Energy Philosophy

Based on recent discussions in the news, I offer a philosophy for your consideration.

Wind- and solar-based power plants cannot operate all the time because the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine.  That means that behind these power plants, we must have traditional power plants (hydro, coal, gas, geothermal, or nuclear).

Isn't that a waste of money to build redundant systems?

Imagine that you have a car that can use sunshine to drive.  What do you do when the sun goes down?  You must turn on the gasoline engine.  So why pay for the solar system to begin with?  It made your car significantly more expensive.

"But it uses no fuel and is good for the environment," you may say.  But solar power costs several times more than traditional electricity, making it inaccessible to most of the world.  Photovoltaic panels are quite environmentally damaging to produce and dispose of.

"It could run on batteries," you may say.  Do you know where batteries come from?  They are, frankly, the environmentalist's worst nightmare.  They are prohibitively expensive, as Prius owners are discovering (over $4000 per car), and they are recharged by whatever power plants are in your regional electrical grid (coal, in most of the country).  So your Prius runs on coal and heavy metals -- that ought to soothe your green little heart.

The point is:  There is no perfect energy source.  There are, however, some than can provide all of our needs all of the time while at the same time are affordable to most of the world.  In my mind, redundant systems like wind and solar do not make sense at the large scale or in the long-run.

My proposal:  Convert coal-fired power plants to gas immediately.  As we can, replace as many power plants as we can with nuclear.  Build geothermal plants around Yellowstone and along the west coast.  Stop wasting tax dollars on wind and solar subsidies, and let them win or lose in the competitive market.  Remove Federal regulations that prevent high efficiency vehicles from coming to the U.S.