October 29, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item October Energy Update
October 30, 2007 at 6:07 am
That's a really interesting wind power generator. The cost does look interesting. We're already off the grid for heating the house (outdoor wood burning furnace), water and waste disposal, so all I need is some reliable, cheap and most importantly, simple, method of generating power & I'm done.
BTW, with all the advances in nuclear technology, it's nuts that we're not going after it whole hog. Talk about freeing up all kinds of energy dependencies, lowering the cost of gasoline, taking away the power of the mullah's in the Middle East, cleaning up the environment. And yes, as someone also experienced with nuclear power, the waste & radiation are concerns, but modern western reactors have no relation to Chernobyl style reactors so all that emotional claptrap should be scraped off the table.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
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October 30, 2007 at 6:23 am
There are 2 applications in for new reactors as of yesterday (10/29/2007) in the US, and 14 more applications expected to be filed in 2008. Good thing IMO.
Only real problem I have with it is the nuclear industry wants 14 billion dollar in loan guarantees. If it is as cheap, reliable and efficient as the nuclear industry claims why do they need guarantees? Heck why not make me buy one (me, as in my tax money) and run it, that way the government could also make the money of it.
October 30, 2007 at 6:50 am
I think they want the loan guarantees because, quite frankly, the next administration (regardless of individual or party, not picking a fight with anyone), can reverse the directions & decisions of the previous administration, completely undoing all the work and basically causing the project to fail. It's happened before. So, the issue isn't that building the reactors or running them is cheap or profitable, it's risky because of the changing winds.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
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October 30, 2007 at 7:39 am
I tend to agree with Grant. It's the political games that might be played. A reactor will take a couple administrations to get operational and those investing billions don't want them shut down. At Virginia Power, where I worked, we had 2 reactors in Surrey (of Michael Vick fame) and 2 northwest of Richmond. The northern site had 2 more reactors approved and some work done on building foundations, but all the political issues resulted in the projects being scrapped.
I know Grant has experience with nuclear, and I've a little. But some of the newer designs run with very few people even on site, like dozens, not the 500-600 I saw per reactor when I worked there.
October 30, 2007 at 8:03 am
Thanks for the update on solar and wind power alternatives. The Solar Decathalon showed some great ideas! The good news is that the cost is becoming reasonable for home-owners to start implementing. Now if I can just get my homeowners' association to approve a wind turbine.
October 30, 2007 at 10:12 am
The small turbine is tempting. I'm looking to try and get some wind monitoring up here soon. I've heard the $150 Weather Stations aren't great, so I'm trying to free up the $500 for the Davis station and get tracking here to do my economic analysis.
Lucky for me I don't have to worry about HOAs, but as I get more information, keep tuned for more updates.
November 1, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Did you hear about IBM? They have a process for stripping failed silicon wafers to re-use in solar panels. It could really drive down the cost of solar. I'm kind of curious what the ecological cost of the process would be.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/30/2236220
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[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font]
November 2, 2007 at 9:09 am
Grant and Steve,
I switched my heating and cooling over to geothermal about 5 years ago - I have already paid back my investment! Besides heating and cooling my house, I also heat my water. And because I am using geothermal, I have the lowest energy rate allowed by law in PA - it is totally win win.
I got mine from http://www.waterfurnace.com - go take a look.
best,
Doug
November 2, 2007 at 9:14 am
Up in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts we don't worry too much about cooling the house, but this GeoThermal heating sounds a heck of a lot better than the two plus hours I spend every weekend splitting wood to feed the furnace. Maybe I'll whine less once I get the hydraulic splitter.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
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November 2, 2007 at 9:30 am
Douglas,
I went to the http://www.waterfurnace.com site, and the Savings Calculator did a reasonable estimate of my current heating and cooling costs. What I DIDN'T find was an estimate of the cost to install a replacement system. May I ask, how much did it cost you, ballpark? (I figure, if they didn't give an estimate, it's probably pretty expensive.)
November 2, 2007 at 9:33 am
C'mon, I think you splitting wood would make a good video. Keeps you in shape, fresh air. Hydraulics, who needs em?
November 2, 2007 at 9:40 am
Should I tape a full two-hours?
That'd be slightly more interesting than the yule log on TV.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
November 2, 2007 at 9:52 am
Sure, I'll edit it down to the cursing, the missed logs, and a few huffing/puffing shots 😛
November 2, 2007 at 10:08 am
don't forget someone to do the running commentary as to technique, effectiveness, etc...:D
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
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