Alternative Fuels Future Usages -

Alternative Fuels

Future Usages - replacing oil-based fuels and their usage trends

Replacing oil with alternative fuels: Future outlook

Replacing oil with alternative fuels: Future outlook

Electricity

One of the reasons for the unprecedented dependence of Americans upon fossil fuels is America's love affair with the automobile. However, hybrid vehicles have exploded in popularity. Particularly after the spike in energy prices, hybrid vehicles such as the Prius began to dominate the roadways. Some areas began to offer special incentives to drivers of hybrid cars, such as the ability to drive in carpooling lanes alone. And the scope of the ambition regarding electric vehicles has grown: A coalition of auto makers, battery manufacturers, utility operators and shipping companies wants the U.S. To offer tax credits for buying all-electric plug-in vehicles as part of a $128 billion program to get seven million such cars on the road by 2018"(Burns 2009). This would follow the lead of Japanese and European nations that already have made heavy investments in electric cars.

Electric cars are now much more expensive than conventional vehicles, but they cost only 2.5 cents per mile traveled, compared with 12 cents per mile for a gas-powered car, advocates say. "Electric cars already have a long-enough range for most Americans, who typically drive no more than 40 miles a day…Vehicle owners would be able to fully charge them at night in their own garages, using an ordinary electric plug…fast chargers, operating at 480 volts, available at public facilities, would allow drivers to charge vehicles on the go, removing the anxiety about the limited range of today's battery-powered cars" (Burns 2009). Electrically powered lawn mowers and other types of equipment, such as leaf blowers, that are traditionally powered by gas have now been phased into common use.

Wind energy

Like battery and outlet-powered electricity, wind energy is a naturally renewable source of power. Humankind has been using the wind as a source of power for hundreds of years, as manifested in the presence of windmills across Europe before the use of fossil fuels. Wind turbines create electricity through rotating blades: "When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on the downwind side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is actually much stronger than the wind's force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller, and the turning shaft spins a generator to make electricity" (NREL, 2009). Homeowners and small farmers in windy, flat areas are already using the wind as a source of power. However, the use of wind energy is problematic: the wind provides an intermittent source of energy, and once captured, it must be rationed carefully.

Solar energy

Power plants and homes with solar power systems or solar panels can use the sun as a heat source or source of renewable energy. However, solar power, like wind energy, is problematic because of its intermittent nature, particularly in areas of the country that have high energy needs and relatively low exposure to the sun (NREL, 2009). Residential homes in California and the Western states have used solar power, with some success.

Geothermal, hydroelectric, and tidal energy