David Lentz

Implementing Pickens' Plan for Public Energy Policy

re: alternative power for long-haul trucking.

All trains use electric motors. They are the best powerplant for high-torque applications. In the fullness of time, I expect to see fuel cells replace diesel power, but over the short term, we will probably see a lot of truck traffic shift to rail (that's why Warren Buffett has been buying rail stocks). There is the possibility (one would have to do some detailed design calculations to be sure this is feasible) of a GM Volt-style powertrain for trucks, with a diesel generator producing electricity for the electric motor drive train, augmented by batteries & regenerative braking for stop-start driving. my guess is that we could see mileage improvements of around 10%-20% for trucks using technology like this.

Geothermal Energy Sources 101

Why are there no efforts under way to build geothermal power facilities around the periphery of Yellowstone? Previous calderas there extend beyond that boundaries of the park, so there is the possibility of drilling outside the park and establishing geothermal energy plants outside of Yellowstone, and given the minimally intrusive nature of geothermal plants (no smokestacks or fuel residues to pollute the environment, relatively modest facility requirements), it would seem to be in the nation's interest to sacrifice a small valley or two inside the park for the extraction fo geothermal power.

Considering that amount of coal-fired electricity that this could replace, it would seem to be, on balance for the nation, a very good environmental trade-off.

The amount of energy available in the Yellowstone caldera is sufficient to power the entire nation for a long time. Yellowstone is a VERY large area, and including a geothermal power plant or two within it would not destroy the natural beauty of the other 99%. The biggest objection seems to be that extracting significant amount of geothermal energy would shut down Old Faithful, based on the experiences with much, MUCH smaller geothermal resources in Iceland and New Zealand, where geothermal energy extraction has had an impact on geysers as far away as 10 km from the point of extraction. The Yellowstone caldera is approximately 40 km in diameter, a MUCH larger source of geothermal energy, and has more than 75% of the world's geysers. I think we could manage to not disturb Old Faithful.