Discussion on “Free Energy”

A reader asks for my comments as follows:

I am not a technician but a Free Energy lover – (I’ve spent) more than 30 years trying to understand Nikola Tesla patents as the first approach to free energy.  (Now I’m studying):

• “Thermoelectric generator combination — solar ovens concentrate between 800 to 1000°C of heat, converted into electricity by means of Peltier modules

• KapaGen .. closest to Tesla’s free energy… inventor got too much pressure from the “police” and therefore does not answer me anymore

• Keshe (Plasma generator), also got too much pressure and had to move to Italy

• John Searl (Searl Effect Generator, anti-gravity)

• Cold Fusion Energy (Pons & Fleishman, Stanley Meyer)

Your comments ?

Personally, I’m not a believer in any of these ideas.  I’d love to be wrong, of course, but I don’t see it, as there is really no science that suggests that any of these can generate energy cost-effectively, and, in most of the cases you name, that they work at all.  Concepts like the “energy from gravity” motor violate the first and second laws of thermodynamics.  If the police are involved there, it’s because of securities fraud, not the harassment of would-be competitors.

Also, while I do believe that powerful interests are actively doing their level best to squash ideas that would act as competition, I don’t believe that they effectively prevent the development of any workable technology.  Here’s why:  It’s not that they wouldn’t.  They can’t.  There is nothing to prevent anyone who can generate clean energy cost-effectively from doing exactly that and selling it in the open market.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the wonderfully good-hearted lady who is in charge of buying renewable energy for a huge part of the “East Bay” of California (across the Bay from San Francisco).  Her organization spends a great deal of time in an effort to buy 8 billion kWhs of power per year, and they’re willing to pay a shade more than they’re currently paying the “evil empire” as they call it (Pacific Gas and Electric) for dirty power (an average of $0.151/kWh).  This means they’re looking to sign contractors with solar and wind farms (or geothermal, etc.) to the tune of about $1.2 billion per year.

Trust me: they don’t care where those electrons come from as long as the source is renewable.

My (obvious) advice to you or anyone else with a workable idea in this space: don’t ask permission; just generate and sell energy.  If you can make only 10%, you’ll be raking in over $100 million per year from this one relatively tiny region–money that you can use to replace every BTU of energy on the planet in very short order.

Again, I’m rooting for you.