184 replies to this topic

[stocks]

Germany's Green Energy Fiasco

Grid fluctuations lead to very unpleasant systemic effects. We have voltage fluctuations within the grid that create problems for industry. Or we overload the grids in neighboring countries. Poland is in the process of installing technical equipment to protect its grids by keeping out surplus German electricity.

Poland And Czech Republic Ban Germany’s Green Energy

Germany simply used the power grids of neighboring countries, not only without asking permission, but also without paying for it. Now Poland and the Czech Republic have pulled the plug and are building a huge switch-off at their borders with Germany to block the uninvited import of green energy from Germany, which destabalises their grids and thus risks blackouts.

Germany’s neighbors are acting in self-defense, & no one can blame them. Blocking energy at the borders fragments the single European market for electricity. Germany becomes an electrical island within the European energy network, with unknown consequences for the security of supply.

And they cause even more forced shutdowns of wind farms in Germany & additional costs of at least one hundred million.



http://www.thegwpf.o...s-green-energy/

[Rogerdodger]

I feel like I just came back from CHINA!
Yesterday I went to Harbor Freight.
The place was packed with people buying Chinese made tools.
I bought an electric oscillating tool and a reciprocating saw for $20 each.

If I had more time to play I would get this to experiment with:

Solar Panel Kit, 45 Watt
Only: $229.99 Sale: $159.99
I would use it to run some LED lights and have some fun showing off.


http://www.harborfre...nel-K...ifQ==

I've been doing a rehab on an old house that I picked up for $25K.
The photo below shows the LED lights I installed.
The color of them is perfect at 2,700K. They use only 11 watts each and have the brightness of an old 60 watt.
I liked them so well that I put them in the living room too, on a dimmer. $30 each.
They are from China too.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 30 December 2012 - 01:06 PM.

[stocks]

Britain's Green Energy Fiasco

Quarter of mothers forced to turn their heating off to afford food for their children: Survey warns of increase in 'fuel poverty'


Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz2HD1Mn7c7
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[Rogerdodger]

STUDY: Fed's new ethanol ruins auto engines...
The fuel industry's American Petroleum Institute tested the 15 percent ethanol gas approved in 2010 and found it gums up fuel systems, prompts "check engine" lights to come on, and messes with fuel gauge readings.
"Failure of these components could result in breakdowns that leave consumers stranded on busy roads and highways," said the industry report. Worse: API said the fuel problems--not found in E5 or E10 blends--aren't always covered by auto warranties.


Bio-Fuels are as old as George Washington Carver's discoveries and his 1930's friendship with Henry Ford.

A truly free market would have rejected this before it got started.
In fact it did.

Meanwhile the poor can't afford corn.
Neither can the ethanol distillers!

White Energy Shuts Ethanol Plant in Texas on High Corn Prices

USDA sees record-high season-average corn price - Agri-View..

Edited by Rogerdodger, 30 January 2013 - 07:37 PM.

[diogenes227]

Fox thinks it's because Germany has more sun.

Germany has more solar power because everyone wins

The real reason Germany dominates in solar (and wind) is its commitment to democratizing energy.

Half of the country’s renewable power is owned by ordinary Germans, because that wonky sounding feed-in tariff (often known as a CLEAN Contract Program in America) makes it ridiculously simple and safe for people to park their money in generating solar electricity on their roof instead of making pennies in interest at the bank.

It also makes the country’s “energy change” movement politically bulletproof. Germans aren’t tree-hugging wackos giving up double mochas for wind turbines, they are investing by the tens of thousand in a clean energy future that is putting money back in their pockets and creating well over 300,000 new jobs (at last count). Their policy makes solar cost half as much to install as it does in America, where the free market’s red tape can’t compete with their “socialist” efficiency.

[Rogerdodger]

You can make a Million Dollars on windy, sunny days...if you are on the government teat.
Meet the MILLION DOLLAR government windmill man...

