Arizona has massive solar power resources. Texas, Kansas, and South Dakota together could power the whole country with wind. And the Rocky Mountain region holds vast potential for geothermal power generation. Traditional thinking in renewable energy development holds that we should tap these resources, and then move the power generated around via a next-generation national electric grid.

A new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance challenges this conventional wisdom, though, and makes the rather startling claim that 30 of the 50 US states could meet their own electricity demand entirely from in-state sources; seven more could generate 75% of their electricity needs this way. Thus, major (and expensive) improvements to the national grid may not be the most efficient use of resources.

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Diversified Energy Corporation (DEC) [www.diversified-energy.com] is licensing a patent pending, breakthrough algae production system from XL Renewables (XLR). The process is called Simgae (TM), and it makes algae inside a series of airtight tubes. The technology is comparable to agricultural processes in the cost and usage of component parts.

The process requires a few easily obtained chemicals that help process the algae into a vegetable oil-like liquid fuel. Perhaps “Popeye the Sailor” should have gained super strength from chewing on Algae rather than Spinach. The really great thing about this technology lies in the low maintenance aspects to the fuel generation. You need to do very little to keep the algae fuel production pumping; the organism itself and the chemicals you add are mostly self managing.

The overall cost of this feedstock oil is very low, which is perhaps the most attractive fact about Simgae. Most of the equipment needed to produce the biodiesel from the algae comes from common farm equipment, meaning the setup costs are streamlined and competitive. It may be awhile until there is widespread distribution of this technology, but it will happen because there is a serious demand for homegrown fuels.