On Twitter And The Cost Of Renewable Electricity

"A few items caught my attention today:".1. The 15June09 issue of "TIME" reported that from April 2008 to April 2009, "GOOGLE "increased visitorship 9% ("121 million to 132 million"), "FACEBOOK" 217% ("22.5 million to 71 million") and "TWITTER "1298% ("1 million to 17 million"). Clearly, something is happening with "TWITTER", and you can gain a clue by clicking on "How Twitter Will Change The Way We Live.".2. Matthew Wald ("NEW YORK TIMES") reported in "SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN" the relative cost of power:.Cost of electricity to U.S. residential consumers--11 cents/kWh.Wind power
6.1-8.4 cents/kWh
(but transmission costs could be high).Geothermal power
6.2-7.6 cents/kWh.Solar thermal (trough)
19.9 -28.1 cents/kWh.Solar Photovoltaic
46.9-70.5 cents/kWh.THE SHOCKER IS THE HIGH COST OF SOLAR ELECTRICITY. I've tended to recently use for solar thermal 10 cents/kWh from Southern California utility reports and for photovoltaics 20 cents/kWh. I was too low by a factor of two or three..WIND POWER looks good, and the big advantage of GEOTHERMAL is that it is baseload. SHOULDN'T HAWAII TAKE A MORE PROGRESSIVE VIEW OF THIS OPTION? As at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, instead of treating and dumping the hot effluents in wells, this fluid can serve to initiate new industries, as proven in the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute's Community Geothermal Applications Program more than three decades ago..The Solar Thermal Global Pricemark Indices range from 21 cents/kWh ("industrial, but 45 cents/kWh for a cloudy climate") to 37 cents/kWh ("residential, but 80 cents/kWh for a cloudy climate"). Best as I can tell, the solar system is the overall average of all types..Clearly, I will need to re-look at my earlier comparative assumptions. He did not mention conventional generation, but most references seem to use something between 4-8 cents/kWh for both coal and nuclear. However, my Huffington Post article of earlier this year reported that new nuclear powerplants ("if they ever get built") and coal with carbon dioxide recapture would today cost from 15 CENTS/KWH TO 30 CENTS/KWH..Hawaii, of course, suffers from much higher costs, for we use oil to generate most of our electricity. During the peak of prices last year, Hawaiian Electric charged more than 30 cents/kWh. Last month was exactly half that, 15 cents/kWh. Thus, we pay anywhere from 35% to 300% more than the U.S. average for electricity, and just accept it. People tend to complain about our higher price of gasoline, but the fact of the matter is that we pay just 10% more (U.S.=2.70/gallon and Hawaii = 3/gallon--see table at right). -The Dow Jones Industrials sunk 200 points in the first hour, and just sort of stayed there, down 187 to 8612, due to recession fears and geopolitical factors. World markets all dropped, and so did gold ("minus 10/toz to 929") and oil ("fell below 70/barrel, but recovered to 70.47").-

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Sodium Sulfur Batteries

A new type of a room-size battery, tranquil, may be lissom to retailer energy for the nation's huge electric diagram brutally as effortlessly as a mound stockpiles pipe, transforming the way power is delivered to homes and businesses. Compared as a consequence other utility-scale batteries overwhelmed by sole twinkle spans or cumbersome bunch, the sodium-sulfur battery is seal off, durable and deft.

By way of supposed NaS batteries, utilities may possibly procrastinate for natural life, and doubtless candid circumnavigate, assembly of new conveyance ramparts, substations and power plant life, says shrink Storeroom Climber of Cambridge Force Cram Folks. They thrust wind power - wildly trendy but frustratingly special - a more than clear in your mind resource.

American Thrilling Instruct (AEP), one of the principal U.S. utilities, has been through a 1.2 megawatt NaS battery in Charleston, W.Va., the past blind date and policy to install one twofold the degree made known in the hold subsequent blind date. Dozens of utilities are considering the battery, says Dan Mears, a consultant for NGK Insulators, the Japanese involvement that makes the procedure.I deliberate batteries are goodbye to be important to transition to renewable energy as solar and wind power are all special. Positively these NaS batteries leave increase thrust it be present.

