[Dezakin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kublikhan', 'I')t was already demonstrated to work in the 50-120 kilowatt range, but it looks like they are running into problems trying to scale it up into the MW range. I hope they can overcome the problems.

I did like the spinoff technology used in the Toronto air conditioning system though. Saving 60 MW of electricity in air conditioning costs is better than building a new 60 MW power plant. I would like to see this technology expanded. It would only be practical for cities near a lake or coast, but that is still a lot of megawatts saved.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dezakin', 'W')hen you can build hundreds to thousands of gigawatts capacity with nuclear power plants, who cares about this nonsense?

[errorist]

Unlimited clean energy is half of the game. Show me unlimited clean resources.

[kolm]

The cooler and the warmer regions of ocean, AFAIK, are relatively disconnected. They suggest to mix up their nutritions and temperature wildly, with completely unforeseeable consequences for the maritimal life. Keep in mind that some wheels need turning too; turning needs oiling, so they have to oil stuff deep down. Completely doable, but if nuclear advocates would dare to form a proposition with such environmental effects, they'd be torched by the same crowd who celebrates this kind of proposition if it is "renewable".

Does not mean I'm against it per se, just cautious about their claims of being "clean" from start. (And to be honest LM seems to have run out of good ideas to research in the last years..)

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('errorist', 'U')nlimited clean energy is half of the game. Show me unlimited clean resources.

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('errorist', 'U')nlimited clean energy is half of the game. Show me unlimited clean resources.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('errorist', 'U')nlimited clean energy is half of the game. Show me unlimited clean resources.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kolm', 'T')he cooler and the warmer regions of ocean, AFAIK, are relatively disconnected. They suggest to mix up their nutritions and temperature wildly, with completely unforeseeable consequences for the maritimal life. Keep in mind that some wheels need turning too; turning needs oiling, so they have to oil stuff deep down. Completely doable, but if nuclear advocates would dare to form a proposition with such environmental effects, they'd be torched by the same crowd who celebrates this kind of proposition if it is "renewable".

[Graeme]

Clean energy appears out of reach for years

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ill clean tech save us by 2025? Will it end our dependence on global-warming fossil fuels by then? Not very likely, says the U.S. government's National Intelligence Council. "All current technologies are inadequate for replacing the traditional energy architecture on the scale needed, and new energy technologies probably will not be commercially viable and widespread by 2025." So says the council's just-released report, "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World."

Despite its skepticism that high-tech will ride to energy's rescue, the report offers some reason for optimism: "Despite what are seen as long odds now, the greatest possibility for a relatively quick and inexpensive transition (from fossil fuels) comes from better renewable generation sources (photovoltaic and wind) and improvements in battery technology."

In the main, however, the report throws cold water on the expectations of the more idealistic clean-tech advocates. Yes, the world will be moving away from oil by 2025, it says, but in its place expect more natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. And any technology-driven improvements will take longer than you think.

To download a copy of the report, go to www.dni.gov/nic. The more detailed treatment of energy and technology are on Pages 61-67.

[cipi604]

This is not *News* for us! It's just more bad news for the sheeple.

[Graeme]

Well, it's news in the sense that analysts outside the PO community have predicted this. But what is more important is what actually happens not what is predicted. We'll just have to wait and see.

And the incoming US administration will have a great bearing on this:

Energy efficiency high on Obama stimulus plan

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')resident-elect Barack Obama on Saturday said that building energy efficiency is central to his administration's economic recovery plan and outlined the conditions he intends to impose on ailing U.S. automakers.

"First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs," he said in his radio address.

The energy plan is expected to include a commitment to upgrade the electricity distribution infrastructure. By equipping the grid with communications network--the essence of smart grid technology--utilities can run the power grid more efficiently and consumers can get information to help lower energy usage.

An aide told the The New York Times that the green collar portion of the stimulus plan could be $100 billion over two years.

