Comments on: The problem with alternative energy “sources” http://www.randomfate.net/MT/2007/03/28/the-problem-with-alternative-energy-sources/ One more roll of the dice... Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:45:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Francesco DeParis http://www.randomfate.net/MT/2007/03/28/the-problem-with-alternative-energy-sources/comment-page-1/#comment-881430 Francesco DeParis Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:59:53 +0000 http://www.randomfate.net/MT/2007/03/28/the-problem-with-alternative-energy-sources/#comment-881430 The biofuel argument has to be looked at from a business perspective as investors are the ones footing the bill and their only interest is financial gain. Saving the environment is great, but the majority of the population will not jump on the wagon unless its economically viable. An example of this is the proliferation of hybrid vehicles. They haven't reached maximum penetration yet due to the cost/performance/cosmetic disadvantage as compared to petrol powered vehicles. Petrol is very efficient in terms of the net power gain and the current infrastructure in place to distribute it. 2008 will see an influx of new diesel powered passenger vehicles in the US. All of a sudden consumers will be able to get comparable hybrid mielage without a sacrifice in power. The way to overcome this is with investors throwing money at new ideas. We face an uphill battle against the oil industry and the downstream economies it has created (automotive industry is a good example). The fight has to come hard and the government is key to this. There will come a time when we wont need subsidies, but that is a time and innovation issue. All we need is time right now. Consumers are selfish by nature and the firs thing they think of is their wallet. When alternative energy costs are equal or less than petrol counterparts, we will see widespread adoption. Competition spurs innovation, and in this industry its good for both the alternative and petrol based camps. If consumers being to demand clean, high mileage cars (which they currently do not as seen by the contd SUV craze), petrol engines will be produced to create that need. On the alt energy side, fuels will have to be modified to pack more power per gallon than petrol, and the automotive side will have to follow suit to make their engines maximize the potential with biofuel. I frequently write about the business side of alternative energy on: <a href="http://energyspin.com" rel="nofollow"> Energy Spin: Alternative Energy Blog for Investors-Served Daily</a> Cheers, Francesco DeParis The biofuel argument has to be looked at from a business perspective as investors are the ones footing the bill and their only interest is financial gain. Saving the environment is great, but the majority of the population will not jump on the wagon unless its economically viable. An example of this is the proliferation of hybrid vehicles. They haven’t reached maximum penetration yet due to the cost/performance/cosmetic disadvantage as compared to petrol powered vehicles.

Petrol is very efficient in terms of the net power gain and the current infrastructure in place to distribute it. 2008 will see an influx of new diesel powered passenger vehicles in the US. All of a sudden consumers will be able to get comparable hybrid mielage without a sacrifice in power.

The way to overcome this is with investors throwing money at new ideas. We face an uphill battle against the oil industry and the downstream economies it has created (automotive industry is a good example). The fight has to come hard and the government is key to this. There will come a time when we wont need subsidies, but that is a time and innovation issue. All we need is time right now.

Consumers are selfish by nature and the firs thing they think of is their wallet. When alternative energy costs are equal or less than petrol counterparts, we will see widespread adoption. Competition spurs innovation, and in this industry its good for both the alternative and petrol based camps. If consumers being to demand clean, high mileage cars (which they currently do not as seen by the contd SUV craze), petrol engines will be produced to create that need. On the alt energy side, fuels will have to be modified to pack more power per gallon than petrol, and the automotive side will have to follow suit to make their engines maximize the potential with biofuel.

I frequently write about the business side of alternative energy on: Energy Spin: Alternative Energy Blog for Investors-Served Daily

Cheers,
Francesco DeParis

]]> By: Francesco DeParis http://www.randomfate.net/MT/2007/03/28/the-problem-with-alternative-energy-sources/comment-page-1/#comment-881429 Francesco DeParis Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:44:23 +0000 http://www.randomfate.net/MT/2007/03/28/the-problem-with-alternative-energy-sources/#comment-881429 A good question to consider is not only how the feedstocks for alternative energy are gathered, but where they come from and where they are ultimately produced. Taking away our dependence from corn requires a different ethanol strategy. One way to go about this is to empower local communities to produce ethanol from the best available feedstock. <a href="http://energyspin.com/?p=15" rel="nofollow"> I wrote a long article yesterday on the benefits of decentralizing, or "regionalizing" alternative energy as it relates to ethanol production. </a> Cellulosic ethanol will make this possible. The biggest hurdle the cellulosic ethanol producers face at the moment is the cost of the enzyme needed to breakdown the cellulose into a sugar. While everyone from private industry to the US govt is throwing money at these research projects, we have yet to hear how they are going. I posted last week on this topic specifically in the article, <a href="http://energyspin.com/?p=14" rel="nofollow"> "Cellulosic Enzyme Cost Reduction is still a WIP". </a> I frequently write about the business side of alternative energy on: <a href="http://energyspin.com" rel="nofollow"> Energy Spin: Alternative Energy Blog for Investors-Served Daily</a> Cheers, Francesco DeParis A good question to consider is not only how the feedstocks for alternative energy are gathered, but where they come from and where they are ultimately produced.

Taking away our dependence from corn requires a different ethanol strategy. One way to go about this is to empower local communities to produce ethanol from the best available feedstock. I wrote a long article yesterday on the benefits of decentralizing, or “regionalizing” alternative energy as it relates to ethanol production. Cellulosic ethanol will make this possible.

The biggest hurdle the cellulosic ethanol producers face at the moment is the cost of the enzyme needed to breakdown the cellulose into a sugar. While everyone from private industry to the US govt is throwing money at these research projects, we have yet to hear how they are going. I posted last week on this topic specifically in the article, “Cellulosic Enzyme Cost Reduction is still a WIP”.

I frequently write about the business side of alternative energy on: Energy Spin: Alternative Energy Blog for Investors-Served Daily

Cheers,
Francesco DeParis

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