QUICK NEWS, October 16: THE FACTS ON GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS AND WIND; BRINGING THE COST OF BIG SUN DOWN; BETTER HEDGE THOSE NAT GAS BUYS – EXPERTS

THE FACTS ON GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS AND WIND Setting The Record Straight About Wind’s Lifecycle Emissions And Return On Energy Invested

Michael Goggin, October 11, 2013 (Into The Wind)

“One of the common myths deployed by opponents of clean energy is that wind energy’s environmental benefits are significantly reduced by the energy and carbon expended on manufacturing and installing wind turbines. Fortunately, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently compiled the results of all peer-reviewed publications on lifecycle emissions for different energy sources [in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Electricity Generation]. Unsurprisingly, wind energy fared far better than all conventional sources of energy, and better than nearly all other renewable sources of energy. Including all lifecycle emissions factors, wind energy’s emissions are a few percent of the emissions of fossil-fueled energy sources…As usual, attacks on clean energy do not hold up to scrutiny…” click here for more

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BRINGING THE COST OF BIG SUN DOWN New Initiatives to Reduce the Cost of CSP

Andrew Williams, October 11, 2013 (CSP Today)

"Recent initiatives in Canada and Spain have broken new ground in the quest to reduce the cost of CSP systems...A U.S. government granting organization…[concluded] Canadian company SHEC Energy’s new Ultra Lite CSP solar technology…[demonstrates] a materials cost reduction of 89% over its previous generation technology…[T]he drastic cost reduction in the company's proprietary 'parabolic dish' and SHECTHERM thermal energy storage technology was motivated by a desire to compete against high levels of Chinese government subsidies and be competitive with 'cheap' fossil fuels. The savings came about chiefly as a result of a new design that minimises complexity and materials, coupled with new production technologies…[A Spanish] research team…has been working on an 'ambitious' framework devoted to developing 'accurate engineering tools' for the thermo-economic design and optimisation of solar power plants…[T]he numerical modelling of molten salt tanks can be a 'powerful tool' for reducing the cost of thermal energy storage…” click here for more

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HEDGE THOSE NAT GAS BUYS – EXPERTS Energy experts: When it comes to natural gas, hedge your bets

Jennifer A. Dlouhy, October 11, 2013 (San Antonio Express-News)

“The United States is investing heavily in natural gas as domestic production soars, but power utilities and policymakers should hedge their bets, panelists warned at a recent energy forum…Policymakers are hyping natural gas as a cleaner-burning alternative to other fossil fuels. Proponents say gas can provide what they call a bridge to lower-carbon options…Power plants are switching to gas because of its relatively low cost and smaller emissions profile…But if natural gas prices surge higher than the $4 to $5 per million British thermal units that many analysts expect, the U.S. could be in risky territory…If utilities tether more U.S. power generation to natural gas and prices for the commodity climb higher than predicted, it could squeeze industrial and residential consumers without a readily available, less expensive alternative…” click here for more

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