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Originally Posted by renormalised
What do you think is going to happen to the prices of these "green" fuels and generating methods once they become more viable. Their prices will go up...just like everything else. You will be charged not what "the market" considers to be the price, but what the producers decide to cost them at...just like what happens with oil, now. They'll just have another version of OPEC running the show, telling everyone what they will have to pay for their convenience.
In so far as biofuels is concerned, given the rapacity for more and more fuel, are they going to just grow crops for fuel or are they going to remember that we all need to eat. There are concerns now amongst nations that nations like the US, China and blocks like Europe will end up exploiting poorer nations because they'll put most of their agricultural production into growing biofuels, and expect the others to grow food. In order to feed an ever demanding growth for fuel, they'll have to put under crop more and more arable land, at the expense of food crops.
Where do you stop??
You don't seem to see, Andrew, that so called "alternative" methods will not become cheaper, unless people force governments and manufacturers to make them such. It's not only demand and supply which matters. You can demand it and they supply it, but they'll set their own prices for its providence. Economies of scale should, by rights, reduce the costs of manufacturing and supply, however, it will have to be by legislation that prices are controlled otherwise manufacturers will charge whatever they please and you will have to pay for it. You can cost cut in manufacturing and discount at sale as much as you like, up to a point, before it becomes uneconomical for yourself as a manufacturer to make and sell your goods. Those "alternative" methods will only become as cheap as the manufacturers allow them to. They will set the prices according to the prevailing costs of providing energy, or just below in order to attract customers. So, unless governments end up heavily subsidising energy production and distribution, it is still going to be an expensive exercise moving towards "alternative" methods.
Although, we may not have any choice in the matter.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kal
This price point for fuel changes because once the demand is shifted back to grown fuel it forces the demand & hence price up, but the simple fact is that over time demand has grown for plant based fuel as oil prices have risen.
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I already covered this in my original post.
Simple fact is that it has already happened, is happening right now, and will continue to happen in the future.