Economic future of global energy

Another message on the economics of Global Energy from TouchArt's friend Bill Brown up in Taos, NM at New Mexico Global Warming.
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Greetings, All -- I call your attention to a new research report from the investment community that looks at the economic growth and growth projections for "alternative" forms of energy to supplant oil and other fossil fuels.

Download the 16-page document from Guinness Atkinson Funds Research Reports at:
http://www.gafunds.com/research_reports.asp

The report begins: “In the 20th century, mankind's massive material and financial progress were only made possible by the exploitation of oil. Oil was a main force in global geopolitics and the driving force behind unprecedented industrialization. Oil has been such a powerful lynch pin that it is hard to believe that its days of prominence may be waning. But as demand for oil steadily increases and reserves are consumed, oil is in the autumn of its life. In its place will increasingly emerge an array of alternative— non-fossil-fuel —energy technologies, both high tech and old tech. This is the dawn of the alternative energy age...”

The report attempts to answer the question, "So, what do alternatives have to offer and at what price and with what technology can they start to add to and replace the world's energy infrastructure?"

The report is directed entirely at economics and investors, and presents a broad array of data and graphs to explain investment positions for energies from solar photovoltaic, onshore and offshore wind, hydro, wave and tidal, geothermal, fuel cells, hydrogen, biofuels, coal, natural gas, nuclear, and IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle that turns coal into a gas, and then removes impurities from the coal gas before it is combusted).

The report cautions: "All energy prices are highly sensitive to government policy frameworks and national economic systems. This leads to wide differentials for the same energy technologies in different countries. The range in the above tables produced by

the IEA [International Energy Agency http://www.iea.org/] is also due to the variance of the discount rate from 5% to 10%. They do not include transmission, distribution or greenhouse gas emission costs."



The report is a concise 16 pages based on 65 references and is well worth the read for anyone interested in the economic future of global energy.



-- Bill Brown
www.nmglobalwarming.org

Go to link above for full report from Guiness Atkinson Funds Research Reports
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From TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com