I always forget that our air is 80% Nitrogen. Every time someone reminds me of that, I start to feel like I'm suffocating. You're right, I forgot about the compunds of nitrogen. Assuming you burned 1 kG of gas (or petrol if you prefer) and 1 kG of hydrogen, would you have less, more, or the same amount on Nitrogen compounds from one or the other?
gfretwell,
I was just thinking about the instantly rechargeable part of your post. Anything not attached to the earth, if powered by battery would take hours to charge and would have to sit idle, or take a few MINUTES pumping Hydrogen into a tank.
I'm still undecided on the whole hydrogen thing as far as the grid goes. I don't want to go into nuclear because it would be too political, but if you want to discuss it privately, feel free to drop me an email.
As for being pessimistic about any type of energy, in reality, on a long enough timeline, everything drops to zero. An example:
It's dark, no power. You're trying to get your generator running. You have one candle (the kid next door borrowed your flash light last week and wore down the batteries.) You have two options:
1) Light the candle at one end. You will have a small amount of light for one hour
2) Light the candle at both ends. You can see better, but the candle will now only last a half hour. However, you can work faster because you can see.
Conclusion: With non-renewable resources, no matter how much you use or conserve, the same amount of energy will be used and the same amount of work will get done, the only thing that fluctuates is time.
As for renewable resources, they are here indefinitely. The devices we use to generate power are very reliable... but the energy they capture isn't. (for instance, a wind generator making zero volts on a windless day can be said to be reliable, as it is performing to specs. If it's not turning but is somehow making power, you probably just ripped a hole in the fabric of space-time.)
I can see hydrogen's uses in automobiles, but as far as grid power, i can only think of things such as long term storage, such as excess solar energy stored for winter when there's less sun. However, this seems very expensive and more like a last ditch effort rather than high-tech innovation. Don't get me wrong, it will technically work, but it seems more like hopeful hype. After all, there arent any batteries on the grid right now, unless you consider unspent fuel to be a battery, which it technically is)
I have seen hydrogen back up generators, and they look pretty cool. Plus from what I understand, the water coming out can be used for heating when it's cold. It might be a good option for remote places too, but it doesn't seem very feasible for grid use.
I hope this isn't too political, but why not use felons to generate some power? Every able-bodied prisoner takes shifts on some exercycles connected to generators. Parking ticket? $50 fine or an hour on an exercycle. Rob a bank? Mandatory 20 years of 8 hours a day on one. Of course, you still need fuel (food) and there will still be waste (unmentionable but you get the picture)
