Is Solar Energy More Costly Than Petroleum?

Everybody tells me solar is too expensive for electrical generation. Is it?

Renewable energy has really taken off in America. Solar and Wind are big now, and Geothermal is gaining converts by the day. But I am still hearing on a regular basis that fossil fuels are a better value for the money.

Let's look at it:

Recently I noticed even the Los Angeles Times adding to the confusion. They reported (I saw it referred to as being misreported. That was probably more accurate.) the results of a report (draft report) which had been issued by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) back in 2009. We all remember that during the late (thankfully) elections Jerry Brown had a vision of the state of California using thirty three percent of renewables by 2020. The reporter stated that this would cost the state's citizens $60 billion. Article in question also stated that in order to accomplish this, the state would require a rate hike on the order of fourteen and a half percent.

Actually it was Governor Schwarzenegger who had this particular vision. But let's leave that aside and look at the numbers.

In point of fact, the draft report I mentioned was never finished. There should be new numbers out fairly soon. These figures are used to guide the utilities in their long term planning. I suspect that the new numbers coming out soon will show a serious decrease in the costs of wind turbines as well as solar panels.

The sixty billion dollar amount mentioned was actually $58.6 billion. And the amount stated in the report is actually the total amount of expenditures that is required for all electrical investments by the year 2020, not at all the cost of gaining the thirty-three percent renewables.

And the 14.5 rate hike mentioned is actually the projected hike which would result from "high distributed generation" scenario. This relies on smaller solar projects to meet the thirty three percent mandate, instead of larger projects along with wind and geothermal technologies, which are less expensive than solar.

The actual rate hike is more like a 7.2 percent with a total investment of just $3.6 billion. This is a distant figure from the sixty billion being tossed about by the Los Angeles Times.

Even larger reporting errors were present. The Times article made the assumption of no reduction in renewable energy cost by the year 2020, which is just plain wrong. Anyone with open eyes knows that the cost for solar panels and wind turbines both dropped seriously in the last two years. I know for a fact that solar panels have dropped about thirty percent in the last two years and are projected to fall more in the next few years. The global market is being saturated with product because of increased global production. This is considered very bad news for the producers. True, but also very, very good news for the consumers of California.

All of the numbers being spread around depend on the numbers in the initial report being accurate. I'm not sure that is the case.

Actually, the report has been out for about a year and a half, and it seems like the numbers have changed quite a bit. The reader can seek out these numbers for themselves. You don't need me to do it.

And, be advised that the California Energy Commission's most recent costs show that renewable energy can actually be cheaper than the much vaunted petroleum. Let me put that another way. It seems that in-conduit hydro, geothermal, and wind can be highly cost effective. And solar, not always known to be cheap and cost effective, can be when compared to peak natural gas power plants.

So here's the point: If California ratepayers will invest in the thirty-three percent energy mandate, they will see a very small rate increase by 2020. And here's the big point: They will save money in the long term. By doing this we will also see this state being part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Hurrah for Solar and Wind.

Jimmy writes a home power generation review web site. He is interested in what works and what scams are out there. Write him with your thoughts and observations at: greenjim@juno.com See his review web site at: http://homepowergeneration.info Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Cosmos

Home Poweer Generation From Pig Manure?

Can chicken litter and pig manure be part of our energy salvation?

That's not just a rhetorical question, either. Many people know the energy transition is looming and energy salvation is energy salvation. Keep in mind what energy salvation is: It's not when Rush and Al can do their thing whenever they want. No, it's when we working stiffs have energy to at least run a refrigerator and power a vehicle and maybe a few things more.

If that doesn't sound like much, the day is coming when many would be pretty darn happy if they could just get that. And they won't.

But some people understand this and are trying. I read where in the United Kingdom, a new biogas power station is showing how to operate using locally produced energy.

Many of our friends in the English town of Cirencester are in the process of building a biogas power station powered by agriculture biomass. This will include pig manure and chicken litter. Many of you who were raised near those animals know how potent those commodities are. I shoveled a lot many, many years ago and I'm not sure I have it washed off yet. Potent? You bet! local residents will certainly benefit from this low cost alternative to coal, foreign gas, and even oil.

This is one of the first towns I know of to take advantage of these products. These good people will have energy security when most others do not.

The people living locally are going to use an anaerobic digester. They will put into the digester corn, wheat, and grass. Added to that will be the animal wastes. This is expected to supply three hundred and fifty houses with electric energy.

