Distributed Energy means Distributed Jobs

Green power generation, wind solar, and biomass, is very different from our current system which has the generation localized in a few large plants. In contrast, green power generation is distributed over large areas. The conversion process has started and is now picking up speed.

The distributed nature of this effort opens opportunities to provide employment and economic opportunities to a great many people who are now in economic distress:

1. The watermen – One of America’s two great wind resources runs down the inter-coastal canal from Main to Texas. Coastal wind farms could save hundreds of fishing villages along this path. Handling heave equipment from boats will become a valuable skill. Above that, these people are in tune with the marine environment in ways that can never be automated.
2. The family farm – Many a windy hill top will save many a family farm. America’s second great wind resource runs from western New York across the Great Lakes region and down the eastern edge of the Rockies all the way to Texas. Throughout this region a groups windmills on the best locations can provide a stable income that will allow thousands of people to remain on the land.
3. The Westerners – The American West has historically supported only a small population yet there are many people who so love this region that they mold their lives to suit it. The people who love this region can now make a living building and maintaining solar farms. Such farms must be very widely distributed to reduce the effects of clouds. Westerners are a tough breed. They understand this region and they will love and protect it.

Distributed jobs also mean distributed political power. All energy systems require a variety of political permits and tax supports. The enormous number of political districts that will benefit from alternative energy virtually insures the political support needed to make it happen.

Education:

We need to develop educational materials on the social changes needed to achieve a sustainable world. This area is too often overlooked with emphasis being placed solely on the technologies.

Status of Idea:

Several full scale electric dragers and motor cycles have been built, but this approach is too expensive for a student project. What I have not seen is a study using models.

References:

• Kenneth S. Deffeyes, Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage (Princeton, 2003)
• Kenneth S. Deffeyes, Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak (Hill, 2006)
• Matthew R. Simmons, Twilight in the Desert (Wiley, 2005)

• Hubbert’s Peak

Contact Us:

Please, drop us an e-mail with your needs and ideas.

Thanks again for visiting our Web site.