High Efficiency Breakthrough?

You cannot rely on major break throughs. That has been a core message of the environmental movement and global warming crusaders practically from Day One. It is foolhardy to rely on technology to rescue us from our high- and low-tech messes, because you never know when engineers and researchers are going to hit a brick wall.And really, that’s very prudent thinking. If we’re at the Orville and Wilbur Wright stage of cleantech and alternative energy, it could very well be sixty more years before we put a man on the Moon, so to speak. Increasing energy efficiency, whether through cleaner existing technologies or going back to old, abandoned techniques that work better than our modern solutions, remains one of the best ways to deal with the current energy problems.But it’s also wise to always be on the look-out for that break through that could change the whole game.The other day, we mentioned Scientific American’s ambitious plan to dramatically increase renewable energy production and usage by 2050, mostly using existing, in production technology. And what would make that idea better, but a dramatic jump in solar efficiency? The novel concept, which is not simply a bump up in the efficiency of traditional photovoltaics or Sterling heat engines, could manage efficiencies around 60%, twice the current record-holders.Without moving parts and using relatively simple materials, the Johnson Thermoeletric Energy Conversion System (or JTEC) would be a low-maintenance, long-life solution to the question of solar-generated electric power. Developed by the inventor of the SuperSoaker (himself a former NASA/JPL engineer), JTEC has the potential, not only to replace large-scale grid generation infrastructure, but could also be scaled down dramatically to, for instance, capture waste heat from an internal combustion engines–a prospect that could dramatically improve the performance of gas-electric hybrids.Critical is to remember, however, that even if a breakthrough product like JTEC were to replace coal and nuclear tomorrow, energy efficiency would still be a major concern; though solar seems limitless, there are still obstacles to having power too cheap to meter, even if we were to achieve 100% efficiency. Energy efficiency efforts give more control to the consumer, and also help maximize capacity for future expansion; if anything is true in all this, it is that human endeavor will require more energy in the future.

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