Bill James

8 Energy Storage Stocks that Can Expect Explosive Growth

When JPods networks begin to displace oil-powered urban transport networks, the commercial market in most of these storage technologies will grow much more rapidly than even the $8.3 billion.

JPods networks are a paradigm shift in urban transportation from cars (moving a ton to moving a person) to computer controlled networks of ultra-light 'horizontal-elevators'. These networks automate repetitive commuter range transport using 7-15% of the energy required by cars. Solar-collectors mounted over the rails gather about 5,000 to 12,000 vehicle-miles of power per mile of rail per typical day. The grid and radical expansion of alternate storage devices will be required level out the cyclical pattern of solar-collection.

Here is an article on the paradigm shift: seekingalpha.com/artic...

Six Signs Economy Is Turning the Corner

We have passed Peak Oil: Less Energy = Shrinking Economy.

Option: Increase efficiency by de-monopolizing government management of transportation and power generation infrastructure design. It is too hard for small business innovation to implement ideas with Congress as a filter. We need to tinker.

The Internet boom resulted when communications infrastructure was de-monopolized in 1984.

GE Results Validate Theory: Severe Economic Contraction

This is the Peak Oil Depression. Economic Growth equals Energy Growth times Efficiency Growth. In May of 2005 World Crude Oil Production stopped growing and the economy began loosing economic momentum.

Also in 2005, Net World Oil Exports Peaked and have declined 6% since. Net Exports is production minus domestic consumption by exporting nations; it is the amount of energy available to power economies of importing nations.

With oil as the lifeblood of our economy, less oil means contraction. The contraction will continue until the Olduvai Theory comes true or we change the lifeblood of our economy from oil to ingenuity. We can create an economic boom by de-monopolize centrally planned transportation and power generation infrastructure as we de-monopolized communications infrastructure in 1984. Transportation efficiencies can be increased 10-20 times. seekingalpha.com/artic...

Transport Reform: 'Never Waste a Crisis' Mentality Fades

We need a paradigm shift in transportation. Trains use about as much energy as cars, 900 to 1,033 watt-hours per passenger miles. High speed trains use more energy than airplanes.

We need to repeat the success of communications infrastructure: manage by Performance Standards. www.theoildrum.com/nod...

Personal Rapid Transit, the solution defined for the 1973 Oil Embargo and built at Morgantown WV has delivered 110 million injury-free passenger miles. Modern versions can be powered by sunshine (Masdar, the zero carbon city being built in Abu Dhabi). seekingalpha.com/artic...

Accomplishing the same economic work, using 15% of the energy would create an economic boom.

'Green Shoots' Not a Phrase Used by Those Who Know

There can be an economic boom if we repeat the lesson learned from de-monopolize communications infrastructure in 1984, the Internet and cell networks.

Mobilizing to fight World War I, bureaucracies were established to manage communications, transportation and power generation infrastructure. They froze in time the great innovations of at their founding of Bell, Ford, Edison and the Wright Brothers. In 1984 innovation was allowed in communications infrastructure; power generation and transportation infrastructure remain protected by monopolies.

Why do we pay to move a ton to move a person in repetitive, congested urban transport? Highways that kill 43,000 people a year are not the ultimate pinnacle of our engineering skills. Long-haul freight rail moves cargo 97.2 times more efficiently than we move cargo and people in cities. Morgantown's Personal Rapid Transit network has delivered 110 million injury-free passenger miles.

If we want a stronger economy we need to break the design monopolies over infrastructure.

How to Invest in Peak Oil

Peak World Oil Exports was in 2005, the amount of oil-energy available to fuel the economies. Net World Oil Exports has declined about 6% since 2005 = the economies have contracted about 6%.

There will be great oil and natural gas investments, but the long-term investments will be in achieving the current economic work using much less power. Example, investing in Personal Rapid Transit (PRT); a paradigm shift in transportation from the highways/automobile to networks of computer controlled 'horizontal-elevators' . seekingalpha.com/artic...

