Due to the economies of scale, our energy future appears to be tied to methane and coal for most electrical generation. In addition, methane can be used to displace gasoline for our transportation needs. We need to transition to the methane (natural gas) economy, critical to slowing global climate change, but we don't need hydrofracking.
Rather, we should pursue developing the technology that would allow two things:
The generation and storage of vast quantities of hydrogen; and
The recycling into a fuel of the carbon dioxide produced from the burning of methane and coal.
Hydrogen is exceptionally difficult and expensive to transport and store. In liquid form, it needs to be shipped near absolute zero, which requires massive refrigeration costs. There is less energy in liquid hydrogen than oil. In other words, we need monumental breakthroughs in technology for storing hydrogen inside of certain metals at lower cost.
The next generation of nuclear reactors could be used to generate hydrogen cheaply, safely and efficiently. We also could look to Germany, which is using green energy to take excess wind power to generate hydrogen by electrolysis.
After we figure out the hydrogen, we will then need to combine it with carbon dioxide to make methane. We could transport liquid carbon dioxide from coal-fired plants to one of the nuclear reactors or electrolysis sites, though high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactors are 50 percent more efficient at making hydrogen than electrolysis.
Methane can be transported by standard pipelines or stored and shipped in large, liquefied natural gas tankers.
Using this technology, we can rely on man-made natural gas to last centuries. This is a viable alternative to fracking and far less destructive to our land and water.
RICHARD MOODY JR.