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.