More on Energy, the Renewable Kind
February 27th, 2006 | by Paul Merda |While Dear Leader and company attempt to usurp renewable energy from us Prgressive types, there is one type of renewable energy they have completely ignored; “Lunar” Power. Lunar Power isn’t the same as Solar power at all, Solar Power Derives its energy directly from the Sun’s luminosity by capturing the light and changing it into useful energy while “Lunar” Power uses the effects of the moon on the tides to propel turbines much like steam does at a Fossil Fuel facility. Lunar Power is more abundant (just ask a guy who lives in NE Ohio) than solar and more consistent than wind power. The USA was at the cutting edge of this type of research, but then funding got cut in the eighties and has never enjoyed a resurgence. Maybe its time we take a look at “Lunar” Power because according to the article:
With its vast stretches of shoreline, the U.S. has some 2,300 terawatt-hours of potential near-shore wave power….. That’s more than eight times the yearly output of the nation’s existing fleet of hydroelectric dams
5 Responses to “More on Energy, the Renewable Kind”
By John Rogers on Feb 27, 2006 | Reply
Hydropower? I’m all for it. But the best way to get this flying is not to pester the government for subsidies.
It is to have a prolonged period of very expensive energy. Maybe it’s begun….
By ken grandlund on Feb 27, 2006 | Reply
I read a few months ago about wave capturing as an energy source and thought it sounded good. There are actually several ‘wave catchers’ in experimental use somewhere. (Really, it was a few months ago. Might have caught this in Discover magazine.)
To me, this is a great path to follow, as are any renewable energy sources. And as you note Paul, the power of the lunar pull on the oceans is not dependent on available daylight or an active atmosphere, like solar and wind power are.
By Kevin Wos on Feb 27, 2006 | Reply
Yay! Lots of renewable energy for everyone! This is extremely good news. Now, if only we could get people like the oil companies and the Kennedies to stop stifling these efforts.
By LiberPaul on Feb 28, 2006 | Reply
Agreed John, Kevin, Ken! The market will be a better guide than government, it seems to be the case in nearly everything else….. Just gotta get the big money companies behind this stuff. Although, I posted last week about how Chevron and BP are working on alternatives to fossil fuels. The day is coming where these technologies will be cheap compared to oil etc… Let’s hope we ease on into it and its not a catastrophic event that propels it forward…
By Ken Solar on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
I really like the sound of Lunar Power, but, transmitting the ac over long distances will cost us quite a bit, plus, it does not truly free us from the grid. I make my living in solar obviously but one of my biggest objectives is to take much of the control out of their hands. If they can sell it to us and dominate the market, then they’re going to, so again, we have not freed ourselves from anything.
I hate powerlines. They’re ugly. We have to pay and pay every month for something that we can get for free. If they can sell us lunar power, then now they won’t have any overhead other than turbine maintenance, and again, they can charge us whatever they want.
Lunar power sounds like a great renewable, but I’d like to see us free ourselves from the whole damn grid, electrically, and financially.