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jbg

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #450 on: September 06, 2014, 11:20:03 PM »
I realized today that in the Canadian Arctic territory of Nunavut 100% of their electricity is generated with diesel generators. This is shocking to me given the abundant wind in the Arctic.

Nunavut has no electricity grid and has to have generators in every community. (something like 27 generators in 25 communities)  Their electricity was reported to cost between $0.50 and $1.00 (CDN) per kWh in 2011.

I can't imagine that wind wouldn't be extremely competitive. I can't figure out why nobody has put up at least one utility scale wind turbine.

Anyone now any more about this?
The wind is not steady or reliable in Nunavut. And turbines freeze.  New Brunswick has had that happen with the turbines on the supposedly perfect Bay of Fundy.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #451 on: September 07, 2014, 01:56:52 AM »
So, defrost the wind turbines.  Use geothermal heat pumps to produce the warm temps needed to keep things flowing.  Use wind when the wind is blowing and solar when the Sun is shining.  Fill in with diesel (or biodiesel)

BTW, do you not find it strange that we're worried about diesel usage in Nunavut where a grand total of 31,906 people live?  That's 0.0004% of the world's population.

Our goal between now and 2050 is to cut CO2 emissions by 40% to 70%.  We don't need to be CO2 free everywhere.  Go for the low hanging fruit.  Leave the hard nuts to crack for later.




Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #452 on: September 07, 2014, 02:01:46 AM »
Four turbines installed at a mine on the Nunavut boarder for $31 million.  Saving $6 million per year on diesel fuel costs.  Six year payback.

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674diavik_mines_wind-driven_power_saves_5_million_in_diesel_costs/

ghoti

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #453 on: September 07, 2014, 02:26:21 AM »
Bob, thanks for the link. You of course are right this is a drop in the bucket but if you can't make renewables work in a location where non-renewables are stupid expensive it is discouraging. It figures that a mining company would see the money savings as incentive to use wind and do it successfully. Pity the govt utility had their attempt go bad. Maybe with a visible success more wind power with emerge up north.

jbg

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #454 on: September 07, 2014, 03:54:43 AM »
So, defrost the wind turbines.  Use geothermal heat pumps to produce the warm temps needed to keep things flowing.  Use wind when the wind is blowing and solar when the Sun is shining.  Fill in with diesel (or biodiesel)
Nunavut gets a bit nippy for doing that. And when it freezing rains up there it can be around 0 F.
BTW, do you not find it strange that we're worried about diesel usage in Nunavut where a grand total of 31,906 people live?  That's 0.0004% of the world's population.

Our goal between now and 2050 is to cut CO2 emissions by 40% to 70%.  We don't need to be CO2 free everywhere.  Go for the low hanging fruit.  Leave the hard nuts to crack for later.
Agreed.  CO2 consumption is not going to be driven by use in Iqaluit or Baker Lake.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #455 on: September 07, 2014, 04:20:18 AM »
Nunavut gets so cold that one can't melt ice by applying heat?


Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #456 on: September 07, 2014, 04:25:22 AM »
Quote
Protecting wind turbines from ice requires a de-icing system. The leading edge of a wind turbine blade builds up ice and in order to keep the blade spinning and generating electricity, de-icing must continually take place. Imagine workers scaling a wind turbine to de-ice its blades manually! There are currently six different solutions to wind turbine icing: hot air, coating paint, blade control systems, built-on or integrated heating panels, geometrical enabled blades and new nanomaterials.

Perhaps the most interesting systems for de-icing blades involve biomimicry and nanotechnology. Scientists have been developing “superhydrophobic coatings” in which water droplets roll off of surfaces in the same way this occurs on specific types of leaves. In essence, the molecular surface of these coatings do not permit binding with H2O which simply runs off.

