In the future, if biotech can deliver low-cost liquid hydrocarbons from biomass that can be profitably blended at the refinery, then Big Oil may partner with industrial agriculture. Valero (VLO), the largest refiner in the U.S., bought a number of ethanol plants at deep discounts from bankrupt VeraSun.
For now, both the petroleum producers and industrial agriculture want to control EPA regulation, federal tax breaks, and billions of federal funds. They also want greenhouse gas emissions measured their way. If growing more corn for ethanol and soy for biodiesel leads to rainforests being destroyed, then Big Oil favors that being included in biofuel emission lifecycle analysis. Big Ag is against such land-use analysis. See: Argonne Lifecycle Presentation, California Lifecycle with Land-use Studies, Renewable Fuels Standard"
Bioenergy is to become an economic giant as long as the geopolitical climate of the planet stays on its current course. New bioenergy projects are started almost every day. Big oil, big agriculture, big chemicals, big forestry, big paper, big utilities, and even big nuclear (Areva) are all attempting to stake claims in the exploding bioenergy sector.
New cheap solar cells from IBM may help to jump-start a sluggish solar economy. If photovoltaic cells become cheap enough, clever designers will start incorporating them into the very landscape. When that happens, the need for utility-scale power storage should spur some breakthroughs.
Recent proclamations of a "doubling of capacity" of solar and wind installations, are a waste of time. Capacity for renewable energy means very little. It is the actual production and utilisation that count. Until the storage problem is solved, the idea of a large scale contribution from wind and solar is almost useless.
