Posted on 05/25/2011 9:12:43 AM PDT by george76
What does the word "renewable" mean?
Last week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a thousand-page report on the future of renewable energy, which it defined as solar, hydro, wind, tidal, wave, geothermal and biomass. These energy sources, said the IPCC, generate about 13.8% of our energy and, if encouraged to grow, could eventually displace most fossil fuel use.
It turns out that the great majority of this energy, 10.2% out of the 13.8% share, comes from biomass, mainly wood (often transformed into charcoal) and dung. Most of the rest is hydro; less than 0.5% of the world's energy comes from wind, tide, wave, solar and geothermal put together. Wood and dung are indeed renewable, in the sense that they reappear as fast as you use them. Or do they? It depends on how fast you use them.
...
And then there is nuclear power. Uranium is not renewable, but plutonium is, in the sense that you can "breed" it in the right kind of reactor. Given how much we dislike plutonium and breeder reactors, it seems that the more renewable nuclear fuel is, the less we like it.
All in all, once you examine it closely, the idea that "renewable" energy is green and clean looks less like a deduction than a superstition.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The liberals beamed when it was about Mark Chapman-let’s see how this tastes to them.
Whoops! One post off!
Institutions like Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are only going to push their screwball agenda and do their best to squash any thing that isn't their pet program.
“...renewable energy, which it defined as solar, hydro, wind, tidal, wave, geothermal and biomass...”
-
How do they define biomass?
Solar, Renewable, Green Energy has been subsidized
for over thirty years and the only thing cost effective
has been wood pellets from sawdust.The rest has been unicorns and pixie dust.
Total energy subsidies for each type of generation. From Power Magazine
http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/Busting-Myths_3463_p2.html Most of the nuclear subsidy comes from counting the Price-Anderson Act limiting the external property damage claims from a total meltdown and release of the fuel. All of the oil/natural gas subsidy comes from the depletion allowance on federal taxes. The wind and solar subsidies do not count the law mandating that solar and wind generating facilities do not have to pay the unavailability charges to the grid operator.
Onf the list, my two favorite are landfill gass and “solid waste”. They are great for solving other issues, and using the vent gas for energy. With land fill gas, it means I don’t have to pump or burn off the methane from certain fills. Solid waste is from a bio digester, which makes gas a by product of waste digestion. Again something you need to do anyway, and it is better than flaring it off.
The gas does eat up boiler burners though, and is only really useful in certain applications where you have a lot of it available.
bflr
*
Good link, the pollution in China to mfg these despicable and useless windmills is horrendous...the stupidity of these Green Fascist is enormous! Add the opportunity cost to the sustainable madness and this is criminal!
I think the analysis understates the value of the subsidies to the renewable industry. Wind and solar have large operating subsidies and mandates, not tax breaks such as depletion. The mandates are especially onerous to taxpayers and ratepayers because the mandates force consumers to buy power at any rate determined by the producers. In addition, I believe that the Obama administration has committed to allowing large scale solar and wind development on federal lands without lease payments. In contrast, the oil industry is heavily restricted from development. The oil industry is also hit with taxes, fees, and government payments at every stage of production. The oil industry is a cash cow for governments. The idea that it is subsidized (on balance) is ridiculous.
Like liberalism itself.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.