ENERGY SOURCES PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

SOLAR ENERGY Limited Sunshine Solar energy is collected through light. If the sun isnt shining, no energy is being collected. Obviously, solar energy cannot be collected at night, but battery banks and netmetering provide energy when the sun isnt shining. Cloud cover and pollution are factors as well as locationsite location and latitude. The number of sunny days and the number of daylight hours are all factors. Site Suitability The energy output of photovoltaic panels is dependent on how much radiation can be converted into electricity. Sun exposure is critical. Optimal panel placement includes direct sun exposure without shading from trees or buildings, proper orientation, and proper tilt. The optimal angle of the panels varies with the seasons. Inefficient Storage As solar cell technology improves, so does the need for better storage. Electricity is lost as it is transported from the source to the end user. It makes sense to increase storage capability to create zero-energy homes and buildings with solar collection on site with storage capabilities that allow buildings to be completely off the grid. The current system of using batteries is costly and inefficient. Researchers have discovered a new process inspired by plant photosynthesis, using the power of the sun to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases that are later recombined inside a fuel cellusing abundant, nontoxic materials to create carbon-free energy for use day or night. Production and Disposal of Solar Panels There is an ugly side to the solar industry. The production of solar cells and the disposal of solar cells are a concern that is rarely addressed. Chemicals from the production of solar panels can leach into the water supply, potent gases can be released into the air, and chemicals and toxins such as mercury can leach into groundwater when solar panels are discarded. Recycling is a must. An industry wide effort to produce this technology with a small footprint and full consideration for environmental concerns is essential. Cost Cost has been the most prohibitive factor in the adoption of solar systems, though it has dropped dramatically in the last two years. Rather than $35,000.00 to $72,000.00 to install a home system for an average family, mass production and new technology have lowered the cost of current systems, which now range from $13,000.00 to $27,000.00 before tax incentives and government rebates. Even though the capital outlay is one-third of what it was a mere two years ago, this is still a significant outlay of cash for a majority of homeowners. Production Energy and New Technology Production energy (solar cell efficiency) for PV panels has historically been low. Recent technological improvements have resulted in 40% production. But the latest technology promises even greater production. Bio-based materials from renewable plant resources are being used to reduce production costs. New research is being used to create solar cells constructed with mismatched alloys that together capture greater wavelengths. Promising

research is also underway to learn how to capture infrared light. Concentrated solar technology, using mirrors to enhance and direct the suns rays, is also being utilized. New nanotechnology may increase productivity a hundred fold and may change the face of the industry as antennas replace the current solar panels. With costs dropping and technology improving in leaps and bounds, many potential customers may choose to wait and see what changes occur in this fast moving industry before purchasing a system BIOMASS Although there are some very good aspects to the use of biomass, there has to be two sides to every story, and biomass is no exception. Despite being a cleaner and greener alternative to fossil fuels, biomass has its downfalls. Biomass combustion poses the same problems as the burning of any other form of fuel. Black Carbon is a pollutant caused by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels and biomassBlack Carbon is possibly the second largest contributor to global Issues. Biomass resources, when burned, can also release Sulphur Dioxide and various airborne particulates, which can be harmful if inhaled. Another problem facing the widespread production and utilisation of biomass fuels is the efficiency of the power stations themselves. Traditional methods using fossil fuels can produce electricity easily and at much lower costs. Although the technology used to convert biomass into a usable resource has improved, the net energy gainis still relatively small. Cost is a factor when thinking about the viability of biomass as a primary source of energy; biomass has the potential to be more expensive than fossil fuels when creating energy and power. Man power is needed to plant the crops that will be used in biomass power stations, and time and money are needed to transport the fuel to the power stations. It is a very expensive outlay to build a power plant to use biomass as a sole fuel, and maintaining the infrastructure can be very expensive and hard work. The cost can be minimised if a Co-Firing system is used, where biomass is burnt along with coal in traditional power plants. This is considered to be one of the most efficient ways of using biomass, and requires no new power stations to be built-but the usual problems of burning fossil fuels remain. Often one of the problems affecting the effectiveness of biomass power production is the proximity to resources. If the source of biomass materials is in a remote place, far from cities and grids that utilise the energy, then the use of biomass will not be nearly so effective. Transportation costs of the raw materials, and additional costs of building new power plants, must be taken into account. Another disadvantage of biomass is the possible opposition from the public. However pressing the need for cleaner greener fuels, people are quite often opposed to change, and lets face it, no one wants a power station in their back yard! The use of biomass could potentially clash with the need for food. Land used for growing crops, fertilizers and animal fodder could be taken up with growing plants for use in biomass power plants. Using corn or sugar cane (for example) as biofuels can affect the human consumption of these products-its a food or fuel argument.

