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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

When it comes to renewable energy, there’s hardly a shortage of misinformation out there. That said, those with a skeptical streak really seem to have it in for wind farms. Here’s a look at some of the most widely propagated myths about wind energy, along with an explanation of why they’re simply not true.

Myth 1: Wind Power is Costly

Fact: The cost of producing wind energy compares favourably to the cost of producing nuclear and coal energy. Wind turbines, by their very nature, have no fuel-related costs whatsoever and help to make the production of electricity cheaper in general. Between the year 1990 and the year 2002, the capacity of global wind energy doubled after every 3 years and with every doubling, the cost of electricity fell by about 16%.  As prices of scarce fossil fuels continue to increase, the price of wind energy continues to decrease and earlier this month German researchers Deutsche Welle concluded that when wider costs are factored in, at 9 cents per kWh, wind power is, along with solar, the cheapest source of electricity in the world. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Solar Junction, the solar energy company based in Silicon Valley that offers high efficiency solar energy cells for the concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) market, has created a new energy efficiency record for its commercially ready solar cells.

Vijit Sabnis Co-Founder of Solar Junction said during an interview “”Breaking our own world record cements Solar Junction as an innovator and leader in the multi-junction cell space. We continue to push technological boundaries to further drive CPV costs down.”

(more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Question:  Can you guess the average amount of mine waste that results from the production of one gold ring? 

Answer: Can be found at http://2greenenergy.com/cool-guess-answers/8732.

Relevance:  Everyone likes gold rings, but, considering we’re all concerned about sustainability, we may want to check out http://greenkarat.com/ for wedding bands, etc. based on “post-consumer gold.” 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Here’s a video that shows where I spent my afternoon: on a tour of the (currently) 2 megawatt solar photovoltaics facility at Fort Hunter Liggett in Central California, now the largest solar array on a military base in the U.S. – and soon to be a micro-grid.  As I took a tour with some colleagues, work was underway for Phase Two, which will add two more MW, and enough battery storage such that the only connection to the larger grid will be to enable the base to sell excess power to the local utility (Pacific Gas and Electric). 

Everything about what I saw was impressive, except the price.  Because the PV canopy serves dual purposes (power generation and a “garage” for many hundreds of enormous pieces of equipment) it’s 18 feet off the ground and built on piers that need to withstand the impact of a tank running into them.  Those piers are a yard in diameter, and 10 feet into the ground – and we’re talking about ground that is super-compacted to withstand the punishment that such equipment will inflict as it moves in and out over the years.  It’s about $8/watt installed.  

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

My friend Tom Konrad of AltEnergyStocks.com responds to my piece earlier today on the effectiveness of the Sierra Club’s attack on coal.  He writes:

While I strongly support the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, and feel it has made a difference, they could not have been so effective without the falling price of natual gas and the Obama administration’s moves to increase the regulation of criteria pollutants such as mercury from coal plants.  Both of these had the effect of reducing the relative economic attractiveness of coal plants, so the fall in carbon emission had much to do with Adam Smith’s invisible hand (partly spurred by Obama, partly by the gas drilling boom) pushing in the same direction as the activists.

Yes, Tom, that is exactly right. It’s nice when a few factors come together to give one some tailwind, and there is no doubt that this happened here. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Here’s an article on the use of natural gas mated with concentrated solar power (CSP).  The central issue facing CSP is achieving temperatures high enough to minimize thermodynamic heat losses, and, for most configurations, that means coupling the troughs and towers with a small amount of gas.  Since using any amount of gas diminishes the plants’ qualifications as “renewable,”  the article contemplates the use of biogas. 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

An old friend writes:

Craig: I filled out my mail-in ballot yesterday, and saw Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate’s name for the first time. Unfortunately, I hadn’t heard anything about her until I saw her on the ballot. Why has the Green Party been so docile through this election cycle? I note that they have become a genuine power in Germany. They’ve also made some progress in the UK. Why not in the US? After Ralph Nader, there has been nothing visible. It seems like California would be the one place in the world where serious energy could erupt. Maybe advocates like you could drive our friend Al Gore to take a shot in 2016. I’m not crazy about Al, but he’s a big name. And he’d probably love the return to relevance.

Or maybe you could run! Not as crazy as you might think. All it takes is a couple of big donors to get the ball rolling. You’ve already got my vote! (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Howard writes: 

Have you heard of a technology where they simulate a volcano eruption by injecting sulfur dioxide into the sky, in a sense cooling the planet.  I heard about this in the New Yorker magazine, and in a book called “Super Freakonimics.”  

Hello, Howard. 

Yes, there are dozens of international conferences on the subject (“geoengineering”) annually, which I do not attend, though I do try to keep some level of understanding as to what they’re about.  There is no doubt that humankind could, if it chose, use the technology currently available against the specter of global warming. Though this may make sense in the future if more obvious and conventional solutions (like environmentalism) don’t work, I’m not a proponent at this point, as the likelihood of screwing up and causing unintended consequence so greatly outweighs the potential benefit. 

Think of the numerous unanswerable questions that hang in the balance, like, “Who’s going to be in charge of all this?”  You’re going to put a group of people in charge of the Earth’s thermostat?  Who should these people be? 

You’re talking to someone who normally wants to move the decision-making process right along when it comes to climate change mitigation.  Here, for once, I’m glad to see the world is dragging its heels.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

One of the things that gives me hope for the world is that the protests of individuals and groups have the potential to be extremely effective.  For example, what the Sierra Club has done with coal is amazing to me.  In a period of a few short years, they’ve completely transformed the awareness of this  issue for the common American; at this point virtually all of us understand the dangers to our health and to the environment that coal represents.

Earth Policy Institute’s Lester R. Brown credits the Sierra Club and other activist groups for creating the conditions under which U.S. carbon emissions have fallen precipitously over the last couple of years – largely due to our new-found distaste for coal. The campaign Beyond Coal has resulted in an environment in which virtually no new coal plants are being built, and the oldest and dirtiest are likely to be decommissioned soon.

Keep up the good work.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

We often read articles that acknowledge that, while Fukushima was indeed a disaster, that it caused an unwarranted spike in fear of danger of nuclear power, and that this alarmist message was spread by those with an anti-nuclear agenda.  On the other hand, we have pieces like this one that suggest the precise opposite.  I put a great deal of credibility in this latter concept; does it seem far-fetched to anyone that officials would underrate the danger?  I honestly don’t know what to believe, and I’d love to see a few comments on this. 

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