Massive potential (and barriers) of energy recycling featured in Chief Executive

Ron Bailey gets it. He’s a libertarian journalist who has written an excellent piece on energy recycling for the latest issue of Chief Executive magazine. From the very first paragraph, he captures a fundamental reality that now eludes most participants in the current energy debate:

Two-thirds of the energy people produce is wasted. It goes up power plant chimneys or dissipates into rivers and lakes through heat exchangers. Capturing this wasted heat would greatly reduce fuel costs and dramatically cut the emissions of carbon dioxide, which are thought to contribute to global warming. Cogeneration, or producing and using electricity and heat simultaneously, is the business opportunity being pursued by companies like Westmont, IL-based Recycled Energy Development (RED) and White Plains, NY-based Trigen Energy.

This is an idea that could change the world: simply by boosting the efficiency of the U.S. energy system, we could substantially reduce our global warming pollution while helping American businesses to become more profitable. Bailey’s piece examines this reality, with special attention to the work of RED Chairman Tom Casten. In commenting on why the current system of electric utilities is so inefficient, Casten says: “Utilities have traditionally made money on how much they invest, not how efficient they are. It’s the only industry that increases its profits when a company redecorates its president’s office.”

Read more of what Ron Bailey has to say about potential of energy recycling and the barriers it faces.