Biomass crops are not necessarily available all year round. Corn, wheat, barley and other such crops are seasonal; and trees take a long time to grow. It also uses a lot of energy and man power to grow crops and plants; this could contribute to the inefficiency of biomass production. There is an obvious need for an alternative to fossil fuels. However, it is essential to assess the viability of all green technologies, and biomass is no exception. FOSSIL FUELS Fossil fuels and their use is a major point of concern throughout the world at present and will continue to be so for a long time to come. So why all the concern and what can we do about it? These fuels have provided the developed world with a cheap source of energy, and this energy has allowed technological and financial success. This is almost entirely due to the ready availability of coal, oil and natural gas. Those fuels are responsible for running the power stations, our cars, factories, and even the production of food through large scale farming and fertilizers. Given that coal and oil have been used as fuel throughout human history, why has this now become a problem? The answers to these questions are population and lifestyle. The human population is over three times what it was less than 80 years ago. At the same time our technology is advancing, so that virtually all aspects of our lives use electricity in some way. Also take into account the amount of fuel that is burned each day in cars alone and the picture becomes clearer. The most publicized problem with fossil fuels is pollution. We can see pollution when were behind a truck or bus while driving, but pollution from power stations is less obvious. Nevertheless, whenever we use an electrical device the power is being generated at a power station. It is true that there are an increasing number of alternative energy power stations coming online, but on the whole the base load is still provided by fossil fuel power plants. Power stations burn fuel to boil water. The steam is used to turn turbines which rotate huge copper wire coils inside giant magnets, and it is these turbines that generate our electricity. This electricity is then transported to our homes by a series of power lines and substations. The burning of the fuel produces carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas, meaning it has the effect of trapping heat in the atmosphere. There are dozens of electrical devices that we use every single day. Computers, televisions, mobile phones, MP3 players, heaters, air conditioners all use electricity. Given that there are hundreds of millions of people living in developed nations the scale of energy use is enormous. Each time we use an electrical device we are adding to the energy bill. Even though the problem is large there are steps we can take individually to reduce it. Using less energy is the first step. Turning off devices rather than leaving them on standby immediately reduces our energy use without having any effect on our lifestyle. This will also result in lower electricity bills.

