Author Archives: energyskeptic

Is there enough renewable energy to replace fossil fuel electricity generation?

Posted on February 22, 2015 by

NREL. July 2012. U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS-Based Analysis. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This document is a thought experiment that uses GIS mapping to estimate how much renewable power could possibly be generated in each state regardless of … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Concentrated Solar Power, Photovoltaic Solar, Renewable Integration, Wind | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Peter Dykstra: Last Tango for Nuclear?

Posted on February 5, 2015 by

Dykstra, Peter.  Feb 4, 2015. Last Tango for Nuclear? energycollective. There is some promise for nuclear: Projects in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee may yield the first new nuclear plants in decades.  But these new nukes are falling behind schedule … Continue reading →

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Robert Hirsch on the Saudis and repercussions of low oil prices

Posted on February 5, 2015 by

Commentary: Déjà Vu With a Twist? By Robert L. Hirsch, Feb 2, 2015, ASPO USA Peak Oil Review. The recent world oil supply/price decline situation looks very much like what happened in 1985-86, when the Saudis dramatically increased oil production, … Continue reading →

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Michael Webber on Energy + Water + Food interdependency

Posted on February 5, 2015 by

Webber, Michael E. February 2015. Our future rides on our ability to integrate Energy + Water + Food. Scientific American. Michael E. Webber is deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. His Yale University … Continue reading →

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Richard Heinberg : After the Peak

Posted on February 3, 2015 by

Richard Heinberg. January 31, 2015. After the Peak. postcarbon.org Nearly 17 years ago the modern peak oil movement began with the publication of “The End of Cheap Oil” by petroleum geologists Colin Campbell and Jean Laherrère in the March, 1998 … Continue reading →

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Not enough wind, solar, geothermal to replace fossil and nuclear power in the 11 western states of the WECC

Posted on January 30, 2015 by

California, Oregon, Utah, and Washington have already developed most (if not all) of their prime-quality in-state resources. You would think that the more wind and solar power is added over a wide area, the more fossil fuel power plants you … Continue reading →

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Smart Grid Challenges

Posted on January 24, 2015 by

Wald, M. L. December 5, 2014. Power Savings of Smart Meters Prove Slow to Materialize. New York Times.  Meter readers were supposed to be phased out by tens of millions of new “smart” meters that talk directly to the electric … Continue reading →

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Doomsday Clock moved closer to midnight

Posted on January 23, 2015 by

Since 2012 the Doomsday clock has been at 5 minutes to midnight, but on January 22, 2015 the clock moved 2 minutes forward to just 3 minutes short of midnight. This is because prominent scientists (including Nobel laureates) say that … Continue reading →

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Spain Wind Integration

Posted on January 22, 2015 by

2 articles below, Pedro Prieto and National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Jan 14, 2015 Pedro Prieto [energyresources] Digest Number 8957 [altered slightly] In Spain we have this mix, as of the end of 2014: INSTALLED POWER MW     %         GWH     … Continue reading →

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Homeland Security and Dept of Energy: Dams and Energy Sectors Interdependency Study

Posted on January 21, 2015 by

[Below are excerpts from this 45 page document. Dams not only provide power but also water for agriculture, drinking water, cooling water for thermal power plants, ecosystem health, fisheries, and so on.  All dams have a finite lifespan of 50 … Continue reading →

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