[snakeoil]

Germany Was Powered by 74% Renewable Energy Last Weekend. The USA, not so much. Please note that Germany is not optimal for solar energy. While our "leaders" (ha ha ha ha) bluster about things that don't matter to most of our population, the world is passing us by.

http://inhabitat.com/germany-sets-new-r ... t-weekend/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[snakeoil]

Another post on solar. China wants 70,000 megawatts of solar by 2017, triple what they currently have.

http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-ene ... mount.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RealJustme]

Now for the Paul Harvey story:

One of the biggest challenges to the new German government will be to put the energy transition back on track, according to a recent study. Negative trends persist as Germany's domestic energy prices rose to 48% above the European average, EurActiv Germany reports.

The German Minister of Environment, who is a big fan of the transition into renewable energies, put a 1.3 trillion USD price-tag on this change. This amount equals all the money companies and individuals in Germany earned over 180 days. These 180 days of earnings didn’t go to pay for healthcare, food, or housing.

According to the latest assessment of Germany's energy transition, the country is far from being on track to meet its 2020 targets. Many policy adjustments must still be made if Germany is to continue along the path of the "Energiewende", the clean energy campaign originating in the 1980s.

"The Energiewende remains the biggest challenge for our country", explained German Minister of Energy and Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel in Berlin last month.

The index value for industry energy prices has "drastically worsened", according to the McKinsey study. This can likely be traced to the 7% rise in prices during the first half of 2013 compared to the price of 11.23 ct/kWh over the previous half year.

An important driver for this was an increase in the renewables surcharge stemming from the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), one of the ways German lawmakers picked up the momentum from the Energiewende's rising public support.

Germany's controversial EEG measure, which came into force in 2000, offered a new way to share the load of promoting green power generation: EEG created a surcharge, applied to almost all consumer price rates, to make up the difference between the price of renewables and the regular market price of energy. Energy prices have risen at a staggering rate to over 4 times the cost of electricity in the United States and the highest in Europe. As a result of surcharges to support green power gas prices are over $9.00 a gallon and expected to reach $12.00 a gallon by the end of 2016. The economy can't sustain the rising energy costs and brown outs that rolled through Germany during last summer's heat.

[snakeoil]

How about a credit for that quote.

[RealJustme]

How about a credit for that quote.

OK, credit given for a well written article.

[sillydaddy]

But will they keep making the Porsche?

[snakeoil]

http://www.offthegridnews.com/2014/05/0 ... ble-in-us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please remember that LLoyds of London makes their money by being correct on their assessment of risk.

[brandon]

Snake falls back to taking another shot at America.

This was a great thread Snake. :lol:

[johnforbes]

Speaking of Lloyd's, there is an interesting movie about its history (it began in a coffee house and insured ships).

Stars were Tyrone Power and Madeleine Carroll (she was Hitchcock's first icy blonde).

[Clownkicker]

How is that article a "shot at America" Brandon?
It's a wake up call.

The electrical grid is fragile, overloaded, and antiquated. We NEED to do something about it soon. This is not a political opinion of this or that stripe. Ask an electrician.

One of the effects of global warming causing more extreme temperature fluctuations is that people are going to be using their air conditioning systems more heavily than ever, demanding more power at peak times of day. The system can't handle this currently. (<----johnforbes would find that hilarious if he said it. As for me, no stupid pun intended.)
We have already had smaller previews of the problem with blackouts in the past.

[johnforbes]

Rational people resist Clownhicker's posts because he is not plugged into reality.

The grid is never overloaded unless you seek to place two low-fat pancakes on it.

[RealJustme]

How is that article a "shot at America" Brandon?
It's a wake up call.

Yes, how we expected to increase energy costs by 400% unless we follow Germany's lead?

[Clownkicker]

As always, idiot johnforbes doesn't know watt he is talking about. (Except when he's talking about his AC/DC proclivities.)