The next thing we can do is get our electricity from renewable energy sources. Most electricity retailers will have a green energy option, though sadly in a lot of cases this is more expensive than power from a coal or oil fired plant. For a more substantial investment you can have your own solar hot water or solar electricity system on your roof. These are long term investments, particularly the solar electricity. However, these do have the added benefit of increasing the value of your home. Buying an electric or hybrid vehicle is also a high up front cost, though its easier to see savings there because of the high and rising price of gas. The wholesale use of fossil fuels is something we can have a personal impact on. By reducing our energy use and learning more about these fuels and how they influence our lives we can be better informed and have a more positive impact on the planet. Internal combustion engines power most automobiles. Even hybrid-electric drive systems use internal combustion engines. With very few exceptions, those engines burn gasoline, and the gasoline comes from crude oil, black gold. With ever increasing pump prices we can't help but wonder how bad this situation is going to get. How much oil do we have left? Where is it? What will it cost to get it? These are important questions and every answer seems to spark endless debate. Geology is not an exact science yet, but modern geologists equipped with state of the art computer technology are getting amazingly accurate at predicting what energy resources will be found beneath thousands of feet of rock. Data is available that geologists, government, and business people view as reliable enough to use in making important decisions that affect all of us. Creating estimates of energy resources is subject to a numbing array of interpretations, politics, and outright guess work. Understanding that, here is the hard data for Fossil Fuel Oil Energy Resources . No one is certain when we will run out of oil. Some, a very small few, even doubt that we will. The point that everyone agrees on, however, is that we are using more and more oil every day, and it is getting harder and harder to find new deposits. The end result is that demand is outstripping supply and prices are skyrocketing. We simply must find alternatives to conventional fossil fuel oil supplies. When we speak of alternative fuels many of us develop a mental image of Willie Nelson and biodiesel, or a farmer shoveling his corn into a still to make ethanol. Well discuss these alternatives and more later. Right now, though, lets stick to fossil fuels because some alternatives to conventional fossil fuel oil are other, unconventional, forms of fossil fuel oil. Conventional oil is harvested by drilling a hole in the ground (at a good location, of course), and pumping out the oil. The oil energy resource projections discussed here are based on conventional oil supplies. But over three-fourths of the known oil supplies in the world are not located in conventional oil wells. These are the unconventional oil resources and they are largely untapped. The main reason unconventional fossil fuel energy resources have remained unused is because the economics havent been right. Conventional oil has been cheap and unconventional oil has

been expensive to harvest and refine into usable fuel. But that situation has recently turned upside down and looks to stay that way. Technological advancements have reduced the cost to produce usable fuel from unconventional energy resources. A number of factors continue to point in the direction of ever increasing demand for already stressed conventional oil resources. And persistent demand pressures on ever harder to find conventional oil resources promise to maintain a constant upward pressure on price. All of which is causing renewed interest in developing unconventional oil energy resources. In the oil market of today, prices of about $35 to $40 a barrel would be a bargain. Unconventional oil can deliver usable product to the refineries at that price and less. And, since the vast majority of these unconventional resources are right in our (North Americas) back yard, unconventional oil can help break our dependence on offshore, and often insecure, oil sources. Unconventional oil is found in two main forms, oil sands (also called tar sands), and oil shale. Oil sands can be a true energy lifeline to North America for decades to come as shown here on the Canadian Oil Sands page. This energy resource is incredibly valuable and its not the only unconventional oil resource available to us. Oil shale is similar to oil sand in many respects. Both oil shale and oil sand are composed of fossil fuel bearing earth. Both can be burned as is, like burning coal, but they would both leave huge residue piles of unburned earth. Both are found in abundance in North America. And both are more expensive to harvest and process into usable transportation fuel than conventional crude oil. While oil sands are currently being exploited profitably, oil shale processing is still largely in the developmental stages. We do have the technology to process oil shale into transportation fuel, but oil shale development is different than oil sand development, and currently more costly. Still, the potential for oil shale development in North America is vast. Even at this early stage of development shale can be converted to useful crude for less than $40 a barrel; a price that will drop dramatically with further development. And the largest, most readily usable deposits are right here in the U.S.A. As discussed here on the Green River Oil Shale page, United States oil shale deposits are rightly considered as the oil shale equivalent of the Middle East oil fields. While unconventional oil costs are currently highly competitive with conventional oil prices, cost remains one of the biggest challenges with unconventional oil usage. During the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s billions were spent on both shale and oil sand development. Billions were then lost when vast deposits of conventional oil were found in a number of areas in the ocean and oil prices plummeted; and stayed low for decades until now. Once again we find ourselves in an oil pinch. Many knowledgeable people insist that this time is different. This time, they say, the oil crunch is permanent because we simply arent finding any new and vast reserves even though billions have been spent on exploration. This time, they say, demand for oil globally is increasing at an unprecedented rate due to the rapid industrialization of a number of formerly third world countries and lead by the largest population center in the world, China. This time, they say, oil shortages may wreak havoc with the global economy before alternatives are brought up to significant production levels.

