Battery Powered Vehicles
You may have recently read about how Warren Buffett invested in electric car company called BYD. Now remember this investment comes from a man who only invests in the most conservative improvement companies. Many people laughed him during the .com craze because he would not invest in technology companies as he didn’t understand their businesses. And now he is chosen to invest in a company whose claim to fame is improving the lithium-ion battery.
The direction this company is going in is absolutely incredible, it appears that in the very near future they will have a lithium-ion battery in production at a price target of $150 per kilowatt hour versus the $500 per kilowatt hour most current lithium-ion batteries cost now. Combine that with the fact that you can drink the fluid from the battery… it isn’t toxic.
All of a sudden we’re talking about battery powered vehicles that will cost less than vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine. If we combine that with the fact that their operating costs will be something like 25% of the operating costs on an internal combustion engine and think you can see our electrical needs are going to increase dramatically in the coming years. This is going to change the way we use electricity in our country, it’s going to cause a huge growth in the amount of electricity that we need… would you rather provide this with a source that is free like the sun and the wind and the waves or not. This is so simple I just don’t get why people don’t understand it… you can currently install a photovoltaic system on your business but will pay for itself and roughly 6 to 10 years depending on the size of the system and the cost of your electricity. After that, all about electricity is virtually free for somewhere between 20 to 50 years. If this was being offered to you as an investment for your retirement fund people would be jumping all over it. Do you realize that the photovoltaic panels that were installed on our satellites in the 60s are still providing power to those same satellites after more than 40 years in space.
If you think that a communication and technology revolution has been rapid just wait. But the communication and technology that we have available for changes in how we produce energy Outlook is incredible. The idea that we would even consider building a coal-fired power plant at this time is so ignorant it’s almost laughable.
Gen-We and First Solar
The story is about a company called First Solar Inc… they have offices in Arizona and Ohio. They manufacture thin-film solar panels, one of the most cost-effective ways to generate solar energy. This company struggled from 1992 to 2004… in three years since completing their first manufacturing line annual revenues have grown from $6 million to over $500 million by the end of 2007. The CEO Mike Ahearn approached multiple politicians and utility companies in various markets within the United States, First solar offered to lose money on its products if they could benefit from some tax subsidies, the kind routinely given to dirty highly profitable industries like coal and petroleum, they were refused at every turn. Ultimately they ended up locating primarily in Germany, a country with a great solar energy program despite the fact that it is much less conducive to solar energy in the United States. Their operations in Germany currently employ approximately 600 people in high tech and low tech good paying jobs. First Solar knew that if they built a factory in Germany the demand for their products would be there…. in the United States politicians were under extreme pressure from other industries not promote alternative energy… it’s time to change this. If you want to promote good paying clean jobs to benefit our country from an economic, national security, and environmental aspect it’s time to step up.
There’s a question on our signature T-shirt …. it says… “Who are the ones we’ve been waiting for… We Are”. Generation We,( Gen –We) the Millennials need to produce a massive campaign in support of the promotion of alternative energy. Just like the president elect Obama couldn’t get elected without you, he won’t be able to get the job done without you either. The older generation, have demonstrated that they are susceptible to the money from big business and from the status quo. The decisions that are being made will have a greater impact on Gen-We than any other generation… shouldn’t you be involved in those decisions.
Land of Coal vs Renewable
Coal power plants cover approximately 3.5 million acres of land in the United States currently. This does not include the land where the coal is mined which likely equals a total of 7 million acres or more… we will just focus on the amount of land powerplants with their waste utilize nationwide.
This amount of land could handle 17,857 5 MW windmill towers at 196 acres per tower, that would provide 100% of the electricity needed for almost 6 million homes. Now imagine that you put solar thermal sun catchers from Stirling energy systems on that same land…. with the windmills. That would be 15,500,000 sun catchers providing an additional 100% of the power for 82,362,000 homes. Combined this is enough power for 71% of the homes in the United States, just utilizing the land that coal power plants own and operate on.
These numbers are incredibly conservative, as I said, this does not include any of the land that is mined for coal. Now obviously the locations where these power plants are is probably not ideal for solar or wind energy, in fact the land that is ideal for those energy sources is probably much less desirable than the land where these power plants are located… at least that would have been the case before the plants polluted that land with the waste they generated while providing energy and polluting the air.
