Tag: alternative energy

On the things I find so fascinating about the migration to renewables is that it represents the confluence of so many different scientific and technological disciplines – especially in the quest to drive down costs. To take an obvious example, …

Breakthroughs in Materials Science Critical to Quest for Renewables Read More »

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Peter Buzzard comments on my post “Molten Salt Energy Storage” as follows: “That was an interesting article. I didn’t know a combined cycle could be made to be that efficient… What about simply heating water with molten salt in a …

Molten Salt Energy Storage Read More »

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Yesterday’s guest blogger wrote: The idea of collecting solar energy from the upper surfaces of already constructed buildings seems like the least intrusive and most efficient method to utilized light, in my opinion. It doesn’t shade the natural ecosystem and …

Renewables and Natural Ecosystems Read More »

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My friend Geoffrey Nicholson comments my post “Renewable Energy and Basic Physics”: Craig, I couldn’t agree more.  Other than geothermal energy, all the other sources of energy available to us originally came from solar energy and with a rather lossy …

An Engineer Comments on "Renewable Energy and Basic Physics" Read More »

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My old friend Peter Buzzard commented on my post “Molten Salt Energy Storage“: “Craig, do you know if a Stirling engine would be more efficient than making steam for a turbine?” To which I reply: I don’t know know much …

Renewable Energy and Basic Physics Read More »

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In response to my recent piece on solar thermal and molten salt, a reader admonishes: You assume that “molten” salt is universally available over the entire power grid? Get real! Apparently, I’m not describing this as clearly as I thought …

Molten Salt Energy Storage Read More »

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Recently, I spoke with Ben Beach, Senior Editor at the Wilderness Society. I reached out to Ben because I wanted to see how the organization was dealing with issue that public land (I presume some of it “wilderness”) is a …

The Wilderness Society and Renewables Read More »

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My old friend Peter Buzzard writes: The current technology of Wind and Solar tends to provide power when and where it is needed the least. The transmission of power from wind and solar farms to population centers is extremely expensive, …

Is Large-Scale Renewable Energy Feasible Right Now? Read More »

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For my book on renewables, I just interviewed Brian Rutledge of the Audubon Society in Wyoming. I knew this would be an interesting talk, and I wasn’t disappointed. I spoke with Brian because I wanted to get a sense for …

The Audubon Society — Supporting Smart Deployment of Renewables Read More »

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I quoted Lou Schwartz of China Strategies in an earlier post on wind power, and I found what he said so fascinating that I placed a call to him just now to ask him more about his overall take on …

China Strategies Speaks on Renewables Read More »

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