Ompolen

Reversing Polarity. System impact & opportunities at the end of oil

Sweden: post oil by 2020

Via Martin Roell, I found this goal of Sweden: independent of oil by 2020.

February 2nd, 2006 Posted by Ton Zijlstra | alternative energy, general, oil | no comments

2025: US Beyond Oil?

President Bush in his State of the Union address announced the US, like the rest of us of course, needs to move beyond oil.

Most important parts: replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025, [and] move beyond a petroleum-based economy.

Now at this point, it is primarily talk (although the US could have been at it for 5 years already). And for me it doesn’t help that the message is being delivered with the trademark Bush grin. I always imagine Bush thinking “look how I am pulling everybody’s leg and get away with it” But that’s just me. So let’s see if steps are really taken. If they are it might work as a catalyst for other governments that have shown themselves reluctant in this area.

Full quote from the Whitehouse website:

Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology. Since 2001, we have spent nearly $10 billion to develop cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable alternative energy sources — and we are on the threshold of incredible advances.

So tonight, I announce the Advanced Energy Initiative — a 22-percent increase in clean-energy research — at the Department of Energy, to push for breakthroughs in two vital areas. To change how we power our homes and offices, we will invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants, revolutionary solar and wind technologies, and clean, safe nuclear energy.

We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We’ll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks, or switch grass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years.

Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.

Photo: Steel, Sky by Jason B. under Creative Commons license.

February 1st, 2006 Posted by Ton Zijlstra | energy, oil | one comment