Re:A $900B Oil Treasure Lies Beneath West Texas Desert
by eru on Sunday November 20, 2016 @12:19PM
(#12999878)
With cheap enough electricity you can make artificial hydrocarbons.
The process is not as efficient as batteries (or just burning oil products found in the ground), but you get similar energy densities as the normal hydrocarbons. After all, the chemistry is the same.
I just wish we had functioning carbon tax or carbon emission markets. Then the government could just set the price or volume, and the market could figure out the most cost-efficient energy mix to hit the target.
The process is not as efficient as batteries (or just burning oil products found in the ground), but you get similar energy densities as the normal hydrocarbons. After all, the chemistry is the same.
I just wish we had functioning carbon tax or carbon emission markets. Then the government could just set the price or volume, and the market could figure out the most cost-efficient energy mix to hit the target.