Peak Oil is You
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Page added on May 18, 2011
Get juiced: Power your home with whiskey
The prospect of “peak oil” means the likelihood of less and less oil at higher and higher prices going forward.
“Fracking” for shale gas to power our homes – something the gas companies would love to do in New York State – may be in trouble, now that methane explosions and contaminated water have been associated with the process in Pennsylvania.
Nuclear power plants are likely a much harder sell as a consequence of the ongoing disaster in Japan.
Wind and solar systems are a long way from providing the oomph we need today.
So what’s an energy-intensive world to do? Must we all return to subsistence farming? Will we spend our retirement living in caves? Are we on the brink of lights-out, forever?
The Scottish have a possible solution. Naturally, it involves whiskey.
The science magazine Discover reported that 16 whiskey-makers in Speyside, Scotland will provide raw materials to be used in an alcohol-powered electricity generating plant scheduled to be on-line by 2013. According to Discover, it will be “Scotland’s first whiskey-fueled energy project that will provide energy to the public.”
The whiskey labels involved included Glenfiddich, Chevas Regal and Famous Grouse. They and others will send their used-up grain materials to fuel the bioenergy plant. The grains will be mixed with wood chips and burned. It’s anticipated that the process will generate 7 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 9,000 homes.
Bottoms up. It’s for a good cause.
4 Comments on "Get juiced: Power your home with whiskey"
DC on Wed, 18th May 2011 10:13 am
Sigh, ok, would anyone care to run the numbers to see just how much net energy energy this colorfull scheme will produce? Why would the be superior to solar or wind? Scotland may make good whiskey, let is be used for the higher purpose. 6 or 7 1.5 MW wind turbines would do the same thing as thing convulted plan no?
Makati1 on Wed, 18th May 2011 11:11 am
I see this as a win – win scenario. A waste product is put to good use and the original product is also profitable. Chivas is preferable to that stuff we make from corn. At least what they make for a gasoline additive. Another good reason to support the whiskey producers of Scotland. Chivas is a favorite already, in my house.
Answer to DC. Wind and solar are never going to replace oil. And, if you net the energy needed to produce windmills or solar panels, they will also have a low EROEI. Mining, refining, manufacture, transport, installation, maintenance, etc.
DC on Wed, 18th May 2011 12:35 pm
Neat, you Bio-fools are viable, but wind and solar are not. Right….
Anyhow, the rhetorical question was not about replaceing oil, but about whiskey somehow being a better idea than wind or solar:(hint its not)
Aexander on Thu, 19th May 2011 1:50 am
Scot’s drink Whisky. The Irish Whiskey. It’s a good thing to look into new ways of producing energie.