Solar Still Has a Long Way to Go
. . . there is no evidence they ever will be. "Google’s boldest energy move was an effort known as RE<C, which aimed to develop renewable energy sources that would generate electricity more cheaply than coal-fired power plants do. The company announced that Google would help promising technologies mature by investing in start-ups and conducting its own internal R&D. Its aspirational goal: to produce a gigawatt of renewable power more cheaply than a coal-fired plant could, and to achieve this in years, not decades." * * * "As we reflected on the project, we came to the conclusion that even if Google and others had led the way toward a wholesale adoption of renewable energy, that switch would not have resulted in significant reductions of carbon dioxide emissions. Trying to combat climate change exclusively with today’s renewable energy technologies simply won’t work; we need a fundamentally different approach." Refreshing as an ice water plunge, but harsh to the ears of the environmentalists, nothing can dissuade such a person from their religious revere. The Brits found a way to accomplish the difficult Triple Lindy, building thousands of wind turbines which actually release more carbon than they will ever save. This is before the calculations of hot standby power constantly waiting to cut in when the wind dies. Wind farms will create more carbon dioxide, say scientists Religion short-circuits the need for rational thought, leading to disastrous consequences outside of spiritual world. The genius of religion is that it define and works within the spiritual; the disaster of unreformed secular religions is they are intended to work in the real, physical world. The train wreck that occurs commonly results in the murder of millions, reference the USSR, Communist China, Communist Cambodia, and pretty much every communist or socialist hell hole. We need to take back the rational, kick out the unreformed environmental religions, and return to sanity our political policy on the environment. This cannot happen as long as the progressive movement retains vigor. This movement, long past its sell by date, is slowly pushing the US, the West, and the world towards cataclysm. Americans may like nothing more than family, friends, and work, but about once each generation we need to wake up and realize that our political better have left the reservation, and are running amok. Now is that time. We need to turn our attention to the political sphere, correct the problems, resolve the fundamentals for the new socio-economic model, and move the nation, and the world forward. We can do this. We must.
Comments
"14,000 Abandoned Wind Turbines Litter the United States" - Newmark's Door
. . . but no matter how hard one looks there is not a green environmentalist be found. The states need to begin to take this problem to task. The first thing they should require is insurance or bonding to account for the dismantling of the wind turbine once fallow. Second, the states need to make sure the wind producers are actively maintaining these devices. Once the subsidies, and rebates end there will be a huge desire to simply abandon these wind farms, leaving the cleanup to the taxpayers. I have no idea how many abandoned wind turbines there are in the US, but frankly there is no reason for any of these modern behemoths to be left standing after they are kaput. Environmentalism is a religion. A wacky, damaging religion, and the adherents want nothing less than your money, and your undivided belief. "10 Undervalued Retro Cars Suddenly Skyrocketing in Value" - Newmark's Door
We are a wealthy country with more than 10 million millionaires, and a huge population of oldsters on more than sufficient pensions with significant savings but under a million in net worth. All of them are nostalgic for their youth. More millionaires than ever are living in the US It's math, I never argue with math! Utilizing wind, and solar electrical energy generation, causes an increase in carbon emissions . . .4/18/2016 http://www.coyoteblog.com
. . . a doubling, actually. "I have made this point forever, but it always bears repeating -- the variability of wind and solar require hot fossil fuel backups that leads to little reduction in total fossil fuel generation capacity (so that wind and solar investments are entirely duplicative) and less-than-expected reductions in actual emissions." This only accounts for the generation of the power. As Britain found out, siting the windmill, or solar can also be damaging. Apparently, the places in Britain where these alternative energy facilities make economic sense, the siting and ground preparation releases so much carbon, that it is not a carbon neutral or carbon negative endeavor. With the real price of wind and solar higher than the real price of nuclear, natural gas, or coal fired electrical generation, the only reason to add the alternatives is carbon reduction. Thus, if there is no carbon reduction, there is absolutely no reason to add the alternatives. This is little more than a belief overriding rational thought. Opec’s days as economic force are ‘over’ - FT.com
