alternative copy)

8/14/2019 Alternative Copy)

1/13

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energyintended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels.Typically, official uses of the term, such as qualification for governmental incentives,

exclude fossil fuels and nuclear energy whose undesired consequences are high carbondioxide emissions, the major contributing factor of global warming according to theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and difficulties of radioactive wastedisposal. Over the years, the nature of what was regarded alternative energy sources haschanged considerably, and today because of the variety of energy choices and differinggoals of their advocates, defining some energy types as "alternative" is highlycontroversial.

The term "alternative" presupposes a set of undesirable energy technologies againstwhich "alternative energies" are opposed. As such, the list of energy technologiesexcluded is an indicator of what problems that the alternative technologies are intended to

address. Controversies regarding dominant forms of energy and their alternatives have along history.

Alternative Energy Sources: Renewable & Non-Renewable

Both non-renewable and renewable energy sources are reviewed:a. Non-renewable energy sources such as natural gas and other fuels made from

natural gas. There is a limited amount of natural gas on earth and, once used,they are gone forever. (Fortunately, large new natural gas reserves are beingdiscovered in shale formations).

b. Renewable sources such as ethanol, biodiesel, solar energy and wind power.

The potential for these renewable resources is virtually unlimited although highcost has held back their development.

Alternative Energy Sources Definitions

Alternative energy sources are defined as any energy source (and certain non-energy

applications) that can replace or reduce the use of conventional crude oil and coal. Thisis a broad definition but it is helpful in avoiding concentrating on only pristine alternativeenergy sources, e.g., solar energy, wind energy, etc. We are not going to solve theenergy crisis with just solar energy and windmills.(Note: natural gas was removed from my list of fossil fuels that need to be replaced

because of recent discovery of immense deposits ofshale formation natural gas and, also,because natural gas, itself, is increasingly being used as an alternative energy source,e.g., liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), gas-to-liquids (GTL),etc......however, eventually natural gas will also need to be replaced.)

Another way to define the subject is to take a quick look at the entire energyspectrum. Let's break it into three categories:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_termhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_wastehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_termhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_waste


2/13

1. Conventional (Non-renewable) Energy Sources.

Crude oil, coal, and natural gas. Crude oil is the most used of the three fuels and we arebeginning to run out. When world Peak Oil (maximum production of oil) is reached,prices of the fuel will skyrocket. This is the fuel we must quickly find a substitute for.

Coal is more abundant than crude oil but the atmospheric emissions problems with itsuse are severe and, therefore, its use is restricted. Natural gas is a "clean" fuel but thesupply is somewhat limited although it is more abundant in nature than crude oil.Because of its relative abundance, natural gas is treated, herein, as an non-renewablealternative energy source (see next section).2. Unconventional (Non-renewable) Energy Sources.

Some alternative energy sources fall into this category. LNG, oil sands and nuclearenergy are probably the most important of these energy sources. Certain forms of naturalgas - LNG, CNG, and GTL - are important here. These forms of natural gas or natural

gas products have specific advantages when in the liquid or compressed state or whenconverted to a synthetic liquid fuel. Natural gas is clean and, as discussed in the aboveparagraph, some forms of it can actually be considered an alternative energy source intheir own right. We will need lots of this clean natural gas to tide us over until the morepristine alternative energy sources kick in. Please keep in mind that, while natural gascan be considered an alternative energy source, it is not a renewable energy source ...wewill eventually run out of it! Also in this energy category are the oil sands and tar sands,nuclear energy, and unconventional sources of natural gas such a "tight" formation gasand shale formation natural gas. These unconventional energy sources should beconsideredas legitimate energy substitutes since they replace conventional oil and coal.They are very important energy sources since they will likely be the "bridge" energysources that we will have to use until the renewable energy sources are developed. Coal,while plentiful, is so dirty it should not be listed as an alternative fuel at this time.

