Category Archives: solar cells

President Obama Is Prevaricating Again

Posted on November 17, 2013 | 3 comments

The President in his weekly address did it again. He  said things that are demonstrably untrue and in other cases terribly misleading.  This comes after the debacle resulting from his lying when he made assurances about keeping your medical policy under Obamacare, period!!!!  Why is he doing it again?  Because he knows, with the compliance of the Main Stream Media (MSM),  he can mislead the low information voters.  And he is happy to be doing that. See the video of the address by clicking here.

He takes credit for the increase in oil production in the US.  He has had nothing to do with it.  And he knows that.   The oil boom comes from private landowners operating on non-federal land.(See chart below.)  He cannot prevent exploitation of those reserves.

shaleoilproduction

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration based on DrillingInfo and LCI Energy Insight

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Posted in AGW, CAFE Standards, cap and trade, carbon tax, Domestic Energy, Electric Vehicles, Electricity, EPA, Fracking/Shale Gas, Government Regulations, Media Bias, solar cells, Windpower

Skeptical Scientists Effectively Challenge IPCC Climate Change Report

Posted on October 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

The IPCC has issued the 2013 report on global Climate change.  The skeptic community has effectively challenged the IPCC primary positions.   This post will provide a broad selection of those challenges for the reader to examine.   Each of the 18  entries will give you the title, a brief synopsis, and the link to that document.

The IPCC failed on two major issues.  Their failed to explain why global temperatures have not increased in the past 16 years despite a continued growth of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).   The second issue is that of climate sensitivity.  They did say that in the past, they had overestimated climate sensitivity but did not tell us what they now believe it to be. This posting will also cover climate model performance and should the IPCC be discontinued.

GLOBAL TEMPERATURES

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Posted in AGW, Climate Alarmism, Climate Models, ClimateGate, CO2, CO2 positive feedback, Domestic Energy, Energy Development, Environment, EPA, Global Temperatures, Government Regulations, IPCC, Sea Ice, Sea Level, solar cells

Bloom Box Surcharge Increases 570%, Stunning Delaware Utility Customers

Posted on August 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

In 2012 the Governor of the State of Delaware, Jack Markel, entered into a long-term contract with Bloom Energy.  The contract obligated Bloom to begin manufacturing their “Bloom Boxes” in the closed Chrysler Assembly plant.  Delaware was obligated to subsidize Bloom to the tune of the difference of the cost of the electricity produced by Bloom Boxes and the cost of open market electricity.  That subsidy rose from $0.67 in October 2012 to $3.83 for September 2013, a 570% increase, where it increases each ratepayers month’s bill. Delaware has mandated a requirement to buy renewable energy produced electricity that grows to 25% of the total energy used in the State by 2025.  The open market electricity price has been dropping due to the increased availability  of  natural gas from fracking operations around the Nation. The natural gas is becoming the major source of energy for producing electricity.   Natural gas is not considered a “renewable” form of energy.  But the State passed an exception to their renewable energy law that allows  Bloom Box energy  to be called “renewable” even though these boxes use natural gas as their energy source.  The irony here is that the electricity  produced using natural gas the standard way, the electricity is much less expensive than electricity produced by Bloom Boxes.   But remember, the State has a law  that demands the use of “renewable” energy produced electricity.

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Batteries, Climate Alarmism, Domestic Energy, Electric Vehicles, Electricity, fossil fuels, fuel cells, Renewable Energy, solar cells, US Manufacturing Companies

Department Of Energy Forecasts 2040 World and US Energy Use/Source

Posted on July 26, 2013 | 1 comment

The Department of Energy (DOE) projects that global energy consumption will increase 56% between 2010 and 2040 from 524 quadrillion Btus to 820 quadrillion Btus.

worldenergyconsump

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Climate Alarmism, Domestic Energy, Electricity, Energy Development, Environment, fossil fuels, Fracking/Shale Gas, Renewable Energy, solar cells, Windpower

Solar Panel Defects Surfacing

Posted on July 7, 2013 | 2 comments

The NY Times is reporting that solar panels failures are becoming a major concern for the industry.

The photovoltaic cells, incorportated into the panel,  generate electricity when exposed to the sun.  A thin film protects the cell from moisture and it is encapsulated between layers of glass. The life expectation of the cells is 25 years and the economics of their use is predicated upon that length of service.  But inspection of some these panels finds that cheaper materials are being used to bring down the manufacturing costs.

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, China, Electricity, Energy Development, solar cells

European Renewables Bubble Is Collapsing

Posted on July 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

The European nations have led the world in the installation of wind and solar, the renewable technologies.  But now the high subsidies that were imposed to make these renewables look attractive are becoming intolerable.