Nobody can predict the future with one hundred per cent certainty. Experts have predicted a catastrophic end to the oil age a number of times in the past and been wrong. But, for the reasons discussed above, this time, they could be right. If they are correct then oil sand and oil shale production may not be brought on line rapidly enough to prevent global economic turmoil. The good news is that oil is far from our only energy resource. There are eight other major energy resources, nine if you count hydrogen, which is not actually a resource (more on that later). Still, Oil has been and for years to come will continue to be the primary source of energy for our transportation needs. And there are other sources for oil besides oil. COAL ENERGY RESOURCES Coal is another readily available fuel source, but it has some problems. It has a reputation for being dirty. Coal doesnt burn clean like natural gas. It emits a number of pollutants including sulfur dioxide, which is a major contributor to acid rain. And according to the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, coal emits carbon dioxide at twice the rate of petroleum fuels. A number of environmental scientists believe that increasing carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere are contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming. So, though coal has a big advantage because of its availability, it tends to be unpopular with environmentalists who believe that it may cause more problems than it cures. Well get into greater detail about those problems and the solutions on the Energy Tech pages, which are currently under construction. By now, though, you may be wondering what in the heck coal has to do with auto fuel. It turns out that we have several processes that can turn coal into usable auto fuel. The technologies involved use heat and pressure to synthesize diesel fuel and gasoline from coal energy resources. They will be detailed on the Energy Tech pages (under construction). Since we have the technology to refine coal into diesel fuel and gasoline, coal can be added to our existing auto fuel inventories. As the use of these synthetic fuels increases, the demand on crude oil and dependency on foreign oil will decrease. And that can help lower the price of gas at the pump. Coal is a major player in the global fuel game as can be seen here on the Coal Fossil Fuel Supply page. The data shows that this energy resource can help meet our automotive energy needs for several decades. Coal is mainly carbon, though it often contains other impurities including petroleum products and methane gas which also contain carbon. All of our current transportation fuel inventories are carbon, hydrogen, or a combination of the two called hydrocarbons. Currently, nearly 100% of our automotive fuel inventories are hydrocarbons. Most of those hydrocarbons come from crude oil. But that is changing. One energy form can be converted to another through one type of refining process or another. Crude oil by itself doesnt burn in our automobiles; it has to be refined. Coal has to be processed to produce a burnable auto fuel. And we can add more energy resources to the available list of auto fuel candidates.

NATURAL GAS ENERGY RESOURCES We tend to think of natural gas energy as a resource used to heat our homes, generate electricity, and power our industries. But compressed natural gas can also be burned directly in internal combustion engines. A number of fleet vehicles already do just that. Natural gas is a great energy resource. Its the cleanest of all the fossil fuels. There is a lot of it; we have more energy available in natural gas reserves than in oil. Natural gas can also be refined into diesel fuel and gasoline. So, natural gas energy can be a major player in the auto fuel business and it is important to know how long those supplies will last. There are three primary sources of natural gas. Proven reserves are known, easily accessible gas deposits. If you burn natural gas in your furnace, it probably comes from proven reserves. Some of the larger reserves are in locations like the Middle East where the supply far outweighs the local demand. Currently those reserves are either left where they are or compressed and shipped to areas of higher demand. As seen on the Proved Natural Gas Reserves page, this type of natural gas resource appears to be slowly dwindling. But that doesnt mean that we are approaching the end of our natural gas resources. A vast amount of natural gas occurs in areas known as 'stranded' natural gas deposits. Stranded gas reserves fall into two categories. Some stranded reserves are natural gas deposits that are not economical to bring to market using conventional production and distribution methods. Other stranded reserves are reserves that have been located but are not accessible using current technologies. Ultra deep oceanic gas deposits are one example. But new (and some not-so-new) technologies are beginning to change many stranded natural gas energy resources into proved reserves as can be seen here on the Stranded Natural Gas Reserves page. The third main source of natural gas energy is found in a form called gas hydrates. Gas hydrates are gas-water molecules that form when temperature and pressure conditions are just right. Gas hydrates are a recent discovery, and an incredibly important one. There is a vast amount of natural gas energy in the form of gas hydrates. As you will see on the Gas Hydrate Reserves page, gas hydrates may prove to be one resource that actually needs to be used to protect the environment. And we aren't done yet because there is yet another hydrocarbon fuel source that can compete with oil. BIOMASS Biomass covers a wide spectrum of energy resources. Just about everything of an organic nature is biomass. That includes trees, grass, crops, agricultural waste, trash, garbage, and sewage. If it can be grown, it almost certainly can be utilized as a biomass fuel source.