3. Renewable Energy Sources.

These are the alternative energy sources that are perpetually renewable. Solar energy,wind power, ethanol, biodiesel, etc. Once developed, these energy sources willtheoretically supply a near infinite supply of energy........when they are developed! In themeantime, we have to have the less exotic energy sources of categories 1 and 2.Otherwise, civilization, as we know it, will be badly hurt. In accordance with the abovedefinition of alternative energy source, improved energy efficiency is considered as a

source. Efficiency improvements could be very important in meeting the energy shortageas similar improvements were back in the 70's, 80's and 90's during the past energycrises. In similar fashion, "psychological acceptance of alternative energy" might also beincluded as an alternative energy source though virtually impossible to quantify.


3/13

Coal as an alternative to wood

HistorianNorman F. Cantordescribes how in the late medieval period, coal was the newalternative fuel to save the society from overuse of the dominant fuel, wood: "Europeanshad lived in the midst of vast forests throughout the earlier medieval centuries. After

1250 they became so skilled at deforestation that by 1500 AD they were running short ofwood for heating and cooking... By 1500 Europe was on the edge of a fuel and nutritionaldisaster, which it was saved in the sixteenth century only by the burning of soft coal andthe cultivation of potatoes and maize."

Petroleum as an alternative to whale oil

Whale oil was the dominant form of lubrication and fuel for lamps in the early 19thcentury, but by mid century and the depletion of the whale stocks, whale oil prices wereskyrocketing and could not compete with the newly discovered source of cheappetroleum from Pennsylvania in 1859.

Alcohol as alternative to fossil fuels

In 1917, Alexander Graham Bell advocated ethanol from corn and other foodstuffs as analternative to coal and oil, stating that the world was in measurable distance of depletingthese fuels. For Bell, the problem requiring an alternative was lack of renewability oforthodox energy sources. Since the 1970s, Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program whichhas allowed the country to become the world's second largest producer of ethanol (afterthe United States) and the world's largest exporter. Brazils ethanol fuel program usesmodern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, and the residual cane-waste(bagasse) is used to process heat and power. There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil

running on pure gasoline. By the end of 2008 there were 35,000 filling stationsthroughout Brazil with at least one ethanol pump. Cellulosic ethanol can be producedfrom a diverse array of feed stocks, and involves the use of the whole crop. This newapproach should increase yields and reduce the carbon footprint because the amount ofenergy-intensive fertilizers and fungicides will remain the same, for a higher output ofusable material. As of 2008, there are nine commercial cellulosic ethanol plants whichare either operating, or under construction, in the United States.

Coal gasification as alternative to expensive petroleum

In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter's administration advocated coal gasification as an

alternative to expensive imported oil. The program, including the Synthetic FuelsCorporation was scrapped when petroleum prices plummeted in the 1980s.

Renewable energy as alternative to non-renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resourcessuch as sunlight,wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat which are renewable (naturally replenished).When comparing the processes for producing energy, there remain several fundamental
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_F._Cantorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_whalinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titusville,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_canehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagassehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_ethanolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprinthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_ethanol_commercializationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_gasificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_Fuels_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_Fuels_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_resourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_F._Cantorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_whalinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titusville,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_canehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagassehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_ethanolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprinthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_ethanol_commercializationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_gasificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_Fuels_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_Fuels_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_resource


4/13

differences between renewable energy and fossil fuels. The process of producing oil,coal, or natural gas fuel is a difficult and demanding process that requires a great deal ofcomplex equipment, physical and chemical processes. On the other hand, alternativeenergy can be widely produced with basic equipment and naturally basic processes.Wood the most renewable and available so called "alternative" energy, burns the same

amount of carbon it would emit if it degraded naturally.

Alternative Energy Sources That Look Good!

Several energy sources look great. But other sources will need a few yearsbefore making a major contribution in replacing oil.

