Infrastructure Archives

Green Tech solar and wind are heralded as a cure-all, however the process of producing PV cells is extraordinarily damaging to the environment.
Silicon, which is used to produce PV cells, is mined and refined with a blast furnace, often powered by coal, making the carbon footprint of the production process extreme.
Solar panels are not effective in most cities due to lack of sun, needing to run five times as long to make up for the carbon debt.
Wind turbines are a better option; they are non-toxic to manufacture, often created with carbon fiber and aluminum, and can be situated in places that make sense.
Wind power is more reliable, reaching higher speeds and able to be used for base load capacity, while solar power is intermittent and cannot be used for peak demand.
If solar is not used in the right location, it can become part of the environmental problem instead of the solution.

Bell Labs was a famous corporate lab in the mid 20th century that was responsible for many breakthrough discoveries.
The rise of university research and the decline of corporate labs has changed the way America innovates.
There are attractive features of big corporate labs that the new innovation supply chain might lack, such as multi-disciplinary research and focus on general-purpose technologies.
A national electrical utility, Energy Bell, could potentially be a way to bring back something akin to the old Bell Labs.
The university-DARPA-startup innovation system is likely here to stay, and should be focused on making it more efficient, purposeful, and well-integrated.

Click HERE for original. Published December 8, 2022

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