I plan to write about the barriers to achieving the energy goals in Ohio SB221:

(ORC 4928.64(B)) Utilities must provide 25% of their retail electricity supply from alternative energy resources by 2025, with specific annual benchmarks for renewable and solar energy resources:

Year Renewable(%) Solar (%)

2009 0.25 0.004
2010 0.50 0.010
2011 1.0 0.030
2012 1.5 0.060
2013 2.0 0.090
2014 2.5 0.12
2015 3.5 0.15
2016 4.5 0.18
2017 5.5 0.22
2018 6.5 0.26
2019 7.5 0.30
2020 8.5 0.34
2021 9.5 0.38
2022 10.5 0.42
2023 11.5 0.46
2024+ 12.5 0.50

At least 50% of the renewable energy requirement must be met by in-state facilities and the remaining 50% with resources that can be shown to be deliverable into the state.

(ORC 4928.66) Additionally, utilities are required to implement energy efficiency and peak demand reduction programs that achieve a cumulative energy savings of 22% by the end of 2025, and reduce peak demand by 1.0% in 2009 and 0.75% annually thereafter through 2018.

The barriers that I have identified so far are:

Cost
Public Apathy
NIMBY
Government
Technology
Geography

Green Cars

Right now there are about 400,000 hybrid cars in the USA and about the same number are equipped to use E85 Ethanol. The total fleet is over 130 million, meaning that green cars are a bit over ½ % of the total. We've got a long way to go.

Barriers to Green Energy

I'm thinking of writing an essay on the barriers:

1. Up-Front costs/Payback Time
2. Lack of Loan Funds
3. NIMBY
4. Citizen Apathy

To set the stage I will catalog the small amount of alternative energy today.

Sources of Electricity

Some statistics on sources of electricity (All data inpercent of total). Data from Energy Information Administration:

Source, U.S. (2007), Ohio (2006)

Fossil Fuels, 71.9, 88.4 Coal, liquids, natural & other gases)
Nuclear, 19.4, 10.8
Other, 8.5, 0.7 (See below)


Distribution of Renewables:


Source,U.S. (2007), Ohio (2006)
Wood, 37.3, 28.2
Waste, 16.4, x
Geothermal, 14.4, 57.1
Solar, 5.6, x
Wind, 31.2, x

x = < 0.05%

Ethanol Plants as CO2 Factories

I recently received a request from the Darke Cty. LWV for helpful information on the planned CO2 sequestration project at the local ethanol plant. It appears that this is a first (or early) attempt to do this. In thinking about it, it occurred to me that there are lots of uses for CO2. Some ethanol plants are capturing and selling CO2, which seems a better idea than gas suppliers (e.g. Linde) manufacturing the CO2 they sell. Capturing and selling must be cheaper and more profitable than pumping CO2 into the ground.

Fuel-Cell Setbacks

My thoughts on fuel cells oscillate. Now I'm down on them.

Last year, the NY Times Magazine published a promising story on the future of fuel-cell powered homes. Now (10 Nov. 2008) they find that the company that was featured has yet to install a single new system. Too expensive.

Also Materials Technology (December 2008) points out that large-scale application of fuel cells depends on the availability of Pt catalysts, which material is in limited supply. Efforts to find a substitute are still in early development.

Cost of Conservation

The Ohio Environmental Council has come up with an estimate of the cost of conserving electricity. They argue that energy saved is freed for use elsewhere. In essence, conservation creates energy.

To understand their thinking, consider a 25 W CFL bulb replacing a 100 W incandescent bulb. If the CFL burns for 8000 hrs, it saves 75*8000/1000 kW = 600 kWh. If the CFL bulb costs $6, it frees up (‘creates’) 600 kWh. So the cost of conservation is $6/600 or 1 cent/kWh.

OEC actually estimates the average cost to be somewhat higher if they average all energy-saving equipment, about 2.25 cents/kWh. I like to think that a saving is a saving and that people will save enough that the freed-up energy never needs to be generated.