Let's bring this awful thread back to life. Had two things to respond to before it disappears forever.
Originally posted by P19978:
Isn't this the middle:
"Earth's climate changes over time. Nobody has thus far proven man's effect."?
No, this is not the middle. Scientists have proven that the impact from human specific activities affect, and have affected, Earth's climate. The degree to which human's impact WILL LATER change our climate is still up for debate.
Originally posted by Bill Derington:
Mime, I don't know what you're calling antiquated, it's the way it is in reality. In the real world, not on paper or on a link from a website what I described to you is EXACTLY how it takes place, that is from first hand knowledge, you can choose to believe me or not, at this point I really don't care.
Yes, I'm calling the current power grid and manner in which we typically generate power antiquated, because it absolutely is just that. Antiquated and the status quo aren't mutually exclusive. Not in the least.
Our two party system is antiquated and, unfortunately, the current state of affairs that dominates national politics.
Our prevalent methods of power generation and distribution is senescent and inefficient. We rely on massive centralized turbine generators to continuously combust finite resources then distribute the resulting power via decades old grid systems reliant up thousands of miles of transmission lines, all the while the end consumer is at the mercy of a monopolistic provider guaranteed a pre-determined return by regulating agencies. It's the very definition of antiquated, and it's the reason that entities with flexible balance sheets and massive appetites for power consumption are constructing their own self sufficient micro-grids (ex US Military, Oracle, IIT, NYU, Verizon, etc) to save b/millions in electricity costs.
Our current energy infrastructure as it operates is in its waning years and will go the way of landlines. Standard utility companies that don't modify their models will follow suit.
Originally posted by Bill Derington:
The wind power where it sits may be $61 a megawatt, but to get it from there to where it's needed it has to cross different power companies grids, they have to pay for the upkeep for these grids, and they charge interconnect fees. Now you can say wind really isn't $100 a mw to produce, whatever, by the time it gets to where it can be used it most definitely is. Not to mention it isn't RELIABLE, you have to maintain a primary back up for it. It is a money pit that the government is forcing on all of us.
Thank you for proving my point re: our antiquated and inefficient energy grid system in which unnecessary middle men jack up prices for long distance transmission. The construction of DG wind farms bypasses interconnection issues.
Obviously the capacity factor for wind is lower than that of fossil fuels but a micro-grid doesn't rely solely on source of power. When wind as a fuel source is available and the demand is present, which is often, it's one of the cheaper sources of power on the market. But it's a strawman to suggest wind shouldn't be in use because of its reliability.
Originally posted by Bill Derington:
Renewables are mandated, why? Do you honestly think 500million for a best case scenario 79 megawatts is feasible, and they aren't building a dam, there adding underwater turbines, all together it's gonna cost $1.5 billion for 300 mw, that's insane. TVA is building a 1200mw combined cycle plant for 1.19 billion right now in muhlenberg county, Which one is the better deal? Unless of course the Govt in 20 years come around forces stiff penalties on those too, which they probably will, cause it's a shell game.
Renewables are mandated in some states because policy makers realize the importance of a self-sustaining, diversified energy portfolio and are aware of the total economic costs of relying on coal fired centralized power generators. Kentucky and Tennessee do not have RPS so I'm not sure why they're investing heavily in renewables other than having at least the minimum awareness of prevailing industry trends.
Obviously the cost of operating fully functioning fossil fuel plants is cheaper TODAY than building new renewable energy capacity due to the status quo bolstered by a decades old infrastructure and subsidies from local and national governments. To maximize long term benefits we need massive upgrades to the entire system from generation to distribution and consumption.
Anyone who believes our future energy needs will be completely satisfied with fossil fuel combustion utility scale power stations given our current grid limitations is either stubbornly obtuse or woefully shortsighted.
This post was edited on 3/2 7:07 PM by Mime-Is-Money[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]