Businessweek.com has a report up on renewable energy titled “The State of Green”. The article give an overview of what is happening and the major players in the fields of solar power, wind power and ethanol production. Here are some highlights, but feel free to read the entire article:
- Renewable energy and energy efficiency companies are generating almost $1 trillion in revenues and employ 8.5 million people. (Michael, I need a raise!)
- Wind power is a major player in energy production and major technical issues have been solved. The industry faces long waits as turbine production is backlogged up to 2 years and the rising cost of materials to build said turbines.
- Solar power is at 2% of the output of wind, but production is rising rapidly and strained supply chains. The next steps in technology may lower costs and increase availability.
- Ethanol production has moved from small startups to large well capitalized companies and is on track to provide 5% to 8% of U.S. fuel consumption. Technological advances are aiming a improving efficiency and broadening the number of available feedstocks.
The article has details on the major players in these industries and the issues they face.
Sources: Yahoo Finance, Businessweek.com
One Comment
Putting ethanol into spark-ignition engines is really really stupid! Low compression, spark ignition engines have much lower thermal efficiency than high compression diesels. Why can’t the A**holes in Detroit see this?
VW produces an eco-diesel/electric hybrid, BMW and Mercedes sell turbo eco-diesels in Europe that outperform all mid-sized American cars. Americans know how to make eco-diesel fuel from algae, various plants and sewage.
Why can’t we copy a Mercedes engine and put it in a Ford? too proud, or too stupid?