The Coming "Long Boom" in Clean Energy

[jpak]

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/65058

<snip>

Renewable energy now presents a better long-term deal than fossil fuel and nuclear. The reason is -- quite simply -- that "next-generation" nuclear and carbon capture and storage simply aren't available. Renewables are. By 2015 and 2020, when carbon capture and nuclear "might" be ready, renewables will be much cheaper. Thus, fossil fuels and nuclear are losers both on availability and price.

The low-cost pathway to greenhouse gas emission reductions is clear. Between now and 2010, greenhouse gas abatement can be implemented through demand management techniques like raising base electricity prices and passing along peak power prices to consumers and encouraging replacement of high energy use lightbulbs with lower energy lightbulbs. These days, such huge inefficiencies bedevil the energy industry that merely curbing these will produce huge energy and greenhouse gas savings.

By 2010 new renewable energy resources like wind, geothermal and concentrating solar power can come on line. Already, investment is flowing into these. All government need do is get out of the way and cease putting up obstructions. Once online, these new sources of electricity can enable the world's fleet of dirty and geriatric coal plants to be progressively relegated to standby status.

By 2015, if carbon capture and storage and next generation nuclear are ready and proven, voters should be able to decide on deployments through national referendums. Carbon capture and storage and nuclear are massive subsidy sinks and present serious safety hazards to populated areas. Voters should have a say.

<moree>

[kristopher]

1. K&R

[diane in sf]

2. Another great article. You know a technology is on the right track when it solves several

problems instead of creating several new ones.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. yep. k&r nt

[NNadir]

4. Are you claiming that solar energy is "available."

You probably are.

It isn't available. It can't even keep up with the rise of dangerous fossil fuels on the planet.

It NEVER has. It NEVER will.

I could produce something called "numbers" but the response I would get would be of the quality of 660 > 860, 4084 > 4258 type.

http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/ELECTRICITY_GEN_1983-2006.XLS

"Next generation" nuclear power plants are available. Finland's building one and is about to order 3 more.

I note, with appropriate contempt, that two of these plants will produce more energy than all of the world's solar PV cells combined.

Thus this is just one more "solar will save us" fraud. I am going to cover the <em>another fraud</em>, decried by 20 real solar scientists at the NREL in a recent letter - the one about the misleading HYPE about organic "spray on" solar cells - in another writing.

Any form of energy that cannot produce, as late as 2008, one exajoule of energy is not "available." Any claim to the contrary is pernicious, since clearly the intent of such arguments is to produce deadly complacency in the face of disaster.

[jpak]

6. Too bad - the world isn't going the way you want it to go

pathetic

[ElectricGrid]

7. What the hell are you talking about?

[kestrel91316]

5. God, don't you just hate it when the tomcat shows up for the sole

purpose of pissing ALL OVER THINGS?

[Kolesar]

8. passing along peak power prices to consumers and encouraging replacement of hi energy use lightbulbs

That was part of the Ohio governor's electricity bill plan.

[phantom power]

9. I'll never be able to see "Long Boom" without thinking "Dow 36000!"

because, they were published about the same time, and...

never mind.