ENERGY MATTERS

This blog site began fifteen years ago focused on renewable energy.  I of course regularly return to this topic.  Today another of my Wednesday postings on this subject.

But first, the latest on the Lahaina Apocalypse:

• Death toll up to 106.
• President Joe and First Lady Jill Biden will visit Lahaina this coming Monday.
• Why the Maui wildfires were so deadly.

The New York Times reported the following:

• China is the world's biggest polluter.
• The good news is that China already produces more electricity by solar/wind than any other country.

• Further, China had vowed to double its capacity of wind and solar power by 2030...and is on track to meet that goal, actually, by 2025.
• But how can it be #1 in fossil fuel pollution, and also #1 in the renewables?
• It is large.
• They are in a good transition.
• On the one hand, China's cleantech revolution is surging; on the other hand, China's consumption of coal and other fossil fuels is also surging.  

From Energy Matters, August 14, 2023:

• In the last 12 months, U.S. utilities have announced:
• Investments of $271 billion, which surpasses the total investment of projects between 2015 and 2022.
• 29,780 new manufacturing jobs.
• 184,850 MW of projects.
• Geothermal energy can be produced anywhere...just go deep enough.
• The most active geo-development project if Utah FORGE.  
• Geo-energy has more advantages than other options.

• 
  Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory created another fusion reaction; the experiment in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on July 30 achieved what's known as fusion ignition by generating 3.15 megajoules of energy output.
• In June 2022, the commissioner of the US Bureau of Reclamation told seven states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) that they must reach an agreement to reduce Colorado River water usage by 2 to 4 million acre-feet (maf). Since then, the Commissioner has presented 6 different proposals, but the 7 states have ignored them all, neither voting for nor against. 
• In all 50 states, it's cheaper to fill up an EV with electrons than an equivalent vehicle with gasoline.
• In Washington state, $115 to fill a Ford F-150 with gas.  To cover the same distance, an electric F-150 Lightning costs about $34, a savings of $80.
• In Mississippi the savings is $30.
• Average savings per fill up (the darker the better, up to $80 for the darkest)

• With all the hoopla, global carbon diioxide emissions set a new record in 2022, INCREASING 0.9% to a new high of 34.2 billion metric tons.  OECD countries showed decline, but countries like China and India had increases.

•  During Ocean Race 2022-23, yacht sailors scooped up 18 times more microplastic particles than during the last race in 2017-18.   
• The oceans are also the hottest they've ever been. 

• Fossil fuel markets are surging. For instance, Chevron set an oil production record in the Permian, Russia is generating record fossil-fuel profits, and Qatar is about to increase natural gas production. 
• For every 1,000 miles of US roads, there are 104 gas pumps compared with 22 EV charging ports. To match the frequency of gas pumps/mile, the USA needs to add more than a million eV ports.

• Here is a good comparison of levelized cost of electricity in the U.S. by technology.  Note that the cost of coupling batteries with solar/wind raises costs by $6-$39/MWh. ($1 MWh is $0.01 Kwh)  And those increases below are only for a 4-hour lithium storage system.

• You can read the details of the above, including what those asterisks mean, here.  Another way of showing the above table.

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