T Boone Picken’s plan definitely has some merit.
Although converting to natural gas autos is problematic from infrastructure and car technology standpoint, and it will take longer than 10 years to just get the infrastructure up.
I personnally have chosen to live near commuter rail an have a very fuel efficient family car.
Household Solar power with Net metering and a plug-in hybrid looks very intriguing to me. Upfront expense is high, but with enough incentives such as tax credits, it becomes economical with payback period of maybe 5-8 years, depending on size, orientation of solar array, etc.
With net metering, during the day your meter essentially runs backwards. You are feeding excess energy into the grid and SDG&E is crediting your account. At night, you are charging up your battery. In California, the best you can do is zero our your monthly electrical bill. In some states, you can actually get positive credit at end of month.
You’ve essentially become a micro power company. With new utility variable rates, that charge higher rates during peak usages times, you do even better. Generating/selling back to utility at higher rate during day and consuming at high while you charge your car.
I have been on the hunt for investments in alternative energy companes, especially ones with defensible intellectual property. All it takes is a breakthrough in semiconductor solar cell energy efficiency and the cost of Solar drops, perhaps on par with Coal. Famed venture capitalist Vinod Khoshla has a whole fund focused on alternative energy.
I think T Boone has got to throw Solar into the mix, althought it is more of a regional play for the Southwest US.