[snakeoil]

Brandon-I was not taking a shot at America, I was pointing out the Germany seems determined to wean themselves from fossil fuels. We are missing out by basing our energy needs on fossil fuels. If you had watched the HBO series "Vice" you would have seem the Greenland glaciers with a layer of black pollution on them which heats up the glacier and accelerates the melting.

You should read the book by Daniel Yergan called "The Quest." It's about the future of energy in the world. One thing it does point out is that you will never see $2.00 gasoline again because we have found and extracted all of the easy crude and what's left is much more expensive to get.

http://www.builditsolar.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sillydaddy]

Yes, dilemma, dilemma, dilemma,.......now fill'er up ....both tanks.

[Clownkicker]

Clearly sillydaddy is an accolyte of Sec. of the Interior James Watt.

Yup, Jesus is coming so use it all up while you can.
Fuck our children!
We couldn't possibly run out before he gets here.

[RealJustme]

Fuck our children!

There you have it folks, direct from a liberals mouth...and that's exactly what they're doing. Obama meant it when he said he won't allow us to drive our SUVs, eat until we're full or keep our house at 72 degrees. Liberals are hell bent to destroy our energy resources and tax us out of house and home. Look at what's happening in Germany, that will be us in if we continue on Obama's course. Germany's energy problems have gotten so bad they are actually considering fracking as a means to get needed gas.

Electricity prices in Germany are already the highest in the world. The price of industrial electricity has risen about 37 percent since 2005 as a result of Germany's attempt at green energy, according to the Federation of German Industries. The price in the United States has fallen by 4 percent over about the same time.

The rise in energy prices has already cost Germany $52 billion in net exports and could prove even more damaging if steps are not taken to keep prices in check, according to the IHS study. IHS asserts that adding domestic shale gas into the mix would keep prices down.

A decision by the European Commission this year made it possible for member countries like Britain and Poland which are interested in pursuing their shale gas reserves to do so.

The Federal Environmental Agency in Germany is conducting its own study into the impact that tapping those gas reserves through fracking

[Clownkicker]

^^^^^They don't come any more stupid and dishonest than RealTool.

[RealJustme]

Clown your the one who said "fuck our children", your agenda does indeed fuck them! Trying to tout Germany's failed energy policies as they now admit was a big mistake is a prime example

[Clownkicker]

The last time I caught you in a big fat lie, RealTool, you said it wasn't a lie, it was satire.

Now you are proving that the supposed 'satire' actually WAS a lie because you are demonstrating you don't recognize satire when you read it with your stupid claim that a liberal said "Fuck our children!"
That is a satire on James Watt and sillydaddy's attitude toward the future generations, as I indicated in the post you failed to comprehend.

Like I've said many times, you're functionally illiterate.
Quit the school board and go get your G.E.D. before they all catch on, if they haven't already.

[johnforbes]

There needs to be a new trial in Nurnberg, near where I used to live in Nord Bayern, for Clownhicker's egregious stupidity.

[brandon]

While our "leaders" (ha ha ha ha) bluster about things that don't matter to most of our population, the world is passing us by.

Snake, we have been spending billions of tax dollars and giving billions in tax credits for alternative energy development. Forgive me if I don't act hysterical and want to pay any more to act like some Euroweenie. It doesn't look like much , but the tax incentives are there. So is direct spending. Historical levels actually.

$billions$

The energy policy of the Obama administration, stated on the website of U.S. President Barack Obama, lists the guiding principles of the administration regarding energy and the environment. They include creating new "clean energy" jobs and technologies, making America more energy independent, and reducing carbon emissions.[1]

On April 13, 2010, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the White House website summarized the initiatives that the administration is taking or has undertaken:[2]


