Investment into Alternative Energy Research and Development

The US government must continue to back the expansion of the role of alternative energy research and development and its implementation by companies and homeowners. Although this writer believes in the reign of the free market and that “that government is best which governs least”, our current system has companies and people expecting federal backing of major initiative with direct investment, in the form of tax breaks, rebate incentives, and even direct central bank investment into the alternative energy industry.

The US and its citizenry need to invest all of the time and energy that they can spare to the conversion from a fossil fuel burning society to one that is green for several different reasons. The green economy will not harm the environment or the quality of our air like fossil fuel burning does. We can become the energy independent nation that we need to be by cutting away our need to import oil, especially oil that is produced by anti-American nations such as Iran. Ultimately, renewable energies and extremely efficient energies like atomic energy are far less expensive than the continuous mining and drilling for fossil fuels. If we do not invest in our future now, catastrophe awaits us. We are going to need to consume more energy than ever in our history as we sail into the 21st century and beyond—our dependency on foreigners for meeting these energy needs only leaves us open to sabotage while draining our coffers in order to fill other nations’.

It can be argued that federal, state, and local governments should work in conjunction on the issue of alternative energy research and development and implement mandatory programs for new home construction and all home remodeling that stipulate the installation of alternative energy power sources—eventually over a certain period of years transforming into 100% installation of alternative energy sources for any new home or corporate building—as well as backing a similar program to have all new vehicles produced in the nation be hybrid vehicles or hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles by the year 2020. All levels of government could also impose mandatory compliance laws on construction and utilities companies. The utility companies in all 50 states should be required to invest in alternative energy research and development while also being required to buy back, at fair rates, excess energy produced by homeowners through their use of alternative energy power sources. Strong financial incentives need to be in place for new companies to invest in developing renewable energies. This would not only make the US energy independent at the fastest possible rate, but it would stimulate the growth of the economy and provide tens of thousands of new, good-paying jobs for people.

Alternative energy generation in the forms of solar, wind, hydroelectric, biofuel, geothermal, and atomic; alternative energy storage systems such as more efficient batteris and hydrogen fuel cells; and alternative energy-furthering infrastructures with superior energy efficiency all need to be brought into the affordable price range through development. Government investment into these matters would surely help us along.

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The Ocean, Nuclear and Solar Power are forms of alternative energy which can be developed.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a potential alternative energy source that needs to be funded and explored much more than it presently is.

There are three kinds; closed, open and hybrid cycle of OTEC.

“Closed Cycle” uses a low-boiling point liquid such as, for example, propane to act as an intermediate fluid. The OTEC plant pumps the warm sea water into the reaction chamber and boils the intermediate fluid. This results in the intermediate fluid’s vapor pushing the turbine of the engine, which thus generates electricity. The vapor is then cooled down by putting in cold sea water.

“Open Cycle”. The sea water itself is the driver of the turbine engine in this OTEC format. Warm sea water found on the surface of the ocean is turned into a low-pressure vapor under the constraint of a vacuum. The low-pressure vapor is released in a focused area and it has the power to drive the turbine. To cool down the vapor and create desalinated water for human consumption, the deeper ocean’s cold waters are added to the vapor after it has generated sufficient electricity.

“Hybrid Cycle” There are actually two sub-theories to the theory of Hybrid Cycling. The first involves using a closed cycling to generate electricity. This electricity is in turn used to create the vacuum environment needed for open cycling. The second component is the integration of two open cyclings such that twice the amount of desalinated, potable water is created that with just one open cycle.

Developing Nuclear Power as Alternative Energy

Nuclear power plants are very “clean-burning” and their efficiency is rather staggering. Nuclear power is generated at 80% efficiency, meaning that the energy produced by the fission reactions is almost equal to the energy put into producing the fission reactions in the first place. There is not a lot of waste material generated by nuclear fission—although, due to the fact that there is no such thing as creating energy without also creating some measure of waste, there is some. The concerns of people such as environmentalists with regards to using nuclear power as an alternative energy source center around this waste, which is radioactive gases which have to be contained.

Solar Energy Collecting as an Alternative Energy Source

Solar powered electricity generation is certainly good for the environment, as this alternative form of producing energy gives off absolutely zero emissions into the atmosphere and is merely utilizing one of the most naturally occurring of all things as its driver. Solar collection cells are becoming slowly but surely ever more practical for placing upon the rooftops of people’s homes, and they are not a difficult system to use for heating one’s home, creating hot water, or producing electricity. In the case of using the photovoltaic cells for hot water generation, the system works by having the water encased in the cells, where it is heated and then sent through your pipes.

If you are concerned about how modernization affects the environment and if you are looking for new investments, investments in alternative energy mutual funds may be the perfect solution.

Alternate energy mutual funds invest in companies that are developing ways to produce energy without harming the environment. You can join the huge movement of people who are interested in making money from alternative energy.

The world comes closer and closer to an energy crisis as the non-renewable sources of energy such as coal and oil, which are are major sources of power, become more depleted. This is the reason so many companies are scrambling to develop alternative sources of energy. They need money to do this, and alternative energy mutual funds can supply the money.

A mutual fund is an investment company that looks for small companies that have growth potential and then it invests in them. Remember the Microsoft story: a small company that was started in a garage.

Alternative energy mutual funds specialize in investing in companies that develop alternative energy. Some do this solely because they believe it is better for the earth. But others see alternative energy as the only option for power for the future.

Alternative energy is culled from the natural resources of the earth, such as wind, sun and air. Unlike the non-renewable sources of energy, these sources will continue into the future. People who invest in alternative energy mutual funds may not have to worry about their future! But there are risks to be considered with alternative energy mutual funds.

But all businesses have risk.

There are some viable alternative energy technologies that are not yet cost effective. The alternative energy mutual funds need to be selective about which firms they invest in. They have to make sure the company meets the environmental standards they may have, as well as the ability to use new technogies.

Change is inevitable, and everything in the world changes constantly, including people, their governments and their policies. These changes affect the companies that alternate energy mutual funds invest in.

How a company develops and grows will be determined by factors such as opportunities available and risks encountered. It is possible to make or lose a lot of money. But this, like everything in life is a gamble.

Alternative energy mutual funds have been primarily investing in other countries so that they can keep their investments diversified and take advantage of growth opportunities. But there are foreign exchange risks in this.

Alternative energy mutual funds are run by human beings, who are always prone to mistakes. One of those mistakes is to think they are investing in a company that has an alternate source of energy when all they are doing is adding additives to change the chemical makeup of the energy source. This is not a joke. Since the regulation of these companies is not strong, scams like this can happen.

There are many more riks that may have to be faced when considering investing in alternative energy mutual funds. But sometimes the end, helping the earth, is worth the risk.