On Mar 16, 2011, at 9:16 PM, Dissenting Wren wrote:
> In that case, does natural gas become a viable backup? Can you use natural gas
> to shape a grid with high penetration of renewables at reasonable cost?
You can use alcohol for that end, without fracturing the earth. I think that alcohol can fuel most existing transportation engines, with modest modification.
Here in my 'neck of the woods', an alcohol production plant was contracted and built - then abandoned, vague rumors of product contamination given as a reason for the abandonment. There are also miles of tank cars stored in most of the rail yards that I pass. Seems like a lot of capital.
martin