Energy Choices
October 11, 2009 on 10:54 am | In Economics / Politics, Energy, General | No Comments[This blog entry is in flux and being updated]
Links related to future energy debate:
General:
“Sustainable Energy – Without The Hotair” by David MacKay.
David Mackay has recently become adviser to govt on energy matters. I bought his book a few months ago and thought it was really good, still do, and it got me thinking about energy choices and investigating some areas not really examined before like the heat pumps. It is a good starting point to consider plans. I like that it makes an attempt at comparisons by breaking down amounts of production and consumption into per person per day energy usage, to try to get things to add up. But I believe it has some flaws. He says he is discarding economics often, but then at points makes conclusions that depend on him making (mistaken) economic assumptions. He does not take into account many of the practicalities & costs of transition, starting from where at now. But that is not to say not good to have vision of where want to get to and be concerned to make it add up in final form. But there is need to have efficient bridges to get to final vision.
The thinking behind one of his plans of several for energy production, Plan E for economics (page 211), which he says would be result of free market with carbon tax is mistaken as does not take into account lots of factors such as variable cost of capital, technological trends and inertia, the effect of govt ‘picking winners’ (or not) and creating a market on costs. Although I would be guessing too on any plan I would propose, even if I would try and bring in economic, practical and environmental factors to more refined level. There are many variables and many hard to quantify, and much contested. At end of day there needs to be some plan that adds and move forward with urgency on it.
I think his idea of big need for pump storage is spot on, sure bet that this will be need both for expansion of wind and useful with expansion of nuclear.
He sees Carbon Capture and Storage as only a stop gap. But one reason to develop it is is if ignored then market will mean others will just burn the carbon saved elsewhere anyway, so best to develop for future use worldwide.
But his general point that we have start saying yes to change in big way is right.
Seems to move towards some sort of detail and ambition that is required.
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/energy-revolution-a-sustainab.pdf
Also yet to examine fully this report, although have seen other stuff from Greenpeace and others with that push to localise initiatives local mixes often starting with community Combined Heat and Power, as well as big push for offshore wind, which looked promising but seem to have stalled.
All good plans including above have energy use reduction by efficiency at top of list as most cost effective use of resources.
Nuclear:
Walt Patterson on Nuclear issues including book: Going Critical
“The Nuclear Illusion”
by AMORY B. LOVINS & IMRAN SHEIKH
A detailed critique of nuclear (Large PDF).
Frances Nuclear Power Push article.
Nuclear Engineering International magazine
This Week in Nuclear podcast
Cheerleading nuclear. Some good points, and some overblown. A good listen at times anyway.
Atomic Insights blog with associated
podcast, which learning allot from.
Thorium:
Video presentation on Thorium
There are several video presentations on Thorium, all super upbeat, with interesting history of why not chosen path.
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4971
http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2008/04/thorium-fuel-cycle-development-in-india.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/is-thorium-the-answer-to-our-energy-crisis-428279.html
Thorium for the long term, will supersede uranium if depletion becomes a limit.
Liquid Salt reactor with continuous processing for less waste per unit of energy, as can covert all the fertile material to fissile and use it all up as alternative to solid nuclear fuel where lots is left over, is interesting, but pie in sky for now, where as evolution of present designs more viable for the near term.
Natural Gas:
The GET The Grand Energy Transition
While I find the solid, liquid to gas classification a bit overstretched and enters the almost metaphysical (if not plain wrong), this book does make a good case for the gas bridge to a cleaner future particularly in U.S. in chapters that focus on area of expertise of author, such as gas deposits found in contrast to oil.
meanwhile in the U.K. there more efforts to get non-gas households connected up see links below:
http://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/cms/444.html
http://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/documents/1235406547.pdf
http://www.sbgi.org.uk/event.aspx/a3ce2416-2748-453b-866c-394f66836f43
more fuel poverty links below
Oil:
Building energy solutions:
Heat Pumps:
http://www.icsheatpumps.co.uk/
http://www.kensaengineering.com/
http://www.ecovisionsystems.co.uk/
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=702257&highlight=heat+pump
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/withouthotair/c21/page_146.shtml
Renewables:
Energy efficiency, transition & Fuel Poverty:
http://www.lowcarboneconomy.com/
http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk
http://www.claverton-energy.com/
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
North Edinburgh Trust
in my area recently launch Net Your Carbons project.
Fuel Poverty:
DTI (now BERR) Design & Demo Unit ‘LEAP-FROGGING THE STATUS QUO’ report
http://heatevidence.dialoguebydesign.net/
Misc:
Read your Meter website to record electric, gas and water meter readings, to produce usage graphs over time. Dig out those old bills and put old reading on to see trends.
end of Summer
October 4, 2009 on 2:03 pm | In Energy, General | No CommentsAfter windy day yesterday it is calm today and also sunny but cool as summer as come to an end, but I should get out after posting this. I am still cycling to and from work but not sure for how much longer, as a the other really felt need for a that. I had a late start to cycling this year as took a while to fix my bike and only because my missus helped me, to make sure I started for Bike to Work week.
We have been visiting quite a few trips to various places this summer which has been good. Been adding odd bits to to Open Street Map from them. But not really added much in systematic way.
I have been reading up on various aspects of future trends in energy production. After reading lots I am better informed but still split over some of predictions and not able to say clear which winner to back. I keep meaning to post in this blog my conclusions but one thing holding me back is that conclusions not clear cut. Anyway we will see. But one thing is I think it is going to be interesting to see big changes over next few decades.
Listening to tunes from bands have not heard in while, in Spotify.
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