A company called Kelly Aerospace has been creating de-icing systems for planes for many years and is now providing de-icing solutions to the wind power industry. According to the company, its Wind Turbine Ice Protection System (WTIPS):

Sheds ice during operation
Does not require shut down during icing conditions
Protects blades from leading edge erosion
Involves simple external installation on blades
Uses PLC controlled deicing system
Uses a flexible graphite foil
Limits laid in balances when ice is present
Reduces wind turbine vibration and wear
WTIPS measure relative humidity, blade temperature and ambient temperature to determine the right time to de-ice. Once de-icing begins, it only takes 7-14 minutes for the cycle to complete.

http://www.industrytap.com/wind-turbine-de-icing-technology-keeps-blades-turning-in-harsh-conditions/11939

Quote
As my outside thermometer struggles to achieve double-digits on the Fahrenheit scale (around -12oC) I thought it would be an appropriate time to discuss the new Vestas De-icing System (VDS) for wind turbines. Cold climates often provide the best wind resource, but ice on turbines can reduce electricity production by up to 20%. Ice buildup can also cause unbalanced spinning of the rotor, leading to mechanical failure. In addition to inefficient operation and potential damage to the turbine, ice flying off of the turbine blades can pose a threat to life and property. These factors make de-icing technology a necessity in cold-weather regions.
Vestas developed an innovative de-icing system that combines sensors, databases, and communications. The system can be customized to each specific wind farm location and customer preference. VDS can detect an icing condition, shut down the turbine, and perform the de-icing procedure automatically. Rather than detecting actual ice buildup, the VDS algorithm measures several variables, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, and turbine output. When icing conditions are favorable and measured output levels are lower than predicted, the de-icing procedure is initiated. VDS is even smart enough to determine whether it’s worth shutting down the turbine to perform de-icing. If turbine production is just slightly low because of icing, it may be more economical to just continue running the turbine. On the other hand, if the energy output is low enough, it’s worth shutting it down and de-icing it; the improved efficiency will more than pay back the temporary down time.

Each turbine blade includes a small heating element and fan. The outer third of the blade and most of the blade’s leading edge are heated, since this is where icing is likely to occur. Since these turbines are utility-scale, a small amount of grid power (up to 150 kW) is used to run the heating system. (I know - 150 kW doesn’t sound like a small amount of power, but Vestas makes turbines in the 2 to 8 MW range. It’s all relative.) During de-icing, the turbine is shut down, so there’s no danger of it throwing ice around.

So far, the VDS concept has been successfully tested in Canada and a prototype has been installed in Sweden. The Swedish unit will be tested over the winter. Vestas has received orders for four turbines with VDS to be installed in Austria in 2014.

http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/6776/De-Icing-Wind-Turbines.aspx

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #457 on: September 07, 2014, 09:18:32 PM »
Quote
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is out with its Solar Market Insight Report for the 2nd quarter of 2014, and it’s overwhelmingly “sunny” news. Here are a few highlights:

“- The U.S. solar market had another strong quarter in Q2 2014. Photovoltaic (PV) installations reached 1,133 MWdc in Q2, up 21% over the same quarter in 2013.”
- Solar power accounted for 53% of new U.S. electric generation capacity in the first half of 2014. That put solar ahead of natural gas (30%) and wind power (14%).
- Utility PV procurement is surging, as “utility-scale solar project developers have amassed more than 3 gigawatts of new contracts over the past twelve months” This is a result of solar’s “increasing cost-competitiveness, along with a variety of new procurement mechanisms.”
- The “residential solar juggernaut continues,” and “its momentum shows no signs of slowing.”
- The top five states for solar PV installation in the 2nd quarter of 2014 were: California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New Jersey and North Carolina.
- Solar power in the U.S. is increasingly becoming “mainstream,” as “solar PV has moved light years ahead of where it stood back in the first half of 2012″ (e.g., utility solar PV cumulative installations have quadrupled).
- Utilities are starting to jump into the residential solar power market: “the two major utilities in Arizona (Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power) are now the first utilities in the U.S. to formally propose plans to own rooftop solar on residential customers’ homes.”
http://scalinggreen.com/2014/09/seia-report-u-s-solar-pv-installation-growing-fast-becoming-mainstream-power-source/
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icefest

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #458 on: September 09, 2014, 06:40:33 AM »
Is nunavut colder than antarctica, where wind turbines have been used for over ten years without issues?
Open other end.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #459 on: September 13, 2014, 06:36:55 PM »
Google invests in its 17th renewable energy project:  a solar power plant on a former oil and gas field near Bakersfield.