Biomass used as fuel is referred to as biofuel. Biofuel can be burned directly to generate power and heat. It can also be converted into ethanol, methanol, butanol, or biodiesel, and all of these can be put into use as auto and truck fuels. The best thing about biofuels is that they are renewable and they just might be able to put a serious dent in our fossil fuel use. But along with the exciting possibilities there are a number of disadvantages that cause many to wonder if this resource will ever prove viable. They are discussed in Disadvantages of Biomass - Part I , and Disadvantages of Biomass - Part II . Some of those disadvantages have been addressed to one degree or another, and researchers will continue improving all aspects of biomass fuel technologies. But some of those disadvantages will, baring huge scientific advancements, forever relegate some biomass resources to minor league status. Some biomass advancements give us hope that fossil fuel oil technologies could become obsolete in the very near future. But committing to biomass will involve massive investment and resources. It is up to us to decide whether or not we have the will to utilize the vast resources needed to support a biofuel economy. And we need to make that decision soon. ________________________________________________________________ So far we have looked at coal, which is almost pure carbon, as a fuel source. We have also examined oil, natural gas, and biomass, all of which are hydrocarbons. We have seen that we can burn either hydrocarbons or pure carbon. It follows, then, that we can also burn hydrogen. ________________________________________________________________ HYDROGEN Hydrogen has been given a lot of press as a strong contender to replace gasoline. In some ways hydrogen is a great fuel. It has a high heat content, meaning that a little bit of hydrogen gives off a lot of energy. And it burns as clean as anyone could ever ask. If you burn hydrogen in your car, the only thing that comes out of the exhaust is water vapor. But hydrogen has problems. For one thing it is not an energy resource. For all practical purposes, there are no hydrogen deposits on the planet. Neither can it be grown, although some plants do produce hydrogen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Some bacteria also produce hydrogen. But hydrogen, rather than being an energy resource, is a means of storing and transporting energy. Another reason hydrogen is not an energy resource is that it takes at least as much thermal energy to harvest hydrogen from its bond in a molecule (typically water, H2O or methane, CH4) as the hydrogen gives back when its burned. An energy resource gives back more energy than is required to harvest it. In the real world, it takes can take 3 Btus of fossil fuel energy resources for every Btu of hydrogen fuel produced. Even with efficient wind generators, the cost can be close to 1.5 Btus

generated to liberate 1 Btu of hydrogen energy, not including the solar energy resources required to produce the wind that drives the generators. These inefficiencies make for high energy costs to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen needs to be thought of like electricity. Electricity, or more correctly, electrical power, has to be manufactured with a generator. Usable hydrogen has to be manufactured by breaking its molecular bond. Removing hydrogen from its bond with oxygen in a water molecule is simple. A classic high school chemistry experiment demonstrates the method. Fill a U-shaped tube with water, stick an electrode in the bottom of the tube, send a charge of electricity across the electrode, and watch oxygen bubble up one side of the tube and hydrogen up the other side. It really is that simple, in the lab. In a large production facilities this simple operation becomes far more complex, and expensive. Hydrogen production is not only expensive because of high energy consumption, but also because of the large and complex array of equipment that is needed to produce it in large quantities. Once hydrogen has been liberated from its molecular bond it has to be stored and transported to hydrogen using customers. Storage is also an expensive proposition because hydrogen, being such a small atom, takes up a huge amount of space per unit of energy. Not only are hydrogen storage tanks huge for the amount of energy stored, they are also under thousands of pounds of pressure or maintained at extremely cold, cryogenic, temperatures to keep hydrogen in liquid form. And yet more energy resources are expended on the hydrogen to compress it to high pressures or chill it to low temperatures. Hydrogen is also an extremely reactive element; that