08-17-2009 - Energy

Joe Powell: There’s no single silver bullet in terms of a new renewable energy. One can’t simply flip a switch and say, ‘we’re going to do this now. We’re going to go renewable.’

Joe Powell is Chief Scientist of Chemical Engineering at Shell. Dr. Powell researches ways to develop renewable energy. He said that while fossil fuels dominate the world’s energy of today, he sees a coming shift to energy like biofuels, wind and solar.

Joe Powell: It’s already a portion of the energy spectrum today, and we’re looking in the 50 to 100-year time horizon for when that would become a dominant source.

Powell said biofuel is being researched that is not based on food people eat, such as corn or sugarcane.

Joe Powell: They would use, for instance, the corn stalk rather than the corn kernels, and then convert the molecular structure into a biofuel that can go into your existing car and fuel tank without a lot of change in infrastructure

Wind power, said Powell, is also coming on strong.

Joe Powell: Wind is very competitive today, where there is wind and where it is environmentally acceptable

Another promising renewable, said Powell, is solar energy, which is virtually unlimited in supply from the sun.

Joe Powell: The main issue with solar is the cost of capturing and converting it into convenient fuels. Hydrogen is one of the storage mechanisms being contemplated for how that would take place, essentially using renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen and then being able to use the hydrogen as a clean energy supply, say in a fuel cell or for combustion.

Dr. Powell spoke more about a transition away from fossil fuels.

Joe Powell: Renewable energy is very significant today and becoming a key issue for the migration of our energy supply over the next 30 to 50 years. We view it as a balance between cheap, clean and convenient. The balance, between economic and/or cheap energy, along with the environmental factor of being clean, but then also the convenience and the utility and power our customers deman,d is the balance that has to be worked.

This podcast was made possible in part by Shell – encouraging dialog on the energy challenge.

Written by Jorge Salazar

3 Responses to “Joe Powell: ‘Renewable energy needs more than just one silver bullet’”

1. a p garcia says:

   August 24, 2009 at 7:06 am

   Joe Powell knows the laws of conservation of matter/energy as well as me, and matter/energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It really makes me wonder where he got the idea that energy can be renewed!

   Reply
2. Dr. C says:

   August 24, 2009 at 4:36 pm

   I’m very disappointed in this interview. Though I do commend Shell for being among the best of the oil companies in their support of the introduction of renewables, they are still ONLY that–of the best among the OIL COMPANIES that by and large benefit from having things change as little as possible, which includes combustible alternatives (ie biofuels as Mr. Powell obviously gives the most support for) being preferred over converting cars to run on hydrogen cells which would need, not combustible power, but electricity which could be generated VERY efficiently through wind. The reason Mr. Powell downplays wind is obvious. Solar is less of a threat because solar cells are still so expensive and guess what! they need Shell’s oil to make them! And the reason his interviewer does not question him more harshly is also, sadly, obvious; this program included in it a commercial for Shell. Shell is enabling this program to run through advertisement dollars. This is not an unbiased presentation of the facts.

   I happen to know quite a bit about wind energy and have had numerous experiences being very close to wind mills–close enough to picnic directly beneath them. I did a survey for any signs of dead birds. Not one. Standing even directly beneath the windmill with one hand touching it, one can easily have a conversation without raising the volume of ones voice. Seriously, there is no noise disturbance. From a mere 100 yards away, there is no perceptible noise whatsoever. They are also very pretty. The people in communities that have windmills that I have talked to are exceedingly pleased with them and proud of them. Farmers brag that with windmills they can grow healthy orchards right beneath them while the alternative fossil fuel, coal, would use 1,000’s of pounds of explosives to blow up the entire mountain to get at the coal inside. Wind is an important investment for America and should not be downplayed without offering equal time to scientists not directly benefiting from dirty energy money.

   Reply
3. Rob says:

   November 21, 2009 at 8:17 am

   Hmmm
   almost 40 years ago we had a manufactured energy crunch.All the Corporate energy structures were all going to get on a train and fix the problem.

   That was FOUR DECADES AGO !.

   Now ‘the cool fad’ is to be a green corporate entity, they are all here to help in the fight all of the sudden . This of course decades after mountain top removal,Air pollution,Toxic waste dumping,takeover of underdeveloped countries to exploit their resources and people,Pollution of the oceans and waterways.

   The messiah’s of the world doing their part in your community.Give me a break. The only green these corporate entities are interested is ‘greenbacks,as in federal reserve notes.The easiest way to see whats going on is not only the money trail but the Bloodlines of the families that own these corporations.

   Nothing against Mr Joe Powell,obviously a very intelligent man and a benefit to the corporation he works for, Perhaps us too but I would have to do more research to address that point.It is also good to see he is working on non food based fuels…Whoever came up with that biofuel from corn or food that the world needs to eat is ,well not real brilliant.

   Thanks EarthSky,Mr Salazar,Mr Powell

   Reply