A. Oil Sands & Tar Sands

This is one messy way to get oil but it is being done and the output is increasing rapidly

with a number of companies working on recovering oil from oil sands. Lets keep going.We are never going to work the many kinks out of the processes unless we work at it.There are enormous deposits of oil sands available. A majority of oil sand reserves areapparently in Western Canada (Athabasca Oil Sands) with smaller deposits of somewhatsimilar (lower grade) "tar sands" in Venezuela. It should be noted that additional oil sanddeposits are being found in Canada and the total size of the oil sands is immense to saythe least. Additionally, I have just learned that there are some significant oil sanddeposits in the U.S. under development although these oil sand deposits are, by no means,comparable in size to the deposits in Canada and Venezuela. Apparently, we are going tobe dealing with the oil sands for a very long time. Mining the oil sands raises a severeenvironmental problem. A year or so ago, it was reported that just one mining waste

pond in Canada was 14 miles in circumference and contained over a 100 feet depth of aslow-settling, water-oil-sand-clay mix. Try cleaning up that mess! In addition to thewaste ponds, etc, the effect of the noxious fumes being produced by the oil sandtreatment facilities is contributing to the global warming problem. (Of course, we in theU.S. have to keep our mouths shut on the global warming issue. Our government barelyrecognizes (if at all!) that there is a global warming or climate change problem. GlobalWarming provides more detailed information) Still another problem with the oil sandsdevelopment is that construction and production costs are moving up about as fast asincreases in the value of the product obtained. Without tax and royalty subsidies, someenvironmentalists claim that mining the oil sands would not even be a breakeven project.Canada is plunging ahead with oil sands development (includes use of government

subsidies) without totally solving the environmental problems. Eventually, they willhave to face up to the environmental problems and determine if they can afford theenvironmental damage to their country. (Note: an incredible amount of domestic andforeign (China, etc.) money is being put into oil sand development and the Canadians arenot immune to the influence of this money. But, if they want to see what pell melldevelopment of energy sources can do to the environment, they should visit our onceattractive (but oil-rich) wetlands down here in Louisiana - the Louisiana wetlands nowlook like a war zone.
http://vanrcook.tripod.com/GlobalWarming.htmhttp://vanrcook.tripod.com/GlobalWarming.htmhttp://vanrcook.tripod.com/GlobalWarming.htmhttp://vanrcook.tripod.com/GlobalWarming.htm


5/13

B. Alternative Energy Sources Utilizing Natural GasEventually, we will have to move from oil-based fuels to natural gas and to exotic fuelssuch as fuel cells, solar energy, etc. Natural gas is much more plentiful than oil andshale formation natural gas is being discovered in massive quantities so it will

undoubtedly have to serve as an bridge fuel until the more exotic renewable alternativefuels are developed. Thus, my interest in oil substitutes using natural gas: LNG,compressed natural gas, & GTL.

1. LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).

LNG, technically, might not be considered an alternative energy source since it is reallyfrozen natural gas. However, due to its unique production, shipping characteristics andvaried uses, it is considered an alternative source for the purpose of this web site. LNG isproduced simply by cooling natural gas to the liquid form. The liquid is then shipped tothe U.S. and elsewhere in cryogenic tankers. When LNG arrives at its destination in theU.S. or elsewhere, the frozen gas is unloaded at a "terminal" (often offshore terminals)

where it is heated back to the gaseous form and distributed through conventional naturalgas pipelines.LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) has a more technical discussion on LNG andAlternative Energy Company Stocksprovides information on some of the companies

engaged in LNG. LNG is an alternative energy source whose time has come! But willthe U.S. take full advantage of the source and develop the infrastructure needed to makefull use of LNG.Recent Development. LNG has been used in specially-designed heavy trucks as areplacement for diesel. Apparently, a small amount (10 % or so) of diesel is mixed with