If you think it through, this makes a lot of sense, Economic sense, and also social. The local farmers will make more money off their waste, and local jobs will be created. On a purely local level, it should also lower the cost of food. And make the supply more stable.

One of the big benefits of this process is the smell. Anyone out there remember the pungent smell of pig manure and chicken litter? The plant will extract the smell from the waste and burn it. Leftovers from the plant can be used in the farming sector.

A real win win for all these enterprising people.

Before I go off, let me take just a minute to discuss Anaerobic digestion. The process has been a great success in Europe. I read where there are currently more than five thousand plants across northern Europe.

Anaerobic Digestion happens where organic material decomposes and it then releases methane and other gasses.

The methane (called biogas by this time in the process) is burned in a generator and used to produce electricity. The leftover material is a great fertilizer and is spread out on the land.

I understand that only normal farming practices and equipment is used. Nothing new for them to invest in.

In addition to the chicken and pig material, they can also use the leavings from horses, turkeys, cows, etc. Anyone who grew up on the prairie knows how well "cow patties" burn.

Heat and Power. From electrical generation. That's what it's all about.

Energy transition is looming. Don't let your family be left out.

I know that a lot of you don't believe this. Fine.

Hide and watch.

Jimmy writes a home power generation review web site. He is interested in what works and what scams are out there. Write him with your thoughts and observations at: greenjim@juno.com See his review web site at: http://homepowergeneration.info Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Cosmos

Energy Transition For The University Of North Carolina

"Chancellor Holden Thorp today (May 4) announced that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will end its use of coal in the next decade."

"Universities must lead the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy," Thorp said. "Today, Carolina takes another big step in that direction." The chancellor spoke from the green rooftop of the Rams Head Plaza, within sight of the solar panel array on the Morrison Residence Hall roof."

All this from uncnews.unc.edu

This is all pretty exciting for people educated enough to realize that we are all going to have to make other plans other than the ones which we have been following for so many years.

Making other plans is what we will have to do as the energy transition comes closer to reality. Very soon now, the ones who don't will be the ones with no energy for fuel nor warmth. Sorry. Just the way it is.

Some people have implied (a number of students even think this) that the transition to a coal-free campus is a done deal. Not quite, actually. I have read that biomass test firings have begun, but the university's cogeneration plant is going to burn mostly coal for at least the next five to ten years.

The University has a Energy Task Force and they did a superior job of making recommendations outlining an aggressive plan for a coal-free campus. The University Energy Services Department responded quickly and did a pretty effective job in trying to carry out the program as their part in the energy transition.

But it's not a done deal and a lot of opportunities lay in the future. The transition requires the University to delve into the problems with sourcing, not to mention the sustainable management and emissions monitoring. Living thoroughly in the real world, they are responsible for considering the quite substantial, not to mention costly, adaptations in their infrastructure. These are necessary adaptations and they must be approached as real problems requiring solutions within monetary budgets.

So, for the immediate future, the University will continue to burn coal. The University, to its credit, made a commitment to buy coal from deep mines. However, despite this commitment with the best of intentions, the University's recently renewed coal contracts indicate that the source is from contour mining operations. Contour mining is a highly ruinous form of surface mining. It's not mountaintop mining, but closely destructive. Also, it has been revealed that about seventy percent of its electricity is still coming from Duke Energy. Duke has no plans to switch from coal to anything else less harmful.

So although the University has plans to become coal-free, it is not a immediate solution.

I certainly commend anyone who comes out with a plan to begin the process of energy transition. Especially before it is simply too late to act, like most organizations and people are going to do. But this story emphasizes that the work needs an economic commitment as well as a moral one. Neither commercial power generation nor residential power generation will come peacefully.

The energy transition is coming and it will not be pretty. If you don't make plans real soon, your family will be just one of the many who go without. No way to say that nicely. You will simply go without.

Don't believe it? Fine.

Hide and watch.

Jimmy writes a home power generation review web site. He is interested in what works and what scams are out there. Write him with your thoughts and observations at: greenjim@juno.com See his review web site at: http://homepowergeneration.info Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Cosmos

Is The Energy Transition Related To Deforestation?

Deforestation is just a bunch of trees burned down. Why should I care? What does that have to do with commercial power generation. Or residential power generation? Or my being able to drive down the highway whenever I darn well please?

Yes, deforestation is just a bunch of trees, along with all the brush that comes with a self-sustaining forest. And yes, it really does matter. Let's talk about it a little.

