Today, more from Energy Matters of the American Energy Society: Electricity cost of generation from 209 coal power plants are more expensive than from solar or wind farms. Yet, fossil fuels still dominate in the production of electricity. However, how about this stunning bit of information?    Global coal consumption reached an all-time high in 2022 and will slightly increase in 2023 . Part of the problem with wind and solar is that they are intermittent.  Cost effective storage is a must.  Form Energy announced an agreement with Xcel Energy to deploy its  iron-air battery  systems to integrate more renewable energy for its customers. The sleeping giant of energy storage is  pumped storage . EV and hybrid vehicle sales continue to increase. The U.S. is on pace to set a new oil production record sometime in 2024. The  oil industry in Venezuela has collapsed . Produced 3.1 million barrels / day in 1988. Today, only 0.7 million barrels/day. However, Venezuela has the most oil reserves in

This blog site began with renewable energy, added the environment, then expanded in all other directions because of my book,  SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity .   Today, back to energy, and mostly from  Energy Matters , soundbites from the  American Energy Society . Top 5 hot topics at the end of 2022 Energy security. U.S. policy successes. Hydrogen. Transmission/pipeline infrastructure. Tie:  liquified natural gas and fusion. Five years ago (end of 2017) it was: President Trump. U.S. LNG production. Battery storage. Smart-grids. Autonomous vehicles. Here are the top stories this past year. January. There are 13 new lithium gigafactories under construction, just in the U.S., causing a supply imbalance. Solar power accounts for half of the new electric generating capacity in the U.S. February. Russian invades Ukraine. Global coal markets set new production records. March. Oil prices jump above $100/barrel. Electricity and nickel prices go haywire. Countries ignore United Nations emission r