Thoughts on mega wind and solar projects

[jyoutz]

But not when you are collecting a paycheck from said facility! They were beautiful then?

Only a small workforce collected a paycheck from a facility, and they were never beautiful.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Has anyone here offer up VAWT device to use for wind yet?

The efficiency of a VAWT (Verticl Axis Wind Turbine) vs a Horizontal Axis Turbine will always be poor. I have yet to see a 1Mw VAWT turbine farm, let alone a single unit in production. Just to much drag with a VAWT turbine, it will never work efficiently. Physics at work.

 

[bmaverick]

The efficiency of a VAWT (Verticl Axis Wind Turbine) vs a Horizontal Axis Turbine will always be poor. I have yet to see a 1Mw VAWT turbine farm, let alone a single unit in production. Just to much drag with a VAWT turbine, it will never work efficiently. Physics at work.

I have to see a Horizontal Axis Turbine without a diesel genset to keep it moving in the winter from freezing and seizing.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Interesting you brought up MBAs being a reason for our setbacks in the EV industry. You can correlate all the big mishaps with PG/E when they went from Engineers leading the company to MBAs. Safety took a back seat as did maintenance. Two of the most important parts of running most businesses. MBA's nearly run everything now days and have for id say 4 decades now. Moving manufacturing out of the country and so on. All decided by those people. Profits are the only thing that matter in todays USA. Especially since retirement accounts are attached to it. Heck companies are allowed to buy back shares to boost prices. This has been going on for 40 years. Its absurd we think this will lead to anything other than our own demise. Add in QE, feds buying bad debt every 1/4. Prime example is the recent willingness to give discount airlines 2.5 billion to help them. Were nearly 40 trillion in debt. Will be by july.

Japan, China and several other countries are not going in the right direction with debt either.

I personally believe that we building up for a big recession. Most likely planned. so that when wheels fall off. The frame breaks. It will ring in a new world currency.

Its explains why there is so much dysfunction in politics today.

I agree about MBAs destroying American industry.

As for world currency, the US Dollar was 71% of world reserve currency in 1998. It's 57% today. Big things take a long time to change direction, but that one started turning 30 years ago.

Responding to other comments, Nissan canceled their EV plans because they can't compete with China. China just go the go-ahead to sell EVs in Canada, so we will soon get the chance to see what the current generation of EVs are like.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The best you can get from a still is E95 because 95% ethanol and 5% water is the azeotrope of water and ethanol and so has the lowest boiling point. Also, a pot still ain't gonna make E95 with the first run. You would need to distill several times. A reflux column still can make E95 in one distillation though. And you would need to get permission from the feds to run your still, even if it just for fuel.
Eric

I think I recently read that some court overturned the distillation ban as illegal. You may not need a federal permit anymore.

 

[ponytug]

I think I recently read that some court overturned the distillation ban as illegal. You may not need a federal permit anymore.

Thanks! I missed that. It seems to cover alcohol for consumption (drinking);

https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/24/24-10760-CV0.pdf

I would observe that the grounds for overturning the TTB ban against any form of home distillation was that home distillers were being denied the opportunity to pay tax on their distillates.

It is not clear to me what the current TTB stance is.

All the best, Peter

 

[MossRoad]

I think I recently read that some court overturned the distillation ban as illegal. You may not need a federal permit anymore.

As far as I know, while the court found the ban on home distillation of alcohol unconstitutional, there hasn't been a final ruling yet, so you still need proper permits and such for now.

 

[ponytug]

As far as I know, while the court found the ban on home distillation of alcohol unconstitutional, there hasn't been a final ruling yet, so you still need proper permits and such for now.

Yes, I couldn't find any updated advice on the TTB.gov website, either.

Historically, distillation was the point at which they really leaned into financial penalties and jail time.

All the best, Peter

 

[hoozie]

Nicolas Fulghum (@nicolasfulghum.bsky.social)

Another massive battery storage record in California (CAISO) yesterday, March 29 🔋 At 7pm, batteries reached 12.3 GW of output, meeting 42.8% of demand! And it's not just a short peak anymore. Batteries stayed above 20% of grid supply from 5.50pm to 9.35pm, almost four hours.

bsky.app

Another massive battery storage record in California (CAISO) yesterday, March 29 At 7pm, batteries reached 12.3 GW of output, meeting 42.8% of demand!And it's not just a short peak anymore. Batteries stayed above 20% of grid supply from 5.50pm to 9.35pm, almost four hours.