Much of the land that would be ideal for this type of project may be owned by the government. Why not do a public-private energy Cooperative. The government provides the land and expedites the approval processes… the private parties put together the funding and manage the power plant. The government receives a percentage of the profits in return for providing the land and expediting the process.
Some people might consider this a step towards socialism, especially if the government proposed a program like this. If a business group were to come up with this idea and show how it could make money, many people would clap their hands and say what a tremendous idea and business plan they had come up with. The bottom line is this: renewable energy gets cheaper every day from the day it is implemented, the energy source is free! That means it becomes more profitable for those who implemented it. Why not put together a program where the public and the private sectors win, the best of both worlds!
Stop Coal Energy
I’m working on a study of land used for coal energy and how much energy would come from solar and wind used on that amount of land…any help will be appreciated…
Mandatory not Alternative
We keep hearing the talk about change, and needless to say we all remain skeptical. I will define change for you this way. We are no longer pursuing alternative energy, we are pursuing “Mandatory Energy”. Our economy, national security, health, and yes even environment are demanding change.
The energy and automobile industries have far too much influence to be ignored. They have a responsibility to their stockholders to try and be as profitable as possible, our capitalistic system requires it. It is not their responsibility to determine the best direction for our country, that is supposed to be the responsibility of the politicians, and more importantly ourselves. Unfortunately, the pursuit of profits is determining the direction our nation pursues… again: pursuit of profits is determining the direction our nation pursues related to our energy policy. When you look in the mirror, think about that, do you want that to be your legacy? When you watch a commercial from one of the big petroleum companies talking about all that they are doing in alternative energy, why do you think they are playing that commercial? They are playing it because they know it’s good publicity and makes you look at them in a positive light. When you view them this way you are more likely to spend money on their products and services. More importantly, you are less likely to get angry at them or believe that they are buying our politicians and the political process. Yes, they are pursuing those alternatives, but that is exactly what they are, alternatives. Those are part of the business plan for them to be successful years and years down the line. At the same time, they are lobbying, spending enormous amounts of money, playing dirty, and doing everything they need to to remain as profitable as they can… that’s what they get paid to do. I know, I know, deep inside many of us are aware of this but we just believe there’s nothing we can do… this is how you change it.
Dear, Bwana Buffett
We have lived through the Industrial Revolution and more recently the Technology/Communications Revolution. Now is the Alternative Energy Revolution. Our nation is at a turning point, deeply in debt, fighting a military battle in an economic war. We pay our enemies, terrorists, to fight against us through oil purchases. After that, spend ourselves into deeper debt in a war that we fund from our tax dollars. After that we borrow money by the billions from another country, China, despite the fact they are our primary competition in the world for economic security. Whether you agree with the war or not, how smart is this? A national energy policy focused on energy independence will solve many of our problems. Without private assistance our government is unable and/or unwilling to deal with the issue, combination public-private program could help our nation in many ways, will you help?
Why am I addressing this to you? We need a private/public program, similar to the space program in public acceptance, to promote energy independence. You, Mr. Buffet, could assign and fund competent individuals to start the process. This program needs to be managed by people the public would trust. Right now, as you read this, is the time to act. How many people would be willing to pay a premium in rates to finance this, perhaps purchase bonds to fund a project, or support further tax credits, push the government to cooperate…our country needs people they can believe in, people not subject to undue financial influence the way many politicians are.
Green Energy/Purple People
I remember an interview I saw of Jon Bon Jovi. He talked about his politics and how he believed we were a nation of purple people… this is what you get when you mix the red of Republicans in the blue of Democrats. If you go to You Tube and watch a video called Gen-We you will see how the younger generation has become much more purple. Gen-We, 8-30 yr. olds, understand that we are one nation, not a divided nation. They don’t share the stringent themes of the political parties, Republicans and Democrats.
Why am I writing about this in a website promoting green energy? Because that same attitude is how Gen-We view alternative/green energy. They don’t understand why we have been so rigid as a nation in our approach towards green energy. I could elaborate on how big business and the older generation shaped our politics. I could talk about how difficult it is to change the attitudes of people who are set in their ways… but I won’t do that now.
This post is about thewhen change that is coming, the change to green energy, the change to purple people, and ultimately the change to a three party political system that I believe will come about because of Gen-We. Please don’t forget that to bring about the type of change that is needed in how we produce energy politics will be involved. I for one would urge Barack Obama to declare himself an independent in the third year of his first term before running for a second term… imagine the long-term positive effects of Democrats and Republicans having to compete against another party for the votes of the people.