"Google said its renewable energy projects are expected to generate more than 6 billion kilowatt-hours of energy annually, which the tech giant said is 'far more electricity' than it consumes and is enough to power all public elementary schools in New York, Oregon and Wyoming for one year."

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-google-sunedison-solar-20140910-story.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #460 on: September 14, 2014, 04:58:18 PM »
Article on the switch to renewables, focussing on the German energiewende.  Great graph compares the power sources of a few countries.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/science/earth/sun-and-wind-alter-german-landscape-leaving-utilities-behind.html?ref=world&_r=1
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #461 on: September 14, 2014, 05:34:45 PM »
Ontario, Canada closes its last coal power plant.
(Not sure about their claim as the only jurisdiction in North America to be coal-free, since, in the US, the states of Vermont and Rhode Island have no coal plants.)

http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/12/ontario-renewable-energy/

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Existing_U.S._Coal_Plants
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jbg

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #462 on: September 15, 2014, 03:14:31 AM »
Article on the switch to renewables, focussing on the German energiewende.  Great graph compares the power sources of a few countries.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/science/earth/sun-and-wind-alter-german-landscape-leaving-utilities-behind.html?ref=world&_r=1
You beat me to it. I just logged on to post the article. I had it spread over the kitchen table.

The article is quite impressive until at the end the article states that large subsidies will still be needed to bring the electricity generated by wind power down to market rates.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #463 on: September 15, 2014, 05:04:10 AM »
Massive error in the NYT article -

Quote
Wind power, too, has come down sharply in price in recent years, and it is now competitive with the cost of new coal-burning power plants in parts of the United States.

Non-subsidized wind in the US Midwest is now selling for 4 cents per kWh.  The operating cost for a paid off coal plant is over 3 cents per kWh.  Making payments on a new coal plant takes the cost well over 10 cents per kWh.

Quote
The article is quite impressive until at the end the article states that large subsidies will still be needed to bring the electricity generated by wind power down to market rates.

What do you think the cost of not getting off fossil fuels might be?  Let's say we warm good old Earth up 4C or 6C?

Actually I found the end of the article quite heart-warming...

Quote
For now, the German offshore farms are adding billions to the costs consumers are already bearing for solar panels, onshore wind turbines, biogas plants and the rest of the transition to renewable energy. Polls suggest it is a burden they are willing to carry.

“Indeed, the German people are paying significant money,” said Markus Steigenberger, an analyst at Agora, the think tank. “But in Germany, we can afford this — we are a rich country. It’s a gift to the world.”

Germans are very energy efficient.  The average monthly German electricity bill is only $10 more than the average US monthly electricity bill.  Germany is giving the world a great gift and it's costing them very little per person.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #464 on: September 25, 2014, 07:37:44 PM »
Developers Plan Huge $8 Billion, 2.1-GW Wind Plus Storage Project in California

Quote
NEW YORK -- Four energy companies are proposing an $8 billion renewable energy project that would supply Los Angeles with more than twice the power generated by the Hoover Dam.

The project includes a 2,100-megawatt wind farm in Wyoming, a 525-mile (845-kilometer) power line and a $1.5 billion storage facility....

