Who says politics isn’t driven by super rich business interests? I am not talking about what Bernie Sanders is saying, I am talking about what is right in front of us. Recently India embarked on a program of free energy. They are said to have developed a free energy generator. We hear stories about how the oil industry has killed every invention throughout history which would have lessened dependence on oil, but many thought they were just stories. Now the alternate news channels on the Internet are carrying stories about a threat made to India by the United States, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia. They claim India was told not to proceed with their free energy program and India has refused to listen. There are even some saying the reason India is leaning more toward Russia lately is a direct consequence of this threat. If India succeeds in become self-sufficient using new generators, than the pressure will really be on the oil countries to do the same. It will be interesting to see what they do to avoid this. One can only hope it doesn’t involve war.

India is not the first country to dedicate itself to free energy, although their path using a new generator is different from the country I am about to tell you about. Costa Rica just finished the year 2015 using 99% renewable energy. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) made this incredible announcement and said the country will be running on 100% renewable energy in a few more months. The difference here is this energy comes from water power, wind and other sources. The next step which has to be taken in Costa Rica is to lower the price for this power. Some of their power is coming from geothermal energy taken from volcanoes. I would think the price for electricity will go way down eventually after the price of the structures which had to be built to generate this power are paid for.

Denmark is now producing 100% of its power needs on windy days. The reason for this is their use of wind turbines. Each country is different and depending on where they are situated, their methods for generating electricity with renewable energy will be different. If the Indian generator succeeds, this may change things to a certain extent. There are other factors which also have to be considered and one of them is the advancement of solar power. It was recently announced a new device was invented which could replace solar cells and it is a sort of aerial which is said to be able to convert up to 60% of the sun’s energy into electricity, which is far more efficient than any solar cells today. One has to think if it is starting out with such a high efficiency rating than it can only improve over the years. I believe the oil companies are trying to hold back a flood and their dam is starting to spring some leaks and is weakening.

The United States would be perfect for renewable energy. It is vast and has zones which can take advantage of all the different types of renewable energy. New types of electrical transmission devices have come along which allow electricity to flow much further without needing a boast. This helps in many ways when a country is so large. Huge wind farms could be put on mountain tops where the wind is always blowing and the power sent through wires to homes and factories hundreds of miles away. Wave machines could be used in the coastal areas of this country. We certainly have plenty of coast line and the action of the waves would pump out electricity and take care of all the states bordering the ocean and even those more inland. Improved solar technology could be used in the states receiving all that sunshine which is being wasted. I am betting we could run all the power needs of this country without a drop of oil or an ounce of coal.

The Netherlands wants to ban all non-electric cars by 2025. The Dutch are very serious about this, but they say the gasoline cars and truck could continue to travel on their roads until they are no more. The motion was supported by a majority of the lower house in the Dutch parliament. Hybrids would also be banned since they have a fuel component. The country is also working on a 100% wind powered railway system and solar technology is being built into its roads. In the Netherlands electric vehicles already have almost a 10% market share. Norway has even a great share of electric vehicles at over 22%. Comparing this to the U.S. share is a joke with the U.S. checking in at a 0.66% share, with Canada having half that.

I personally don’t think electric cars are quite ready to overtake the combustion engine market yet. As soon as they are able to be cheaply charged in about 10 minutes and there are enough places to do this, we will be ready. A new infrastructure is needed. We will need something like the gas station setup only with areas to plug the cars into. An alternative might be solar charging. If a vehicle can be charging while it is running, it might never need a charging station, but this is probably so far in the future none of us will see it. Then there is the possibility all the big store chains will have charging stations, along with motels, hotels and others. If we get enough of these then electric cars could become practical.

The great scientist Nikola Tesla once said “Everything is the Light“.  What he seemed to mean was anything we needed we could get from light. It was said he even had a car which he set up to run off of cosmic rays. Was this one of the inventions which was hidden from us after his death? Will the light ultimately supply all the power we will ever need? As we find out more about light we realize some light is very powerful and this power can be used. We know sunlight can power things like solar cells, but we are also finding out laser light can power spacecraft. Light might just contain all the answers to our power problems.