. . . but the Yergin seems to misunderstand why. UPDATE AT END "Opec’s economic power is broken, says the unofficial historian of the oil industry, who has argued that the association of oil exporting countries has become irretrievably divided and is unable to reverse the current slump in crude prices. Daniel Yergin, whose Pulitzer-prize winning book The Prize provides a comprehensive history of oil and power, said he believes the association’s economic prowess has been undone by its inability to agree on how to stop the oil crisis. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Yergin, who is also vice-chairman of data provider IHS, said the recent disagreements among Opec members have revealed how weak the organization now is. Mr Yergin said: “The era of Opec as a decisive force in the world economy is over. It is clearly a very divided organization.” Mr Bergen’s book, first published in 1990, dedicates several chapters to the rise and domination of Opec, the 13-member organisation that has caused sharp swings in the oil price by restricting or raising supplies since it was set up in 1960. But the 69-year-old argues the current oil slump has exposed the organization’s inability to act in a unified way." Ok, correct as far as it goes, but it does not go anywhere near far enough. The reason for the lack of unity is the existential war between the Shia, represented by Iran, and the Sunni, represented by the House of Saud. "Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s powerful deputy crown prince, said earlier this month a deal would only happen if Iran also signed up. But Iran wants to increase its output after sanctions were lifted in January as part of a nuclear deal with world powers. Mr Yergin said he did not think a freeze was possible until Iran clarified how much it could export. As for Saudi Arabia, Mr Yergin said it was thinking differently about oil. “I remember when the operating code was: save the oil for our grandchildren. Now the grandchildren are in charge and they are looking at it in a very different way,” he said. “They are not looking at it as precious resource . . . but rather asking how do you monetize it?'" Right Saudi wants to tie up Iran so it has no money to fight this existential war. Iran will have none of it, and so will pump oil, in order to build its more integrated economy back from the recent sanctions, and seek to fight proxy wars in the meantime. Saudi has very little economy outside of oil, and what it has, is nearly completely reliant on oil money transfers from the House of Saud. It is not that the House of Saud is thinking differently about oil, it is thinking about an existential war, and it needs as much oil money as possible to ward off economic unrest from its people, and fight expensive proxy wars. Remember in this fight the House of Saud is the banker to the Sunni proxy wars, while the Iranians are not, they train, and provide some arms assistance but do not do the majority of the bankrolling. The reason the House of Saud recently left Yemen, is to cut the costs of the proxy war there. The House of Saud is deeply concerned, and panic is just setting in. OPEC's days as oil hegemon are over. Not because "Kids these days!" But because Iran wishes to reduce the kingdom. Optimistically, this will be the warfare at the beginning of the Islamic Reformation, which will lead to an Islamic Enlightenment. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Al-Saud is our enemy. The Shia, represented by Iran are the only real hope today for an Islamic Reformation. We need to make this work. We need to trade with Iran, and promote the full reintegration of Iran with the world economy. This will allow Iran to pressure the House of Saud, and allow Iranian businesses, and the people of Iran to build relations with America, and the West. Only this will result in the diminishment of the Iranian hardliners, and the ultimate democratization, and free marketization of Iran. Something the world needs dearly. UPDATE Oil Guru Says OPEC’s Era Is Over "What use is OPEC? For decades, the oil cartel has leveraged the large percentage of the world’s oil supply its members produce to try and keep prices up, and during previous price slides would (led by Saudi Arabia) lower its collective output to help induce a rebound. But five months after oil prices started their tumble from a June 2014 high of more than $110 per barrel, OPEC members meeting in Vienna decided to not to do anything. Riyadh pushed this strategy of inaction, preferring to fight for a share of a market that had quickly become crowded, thanks to the rapid rise of U.S. shale. Now, nearly two years after prices began their tumble, OPEC members are preparing to meet delegates from other petrostates in Doha next week to moot a deal to freeze production at current levels. But while prices have been edging upwards in the lead-up to that meeting, that strategy isn’t likely to produce the kind of rebound OPEC would like to see, which again brings us back to the question: what good is OPEC?" This price rise is due solely to the oil bulls feverish delusions of $150 per bbl oil prices. They remember the heady day of making oodles of money, and can't quite understand what happened. Reality happened you sorry sods. "Thanks to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal well drilling, we’ve blown well past the days of peak oil prognostications, into an era characterized by problems of overabundance rather than scarcity. Crudely speaking (excuse the pun, please) this has been good for consumers and bad for producers, but while U.S. shale firms have been able to innovate their way into staying profitable in the bearish market, petrostates have been forced to start cutting national budgest and tapping sovereign wealth funds. Both sets of producers are being squeezed by $40 oil, but the former is actively working towards a solution as it refines techniques and boosts efficiencies, while the latter is merely treading water while talking loudly about setting an upper limit on production—cuts are out of the question. There are many reasons to be skeptical of this new freeze plan, but as we edge closer to that date prices are ticking upwards—Brent neared $43 in trading today for the first time in more than four months. But if that’s all OPEC can manage, Yergin might be proven right: OPEC’s era really could be over." Peak Oil!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha . . . The OPEC's days are over. The sooner the oil bulls understand this and move on the better it will be. Opec’s days as economic force are ‘over’ - FT.com
