Six Sources of Limitless Energy?
1. High Winds
The Idea
Conventional wind turbines stop when the wind dies. Turbine-bearing balloons or rotors could intercept powerful, reliable winds 1,000 to 15,000 feet up.
Key Player
Ottawa-based Magenn Power expects to ship the world’s first commercial high-altitude turbine—a 60-foot-diameter helium-filled blimp—by 2010.
In Fact
There’s potentially enough high-altitude wind energy to power the planet 100 times over. Whether technology hurdles can be overcome and the energy can be economically exploited remain to be seen.
2. Green Crude
The Idea
Biofuels made from plant oils require multistep harvesting and processing. Genetically engineered algae could streamline production by continuously secreting oil to be refined into transport fuel.
Key Players
Synthetic Genomics, led by human-genome entrepreneur J. Craig Venter, and Sapphire Energy, backed by Bill Gates, are engineering algae to produce a “biocrude” precursor to gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel.
In Fact
Algae fuel exists but can’t yet be economically produced. Still, scores of companies, including aerospace firms and oil majors, are investing heavily. The U.S. government earmarked $50 million for algae-fuel work this year.
3. Next Wave
The Idea
Wave-motion energy can be captured to run electrical generators.
Key Player
At least three dozen companies are developing wave-energy technologies. Scotland’s Pelamis Wave Power makes the device that drives the world’s first commercial wave farm, commissioned in 2008 off the coast of Portugal. Each 13-foot-diameter machine can supply enough electricity to power 500 homes.
In Fact
Though wave power isn’t yet competitive, a Greentech Media/Prometheus Institute analysis put the market for ocean power of all types at $500 million annually in five years, growing 100-fold to a gigawatt of capacity.
4. Star Power
The Idea
Nuclear fusion—the atomic reaction that powers stars—could be used to generate clean energy.
Key Player
In 2010, the U.S. National Ignition Facility will focus 192 lasers on a tiny hydrogen-filled capsule to ignite a fusion reaction expected to yield more energy than it consumes—a critical first on the road to fusion power.
In Fact
Scientists have pursued this goal for 50 years; the U.S. government alone has spent more than $20 billion on fusion research. Even so, the first experiments using fusion as a power source may be at least 15 years off.
5. Deep Heat
The Idea
Conventional geothermal plants can tap heat only near the earth’s surface. Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), which inject cool water two miles or deeper into the earth for superheating, can work nearly anywhere.
Key Player
Dozens of R&D projects on EGS are under way internationally. Australian company Geodynamics expects to switch on a one-megawatt pilot plant, among the world’s biggest, in early 2010.
In Fact
With readily achievable technology improvements, EGS could become a major sustainable and economical source of power, says the U.S. Department of Energy.
6. Eternal Sunshine
The Idea
Terrestrial solar cells are hampered by clouds, dust, and nightfall. Orbiting cells could capture the sun’s energy 24 hours a day, nearly every day of the year, and then beam it in radio waves to Earth.
Key Player
Start-up Solaren has a contract with California’s Pacific Gas and Electric to deliver the first electricity from space starting in 2016.
In Fact
NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy have spent about $80 million over the past 30 years sporadically studying the concept, concluding that it’s technically feasible but tough to make competitive.
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Harvard Discovers Six Sources Of Alternative Energy That Don't Suck!
solar
Renewable energy sounds great, but there are a bunch of problems. For example, half the time you can't even use it.
It's hard to get wind power when the wind isn't blowing, for example. Likewise, it's hard to get solar power when it's cloudy.
So researchers are dumping billions of dollars into trying to find alterative energy technologies that provide power as consistently as, say, oil. Or nukes.
And here's the good news: They say they're this close to cracking the code that will lead to unlimited energy for all.
The Harvard Business Review has identified six sources of permanent alternative energy at various stages of development. There is no guarantee they will work, of course. But at least they're trying.
6 Sources Of Alternative Energy That Don't Suck→
High-Altitude Winds
High-Altitude Winds
Conventional wind turbines stop when winds die down. But at altitudes of 1000 to 1500 feet where winds are ever strong, there is enough energy to power civilization 100 times over.
Magenn Power, based in Ottawa, Canada, is building turbine-bearing balloons or rotors that intercept energy at those heights. They hope to make the world's first commercial high-altitude turbine called MARS--a 60-foot-diameter helium-filled blimp--by 2010.
Algae Fuel
Algae Fuel
Scientists hope that algae could be genetically engineered to continuously secrete oil that can be refined into fuel. The technology already exists but is not quite economical.
Many companies are investing heavily, including the U.S. government, which has earmarked $50 million for research. Key players, Synthetic Genomics (led by J. Craig Venter) and Sapphire Energy (led by Bill Gates), are engineering algae to produce algae gasoline. Exxon is also spending hundreds of millions on algae.
Wave Farms
Wave Farms
The ocean is an immense and mostly unharnessed source of power. As the wind blows over the surface of water, it generates waves that contain concentrated energy. Generators that catch the waves can power up to 2,000 terawatts per hour each year. This is equivalent to the market for nuclear and hydroelectric power.
The world's first commercial wave-farm was commissioned off the coast of Portugal by Scotland's Pelamis Wave Power. Each generator is 13-feet in diameter, and supplies enough energy to power 500 homes.
Deep Geothermal Heat
Deep Geothermal Heat
Conventional geothermal systems trap the heat of the earth near the surface. But enhanced systems currently under development can inject cool water two miles inside the earth for super heating. And it can work anywhere.
Australian company Geodynamics expects to start up a one-megawatt power plant, among the world's biggest, as early as 2010. Projects are also underway in France, Switzerland, Germany, California and Japan.
Solar Satellites
Solar Satellites
Solar cells are not much use when it's cloudy, dusty, or night-time. Using cells positioned in space can harness the power of eternal sunshine and beam it onto earth in the form of radio waves.
The U.S. Department of Energy and NASA have spent $80 million over 30 years in research. In 2007, the DOE and the tiny nation of Palau started testing the concept with a satellite 300 miles above the earth.
The start-up Solaren has signed a contract with California's Pacific Gas and Electric to deliver electricity from space in 2016.
Photo courtesy NASA
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion--the reaction that powers stars--is a good source of clean, stable energy. It is the opposite of fission, where instead of being split, atoms combine to create larger atoms and release enormous amounts of energy in the process.
Scientists have pursued this goal for 50 years, the U.S. government has spent $20 billion on research, and the first experiments are still at least 15 years away.
The U.S. National Ignition Facility will conduct a key experiment by training 192 lasers on a tiny atom of hydrogen to generate a small-scale fusion reaction next year. This is just the first step.
Photo courtesy kevindooley