Editorial

Renewables are not going to reduce our dependency on foreign oil...or domestic oil for that matter?

I think it is important to separate the need for oil with the need for power. As I see it, renewables in the near future, won’t have much impact on our dependency on foreign oil.

I have been asked more than once if the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, touted as the world’s worst environmental disaster, is expected to have any significant impact on the move towards renewables.

This editor, a huge supporter of renewables and specifically ocean renewables (including offshore wind), believes while the disaster will raise awareness for renewables, the government is only focused on how we can make drilling less risky and how soon we can get back to producing oil...safely.
It’s true that the loss of crude oil would be an economic disaster of epic proportions, but most lose sight of what the energy usage is for. Energy is consumed in two ways:

1. Transportation
2. Power

Transportation relies on oil, and without it the world comes to a virtual standstill.
On the other hand, power (i.e. electricity) comes from other sources such as coal (over 50%), natural gas (18%), nuclear power (20%) and hydropower (7%) and to a much lesser degree—oil. Here is where renewables can make the biggest difference.
Wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, ocean waves & tides, OTEC, etc. all contribute solutions to the “power and the emissions (climate change) problem”. They contribute very little to the transportation problem and I for one don’t believe ethanol in any way is an effective solution. Hybrid cars help but won’t make any significant impact for decades to come. One day we can envision a charging station on every home and a plug on every city parking meter where cars and buses can recharge.
So back to the original question. No, the oil spill won’t have much of an impact on renewables. Billions of dollars won’t be diverted to renewables to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, although some near term projects may get political approval to show some degree of “green” progress.
We all wait impatiently waiting for first U.S. offshore wind. After all, the first offshore wind farm was successfully built and installed 24 years ago off the coast of Denmark.
But wind, waves and tides won’t power our cars, trucks, buses, tractors, boats, ships, airplanes, jets, earth movers, etc.—at least not until there is enough power to charge all those batteries.
I think it is important to separate the need for oil with the need for power. As I see it renewables in the near future won’t have an impact on our dependency on foreign oil.
The U.S. is not making the strides it must make to provide for the continuing growth in energy required by this nation, even though it is a leader in onshore wind farm development. Ultimately, the majority of that energy will likely have to come from nuclear power.
One can conclude that we must, for the foreseeable future, continue to increase our utilization of domestic oil and gas resources, including those found in deepwater until we are at a point where we no longer need petroleum to feed our means of transportation.
If not, we will find ourselves paying $5, $10, maybe $15 or more per gallon of gasoline to fuel our commute to the work place.