. . . but the Yergin seems to misunderstand why. "Opec’s economic power is broken, says the unofficial historian of the oil industry, who has argued that the association of oil exporting countries has become irretrievably divided and is unable to reverse the current slump in crude prices. Daniel Yergin, whose Pulitzer-prize winning book The Prize provides a comprehensive history of oil and power, said he believes the association’s economic prowess has been undone by its inability to agree on how to stop the oil crisis. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Yergin, who is also vice-chairman of data provider IHS, said the recent disagreements among Opec members have revealed how weak the organization now is. Mr Yergin said: “The era of Opec as a decisive force in the world economy is over. It is clearly a very divided organization.” Mr Bergen’s book, first published in 1990, dedicates several chapters to the rise and domination of Opec, the 13-member organisation that has caused sharp swings in the oil price by restricting or raising supplies since it was set up in 1960. But the 69-year-old argues the current oil slump has exposed the organization’s inability to act in a unified way." Ok, correct as far as it goes, but it does not go anywhere near far enough. The reason for the lack of unity is the existential war between the Shia, represented by Iran, and the Sunni, represented by the House of Saud. "Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s powerful deputy crown prince, said earlier this month a deal would only happen if Iran also signed up. But Iran wants to increase its output after sanctions were lifted in January as part of a nuclear deal with world powers. Mr Yergin said he did not think a freeze was possible until Iran clarified how much it could export. As for Saudi Arabia, Mr Yergin said it was thinking differently about oil. “I remember when the operating code was: save the oil for our grandchildren. Now the grandchildren are in charge and they are looking at it in a very different way,” he said. “They are not looking at it as precious resource . . . but rather asking how do you monetize it?'" Right Saudi wants to tie up Iran so it has no money to fight this existential war. Iran will have none of it, and so will pump oil, in order to build its more integrated economy back from the recent sanctions, and seek to fight proxy wars in the meantime. Saudi has very little economy outside of oil, and what it has, is nearly completely reliant on oil money transfers from the House of Saud. It is not that the House of Saud is thinking differently about oil, it is thinking about an existential war, and it needs as much oil money as possible to ward off economic unrest from its people, and fight expensive proxy wars. Remember in this fight the House of Saud is the banker to the Sunni proxy wars, while the Iranians are not, they train, and provide some arms assistance but do not do the majority of the bankrolling. The reason the House of Saud recently left Yemen, is to cut the costs of the proxy war there. The House of Saud is deeply concerned, and panic is just setting in. OPEC's days as oil hegemon are over. Not because "Kids these days!" But because Iran wishes to reduce the kingdom. Optimistically, this will be the warfare at the beginning of the Islamic Reformation, which will lead to an Islamic Enlightenment. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Al-Saud is our enemy. The Shia, represented by Iran are the only real hope today for an Islamic Reformation. We need to make this work. We need to trade with Iran, and promote the full reintegration of Iran with the world economy. This will allow Iran to pressure the House of Saud, and allow Iranian businesses, and the people of Iran to build relations with America, and the West. Only this will result in the diminishment of the Iranian hardliners, and the ultimate democratization, and free marketization of Iran. Something the world needs dearly. Let's do it! Venezuela Takes Permanent Three-Day Weekend
. . . it has driven the country with the largest energy reserves in the world into energy poverty. "The Venezuelan government, facing a deepening economic crisis, rampant hyperinflation, widespread shortages, and an escalating political crisis, has decided to give everyone in the country Fridays off. As Bloomberg reports: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has designated every Friday in the months of April and May as a non-working holiday, a bid to save electricity as a prolonged drought pushes water levels to a critical threshold at hydro-generation plants. The country will unveil details of a 60-day plan to conserve energy Thursday, Maduro said, adding that measures would include asking large users such as shopping malls and hotels to generate their own electricity for nine hours a day. Heavy industries operating in the country will be asked to cut consumption by 20 percent, he said." Brilliant. List of countries by proven oil reserves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Proven reserves" is a bit of a canard. "Because proven reserves include oil recoverable under current economic conditions, nations may see large increases in proven reserves when known, but previously uneconomic deposits become economic to develop." Proven reserves also require the political freedom to develop, and drill for the oil, so America always ranks low because so much of our oil reserves remain under federal lands off limits to oil production, or in the offshore continental shelf , or Alaska which are also off limits to production. Back to the many wonders of Socialism, of which the primary seem to be the democidal murder of tens of millions of people. Perhaps its time for a Dead Pool on when and how many Venezuelans will need to die to propel the "revolution" forward for another year? It looks like the economy is about dead. How much longer before even the poor rise up in revolt? Well at least they will have a three day weekends now to scour the land for toilet paper, cooking oil, and flour. The ability of the Socialist economy to provide for the people is unmatched. Renewables are useless: The Evidence is Overwhelming
