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In a First, Renewable Energy Is Poised to Eclipse Coal in U.S.

eschjw

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Renewable power, a category that includes wind, solar, hydroelectric dams, geothermal and biomass.
 

MrockStar

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Renewable power, a category that includes wind, solar, hydroelectric dams, geothermal and biomass.
Uranium doesn't fit that category, ok. I was thinking no carbon emissions.
 

Passepartout

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Do those work 24 hrs a day?
The premise is that renewables are currently providing MORE energy than coal. Not that renewables currently replace ALL fossil fuel and hydro sources. But during the times that wind/solar are producing energy, fossil sources can be held in reserve. Water held in reservoirs/gas, oil or coal in the ground can be used if necessary, but according to the posted article, the cost of using fossil fuels is increasing, while renewable energy costs far less over time. It simply makes dollars and sense to prepare for a renewable future and encourage users to conserve.
 

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Green energy isn't as green a the 'Greens' think it is. Watch Michael Moore's Planet of the Humans on You Tube. It's a real eye opener, even if it cherry picks areas where green isn't so green.
 

x3 skier

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Be interesting to see what is the actual cost of renewables minus subsidies and tax breaks. I believe they are about to expire.

I don’t have a dog in this fight. Although after my dad took me into a small coal mine in Kentucky one time when I was a young teenager, his advice about going to engineering school made a LOT of sense.

Cheers
 

MrockStar

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Ok, however no energy source is without tradeoffs, wind: bird strikes, noise and visual pollution. Hydro: Fishing migration and fishing disruption. Natural beauty, and free flow river navigation. Solar seems to have the least impacts, However it produces the least Kilowatts per installation and takes up the most space to do it.
 

MrockStar

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Be interesting to see what is the actual cost of renewables minus subsidies and tax breaks. I believe they are about to expire.

I don’t have a dog in this fight. Although after my dad took me into a small coal mine in Kentucky one time when I was a young teenager, his advice about going to engineering school made a LOT of sense.

Cheers
Yes, Electronics engineer and Technician here, so no dog in this fight as well. Just a technical and science based observations. Plus I love the great outdoors.
 

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Wind, in some places, is actually very reliable. Solar can be very effective as it's something you can do yourself. I did so 3 years ago and my bill is $0 10 out of 12 months. only the 2 coldest months have some amount I owe. It also charges my EV. And no, I am not even a green activist. It was economic decision for me, with some amount of environment considerations if the economics were close. But they were not close. So, solar has the potential in many parts of the country to be significant contribution with little footprint when done on houses.

My Dad was a coal miner, black lung and all.

Locally, I am 2 miles from a hydro dam. That is fairly reliable too, except in years of drought perhaps.

This for some will be hard to believe as there is regional chauvinism in this country, but my state Oklahoma is one of only four states that generate 40+ percent of their electricity from wind and solar power. It's quite reliable here.
 

x3 skier

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Having flown into Tinker AFB in OK a few times, I can vouch for the reliability of the wind. Lots of fun(?) in a cross wind.

Cheers
 

MrockStar

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Wind, in some places, is actually very reliable. Solar can be very effective as it's something you can do yourself. I did so 3 years ago and my bill is $0 10 out of 12 months. only the 2 coldest months have some amount I owe. It also charges my EV. And no, I am not even a green activist. It was economic decision for me, with some amount of environment considerations if the economics were close. But they were not close. So, solar has the potential in many parts of the country to be significant contribution with little footprint when done on houses.

My Dad was a coal miner, black lung and all.

Locally, I am 2 miles from a hydro dam. That is fairly reliable too, except in years of drought perhaps.

This for some will be hard to believe as there is regional chauvinism in this country, but my state Oklahoma is one of only four states that generate 40+ percent of their electricity from wind and solar power. It's quite reliable here.
Steve, I spend a fair amount of time training in Norman OKC at our Reginal training facility. Love most things about Oklahoma, and yes like the song your state is blessed with plenty of sunshine and prevailing winds. If I lived there I would whole heartily embrace both of those energy technology's. PS, I have a Honda civic hybrid car 250 K miles, keeps on going. :cool:
 

eschjw

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Do those work 24 hrs a day?
Of course not. I retired from a power transmission company (EPB in Chattanooga) and 100% of all sources are taken off line from time to time. This is all taken into account and the power grid continues to provide power to our customers.
 

Steve Fatula

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Steve, I spend a fair amount of time training in Norman OKC at our Reginal training facility. Love most things about Oklahoma, and yes like the song your state is blessed with plenty of sunshine and prevailing winds. If I lived there I would whole heartily embrace both of those energy technology's. PS, I have a Honda civic hybrid car 250 K miles, keeps on going. :cool:

I don't like that part of the state as much as eastern half, like Tulsa. Used to live there, now rural in SE OK. Not a city guy any more, but if I was, would be Tulsa. Very cosmopolitan city. Lots more hills, trees, etc. in eastern half. And less big tornadoes! Down by me, never been more than a mere F3, and only one of those ever. Was in an F4 in Tulsa once, in a car... Can't imagine an F5.

Yes, "where the wind come sweeping down the plain" was in the song for a reason! At least the western half. Less windy on my side, not suitable for wind farms.

We still have a 2006 Prius (oh how I remember the disinformation on those, new tech probably won't last long, batteries were less good for environment than a gas car, etc), I think we are only at 180k, car runs perfectly. I'm using a Chevy Volt, one of the only cars on the market that is gas AND electric. I can be gas only, electric only, or, electric then gas once it runs out. Solved the problem of chargers, I can still go cross country without any issue, but never ever use an ounce of gas when not travelling. And since I have solar for the house, no money at all (ok, a tiny part of the house electric solar system I suppose) to run it as far as "fuel". Since the solar was meant for the house, and, it's $0 10 out of 12 months, the car is effectively 0, or you could allocate the solar cost to put in over 10 years and come out with 4 cents per kWH for the car.
 

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The renewable kind?

Depends on how many beans you eat . . . . .

Seriously, Natural gas has been replacing coal in the non-renewable category, on a steady basis. So comparing all renewables against only coal is not a fair comparision. Nat Gas has, by itself, become more used that coal today.
 

bbodb1

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Does anyone have the Tesla solar + Power wall? I’m curious if it’s a worthwhile system.
 

CalGalTraveler

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+1 We added solar on our home several years ago. Free electricity and powering the car saves a lot of money. We have thought of adding a powerwall.

We only use energy from the grid at night and for two months in the winter but we are a net generator of electricity and sell energy back to the grid. Yes, the energy company sends us money at the end of the year. Wonder how our net usage would compare to the cost of a powerwall.

The downside of grid connection is when the grid has a power outage, our system is shut down for safety reasons. If we had a powerwall, we could continue to operate.
 
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DrQ

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The downside of grid connection is when the grid has a power outage, our system is shut down for safety reasons. If we had a powerwall, we could continue to operate.
You can install a transfer switch to isolate you from the grid if needed. These are used by systems which have backup standby generators.
 
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