[Graeme]

Free Report: Direct to You from the U.S. Department of Energy

By any measure, the world is limping along in an anemic quest to replace fossil fuels with clean energy. 34 years after the U.S. Department of Energy was formed, with the mission to end our dependence on foreign oil, gasoline and diesel accounts for 98% of our fuels, and renewable energy represents less than 2% of the electricity grid-mix. But why? Are there sinister forces at work, determines that maintain the status quo?

Best-selling author Craig Shields puts this in perspective with a new book:

IS RENEWABLE STILL DOABLE?

Shields’ new book, due to hit the streets in January 2012, is a compilation of interviews with energy experts – a set of lively discussions with economists, engineers, anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, and stock analysts.

renewableenergyworld

[Pops]

Man, if there is one thing I've had it up to here with, it's energy experts!
LOL

[Graeme]

Well, see this thread. It would be interesting to read his book anyway.

[sparky]

.
the absurdity of philosophers discussing energy production ,
it's like listening to a electrical distribution engineer expounding Plato
not impossible certainly but his day job is hardly relevant,

"renewable are a baby dummy stuck in the mouth of techno illiterate "
there is no alternative giving the same EROEI not by a long shot
that's why people got on coal and oil in the first place , it's such a fantastic deal
every ... repeat... every attempt to have alternative sources for high level power generation
has failed miserably , the king is naked and has for virtual clothes only government subsidies
I understand , truth is painful and denial is oh sooo sweet
.

[Arthur75]

.
the king is naked and has for virtual clothes only government subsidies
I understand , truth is painful and denial is oh sooo sweet
.

Not to forget that subsidies come from a budget, but need to have somebody say "this is good" prior to be set up.
Precisely the reason why the only policy making sense is volume based taxes on fossiles, pushing any solution truly making sense if any, either on conservation or alternative production, and the solutions on conservation especially are clearly not lacking, and don't even require major innovations.

[sparky]

"somebody say "this is good" prior to be set up."
like this is good for my re- election ?

"the only policy making sense is volume based taxes on fossiles"
also called skimming the gravy

"the solutions on conservation especially are clearly not lacking, and don't even require major innovations."
like rationing ?

[ralfy]

"The myth of renewable energy"

http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/colu ... ble-energy

[jibber]

Atomic scientists are hardly an unbiased group to comment on the viability of renewables.

I looked in detail at their comments. I have worked as an Engineer on the design of wind turbine gearboxes, and would like to question one of their points. The gearbox of a wind turbine is made of steel, much like the gearbox of a car. Neodynium and dysprosium, are rare earth metals used in the manufacture of high strength permenant magnets. Thesee are not used in the gearbox. They might get used in a permanent magnet generator, but the overwhelming majority of turbines do not use PM generators. Even in the direct drive machines made by Enercon, the generator is sychronous not permament magnet.

The Clipper machines do have PM generators, but it's not as if that is the only generator that can be made. The generator in a conventional turbine is not that different in composition from that in a nuclear plant, it is however a lot smaller.

It's a bit of a myth that rare earths are essential for wind turbines, the reallity is that they are not.

Long story short if the section of the article I do understand is a load of BS, I have trouble taking the rest of it that seriously.