Emkro (beta)

Won’t that go a long way to resolving our current issues with CO2 emissions and global warming? The short answer is yes it would. The unfortunate answer is not so fast! Over the next few days we will be exploring this issue. And like always, your comments and discussions are encouraged.

While I believe the developed world is moving, albeit slowly, in the direction of only building zero or low emission power plants, the fact remains that there are many decades of infrastructure to be undone and still some major technology hurdles to overcome. It would be wonderful to site and build a couple thousand clean renewable power plants around North America and be done with it. Then the old and mostly dirty plants could be decommissioned and those locations could be cleaned up and used for new zero-emission plants or some other good use. So why not, why haven’t we already done this? Below is a quick breakdown of each of the current ‘clean’ power producing technologies and where they are headed.

Hydroelectric power was king at the turn of the century (1900 not 2000) but you don’t see too many new ones being built anymore. The issue is all the good places are already taken. You need to find a location where water is running downhill in sufficient quantities before it makes sense try and tap that energy. Places like Niagara Falls are a prime example, if not a perfect one. Few places have that much water falling that many feet under the power of gravity. That is why they have a monstrous hydroelectric plant there and almost all similar places already have a hydro plant or are in a location where no one in their right mind will allow one to be built (think Yellowstone). Because of this, hydro is as we say… tapped out. You have what you have but you are not going to be making more. In New York State it accounts for about 14% of electric generation, far less in the Midwest due to the flatness of the terrain. While it’s a great and clean source of energy, it just can’t produce all we need as a society.

Coming soon… Wind, Solar, Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear.