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The Essential Need For Energy Resource Diversification

It has become a painfully obvious dilemma in North America that lifestyles and industry have placed extreme pressure on our energy requirements. Existing infrastructure expansion has traditionally revolved around mega-projects like hydroelectric dams and nuclear power plants in an attempt to escape inefficient and polluting methods like coal fired generation. Finally we find public opinion is applying pressure to industry to develop new ways of meeting these ever growing demands that are both secure and responsible. Tragically it appears that the focus is being placed on big-ticket industrial applications. Though it can be argued that the sheer demand of these facilities on the power grid would reap the greatest reward, I would suggest that the greater benefit to the economy on whole would lie in the residential development of these grand schemes.

It can be observed that there exists with the present system a certain level of dependency on the residential consumer. It would be foolish to refute that there exists a desire within the industry to maintain the present methods of the delivery infrastructure to maintain their respective sector of the economy even though it is over extended. In this time of fragile economic growth and international expansion causing job losses it would seem prudent to relieve the citizenry of as many financial burdens as possible. Using an extremely superlative estimate of $200.00 to $500.00 dollars a month in energy costs for the average household one must consider that putting $2500.00 to $6000.00 dollars back in the pockets of the average consumer on an annual basis would generate new spending and investment in many sectors. I suggest that developing energy self-sufficient residences would help this to occur.

In Canada you can find a company by the name of NextEnergy. This company is seeking to develop geothermal technologies for the purpose of heating businesses and homes. " The [carbon dioxide] CO2 savings are [] enticing: going geothermal in a standardized home reduces emissions by four tonnes a year-roughly the same as taking two to four cars of the road."(Kyl Chhatwal, The Record, Kitchener, On.: Mar13, 2007.pg.A.7). As well there is Wind Simplicity, a designer and manufacturer of residential sized wind turbines. More commonly the exploration leads us toward solar power. " The upper atmosphere receives, about 1.5 x 10 [to the exponent] 21 watt-hours (thermal) of solar radiation

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