Deforestation does refer to the destruction (often by fire) of forests and it is deforestation that matters when it is primarily due to our human activities. Activities such as logging, what is called "slash and burn" agriculture, urban sprawl, residential and commercial development, economic activity will reduce the size of the forests. It comes about when people expand their activities, as in mining operation, petroleum drilling (whether exploratory or production), building dams, and any other type of human population expansion program.

Many of us go camping out in the wilderness and sometimes use scattered dead wood to burn as fuel for food and warmth. This is not deforestation. When you cut the trees down and remove them because they are in the way of your program of expansion and you do it over large areas, that is deforestation.

Another way of deforestation is through uncontroled logging, and I realize that many good, hard working people use the logging industry to take care of their families. I read recently about thirty-two million acres (a great deal of it illegal) of forest disappears each year. This according to the Nature Conservancy.

I am not suggesting that all deforestation is even intentional. Some is driven by human interests combined with natural processes. Recently a out-of-control wildfire burned a large section of forest not too far from where I live. It happens and it is not always intentional. Forests are a blessing to us where I live. They should never be taken for granted. (Keep in mind that forest fire is also a natural part of any forest's lifecycle and the overgrazing by our livestock that occurs after a fire can prevent the growth of new trees. So it happens on all levels.)

We all know that about thirty percent of the earth's surface is covered with forest. I recently read that of that surface area, an area about the size of the state of Nebraska is cleared for agriculture purposes each and every year.

That is a lot of area, and of that, about 23,000 square miles are "primary forest." "Primary forest" is defined as: "native species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and where the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed."

There are other programs called "reforestation programs." This is defined as: "The reestablishment of forest cover either naturally or artificially." This from McGraw-Hill Science and Technology Encyclopedia.

OK, you're probably thinking, so what? Why is that a big deal? Well, for one thing, it is estimated that about eighty percent of all species on Earth, and here we are counting species not even discovered yet, live in tropical rainforests.

Deforestation down in those regions tends to wipe out critical habitat. Deforestation tends to disrupt ecosystems and leads to the extinction of certain species, including species which are irreplaceable. Species that could be used to make medicine essential for effective treatments of devastating diseases.

Deforestation also contributes to global climate change. Studies have shown that tropical deforestation accounts for about twenty percent of all greenhouse gasses. The people doing this are not bad people. They are just trying to take care of their families just like you do. And they feel they receive significant immediate short term benefits from these activities. The problem is that these short term gains cannot, and will not, offset the long term negative losses. Economic losses.

You want to know why you should care about this? Look at the Convention on Biological Diversity held in Bonn, Germany in 2008. Scientists there along with economists and other experts came to the conclusion that deforestation and damage to the environments systems of the world could cut the living standards for the world's poor people by half. Also, they concluded that this could reduce the gross domestic product (GDP) globally by about seven percent. That's globally, not just in some area far away from you.

If you carefully consider this and come to the conclusion that this will have no effect on you, you're just not paying attention to the long term and you are not thinking this through. The economic problems of the looming energy transition are coming and they won't be pretty.

You might think you can just ignore the rest and keep on keeping on but it won't work. Many of us can see what is coming and know what energy salvation is. It is when our families have energy to be mobile as well as to be warm and comfortable.

If you expect energy salvation to come from our blessed government, lots of luck. We are seeing to our families now.

The rest of you don't believe. Great.

Hide and watch.

Jimmy writes a home power generation review web site. He is interested in what works and what scams are out there. Write him with your thoughts and observations at: greenjim@juno.com See his review web site at: http://homepowergeneration.info Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Cosmos

Energy Transition Movement or Not?

"Transition is not a movement for bringing about change. Change is coming, with us or without us, whether we want it or not - profound change."

Published Nov 26 2010 by Transition Times, Archived Nov.
28 2010

Sounds kind of scary, doesn't it? I mean, after all, most of us just get by now. If we are lucky enough to be employed and also lucky enough to make decent money, we still just get by.

The other day, a fellow told me that he really didn't have time for such nonsense. He works hard and home power generation projects are for the talented handyman who likes to tinker around with electrical hobbies. Sure, they generate some electricity, but as much as we complain about the cost of utilities, it really isn't such a stretch to keep your family warm and comfortable. And besides, he said, residential power generation is probably expensive.

I understand his reluctance, I really do. But this is not just for handymen and while it used to be a really neat hobby, it is coming to the point that it will be about taking care of your families.