“This project would be the 21st Century’s Hoover Dam — a landmark of the clean energy revolution,” Jeff Meyer, managing partner of Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy, said in the statement. Magnum Energy Inc. is the fourth developer.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/09/developers-plan-huge-8-billion-2-1-gw-wind-plus-storage-project-in-california-2?cmpid=rss
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #465 on: September 25, 2014, 08:51:27 PM »
The Wyoming wind project is promising.  The wind tends to pick up speed in Wyoming about the same time the Sun stops giving the West Coast solar power (I've heard).  This would make Wyoming wind a great solution for the late afternoon/evening demand peak.  It would decapitate the duck.

The idea is to run a HVDC line southward and to hook up with both the Intermountain Intertie and the Pacific Intertie.  That would create a loop in the HVDC system and greatly increase reliability.

Once in the HVDC loop Wyoming wind could flow to the entire West Coast as well as Utah and parts of Nevada.  And SoCal solar, PNW wind/hydro could flow up to Wyoming.  Next thing that needs to be brought onto the western grid is Idaho hydro.  That power should be used as a fill-in for wind and solar.  Tying stuff together greatly reduces the need for storage.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #466 on: September 25, 2014, 09:35:48 PM »
Thought I'd share this...




It shows the price of wind contacts (PPAs) in the US over the last 18 years.  It's easy to see the upturn in prices up to 2010 due to a shortage of turbines.  Then as more manufacturing came on line demand was met and prices dropped.

And if you look there are some large wind farms that signed 2 cent/kWh contracts in 2013.  Add in the PTC (subsidy) and they are producing and selling wind for a profit at less than 3.5 cents.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #467 on: September 28, 2014, 02:00:32 PM »
New "sunflower" design for concentrated solar energy produces electricity, hot water, and desalinization.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/28/solar-energy-sunflower-ibm-airlight-electricity
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #468 on: September 28, 2014, 03:39:44 PM »
High fuel costs and lack of grid access spur airborne wind power tests in Alaska.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/will-they-fly-wind-power-alternatives-buffeted-technical-squalls-n211571
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #469 on: September 29, 2014, 05:46:22 PM »
Quote
Hawaii’s utilities just resubmitted long-term energy plans to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, and there was at least one very nice surprise: Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO), the utility that serves the Big Island, now plans to achieve 92 percent renewable electricity by 2030.
...
The best part of the new plan? It will save customers buckets of money. HELCO projects that average residential bills will fall, under the 92 percent renewables plan, by 27 percent from 2014 to 2030, and that’s without taking inflation into account.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Can-the-Big-Island-of-Hawaii-Get-All-of-its-Electricity-From-Renewables

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #470 on: September 29, 2014, 07:28:15 PM »
Britain's first floating solar panel project installed.

Quote
The technology, which is already being used at far larger scale in Japan, involves solar panels mounted on plastic floats, forming a giant pontoon.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/solarpower/11110547/Britains-first-floating-solar-panel-project-installed.html
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domen_

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #471 on: September 29, 2014, 10:49:47 PM »
Quote
Hawaii’s utilities just resubmitted long-term energy plans to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, and there was at least one very nice surprise: Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO), the utility that serves the Big Island, now plans to achieve 92 percent renewable electricity by 2030.
...
The best part of the new plan? It will save customers buckets of money. HELCO projects that average residential bills will fall, under the 92 percent renewables plan, by 27 percent from 2014 to 2030, and that’s without taking inflation into account.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Can-the-Big-Island-of-Hawaii-Get-All-of-its-Electricity-From-Renewables
So Big Island has 27% renewable grid today. How much of that is solar, wind, etc?

Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #472 on: September 29, 2014, 11:07:54 PM »
Found this -



domen_

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #473 on: September 29, 2014, 11:30:45 PM »
That's odd, these numbers don't seem to match the upper ones.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #474 on: September 29, 2014, 11:40:31 PM »
First two columns seem to be correct, according to my calculator.  What are you seeing?

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #475 on: September 30, 2014, 12:53:40 AM »
Oh sorry, I misread. They expect prices to fall 27%, but renewables are at about 40% penetration (on Big Island).

But if I'm not mistaken again, this 40% doesn't include about 10% of distributed solar PV (according to the first chart in the article).

