by Gene Denardo

Created on: April 28, 2009   Last Updated: May 04, 2009

Electricity is a direct result of electromagnetism, which is considered one of the four fundamentals forces in nature, so I don't think we are ever going to find an "alternative" to it. But, there are various ways in which we produce electricity and there are many uses of electricity than can be replaced with either the use of other forms of energy or conservation.

The most effective alternative to electric energy is that of conservation, which in theory is "non-use". Whenever we are successful in "conserving" a resource such as electrical energy, we have gained energy. We have progressed from a condition in which we were using a specific number of electrical units and we have replaced a portion of that quantity with zero units. The difference in units is the amount we have gained from the future "non-use" of that portion of electricity.

Conservation of electricity has many variations. Electricity can be conserved at its source of production by increasing the efficiency of the power plant that produces it. Many power plants, especially older fossil fuel powered plants, are very inefficient, and updating can increase efficiency of production up to 50%, depending on fuel type. Technology is also advancing in the field of heat recovery, which is the last inefficiency of the power plant. Even the most efficient power plant we have at present loses a good deal of energy in the form of heat. The lifespan of power plants is relatively long term and just about any improvement in efficiency will pay off over time, but short term economics and capital considerations often complicate these decisions.

A good deal of electrical energy is also lost during transmission; the long journey from the power plant to homes and businesses. Electrical wires always create "resistance" to the transfer of electrical energy and the further the power must travel, the more electricity is lost again in the form of heat. The eventual move to "super-conductors", wires that are extremely conductive, will mitigate much of this inefficiency but the scope of the job [virtually replacing all wiring and equipment across the entire nation] and the formidable cost is overwhelming.

This problem could have been avoided. The Federal Government designed and built the bulk of our power generation system and the accompanying "grid" wiring system. If instead, it would have been left to free market solutions, surely competition would have created a much more "localized" system, in which power generation and use

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