Category Archives: Electricity

Big Fight: 21 top scientists show why Jacobson and Delucchi’s renewable scheme is a delusional fantasy

Posted on June 24, 2017 by

[ Seldom have I seen such a vitriolic fight among scientists.  As you’ll see below, I think all of them miss the main problems with trying to create a 100% renewable energy system, though I can only summarize and leave … Continue reading →

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING, Alternative Energy, Electric Grid, Electric trucks impossible, Electricity, Infrastructure | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

How is California’s AB2514 experiment with utility scale battery storage coming along?

Posted on December 3, 2016 by

[ This is an excellent article by Tod Kiefer about tests of sodium-sulfur batteries, which are the only kind of battery for which there is enough material on earth to make. Battery electric storage is meant to “replace nimble, fast-ramping … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, Electricity | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The EMP Commission estimates a nationwide blackout lasting one year could kill up to 9 of 10 Americans through starvation, disease, and societal collapse

Posted on June 10, 2016 by

[ Several times Dr. Pry recommends that “States should harden their electric grids against nuclear EMP attack because there is a clear and present danger, protecting against nuclear EMP will mitigate all lesser threats, and both the federal government in … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, Congressional Record U.S., Electricity, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Policy, Extreme Weather, Infrastructure, Nuclear, Nuclear Power | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The EMP Commission estimates a nationwide blackout lasting one year could kill up to 9 of 10 Americans through starvation, disease, and societal collapse

Building a national super grid in America

Posted on June 3, 2015 by

Building a national super grid in America [ By Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation, 2015, Springer] A national supergrid is seen as essential for integrating renewable power into the electric … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, Electric Grid, Electric Grid, Electricity, National Super Grid, Solar, Vaclav Smil, Wind | Comments Off on Building a national super grid in America

Electric grid large power transformers take up to 2 years to build

Posted on January 21, 2015 by

[ This post contains excerpts from the Department of Energy document “Large power transformers and the U.S. electric grid”. Large power transformers are essential critical infrastructure to the electric grid, and are huge, weighing up to 820,000 pounds.  If large … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Electricity, Infrastructure, Interdependencies | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Electric grid large power transformers take up to 2 years to build

Roger Andrews: California public utilities vote no on energy storage

Posted on November 6, 2014 by

[My comment: Without energy storage, wind, solar, and other electricity generating alternative resources can’t continue to be added to the electric grid, because they make the grid too unstable and prone to blackouts (which can damage the electric grid). To … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Electric Grid, Electric Grid, Electricity | 9 Comments

Chip Fab Plants need electricity 24 x 7. The electric grid needs chips. The Financial system needs both.

Posted on July 3, 2014 by

[ When Trucks stop running, civilization ends.  Trucks are not only vulnerable to running out of liquid fuels, they also depend on micro-chips (i.e. engine, emissions, etc), which can only be made if electricity is up  around the clock. Alice … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Electricity, Interdependencies, Microchip Fabrication stops | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System. National Academy of Sciences.

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

Much of what follows is from the National Academy of Science 2012  (for the Department of Homeland Security): “Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System” & 2013 “The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Electricity, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Water | 1 Comment

The Impact of Climate Change on California: 8th Largest Economy, 40% of U.S. Shipping

Posted on May 31, 2014 by

Introduction California’s economy and population relies on one of the most extensive and costly infrastructure systems in the world. This includes thousands of miles of roads, highways and railroads, nearly 200 large water reservoirs of varying capacity, miles of canals, … Continue reading →

Posted in Electricity, Energy, Extreme Weather, Heat, Oil & Gas, Railroads, Sea Level Rise, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Impact of Climate Change on California: 8th Largest Economy, 40% of U.S. Shipping

Cascading failure + Liebig’s Law + Supply Chain Breakdown = Collapse of civilization

Posted on August 21, 2013 by

Declining supplies of high-quality, easy-to-get fossil fuels with no alternatives ready to replace them — ever — is the #1 issue. As long as we have oil, all problems can be solved, unless oil lasts long enough to deplete every … Continue reading →

Posted in 3) Fast Crash, Alternative Energy, Cascading Failure, Electricity, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Predictions, Supply Chains | 6 Comments