• A $3.4 billion Smart Grid Investment Grant (part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), which would affect 49 states and has the potential to reduce electricity use by more than 4% by 2030,[3]
• The launch of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) project under the Department of Energy and in collaboration with the Department of Defense, modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,[4]
• A new report on how the federal government can help create a "self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry"[5]
• New efficiency standards for home appliances,[6]
• A new National Fuel Efficiency Policy that will apply to cars from model years 2012-2016 and will ultimately require cars to have an average fuel efficiency of 35.5 mpg by 2016,[7]
• Three measures to increase the production of biofuels: a renewable fuels standard, biomass crop assistance program, and a biofuels working group. The President has also created an interagency task force to help create a federal strategy for carbon capture and storage, and[8]
• A new Environmental Protection Agency ruling (called the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule) requiring the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by major emitters in the United States.[9]



Many of the Obama administration's initiatives were undertaken as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and many of those investments were specifically in clean energy. According to a report by Clean Edge: The Clean Tech Marketing Authority, the recovery act included more than $70 billion in tax credits and direct spending for programs involving clean energy and transportation.[10]

The White House website states that the recovery act provided more than $80 billion in clean energy investments:[11]


• $11 billion for a smart grid to connect rural energy-producing sites with cities, and smarter use of energy within homes,
• $5 billion to weatherize low-income homes,
• $4.5 billion to reduce the federal government's own energy bill by making federal buildings more energy efficient,
• $6.3 billion to support state and local energy efforts,
• $600 million to train people for green jobs, and
• $2 billion to promote investments in battery storage technologies.


Clean Edge lists other recent policies of the Obama Administration to support the clean energy sector in the U.S.:[12]


• Extending the investment tax credit for solar energy,
• Extending the production tax credit for wind energy,
• Allowing utilities to participate in income tax credits, and
• Allowing renewable energy developers to receive government grants instead of tax credits.

In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama called for a goal, "By 2035, 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources."


In a speech on March 31, 2010 at Andrews Air Force Base, President Obama outlined a new energy security plan. The president's plan includes initiatives such as raising fuel efficiency standards. He also announced a decision to double the number of hybrid vehicles in the federal government's fleet, and made a decision to expand domestic offshore oil and gas exploration in Alaska and off the southwest coast of the United States.[16]

Following up on Obama's speech, the White House blog released a statement on how the administration plans to boost domestic energy production, diversify America's energy portfolio, and promote clean energy innovation with three tactics:
Landmark car and truck fuel standards
Leading by example - Greening the federal fleet
Department of Defense energy security strategic emphasis

So is that all bluster and bullshit from Obama? Is he letting the world pass us by?

The grid?

The Obama administration outlined a plan to upgrade the U.S. electric grid, providing as much as $250 million ...The administration is seeking to coordinate public and private efforts in replacing aging infrastructure as federal and state agencies adopt measures to encourage development of renewable energy such as wind and solar power. President Barack Obama wants to put 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 and double clean-energy use in the U.S. by 2035. ....The U.S. government invested $4.5 billion in grid upgrades in the 2009 stimulus bill, matched by $5.5 billion in private investment. ....Investor-owned utilities are planning at least $61 billion in high-voltage power-line projects through 2021, according to the Edison Electric Institute, a Washington-based industry group.

Smart-grid policies have been adopted in 25 states, creating a patchwork of different approaches, according to the White House plan. “While there is no one-size-fits-all set of smart-grid solutions, there are important unifying policy strategies that can advance U.S. leadership in the 21st century clean-energy economy,” according to “A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid” issued by the administration.

Renewable energy in the United States accounted for 13.2 percent of the domestically produced electricity in 2012,[1] and 11.2 percent of total energy generation.[2] Renewable energy reached a major milestone in the first quarter of 2011, when it contributed 11.7 percent of total U.S. energy production (2.245 quadrillion BTUs of energy), surpassing energy production from nuclear power (2.125 quadrillion BTUs).[3] 2011 was the first year since 1997 that renewables exceeded nuclear in US total energy production.[4]

Hydroelectric power is currently the largest producer of renewable power in the U.S. It produced around 6.2% of the nation's total electricity in 2010 which was 60.2% of the total renewable power in the U.S.[5] The United States is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world after China, Canada and Brazil. The Grand Coulee Dam is the 5th largest hydroelectric power station in the world.