More than 90% of California's battery storage capacity was built in the last five years. To put those 12.3 GW of output during peak demand into perspective:
- 15-20 combined-cycle gas plants
- 6 hoover dams
- More than all-time peak demand in Portugal or Greece

To verify, go here, then scroll down to the battery section. Change the date to March 29th. Today's Outlook | Supply | California ISO

 

[etpm]

The government just needs to make it legal. It is legal to brew and wine yet it is illegal to concentrate alcohol by freezing. The taxes lost by home distilling are miniscule as shown by the at home brewing of beer and wine making. There are just not enough folks who would distill their alcohol for personal consumption to make any real difference.
Eric

 

[edgarrian]

I agree about MBAs destroying American industry.

As for world currency, the US Dollar was 71% of world reserve currency in 1998. It's 57% today. Big things take a long time to change direction, but that one started turning 30 years ago.

Responding to other comments, Nissan canceled their EV plans because they can't compete with China. China just go the go-ahead to sell EVs in Canada, so we will soon get the chance to see what the current generation of EVs are like.

US dollar is propped up by the petrol dollar. Here recently countries were starting to come off of it. B/c we sanction those countries to do as we want. The start of the ukraine war. We sanctioned russia. Russia then started to seek alternatives. As are other countries. China seems to be the big player in this and is trying to become the replacement. But every country has a spending problem so the alternatives aren't that great other than they won't sanction

 

[lman]

The government just needs to make it legal. It is legal to brew and wine yet it is illegal to concentrate alcohol by freezing. The taxes lost by home distilling are miniscule as shown by the at home brewing of beer and wine making. There are just not enough folks who would distill their alcohol for personal consumption to make any real difference.
Eric

Hey if somebody is a Drunk, they'll figure out a way to get drunk anyway. I knew a woman that had court ordered Home Detention with no alcohol allowed back during Covid and she was caught drunk after drinking Hand Sanitizer that was found everywhere back then.

 

[bmaverick]

To verify, go here, then scroll down to the battery section. Change the date to March 29th. Today's Outlook | Supply | California ISO

What are the hybrid batteries shown on the site?
Are these home-brewed like making your own variation of the Edison types?

 

[hoozie]

What are the hybrid batteries shown on the site?
Are these home-brewed like making your own variation of the Edison types?

They are batteries that are co-located with wind or solar, and bid onto the grid as a single unit. It sounds like generally they don't recharge from the grid, but only from their onsite wind/solar generation. Since it's a single unit to the grid, it sounds like they can provide firm output, by saying "we can put x amount of power on the grid at y time for z cost".

That's compared to separate solar and batteries, which would operate independently of each other.

 

[Duds13]

Sickening

News10 Investigation: Genesee County leaders say they've 'had enough' as solar farms rapidly transform rural landscape

A News10NBC investigation reveals how the race to build solar farms in Genesee County is dramatically transforming the rural landscape as part of the state's efforts to meet its clean energy mandates.

www.whec.com

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

In Washington State we have a green energy law to make sure we don't use ICE engines by a certain year and that requires green energy to make up for the non-use of petroleum.
Very convienantly we have another law that mandates a State appointed board to approve or not approve green energy projects. The law is written in such a way that it makes it illegal for this board not to approve wind or solar projects. Because if they are not approved the green energy law mandates will not be achieved.
From what I read in this legislation, that the way I see it.

 

[edgarrian]

In Washington State we have a green energy law to make sure we don't use ICE engines by a certain year and that requires green energy to make up for the non-use of petroleum.
Very convienantly we have another law that mandates a State appointed board to approve or not approve green energy projects. The law is written in such a way that it makes it illegal for this board not to approve wind or solar projects. Because if they are not approved the green energy law mandates will not be achieved.
From what I read in this legislation, that the way I see it.

politicized energy doesn't work

 

[Phil Timmons]

politicized energy doesn't work

But it is about all US has. (Politicized Energy, that is). For decades, now.

It is where all the Surplus Nukes and Coal came from.

And keeping US stuck on Oil to ensure Cash Flow from the Bottom to the Top.

And the HUGE Anti-Solar PV and Anti-EV Punitive Tariffs (btw, Biden, not Trump).

But US can stop "feeding" it any time US wants to wake-up and stop.

 

[edgarrian]

But it is about all US has. (Politicized Energy, that is). For decades, now.

It is where all the Surplus Nukes and Coal came from.

And keeping US stuck on Oil to ensure Cash Flow from the Bottom to the Top.

And the HUGE Anti-Solar PV and Anti-EV Punitive Tariffs (btw, Biden, not Trump).

But US can stop "feeding" it any time US wants to wake-up and stop.

well every industry is politicized and subsidized. Stop both of those two scenarios and prices would be much more competitive

 

[Phil Timmons]

well every industry is politicized and subsidized. Stop both of those two scenarios and prices would be much more competitive

Oh sure.

Based on Open Market Prices -- Most of US would have likely already dropped to Local Solar PV and would be back-feeding the whole country.

But that wipes out the Rich(er) Folks and Corporate Owned Central Plant model. So as typical in life (and below deck on the Titanic) = Screw the Bottom End.