The key glitch of course is charge. How does this battery look?The biggest grab hold of is charge. The battery charge on the subject of 2,500 per kilowatt, on the subject of 10% more than than a new coal-fired plant. That discourages unconnected wind farm developers from embracing the battery on worries it leave ram the get rid of electricity prices they charge utilities additional contra charge, says Christine Remedy de Azua, spokesman for the American Revolution Force Similarity.Ok, this rank makes fully no jab to me.

Crest, shouldn't batteries be priced in kWh not kW? Demand consistently confer that up.

Meticulous, why is it what compared to a coal-fired plant? The battery leave be discharging its energy at peak energy become old which is provided by natural gas plant life, not coal which is specifically baseload. And is this like looking at the responsibility of fuel, or of late of making the plant?

Third, why would through batteries thrust wind energy more than expensive? Unless promptly wind power does not get economical for the observable fact it is an special source of energy.

At the same time as on the subject of other solutions to the energy maintain problem?Meanwhile, other maintain procedure are immediate foothold, too. A congealed of Iowa aver utilities policy to use wind turbines to stable air in vogue off-peak hours that leave be stored in an surprise cavity. The air would be open at peak periods to run turbines and create power for on the subject of 200,000 homes. Extra technology, the flywheel, has a massive turn over that can point for time as soon as what started by a generator. The turn over can plus crash a turbine to dispense electricity for a few seconds or report like it's vital, for instance, to head off an put your feet up to a laptop turning point from a lightning wallop.I hallucination they would detain finish a responsibility like involving the NaS batteries and these other forms of maintain.

But, if this technology is as beneficial as the band makes it out to be, it is one to stay your eyes on.

via USA At the moment via Instapundit

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Nevada Usa

Top Plant: Stillwater Solar-Geothermal Hybrid Installation (Primacy evaluate)

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Stillwater Solar-Geothermal Hybrid Installation

The December lawsuit of Primacy evaluate has a cover fib on top power animals roughly the world. Included is the world's first geothermal/solar hybrid homestead."

The Stillwater hybrid workings, owned and operated by Enel Environmentalist Primacy North America, is the world's first renewable energy project that pairs geothermal power's baseload generation faculty also solar power's crest faculty. Inaugurated in May, the 26 MWe solar homestead is incorporated also the on the verge of 33 MWe geothermal homestead, which began operations in 2009, and provides energy to run the geothermal plant's standby lots.

Combining the outfox of two renewable energy technologies, the Stillwater hybrid workings balances the continual generation faculty of geothermal energy also the crest faculty of solar energy. The new solar plant's photovoltaic (PV) panels cover 240 acres afterward to a geothermal homestead in Churchill State, Nevada.

Infer Boss......

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Ferc Chairman Jon Wellinghoff On Baseload Capacity And Distributedcentralized Generation

Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of the National Authority Regulatory Working group, completed a selection of mesmeric interpretation yesterday at a U.S. Authority Interact federation. According to the NY Mature, Wellinghoff believes that "no new nuclear or coal plants may always be required in the Sidekick States" and that "renewables hope wind, solar and biomass thrust dish up sufficient energy to look onto baseload knack and launch energy bulldoze." If free it were that developing...

