Here's Steven Chu, the likely Obama pick to head the Department of Energy, talking about climate change and renewable energy at the National Energy Summit in Nevada this summer:
(Via Brad Plumer, via Brad Johnson.)
GoodGuide scanner makes healthy food shopping point and click 1 Posted 1 day, 18 hours ago
On “climategate” 17 Posted 1 day, 6 hours ago
Climate deniers, hold your fire! 16 Posted 1 day, 18 hours ago
Transition talk: What Chu want?
Here's Steven Chu, the likely Obama pick to head the Department of Energy, talking about climate change and renewable energy at the National Energy Summit in Nevada this summer:
(Via Brad Plumer, via Brad Johnson.)
Kate Sheppard is Grist’s political reporter.
You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.
Comments
View as Flat
BILL HANNAHAN Posted 2:19 pm
10 Dec 2008
3 centigrade degrees = 5.4 Fahrenheit degrees, not 11 degrees Fahrenheit.
Steven Chu interview
"Should fission-based nuclear power plants be made a bigger part of the energy-producing portfolio?
Absolutely. Right now about 20 percent of our power comes from nuclear; there have been no new nuclear plants built since the early '70s."
http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/10/03_chu.sh ...
Unfortunately the DOE chief serves as an accountant, not an engineer or scientist. The budget is only $25 billion, spent largely on military issues.
http://www.cfo.doe.gov/budget/09budget/Content/ApprSum.pd ...
Our energy program is determined by a group of gray haired law school graduates in Washington called Congress.
If we gave him $150 billion per year for the next ten years with instructions to solve the world's energy problems, I believe he could do it.
Things Everybody Should Know About Energy
Permalink
anyone Posted 7:20 pm
12 Dec 2008
This report funded by the nuclear industry states that new nuclear power production costs are between: 8.3 and 11.1 cents/kWh
http://www.keystone.org/spp/documents/FinalReport_NJFF6_1 ...(1).pdf
However this report assumed capital overnight costs of only $2950/kW and new nuclear power plants to be built in Florida already assumed capital costs of over $7000/kW and this at prohibitively long planning and construction times.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8916 ...
According to the Department of Energy the costs of wind power are between 3 and 6.4 cents per kWh. Average capital costs of Windturbines are $1480/kW (2006).
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/41435.pdf
South dakota alone has enough wind to power half the US:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/05/14/s ...
No wonder wind capacity is currently growing about 20 times faster than nuclear and has a double digit growth every single year. http://www.wwindea.org/home/index.php?option=com_content& ...
And interconnected Windfarms can provide baseload:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/winds/aj07_jamc.pdf
Thinfilm photovoltaics will reach costs of below $1000/kW by 2010.
http://guntherportfolio.blogspot.com/2007/09/oerlikon-sol ...
120,000 km2 of the US is built. If only 10% of that area has roof area, that leads to a maximum solar flux of 12,000 GW or 1,200 GW at only 10% efficiency.
92 x 92 sq mi (or about 8% of Nevada) is enough to power the entire US with solar thermal alone.
http://www.ausra.com/
HVDC can transmit power from coast to coast with losses of only 3% per 1000 km at costs of 70/kW per 1000 km (transmission line only).
http://www.abb.com/cawp/GAD02181/C1256D71001E0037C1256834 ...
http://www.iset.uni-kassel.de/abt/w3-w/projekte/LowCostEu ...
Not to mention geothermal, biomass, tidal and most importantly: efficiency.
Permalink