the LNG as a starter fluid. Efficient, pollution-free operation of the trucks is reported.While the LNG used in the heavy trucks as a replacement for diesel has, so far, beenprepared from natural gas produced in this country, I see no reason why the importedLNG discussed previously (and LNG produced from the newly-found shale formationnatural gas) could not be used for diesel replacement.Boone Pickens & Natural Gas. It should be noted that compressed natural gas (CNG) isalso used as fuel for vehicles. In this use, the natural gas is not liquefied. Boone Pickensmakes the strong point in his Picken's Plan that natural gas is much more abundant thanoil and that the recent massive discoveries of shale formation natural gas makes naturalgas the "alternative fuel" of choice to temporarily replace oil in truck - automobile

applications while the true alternative energy sources, e.g. wind power, are developed.

Boone Pickens is spending his own money and lots of his time pushing natural gas as the"bridge" fuel to alternative energy sources.. Both his dedication and his plan arecommendable. While others are sitting on their butts talking, Boone is actually doingsomething. The man has the spirit, and, at 80 years of age, he may be the one to lead usyoung ones on the quest for energy independence.
http://conservatismvsliberalism.com/energycrisis/lngliquefiednaturalgas.htmhttp://www.conservatismvsliberalism.com/energycrisis/alternativeenergystocks.htmhttp://conservatismvsliberalism.com/energycrisis/lngliquefiednaturalgas.htmhttp://www.conservatismvsliberalism.com/energycrisis/alternativeenergystocks.htm


6/13

2. New Natural Gas Energy Source: GTL (Gas to Liquid).

In the Gas-to-Liquid process, natural gas is used to produce a "diesel-like" fuel that isvery clean. I was surprised to see that this process was so advanced overseas, particularlyin South Africa . The diesel fuel produced by the GTL process is, unlike LNG, non-

explosive. The liquid diesel from the GTL processes is so ultra clean that it can beblended with conventional "unclean" diesel to produce a blended diesel fuel that meetsgovernmental standards. Most developing nations are implementing new regulationsreducing the allowed sulfur content of diesel to extremely low levels. At this time, themost economical way to obtain the low-sulfur diesel is to blend the regular diesel withGTL liquid diesels. The clean diesel market provides a built-in market for the GTLdiesel. GTL diesel will dramatically improve air quality for those countries using it.Much of the pure GTL fuel will no doubt be sold as a specialty fuel for use by cities withair quality problems. In addition to its high quality in terms of sulfur content, etc, theGTL diesel has a higher Cetane No. than conventional diesel meaning that the fuel ismore powerful and more efficient that conventional diesel. The GTL process is going to

have a greater impact in Europe in the immediate future because Europe has gone gungho over diesel. More diesel is now used over there for automobiles and trucks than isgasoline. The US is lagging way behind in GTL. But so what! If South Africancompanies help solve the Peak Oil problem by developing such a fine alternative energysource, I won't complain. It should also be noted that an increase in usage of GTL inEurope will mean that more European gasoline will be available for export to the U.S.and this will help alleviate fuel shortages that develop here. In any event, GTL is goingto become a major substitute fuel source in a few years! LNG and GTL may delay thebad effects of Peak Oil and the energy crisis so that we, at least, have a chance ofsurviving. The news headlines that LNG and, to a lesser extent, GTL, are receiving, statethat the processes will use "stranded" natural gas (gas located too remotely to be usedconventionally) for the feedstock for the LNG & GTL fuels. However, I predict themarkets for the two products will grow to such an extent that the feedstock gas will notbe limited to stranded natural gas but will include regular natural gas also. The demandis going to be great!D. Wind Power.