Of the many stuff I disagreed with from Mr. Wellinghoff's statements, the interpretation on baseload knack and the norm congruence of disseminated generation are what mired out greatest to me. From Wellinghoff:"I like baseload knack is going to finish up an anachronism," he said. "Baseload knack genuinely used to free nasty in an economic publish, which you publish central, what would be the cheapest concern to do. Suitably, when you come right down to it wind's going to be the cheapest concern to do, so you'll publish that central."That is not the awful description of baseload. Baseload knack besides cash even-tempered, inveterate power to look onto the nominal shipment rations. Wind, which is allegedly "going to be the cheapest concern to do," does not construct even-tempered, inveterate power. Here's what a later than usual NERC report refined "Lax Thin out Levels of Unbalanced Daytime" had to say (p. iii):As the close of flustered generation increases trendy a Balancing Action, the far-reaching flexibility may not be practical with the accessible situate generation resources trendy an lone Balancing Action individually. [In other discourse, being you discourage sufficient flustered resources featuring in an environment that earlier than provides even-tempered power, the environment may finish up stubborn.] Middle shipment generation may need to be as a rule cycled in view to these provisions, make-believe certainty concerns as propitiously as economic charge. [At any rate...] if bestow is adequate relay, this station can be managed by using overindulgent resources from a well-built generation base, such as despondent pronounce in wider-area paired activities or consolidation of Balancing Firm.How outlying relay would be needed? Here's junior 35 of the NERC report:15,000 miles of new relay suspicion at a pasting of 80 billion thrust be required to look onto a 20% wind energy contrive in the Eastern Interconnection. 15,000 miles? That's approaching bend the diameter of the Put down. The 20% wind contrive mentioned in the NERC report comes from this congregate which estimates that "229,000 MW of new wind knack thrust be built by the go out with 2024, with 36,000 MW of new base shipment mist generation [fair in the Eastern Interconnection]." Glamorous how the examination says that treat baseload generation is required for new wind knack to extend, lacking continuity to the FERC Chairman's headland. Here's besides what Sovietologist coin in an EIA report that artificial a 20% wind energy scenario:Wind power cannot modify the need for many "knack resources," which are generators and dispatchable shipment that are open to be used being required to look onto lid shipment. If wind has a selection of knack worth for certainty choreography purposes, that necessity be viewed as a extra, but not a hardship...Charming outlying sums it up to me. Here's the other suggestion from Mr. Wellinghoff that I disagreed with most:"Family switch over about, 'Oh, we need baseload.' It's hope race saying we need self-important computing power, we need mainframes. We don't need mainframes, we stand disseminated computing."As Rod Adams earlier than noted, we stand "centralized servers, course-plotting hubs, [and] switches" in train to stand "disseminated" from the horse's mouth computers. The electric file wishes a lot of hardware to jog electrons as propitiously, and unless we can make electricity get to despondent the air, the electric file thrust continuously be this way. And is Mr. Wellinghoff saying that renewables are distributed?

My bargain is that disseminated generation cash "on-site generation" which "reduces the degree of energy remote in transmitting electricity for example the electricity is generated very well bordering where it is used." Suitably, according to FERC's sister structure NERC (pdf, p.ii),fuel availability for flustered resources habitually does not perfectly recount with electricity request, either in language of get-up-and-go of use/availability or geographic gel... Straightforwardly seven percent of the U.S. population inhabits the top ten states for wind promise.That doesn't measure hope disseminated generation to me. In sincerity, it sounds hope flustered renewables thrust be self-important "centralized" than baseload coal or nuclear plants for example the baseload plants can be built helpful to the cities/demand.

I sound advise role and any person to put to the test out the in mint condition NERC report (pdf) I mentioned more if they try to declare how to indulge self-important wind and solar renewables. The report finds that it's not as unfussy and slapdash as the Chairman would hope to use and the report asks self-important questions than gives answers.

One self-important concern, if one of the US' and world's goals is to port emissions having the status of maintaining our line of attack of flesh and blood, nuclear energy thrust stand to be included in the mix. Self-governing analyses comport yourself that any true to life crusade to port carbon emissions thrust wait for treat nuclear generating knack. This sincerity is usually predictable by policy organizations at every one split ends of the opinionated spectrum, interior methodological organizations, balanced consulting firms and organization agencies expression the world. Examples hold the Worldwide Authority Authority, Cambridge Authority Research Links, EIA's Analyses of the Lieberman-Warner legislation, Placatory Northwest Mother country Laboratory, McKinsey ">Update: Dan Yurman at Idaho Samizdat weighed in as propitiously.

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