The Top Energy Stories to Watch in 2008

Alternative energy & efficiency wins hands down.

If we develop common-sense new ideas like the following, we won’t be importing oil, not to mention the new jobs created. As an energy inventor, here’s how I see it.

All electric commuter car are going to be a big hit because designed right, they can operate for one cent a mile at average US power prices. They will not look odd, be very streamlined, and have 4 seats (at least my design does). Critical to hill climbing and getting out the in traffic fast is an electric shift manual 2-speed transmission. Forget Li-ion batteries, they are too expensive and have to be landfilled. Lead acid batteries with a super efficient EV can take you everywhere you need to go (up to 150 miles), otherwise, rent a gas car for the long trips. EV’s need to meet auto X-Prize performance specifications at a minimum.

Wind turbines can do it all, they really can. Only 30,000 of 4 MW wind turbines operating 10 hours a day (the rest is surplus power) can charge all 134 million commuter EV’s if an efficient all-electric design (assuming every commuter owns one, and they should). It takes about 70 square miles to cite that many turbines, not bad. But fortunately, the wind blows adequately in every state to make plenty of power. But to do this right, we need a new light-air turbine design because shifting the turbine’s power curve to the left to pick up speed sooner can increase capacity 60%, or achieve an overall capacity factor of 40% in fair to good winds (class 3-4), greatly improving wind power economics.

Believe it or not, but an airliner’s fuel efficiency can be more than doubled, here’s how. Viewed from the front, the proposed canard airliner would look like a B52. But being a canard design, all wing surfaces provide lift (even the curved-up nose) minimizing wing area, and an elliptical fuselage minimizes volume, further reducing drag. It would use a single rear cruise engine (mounted with the tail fin), so once cruise altitude is reached using both engines (a larger take-off assist engine is hidden in the fuselage tail section), it then flies on one, maximizing fuel efficiency and nearly halving engine maintenance costs. This composite aircraft design always converges to a minimum fuel and plane weight to achieve its mission. Estimates show it can more than double airliner fuel efficiency.

Trucking fuel efficiency hasn’t improved much since the 1950’s. But using a front-drive straight-body bullet truck streamlined design, fuel used can be cut in half and the load carried increased 20%. Now the trucker is making money again (but so would the airline if it had that plane). Bullet trucks will stop safer, and buffet motorists less. Calculations show they also damage roads and bridges less.

Bottom line, it takes a lot of new ideas to fix our energy problems. The big question is does Wall Street care? So far they have given short shift to investing in mechanical ideas. That needs to change if we are to dig ourselves out of the energy hole we

Lloyd Weaver of ME @ Jul 02, 2008 23:14:29 PM