Energy from wind is not real big in the U.S., yet (it is growing rapidly, though!), but inDenmark, it is providing 20 % of all the country's energy requirements. In Germany andSpain, wind energy is providing about 7% of energy requirements. Wind energy devices,e.g., windmills, are certainly close to being a perfect renewable energy source, but havethe problem of producing a low-density energy product and, additionally, have someenvironmental problems, e.g., bird-hazards and appearance. I'm hopeful about thesuccesses, but we will never solve the Peak Oil problem with just windmills. InLouisiana, windmills will have a rough go of it since we have a large number of duck andbird hunters in the state. They will resist the windmills. Also, how will windmills standup to a super hurricane like Hurricane Katrina that struck Louisiana two years ago.Boone Pickens has shown his faith in wind power by investing in a large Texas windfarm. The "Picken's Plan" concentrates on the use of compressed natural gas as a


7/13

"bridge fuel" while more permanent renewable energy sources, such as wind power, arebeing developed. For additional information on a Florida electric utility, FPL, rapidlydeveloping wind power, alternative energy company stocksis a good source.

E. Solar Energy.

A decade ago, solar energy was going to be our renewable energy source savior. Everyone said so! But no cigar! Solar energy had many uses in small and mediumapplications but large applications had trouble getting started. But, the potential wasthere and the solar energy industry kept developing the energy source! A hopefuldevelopment with solar energy is that the cost of producing solar energy has plummetedin the past few years. If that trend continues, the use of solar energy should soar.F. Nuclear Energy.

Detailed discussion of nuclear energy is not presented here but nuclear energy is going toplay a major role in supplying energy in the future, particularly in power plants. A majorproblem (other than safety) is that no method of applying nuclear energy to automobilesand other small applications has been developed. Eventually, such a method may beworked out, e.g., battery-operated cars, but, by that time, Peak Oil may have us by thethroat. Nuclear development is also booming in Japan, China and other oil-poor nations.As a result, the price of Uranium is shooting through the roof. Nuclear power plants aregoing to become an increasingly important energy source whether we like it or not.Fission & Fusion Nuclear Energy. The above nuclear energy discussion is relevant

only to fission. Fusion processes that will work on a large scale have not yet beendeveloped and some projections indicate that it will be after 2050 before fusion will beable to play a major role in providing significant amounts of energy. So, someday, fusionwill be important but now it is no practical significance.

Alternative Energy Sources That Look Fairly Good

Ethanol

Ethanol, a renewable energy source, gets a lot of publicity and nice governmentsubsidies but many experts question whether ethanol is really worthwhile. It seems torequire about as much energy to produce as the energy value of the final product. Also, I

am always suspicious of an energy source that requires large government subsidies for itto be marketable. (But, government subsidies are not always bad and this couldbe one ofthose instances where such subsidies are necessary.)One problem is appearing from the production of ethanol from corn. The price of cornhas shot up and this is a problem for many of the poorer nations that use corn as a basicfood commodity. Is it to be ethanol for our SUVs or tortillas for our Mexican neighbors?The corn price and other grain price increases indirectly related to the corn price is also
http://www.conservatismvsliberalism.com/energycrisis/alternativeenergystocks.htmhttp://www.conservatismvsliberalism.com/energycrisis/alternativeenergystocks.htm


8/13


9/13

methane will likely prove an important source of natural gas. We should continue topursue recovery efforts.Geothermal Energy.

A number of articles have appeared recently on geothermal energy development.Geothermal energy is often used in areas, e.g., Iceland, where hot rocks are present fairlyclose to the surface. One method is to pump water into the rocks, allow the water to heatand then return the steam or water to the surface for use. A major problem is thatlocations where hot rocks exist close to the surface are not numerous. One advancedtechnology which received some recent publicity circulates water only six feet or so below "normal" earth surfaces and then recovers the low-temperature heat availablethere. This process is apparently very expensive but, possibly, the cost can be reducedover time.

Alternative Energy Sources That Have Been Slow to Develop!

Coal (Environmentally Clean Coal!)

