Category Archives: Interdependencies

Why large projects fail. Especially Renewable Energy

Posted on August 9, 2024 by energyskeptic

Megaprojects over $1 billion in order of likelihood to go over budget and timeline Preface. This is a book review of Flyvbjerg et al “How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Infrastructure Books, Interdependencies, Supply Chains | Tagged california electric rail, hydropower, infrastructure, nuclear, project failure | Comments Off

The electric grid could be down for years if LPTs destroyed

Posted on July 3, 2023 by energyskeptic

Large Power Transformer Source: ABB Conversations (2013) Preface. This post contains excerpts from two Department of Energy documents and one about large geomagnetic storms and how they would affect Large power transformers (LPT) and the U.S. electric grid. They are … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Electric Grid, Electricity Infrastructure, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Interdependencies | Tagged cyber attack, electric grid, foreign dependency, HDVC, limited raw material, LPT, power transformer, special grade electrical steel, supply chain failure | 1 Comment

Infrastructure interdependencies: an attack on one is an attack on all

Posted on May 29, 2023 by energyskeptic

An Attack on Energy Infrastructure would affect all other Infrastructure I should consolidate my many posts on cyber attacks, EMPs, and other ways the electric grid could come down, but our dependencies are just so widespread that I don’t want … Continue reading →

Posted in CyberAttacks, Infrastructure & Collapse, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Interdependencies, Natural Gas, Oil | Tagged cyberattack, EMP, energy, infrastructure, interdependencies | Comments Off

Can we grow enough food postcarbon? Irrigation needs water & electricity

Posted on February 6, 2023 by energyskeptic

Preface. Irrigated agriculture over 58 million acres consumes the largest share of U.S. water. And it’s shrinking as aquifers are drained, reservoirs evaporate, and drought reduces snowpack and rainfall at the same time population and the economy are growing. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Interdependencies, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged agriculture, aquifer, electricity, irrigation | 1 Comment

Food shortages as the energy crisis grows and supply chains break?

Posted on March 21, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. This is a long preface followed by two articles about how supply chains and complex tractors may be affected by energy shortages and consequent supply chain failures in the future.Which we’re already seeing as massive numbers of ships sit … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascading Failure, CyberAttacks, Economic Decline, Interdependencies, Liebig's Law, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Oil | Tagged collapse, EROI, interdependency, microchip, peak oil, supply chain | Comments Off

Interdependencies & supply chain failures in the News

Posted on July 11, 2021 by energyskeptic

Preface. Joseph Tainter, explains in his famous book “The collapse of complex societies” how complexity causes civilizations to collapse. Fossil fuels have created the most complex society that has ever, or will ever exist, using fossil energy that can’t be … Continue reading →

Posted in Interdependencies, Microchips and computers, Supply Chains | Tagged autos, electric grid, ford, interdependency, microchip, plastic, supply chain | 2 Comments

Microchip fabrication plants need electricity 24 x 7 for four months

Posted on June 25, 2021 by energyskeptic

Preface. I explain in both of my books, When Trucks Stop Running and Life After Fossil Fuels, why heavy duty transportation and manufacturing can’t be electrified, as well as why the electric grid can’t stay up without natural gas to … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Electricity Infrastructure, Interdependencies, Microchips and computers, Preservation of Knowledge | Tagged cyber attack, electric grid, micro chip, microprocessor, semiconductor | 27 Comments

The Fragility of Microchips

Posted on February 6, 2021 by energyskeptic

Preface. This is an introduction to how microchips are made to give you an idea of how difficult and amazing they are. This is a very high-level overview gathered mostly from the textbooks of Quirk (2001) and Van Zant (2004). … Continue reading →

Posted in 2) Collapse, An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Interdependencies, Localization, Manufacturing & Industrial Heat, Microchips and computers, Supply Chains | Tagged collapse, computer chip, fragility, microprocessor, precision, preservation of knowledge | 8 Comments

How a pandemic or bioweapon could take civilization down

Posted on April 23, 2020 by energyskeptic

Preface. I just listened to a 3.5 hour podcast on pandemics and bioweapons with the best up-to-date coverage I know of, and more interesting to listen to than reading a book or article. Just one of many scary problems: synthetic … Continue reading →

Posted in 3) Fast Crash, Biowarfare, Interdependencies, Pandemic Fast Crash | Tagged biowarfare, bioweapon, collapse, CRISPR, interdependency, pandemic, synthetic biology | 3 Comments

The carbon trap by Paul Chefurka

Posted on October 1, 2019 by energyskeptic

Preface. We are caught in the carbon trap — we utterly depend on fossils that don’t have an electric replacement. Someday people will figure this out the hard way, but Chefurka compassionately points out that there is no one to … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Interdependencies, Paul Chefurka | Tagged Carbon trap, Chefurka, fossils | 13 Comments