If you live outside Colorado, you probably haven’t heard of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – NREL for short. It’s the place where solar panels, windmills and corn are deemed the energy source of the future and companies who support such endeavors are courted.
It’s also the place where highly paid staff decide how to spend hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.
And the public pays those decision-makers well: NREL’s top executive, Dr. Dan Arvizu, makes close to a million dollars per year. His two top lieutenants rake in more than half a million each and nine others make more than $350,000 a year.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 23 February 2013 - 09:51 PM.

[*JB*]

Fox thinks it's because Germany has more sun.

Germany has more solar power because everyone wins

The real reason Germany dominates in solar (and wind) is its commitment to democratizing energy.

Half of the country’s renewable power is owned by ordinary Germans, because that wonky sounding feed-in tariff (often known as a CLEAN Contract Program in America) makes it ridiculously simple and safe for people to park their money in generating solar electricity on their roof instead of making pennies in interest at the bank.

It also makes the country’s “energy change” movement politically bulletproof. Germans aren’t tree-hugging wackos giving up double mochas for wind turbines, they are investing by the tens of thousand in a clean energy future that is putting money back in their pockets and creating well over 300,000 new jobs (at last count). Their policy makes solar cost half as much to install as it does in America, where the free market’s red tape can’t compete with their “socialist” efficiency.

1 -- Germany's electricity costs are HUGE -- and will skyrocket when the German government drops the billions in subsidies.
800,000 people sit in the dark and cold due to the inability to afford the power bill -- I'm sure they are happy for the 300,000.

2 -- From D er Speigel -- "the German Physical Society writes in an expert opinion, stating, "Photovoltaics are fundamentally incapable of replacing any other type of power plant." Essentially, every solar array must be backed up with a conventional power plant as a reserve, creating an expensive double infrastructure.''
3 -- Germany is INCREASING it's burning of coal, including their soft brown Lignite which is the dirtiest of coals -- YET -- Germany is also now importing more and more electricity from nuclear power plants in France and others.

The Grist, etc. is runniing an agenda. Look for objective information...if you care about being taken seriously.

Edited by *JB*, 24 February 2013 - 01:38 AM.

[Rogerdodger]

I've always been interested in alternative energy sources going back at least to 1979: Mother Earth News
Clark Howard, my mentor, has a completely off the grid home and even charges his electric car from his solar panels.
He is in the 1% class and can afford to experiment with it but as he says "The pioneers take the arrows."
He has commented that in no way is this feasible for the public with current technology, nor has he found that he will ever recover the costs incurred in getting off the grid.
But we are getting a little bit closer.
The economics of solar are becoming more favorable - Clark Howard
Sep 11, 2012 ... The cost of panels has dropped by 97% in a generation. That's down from an equivalent of $30 a watt to 84 cents today!


No doubt that this impracticality is one reason why our favorite Carbon Warrior, Al Gore, reportedly has one of the highest utility bills known to mankind.
But "It's good to be King."
Al Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth'? -- A $30,000 Utility Bill - ABC News
"the former vice president's 20-room home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours."

Plus it's really hard for him to find a solar powered private jet:

Seen here Al Gore's private jet and stretch limo which he uses to jet around the world spewing carbon emissions preaching to us that we need to cut back on our usage of fossil fuel which causes Global Warming Climate Change.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 24 February 2013 - 11:19 AM.

[voltaire]

Another Taxpayer-Backed Solar Company Goes Bankrupt...

COMPLETE LIST OF 'GREEN ENERGY' FAILURES...

Satcon received a $3 million DOE grant in January to develop “a compact, lightweight power conversion device that is capable of taking utility-scale solar power and outputting it directly into the electric utility grid at distribution voltage levels—eliminating the need for large transformers.”
Satcon is the second DOE-backed green energy company to declare bankruptcy this week. Electric vehicle battery manufacturer A123 Systems filed for Chapter 11 despite receiving a $249 million DOE grant. A123 and Satcon mark the latest in a long line of taxpayer-funded green energy failures.

