Renewable Energy Expert: Final Victory Inevitable for U.S. Energy Security

Reading about all the grave concerns raised lately by government leaders and policymakers about biofuels might lead some to think the sky is falling.

But this falling sky is only an illusion, according to one energy expert.

Yes, a growing number of policymakers and scientists are backing away from what was once adulatory praise of biofuels. Many are questioning not only the sustainability of these crops but also the increasing deforestation and greenhouse emissions associated with their production.

Still, one renewable energy expert has some pointed advice for Americans who are tempted to abandon any hope for a solution to America’s energy woes: take heart.

The prospects for a final resolution of America’s foreign oil dependency are brighter than ever, he says, adding that one of the biggest challenges is helping Americans see the big picture.

The big picture is that there is no silver bullet associated with U.S. energy independence, only silver shotgun pellets, some that already have been fired, others that are still being packed into their shells, says Mark Hall, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System renewable energy specialist.

The important thing to bear in mind is that while more and more of these pellets are reaching their targets, the path toward energy security initially will be slow going, he says.

“What Americans need to bear in mind is that we’re slowly moving from an oil-based economy toward one that will use multiple energy sources,” Hall says, adding that this is the basis for his silver pellets analogy.

Indeed, Hall describes the energy landscape of the future as one that will be far more variegated than the oil-dominated one that prevails now.

And while corn-based ethanol and soybean-derived biodiesel will occupy places on this highly diverse landscape, other energy-related technologies are emerging or ultimately will emerge to occupy prominent niches, Hall says.

Some of these will be renewable energy sources, notably cellulosic types of energy sources, such as switchgrass, considered especially promising as an Alabama-grown renewable energy crop, he says. But he also believes more conventional technologies will fill in this increasingly crowded terrain, including more domestically produced petroleum, wind power and even nuclear energy.

And while it’s entirely possible that Alabama and neighboring southern states ultimately may achieve a world reputation as the Saudi Arabia of cellulosic energy sources, raising thousands of acres of switchgrass and similar energy crops, Hall says the state also may emerge as a more influential producer of more conventional energy sources.

Adding a twist of irony, Hall says Alabama, which currently ranks 15th among the states in crude oil production, even could end up boosting its production sometime in the future, especially if the cost of foreign oil continues to spike.

“We’re currently 15th partly because we don’t have the easily extracted oil, but who’s to say our stake in all of this won’t expand if the cost of foreign oil continues to rise?” Hall asks.

Indeed, if oil hovers even at around $75 a barrel during the next few years, Hall believes Alabamians may see more oil production in the Piedmont region as well as west Alabama.

He believes the Alabama Gulf Coast’s stake in natural gas production, already substantial, may increase over the next few years if the oil price situation continues to worsen — a trend that may especially benefit neighboring southern states blessed with longer coast lines.

But for Alabama, the biggest energy bonanza of all may still be years or even decades down the road, when a cost-effective method is found for tapping into the rich energy potential of algae — yet another energy source that the state, because of its warm climate, is likely to be especially well suited to produce.

However these energy solutions are ultimately worked out, Hall says he believes the state and nation already are firmly on the road to energy self-sufficiency.

“I don’t have a sense of dread but of optimism that all of this will be resolved,” he says. “High energy prices are not such a bad thing if they force us to rethink how we drive and how we live.”

Posted by Jim Langcuster at March 27, 2008 02:41 PM