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Fast Track To Public Rail Electrification

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[quote user="LNER4472"] There's one major flaw in this entire discussion.  There's only one way that anything close to our current energy needs can be met with "renewable" energy: if nuclear power is regarded as part of the "renewable" package.  Any attempt to meet our current, or even drastically-reduced-with-efficiency, needs with only solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, etc. sources will mandate such massive infrastructure investment that electrifying the rail network will pale in comparison.  Even wholesale conversion to nuclear power (such as the French have done) will not be cheap, and frankly the problems are more"political" than financial or logistical--the old "NIMBY" or "BANANA" (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) factors.  If such "green" energy sources are not used, there is little to be gained from electrification from a planetary/global perspective aside from potential increased efficiency of energy production and use. [/quote] The model of change that I have described and that is being widely promoted does indeed essentially require that the electricity for rail electrification be derived from wind energy, although there is a nod to the possibility of nuclear power as well.  However nuclear power is as objectionable in green circles as carbon-based fuels are, although for somewhat different reasons.  Like fossil fuel, nuclear is seen as being non-sustainable or non-renewable.  Nuclear is also said to produce enough heat to add to the global warming problem.  And dealing with the toxic nuclear waste is considered to be another environmental problem. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> While renewable energy is preferred, there is some concession to the fact that electrification is better than diesel power even if the power for electrification comes from coal.  This is because of the better efficiency of electrification plus the better ability to control emissions at large fixed plants rather than on individual locomotives.  The acceptance of coal as a generating fuel is also intended to prevent the need to develop sufficient wind power before embarking on the rail electrification project.  The proponents are willing to accept the temporary, continuing use of coal as the price of getting rail electrification done as fast as possible. <o:p></o:p> You mention that meeting our current, or even drastically-reduced-with-efficiency, needs with only solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, etc. sources will mandate such massive infrastructure investment that electrifying the rail network will pale in comparison.  That is absolutely true, but that is the intention.  The way this plan is detailed by the proponents, rail electrification will indeed be only a small portion of the whole plan.  I would say that rail electrification would be less than 10% of the whole plan.   <o:p></o:p> The plan is nothing less than a revolution in energy and transportation.  Besides rail electrification, the plan calls for a national system of HSR.  It also calls for a completely new power grid, and a complete conversion to renewable energy, not just for railroads, but for all uses.  It calls for new railroads to be built, and massive rail infrastructure improvements.  It calls for a whole new way of combining rail with trucking, which will require new terminal facilities.    The use of existing railroad right of ways for new transmission lines is viewed as a great advantage in mitigating the NIMBY problem.
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