Author Archives: energyskeptic

Large agribusiness gets corporate welfare via illegal ethanol subsidies

What more proof is needed that the Energy Returned on Energy Invested of ethanol is negative?  They’re losing money and getting corporate welfare to keep the scam going, meanwhile destroying prime topsoil, poisoning the land with pesticides, and eutrophying the … Continue reading →

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Ivanpah Biggest solar power plant ever – $2.2 billion for only 100 MW

The $2.2 billion dollar Ivanpah Solar power plant generates 100 MW of power when you take the 25% capacity into account (not 400 MW).  That’s enough power for 25,000 to 50,000 homes (not 140,000 as claimed).  There are 116,700,000 households … Continue reading →

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The Scientific Consensus on Maintaining Humanity’s Life Support Systems in the 21st Century

May 21, 2013. the Scientific Consensus on Maintaining Humanity’s Life Support Systems in the 21st Century In the one month since it was written, 520 global scientists have signed on to this statement. You can, too. There is more information, … Continue reading →

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Renewable incentives destabilize, harm electric grid

Wald, Matthew L.   7 Oct 2014. How Grid Efficiency Went South. New York times. Summary: 1) society would be better off if homeowners faced their rooftop solar panels westward, the peak time more energy is needed, but they won’t because … Continue reading →

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LNG overview

                      Liquefied natural gas is natural gas chilled down to -260 F which reduces its volume by about 600 times. Exports                   … Continue reading →

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Wall Street Journal Gets it Wrong on “why peak oil predictions haven’t come true”

WSJ Gets it Wrong on “Why Peak Oil Predictions Haven’t Come True”  October 6, 2014 by Gail Tverberg On Monday, September 29, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a story called “Why Peak Oil Predictions Haven’t Come True.” The story is … Continue reading →

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Almost half of Rail Freight is Energy, increasingly Crude Oil

Source: American Association of Railroads. 46% of all tonnage hauled by freight trains is Energy: In 2014, crude oil will likely be 650,000 carloads — 2% of all carloads, 2.2% of tonnage.  In addition 2.6% of rail tonnage was refined … Continue reading →

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Conservation? Maybe not: Jevon’s Paradox & the Rebound Effect

Conservation? Maybe not: Jevon’s Paradox & the Rebound Effect by Alice Friedemann, October 7, 2014 The rebound effect makes it much more difficult to solve our energy problems, because the full energy savings aren’t realized, and the energy savings can … Continue reading →

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Super Rust Corrodes hundreds of ships and could sink the oil industry

Blame it on super-rust, a virulent form of corrosion that has destroyed hundreds of ships and could sink the oil industry. By Richard Martin, June 2002. Wired Magazine. Key points (see the full article at http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/10.06/superrust.html): Ships that cost hundreds … Continue reading →

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Moving oil by ship or barge to refineries

Frittelli, J., et al. May 5, 2014. U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Barge One river barge can hold 10,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil. Two to three river barges are typically … Continue reading →

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