is, it readily bonds with other elements. Because of that high reactivity, hydrogen storage tanks and pipelines are made from special materials that wont react with hydrogen and deteriorate. Lets add that up. Hydrogen storage tanks have to be made from expensive special materials to prevent deterioration of the container. They have to be either very thick to contain high pressures, or very well insulated to hold cryogenic temperatures. And they have to be large, very large per unit of energy contained. All of that makes them expensive. When hydrogen does arrive at the fuel pump vehicles that burn it will have those same large, high tech, high pressure fuel tanks on board. While hydrogen can be burned in modified conventional internal combustion engines, most hydrogen fuel research has been geared toward its use in fuel cells . Once again, a simple notion of using hydrogen in a fuel cell to generate electricity to drive an electric motor sounds good. The exhaust is pure water and the energy conversion rate is at least double that of internal combustion engines. But, once again, a simple notion in theory has proven to be highly complex and expensive in practice. A hydrogen economy is probably decades away, if it ever happens. It is rift with problems. It is complex and expensive to manufacture. It is complex and expensive to store and transport. Though it can be used in an internal combustion engine, the promise of practical fuel cell technologies to utilize it efficiently are also complex, expensive and appear to be decades away.

So, hydrogen is not an energy resource, its horribly expensive, and it takes more energy resources to get the stuff in your fuel tank than it can give back. On top of all that, it probably wont be competitive for decades. You may wonder why scientists and business people alike put so much effort into it. The promise and hope of hydrogen is that if it can be produced and delivered in a cost effective way, using non-polluting, renewable energy resources, then it can deliver endless, non-polluting energy to an energy hungry world. There are a number of readily available energy resources that can help. ________________________________________________________________ ENERGY RESOURCES FROM UNSEEN ATOMS - NUCLEAR POWER Nuclear Power is a product of Twentieth Century technology. It uses highly refined uranium and plutonium to generate heat. The process that generates heat is nuclear fission, or the splitting of atoms. That heat is used to make steam that drives steam turbines, and the steam turbines drive generators that make electricity. Electricity can be used to generate hydrogen supplies or recharge hybrid (or electric) car batteries during off-peak hours; those hours, usually at night, when power plants are producing much less electricity than their design capacity. Several proposals already on the drawing boards suggest placing hydrogen production facilities close to nuclear power plants. The advantage of nuclear power plants over fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) plants is that they are pollution free (unless one develops a radiation leak). But nuclear power has a horrible reputation. Do we dare expand this potentially disastrous energy resource and build even more nuclear power plants? Or should we dismantle the plants already in use? In addition to long-term supply data, the Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power page contains information from both sides of the nuclear power debate. There are also proposals to use fossil fuel power plants to provide the same kind of off-peak power supplies for hydrogen production. The production economics seem to work out and might offer a way to curb U.S. dependency on foreign oil. Still, a lot of folks arent comfortable with the idea of burning coal to generate hydrogen, no matter how clean the hydrogen may burn. And they arent comfortable with nuclear power for any purpose. If you are one of those apprehensive people, be of good cheer because there are other options that are environmentally friendly and becoming more cost effective each day. ________________________________________________________________ ENERGY RESOURCES FROM THE WIND Wind has been used as a power source for over five thousand years. Boats with sails to capture wind for propulsion go back to ancient Egypt and beyond. The first windmills known to history were in ancient Persia (now known as Iran) around the 7th Century BC. The Netherlands (Holland) first use didnt appear until around 1600, 2,300 years

