Inside Report: Alternative energy showing promising signs

Although other countries have done more than the U.S. to invest in alternative energy sources, industries in the U.S. are now seeing such investments as a business opportunity, William Brinkman, director of the office of science with the U.S. Department of Energy, said during a talk last month at LSU.

Once consumers are convinced the costs of renewable or alternative energy are more affordable, “it will take off,” Brinkman said.

Investments in alternative energy in the U.S. have oscillated over the years, he said. China’s investment in alternative energy is increasing, even though that country’s initial focus was on building coal-fired power plants. He also noted that Europe is much farther ahead of the U.S. in the use and development of renewable energy.

In a study of federal subsidies of energy resources, Double Bottom Line Venture Capital notes that fossil fuel received much more government support in its early development than renewable energy has.

“The federal commitment to O&G (oil and gas) was five times greater than the federal commitment to renewables during the first 15 years of each subsidies’ life, and it was more than 10 times greater for nuclear,” according to the report.

Brinkman said investing in alternative fuel sources is critical to addressing rising carbon dioxide levels worldwide.

“There’s great debate about the impact of this,” Brinkman said. “But in recent times the temperature has really taken off.”

When scientists run computer models of carbon dioxide levels and the corresponding temperature increase, it’s clear human-caused carbon dioxide is in the mix, he said.

“This year has been the hottest year on record and the last 10 years have been the hottest decade on record,” Brinkman said. “It’s pretty clear that increased temperature has to do with humans putting CO2 into the air.”

So what can be done?

“There are a lot of solutions to this problem, but they’re all too expensive,” he said. “The issue is how to bring the cost of this stuff down.”

And that appears to be happening as investment in alternative fuel and energy resources increases.

“There’s no way you can do without fossil fuel,” he said. However, investors are showing an increased interest in solar, biofuels, carbon capture and sequestration, batteries, small reactors, fuel cells, wind and other energy sources.

He displayed a chart of fossil fuel and clean energy investments that shows alternative energy investment had been increasing while fossil fuel investment had been decreasing until 2011. That’s when investment in hydraulic fracturing began a growth spurt.

But the renewable energy sources show some economic promise, he said.

“Wind, of course, is something that is really taking off,” Brinkman said.

The 2011 Renewable Energy Data Book from the U.S. Department of Energy notes that “worldwide, wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable electricity technologies — between 2000 and 2011, wind electricity generation worldwide increased by a factor of 13. The United States experienced even more dramatic growth, as installed wind electricity capacity increased by a factor of 18 between 2000 and 2011.”

The key, however, is to attract consumers through lower energy costs.

At first, industry said it couldn’t be done, Brinkman said, but then they started thinking about it and at this point have essentially reached reductions in cost.

Amy Wold covers the environment for The Advocate. She can be reached at [e-mail].

Comments

1) Comment by InPVille - 15/03/2013

This Inside Report mentions China's investment in alternative energy. This is where the jobs were created from Germany's excursions into using alternative energy. The Germany companies creating the solar panels couldn't make a go of it financially just as U.S. companies have tended to fail such as Solyndra and so many others. The cheaper labor in China. . . even with the transportation costs is cheaper to make them in China. My question, are the Chinese actually using solar themselves or just selling them to the West?

2) Comment by Whatnow - 14/03/2013

As many as 50 Obama-backed green energy companies bankrupt or troubled. http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/30/as-many-as-fifty-obama-backed-green-energy-companies-bankrupt-or-troubled/

3) Comment by bourbon-soda - 14/03/2013

"There are a lot of solutions to this problem, but they’re all too expensive," means, there are no known solutions to this problem. @InPville - thanks, good post. One, two, many Solyndras.

