Electricity

Aussie Clean Energy Investment Falling as Political Support Falters

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By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Even a hint of political apathy is enough to crash investment.

Clean energy investment falls back to 2016 levels amid policy uncertainty

Katharine Murphy Political editor
@murpharoo
Wed 11 Sep 2019 04.00 AEST

The recent record investment in renewable energy is showing signs of slowing dramatically, the Clean Energy Council warns

A new snapshot of Australia’s clean energy sector warns new investment committed in the first half of 2019 has fallen back to 2016 levels, when Tony Abbott invited an investment strike when he tried to abolish the renewable energy target.

While the Morrison government has been trumpeting record recent investment in renewable energy to rebut persistent arguments the Coalition lacks ambition on climate policy, an assessment of the investment outlook prepared by the Clean Energy Council, to be released on Wednesday, warns the positive trend is in danger of abrupt reversal because of the ongoing lack of policy certainty.

The Solar Duck Curve
The Duck curve. By ArnoldReinhold – Own work based on data from caiso.org, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

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Buckets of Icy Cold Reality

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By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Democrat presidential candidates and Green New Dealers need to face some hard energy facts

CNN recently hosted a seven-hour climate bore-athon. That climate cataclysms are real and already devastating our planet was not open to discussion. So host Wolf Blitzer and ten Democrat presidential contenders vied to make the most extravagant claims about how bad things are, and who would spend the most taxpayer money and impose the most Green New Deal rules to restrict our freedoms and transform our energy, economy, agriculture and transportation, in the name of preventing further cataclysms.

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This kind of solar storm could be devastating in today’s world…”The Carrington Event” of 1859

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By Paul Dorian – Re-Blogged From Perspecta Weather

Overview

The sun continues to be very quiet and it has been without sunspots this year 69% of the time as we approach what is likely to be one of the deepest solar minimums in a long, long time. In fact, all indications are that the upcoming solar minimum may be even quieter than the last one which was the deepest in nearly a century.  In addition, there are now forecasts that the next solar cycle, #25, will be the weakest in more than 200 years. Even weak solar cycles, however, can produce significant solar storms. In fact, it was this same time of year back in 1859 when a super solar storm – now known as the “Carrington Event” – took place during another weak solar cycle (#10).  The event has been named for the British astronomer, Richard Carrington, as he observed from his own private observatory the largest solar flare which caused a major coronal mass ejection (CME) to travel directly toward Earth.  Fortunately, solar storms of this magnitude are quite rare as it would very likely have a much more damaging impact on today’s world than it did in the 19th century.

 

A modern solar flare recorded December 5, 2006, by the X-ray Imager onboard NOAA's GOES-13 satellite. The flare was so intense that it actually damaged the instrument that took the picture. Researchers believe Carrington's solar flare was much more energetic than this one.

A modern solar flare recorded December 5, 2006, by the X-ray Imager onboard NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite. The flare was so intense that it actually damaged the instrument that took the picture. Researchers believe Carrington’s solar flare was much more energetic than this one.

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Who Caused Three Mile Island?

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After five major investigations, the real reason for the Three Mile Island accident has remained a mystery. REASON’s reporter has found the missing link.

By Adam Reed – Re-Blogged From Reason (August 1980 Issue)

Three Mile Island, March 28, 1979. Because of maintenance procedures elsewhere in the building, several indicators on the main control panel of the TMI nuclear power plant are temporarily inoperative. In compliance with an order from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, identifying cardboard tags hang from the inactive indicators. These tags are large enough to obscure several other parts of the control panel.

It is 4:00 A.M., and an indicator on the control panel shows an unexpected pressure transient. The plant operators check the auxiliary feedwater valves. Although a control panel light indicates that they are closed, that light is covered by one of the maintenance caution tags hanging from another control. The operators react to the pressure transient on the assumption that the valves are open. As a result, there is an increase in heat, which causes activation of the emergency core cooling system, which functions perfectly.

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Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup #375

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The Week That Was: September 7, 2019, Brought to You by www.SEPP.org

By Ken Haapala, President, The Science and Environmental Policy Project

Quote of the Week – “In God we trust, all others bring data”. – Motto of the Apollo Team and the Johnson Space Flight Center

Number of the Week: 5.5 million sq. km (2.1 million sq. mi.)

Long Overdue – Prediction Capability: Of the about 50 newspapers and web sites TWTW reviews weekly, only the UK Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) mentioned an August 30 White House memorandum that may become important. The memorandum “Fiscal Year 2021 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities” was signed by Russell Vought, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. A key paragraph reads:

Earth System Predictability: Knowing the extent to which components of the Earth system are practicably predictable – from individual thunderstorms to long-term global change- is vitally important for physical understanding of the Earth system, assessing the value of prediction results, guiding Federal investments, developing effective policy, and improving predictive skill. Departments and agencies should prioritize R&D that helps quantify Earth system predictability across multiple phenomena, time, and space scales. Strategic coordination and leveraging of resources across agencies on research and modeling efforts is needed to accelerate progress in this area. Additionally, agencies should emphasize how measures of and limits to predictability, both theoretical and actual, can inform a wide array of stakeholders. They also should explore the application of AI and adaptive observing systems to enhance predictive skill, along with strategies for obtaining substantial improvements in computational model performance and spatial resolution across all scales. [Boldface added.]

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The Dirty Extractive Underbelly of Clean Energy

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By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Greens advocating a clean energy “revolution” rarely pause to consider the enormous increase in mining activity which would have to occur to support their new green economy.

The Limits of Clean Energy
If the world isn’t careful, renewable energy could become as destructive as fossil fuels.

BY JASON HICKEL | SEPTEMBER 6, 2019, 8:51 AM

…

We need a rapid transition to renewables, yes—but scientists warn that we can’t keep growing energy use at existing rates. No energy is innocent. The only truly clean energy is less energy.

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Scientists ‘Tantalised’ by Draining Every Hydropower Dam in The US For Solar Panels

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By CARLY CASSELLA – Re-Blogged From Science Alert

If all the hydro-power dams in the United States were removed and replaced with solar panels, it would take up a fraction of the land and produce substantially more electricity, according to a new analysis.

The idea is ambitious, and for now, it’s really just a thought experiment. Today, hydropower is a significant source of renewable energy in the US, accounting for roughly six percent of the country’s total electricity output.

Removing all 2,603 hydro dams in America would leave a huge energy void behind, but it could also provide room for greener opportunities.

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