after windmills were developed in Persia. Windmills have been in continuous use since they were first developed as a power source. The current area of focus for wind power is the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. The basics are simple. Stick a propeller on the end of an electrical generator and hoist the whole thing on top of a tower to expose it to prevailing winds. When the wind blows, electricity is generated. Among the many uses for that electrical power is generation of hydrogen fuel or recharging hybrid car batteries; and wind can accomplish this without pollution or waste products of any sort. While free energy with no pollution is a huge advantage of wind power, there are some disadvantages discussed here on the Pros and Cons of Wind Power page. In spite of some drawbacks, wind power is widely recognized as a viable solution to an array of problems with other energy resources. It is a rapid growth industry comparable to computer industry growth in the 1980s. And there are other promising alternatives to conventional power ________________________________________________________________ ENERGY RESOURCES FROM THE SUN SOLAR POWER Solar energy is another resource that can be used to generate electricity. Solar power is one of the earliest energy resources used by humanity. Some of the earliest structures known were made of thick earthen walls that would slowly warm during hot desert days, and slowly release stored heat during cool desert nights. For thousands of years humanity used solar power to heat or dry things. Laundry, animal skins, and food grains are known to have been sun dried since the beginning of recorded history. Even the earthen bricks for the thick walls of solar warmed homes were dried with solar energy. The discovery of the photoelectric effect by which electricity is generated directly from light, was at first only a scientific curiosity. Now, after decades of development, solar electrical power is starting to make a significant contribution to our growing energy needs. The main obstacle to large-scale development of solar power has been cost. While solar power is a simple method of generating electricity, it has also proven to be an incredibly expensive method. But as solar technology has evolved, the cost per kilowatt has steadily dropped. As shown on the Pros and Cons of Solar Power page, solar electricity has some hurdles to overcome, but it is poised to become a major energy resource in the near future - the very near future. _________________________________________________________________ ENERGY RESOURCES GEOTHERMAL Geothermal energy comes from inside our planet. Active volcanoes merely hint at the massive thermal energy resource that lies beneath our feet. generation.

Humanity has been utilizing geothermal energy since before recorded history. Hot springs have been used for bathing, cooking, and warmth, and archeologists have found Stone Age artifacts at many of these sites. Over the years we have expanded the use of geothermal heat. Hot springs and near-surface hot wells provide heat for industrial thermal processes, residential use, greenhouses, and aquaculture. Geothermal Ground source heat pump systems use moderate ground temperatures as a source of heat in the winter, and to help remove heat in the summer. Dig deeper into the earth at the right locations and we find enough thermal energy to economically generate electricity. Harvesting geothermal energy for automotive use is a fairly straightforward proposition. Find an accessible, high volume geothermal steam or hot (really hot) water source. Use the heat to power a steam turbine that turns an electrical generator. And use the electricity to produce hydrogen or recharge hybrid car batteries. The main link in the geothermal technology chain, using existing technology, is finding economically accessible hot spots that readily produce steam. On the Pros and Cons of Geothermal Energy page well discuss cost and other aspects of this promising energy resource. There are other geothermal possibilities that are just now being explored. One little known resource is geothermal energy found in depleted oil wells. Many oil wells were deep enough so that, as the oil was pumped out, the wells filled with water, hot water geothermal energy. There are thousands of these wells and they may prove to be yet another weapon in the fight against high fuel prices. It seems like we find valuable energy resources everywhere if we just open our eyes to the endless possibilities. Just when we think we have found them all, we stumble on yet another energy resource. As you will see in the next section, though we have barely begun using geothermal and other renewable energy resources, we are finding previously unimagined ways to use water as what may prove to be our most valuable energy resource.