The Germans have really taken off when it comes to renewable fuels and have become one of the major players in the alternative energy game. Under the auspices of national electricity supply laws, the German people set a world record in 2006 by investing more than $10 billion (US) in research, development and implementation of wind turbines, biogas plants and solar cells. Germany's "power laws" allow German homeowners to connect to the electricity grid through some renewable energy source and then sell back to the power company any excess energy produced at retail prices. This economic stimulus has catapulted Germany to the number one position among all nations in terms of the number of solar panels, biogas plants and wind turbines in operation. The 50 terawatt hours of electricity produced by these renewable energy sources represents 10% of all German energy production per year. In 2006 alone, Germany installed 100,000 solar energy collection systems.
In the US, BP established the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) to lead extensive new research and development into clean burning renewable energy sources, primarily biofuels for land vehicles. BP's investment will reach $50 million (US) annually over the next decade. This EBI will be physically located at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The university is in partnership with BP and will be responsible for the research and development of new biofuel crops, agricultural systems delivering biofuels and machinery for producing renewable fuels in liquid form for automotive consumption. In particular, the university will advance genetic engineering efforts with a view to creating more advanced biofuel crops. In addition, the EBI will have as its main focal point technological innovation for the conversion of heavy hydrocarbons into highly efficient, pollution-free fuels.
Also in the US, the battle between Congress and the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) is raging. GEA Executive Director Karl Ga well recently wrote to Congress and the Department of Energy that the only way to ensure that DOE and OMB do not simply revert to their irrational insistence on ending the geothermal research program is to schedule congressional hearings specifically on geothermal energy, its potential, and the role of federal research. Ga well goes on to say that recent studies by the National Research Council, the Western Governors' Association Clean Energy Task Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology all support expanding funding for geothermal research to develop the technology needed to harness this vast, untapped domestic renewable energy. Energy source. Geothermal energy advocates such as this writer are amazed at the scant amount of awareness the public has of the enormous benefits that research and development of renewable alternative energy sources would provide the US, both practically and economically. Geothermal energy production is already cheaper on a kilowatt-hour basis than the coal the US still mines. Geothermal energy is readily available, lying just a few miles below our feet and easily accessible by drilling. One company, ORMA T, which is the third-largest producer of geothermal energy in the US and has plants in several countries, is already doing billions in annual business.
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