Category Archives: Solar

Richard Heinberg: Paul Krugman’s Errors and Omissions

Posted on March 2, 2018 by

Preface. This article by Richard Heinberg at Postcarbon refutes a column by Paul Krugmen called “Errors and Emissions Could Fighting Global Warming Be Cheap and Free?” here.  Most of my friends and family think I’m nuts because articles like this … Continue reading →

Posted in EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Richard Heinberg, Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Want to go off-grid? You might need hundreds of Tesla batteries

Posted on February 4, 2018 by

Preface. Although you may not be as far north as Victoria, British Columbia (48.4 latitude), you’d ideally want to be at 30 degrees or less latitude from the equator to even consider the expense of off-grid solar power.  And even … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Photovoltaic Solar | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Why is nearly all solar power built where subsidies are the highest?

Posted on October 8, 2017 by

If solar net energy return is as high as some solar advocates claim, why does solar need any subsidies? And not just U.S. subsidies, it’s subsidies on top of subsidies when you add in that we’re buying Chinese government subsidized … Continue reading →

Posted in Concentrated Solar Power, Photovoltaic Solar, Solar EROI, U.S. Congress Energy Policy | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Wind and solar need natural gas to balance intermittent, variable, and seasonal power

Posted on July 8, 2017 by

Preface. The highest wind states are getting more and more dependent on natural gas to balance wind and solar as they live and die. Yet conventional natural gas in the U.S. has peaked (half of our national gas, and declining … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural Gas, Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Wind and solar need natural gas to balance intermittent, variable, and seasonal power

California hits the solar wall

Posted on June 17, 2017 by

[ What is a solar wall?  Read part 1: California could hit the solar wall and then excerpts from the following article in the financial times, Britain’s Wall street journal.  I’ve also reworded some of it. Renewables are rendering existing … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural Gas, Solar | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Tilting at Windmills, Spain’s disastrous attempt to replace fossil fuels with Solar PV, Part 2

Posted on January 26, 2017 by

Preface. Below is a book review of Charles Hall’s 2017 book, “Energy Return on Investment: A Unifying Principle for Biology, Economics, and Sustainability“, that he wrote to discover why solar advocate EROI results are so much higher than what was … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles A. S. Hall, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Pedro Prieto, Photovoltaic Solar, Solar EROI | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Tilting at Windmills, Spain’s disastrous attempt to replace fossil fuels with Solar PV, Part 2

California could hit the solar wall

Posted on September 18, 2016 by

[ According to a Stanford University article below this introduction (followed by excerpts from two California Energy Commission reports), if California uses mainly solar power to meet a 50% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), on sunny days, for most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Photovoltaic Solar, Renewable Integration | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Taxpayers are paying for a concentrated solar project — Ivanpah– that doesn’t work

Posted on September 6, 2016 by

Ivanpah in the news: Dvorsky, G. May 21, 2016. The World’s Largest Solar Plant Just Torched Itself. Gizmodo (Australia). Misaligned mirrors are being blamed for a fire that broke out yesterday at the world’s largest solar power plant, leaving the … Continue reading →

Posted in Concentrated Solar Power, Corporate Welfare | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Taxpayers are paying for a concentrated solar project — Ivanpah– that doesn’t work

Net metering and the death of US rooftop solar

Posted on August 29, 2016 by

April 22, 2016 by Roger Andrews at euanmearns.com “Net metering” allows anyone with a solar installation to sell surplus solar power to the grid when the sun is shining and to purchase power back from the grid when it isn’t. … Continue reading →

Posted in Other Experts, Photovoltaic Solar | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Will perovskite solar cells ever work out?

Posted on May 12, 2016 by

Van Noorden, R. September 24, 2014. Cheap solar cells tempt businesses. Nature #513 470-471. [Excerpts. Of interest because rarely do obstacles get mentioned in the news. Most are optimistic hype making it sound like a solution to the energy crisis … Continue reading →

Posted in Photovoltaic Solar | Tagged , , | 1 Comment