U.S. wind power installed capacity now exceeds 60,000 MW and supplies 4% of the nation's electricity.[6][7] Texas is firmly established as the leader in wind power development, followed by Iowa and California.[8] Since the U.S. pioneered the technology with Solar One, several solar thermal power stations have also been built. The largest of these solar thermal power stations is the SEGS group of plants in the Mojave Desert with a total generating capacity of 354 MW, making the system the largest solar plant of any kind in the world.[9] The largest photovoltaic power plant in North America is the over 200 MW Agua Caliente Solar Project in Yuma County, Arizona. The Geysers in Northern California is the largest complex of geothermal energy production in the world.

The development of renewable energy and energy efficiency marks "a new era of energy exploration" in the United States, according to President Barack Obama.[10] In a joint address to the Congress on February 24, 2009, President Obama called for doubling renewable energy within the next three years.[11] In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama restated his commitment to renewable energy and mentioned the long-standing Interior Department commitment to permit 10,000 MW of renewable energy projects on public land in 2012.[...The president's New Energy For America plan calls for a federal investment of $150 billion over the next decade to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. Specifically, the plan calls for renewable energy to supply 10% of the nation's electricity by 2012, rising to 25% by 2025.[14]

In his joint address to Congress in 2009, Obama stated that: "We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st. century....Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation’s supply of renewable energy in the next three years... It is time for America to lead again".[.....Renewable energy in the United States accounted for 12.1 percent of the domestically produced electricity in 2012.[17] California is a leading state and around 20 percent of California's electricity comes from renewable sources.[18]

The United States has some of the best renewable energy resources in the world, which have the potential to meet a rising and significant share of the nation's energy demand. A quarter of the U.S. land area has winds strong enough to generate electricity at the same price as natural gas and coal.[19]

Many of the new technologies that harness renewables — including wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels — are, or soon will be, economically competitive with the fossil fuels that meet 85 percent of U.S. energy needs. Dynamic growth rates are driving down costs and spurring rapid advances in technologies.[19] Energy technologies also receive government subsidies. In 2010, federal government subsidies for electricity production from renewables, fossil fuels, and nuclear were $6560 million, $1843 million and $2499 million respectively.[5] All but four U.S. states now have incentives in place to promote renewable energy, while more than a dozen have enacted new renewable energy laws in recent years.[19] Renewable energy suffered a political setback in the United States in September 2011 with the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a company that had received a $535 million federal loan guarantee.

Do you realize the US is home to the largest Solar Energy Plant in the world?

In 2012, the Bureau of Land Management made available 97.9 million acres of land for solar projects, adequate for 10 million MW of solar power tower or 20 million MW of parabolic trough. Of this, 17 "Solar Energy Zones", were identified, which could produce from 42,554 MW - 76,577 MW.[42]

Solar Energy Generating Systems[edit]

Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is the name given to nine solar power plants in the Mojave Desert. SEGS I-VII are located at Kramer Junction, and SEGS VIII and IX are at Harper Lake and Barstow respectively. The SEGS power plants were commissioned between 1984 and 1991.[9]

The installation uses parabolic trough solar thermal technology along with natural gas to generate electricity. The facility has a total of 400,000 mirrors and covers 1,000 acres (4 km²). The plants have a total generating capacity of 354 MW, making the system the largest solar plant of any kind in the world.[9]

Nevada Solar One[edit]

Nevada Solar One generates 64MW of power and in Boulder City, Nevada, and was built by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Solargenix Energy. Nevada Solar One started producing electricity in June 2007.

