Another day in the Universe
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Range, adaptability, and refueling time will put hydrogen fuel cells ahead of the competition
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/12/22/lo ... r-wind-go/Originally published on Nexus Media.
By Jeremy Deaton
Renewables are cheaper than coal and gas across much of the United States.
For the second year in a row, wind and solar accounted for roughly two-thirds of new U.S. generating capacity, while natural gas and nuclear made up most of the rest.
That’s because right now, in much of the United States, wind and solar are the cheapest form of power available, according to a new report from investment bank Lazard.
Analysts found that new solar and wind installations are cheaper than a new coal-fired power installation just about everywhere — even without subsidies. The cost of renewables continues to fall rapidly.
Wind will never be cheaper without subsidies unless Coal, Oil and Natural gas get so expensive that Wind is cheaper. Usually when I read stoires like this I later find out that the person writing them has a vested interest in Wind and/or Solar.Nonc Hilaire wrote:https://cleantechnica.com/2016/12/22/lo ... r-wind-go/Originally published on Nexus Media.
By Jeremy Deaton
Renewables are cheaper than coal and gas across much of the United States.
For the second year in a row, wind and solar accounted for roughly two-thirds of new U.S. generating capacity, while natural gas and nuclear made up most of the rest.
That’s because right now, in much of the United States, wind and solar are the cheapest form of power available, according to a new report from investment bank Lazard.
Analysts found that new solar and wind installations are cheaper than a new coal-fired power installation just about everywhere — even without subsidies. The cost of renewables continues to fall rapidly.
Mr Nahan said it has been estimated that solar photovoltaic systems installed on the South West Interconnected System were forecast to generate more than 750 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity in 2015-16.
He told a conference in August he expected Perth’s electricity needs to be generated by rooftop power within a decade.
“That’s the reality,” he said. “So it is going to provide the bulk of additional capacity going forward.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/envir ... b7f20fa0c4The WA Government subsidises electricity costs to the tune of $600 million a year — or about $500 per household.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 121112.htm"This method enables solar energy to be stored in the form of chemical energy from the summer until the wintertime," says Fumey. "And that's not all: the stored heat can also be transported elsewhere in the form of concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, which makes it flexible to use."
No lie?YMix wrote:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 121112.htm"This method enables solar energy to be stored in the form of chemical energy from the summer until the wintertime," says Fumey. "And that's not all: the stored heat can also be transported elsewhere in the form of concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, which makes it flexible to use."
Nonc Hilaire wrote:No lie?YMix wrote:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 121112.htm"This method enables solar energy to be stored in the form of chemical energy from the summer until the wintertime," says Fumey. "And that's not all: the stored heat can also be transported elsewhere in the form of concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, which makes it flexible to use."
No, lye.
I did not red a quote for the efficiency of this lyeing process in the press release link. I wonder why?Thousands of ageing rooftop solar panels represent a toxic time-bomb and major economic waste unless Australia acts swiftly to keep them out of landfill, conservationists and recyclers say.
Australia’s enthusiastic embrace of rooftop solar has brought clear environmental and economic benefits, but critics say governments have dragged their feet in addressing the looming waste crisis.
has there ever been any serious consideration over there to dedicating a couple thousand square miles of uninhabitable land to becoming the world's landfill? you might be able to make a bundle off it, and possibly even build some mountain ranges to positively impact local weather patterns.noddy wrote:https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... zi6pCezFrk
Thousands of ageing rooftop solar panels represent a toxic time-bomb and major economic waste unless Australia acts swiftly to keep them out of landfill, conservationists and recyclers say.
Australia’s enthusiastic embrace of rooftop solar has brought clear environmental and economic benefits, but critics say governments have dragged their feet in addressing the looming waste crisis.
True, though the article mentioned some plants of this type had already been built, albeit not with this new membrane afaict. Hopefully they'll be able to test this new tech in those existing plants. This is exciting because it represents a much more constant source than many other types of alt energy, therefore it will not need to rely on storage or base load generation to implement widely.Colonel Sun wrote: ↑Fri Dec 06, 2019 3:33 am Sci Mag | Rivers could generate thousands of nuclear power plants worth of energy, thanks to a new ‘blue’ membrane
The wildly speculative over-the-top headline would do Popular Science proud.
Interesting idea, however, the road from lab to full scale industrial deployment is a rather long one; few survive the long march.
One might think that Japan, like the USA, would be a natural candidate for geothermal power.What is geothermal energy?
Fun fact: The molten core of the Earth, about 4,000 miles down, is roughly as hot as the surface of the sun, over 6,000°C, or 10,800°F. That’s why the geothermal energy industry is fond of calling it “the sun beneath our feet.” The heat is continuously replenished by the decay of naturally occurring radioactive elements, at a flow rate of roughly 30 terawatts, almost double all human energy consumption. That process is expected to continue for billions of years.
The ARPA-E project AltaRock Energy estimates that “just 0.1% of the heat content of Earth could supply humanity’s total energy needs for 2 million years.” There’s enough energy in the Earth’s crust, just a few miles down, to power all of human civilization for generations to come. All we have to do is tap into it.
Tapping into it, though, turns out to be pretty tricky.
A new membrane could unlock the potential of “blue energy,” which uses chemical differences between fresh- and saltwater to generate electricity. If researchers can scale up the postage stamp–size membrane in an affordable fashion, it could provide carbon-free power to millions of people in coastal nations where freshwater rivers meet the sea.
. . .
Blue energy’s promise stems from its scale: Rivers dump some 37,000 cubic kilometers of freshwater into the oceans every year. This intersection between fresh- and saltwater creates the potential to generate lots of electricity — 2.6 terawatts, according to one recent estimate, roughly the amount that can be generated by 2000 nuclear power plants.
Past efforts to coax geothermal energy from hot, dry rock deep underground have faltered. But new techniques could crack the problem