Peter Glover has posted “The ‘Great Renewables Scam’ unravels” on thecommentator.com.   Glover writes:

Energy insiders have long known that the notion of ‘renewable energy’ is a romantic proposition – and an economic bust. But it is amazing what the lure of guaranteed ‘few strings attached’ government subsidies can achieve. Even the Big Oil companies bought into the renewables revolution, albeit mostly for PR reasons. Like Shell, however, many quickly abandoned their fledgling renewable arms. Post-2008, they knew, the subsidy regimes could not last. Neither was the public buying into the new PR message.

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Posted in AGW, Climate Alarmism, Fracking/Shale Gas, Green Jobs, IPCC, Renewable Energy, solar cells, Windpower

President Obama’s Climate Change Fantasies

Posted on July 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

The noted environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg thinks that President Obama has some fantasies about climate issues.  Lomborg posted on usatoday.com “Obama should confront climate change fantasies”.  In reviewing the President’s recent speech on his new climate policies, he lists these four:

  • Renewables are a major part of the solution today. No, they are almost trivial. Today, the world gets 81% of its energy from fossil fuels – by 2035, in the most green scenario, we will still get 79% from fossil fuels. Wind and solar will increase from 0.8% to 3.2% — impressive, but not what is going to matter.

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Posted in AGW, CO2, Coal, Domestic Energy, Electricity from Coal, Environment, fossil fuels, Fracking/Shale Gas, solar cells, Windpower

“The Magic Washing Machine”—–Limiting Energy Access To The World’s Poor Is Wrong

Posted on April 2, 2013 | 1 comment

You have to give credit to the Green NGOs in that they are much more upfront about their goals than most of the Global Governments. Greenies want to stop development of all fossil fuel sources and they would like to see the nuclear industry dismantled and no new nukes built.  The Obama Administration is not quite that ambitious, at least for now, although there is not much difference in their objectives. Examples of goals the Administration have announced are: kill coal,  minimize (and in some cases prevent any) use of Federal lands for accessing the mineral resources and raise the price of gasoline and electricity.
Who is it that will feel the most pain, if this cabal is successful?  It will be the poorest among us, of course.  They justify their actions by saying that the Earth will really, really, really go to hell if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels.  And besides they add, we will have wind and solar farms takeover the job of supplying power.  Wind and solar farms are not ready for prime time and who knows if they will ever be. The experience around the world demonstrates that when and if these renewables do replace fossil fuels, the power supplied will be more costly than that supplied by fossil fuels.  No help for the poor here.

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Climate Alarmism, Electricity from Coal, Energy Development, Environment, Famine, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy, solar cells, Windpower

The Warmers Are Punishing The Poor

Posted on January 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

A recent posting on WUWT by Willis Eschenbach titled “We Have Met The 1%, and He Is Us” illustrates that the  people that get hurt the most by energy rationing are the poor.   Eschenbach’s experiences as a sailor got him to many parts of the globe where living is a daily struggle and the high cost of energy, if it is even available, doom those people to suffering and short lifespans. I recommend that you read his posting which can be accessed by clicking here.
I recently ran across a story that helps illustrate how the zeal of the warmers is punishing the poor. The West Bengal government wants to provide electricity to 1076 Sundarbans villages. The government believes there will be a 10 to 20 fold increase in electricity demand between 2010 and 2020. However the environmental groups oppose this action because the grid will supply coal based electricity.

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Climate Models, CO2, fossil fuels, Global Temperatures, Renewable Energy, solar cells

Green Energy Stock In Free Fall

Posted on December 7, 2012 | 1 comment

The Renewable Energy Industrial Index (RENIXX ®World), is composed of the world’s 30 largest renewable energy companies.  The 30 companies get the majority of their income from wind, solar, biofuel, geothermal, hydropower or fuel cells.  The stock index was set up  to allow the shareholder to profit by the expected surge in value of these companies as the green revolution unfolded. Unfortunately for the investors, the stock value which surged, peaked in the 2007 -2008 timeframe, has been a downhill ride since then.  The glib promises of the performance of these renewables has not materialized and the Nations that have heavily subsidized these renewables can no longer afford them.  
A Washington Times-Community posting authored by Steve Goreham titled “So, how’s your green energy stock doing?” discusses the history of the Index.  For instance,  in a private meeting, Al Gore impressed the Deutsche Bank Asset Management  team causing them to establish the RENIXX and the rest is history. One wonders how many investors have lost money believing that Gore knew some real science. On the other hand,  Mr Gore is rumored to have made $200 to 300 million himself selling carbon offsets and his stake in the Chicago Merc’s Carbon Market. He may be weak on science but he knows how to make a buck.
 
The posting is a good read that I recommend to you. The whole story with the chart of the Index’s rise and fall are in his article. Also he talks of the thirty companies,  of which 10 are headquartered in China, 10 in Europe, and 7 in the US.  Click here to read his posting.
cbdakota

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, CO2, Geothermal Energy, Government Regulations, Green Jobs, Renewable Energy, solar cells, Windpower