This 10% of PV is interesting because it shows that you can introduce 10% of PV without significant amounts of storage. Italy, which has second highest PV penetration, is at 7%.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #476 on: September 30, 2014, 03:15:38 AM »
Steve Cohen argues in the Huffington Post that a carbon tax is not needed; we should instead fight for the funding of the basic research required to make the transition to a fossil fuel-free economy.

Quote
...The fact that the U.S. has not signed onto a meaningless non-binding resolution on the way to another round of meaningless climate talks in Paris next year is a non-issue.

Instead of wasting time and effort on a futile attempt to tax carbon, we should be gearing up our national laboratories, research universities and high-tech sector on a massive effort to invent new forms of renewable energy. New battery technology, carbon capture and storage, new energy efficiency technologies and smart energy transmission technologies should be part of the mix....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-cohen/its-time-to-abandon-the-d_b_5899448.html
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #477 on: September 30, 2014, 03:36:50 AM »
Steve Cohen argues in the Huffington Post that a carbon tax is not needed; we should instead fight for the funding of the basic research required to make the transition to a fossil fuel-free economy.

Quote
...The fact that the U.S. has not signed onto a meaningless non-binding resolution on the way to another round of meaningless climate talks in Paris next year is a non-issue.

Instead of wasting time and effort on a futile attempt to tax carbon, we should be gearing up our national laboratories, research universities and high-tech sector on a massive effort to invent new forms of renewable energy. New battery technology, carbon capture and storage, new energy efficiency technologies and smart energy transmission technologies should be part of the mix....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-cohen/its-time-to-abandon-the-d_b_5899448.html

That's something I've heard quite often from anti-renewable, pro-fossil fuel people. 

It's kind of like the folks who admit that the climate is warming but we should wait to see if it's going to be a problem before we do anything about it. 

Besides, (a carbon tax/doing something) might hurt our economy....
----

We are pouring huge amounts into research for better storage.  Very large amounts of private money are seeking market share.  Our solar panel manufacturers are constantly improving efficiency.  Our wind turbine companies constantly release improved product. 




Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #478 on: September 30, 2014, 06:49:52 AM »
Here's a great picture that shows how quickly solar reached the tipping point.  That's a rather amazing cost decline.  I can't think of any prices that have moved downward that rapidly.



Solar prices continued to fall in 2013 and have continued to fall in 2014 and are expected to keep on falling.  First Solar has stated that their prices will be down another 30% in a couple of years, for example....

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #479 on: October 04, 2014, 01:46:53 AM »
Quote
The cost of solar power plus battery storage is about to dip below the average electricity bill in Germany.
...
But the fact remains that the costs of battery technology and solar power are headed nowhere but down. Another recent and very similar analysis by the investment bank UBS projected that by 2020, small-scale solar-plus-storage power generation will become economic enough for individual homeowners in Europe that there simply won’t be any market incentive for building more fossil fuel power plants on the Continent.

Here in America, Tesla thinks the costs of battery storage could fall to $100 per kilowatt-hour by the end of the decade. As John Aziz pointed out at The Week, that would drop the combined cost of a home solar array and a home battery to $17,000 over the system’s 20-year lifespan — well below the $26,000 the average U.S. household currently spends on electricity from the grid.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/03/3575371/hsbc-solar-battery-germany/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #480 on: October 04, 2014, 03:50:06 PM »
New solar technology stores energy right in the panel.  Oh, and it uses oxygen.  "Basically, it's a breathing battery."

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/worlds-first-solar-battery-captures-stores-suns-energy-n218091
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #481 on: October 04, 2014, 09:57:07 PM »
Grist:  New IEA reports are even more bullish on clean electricity helping us to meet the 2°C challenge.
Quote
Electricity’s share of total global energy use has climbed from 9 percent in the ’70s to 17 percent today; depending on how things play out, that’s expected to rise to around 25 percent by 2050. (I would bet substantial money that even that is an underestimate.)

