maximax

Sorry Greens, Fossil Fuels Are Here to Stay

This article is not forward looking. If oil shale and the like are supposed to have a strong future, then high altitude wind farms and wave power are no worse in terms of likelihood and feasibility. But the latter two were ignored in the article, possibly because they are not only available 25% of the time, and thus do not fit the agenda. Or maybe they do. Personally I would not (yet!) put my money in these companies either, as the technology is not yet very mature (although it works in principle). These remarks about keeping radioactive waste in the backyard and that the emissions from nuclear energy generation fit into a 16-metre cube, were it to produce the same amount of energy as fossil fuels, do not exactly promote the authors qualifications (e.g. converting uranium into usable fuel is energy intensive).

But ethanol is indeed mostly a cul de sac, and alternative energy is a risky area for investment, especially when compared to traditional energy sectors, were high oil prices in the short to medium term are bound to produce interesting investment opportunities (prob the same with coal and gas prices).