Another Way To Look At It:

Oil companies are vertically integrated into:

1.    Exploration and production –crude
2.    Refining.
3.    Distribution.
4.    Marketing.

These oil companies mark their price up at each level as the lower number segments sell it to the higher level ones.

Crude oil production is the equivalent of the Ocean Electrical Generators. Our government organizes the oil compaies and power companies into a partnership to make Ocean generators happen.

We would post our goal on the Internet everyday:

Cost of West Texas Crude vs. Cost the equivalent Kilowatts of Electricity.

The goal would be to beat down the cost of Kilowatts to ½ that of crude, energy equivalent.

Government would organize the first Exploration and Production efforts.

The hydrogen factories must produce hydrogen cheaper than the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline.

The Cost of a gallon of gasoline vs. the Cost of the equivalent pounds of hydrogen.
Once the cost of hydrogen starts to drop below that of gasoline in a pilot project then government would withdraw and let free markets work. No government has solved a major problem in this country. It has taken private enterprise and new technology that has solved oru problems. Example, the horse manure pollution in our large cities in the last quarter of the 19th century was only solved with the invention of the automobile. 

Distribution:

Electrical power can be distributed through the existing grid. Give the electrical companies a lower price than they can produce themselves and price all other alternatives out of the market. They can keep their old plants for backup from hurricanes, ice storms, etc.

Hydrogen has a problem, it does not compress readily which makes distribution by truck problematic, meaning only local. We will need to build pipelines to distribute the hydrogen. The smaller molecule leads to losses if pumped through existing natural gas pipelines, as much as 3%. This amount may be acceptable for the beginning of the program. Perhaps the valves are the source of the loss and may be replaced over time.

How to proceed?

First establish a Department of Research and Development, which is another set of ideas. The R&D department would work with all other departments of government when testing out new programs, particularly national program such as Medicare or Universal Health Care which should be tested in one or two states to wring out the bugs. The President would set the priorities and Congress would vote the funding for each program, but not how it is implemented. The teams would solve one problem while working with each department then move on to the next, without each department having its own permanently funded R&D and diluting the effort and inflating the costs. (Another idea to work on would be a secure method of voting from home using a PC-covered elsewhere).

The Key Master would head up the R&D program. He should have a wide range of experience and a deep mental capacity, a genius, and he must command the total respect of the Team Masters. The TM’s will teleconference with the KM almost daily.

The Team Masters will take up clearly defined goals and are expected to deliver and on time. These TM’s are over-educated persons with engineering and scientific backgrounds, probably in their 30’s. They are be marked by the fact that they have never failed at anything major, overachievers, and they require a strong code of ethics, with infinite energy.

The Team Masters will be given the power to ask anyone or agency in the country for their help to achieve this national goal. If that fails then he/she has the power to command  that help. Each time that the TM uses the power to command a person or agency or corporation, then he must immediately copy the Key Master. The only exception would be the Defense Department where all such need to command will have to be approved by the Head of the Dept. of Defense. In extreme cases, the President would be the arbiter, but asking the President’s help would mean failure for all involved. Surely, he/she has enough problems without our generating more. Don’t trouble the Boss.

The Energy Independence Initiative would have one Key Master and four Team Masters or TM’*s:


1.    TM to head up development of Ocean Electrical Generators.
2.    TM to head up development of Hydrogen ‘Factories”.
3.    TM to develop distribution of electricity and hydrogen.
4.    TM to head up the conversion of all internal combustible engines over to hydrogen, initially as an alternative vehicle, with two tanks, one for hydrogen and one for gas or diesel with a switch from one to another, depending upon availability.
*All Key Masters and Team Masters will be highly paid per private industry. We want the best then we need to pay the best. The payoff in investment will be immense.
If this succeeds, every child in America will know their names and everyone of them would like to grow up to be a Team Master. If they fail to meet their goals then they will be pulled, no apologies. If they succeed on a large visible goal such as Energy Independence then they can name their own ticket afterwards.