Comments on: my thoughts on the Bloom Box http://jritchie.com/1532 an antidote to determinism Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:20:13 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Justin Ritchie http://jritchie.com/1532/comment-page-1#comment-901 Justin Ritchie Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:19:58 +0000 http://jritchie.com/?p=1532#comment-901 The Bloom Box could probably use a form of hydrocarbon energy like that generated from a biological source but this would always lose out economically to natural gas. Natural gas emits much less CO2 than most other fuel sources so it is desirable for that reason and production will likely peak later than oil and net energy from coal so it could be around for a while. <br><br>These boxes might be great candidates for electric utilities to use instead of centralized coal but it will take regulatory structures a while to get there. There wouldn't be any technical restrictions and the economics could easily be there, especially in 5 years. I'd like to see it happen. Utility companies tend to fear distributed generation, something like this could definitely provide a sustainable business model for a utility while enabling the many benefits of distributed generation. The Bloom Box could probably use a form of hydrocarbon energy like that generated from a biological source but this would always lose out economically to natural gas. Natural gas emits much less CO2 than most other fuel sources so it is desirable for that reason and production will likely peak later than oil and net energy from coal so it could be around for a while.

These boxes might be great candidates for electric utilities to use instead of centralized coal but it will take regulatory structures a while to get there. There wouldn't be any technical restrictions and the economics could easily be there, especially in 5 years. I'd like to see it happen. Utility companies tend to fear distributed generation, something like this could definitely provide a sustainable business model for a utility while enabling the many benefits of distributed generation.

]]> By: SethMoserKatz http://jritchie.com/1532/comment-page-1#comment-900 SethMoserKatz Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:48:40 +0000 http://jritchie.com/?p=1532#comment-900 Well, what if it used some sort of bio-fuel? Also, what do you say to the assertion that these boxes could be purchased by power companies and used instead of coal? This might defray costs, cause less pollution and make initial investment a non-issue. Well, what if it used some sort of bio-fuel? Also, what do you say to the assertion that these boxes could be purchased by power companies and used instead of coal? This might defray costs, cause less pollution and make initial investment a non-issue.

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