Category Archives: Energy

the posts in this category used to be in “Energy in A Nutshell” at my former web site.

The “Solar Revolution” is financial, not from new breakthroughs

Posted on December 3, 2013 by

Jeff Himmelman makes the case that the “solar revolution” is caused by new financial instruments and strategies in the New York Times August 9, 2012 article “Here Comes the Sell”: The innovation that has pushed Sungevity and the rest of … Continue reading →

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How fuel prices are being affected by the current boom in domestic oil production

Posted on September 15, 2013 by

Senate 113-71. July 16, 2013. Gas Prices Hearing on how U.S. gasoline and fuel prices are being affected by the current boom in domestic oil production and the restructuring of the U.S. refining industry and distribution system. Senate Hearing. [ … Continue reading →

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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, Infrastructure & Collapse, Oil & Gas, Predictions, Supply Chains | 2 Comments

Stephen Leeb & Charles Hall on EROI & Investing

Posted on August 3, 2013 by

Stephen Leeb. 5 Jun 2013. Dangerous Times As Energy Sources Get Costlier To Extract. Forbes. The optimists believe that our energy problems have been largely solved. I wouldn’t bet on that. The real issue with oil isn’t how much we … Continue reading →

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Photovoltaic solar has many problems

Posted on July 25, 2013 by

Although sunlight is renewable, photovoltaic panels aren’t. PV isn’t ready yet. NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab) lists the technical barriers below in: PV Roadmap. U.S. Dept of Energy National Center for Photovoltaics. Lack of widespread availability of low-cost feedstock and … Continue reading →

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Solar 1 and 2 in the United States

Posted on July 25, 2013 by

Howard Hayden estimates Solar Two would need to take up 127 square miles to produce as much energy as a 1000-MWe power plant does in one year. (Solar Fraud, p. 187). According to Robert Bradley Jr, Solar One was very … Continue reading →

Posted in Concentrated Solar Power | Comments Off on Solar 1 and 2 in the United States

NG vehicles: 15 million world-wide, up to $1.7 million per NG filling station

Posted on July 16, 2013 by

14 July 2013. Energy Burrito. 10 Points To Consider In The Natural-Gas-Vehicle Debate. oilprice.com The perception of natural gas as a mainstream fuel for vehicles runs the gamut, dependent upon where you live: from the improbable… to the viable… to … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural Gas Vehicles | Comments Off on NG vehicles: 15 million world-wide, up to $1.7 million per NG filling station

Grid has too many owners, forget about increasing the size and strength

Posted on July 15, 2013 by

Summary of The New York Times article below: There are too many commercial and government players. with too many conflicting interests, plus regulatory hurdles, as well as too much money required to maintain, improve, or expand the grid. What this … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Wind | Comments Off on Grid has too many owners, forget about increasing the size and strength

Peak fossil fuels means global warming less than projected

Posted on July 15, 2013 by

This Science article states we could emit CO2 at the same rate we are now for another 50 years before going over the 2 degrees Celsius level we need to avoid a runaway greenhouse.  Since we are at peak world fossil … Continue reading →

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Whirlwind Power

Posted on July 11, 2013 by

Sounds great — but will it scale up?  That’s been the downfall of many projects that work small scale, like biofuels from algae & cellulosic, etc.  And as I say at the top of many of these posts, this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Far Out, Wind | Comments Off on Whirlwind Power