ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

The United States imports more than 60% of its petroleum, two-thirds of which is used to fuel vehicles in the form of gasoline and diesel. The demand for petroleum imports is increasing. With much of the worldwide petroleum reserves located in politically volatile countries, the United States is vulnerable to supply disruptions.No matter how efficient conventional vehicles become, some of the gasoline and diesel needed to fuel them will need to be imported. I posted a blog on Big Oil that was quite negative. That was done for a reason. Our country needs to curtail it's dependence on oil.

Hydrogen is one of the answers.

Hydrogen can be produced domestically from resources such as natural gas, coal, solar energy, wind, biomass, and nuclear energy, with the potential for near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Once produced, it generates power to highly efficient fuel cell vehicles without exhaust emissions. Hydrogen holds the promise for economic growth in both the stationary and transportation energy sectors, along with the end to the nation's "addiction to oil."

Impact on our Health

About half of the U.S. population lives in areas where air pollution levels are high enough to negatively impact public health or the environment. Emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles—such as nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter—are a major source of this pollution. Hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles emit none of these harmful substances. Their only emission is H2O—water.

The environmental and health benefits are even greater when hydrogen is produced from low- or zero-emission sources such as solar, wind, and nuclear energy and fossil fuels with advanced emission controls and carbon sequestration. Because the transportation sector accounts for about one third of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to climate change, using these sources to produce hydrogen for transportation can slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Marketing

The potential market for hydrogen vehicles is enormous, but the opportunities don't stop there. Hydrogen and fuel cells can power stationary applications such as backup generators, and grid electricity production. They can also compensate for the intermittency of renewable energy production. For example, wind generators can produce hydrogen when winds are high and electricity demand is low. When the wind slackens or electricity demand peaks, fuel cells consume the stored hydrogen to provide grid electricity.

For more information, please visit http://www.eere.energy.gov/