I’ll be the first to admit that hydrogen power is not the only answer towards getting off the fossil fuel merry go round. Inefficiencies in coal-fired power plants need to be improved and alternative fuel and renewable energy resources need to be developed.
Toward this end, the Alternative Energy News website is taking to task how we, as a nation, currently waste most of our energy in production and offers ways to improve through developing renewable energy resources. The website offers news and videos of the latest happenings with sun, wind and water power plus alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biofuels.
What caught my attention today was a video on the homepage concerning sustainable energy in Europe. Some of the smaller European nations such as The Netherlands and Demark are using combined heat and power (CHP) systems to double the efficiency of their coal fire plants (from 35-percent to 70-percent). When combined with renewable energy resources these same plants, in a decentralized model, can approach 90-percent efficiencies with reduced emissions.
If we are to reduce our dependency upon foreign fossil fuels and clean up the environment, hydrogen will be but one puzzle piece in a larger picture made up of increased efficiencies in current fossil fuel power plants, development of renewable energy and alternative fuels and moreover a desire (and action) by the public to move in this direction.