1. Biofuel
Like a lot of things on this list, biofuel itself has been around for millennia. Henry Ford originally envisioned his Model T automobile operating on ethanol before cheap oil was available everywhere and dominated the energy market instantaneously. Ethanol, the first generation of biofuel, is making a return too, but the fact that it can only be harnessed using the same land and resources as food is problematic (and pushing up the cost of food). Generation 2’s switchgrass was floated as an option for a time, owing to its hardiness and ability to grow like a weed nearly anyplace. But we’d need an amount of land similar to Russia and the US combined to grow it in big enough numbers to supplant fossil fuels as the dominant power source for automobiles, so that won’t work.
But what about algae? Its natural oil content is above 50%, it’s not food, and doesn’t need fields or fresh water to grow. Instead, the leftover portions of the plant may be transformed into gas and energy and fertilizer to produce more algae in tiny laboratories. This one’s no brainer, guys.
2. Hydrogen
Advantage number one: burning Hydrogen creates just about no pollution or greenhouse gases at all, which is why NASA has been utilising the substance to propel rockets and shuttles into space for years. Sadly, it’s tough to expand this energy source to a global scale since hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element in the universe (by orders of magnitude) isn’t available in large enough quantities where we can actually get it (unless it’s combined with other elements like Oxygen, as is the case with H2O).
But if we could find this out, maybe by creating a technique to isolate hydrogen from the elements of which it’s a part, we could revolutionise the world. Luckily, such hydrogen fuel cells, which may very well represent the future of transportation, are currently being created. Honda is really intending to showcase the power and efficiency of this technology with a new Clarity Fuel Cell car by hooking the vehicle into a home which it would then power (as opposed to electric cars, which would take electricity from the house). Like any new technology, of course, this will be vast and inaccessible to the public at large for some years. But the possibility is real.
3. Tidal Power
We already have hydroelectric electricity, created by gigantic dams that harness flowing river water to operate energy turbines. It’s strong, pure stuff and absolutely worth continuing to use. But it’s nothing compared to the latent energy of the ocean’s currents, which, if properly harnessed, could power the earth many times over. Sadly, solar and wind controlled the renewable industry early on, and as a consequence, tidal power is only just now being examined owing to its huge potential.
Oyster, for example, is simply a big hinged flap anchored to the ocean bottom, which swings back and forth with the current and delivers enough resultant energy to the surface to power thousands of homes. There’s also the Terminator turbine, created by Air Force Academy engineers and inspired by aviation, which ditches drag technology for wing-like lift, in order to (theoretically) collect an incredible 99% of available tidal power (as opposed to the typical 50%). And the promise isn’t limited to sheer energy production, either. Perth, Australia has begun utilising a tidal-powered desalination facility that can supply drinking water for more than half a million inhabitants.
4. Solar Windows
But you know what? Cool as space solar is, we don’t really have to fly into space to reinvent solar energy production (which is currently transforming energy itself). Down here on the surface, solar panels are now covering roofs across Europe and arid swaths in the American Southwest, not to mention progressively eating away into fossil fuel supremacy. With impending quantum dot solar cell technology poised to break onto the scene, which effectively replaces regular silicon with artificial, solar-energy collecting molecules, anticipate the transformation not only to continue, but to accelerate. Before we proceed, it’s worth mentioning that dozens of creative but ultimately unworkable solar-panel-as-something-else concepts (where solar panels replace roads, walls, windows, etc) have been floated recently. The difficulty always comes down to the fact that solar panels simply aren’t evolved enough to double in function. But quantum dot tech may alter that. Imagine every window in the globe loaded with solar harvesting equipment that you wouldn’t even be able to see with an electron microscope. So say goodbye to those unattractive panels, since without even seeming different, your clear windows may operate as little power stations in just a few short years.
5. Space-Based Solar
The first thing everybody thinks of when they hear the word ‘renewable energy’ is undoubtedly solar. Why wouldn’t they? The sun is pounding the planet with more raw power per second than we’ve ever managed to expend in a year. But the difficulty was never a shortage of it; it’s always been harnessing and storing the material. Luckily, solar panels are growing cheaper and better at an alarming speed. But what if we could harness the sun’s energy in space? It’s always there, after all, in waves not filtered and diluted by the fickle atmosphere (which reflects 30% of it back into space anyhow).
The fundamental concept would be to create massive solar farms which would collect the sun’s high-energy radiation and use mirrors to deposit the energy into smaller collectors, which would then transfer it to Earth in the form of microwaves or laser beams. As of right present, this technology is excessively pricey. But maybe it won’t be for long. After all, firms like SpaceX are continuously developing methods to bring down the cost of carrying freight into space, so presumably we’ll be running out of reasons not to construct one of these world-changing (and charging) behemoths in our lifetime.
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