“There is also an oft ignored consideration for the ultimate number of wind and solar installations to be built and operate: a complete fleet turnover would be needed four or five times a century.”
Note: This report analyzes the output of renewable-electricity sources in the U.S. for the last twenty years. It is based on data published in annual reports of the Department of Energy (DoE).[1] The listed numerical values for power have been converted here to just one unit, the watt (W) accompanied by the international symbol for billion (G). Using just the GW* makes numerical comparisons straightforward throughout the article.
The Department of Energy (DOE) lists six renewable sources: Wind, Solar, Hydro, Wood, Waste, and Geothermal, where “Solar” implies the combined output of both photovoltaic and concentrated-solar power plants.…
Continue Reading“I have long been noted for ability to call turning points for industry: this suicide is one. Current industry support of EPA will create massive political backlash such as never seen before in US. ‘My early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves.’ D. Buckel”
The above tweet by Amy Myers Jaffe (@AmyJaffeenergy) on 8:31 am – April 16th should live in infamy.
First, the author claims superior knowledge and prediction, not exactly a talking point for the Malthusians who have long predicted a (premature) end to the fossil-fuel-driven, growing energy sector. Peak oil demand is her new mantra, replacing her old fears of Peak Oil and “geopolitical peak oil.”
Second, Jaffe wildly predicts that the Trump Administration’s consumer-first, taxpayer-first, entrepreneur-first/crony-last energy policy is setting itself up for a massive reversal.…
Continue Reading“When an abundant natural fall of water is at hand, nothing can be cheaper or better than water power. But everything depends upon local circumstances. The occasional mountain torrent is simply destructive. Many streams and rivers only contain sufficient water half the year round and costly reservoirs alone could keep up the summer supply.”
-W. S. Jevons (1865)
Serious students of energy policy should read the blogs at the Institute for Energy Research (IER), not only those at this site. The current blog at IER, “Renewables Generated 103 Percent of Portugal’s Electricity Consumption in March [2018],” explains that country’s unique situation of being hydro-dependent and wind-tied. And so it is that abnormally high rainfall has blessed Portugal this year–quite the opposite from a year ago.
Enter the wisdom of the ages, which in this case gets to W.…
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