villages in developing countries. But solar cells are still too costly to supply the vast amounts of energy required to power a modern economy. ... Blowing In The Wind
quote:Above board corporate subsidies are one thing, but government bailouts brought about by corporate fraud are another thing all together. This is how they plant the seeds for future bailouts... Given the contrast of the bright energy future described in the first article, it's clear that there's a terrible lack of vision and leadership in Congress these days, if not a rotting corruption... [edited by - lessbread on August 3, 2003 3:14:34 PM]
n the last week of July the Senate resumed consideration of sweeping energy legislation that has been widely criticized by consumer and environmental advocates. Senators face a crucial decision: Do they listen to the voters and take the health of the economy into account? Or will $21 million worth of campaign contributions from corporate utilities do the talking? ... On July 29 the debate turned to the bill's controversial electricity provisions. Under heavy pressure from within his own caucus, Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, (R-N.M.), introduced a new draft of the bill's electricity title. But his amendment still sells consumers short by repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA), a vital electricity consumer and investor protection. Congress created PUHCA to prevent multistate electricity companies from investing ratepayer money in risky schemes that do not contribute to the delivery of affordable and reliable energy. PUHCA was also designed to prevent a single company from controlling electricity, telecommunications, water and other essential services. It is based on the simple notion that convergence stifles competition and consumer choice, and can lead to poor service and higher bills. Repealing PUHCA will encourage these same utilities to replicate Enron's complex corporate structure, making it easier for companies to hide debt from shareholders and raise prices for consumers. Domenici's amendment would therefore result in the dominance of U.S. electricity markets by just a handful of mega-utilities that could use their dominance to raise prices across the board. ... Big Energy Grab Bag
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