The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:

Evergreen Solar ($24 million)*
SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
Solyndra ($535 million)*
Beacon Power ($69 million)*
AES’s subsidiary Eastern Energy ($17.1 million)
Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
SunPower ($1.5 billion)
First Solar ($1.46 billion)
Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
Amonix ($5.9 million)
National Renewable Energy Lab ($200 million)
Fisker Automotive ($528 million)
Abound Solar ($374 million)*
A123 Systems ($279 million)*
Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($6 million)
Johnson Controls ($299 million)
Schneider Electric ($86 million)
Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
ECOtality ($126.2 million)
Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
Range Fuels ($80 million)*
Thompson River Power ($6.4 million)*
Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
LSP Energy ($2.1 billion)*
UniSolar ($100 million)*
Azure Dynamics ($120 million)*
GreenVolts ($500,000)
Vestas ($50 million)
LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($150 million)
Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
Navistar ($10 million)
Satcon ($3 million)*

*Denotes companies that have filed for bankruptcy.

The problem begins with the issue of government picking winners and losers in the first place. Venture capitalist firms exist for this very reason, and they choose what to invest in by looking at companies’ business models and deciding if they are worthy. When the government plays venture capitalist, it tends to reward companies that are connected to the policymakers themselves or because it sounds nice to “invest” in green energy.


"it tends to reward companies that are connected to the policymakers themselves" ???
Like Solyndra's ($535 million) George Kaiser being a "bundler" of political donations?
George Kaiser in 2009: It's Time to Cash in on the Mother of All Government Handouts

Roger

Nice try but they aren't all "Green" companies.

Better luck next time.

Hint: Babcock and Brown for a start.

[voltaire]

Another Taxpayer-Backed Solar Company Goes Bankrupt...

COMPLETE LIST OF 'GREEN ENERGY' FAILURES...

Satcon received a $3 million DOE grant in January to develop “a compact, lightweight power conversion device that is capable of taking utility-scale solar power and outputting it directly into the electric utility grid at distribution voltage levels—eliminating the need for large transformers.”
Satcon is the second DOE-backed green energy company to declare bankruptcy this week. Electric vehicle battery manufacturer A123 Systems filed for Chapter 11 despite receiving a $249 million DOE grant. A123 and Satcon mark the latest in a long line of taxpayer-funded green energy failures.

The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:

Evergreen Solar ($24 million)*
SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
Solyndra ($535 million)*
Beacon Power ($69 million)*
AES’s subsidiary Eastern Energy ($17.1 million)
Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
SunPower ($1.5 billion)
First Solar ($1.46 billion)
Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
Amonix ($5.9 million)
National Renewable Energy Lab ($200 million)
Fisker Automotive ($528 million)
Abound Solar ($374 million)*
A123 Systems ($279 million)*
Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($6 million)
Johnson Controls ($299 million)
Schneider Electric ($86 million)
Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
ECOtality ($126.2 million)
Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
Range Fuels ($80 million)*
Thompson River Power ($6.4 million)*
Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
LSP Energy ($2.1 billion)*
UniSolar ($100 million)*
Azure Dynamics ($120 million)*
GreenVolts ($500,000)
Vestas ($50 million)
LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($150 million)
Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
Navistar ($10 million)
Satcon ($3 million)*

*Denotes companies that have filed for bankruptcy.

The problem begins with the issue of government picking winners and losers in the first place. Venture capitalist firms exist for this very reason, and they choose what to invest in by looking at companies’ business models and deciding if they are worthy. When the government plays venture capitalist, it tends to reward companies that are connected to the policymakers themselves or because it sounds nice to “invest” in green energy.


"it tends to reward companies that are connected to the policymakers themselves" ???
Like Solyndra's ($535 million) George Kaiser being a "bundler" of political donations?
George Kaiser in 2009: It's Time to Cash in on the Mother of All Government Handouts

Roger

Nice try but they aren't all "Green" companies.

Better luck next time.

Hint: Babcock and Brown for a start.

You may say, get fracked, but I will bet the mother frackers get sued out of existence.

The escaping gases are a huge problem and may even rival asbestos or the like.