Richard asks…
is it a good idea that our government should increase incentives for companies that use alternative energy?
do you know the costs for a company to remodel their company to be using alternative energy?
The Expert answers:
I am all for solar panels, but the environmentalists won’t let us use power lines to get light from the desert to the city.
But to answer your question, I think it is a good idea, as long as it’s not too much money. Maybe like a tax deduction or something.
Sandy asks…
Why would alternative energy companies need tax credits if their technology was superior?
Re: this Yahoo article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080831/ap_on_go_co/disappearing_tax_breaks
It always amazes me that companies which have been developing alternative energy technologies for OVER 25 YEARS, with tax credits and other government subsidies to make them a low-cost technologically superior reality, continue to demand special breaks and considerations even though they STILL have not proven to deliver on their promise.
If I had created the ultimate alternative energy, lets say, a Mr. Fusion thing like in the fictional “Back to Future” series, which takes garbage or any other material, and it produces a waste by-product of water, and it only cost $1000 to manufacturer with a retail price well under a few thousand, there would be no need to get government subsidies because myself and my investors would be gazillionaires within 2 years!
The issue is, and remains, that every single alternative energy idea that we’ve been pursuing for the past 25 YEARS, including wind, solar, and ethanol, have not caught on because they are PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE.
And the excuse is always, “Yeah, but we need more money to make it cheaper.” Nonsense. If, after 25 YEARS, you still haven’t figured out a way to improve the technology, IT’S A DEAD END.
This is because the alternative energy debate is fundamentally flawed. Every single alternative was missing, from the very beginning, the very essential element to make it practical and successful.
“Can we find an alternative energy resource that is less polluting, more abundant, and SIGNIFICANTLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY CHEAPER than existing resources?”
Consider PC technology. It was IMMEDIATELY substantially cheaper than its mainframe alternatives. This is why it took off as a computing power alternative. No government tax credits were needed. No subsidizing was required. Competitors popped up left and right to invest heavilly in making it better and better.
And in the same period of time that we have been pursuing these alternative energies, PC technology has evolved enormously.
And if we were still using computers with 256Kb of memory and floppy disks and dot matrix printers, and it turns out they were more expensive than mainframe computers, do you think ANYONE would be saying, “All IBM, Apple, Dell, HP, Intel and AMD need is more money from the government.” ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Innovation is wonderful. But it has to be practical.
Any alternative energy source MUST be a substantially CHEAPER alternative FIRST and FOREMOST. Otherwise, we can throw trillions into the technology and it will never be accepted.
Private funding has already grown weary of the failures of these alternative energies to deliver on their promises.
Meanwhile, there are newer alternative energy ideas such as Fusion and Hydrogen that show great promise… but they are now in their infancy of development. In the meantime, we should take advantage of the cheaper resources we ALREADY have, and use those as a cost/value challenge for viable alternative energies.
Or should we continue to pursue and fund alternatives that no one will want to pay for?
The Expert answers:
Sorry, I cannot agree with you. Technology takes a long time to perfect.
Also tax breaks are NOT subsidies. Subsidies are a big fat check the Government sends out. Tax breaks are being allowed to write off the cost (all, or partial) on ones taxes. I can write off the interest I pay on my mortgage, ever year on my taxes. Thank heavens their are ways to recieve tax breaks.
Did you know Hoover Dam was built with huge funding from the Government (subsidies) and tax breaks. Do you believe the technology in Hoover Dam is “unproven” and doesn’t work?
Did you know the oil companies not only recieve TITANIC tax breaks from the Government, they also recieve TITANIC subsidies from the Government? Do you believe that oil and gas are unproven technologies? Or does your car do fairly well getting you from point A to point B? Perhaps you would feel better if the Government subsidies to the oil companies went away, so we in the U.S.A. Could pay $10-$12 a gallon for our fuel, just as the Europeans are?
There’s another slight problem with your argument. Wind, & solar have not been worked on steadly for the past 25 years. Everyone was ga-ga for wind and solar in the 1970’s during the first gas crunch. Then oil prices began to drop, and drop like a stone. Did you know that in the 1990’s the U.S. Could often purchase oil for $11 a barrel? Sometimes even cheaper. Oil and gas were so dirt cheap, there was no way to get funding to do research on wind and solar. Nobody saw any way that money put into researching wind and solar would ever be recovered.
Now the second gas crunch is here, and people are screaming for wind and solar. Those technologies has improved by leapes and bounds. My husband works on the commercial wind turbines.
There’s an old wind farm they are upgrading to the new, modern wind turbines. There are over 600 old wind turbines at the wind farm. For every new, modern wind turbine they put up, they rip out NINTY of the old ones! One modern wind turbine has the same energy output as 90 of the older wind turbines. That’s amazing! Imagine if our cars kept that kind of pace up! All cars would be getting a few hundred miles to the gallon.
The problem with the “cheaper resources” is they are all based on some form of fossil fuel (except nukes). Fossil fuels WILL eventually run out. I’d much rather see investment, and infrastructure into alternative energies right now, instead of waiting until it’s too late.
~Garnet
Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years
Joseph asks…
Have oil companies been in denial for a long time about alternative and renewable energy?
There has been the technology around for a while now that could of helped our dependence on forgien oil. It seems to me many oil companies have resisted because of possible competition from new alternative energy companies. Let me put it this way, if there is only on way to power your car those companies that sell it have you by the gonads. I along with oil man T. Boone Pickens feel that peak oil is for real and needs to be addressed. If you look up his name on the internet you can pull up his plan for the future. I am impressed that an oil man has finally came to his senses. He wants to replace our electrical power we get from natural gas with wind power and inturn take the natural gas and use it to power our cars. This would be used in some cars and gas in others. This is not a cure all but it would help us for at least 20 years. THis would lower the cost to run our cars and also buy us time to come up with new types of energy. This should be at the top of our list in this election.
The Expert answers:
They “suicide” anyone who goes public with anything that might danger their business.
Linda asks…
Alternative energy companies hiring?
Hi
Im graduating with a BS mech engineering in June and want to get into alt energy field
Which companies are hiring (wind, solar, tidal, hydro…) and is it a competitive market to get into?
Willing to relocate
Thanks
The Expert answers:
I’m not sure who is hiring exactly, but since your background is in ME, you may want to consider obtaining your LEED Green Associate credential. If you have taken any course relating to sustainability or green buildings (even if it’s loosely related, such as anything related to building systems), then you qualify to take the exam.
Although it’s focus is not strictly alternative energy, it is very good to have when job seeking. It’s fairly simple to obtain, and you will stand out much more with it on your resume. Believe me. ME’s with this credential are hard to come by.
George asks…
If I started an alternative energy company, would I make a profit?
I want to start an alternative energy company, that makes bio fuels, windmills and solar panels. Will I make money or loss money?
The Expert answers:
This is such a broad statement, it isn’t really worth answering.
All I can say is there is money to be made in the near future in the alternative energy industry. If you have a solid business plan and are a capable businessperson, you will be in for some good times.
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