From Nature Materials, February 2009, Volume 8 No 2

Commentary

An inconvenient truth about thermoelectrics - pp83 - 85

Cronin B. Vining

doi:10.1038/nmat2361

Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore has called for America to abandon all fossil fuels for the production of electricity within 10 years.  He envisions a combination of solar, wind and geothermal renewable energy sources to produce all electricity in the US.

Since posting my Solutions Summit paper a few possibilities for thermoelectrics have been brought to my attention which I have either underestimated or neglected entirely.

The following presentation and manuscript (links below) were prepared at the request of the Office of Honorable Al Gore & Mrs. Tipper Gore for presentation at a 'Solutions Summit' panel on ‘Nanotechnology and New Materials’ held May 1, 2008 in New York City.

A Kansas state regulator denied permits to build two new coal-fired thermoelectric power plants ('thermoelectric' because they convert heat to electricity, but this type of plant does not involve Seebeck or Peltier devices) based on their carbon emmisions.   The Kansas legislature passed a bill allowing the plants to go forward, then late last week the Kansas Governor vetoed the bill and halting the project.  For now, at least.  Here's a link with the full story:

    http://www.kansascity.com/679/story/541098.html