Using 127 watt-hours per passenger-mile instead of 1,000 (900, trains; 1033, cars; 1246, buses) results in 85% of current transportation costs to be converted to jobs and profits. This massive opportunity exists only because communications, transportation and power generation infrastructures have operated under well-meaning to rigid government monopolies since AT&T was monopolized in the mobilization to fight World War I. The great innovations at the founding of these monopolies locked in place the innovations of Bell, Ford, Edison and the Wright Brothers.

De-monopolization of AT&T in 1984 resulted in the Internet boom. Cap & Trade will force a de-monopolization of government road (network) allowing innovations such as PRT and Feed-in Tariffs to re-tool transportation and power generation infrastructure. The boom will exceed that of the Internet.

How to Raise a Good Energy Tax

The Economy equals Energy times Efficiency.

Tax energy and you will get less economy.

Cap & Trade is thought to be an energy tax, but it is really a performance standard. Free markets will twist this to good use to break the government's monopoly over transportation design since the mobilization to fight World War I.

Companies will defend profits by investing in efforts that can return the principle with interest and carbon credits. Use of petroleum is less than 5% efficient so there is lots of opportunity. The Personal Rapid Transit (PRT or PodCar) industry provides on-demand transport at 200+ passenger-miles per gallon. Like the railroads of the 1860's, funds will flow to support a massive re-tooling of transportation to exploit very high returns on capital with accompanying carbon credits.

seekingalpha.com/artic...

The Impending Mother of All Oil Shocks

Have you seen the CSX commercials where they talk about "moving a ton 423 miles on one gallon of fuel"? Why in repetitive urban transport are we moving a person at 18 mpg? We can do so much better if we shift the paradigm from the automobile to PRT (Personal Rapid Transit). JPods is an example.

We are going to start building JPods networks soon. These networks use the distributed nature of the transportation network to harvest distributed natural power sources.

By driving energy consumption down 85% to 150 watt-hours per passenger mile (cars - 1033, buses - 1246, trains - 900, planes -950) it solar-power practical. Collectors 2 meters wide mounted over the rails gather 5,000-12,000 vehicle-miles of power per mile of rail per day (below 45 degrees).

It is necessary to displace 70% of urban oil-powered transportation in the next 12 years. Failing that, the food distribution system with follow the Malthusian collapse of the banking system. The 12 years is very difficult and forced by Peak Oil realities. Avoiding collapse assumes world peace, no major hurricane hitting Houston, no major earthquakes, stable oil prices, no terrorist attacks of note, etc....

Seven Uncomfortable Predictions for the Economy

I think you are correct. We hit Peak Oil in 2005. Net World Oil Exports peaked and have declined since, less energy, same efficiency means less economic activity.

We need to fundamentally change our energy efficiency and re-establish the sense of self-reliance. In three critical areas we need to repeat the success of communications infrastructure re-tooling by changing from central planning to distributed self-reliance:

1. Food distribution. Get everyone involved by calling on everyone to plant a Victory Garden and try to grow 1/3rd of their own food. "Many hands make light work." Self-reliance starts with the self and is an attitude.
2. Power generation. Feed-in Tariffs are needed to allow anyone to create and sell electricity.
3. Transportation. Set Performance Standards for transportation efficiency and allow innovators to fill that standard. Cars, buses, trains and planes all use about 1,000 watt-hours per passenger mile (32 mpg). Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), PodCars, JPods use about 130. Converting 85 cents of every dollar spent on oil to jobs and profits is a way to stabilize and rebuild the economy.

The Coming Depression: See It Clearly Through Historical Eyes

RobertJim
Here is what we can do. We can apply the lessons of communications infrastructure to power and transportation.

Problem: Moving a ton to move a person at 1,000 watt-hours per passenger-mile (bus, car, planes and train).

Solution: Move only the person at 130 watt-hours per passenger-mile (Personal Rapid Transit).