That could be a good or a bad thing. If the carbon intensity of global electricity remains the same, it would massively drive up emissions, because, well, coal. On the bright side, though, electricity is much easier to decarbonize than liquid fuels, so electrification presents a big opportunity to take a chunk out of global emissions. Specifically, to get on IEA’s “2DS” pathway — that is, to keep warming at or under 2 degrees C warming, per international agreement — the carbon intensity of global electricity would have to plunge by 90 percent.

Luckily, IEA concluded, that’s doable. It would cost a lot — global investments in electricity systems, including grids and storage, would have to roughly double — but the fuel savings alone would mean the benefits outweigh the costs. It won’t happen on its own, though. The mix of policies and technologies needed, from flexible grids to energy storage to solar, would require systems thinking, planning, and political coordination.

Anyway, that’s all background. Today, the IEA released two new solar-power roadmaps, one for solar PV and the other for solar thermal. The interesting news therein is twofold.

One, with the right policies in place, solar could be the largest provider of global electricity by 2050. That should put to rest the notion, widespread in some quarters, that solar is a marginal technology of interest only to fruity greens.

The second interesting bit is that IEA has gotten much more bullish on PV, even since May. The agency now believes it capable of providing 16 percent of total global electricity by 2050 (in the 2DS scenario), up from less than 1 percent today....

Anyway, there are lots more details in the documents themselves, including detailed policy recommendations for reducing costs and increasing grid flexibility. The main thing I want to highlight is just that solar costs are plunging so fast that even the stodgy IEA is scrambling to keep up.

At virtually every point in time over the last several decades, IEA has been behind the curve, underestimating the growth of renewables. Raise your hand if you think this is the last time it will reassess and upgrade solar’s potential contribution.
http://grist.org/climate-energy/how-solar-can-provide-over-half-the-planets-electricity/
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #482 on: October 04, 2014, 10:54:14 PM »
Quote
It would cost a lot — global investments in electricity systems, including grids and storage, would have to roughly double — but the fuel savings alone would mean the benefits outweigh the costs.

And estimate which I saw recently is that the world would need to spend $550 billion per year to transition off fossil fuels.

However that estimation did not take into account the $600 billion we now spend each year exploring for and extracting oil. 

It did not take into account the  $140 billion to $242 billion that the US and the  €42.8 billion a year in health costs associated with coal-fired power stations that the US and Europe now spend.  Nor did it take into account the cost of coal-pollution in the rest of the world.

And it did not take into account the amount we will spend each year replacing worn out thermal plants.  Money we will spend one way or another, which would be wiser spend on renewables.




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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #483 on: October 05, 2014, 10:41:34 PM »
Private entrepreneur is planning to grow the US grid to support wind power.

Quote
The wind is so strong in Iowa and Kansas that more wind farms there could power the country's largest cities if only there was a way to move that electricity to where most people live.

Enter Michael Skelly, a Houston businessman who envisions building five superhighways — transmission lines — to carry vast amounts of wind-generated power across more than 3,000 miles, multiple states, hundreds of jurisdictions and thousands of pieces of privately owned land.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-clean-line-transmission-1005-biz-20141005-story.html#page=1
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #484 on: October 05, 2014, 10:57:34 PM »
That's an interesting article.  I'd like to know what the rate of return might be.

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #485 on: October 06, 2014, 02:40:50 AM »
Private entrepreneur is planning to grow the US grid to support wind power.

Quote
The wind is so strong in Iowa and Kansas that more wind farms there could power the country's largest cities if only there was a way to move that electricity to where most people live.

Enter Michael Skelly, a Houston businessman who envisions building five superhighways — transmission lines — to carry vast amounts of wind-generated power across more than 3,000 miles, multiple states, hundreds of jurisdictions and thousands of pieces of privately owned land.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-clean-line-transmission-1005-biz-20141005-story.html#page=1

If you can't move the electricity to the people, you could move the people to the electricity.