. . . Climate Pope goes ballistic! The Climate Pope: "I really believe that years from now, this convening by attorney general Eric Schneiderman and his colleagues today, may well be looked back upon as a real turning point, in the effort to hold to account those commercial interests that have been, according to the best available evidence, deceiving the American people, communicating in a fraudulent way, both about the reality of the climate crisis and the dangers it poses to all of us, and committing fraud in their communications about the viability of renewable energy and efficiency, and energy storage, that together are posing this great competitive challenge to the long reliance on carbon based fuels." Of course he believes, it's a religion. And this is but one of its inquisitions. I wonder who will wear the Torquemada Red? So, what is the real status of renewable in the real world, the one outside of Al Gore fervent imagination? James Hansen, Kerry Emanuel, Ken Caldera and Tom Wigley, alarmist climate scientist all, said this: "To solve the climate problem, policy must be based on facts and not on prejudice. The climate system cares about greenhouse gas emissions – not about whether energy comes from renewable power or abundant nuclear power. Some have argued that it is feasible to meet all of our energy needs with renewables. The 100% renewable scenarios downplay or ignore the intermittency issue by making unrealistic technical assumptions, and can contain high levels of biomass and hydroelectric power at the expense of true sustainability. Large amounts of nuclear power would make it much easier for solar and wind to close the energy gap." Imprison them!!! Google engineers have this to say: "At the start of RE<C, we had shared the attitude of many stalwart environmentalists: We felt that with steady improvements to today’s renewable energy technologies, our society could stave off catastrophic climate change. We now know that to be a false hope … Renewable energy technologies simply won’t work; we need a fundamentally different approach." There is more, so go read the article. What's the problem? "The key problem appears to be that the cost of manufacturing the components of the renewable power facilities is far too close to the total recoverable energy – the facilities never, or just barely, produce enough energy to balance the budget of what was consumed in their construction. This leads to a runaway cycle of constructing more and more renewable plants simply to produce the energy required to manufacture and maintain renewable energy plants – an obvious practical absurdity." The is the same problem with always see with the green energy crowd. Ethanol is a foolish "alternative" energy source. Each gallon of ethanol produced requires input of so much fossil fuels that it eliminates any savings. It is also a more problematic polluter than gasoline. Yet we use it because the green lobby was foolish enough to be coopted by the agricultural lobby. Now the subsidies, and fuel problems are nearly impossible to eliminate. First thing we should do is ignore the Climate Pope and his inane ideas, and "solutions." If we decide, outside of the climate nonsense, that we need to move away from carbon fuels, there are valuable alternatives. This should happen through the free market, without the intervention of politicians, government, or that old fool, Al Gore. Hat tip: Bird Dog over at Thursday morning links - Maggie's Farm From $10 Billion to Worthless in 8 Months: Solar Hype Financial Engineering at Its Finest | MishTalk
. . . once the blue model finally seizes. Between pensions, and debts the states have plenty of problems, but throw in huge payouts for alternative energy schemes, and it is difficult to chart a path to fiscal sanity for many. SunEdison may be ahead of the game, but as the states are forced to cut subsidies, and stop paying solar generators above wholesale rates for alternative energy, alternative energy companies will be increasingly forced to seek bankruptcy protection. These businesses have never had a day of real competition since inception. Without subsidies they will find it nearly impossible to find a way to profits. Like Mish, I was also surprised, the Obama administration did not have more finger prints on the money flow over at SunEdison. Why Green Energy Means No Energy
. . . no, not metaphorically. "Why does the green movement oppose every practical form of energy? There is only one answer that can explain this. Greens oppose every practical form of energy not out of love for the non-existent virtues of solar and wind energy, but because they believe practical energy is inherently immoral." * * * "Have you ever heard mankind described as a cancer on the planet? Prince Philip, former head of the World Wildlife Fund, has said, “In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, in order to contribute something to solve overpopulation.” Biologist David M. Graber, in praising the theme of Bill McKibben’s book The End of Nature, said, “Until such time as Homo sapiens should decide to rejoin nature, some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along.” This is the logical end of holding human nonimpact as your standard of value; the best way to achieve it is to do nothing at all, to not exist. Of course, few hold that standard of value consistently, and even these men do not depopulate the world of themselves. But we need to depopulate the world of their ideas. Our goal should not be the impossible idea of a form of energy that doesn’t impact nature but the form of energy that most benefits human beings. We don’t want green energy we want life-enhancing, humanitarian energy." I am about at the end of my rope with these losers. They have been wrong about everything. They believe nonsense, hate humans, themselves, and are intent on carrying out their childish murder fantasies. These people are staunch atheists. They are dangerous, not just silly cranks. If ever give half a chance they would take it. To the demise of millions, or even billions. |
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