Reply #34: Oops [View All]

[quaker bill]

Forget about the sun did we? Plants capture energy and use it to create a higher state of organization, (reverse entropy). This is not a closed system.

That being as it may, it does not solve the essential problem of energy efficiency or cumulative energy consumption. The statememt that the plants can be run at an "energy profit" does not sound all that stunning. However, sewage treatment plants have been run at an energy profit for some time through biogasification. Co-locating them near power plants allows the spare methane to be burned to generate electricty for export to the grid.

Energy captured from sources (especially renewable ones) that are currently landfilled probably would not be a bad thing. It depends on the technology used. This certainly sounds better than incineration which is known to produce some fairly toxic byproducts.