Category Archives: Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse

The grid powers the pumps at service stations, the financial system, lighting, and more which we’ve grown as dependent on as fossil fuels. It can’t stay up without natural gas, which is finite (see posts in Energy Storage for details on that)

Trump & Project 2025 want to destroy energy efficiency & raise your utility bills

Source: (NYT 2017, LBL 2025) The Department of energy (DOE) under Chris Wright is proposing to get rid of energy efficiency standards that have saved consumers over 1.5 trillion dollars (CFA 2017). The average American home saves $321 a year … Continue reading

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Why towns have a hard time adding EV, solar, heat pumps

Preface.  This article from IEEE does a good job of explaining how and why it is incredibly expensive for cities to cope with with L2 chargers, EV, solar, and heat pumps by zeroing in on Palo Alto, where there are … Continue reading

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Fusion is already running out of fuel

Source: Khan A (2021) Nuclear fusion: building a star on Earth is hard, which is why we need better materials. The Conversation. Preface.  Of all the hundreds of obstacles fusion has yet to overcome, its death knell could be as … Continue reading

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Book review: Lights Out. A cyberattack. A nation unprepared. Surviving the aftermath

Preface.  This is one of three posts based on Ted Koppel’s book Lights out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. There are three posts on Ted Koppel’s book “Lights out”: Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A … Continue reading

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What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months?

Preface. There are three posts on Ted Koppel’s book “Lights out”: Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months? Want to survive … Continue reading

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Want to survive Peak Everything? Become a Mormon

Source: Salt Lake Tribune. For Latter-day Saint families, preparing for emergencies is the norm Preface.  Ted Koppel’s book “Lights Out” highlights the many risks to the grid from cyber and physical attacks, electromagnetic pulses from weapons or solar flares, large … Continue reading

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World Peak Uranium Production

Preface.  The World Nuclear Association estimates 90 years are left.  Today  67,500 tonnes of uranium are consumed a year world-wide and production in 2020 was 47,731 tonnes (WNA 2021). Sounds a bit peakish, thank goodness for stockpiles and the infinite … Continue reading

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Climate change will damage energy infrastructure, costing trillions

Preface. Climate change and extreme weather will harm oil and gas exploration and production, electric power generation and increase energy demand due to sea level rise, heat, drought, floods, more storms, and blackouts.  Extreme heat and drought will force electric … Continue reading

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Will Artificial Intelligence destroy us?

Preface. When it comes to artificial intelligence, most articles assume it will happen, so discussions range around when and how it will happen. Often speculation that a general AI may use its ability to find patterns in data will allow … Continue reading

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Wanted: Math geniuses and power engineers to make a renewable grid possible

Figure 1. OPF solution of original seven-bus system with generator at bus 4 Preface. The U.S. electric grid produced 64% of electricity in 2019 with finite fossil fuels, and another 20% from nuclear power. Since fossil fuels and uranium are … Continue reading

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