All joking aside, Rush and Al and all their little friends are going to do just fine, thank you very much. They will always have fuel and heat and their families will be snug and comfortable, and mobile. No, that is not the question here. The question now is: How will yours fare?

Stay with me just a couple of minutes more and then you can get back to your relaxed atmosphere. OK, now expand your thinking to add to the present day scenario. Extend down the road eight months or a year or whatever and imagine a really big blowup in the Middle East. Now tell me what your fuel and heat costs you. And it doesn't take the Middle East. Lots of the petroleum fields are aging and production is going to decrease fairly soon. What happens when supply of anything dwindles? And any number of geological or military catastrophic happenings can come through to obstruct supply and raise your fuel costs. Enormously.

Not a little, enormously!

Does that mean the lid will blow on our energy costs next week or next month? How about six months, or even a year? Actually, we really don't know, do we? It may be a year. And it may be tomorrow. We just don't know. And here's something you can look up. Easy. Just look up China's projections for petroleum imports for five years from now. Go ahead. I'll wait. You will find out that China expects to bring its projected petroleum imports up to the point where it covers all the petroleum now being exported. Everywhere. All over the globe. All of it. Don't take my word for anything. Look it up!

Now don't take me wrong here. We have lots of friends in China and they might change their projections. Do you think they will change it so we can say they are playing fair and they will just do without in order to make sure we have some and we are happy? Really? Read the petroleum news and you will see that they are making deals all over the globe, and they're not doing that as a hobby. They expect to need the petroleum and they expect to have it available, and they expect to have it!

I know that someone will now write me and say I am anti-Chinese. I am not. I am pro-family and I want my family to be warm and mobile. Not too much to ask for an American, but it soon will be.

And here's the point in case you haven't figured it out. Using whatever scenario you want, a year or so down the road you might just find in your own neighborhood that only one family has a refrigerator that has electricity to actually run. Maybe only one will have a vehicle to take off down the road with. In case you haven't thought about this, when energy gets really scarce, the jobs will dry up and the only people able to get to work will be the only people with jobs. Think about it!

If you are the only one in the neighborhood with a refrigerator that operates, you might not want to let the neighbors know. If you are the only one with a radio, you might not want to blast it out. You might just have neighbors who decide that their family deserves those things more than yours does. It won't occur to them that they simply needed to plan a little further ahead. It will not occur to them that their family's problem are their own fault. They will just know that you have what their family wants. Period!

You think there won't be fighting and strife when all this happens. Energy salvation is when a family has enough energy. That definition doesn't address whose family.

So. What about it? Who's families will be taken care of?

Don't believe a bit of this? Fine!

Hide and watch.

Jimmy writes a home power generation review web site. He is interested in what works and what scams are out there. Write him with your thoughts and observations at: greenjim@juno.com See his review web site at: http://homepowergeneration.info Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Cosmos

Is A Solar Oven A Part Of Renewable Energy?

Can I build a solar over? Why should I?

Look at all the ways to bring into play the power of the sun. I can use the sun's glorious rays to heat my water. I can use them to run the irrigation pump. Heck, I can even charge my patio lights with them while I listen to the radio. Some people even run their car with them. So cooking with the sun should be pretty basic stuff.

And it is. Cooking with a solar oven is as basic as it gets. There was an article recently in the San Francisco Chronicle where the author mentioned that solar ovens he had found varied in price between thirty-two dollars up to two hundred and sixty dollars. Having said that, the obvious question is: Why don't you just build one?

I did, and I'm just an average guy with no special amount of knowledge nor exotic tools. Let's think about this:

In general, your average solar oven will consist of dark colored pots that are designed to absorb the sun's rays. As the rays are absorbed, the heat inside will rise. You will certainly need a lid that fits pretty snugly in order to hold in liquids. These pots will then be placed inside either a box, an heat resistant plastic bag, or even an inverted bowl. Each of these would operate like the glazing in your solar collectors which allow heat to come in while preventing it from reflecting out. An important addition would be a shiny surface all around the cooking area in order to reflect in additional rays for stronger heat.

Basically, I find three different types of solar cookers. I myself built a box type. They are pretty common and reach a moderately high temperature, plus they can accommodate multiple pots. The parabolic cookers (also called curved concentrator), and I built one of these also, cook relatively fast and at moderate to high temperatures but beware of possible incidences of injury due to burns. This is a very real possibility. Keep children away and watch what you are doing. The third type is the panel cooker which embraces certain elements from both the box and the curved concentrator.

