Can people stop referring to nuclear, wind and solar as alternatives to oil?

Question

Wind and solar are great, and so is nuclear. Wonderful ways to generate electricity. But they're not replacements for oil - oil is used to generate less than 2% of US power (in 2006 it was 2%, it's a back-up for gas-fired plants in the Northeast, where gas is sometimes in short supply and/or expensive - we don't have 2007 and 2008 YTD figures yet but because the price of oil spiked, and gas stayed flat until recently, it's likely that we generated even less than 2% of our power with oil).

Nuclear, wind and solar are alternatives, or complements, to coal and gas. Totally different fuel, totally different use.

It would help the discussion if we could become informed as to this.

Feel free to visit the EIA website.

Answer 1

I see your point. Nuclear, wind, and solar are not direct replacements for oil. But they can be replacements if enough energy is produced to power plug-in electric cars instead of gasoline-powered cars. If plug-ins replace gasoline-powered cars, and plug-ins get their power from nuclear, wind, and solar, then nuclear, wind and solar would replace gas and coal as well as oil. Of course, that's a tall order. We would not only have to produce enough energy from wind, solar, and nuclear to replace coal and gas, but produce even more to power electric cars and replace oil. It's not going to happen overnight. But there is no way to know what future technological breakthroughs could bring. No one from the 70's could imagine the technological leaps we've made in only 30 years. As technology improves, it will get easier to replace fossil fuels. When we will be independent of fossil fuels, nobody knows. But we won't make any progress if we don't try.

  

Answer 2

Wind and solar energy as an eventually cheap ,natural ,non polluting source of energy that we need instead of oil.

Answer 3

Don't forget heating oil and the chevy volt.    They don't add up to much on the grand scale of things, but do consume a couple hundred million barrels of oil a year that could be used some other way if electricity were cheap as on the west coast.

Answer 4

I've not seen anyone make such a claim, I have seen lots of comments about nuclear, wind and solar as alternatives to coal. That is if you are talking about power stations, as you are!

If you are talking about replacing cars (that use oil) with electric cars, that it would work well and I think that is what others may have been referring to.

It would help the discussion if you could become informed as to this.

Answer 5

In New Zealand all forms of energy is alternative to each other. What we are trying to do is create energy that is, what we call, from re-newable sources. Such as solar, wind and tidal flows. Alternative to oil is more to do with energy sources for vehicles. We are looking at bio fuels and hydrogen. There are quite a few vehicles that have been changed to a hybrid type system. these systems can be done to most petrol powerd vehicles cutting back on fuel consumption by up to 75%.

One drawback with bio-fuels is it is creating a shortage of crops. It is more lucrative to grow crops for bio fuel production than what it is for food production. Unfortunatly the cost is higher food costs. What we, as in, all the population of the world must decide is are we prepared to spend more to create a better envirment for us all.

It would be very interesting if a government decided to give their country 10 years and then all equipment powered from oil sources will be banned. We have the knowledge and some very talented people in the world who have the ability to make this happen. But has a government got the will of its people to pay the cost.

Answer 6

You are correct. They make people feel good, but do little, and waste billions.

Answer 7

They can, but they won't.  For many transportation uses, and particularly for aircraft, there is no possible alternative to hydrocarbon fuels.

Answer 8

Randall you are right, they are not direct replacements for oil, they are replacements for natural gas and coal.  

Answer 9

Sure, but they won't.  Maybe you could start this.