Ed Huntress wrote:

"Pete Snell" wrote in message
...
What is it with people? Whenever alternative power solutions are
presented or tested, there is always a Chicken Little faction that has to
point out that it isn't perfect and we have to look elsewhere or disaster
looms. It seems that 'someone' thinks that there is a solution out there
that is universal, safe as apple pie, and could be implemented perfectly
on a week's notice. Until people change their perception of what actually
works, and how it should work, we're gonna be stuck with what we have.
Bio-fuels make good sense for certain sectors and countries, but obviously
not all. Wind power makes sense for on-the-spot power generation, but not
much as a central power source. Etc, etc.

I'll bet, though, that the OECD is probably right that biofuels, as they're
produced via the intensive farming we practice in the US and Europe, are a
net loser in environmental terms, and they're probably worse than the
government claims in terms of net energy production. A lot of energy goes
into making chemical fertilizers.

I did a calculation to satisfy a co-worker last year, based on Chevron's
claim that they had raised the production of soybean biodiesel to 60 gal.
per acre (it was in one of their print ads). I figured it would require 30%
of the arable land in the US to produce enough for our current consumption
of diesel -- just diesel, not including gasoline.

Of course, that's not the whole story. But it has to make you cautious.

--
Ed Huntress

Did you include all the off road diesel and home heating oil diesel in
your calculation, or just transportation fuel diesel?

The bottom line is that in some 30 year or so, solar energy is just
barely getting to the point of being viable if not economical for mass
market distributed (individual, not utility scale) use. The new bio-fuel
stuff is just starting out and has a lot of maturing to go both in
technology and in determining what usage is actually appropriate.

Solar does poorly with attempts at utility scale use due to the large
areas of environmental impact necessary for utility scale use, while
individual use on existing rooftops works well without the environmental
impact. I expect bio-fuels to ultimately be found to be viable mostly
for farms where they can be produced from waste to provide fuel for use
on those farms and not to be sold elsewhere.