Editor, Times-Union: In order for the Indiana economy to be robust, we need abundant energy that is affordable. We need a mix of conventional and alternative energy sources along with new technologies. Obama and the EPA may hate coal, but we need it. It can be made clearer thanks to microwave plasma burners that use a small portion of the electricity generated by a power plant to produce the plasma. The coal could be crushed and mixed with water to produce a slurry. Since the plasma would be a few thousand degrees, both the coal and water would fuel the power plant and less air pollution would be produced. More electricity would go on the grid. Instead of shutting down coal-fired power plants, we should retrofit them with plasma burners. When I was a kid, some farmers had oil rigs in their fields. If there is oil in the ground, we should pump it out. If fracking can be done, do it. It helped make North Dakota prosperous. Why not Indiana too? Farmers will become energy producers by using methane produced by their animals as fuel. Bioengineered bacteria will break down plant waste to produce fuel too. Solar, wind and geothermal energy will make farmers energy self-sufficient and able to sell electricity on the grid. I have supported nuclear energy for decades. The new generation of reactors will make nuclear energy safer and cheaper. My device, I call Red Rover, might process nuclear waste using particle exchange between highly radioactive and non-radioactive sides until the final waste can be stopped for eventual use further in the future. Solar and wind power will become more important in the future. Indiana might even have a solar-powered satellite in the future, beaming energy down to a receiving station. Geothermal energy, both deep pipe systems that reach molten areas and gas expansion systems that use the difference between surface and underground temperatures, will generate electricity. Weather conditions, accidents and the threat of terrorism will force electrical utilities to bury power lines and also develop wireless transmission systems. If Indiana ever uses plasma drilling moles to excavate the underground reservoir that would store excess water to prevent flooding, water entering it from rivers and lakes could generate hydro-electric power. Sound could generate electricity around noisy areas like airports when vibrating metal membranes in magnetic fields are used. The units would also become sound barriers. If the government doesn’t get in the way, Indiana could have a very bright energy future. Rick Badman Warsaw
