I appreciate the ingenuity behind today's hybrid cars. Not only are they are the perfect antidote to stem America's fascination with gas-guzzling SUVs, but they are starting to look much cooler than the Toyota Prius. Still, I have my immature perceptions of what hybrid cars are really capable, even though I have never driven one. That's why I think I'd be more prone to cure my "addiction to oil" by investing in a set of wheels that runs on some type of alternative fuel or "green" source of energy.

Global sales of green-source energy more than doubled in 2005 to $39.9 billion, according to California research and publishing firm Clean Edge. This number looks to quadruple in a decade to nearly $170 billion if oil prices remain high and technology costs fall, according to the study. And while Clean Edge has an uncanny knack for making its predictions come true — the company's forecasts on renewable energy have been met or exceeded by the market for the past four years — the sale of green fuels would still be tiny relative to the conventional energy market. Still, green energy is the fastest-growing energy sector, especially since oil prices skyrocketed this past August after hurricanes battered the Gulf of Mexico.

The study also points out that it's not easy being green fuel, based on these highlights:

- Building a widespread biofuel distribution system for flex-fuel cars is a big obstacle the industry faces.

- Other clean fuel obstacles include a lack of processed polysilcon, the main feedstock in the solar power industry and rising steel prices for the wind power sector.

- Tightness in silicon supply could lead to innovation by companies making solar cells that use a fraction of the amount needed in conventional cells.

Regarding the last bullet, string ribbon solar technology made by Evergreen Solar and thin-film solar made by private companies like Miasole, Heliovolt and Nanosolar all use less silicon, which is a good thing.

Still, the major players of the car industry aren't exactly behind this green fuel concept. As a recent BBC article points out, Japanese companies are ahead of European and American carmakers in the green-fuel department, "but the industry had still not grasped the urgency of the problem — despite promoting its green credentials," said the article. Carmakers aren't making more cars capable of running on green fuels because they don't want to raise sticker prices. The article says carmakers probably won't seriously consider mass production of flex-fuel cars for another 20-30 years…which isn't exactly around the corner.

I guess what's confusing about all of this is the backing of large oil firms, already knee-deep in production on green fuel. If they don't have the cars to fill tanks with their green fuel, they could find themselves up the proverbial creek…in a chicken-wire canoe…without a paddle.

Earlier

Clean Tech & Alternative Fuels: Apathy Turns to Opportunity

It's Not Easy Being Green — But…