Utilities putting new energy into geothermal sources

Utilities putting new energy into geothermal sources

• Yet another sudden “innovation” that we could have been doing 50 years ago.

Google.org invests $10m to develop enhanced geothermal systems

Google.org invests $10m to develop enhanced geothermal systems

• Well, it’s nice that the foundation is dropping some money on alternative energy research, any alternative energy research.
• It’s important not to lose sight of the big picture, though. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to drill a hole 10km deep. It takes energy to run water into the hole and back out again. It takes water to run water into the hole and back out again. So scalability and capital cost are a couple of issues to track here.
• There needs to be a balance between high-tech energy systems and lower-tech systems. There also needs to be a balance along the efficiency spectrum: there’s a niche for systems that have to consume a significant proportion of their output for their own creation and operation, but let’s try to keep them in that niche.

Britain To Build World’s Largest Tidal Power Station

Britain To Build World’s Largest Tidal Power Station

• Conventional hydroelectric dams generate electricity from the flow of water due to terrestrial gravity, while the Severn dam will benefit from tidal flow (which is due to lunar gravity).
• Of course, Britain also wants to build a bunch of new coal and nuclear power plants, and most Brits think that global warming is a hoax. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that they want to capture the tidal energy of the Severn Estuary the stupid way instead of the right way.

Boris performs fuel cell U-turn

Boris performs fuel cell U-turn

• I’m not going to blame Boris. Most of his constituents believe that global warming is a hoax.
• Sixty vehicles for the entire London transport network is a nice gesture, but it’s hardly enough to motivate an original equipment manufacturer, is it.
• The way out of this vicious cycle (neither manufacturers nor their customers want to put their money ahead of the coming economy of scale) is for jurisdictions such as Greater London to proactively protect the commons they’re charged with protecting in the first place: enact a short-timeline transition to zero vehicle emissions. That will make hydrogen vehicles very competitive, very fast.

Mini waterwheel can power a house

Mini waterwheel can power a house

• No details on how it works, whether or not a patent is being applied for, or how much it’s going to cost. I guess we’ll just have to stay tuned.

Report finds US is worlds top wind producer

Report finds US is worlds top wind producer

• It will be interesting to see how the economy of scale plays out. Awful lot of headroom there.

Reid Seeking Energy Refuge in Renewable Projects

Reid Seeking Energy Refuge in Renewable Projects

• It will be interesting to see if the Nevadans will be able to keep coal at bay. Big Coal is not Big Oil (not yet, at least), so maybe there’s a chance.
• How is nuclear power a “low-pollution energy source” if there are 77 million tons of radioactive wastes looking for a permanent home?

Energy in China: ‘We call it the Three Gorges of the sky. The dam there taps water, we tap wind’

Energy in China: ‘We call it the Three Gorges of the sky. The dam there taps water, we tap wind’

• So, they’ve found an apparently cost-effective way to build 1.5MW wind turbines. (I’ll not ask what the breakthroughs were that would have prevented them from doing so 40 years ago — if not in China, then in developed countries of the West.) What does that mean for wind power? Let’s find out.

Saharan sun could power European supergrid

Saharan sun could power European supergrid

Scottish site for Europes largest windfarm

Scottish site for Europes largest windfarm