[vtsnowedin]

So in 2025 we will be having a tough time getting away from fossil fuel? Imagine that. The real question is what will we have to go through between now and 2025 and how many of the worlds six billion will be around to tackle the problem. The problem of enough energy will get here first and make clean energy a mute point.

[Graeme]

Clean Energy Aspects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')resident Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Tuesday and the measure includes US $16.8 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The funding is a nearly tenfold increase for EERE, which received $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2008.

While the bulk of the new EERE funding is supporting direct grants and rebates, $2.5 billion will support EERE's applied research, development and deployment activities, including $800 million for the Biomass Program, $400 million for the Geothermal Technologies Program, and $50 million for efforts to increase the energy efficiency of information and communications technologies.

An additional $400 million will support efforts to add electric technologies to vehicles. And separate from the EERE budget, $400 million will support the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an agency to support innovative energy research, modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

[sicophiliac]

Ok a 10 fold increase in investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency sure does sound impressive but sadly that's only about 2% of the entire stimulus bill. If I were in charge id increase it another 10 fold and chop off some of the tax cuts to cover it.

[heroineworshipper]

The tax deduction in new cars reduces the amount of energy consumed by space ships, because it encourages people to spend money on more important things, like cars. Oboooooba is a genious!

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('heroineworshipper', '
')Oboooooba is a genious!

[Graeme]

Can Clean Energy Revive Manufacturing?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he manufacturing sector in the United States continues to shrink — but could the renewable-energy rush spur a manufacturing revival?

A number of solar-panel factories are coming online in the United States, as I reported on Sunday. Makers of wind turbines are also establishing factories in the heartland, where the factories’ proximity to wind farms on the Plains slashes the cost of shipping the giant machines from Europe.

In solar, there is plenty of competition from China. Boris Klebensberger, the head of the American branch of SolarWorld (the subject of my article Sunday), said that if the United States tried to compete on wages alone, “We lose always, and we will lose for many years to come.”

But many renewable-equipment manufacturers want to set up operations in the United States because they perceive it to be the largest market for the technologies in the years ahead. (Tax credits in the stimulus package for domestic production of renewable-energy equipment also help.) A key factor in bringing SolarWorld to Oregon, said Mr. Klebensberger, was the work force — and especially Oregonians’ “belief in change and how important renewables are.” Proximity to a cluster of semiconductor factories, some of whose workers SolarWorld has recently poached, was another attraction.

[Plantagenet]

IMHO, its very silly to expect clean energy to revive manufacturing in the U.S.

Manufacturing is dying in the US now because its cheaper to do the same thing in China or another low-wage country. Converting the US to a higher cost energy system will make the price differential worse.

Low wage countries that use cheap coal for energy, like China, will have an even greater price advantage against the U.S. and will outcompete US manufacturing by an even larger amount.

[yesplease]

It's not quite that simple. By using cleaner tech, even if it costs a bit more, it's better for the regional economy because we keep jobs and the money for that energy in the states, as opposed to exporting nearly a trillion a year in wealth paying for foreign oil. The same goes for EVs, even if we buy cells to assemble from Korea in order to assemble packs, since the cost of batteries is way less than the cost of oil.

Granted, this doesn't mean every clean energy for is viable but it does probably mean that we'll continue expanding wind at half of all new generation added each year, solar PV up to whatever is economical for the grid, since it displaces expensive peaker plants, maintaining the hydro and nuke infrastructure, and possibly expanding stuff like geothermal and solar thermal. We can also start expanding EV use, even if initial costs are higher for limited production runs, because the knock-on cost benefits in terms of fuel and maintenance are huge.

[Graeme]

Biofuels get boost from clean energy revolution

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he US Government has announced plans designed to boost the use of advanced biofuels through research, investment and the national Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

In a joint announcement made today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Agriculture Department (USDA) and Department of Energy (DOE) said President Barack Obama had signed a memorandum for the three agencies to work together to make biofuels integral part of the Government's clean energy plan.

The DOE has announced a $786.5m injection from the Recovery Act to accelerate biofuels research and commercialisation.