Earl Killian’s Recent Comments

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  Great post! Thank you. So how about providing us with the address of the CBO folks so we can write them a nice letter? Very cute puppies.On How CBO budget scoring devalues efficiency ... WITH PUPPIES! posted 1 month ago 9 Responses

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  You wrote, "We have had solar and wind technologies since the 70's and the cost has not come down to be competitive with conventional energy." You seem frozen in time. Wind energy is already competitive with new fossil energy, and it will improve further with the new 5 MW turbines that exploit winds at 80 m and achieve higher capacity factors as a result. Of course, no new energy can compete with fully depreciated old energy, but that's not the test. Consider the busbar cost data prepared for the California Energy Commission by EThree: Biogas: 8.552 cents/kWh Wind: 8.910 cents/kWh Gas Combined Cycle: 9.382 cents/kWh Geothermal: 10.182 cents/kWh Hydroelectric: 10.527 cents/kWh Coal Supercritical: 10.554 cents/kWh Coal IGCC: 11.481 cents/kWh Solar thermal: 12.653 cents/kWh Nuclear: 15.316 cents/kWh Biomass: 16.485 cents/kWh Coal IGCC with CCS: 17.317 cents/kWh (Also Stirling Energy Systems claims "less than 10 cents per kWh" for their SunCatcher solar thermal.) You wrote, "it is a question of how much I am ABLE to pay for it." The question is whether your are ABLE to pay for the cost of not having clean energy. I very much doubt any of us can afford that price tag, at least if we include our children in the equation. You make it sound as if there is a choice, but really the alternative is much too expensive for any of us. There is a problem with wind: there are issues with intermittent supply. Fortunately, that is one problem that electric cars help solve.On SolarCity makes electric cars an even smarter investment posted 1 month, 1 week ago 19 Responses

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  I remember the first time I heard a CD player in 1984. They had just come out and friend had bought one for around $2000. That was in 1980s dollars, and would be about $4100 today. What do you pay for a CD player today? My point is that the price premium for batteries will come down as technology improves and as manufacturing moves down the learning curve. To diss EVs today based on cost is not looking toward what will inevitably happen when they are manufactured in quantity. It is perfectly plausible that in just a few years that an EV battery pack will cost under $8,000, instead of $16,000 today. Subtract from that $8,000 the cost of the engine, radiator, oil pump and filter, spark plugs, transmission, catalytic converter, muffler, and the maintenance associated with those things and all the fluids and filters, and the EV premium will be much less. Remember that maintenance is a big part of the cost of car ownership and that EVs have a lot less of it. You should also ask yourself how much you're willing to pay for clean air and water. Plenty of people pay an outrageous price so that the US can feed its gasoline addiction. In contrast, my EV fuel comes from sunshine.On SolarCity makes electric cars an even smarter investment posted 1 month, 1 week ago 19 Responses

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  In California, you can drive your electricity bill to zero by installing TOU net-metering and PV, but you cannot get paid for the energy you generate in excess of what you use over a 12 month period. If you want to get paid for electricity generated then you go into a different program where you get wholesale rates instead of retail rates.On SolarCity makes electric cars an even smarter investment posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago 19 Responses

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  This story is a good illustration of the second half of the lament, "Republicans are evil and Democrats are incompetent." I'd rather have the Three Stooges fix my plumbing than leave it to the Democrats to actually solve a problem.

  If Baucus gets to control the climate bill, we might as well start moving to Ellesmere Island. If the Republicans get control again, we might as well start moving to Mars.

  We need a new party.

  On Is Sen. Baucus of Montana standing in the way of swift, strong climate action? posted 2 months, 1 week ago 4 Responses