Let me take a minute to reemphasize the warning. You can have injuries due to hot pots and food, and you can have very serious injuries due to heat reflection. Seriously, the reflections of the sun can blind you or your kids. They can give you serious burns on the skin. Don't take chances with this. Watch what you are doing! And then, watch what you are doing!

Also, keep in mind that with solar cookers you will need to keep them from the wind and don't forget that they need several hours of direct sunlight to work. Here is a good rule of thumb to remember for cooking: In good weather conditions, these cookers will take two to three times as long to cook as your home gas or electric oven. They are not going to function well in cloudy weather nor will foods that need regular stirring do well. Heat in a solar cooker is supposed to accumulate and build. Each time you open the pot to stir, a lot of that heat will escape. But a benefit is that your food will probably not be burned as the cooking temperatures are more tranquil. This gives added benefit of slow cooking in the foods own natural juices.

Interestingly, you will find solar cookers all around the world where the sun is strong and that nation's fuel supply is low or erratic.

Many models were originally designed and specifically developed for third world countries but now are available for people who want to be more natural and accomplish their own lives without a lot of social network.

More and more people are realizing that an energy crisis is approaching as the energy transition and it will not be pretty. As fossil fuel products begin to be short in supply, the price will raise exponentially and many of us will need to make other plans in order to take care of our families.

I realize that most will wait for the government to bring about energy salvation. The problem is that energy salvation is when we working stiffs can provide energy and mobility for our families. Not just when Al and Rush can do their thing whenever they want.

Now tell me this: Who do you think the government is going to be concerned about? If you answered that it's you, the average guy who works for a living and provides the government with all its money, you've got a great sense of humor.

Energy crisis? Energy transition? Energy salvation?

You want to wait for the government? Fine.

The rest of us will take care of our families.

Today! Hide and watch!

Thanks

Jim

Jimmy writes a home power generation review web site. He is interested in what works and what scams are out there. Write him with your thoughts and observations at: greenjim@juno.com See his review web site at: http://homepowergeneration.info Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Cosmos

Energy Generation And Solar Chimneys

Can Solar Chimneys be a part of renewable energy?

This is some of the most interesting news I've seen in a bit. You have in Arizona a plan to build two of the tallest man made constructions on Earth. No kidding. This from a man named Roger Davey. Roger is from Australia and is CEO of EnvironMission Ltd. He recently visited Phoenix for the purpose of this magnificent erection.

If you are in La Paz county, Arizona, you could find this fine company developing the engineering for two of their solar-powered plants. These plants will be the first of their kind.

I have read how the company already has an agreement to sell power to the ten municipal utilities in the Southern California Public Power Authority from their first solar tower.

You will find a four square mile greenhouse in the power plant in order to heat air and direct the heated air to a tall chimney. This chimney is a spectacular 2,400 feet tall and made of solid concrete.

The hot air will ascend up through the chimney and it will spin the turbines in order to make electricity. This is a very similar process to how the turbines in hydroelectric dams on giant rivers make electricity. Water drives the turbines, or in this case hot air drives the turbines. In either case the electricity is generated as the turbines are powered and the blades move.

If the reader remembers, this concept was tested in Spain back in the 1980's. So greenhouse and chimney is not a new idea.

The company plans each tower to have a capacity of 200 megawatts. This amount of watts would probably be sufficient for about fifty thousand houses.

One big difference in this project is that it will continue to generate power after dark. The greenhouse will have a plastic ceiling, enabling the greenhouse to stay warm and continue to make hot air long after sunset.

Here's the fun part. The construction cost of the first tower is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $750 million. The big benefit is commercial electrical power generation without using water and without creating pollution. They are hoping for investors to pony that up.

Roger Davey did not seem at all concerned about the amount of funds necessary for construction. Other Arizona projects, solar or otherwise, have had trouble raising the capital.

We shall see.

Renewable energy is a necessary part of our future, whether we want that to be the case or not.

Many of us realize that we will have to make plans for our family if we are to be sure that they will be provided for.

Make your choice and or take your chances. The energy transition is looming and I suspect it won't be pretty.

Energy salvation will be when we working stiffs have enough energy, alternative or otherwise, to take care of our families.

Perhaps you feel our blessed government really cares about you and will take care of it. Or maybe they won't.

Don't believe it? Fine.

Hide and watch.

Jim

Jimmy writes a home power generation review web site. He is interested in what works and what scams are out there. Write him with your thoughts and observations at: greenjim@juno.com See his review web site at: http://homepowergeneration.info Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Cosmos