Subject: Re: Hybrid-Electric Aircraft?
But taking a step back...a hybrid, any hybrid, ultimately gets all of its energy from the fuel pumped into it. Fossil fuel, as a rule.

A little less with every passing day. In some parts of the US the amount of electricity produced by renewables is over 50%. Clean electricity in China is now almost 40%. Half of new cars in China are battery powered, and its 30,000 miles of high speed rail are electric.

We still have a frightfully long way to go, true, and we (the US) are behind in the clean electricity business, having put our faith in “drill baby drill” (natural gas now instead of coal) but others are taking it a little more seriously. (It’s true that the total energy mix hasn’t changed that much worldwide, but imagine what it would be like if no one was working on renewables!)

Of course we are continuing to expand our energy appetite, but hopefully all these data centers and other electrified doo-dads will likewise encourage the utilities to work harder at providing clean electricity, especially now that those prices are coming down. At the very least I would hope it takes a little power away (pardon the pun) from the Petroleum-states, to who we’ve been in thrall these last 50 years.

OK, I know I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one…(good song lyric, that)