Coal hasn't yet made a major move to become material from which new age fuel forautomobiles is produced. There are enormous deposits of coal around the globeincluding 300 billion tons in the US which has the largest reserves of any nation. The USis known as the Saudi Arabia of coal. A major problem with coal is that it is not asenvironmentally friendly as natural gas and several other fuels because its combustionproduces an enormous amount of carbon dioxide. But, if we get really desperate, we will

have to use more of it and we could ramp up its production fairly quickly, but look outenvironment! We must not give up on coal but any fuel produced from coal for massconsumption must be made environmentally clean.Fishcher-Tropsch Process.

If coal is to lead us out of peak oil (temporarily of course....there is not an unlimitedamount of coal), it is likely that chemical engineers will do the honor with some of themany modifications of the Fishcher-Tropsch Process. This chemical process is probablythe most famous chemical process around at this time. Invented by the oil-poor Germans,they used the process in World War 2 to convert coal to a usable liquid fuel for both land

vehicles and aircraft. It worked pretty well for them although allied bombing finallydestroyed many of the conversion plants. The Fischer-Tropsch Process is not limited touse with coal only. It can convert almost any carbon-containing substance includingnatural gas & biomass to either a liquid or gaseous fuel. But coal is where the processhas made its name and the U.S. has an awful lot of coal. Hopefully, continuedmodifications to the process will reduce its pollution-producing and make coal productsmore available in the peak oil fight. As noted, the Fischer-Tropsch process is underconstant modification with new uses for it being constantly developed.


10/13

Hydrogen Fuel.

It should also be noted that hydrogen does play a key role in the Fischer-Tropsch Processdiscussed above. So hydrogen does have a critical role in the peak oil fight although not

yet in some of the exotic roles projected.

Fuel cells

Fuel cells using hydrogen may be a major energy source in a few decades, but not now.

Shale Oil

Progress has been made ( by Shell Oil, I believe) in developing shale oil from shale rock

depositsas an energy source but that political entities won't permit development fromgoing forward because of the huge amounts of water required in the recovery processesand the pollution created. However, the shale rock deposits in the western US are ofstaggering size and, eventually, as peak oil arrives in force, we will probably have to goforward with shale oil development. We will have no choice unless one or more of theother alternative energy sources can take up the slack.Wave Energy & Tidal Energy

These are classic renewable energy sources but have not caught on although there mustbe literally thousands of patents on such devices and the seas are full of waves.

Methane Hydrates

These methane hydrates which lie on the ocean floor and in the Arctic tundra containenough methane to supply mankind with natural gas fuel for eons. But nobody hasworked out the technology for recovering them for use as an energy source yet. Willsuch technology be available in time to help with Peak Oil ? In addition to supplying ourfuel needs, the hydrates have been implicated incatastrophic warming events in Earth'shistory in the distant past . Maybe we should be mining the hydrate deposits in theArctic before global warming heats the earth a few degrees and sets off a natural chainreaction liberation of the tundra methane that really heats up the Earth. (Am I starting to

sound like Al Gore?)Very Deep Natural Gas (Thomas Gold Gas). Sir Thomas Gold was a brilliant man,

one of the great geniuses, but one of his theories about energy has yet to be proven. Hethought that the natural gas we are presently recovering was not of bacterial origin, asgeologists presently believe, but that the gas has been in the earth since the birth of theearth and has slowly worked its way close enough to the surface to be recovered viashallow drilling. According to his theory, if we drill deep enough, we will hit an
http://www.energybulletin.net/3647.htmlhttp://www.energybulletin.net/3647.htmlhttp://www.energybulletin.net/3647.html


