How I “missed” The Call on Energy Companies of the Future back in 2015, while identifying all the key metrics and underlying trajectories that were bring them to a future fruition – plus how I failed SEO & Marketing 101 calling them something insightful to me, but no mass appeal to our industry or media. Time to back-up, re-read the tea leaves and welcome in… The Energy Companies of the Future. Continue reading Oil, Tar Sands, Coal, Natural Gas & The “Energy Companies of the Future”
Before the natural gas tsunami came ashore of the U.S. energy sector in 2014/2015, it was little more than a rogue wave at sea. This is a story of its impacts on one energy technology while it was still barely discernible from the surrounding waves in which it lurked as it gained momentum and mass.
In 2008 through 2010 I worked with a small diversified “solar” company in Colorado as a Project Manager – “Jack of All Trades.” At the time, we focused on distributed solar thermal at the municipal and residential scales, while engineering a more versatile racking system than that on the market out of Europe.
Valentine’s Day can bring out the best and the worst in people.
In this new “love ballad” by the Energy Policy Alliance, we see how the inherent need to be loved is not just a human trait anymore. How certain sectors of the energy industry can take on human emotions of neglect, rejection and the wear and tear of getting older.
Unfortunately, this can bring out the worst in not only humans, but industry as well, and desperation can set in. Such is the case with all relationships, and the choice is ours to decide whether we want to see the glass half-full, or half-empty. To appreciate what we have, or lament what we are lacking.
It looks as though Mrs. Oil has a half-empty attitude, but can you blame her given her long run at the top and being the most universally adored and fought over energy for decades? Changes are bound to happen as nothing lasts forever, and the global energy environment is at its most dynamic position shy Ms. Black Gold’s storming the stage not more than a hundred years ago to claim the spotlight.
Is Mrs. Oil starting to get desperate? Is she seeing the writing on the wall? Is she trying to steal the noteworthy fame of her fellow energy divas knowing full well they frequented the same clubs, but rarely socialized directly with each other all through their history?
You know the saying, ‘3 steps forward, 2 steps back’? Maybe that’s what the entire world energy scene is all about…. As more people come to the table at an accelerated pace.
We have 3-4 billion in a rush to get energy (China, Africa, India, SE Asia & less so South America), while a billion or so already have it (USA, Canada, a decent part of Europe, South Korea, select Middle Eastern countries, and up until the Tsunami, Japan). The latter fell into the trap of needing to refurbish legacy plants (coal & nuclear) while bringing on national gas (NG) and renewable energy (RE). While the former are building whatever they can, maybe at a 10 to 1 ratio (fossils/nuclear/large hydro to REs).
There is currently much “buzz” about methane releases from Natural Gas Exploration & Production (NG E&P), especially with regards to the buzzword friendly “Fracking” dominating all discussions. The NG industry is clearly “green washing” the public through slick advertisements, as it knocks off its primary competitor Coal, and has already surpassed Nuclear for electrical output in the US.
Historical generation of electricity in the USA, 1949 to 2011. Source U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) via Wikipedia
The fact of the matter is, there are currently NG “Peaker” plants associated with almost all existing Coal and Nuclear plants, often on the same properties, owned and operated by the same generation company. This is really no different than many of our most famous hydroelectric dams being built with coal plants just out of view of the sweeping and magnificent concrete arches. Glen Canyon Dam, on the mighty Colorado River, and the 2,225 MW Navajo Generation Plant were paired in construction under the CRSP (Colorado River Storage Project) to mitigate water storage requirement priority over hydroelectric generation.
My use of the word “competitor”, when we discuss Natural Gas in contrast to Nuclear or Coal, becomes very much a gray area once we dig into the numbers of overall electrical production. But back to the topic of methane releases.
In “Ending Energy Ignorance – Part I” I introduced us to my primary concern, the general ignorance or apathy of the U.S. populace in understanding energy on the basic levels. You do not have to take my word for it alone, the famous oilman and land speculator, T. Boone Pickens has claimed the same for years, and outside his Picken’s Plan there are no other national figures championing for a greater awareness of energy understanding.
Years ago, I was in full agreement of his message, in particular I was in love with the potential of wind energy and it was one of his key selling points. But a grain of salt was required. Extremely successful or not, T. Boone’s reputation was not established in philanthropy.
In order for us to forge forward, we need to look at our past. It does us no good dissecting the mistakes and ills of the past, the results are with us today. However, understanding our history and what lead us to the problems we are facing today, is key to minimizing those short comings in the future. Hind sight is twenty-twenty, and we would be wise to learn from it.
How did we get here?
In the U.S., the abundance of domestic coal has made it the de facto “King of the Castle” for electricity production, doubling nuclear energy’s consistent 20 per cent national production since the 80’s.
I would like to discuss, what is generally considered my open opposition to “Solar”, in particular its primary and growing implementation in the United States. “Solar” is often the buzzword for PV (photo voltaic), which is the generation of electricity through capturing part of the sun’s electromagnetic radiation reaching the Earth’s surface.
This discussion cannot occur, unless we all understand and agree upon the basic fundamentals of energy, specifically electricity as it pertains to our energy collection, distribution and consumption needs. “Solar” on almost all accepted premises has a leaning towards electricity production, hence the need to understand where we are currently with electricity generation, portability and uses.
Author’s note: Please excuse ongoing design & content changes, I’m composing this as I go. ~Hans 7/21/14
In the debate over SUVs and larger vehicles being needed for “safety” over going smaller more economical, either for ecological or economical reasons, the data doesn’t match the “Status Quo” Conventional Wisdom pushed by many, including the “Global Warming Skeptics”. So let’s look at the “big” argument in favor of “Larger is Better”, and Semis versus Passenger Vehicles. [No this is not a male enhancement advertisement, heads out of the gutter please 😉 ]
Maybe a “factor” in choosing safety over economy, should be respecting the semi in the first place. Cut one off, drive in it’s blind spots, drive like an idiot around one, be accepting of Newton’s Law when it plows into you.
My commentary on an article published in CommonDreams on the Nuclear “Welfare” Handout.
Here’s a little music to get you into the mood of what follows and it is key to understanding the reality of what is being sold you by the Nuclear Power Industry & Lobbyists.
Thanks to YouTube and especially Royksopp “Remind Me” as I love this song, the visual representation of our “world” in the video is even better.
Sorry, I no longer know how to embed a YouTube video?!?!?! So, please click this link here… it’s a very “European thinking” visual from a Swedish based musical group, that went “viral-catchy” in the US in a GEICO commercial background music.
Published on Thursday, May 29, 2008 by CommonDreams.org
Half-Trillion Dollars for Nukes!
by Karl Grossman
“With Wall Street unwilling to finance new nuclear plants, U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and John Warner of Virginia have cooked up a scheme to provide $544 billion – yes, with a “b” — in subsidies for new nuclear power plant development.
Their move will be debated on the floor of the Senate Tuesday, June 3.
A Lieberman aide describes the plan as “the most historic incentive for nuclear in the history of the United States.”
The Lieberman-Warner scheme is cloaked in a climate change bill — the claim being that nuclear power plants don’t emit greenhouse gases and thus don’t contribute to global warming. However, the overall “nuclear cycle” – which includes mining, milling, fuel enrichment Continue reading “What could Government Welfare to the Nuclear Industry Buy Us?”
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Hans' World Travels 2.0 & Beyond 