03-02-2019, 12:35 AM
I think I already said it but I am glad you brought the subject up Otter. A utility investor needs to be informed, and understand where the financing comes from, because the funding source could change on us. I admit I don't have a firm enough grip of the facts. I've read enough Eric articles to believe he has researched this considerably. That was an informative post Crimson. You have mentioned you are averse to utility investing. With a better understanding of our legal monopoly in the US, you might consider throwing a few bucks in one of our majors, or maybe not.
It all comes down to the tech needs to stand on it's own in the end. We can't subsidize everything, and health care seems to be the most immediate need. I very much want solar to work, and I think it will soon. I need some proof it is competitive in most climates. This is anectdotal but I know of only one location up north where it provides 50% of the power. At the state college my daughter attended. I'm impressed with the engineering, but I know I funded the build.
Wind farms are getting common here. Iowa isn't particularly windy but it seems to work in the wide open spaces because there are large wind farms with 100 turbines. I know some farmers that signed contracts and farm around the turbines as they don't take up too much corn and soybean growing space at the base. I know that Long-term contracts are signed like 25 yrs. When they first became popular I visited one by a public road. There was a large plaque. I was very surprised to see it was owned by a Japanese company I had never heard of, and not the utility that services us. Why doesn't the power company run this? I suspect the finances are complicated.
Nuke is out of style here, though it seems very safe. Natural gas is a by product of oil drilling. Distribution to the entire country is not solved to my knowledge, but we export it. I think that is what renewables have to compete with to be viable. As Crimson stated hydro is efficient, but that doesn't work everywhere, and has it's own environmental problems. I am a fly fisherman and trust me dams are the devil as they threaten some important species. `
I am all for advancing renewable energy tech, but this is not the obvious decision some wish it was at this time. Electric card wiil become dominant first, and I am pretty sure the innovator in that industry is in trouble with consumer incentives reduced or eliminated. Gasohol is another renewable that has fallen off the radar. Iowa heavily depends on it and it's been subsidized since day one. No real incentive to make it stand on it's own versus the petrol industry. After a few decades I thought it would.
It all comes down to the tech needs to stand on it's own in the end. We can't subsidize everything, and health care seems to be the most immediate need. I very much want solar to work, and I think it will soon. I need some proof it is competitive in most climates. This is anectdotal but I know of only one location up north where it provides 50% of the power. At the state college my daughter attended. I'm impressed with the engineering, but I know I funded the build.
Wind farms are getting common here. Iowa isn't particularly windy but it seems to work in the wide open spaces because there are large wind farms with 100 turbines. I know some farmers that signed contracts and farm around the turbines as they don't take up too much corn and soybean growing space at the base. I know that Long-term contracts are signed like 25 yrs. When they first became popular I visited one by a public road. There was a large plaque. I was very surprised to see it was owned by a Japanese company I had never heard of, and not the utility that services us. Why doesn't the power company run this? I suspect the finances are complicated.
Nuke is out of style here, though it seems very safe. Natural gas is a by product of oil drilling. Distribution to the entire country is not solved to my knowledge, but we export it. I think that is what renewables have to compete with to be viable. As Crimson stated hydro is efficient, but that doesn't work everywhere, and has it's own environmental problems. I am a fly fisherman and trust me dams are the devil as they threaten some important species. `
I am all for advancing renewable energy tech, but this is not the obvious decision some wish it was at this time. Electric card wiil become dominant first, and I am pretty sure the innovator in that industry is in trouble with consumer incentives reduced or eliminated. Gasohol is another renewable that has fallen off the radar. Iowa heavily depends on it and it's been subsidized since day one. No real incentive to make it stand on it's own versus the petrol industry. After a few decades I thought it would.