Here's an interesting set of links I stumbled on this weekend that are definitely worth a click through.

 

The first is a report from an organization known as the Institute for Local Self Reliance that can be found here. In this paper, they claim that the arguments for new inter-state transmission lines as a necessary enabler for mainstream renewable energy sources are unfounded. In fact, the paper claims that over 60 percent of electric demand could be met by in-state renewable sources and that for most states, a quarter of their electricity needs could be generated by residential solar cells.

 

The second is a report from an organization known as the American Wind Energy Association which can be found here. They claim that it is absolutely essential to build new inter-state transmission lines or “Green Super Highways” as an enabler of renewable energy sources, namely wind. Less figures and more marketing than the first link, but worth a read.

 

The third link is a news story in the San Jose Mercury News on how PG&E (News - Alert) is feeling very threatened by cities and counties that want to choose alternative energy providers. Hopefully Marin County will win this battle and we can see firsthand if local in-state renewable projects work as reliably as claimed in the ILSR report. My feeling is PG&E is long due for a wakeup call.

 

The last and most interesting link I came across this weekend was the FutureGen Alliance, a partnership between various parties in the coal industry and the DOE to explore processes for using coal to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide which is then converted to carbon dioxide, the hydrogen is then used to produce electricity. The really interesting thing is that this alliance put $1.5 billion into this experimental plant and a reminder that carbon based fuels can be both renewable – biomass – and zero emissions, through recycling and sequestration.

 

Those are the links for last week, I'll share more finds every Monday.