DAILY MEMO: ENERGY:

Solar, wind not the prescription for cheaper gas

Only a drop in demand will do it, UNLV prof says

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | 2 a.m.

From as near as the Nevada Senate and from as far as the halls of the U.S. Congress, we’ve heard that renewable energy is the key to lowering gasoline prices.

During a recent visit to the Sun, state Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford proffered a list of the benefits of renewable energy. His list — the same list his fellow Democratic state lawmakers are touting — includes that it will counter our addiction to foreign oil.

The argument that developing solar and wind energy will mean cheaper gas has become something of a refrain across the country.

Too bad it’s not true. Solar + wind does not = cheaper gas.

Traditional fossil fuel power plants burn coal or natural gas to generate electricity. They don’t burn gasoline refined from oil. Switching from coal and natural gas power plants to solar or other renewable electric generation would reduce the amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and other pollutants released into the air each year, but it wouldn’t reduce the amount of oil we use. And without reducing the demand for oil, the price isn’t likely to fall.

“You’ve still got 3 billion people in China and India that would like to be driving cars,” said William Robinson, an economics professor at UNLV. “I don’t think the price of gas is going down significantly ... unless we lower the demand for gas worldwide.”

But that’s not to say it never will. If you add in electric cars, the equation could work because electric cars could reduce gas consumption.

Cars powered by electricity from solar or wind power plants would be virtually pollution-free. Electric cars also would reduce pollution even if powered by electricity from coal or natural-gas-fired plants because the giant engines in large power plants use fossil fuels more efficiently than a fleet of smaller car engines.

Short of everyone switching to electric vehicles, though, renewable energy does not lead directly to independence from oil.

Switching to renewables to power the electric heat for the small percentage of mostly Northeastern homes that now burn oil would help also.

But experts say that requiring that all vehicles sold in the U.S. get better gas mileage is a better option.

Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens is touting a different approach: Replace natural-gas-fired power plants with wind turbines and use the natural gas instead to fuel our public transportation and trucking fleets.

Twenty-two percent of American electricity is produced by burning natural gas. Shifting that natural gas from power plants to trucks and buses would help offset some of the $700 billion America spends on foreign oil each year, according to the Pickens Plan.

Pickens also wants to ramp up domestic production of natural gas to meet this demand.

Environmentalists call it an imperfect solution.

They would like to see a new lineup of solar, wind and geothermal power plants providing energy to light our homes and offices and run our cars with virtually no carbon emissions.

They caution that under the Pickens Plan, emissions would go down only slightly. Although natural gas is cleaner burning than gasoline or diesel fuel, it still produces pollution.

Some energy experts say the Pickens Plan probably won’t work for another reason. Wind provides only intermittent power. High-tech batteries will need to be developed to store all that power if homes and businesses are to have electricity continuously.

If high-tech batteries were perfected, we could run our cars on them, too.

Which brings us back to why solar + wind + electric cars = one solution.

And solar + wind = cheap gas is only a myth.

Discussion: 3 comments so far…

By Martin_Dean_Dupalo

10/23/08 at 9:20 a.m.

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Good article.

What Prof Robinson states is correct. What many people commonly miss and do not take into account is that the US constitutes at just over 300 million people of an estimated world population of 6 billion plus, roughly 6-7% of the total population with energy demands - primarily oil as an imported energy source. It is the demands of the developing countries in the 93-94% percent of the population that play a significant role when discussing supply and demand and the costs associated with it. There are other major factors involved as well, in particularly the high rate of consumption we maintain.

As current efficiencies improve and already viable alternative fuel technology advances, the demand will stop rising and the shift to these fuels will provide substantial improvements in terms of reduced carbon emissions for the environment and communities, increased national security, and improved economic possibilities with domestically-produced/harnessed fuel, among other additional benefits.

Pickens has proposed a reasonable approach towards bridging current sources of fuel with an alternative and available technology to a much brighter and promising future.

Over-reliance primarily on oil over the course of the past few decades has often demonstrated many negative consequences and while there is no 'magic bullet' according to various interests, there are numerous available technologies and energy sources today - it is primarily a matter of political leadership and will.
By john0

10/23/08 at 5:19 p.m.

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Gas will never be cheap. That said, we are expending the fossil fuel resorces of the entire world at an alarming rate. We have to look toward the future, and what our current path will bring in that future. Fossil fuels are pollutants. Acid rain, CO2 emissions the green house effect, we all know the story. So by beginning the transition to renewable energy plants now we will be saving our future generations the expense of beginning clean energy production from a cold start. I, for one, do not want to leave a legacy of neglect and irresponsibility, for future generations to deal with. Yes, gasoline will never be cheap again. Can you weigh the cost of not building a renewable energy infrastructure? I think I'll listen to what Mr. Pickens has to say.
By ehsif727

10/23/08 at 8:43 p.m.

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The title of this article seem misleading. It says that solar and wind will not lead to lower gas prices only a drop in demand will. I have an electric car and power it from solar panels on my house. Explain how that does not reduce demand for gas.