Category Archives: Renewables

Non-fossil energy contraptions

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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Relax! Solar energy can save us. Krugman says so. by Ted Trainer

Posted on June 9, 2013 by

Ted Trainer is the author of Renewable Energy Cannot Sustain a Consumer Society and his “What to Do” can be found at The Simpler Way http://socialsciences.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/, in The Transition to a Sustainable and Just World, Envirobook, 2010, and the papers … Continue reading →

Posted in Photovoltaic Solar | 2 Comments

Renewable Energy can’t supply more than 30% of electricity without revolutionary battery breakthrough

Posted on April 13, 2013 by

Wind and solar are too intermittent to comprise much of electric grid power now, according to Steven Chu, former US energy secretary.  In 2010, Chu said, “Without technological breakthroughs in efficient, large-scale energy storage, it will be difficult to rely … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries | 1 Comment

A Huge Solar Plant Opens, Facing Doubts About Its Future

Posted on March 23, 2013 by

A Huge Solar Plant Opens, Facing Doubts About Its Future By DIANE CARDWELL and MATTHEW L. WALD FEB. 13, 2014.  New York Times. The Ivanpah solar power plant: Cost $2.2 billion dollars to build Can energize 140,000 homes ($15,714 per … Continue reading →

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Wind and Solar Power Require MORE Fossil Fuels

Posted on December 22, 2012 by

Ralph Vartabedian. 9 Dec 2012.  Rise in renewable energy will require more use of fossil fuels. Los Angeles Times. As California attempts to reach the goal of producing one-third of its electricity from wind and solar sources by 2020, more … Continue reading →

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GAO 2012 Spent Nuclear Fuel

Posted on October 28, 2012 by

[ If we don’t clean up nuclear waste while there is still the energy and a functioning financial system to make it happen, it won’t.  Yet another nightmare for future generations.  Shameful.  Disgusting.  Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks … Continue reading →

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