Oil and alternative energy have long been seen at opposite ends of the ideological debate. With peak oil looming, many are calling for alternative energy, especially renewable energy, to be developed to fill the gap that will exist in the future.
For the hydrogen economy to take hold, it will be imperative that alternative and renewable energy be developed at a rapid pace to generate enough hydrogen to run fuel cells and internal combustion engines. But, there will also need to be a transitional phase from oil to renewable energy sources.
Deluge Incorporated from Phoenix, Arizona is at the Rocky Mountain Oil Testing Center in Wyoming and is combining old and new technologies. The newly developed thermal-hydraulic engine captures geothermal energy while pumping oil from the ground and generates its own electricity. These oil pumps are not using any electricity from the grid as they are self-sustaining.
By implication, the extra electricity generated at these geothermal oil pumps may one day be sold back to the grid as a renewable resource. A Youtube video offers more explanation about this method of capturing geothermal energy to ease the load on the electrical grid.