How to use technology for solar and wind power generation

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Mon, 09/22/2008 - 10:12am.

There are many things I don't understand, but the one that has consumed me lately is alternative energy. Specifically, solar and wind. One of the many great mysteries is why, as an American, we don't hold our state and federal governments to account on these issues.

Scientific American is a fascinating magazine, and one of their articles addresses the shortcomings of alternative energy generation in the United States. They focus on solar energy, but one needs to consider wind power as well.

The gist of the article is summed up by this quote:

A vast area of photovoltaic cells would have to be erected in the Southwest. Excess daytime energy would be stored as compressed air in underground caverns to be tapped during nighttime hours.

It's a long and fascinating read about how we have the technology to deploy vast arrays of solar panels for electrical generation. There are some barriers though:

NIMBY: Not in my backyard is the main reason solar and wind power have yet to take foothold in the United States. Whenever local, state or federal government agencies want to install generation infrastructure there is usually a backlash.

Energy storage: What happens on cloudy days or days without wind? You have to store the power you've generated in the past to continue serving power. Battery technology won't handle it completely, but as Scientific American discussed, you can compress air or even heat a salt solution to store the energy.

Energy transmission: If you're centralizing energy generation you need a way to ensure it can be transmitted to where it's needed. While we have power grids now, they are regional in nature and designed to share energy instead of transporting it across the country.

Money: As with all new infrastructure projects, the initial money is going to be significant.

Even with these issues we could start a program to do this now. Today.

Think about this, the federal government owns about 30% of the land in the United States. Stunning. They own over half the land west of the rockies. This is land already owned and maintained by the federal government, so there would be no cost of acquiring this land.

Here's my plan:

Solar Nevada: The federal government owns more than 75% of Nevada. Nevada also happens to be the third "sunniest" state in the union. A massive solar array built on federal land in Nevada would generate almost 50% of the energy needs of the United States.

Windy North Dakota: The federal government owns 40% of North Dakota. North Dakota is the windiest state in the union. The largest ever wind farm built on federal land in North Dakota would supply 40% of the energy needs of the United States.

The land is already owned, so there would be no need to procure it. Environmental concerns would be limited due to the remote nature of the installs. No one can claim it's going to interfere with thier way of life.

Done deal.