…and streaming from the sun, from within the earth and from biomass sources, too!

No, that second phrase is not from the classic refrain by famous folk singer Bob Dylan. But Windpower Engineering & Development editor Paul Dvorak certainly echoes Dylan’s concern about peace, war and freedom in his forthright call to use advanced technologies in the United States to seize energy independence. Dvorak makes a compelling case in his August editorial that we are closing in fast on energy independence—and with it a chance to profoundly change world conditions for the better.

Using data from the Energy Information Agency (EIA), Dvorak cites their conclusion that the United States now produces 84% of the energy it requires for cars, factories, homes and other product and process needs. That’s only 16% away from having the option to bypass fuel imports from other countries.

Dvorak reminds his readers that imported oil costs about \\\$188 billion a year that could go back into the domestic budget: “A country with sufficient inexpensive energy can clean its water and air, provide comfortable, clean well-lit schools for students and power to run hospitals and a thousand other businesses that would let Third World countries climb the ladder to first-world status.”

Like many engineers in the SIMULIA community, Dvorak also knows the contributions each energy sector can make to close the gap. Windpower is this editor’s field of reporting. Yet he understands that it’s our collective technology and renewed policy efforts—from increasing natural gas drilling to extending tax credits—that are needed to achieve that final break from imported energy.

Meanwhile, beyond the United States, the world watches as Germany, one of the biggest nations in aggressive pursuit of alternative energy, approaches a threshold where production of power from wind and solar is changing the business fundamentals of the energy landscape. At stake there (and approaching quickly for other nations) is how to transition from the uniform energy output provided by conventional power plants to variable sources that need backup when the wind dies and days are cloudy.

According to The New York Times, in a September article “Sun and Wind Alter Global Landscape, Leaving Utilities Behind,” the economics of this transition could be tumultuous—with subsidies possibly required in the near future to keep existing power plants profitable and online.

“I am convinced that wind and sun will be the central sources of energy, not only in Germany but worldwide,” the Times quotes Patrick Graichen, who heads a think tank in Berlin, Agora Energiewende, devoted to studying the shift. “The question is: How can we turn energy transition into a success story?”

The Times writer, Justin Gillis, reports that Germany has invested more than \\\$140 billion on its alternative energy programs. That level of spending has deeply affected the solar and wind market worldwide. Sales of solar panels, for example, have doubled about every 21 months during the last decade, with prices dropping an estimated 20% during these cycles.

The result? In the United States one major home builder, Lennar, now offers solar-powered houses with energy lease arrangements 20% below the cost of local utility charges.

While improvements to the global environment are not as easy to quantify and chart as solar and wind sales curves, the sense of urgency is keen in both advanced and developing countries to move forward, if only for reasons of cost and independence. Could poor countries—with coal plants on the drawing board—skip ahead to clean, cheaper power and self-reliance?

Could states free themselves from countries, and cities from state energy decisions? These are the direct and indirect questions raised by Dvorak and Gillis in their summaries and arguments.

And not beside the point in any review of international trends on energy is the role that researchers and application engineers in the SIMULIA community will play in hastening the efficiency of both alternative and conventional energy technologies.

What breakthroughs do you see just on the horizon? And, if you are in the energy business, what are the biggest challenges in your particular industry? We would love to hear from you!