I'm not entirely joking - if you made it cheap enough that it was a reason for energy intensive industries (if the US has any left) to set up there, people would go for the jobs.

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #486 on: October 06, 2014, 03:33:41 AM »
There's a reason why more people don't live where the wind blows hard and much of the time.


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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #487 on: October 06, 2014, 08:03:25 PM »

Just discovered that the NREL keeps track of end-user/distributed solar generation in addition to large scale/utility solar generation.  The EIA reports only utility scale solar.  Here's how the two databases look when plotted.



The NREL 2013 report  should be out later this month.  Will update then.

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #488 on: October 07, 2014, 12:20:41 AM »
I actually find wind farms beautiful. These are in Indiana.

Shared Humanity

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #489 on: October 07, 2014, 12:22:25 AM »
They're going up quickly.

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #490 on: October 07, 2014, 02:19:22 AM »
Massive Concentrated Solar Power Project for California Desert Scrapped
The project had come under fire as a potential threat to migrating birds.

http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/concentrating-solar/palen-solar-project-canceled.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #491 on: October 07, 2014, 02:46:47 AM »
New report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance lists new renewables by country.

"In China, solar investment reached a new record of $12.2 billion, more than 22 percent of global clean energy investment over the quarter. Up from $7.5 billion in the same quarter last year and $8 billion in the second quarter of this year, China may add more than 14 gigawatts of solar capacity this year — almost a third of the global total, according to BNEF."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/06/3576255/australia-clean-energy-plummets/
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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #492 on: October 07, 2014, 04:57:13 AM »
Quote
The project had come under fire as a potential threat to migrating birds.

While it is true that there has been a lot of noise about bird kills at the Ivanpah site the first six months data does not support that noise.  The high kill estimates were created by a "used to be a scientist" who simply pulled an estimate out of his rear end.

What seems to be actually killing thermal solar is price.  PV solar is looking to be far cheaper.  The Palen project might have been competitive, but not once it was required to scale down.


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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #493 on: October 07, 2014, 07:04:35 PM »
There's a reason why more people don't live where the wind blows hard and much of the time.
Cape Horn and Ushuaia are nice this time of year.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #494 on: October 10, 2014, 10:02:01 PM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #495 on: October 10, 2014, 10:25:04 PM »
Japan added solar power too fast.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-09/japan-solar-boom-fizzling-as-utilities-limit-grid-access.html

Good for Japan.  They will now have a lot more power on partial cloudy days and can curtail a bit on sunny days while they beef up their grid.

Germany, China and the US have run into similar problems where generation and transmission were not closely coordinated.  These are fixable problems, unlike the seemingly going on forever problem of getting Fukushima stabilized. 

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #496 on: October 11, 2014, 03:38:42 AM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #497 on: October 11, 2014, 04:13:48 AM »
Well, Michael reappears.  Haven't seen anything from him in years since he suddenly exited GTM.

Anyway - "lighting consumes 19% of world power".  If by power one means electricity.

And - " can’t find a 100 watt incandescent bulb in the U.S. You’ll be stuck doing this comparison on a 13 watt LED".  A 13 watt LED is about the lumen count of a 60 watt incandescent.  Should be 18 watts.  But the point holds....

Sigmetnow

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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #498 on: October 11, 2014, 04:16:00 AM »
Good for Japan.  They will now have a lot more power on partial cloudy days and can curtail a bit on sunny days while they beef up their grid.

Germany, China and the US have run into similar problems where generation and transmission were not closely coordinated.  These are fixable problems, unlike the seemingly going on forever problem of getting Fukushima stabilized.

We need many more utilities with this "problem," so we have many more people working on solutions.
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Re: Renewable Energy
« Reply #499 on: October 11, 2014, 04:32:56 AM »
Hawaii's utility was basically told: "Find a way to make it work."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/02/3433587/hawaii-utility-more-solar/
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