Endless Sphere

Does any kind of power plant operate for 50 years without "major rebuilds and upgrades"? :? The Hazelwood ran for 53 years without any major upgrades or rebuilds, it had a license to run till 2030. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazelwood_Power_Station The only reason it was shut down was due to the...

New Heinberg essay. . https://undark.org/article/ted-nordhaus-carrying-capacity-ecology/ . "Optimism is essential; it draws us toward the best possible futures. But when it turns into wishful thinking, it can blind us to the consequences of our present actions. In the worst potential case, the resu...

Some of the output variability must be weather and maintenance issues. Desert Sunlight farm has actually posted increases every year 2014-16. up to 28% CF. Too bad none of these big farms in Cali posted output for 2017. . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Sunlight_Solar_Farm . So it looks like t...

SolarStar used crystalline panels on trackers with an automated wash system on 13 km2 of prime desert and makes 1.664 TWh per year. Germany's capacity factor of 11% for solar is barely more than 1/3 of what the SolarStar farm averages. . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Star . We are blowing thr...

A lot of these energy models like EROEI and LCOE seem to be popular with the pro-renewables camp. But a lot of these models have flaws and seem dated. These energy models were created before wind/solar renewables came around, including RE in them really is comparing "Apples and oranges" and shouldn'...

So the fact I believe is that if people are happy with the waste of Lithium battery EVs then I think Hydrogen fuel cells will eventually be the future. Whether its the kids digging up the cobalt (Tesla lovers seem to say things a long the lines "its great to give 5 yo kids a job" etc). Runing out of...

Here is another technique where the tower is made from concrete (and even more diesel fuel) instead of steel. . https://youtu.be/qXN1UAv1anQ . Wow, says its a total of 1,200 tons in weight, for 2.5MW max capacity. That is just so much materials and waste for such little power-return. When I was thi...

One thing I have frequently seen claims on TV is that "one kilogram of Hydrogen can make a car go 500km", this seems to be a bit exaggerated, the real world examples of Hydrogen cars seem to be around 100km per 1 kilo of Hydrogen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Mirai#Fuel_economy_and_range But...

I frequently have seen crap on TV saying Hydrogen cars can go 500km on just 1 kilogram of Hydrogen, but all the real-world ones go about 100KM on 1 kilo of Hydrogen, which is still pretty good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Mirai#Fuel_economy_and_range So I looked around and sure enough, ther...

So when sabotage occurs in Film/TV it's about someone trying to move ahead by making someone or something fail. I wonder what this is really about. But I'd say the statement that it PROVES the guy shouldn't be promoted is quite right: http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/19/technology/tesla-fire-musk-note/...

Tesla goes up in flames out of the blue, driver only knew about it after others flagged his attention and told him to pull over..
So there ya go, I think we all wondered about this, in that it goes off just like a giant lipo pack.
https://youtu.be/aCEsq44kDTw

As far as I am concerned Denmark is another great example of failed wind renewables. Despite being a small country with a huge sea front that is probably one of the best in Europe for wind aside from England, Denmark still burn a lot of coal and get a huge amount of their energy from Norway's/Sweden...

Really interesting article here, basically says despite the incredible spot price for South Australian electricity the big Tesla battery has barely made any money. Also interesting to note that the round-trip efficiency of loading in AC power, to DC battery storage and then back out to the AC grid a...

https://www.afr.com/business/mining/tesla-leads-electric-vehicle-race-to-cut-cobalt-dependency-20180607-h113bi We have constantly seen these statements about reducing cobalt in lithium cells for years now. But looks like they are really stepping up this promise, not because of all the child exploita...

France’s "Fake News" Law Will Be Used To Silence Critics, Win Elections https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-06-05/frances-fake-news-law-will-be-used-silence-critics-win-elections https://www.yahoo.com/news/frances-fake-news-law-leaves-media-experts-uneasy-145712000.html As I kind of ranted in my la...

As of April, nearly a quarter of Tesla's Model 3 deposits in the U.S. had been refunded, according to Second Measure credit card analysis. 8 percent led to a purchase (of any Tesla model) https://www.recode.net/2018/6/4/17414496/nearly-a-quarter-of-teslas-model-3-reservation-deposits-in-the-u-s-have...

"Jacobson’s paper has become the bible of alternative energy and is the most referenced paper on the subject used by policymakers and activist groups. And that is scary. Another ideology masquerading as science." . https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2017/06/26/debunking-the-unscientific-fantas...

USA has 80 GW of hydro capacity and this is only 6% of current electrical consumption. We use an unbelievable amount of energy in this country. . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectric_power_in_the_United_States . Yep, as the book pointed out, in detail, or summarized below, you end up using n...

Looking around for what other people thought about the "reply book" http://www.roadmaptonowhere.com/ which was a great read, but not much came up on the first page of a google search. But it was interesting to see this article on the original author of the idea of 100% renewable energy roadmap "Prof...

It would be the KT-LCD/controller re-evaluating the batteries status based on the large voltage sag you are causing when pulling heavy amps. If you have a P4 18650 battery pack I would be surprised if you didn't get that happening when pulling 35a This is normal, you can just take off more slowly, o...

Heh, Not my cup of tea but I guess there is a niche for everything.. So many futuristic movies, in fact, seem to get around in retro classic cars that whirl like their electric. Like the movie Gattaca etc.. Maybe thats their aim to get in early on this type of market.. http://www.theavanti.com/gatta...

If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much Toxic Waste? https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/23/if-solar-panels-are-so-clean-why-do-they-produce-so-much-toxic-waste/#5e9673a0121c From the article.. The last few years have seen growing concern over what happens to...

Thought I would post some articles on energy. I look at articles like these almost every day but rarely post them, but since its getting slow on here I thought I may as well. Installed Capacity vs Actual generation . This is something I find frequently when looking at wind-farms, the bigger they are...

Consumer Reports thinks the Model 3 is not that good. https://www.consumerreports.org/hybrids-evs/tesla-model-3-review-falls-short-of-consumer-reports-recommendation/ With Cnet having a report on their report https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-model-3-misses-consumer-reports-recommendation/ Th...

Their website says they are producing batteries in low volume under contract to some high-end clients. They have a contact button, if there was someone who was a genuine interest/customer who can afford to buy these somewhat handmade USA batteries I would bet they would come through and we can then ...