Background:
Mobilizing to fight World War I, bureaucracies institutionalized the great innovations at that time of Ford, Edison, Bell and the Wright Brothers. Locked in place for a century was a mandate to use 1,000 watt-hours per passenger mile. Population grew from one to six billion, exhausting the Earth's resources. Net Oil Exports stopped growing in 2005 (Peak Oil), forcing the downward spiral of foreclosures, financial collapse, jobs collapse, and soon food distribution collapse. We must either reduce watt-hours per passenger mile, or nature will forcibly reduce the number of passengers. Peak Oil and Global Warming are civilization killers we created by infrastructure we planned.

Performance Standards replaced central Planning of communications infrastructure in 1984. Unleashing innovation, jobs and wealth boomed as we replaced Bell's century old analog technology with the Internet and cell networks. Performance Standards can repeat that success in power and transportation infrastructure.

The Coming Depression: See It Clearly Through Historical Eyes

RobertJim
Here is what we can do. We can apply the lessons of communications infrastructure to power and transportation.

Problem: Moving a ton to move a person at 1,000 watt-hours per passenger-mile (bus, car, planes and train).

Solution: Move only the person at 130 watt-hours per passenger-mile (Personal Rapid Transit).

Background:
Mobilizing to fight World War I, bureaucracies institutionalized the great innovations at that time of Ford, Edison, Bell and the Wright Brothers. Locked in place for a century was a mandate to use 1,000 watt-hours per passenger mile. Population grew from one to six billion, exhausting the Earth's resources. Net Oil Exports stopped growing in 2005 (Peak Oil), forcing the downward spiral of foreclosures, financial collapse, jobs collapse, and soon food distribution collapse. We must either reduce watt-hours per passenger mile, or nature will forcibly reduce the number of passengers. Peak Oil and Global Warming are civilization killers we created by infrastructure we planned.

Performance Standards replaced central Planning of communications infrastructure in 1984. Unleashing innovation, jobs and wealth boomed as we replaced Bell's century old analog technology with the Internet and cell networks. Performance Standards can repeat that success in power and transportation infrastructure.

Relatively Low Unemployment Is No Cause for Optimism

If we are allowed to innovate, it is possible to create an average of 1.8 million jobs over the next 12 years building Personal Rapid Transit networks. These are a Physical-Internet, computer networks that move people and cargo with a tenth the energy required of cars.
seekingalpha.com/artic...

Unfortunately, government has not de-monopolized their planning process as was done with AT&T in 1984. To innovate requires a lot more attempts and failures than is allowed within institutionalized thinking. Policy makers need to shift from Plans to Performance Standards. A Performance Standard of 120 passenger-miles per gallon is easily achieved.
www.theoildrum.com/nod...

Why a Revamped Housing Plan Should Be Government's First Priority

Housing can recover with by changing transportation infrastructure policy from Planned to Performance Standards. The typical working family (income $20-50,000) spend $10,300 a year on transportation. That can be cut in half by allowing non-oil based transportation systems access to rights of way. Allow access to any one and any technology that can exceed 126 passenger-miles per gallon (energy equivalent).

Increasing disposable income by $5,000 a year per family is enough to stabilize foreclosures and the housing market.

Building the infrastructure will create about 1.8 million new sustainable job.

Personal Rapid Transit is a technology that can exceed the Performance Standard:
seekingalpha.com/artic...

Bye Bye Greenback

We will start to recover the dollar's value as soon as we start replacing oil-base transportation with Personal Rapid Transit. Within 10-12 years we can be operating within US domestic oil production.

What the Economy Needs Is a Helicopter Drop

If we are allowed to build Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) networks, we can turn the economy. The typical working family spends $10,300 per year for transportation. With privately funded PRT we can cut that to $8,300 in 6 years.

The efficiency gain is from 20 to 200 miles per gallon. Building the infrastructure will change the lifeblood of our economy from oil to ingenuity.