11/13

inexhaustible supply of natural gas. This would take care of our energy problemsforever. But, how deep do we have to drill? There have been some rather feebleattempts to test Gold's theory but they have not been successful. Eventually, we will beable to drill deep enough to test the theory but I don't think we had better count on thishypothetical, very deep gas to solve our energy problems. Still, it is an interesting

theory.Unconventional Oil & Natural Gas

Unconventional Natural Gas. Conventional natural gas is easy to recover. Porosity inthe formation is high and the natural gas has little resistance as it is brought to thesurface. Unfortunately, most conventional natural gas fields in the U.S. have beenheavily drilled and production of the conventional natural gas is declining. In short, weare running out of the "easy" conventional gas.Enter unconventional natural gas!Unconventional natural gas is natural gas contained in tight (nonporous) limestoneformations or in tight shale rock formations. In recent years, gas companies have become

more adept at producing the tight formations. For example, tight formation may befractured using a frac fluid and then kept open by injection of propants. As an exampleof the size of the shale formation gas reserves, a recent discovery - Haynesville Shale - inmy home state of Louisiana is believed by some experts to contain more than 300 trillioncubic feet of natural gas, enough to supply all U.S. requirements for natural gas for 20years or so. And that is just one of the shale formations that has been recently discoveredin the U.S.....when all the shale formations are considered, the U.S. may have an almostunlimited amount of natural gas available! No wonder the interest in natural gas isgrowing. It is clean and it is plentiful. Here again, this unconventional gas from shaleformations probably should not be considered an alternative energy source, but it fits mydefinition of alternative energy very well. I'll take all thie"tight" gas we can get ourhands on.Unconventional Oil - Bakken Formation. The same general argument for natural gas isalso true for oil. For example, the Bakken shale Formation of North Dakota contains ahuge quantity of high-quality oil. However the oil is held in a two-mile deep tightformation and special procedures are needed to recover it. One successful method is todrill down vertically to the oil-containing shale formation and then drill horizontally outinto the formation. This method works but it is expensive. Several billion barrels of oilare believed to be recoverable at about the present $70 per barrel oil price. As the oilprice goes up, more of the oil will be economically recoverable. The formation couldcontain a total of 400 to 600 billion barrels of oil. Estimates for final recovery range allover the place...from 1% up to 50%. But you are going to pay a lot for a gallon ofgasoline produced from Bakken oil. Still, you folks working in the Bakken, keep at it!We need every drop of oil you can produce while the development of alternative energysources is underway. Unconventional oil and gas buy time for the more exotic alternativefuel developers. They need it! They got a late start and are going up a few blind alleys!


12/13


13/13

Relatively new concepts for alternative energy

Floating wind farms

Floating wind farms are similar to a regular wind farm, but the difference is that they

float in the middle of the ocean. Offshore wind farms can placed in water up to 40 meters(131 feet) deep, whereas floating wind turbines can float in water up to 700 meters (2,297 feet) deep. The advantage of having a floating wind farm is to be able to harness thewinds from the open ocean. Without any obstructions such as hills, trees and buildings,winds from the open ocean can reach up to speeds twice as fast as coastal areas. ANorwegian energy company, StatoilHydro, will launch the first test period for the floatingwind farms in autumn 2009.

Biogas digestion

Biogas digestion deals with harnessing the methane gas that is released when waste

breaks down. This gas can be retrieved from garbage or sewage systems. Biogas digestersare used to process methane gas by having bacteria break down biomass in an anaerobicenvironment. The methane gas that is collected and refined can be used as an energysource for various products.

Helioculture

Helioculture is a newly developed process which is claimed to be able to produce 20,000gallons of fuel per acre per year, and which removes carbon dioxide from the air as afeedstock for the fuel.

Alternative energy in transportation

Due to steadily rising gas prices in 2008 with the US national average price pergallon of regular unleaded gas rising above $4.00 at one point, there has been a steadymovement towards developing higher fuel efficiency and more alternative fuel vehiclesfor consumers. In response, many smaller companies have rapidly increased research anddevelopment into radically different ways of powering consumer vehicles. Hybrid andbattery electric vehicles are commercially available and are gaining wider industry andconsumer acceptance worldwide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StatoilHydrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomasshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helioculturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_fuelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_electric_vehiclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_electric_vehiclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StatoilHydrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomasshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helioculturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_fuelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_electric_vehiclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_electric_vehicle

alternative copy)

Documents