Nevada Solar One uses parabolic troughs as thermal solar concentrators, heating tubes of liquid which act as solar receivers. These solar receivers are specially coated tubes made of glass and steel. About 19,300 of these 4 metre long tubes are used in the newly built power plant. Nevada Solar One also uses a technology that collects extra heat by putting it into phase-changing molten salts. This energy can then be drawn on at night.[43]

Solar thermal power plants designed for solar-only generation are well matched to summer noon peak loads in prosperous areas with significant cooling demands, such as the south-western United States. Using thermal energy storage systems, solar thermal operating periods can even be extended to meet base-load needs.[44]

Under construction[edit]

The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 392 megawatt (MW) solar power facility which is under construction in south-eastern California.[45] The Solana Generating Station is a 280 MW solar power plant which is under construction near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix. The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project is a 110 megawatt (MW) solar thermal power project currently under construction near Tonopah, about 190 miles (310 km) northwest of Las Vegas.[46]

Land use issues[edit]....The Solar America Initiative (SAI)[89] is a part of the Federal Advanced Energy Initiative to accelerate the development of advanced photovoltaic materials with the goal of making it cost-competitive with other forms of renewable electricity by 2015.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP) will achieve the goals of the SAI through partnerships and strategic alliances by focusing primarily on four areas:
##Market Transformation — activities that address marketplace barriers and offer the opportunity for market expansion
##Device and Process Proof of Concept — R&D activities addressing novel devices or processes with potentially significant performance or cost advantages
##Component Prototype and Pilot-Scale Production — R&D activities emphasizing development of prototype PV components or systems produced at pilot-scale with demonstrated cost, reliability, or performance advantages
##System Development and Manufacturing — collaborative R&D activities among industry and university partners to develop and improve solar energy technologies

California Solar Initiative[edit]

As part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Million Solar Roofs Program, California has set a goal to create 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2017 - moving the state toward a cleaner energy future and helping lower the cost of solar systems for consumers. This is a comprehensive $2.8 billion program.[90]

The California Solar Initiative offers cash incentives on solar PV systems of up to $2.50 a watt. These incentives, combined with federal tax incentives, can cover up to 50% of the total cost of a solar panel system.[90] It should also be noted that there are many financial incentives to support the use of renewable energy in other US states.[

Maybe you could start a thread to discuss all of that bluster, Snake. Instead of starting one with your simple, condescending, generalized bullshit about what you think everyone else in unaware of. You seem like that asshole who always thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. But is actually clueless about WTF is happening around him.

[Clownkicker]

"There needs to be a new trial in Nurnberg, near where I used to live in Nord Bayern, for Clownhicker's egregious stupidity."-johnforbes


johnforbes is so stupid he doesn't even know that stupidity is not a crime.
Lucky for him, I guess.

john can never actually tells us what is supposedly stupid about my posts because he lacks all critical thinking ability.
Apparently he can't recognize satire either.
He just knows that I make him look like a fool and he can't figure out how I do it.

[Clownkicker]

" You seem like that asshole who always thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. But is actually clueless about WTF is happening around him."-Brandon

^^^^^You pegged johnforbes exactly.
At least snakeoil seems willing to talk about it honestly, mistaken or not.

[johnforbes]

It is true that being brighter than Clownhicker is no accomplishment.

Heck, the average rotted tree stump has 20 IQ points on Clownhick.

But, yes, when a person is as stupid as Clownhicker, it does indeed violate international law as articulated in various Hague protocols.

[snakeoil]

John-That's a good start. Now let's finish the job. the only problem I have with your post is the funds forthe "smart grid." I thought that the electric grid was privately owner by the utility companies.

[snakeoil]

PS Wouldn't it be great not to have a utility bill? Wouldn't it be great not to have wars for oil?

[sillydaddy]

snake....you sound like a John Lennon song.

[Schumacher2014]

Yes electricity costs have risen here in Germany and in comparance your electricity bills are low... but if you add the costs for your military expenditure to keep those fossile fuels flowing in the Middle East, it paints a totally different picture

You keep living in the past overthere, don't come one day when fossile fuel runs out and you still haven't made the change to renewable, and say that we didn't warn you, okay?

Oh and before I forget, with the highest costs for energy, we still manage to beat you in producing and exporting our quality goods all over the world, go figure!