Good Morning Joel - I have been beating the bushes for over forty years,
trying to get someone to listen. Even went to D.C. and had a hearing with
Senator Blow Hard and his cronies - to no avail. As an aside - one of his
remarks was "do you realize how volatile Hydrogen is?" In answer I told him
it wasn't as dangerous as gasoline :-)
I proposed (in 1969) to set out a monstrous array of solar panel - clocked
to the Sun on trunions - According to my calculations, about 30 sq. miles of
panels would produce more than twice the current and power used in the good
old USA. Of course that is DC power and it doesn't travel well. Solution -
Convert water into its components - Ship anywhere - inherent problems easily
worked out, storage a snap.
Fuel cells are getting cheaper every day and the loss due to generating
power would be minimal.  An efficient elevator type of motor would only have
to be (for our Westies) in the order of 40/50 hp. No brakes or transmission
needed, Just a rheostat. want to stop in a hurry? reverse motor direction.
Problem arises when refueling is necessary. Not an unsolvable bump in the
road.
In a very short time we would be completely independent of the Arabs and all
of their inherent problems, if we solved our own insatiable need/want for
oil.
Sorry about the rambling, but this has been a pet project of mine for more
than 50 years, and I finally found someone to talk to  :-)
Bud Yandell - frustrated in Ft. Lauderdale - - 954 764 7992