4) Comment by InPVille - 14/03/2013

No nation has signed on to the Green power initiative mentality more than Germany particularly after the nuclear disaster in Japan. How is it doing? You decide! -------- http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/problems-prompt-germany-to-rethink-energy-revolution-a-852815.html "Power Failures: Germany Rethinks Path to Green Future By Stefan Schultz in Bremerhaven Germany's energy revolution is the government's only major project -- but the problems keep piling up. The pace of grid expansion is sluggish, and electricity costs for consumers are rising. The environment minister wants to fundamentally alter the way green energy is subsidized, but will it mean putting the brakes on the entire project?" -[**]- http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/revolution-threatens-to-falter-is-germany-s-green-energy-plan-failing-a-790940.html "Revolution Threatens to Falter: Is Germany's Green Energy Plan Failing? By Laura Gitschier and Christian Schwägerl Germany has set higher targets for renewable energy usage than any other industrialized nation. Angela Merkel's government plans to decommission its nuclear plants by 2022 and to obtain 80 percent of all energy from renewables by 2050. So far, though, too many promises from Berlin have gone unfulfilled." -[**]- http://www.hawaiireporter.com/germanys-solar-failure-is-a-big-lesson-for-hawaii/123 "Germany's Solar Failure is a Big Lesson for Hawaii" "Hawaii's energy plan is focused on solar and wind, so we clearly know what the energy supply and cost future will be for Hawaii. Hawaii citizens pay the same rate as Germany now, three (3) times the US average and if the current plan continues, Hawaii's price for electricity will be five (5) times higher that mainland US." -[**]- http://www.ocregister.com/articles/solar-333211-energy-company.html "So-called renewable energy is possible only if government demands those sources replace conventional energy, and subsidizes their manufacture, purchase or operation with tax dollars. Even then, there isn't enough subsidy – let alone demand – to make these systems cost-effective. Sooner or later, economic reality prevails." -[**]- http://www.eike-klima-energie.eu/uploads/media/2012_01_09_EIKE_Germa_energy_turnaround_english.pdf Germany's Energy Supply Transformation Has Already Failed " "2. Wind power – supply according to the weather | Generating energy with wind involves extreme fluctuations because it depends on the weather and includes periods without any recognizable capacity for days, or suddenly occurring supply peaks that push the grid to its limits . There is a threat of power outages over large areas, mainly n winter time when the demand is high and less gets delivered from abroad . One is simply playing a game of roulette." "Solar power - little benefit at a huge cost | Power generation using sunlight also suffers from Germany's ever changing weather, as well as the time of day. At dusk dawn and during the night there is no power at all. The output from photovoltaic )PV_ modules is also close to zero when the sky is overcast, when it's raining and when the panels are snow-covered. As solar irradience is less in Germany than in southern countries. Even when the sky is clear, all photovoltaic panels, which are installed at a very high cost, manage to supply only a small 1.9% of the inland power generation despite its installed giant maximum capacity of 16,900 MW (late 2010)." -------- Green energy sources from existing technology cannot measure up to what is needed by Germany.

5) Comment by nimby? - 13/03/2013

"up to 30 percent" . already been through this , mine would have been closer to 8 percent , still un affordable without passing cost on to customers ...

6) Comment by DMJ - 12/03/2013

Nimby, you don't get a subsidy up front, but you can get a tax credit of up to 30%. Check it.. http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Deductions-and-Credits/Federal-Tax-Credit-for-Solar-Energy-/INF14243.html

7) Comment by nimby? - 12/03/2013

I'd like to go solar but as of now it is still un affordable , the government won't subsidize me . would like to know more about problems with older panels and their disposal ....

8) Comment by DMJ - 12/03/2013

Even if global warming weren't real and man-made (it is), eventually, we'll run out of fossil fuels...even if we destroy the whole planet drilling, fracking and burning. We'd be idiots not to start aggressively developing alternative, renewable energies now.

9) Comment by tradewinns - 12/03/2013

this is such goobledegook it shouldn't be printed. there are no statistics given just baloney.".....wind electricity generation worldwide increased by a factor of 13". 13 what? what was the base line and how does that relate to the general public? cheap reliable consistent power is an admirable, pursuable goal, it's just still in experimental stage. if europe is so far ahead of the US in this endeavor, why are we still competing with them for oil? shouldn't the cost of energy for them be dropping daily as the renewable energy replaces the one time use of fossil fuel? shouldn't oil be cheap because of the loss of demand for the product? lies such as these do no good for the public but does lots of harm.

10) Comment by ScotB - 12/03/2013

The wind doesn't blow all the time. You can't have your electrical capacity dependent on wind if you want reliable power. Solar is better, since the sun shines (to varying degrees) when power is needed most - during working hours. But, as said, it is still too expensive. Biofuels seem to hold promise, especially algae - in time.