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Can Nuclear Succeed Without the Failure of Wind Energy?

craigshieldsPosted on December 14, 2014 Posted in Nuclear

“It is not enough to succeed; one’s best friends must fail.”

– variously attributed to Gore Vidal, La Rochefoucauld, Somerset Maugham, Genghis Khan (pictured), and Larry Ellison

People who think this way must have very sorry lives. Personally, I’ll be very happy to succeed and take as many people as possible with me–especially my friends. But sadly, many advocates for nuclear energy seem insistent that other forms of low-carbon energy fail–at least insofar as a great number are so profoundly and irrationally anti-wind and anti-solar.

Here’s another in a series of discussions on this subject, this one with a very intelligent (though misinformed) gentleman: (more…)

Tagged with: advocates for nuclear energy, forms of low-carbon energy, It is not enough to succeed; others must fail, PPAs signed in 2014 for wind energy, wind and solar offset fossil energy

Our Words Suggest that the Human Race Is a Peace-Loving Species

craigshieldsPosted on December 14, 2014 Posted in Sustainability

Our civilization’s words imply that we value peace. I mention that today, as it’s the 42nd anniversary of the last appearance of a human being on the moon, during which Commander Eugene Cernan and crew member Harrison Schmitt unveiled a plaque which read: “Here man completed his first explorations of the Moon, December 1972. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind.” (more…)

Tagged with: Arthur C. Clark, human beings on the moon, Human Race Is a Peace-Loving Species, The war that will make the world safe for democracy, The war to end all wars

From Guest Blogger Deepi: Information About Biomass Briquetting

craigshieldsPosted on December 14, 2014 Posted in Biomass

Briquetting machine manufacturers are finding an alternate solution to fulfill the shortage of fuels and that is briquetting machine. Briquetting machines is the agricultural recycling machinery that can recycle biomass waste or agricultural waste without any binder and turn them into useful briquettes and how is it possible that is described here. (more…)

Tagged with: biomass briquetting, biomass briquetting press machine, briquetting machine, renewable briquette press

Zero Point Energy

craigshieldsPosted on December 14, 2014 Posted in Renewables - Science

A friend sent me this article on Zero Point Energy, the theory that even empty space contains a non-zero amount of energy. This is ultimately a result of the fact that exactly zero energy would violate the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

Personally, I’m always skeptical of any mention of quantum physics as it might apply to human good, especially “zero point energy,” because (more…)

Tagged with: frauds and crackpots, Heisenberg Uncertainly Principle, zero point energy

More on Wind’s Energy Return on Energy Investment

craigshieldsPosted on December 13, 2014 Posted in Wind Energy

In response to my post on wind’s energy return on energy investment (EROI), the same reader writes:

I am very, very skeptical about numbers you quoted for wind (15:1 to 30:1). Lots of really bright people are wrong about some things. (more…)

Tagged with: EROI under 1.0, General Electric largest turbine manufacturer on Earth, More on Wind’s Energy Return on Energy Investment, Newsweek’s Top 100 Green Companies

Does Wind Energy Require More Energy to Build, Install and Maintain Than It Produces?

craigshieldsPosted on December 13, 2014 Posted in Wind Energy

I wrote a post earlier in which I pointed out that solar and wind are valid energy resources even though they are variable. In response, a reader writes:

Craig, have you ever looked into the CO2 burden that wind has before any blades have turned once? I mean the CO2 produced when all the steel and concrete is made for wind turbines! Also, I am talking about the CO2 made putting in roads and the transmission lines too.
(more…)

Tagged with: energy return on investment, EROI, solar wind valid energy resources, variable energy resources, Wind Energy

Nuclear Energy’s Role Vis-à-vis Solar and Wind

craigshieldsPosted on December 13, 2014 Posted in Nuclear

Here’s a note I sent earlier to a very senior scientist who leads a group of people whose purpose is to re-invigorate the nuclear industry here and around the world. He rests his position on a point with which I totally agree: the imperative to reduce carbon emissions is far greater than the danger that is represented by nuclear—even in its current incarnation, the world should be promoting, not suppressing, new nuclear designs.

The problem I have is that he likes to belittle solar and wind in order to strengthen his argument for nuclear. Here’s what I sent him and his team of 80 – 100 earlier today:

Sorry, Alex, I have a great deal of respect for you, but this concept that variable sources of energy like solar and wind have little, zero, or even negative value is not correct. (more…)

Tagged with: danger represented by nuclear, imperative to reduce carbon emissions, nuclear energy, re-invigorate nuclear industry, variable sources of energy

From Guest Blogger Ashleigh: Energy Saving Tips for the Office

craigshieldsPosted on December 13, 2014 Posted in Efficiency

Worldwide targets to cut down greenhouse emissions are taking hold and businesses have been one of the first communities to feel the urgency of these objectives.

However, the pressure of rising to meet energy targets should not fall solely with top management, but rather everyone in the office can play a significant role in reducing your business’s energy use. (more…)

Tagged with: energy saving tips

Bullish on Renewable Energy

craigshieldsPosted on December 12, 2014 Posted in Renewables - Business

I have a phone appointment in a few minutes with a graphic artist to discuss the cover of my upcoming book, “Bullish on Renewable Energy – Fourteen Reasons Why CleanTech Investors Can’t Lose.” I have no talent when it comes to art, and I’m always impressed with people who can translate a word or phrase into graphics that immediately communicate an idea.

As the title of the book implies, I have reason to be “bullish” on the concept that renewables (along with energy efficiency, storage, smart grid, etc.) will make fossil fuels obsolete far faster than most people predict. I admit that I’m not alone in this belief; in fact, here’s an article from a very senior observer whose concept is “How Solar Power Could Slay the Fossil Fuel Empire By 2030.”

Tagged with: Bullish on Renewable Energy – Fourteen Reasons Why CleanTech Investors Can’t Lose, Bullish Renewable Energy, energy efficiency, How Solar Power Could Slay the Fossil Fuel Empire By 2030, smart grid

Will Nuclear Energy Play a Part in Our Future?

craigshieldsPosted on December 12, 2014 Posted in Nuclear

On the subject of nuclear power, my friend Cameron Atwood notes:

The plant designs currently in operation and planned for construction for grid-commercial purposes are inherently unsafe, and not especially cost effective. The waste from the current designs is also an ongoing and unresolved danger….There are extremists on all sides of this issue, and I don’t count either of us in that group… I’m not concretely certain where the line should be drawn in encouraging threat awareness on this subject.

Let me start off with a statement that I know is controversial: “encouraging threat awareness” of scientifically uninformed people poses its own threats, and these latter threats may, ironically, be worse than the former. (more…)

Tagged with: Nuclear Energy in Our Future, old nuclear reactor designs, replacing fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources, threat awareness of scientifically uninformed people