The World in 2030
The World in 2030 The World in 2030
The World in 2030 207 oil in Pacific islands countries is increasingly used in both transport and electricity generation through its lower local cost. Other benefits include the support to local agro-industries and a decrease in emissions.’ 394 There are also some interesting ideas in the labs today which may have become a practical reality by 2030. It may, for example, be possible to produce clean oil from algae (as Boeing suggests might be possible for aviation fuel). A San Francisco-based start-up company called Solazyme 395 is suggesting that this idea is practical, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle: The algae beneath Harrison Dillon’s microscope could one day fuel your car. Dillon’s Menlo Park company, Solazyme, has tweaked the algae’s genes, turning the microscopic plant into an oil-producing machine. If everything works the way Dillon wants, vats of algae could create substitutes for diesel and crude oil. 396 Wind Power Windmills were first invented to harness the wind’s energy 2,000 years ago and today, of all forms of renewable energy, wind power 397 is the first to deliver large quantities of electrical power to national distribution systems.
208 The World in 2030 Because of recent increases in the price for fossil fuels, wind power has, in some instances, become as cheap or even cheaper than fossil fuel energy. There is now a great rush in many parts of the world to install more farms of wind turbines to capture more of this ‘free’ energy. Fuel-hungry United States is leading the rush, as The Washington Post reported in March 2007: Like mail-order brides, thousands of long-limbed wind turbines are coming to the empty outback of Washington and Oregon, where they are being married off, via the electrical grid, to hulking old hydroelectric dams. The Pacific Northwest is hardly alone as it chases the wind for clean power. Anxiety about climate change and surging demand for electricity have triggered a wind-power frenzy in much of the United States, making it the fastest growing wind-energy market in the world. Power-generating capacity from wind jumped 27 per cent last year and is expected to do the same this year. 398 And the cost of wind turbines has decreased dramatically over the last thirty years while efficiency has also improved significantly. In a June 2007 survey of renewable energy sources, The Economist reported: During the wind boom of the 1970s turbine blades were around 5-10 metres long, and turbines produced no more than 200-300kW of energy each. The
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>2030</strong> 207<br />
oil <strong>in</strong> Pacific islands countries is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly used<br />
<strong>in</strong> both transport and electricity generation through<br />
its lower local cost. Other benefits <strong>in</strong>clude the support<br />
to local agro-<strong>in</strong>dustries and a decrease <strong>in</strong> emissions.’<br />
394<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are also some <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g ideas <strong>in</strong> the labs today<br />
which may have become a practical reality by <strong>2030</strong>. It may,<br />
for example, be possible to produce clean oil from algae<br />
(as Boe<strong>in</strong>g suggests might be possible for aviation fuel). A<br />
San Francisco-based start-up company called Solazyme 395 is<br />
suggest<strong>in</strong>g that this idea is practical, as reported <strong>in</strong> the San<br />
Francisco Chronicle:<br />
<strong>The</strong> algae beneath Harrison Dillon’s microscope<br />
could one day fuel your car.<br />
Dillon’s Menlo Park company, Solazyme, has<br />
tweaked the algae’s genes, turn<strong>in</strong>g the microscopic<br />
plant <strong>in</strong>to an oil-produc<strong>in</strong>g mach<strong>in</strong>e. If everyth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
works the way Dillon wants, vats of algae could create<br />
substitutes for diesel and crude oil. 396<br />
W<strong>in</strong>d Power<br />
W<strong>in</strong>dmills were first <strong>in</strong>vented to harness the w<strong>in</strong>d’s energy<br />
2,000 years ago and today, of all forms of renewable energy,<br />
w<strong>in</strong>d power 397 is the first to deliver large quantities of<br />
electrical power to national distribution systems.