President Obama wins big on renewable energy.

[Old Rocks]

In spite of all the flap-yap and predictions of total failure, wind and solar are now competing head on with coal and natural gas. In fact, they are rapidly exceeding both in reducing the cost of energy. And grid scale batteries are going to be in production in the US before 2015 is out. And the largest utility in Texas is already planning to install hundreds of megawatts of those batteries. The President's bet on the doability of the alternatives has paid off handsomely for all of us.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/b...-win-on-price-vs-conventional-fuels.html?_r=1

Those prices were made possible by generous subsidies that could soon diminish or expire, but recent analyses show that even without those subsidies, alternative energies can often compete with traditional sources.

In Texas, Austin Energy signed a deal this spring for 20 years of output from a solar farm at less than 5 cents a kilowatt-hour. In September, the Grand River Dam Authority in Oklahoma announced its approval of a new agreement to buy power from a new wind farm expected to be completed next year. Grand River estimated the deal would save its customers roughly $50 million from the project.

And, also in Oklahoma, American Electric Power ended up tripling the amount of wind power it had originally sought after seeing how low the bids came in last year.

“Wind was on sale — it was a Blue Light Special,” said Jay Godfrey, managing director of renewable energy for the company. He noted that Oklahoma, unlike many states, did not require utilities to buy power from renewable sources.

“We were doing it because it made sense for our ratepayers,” he said.

According to a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, the cost of utility-scale solar energy is as low as 5.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, and wind is as low as 1.4 cents. In comparison, natural gas comes at 6.1 cents a kilowatt-hour on the low end and coal at 6.6 cents. Without subsidies, the firm’s analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

That means we ALL win big.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

In spite of all the flap-yap and predictions of total failure, wind and solar are now competing head on with coal and natural gas. In fact, they are rapidly exceeding both in reducing the cost of energy. And grid scale batteries are going to be in production in the US before 2015 is out. And the largest utility in Texas is already planning to install hundreds of megawatts of those batteries. The President's bet on the doability of the alternatives has paid off handsomely for all of us.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/b...-win-on-price-vs-conventional-fuels.html?_r=1

Those prices were made possible by generous subsidies that could soon diminish or expire, but recent analyses show that even without those subsidies, alternative energies can often compete with traditional sources.

In Texas, Austin Energy signed a deal this spring for 20 years of output from a solar farm at less than 5 cents a kilowatt-hour. In September, the Grand River Dam Authority in Oklahoma announced its approval of a new agreement to buy power from a new wind farm expected to be completed next year. Grand River estimated the deal would save its customers roughly $50 million from the project.

And, also in Oklahoma, American Electric Power ended up tripling the amount of wind power it had originally sought after seeing how low the bids came in last year.

“Wind was on sale — it was a Blue Light Special,” said Jay Godfrey, managing director of renewable energy for the company. He noted that Oklahoma, unlike many states, did not require utilities to buy power from renewable sources.

“We were doing it because it made sense for our ratepayers,” he said.

According to a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, the cost of utility-scale solar energy is as low as 5.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, and wind is as low as 1.4 cents. In comparison, natural gas comes at 6.1 cents a kilowatt-hour on the low end and coal at 6.6 cents. Without subsidies, the firm’s analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents.

Why do I smell a bunch of democrat cronies who want to rob the American taxpayer of hundreds of billions in grants and tax breaks, who a few years from now, after they've squirreled away half of those billions in their private Cayman Islands bank accounts, will announce their forthcoming bankruptcies?

Hey genius, I have a solar grid on my property. How about you?

 

[The2ndAmendment]

He was created a lot of renewable energy --- he's energized Constitutionalists all around the nation!

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Helps if you actually read the articles you link

"According to a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, the cost of utility-scale solar energy is as low as 5.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, and wind is as low as 1.4 cents. In comparison, natural gas comes at 6.1 cents a kilowatt-hour on the low end and coal at 6.6 cents. Without subsidies, the firm’s analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents....

Mr. Mir noted there were hidden costs that needed to be taken into account for both renewable energy and fossil fuels. Solar and wind farms, for example, produce power intermittently — when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing — and that requires utilities to have power available on call from other sources that can respond to fluctuations in demand. Alternately, conventional power sources produce pollution, like carbon emissions, which face increasing restrictions and costs."

 

[Judicial review]

Naive idiots

 

[2aguy]

Yeah...you can put lipstick on a pig....and all the rest....Britain will be freezing this winter because of their green energy foolishness....

 

[Old Rocks]

Why do I read a fucking dumb ass that cannot see that the developements are in those extremely liberal states of Texas and Oklahoma.

And you have a solar system, not a grid, on your property. Unfortunetly, my property has some very large trees that shade the roof from the south. Otherwise, I would have a solar system.

Now, we are also talking of grid scale batteries, at a price that utilities can afford. That makes the renewables more than competative with the fossil fuels.

 

[Old Rocks]

The President bet big on the renewables and that bet has paid off handsomely. Before he is out of office, we will be seeing grid scale batteries installed in wind farms, making those installations 24-7 sources of power. Same for solar.

 

[thereisnospoon]

In spite of all the flap-yap and predictions of total failure, wind and solar are now competing head on with coal and natural gas. In fact, they are rapidly exceeding both in reducing the cost of energy. And grid scale batteries are going to be in production in the US before 2015 is out. And the largest utility in Texas is already planning to install hundreds of megawatts of those batteries. The President's bet on the doability of the alternatives has paid off handsomely for all of us.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/b...-win-on-price-vs-conventional-fuels.html?_r=1

Those prices were made possible by generous subsidies that could soon diminish or expire, but recent analyses show that even without those subsidies, alternative energies can often compete with traditional sources.

In Texas, Austin Energy signed a deal this spring for 20 years of output from a solar farm at less than 5 cents a kilowatt-hour. In September, the Grand River Dam Authority in Oklahoma announced its approval of a new agreement to buy power from a new wind farm expected to be completed next year. Grand River estimated the deal would save its customers roughly $50 million from the project.

And, also in Oklahoma, American Electric Power ended up tripling the amount of wind power it had originally sought after seeing how low the bids came in last year.

“Wind was on sale — it was a Blue Light Special,” said Jay Godfrey, managing director of renewable energy for the company. He noted that Oklahoma, unlike many states, did not require utilities to buy power from renewable sources.

“We were doing it because it made sense for our ratepayers,” he said.

According to a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, the cost of utility-scale solar energy is as low as 5.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, and wind is as low as 1.4 cents. In comparison, natural gas comes at 6.1 cents a kilowatt-hour on the low end and coal at 6.6 cents. Without subsidies, the firm’s analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents.

"Generous subsidies".....
Umm, this business model, combined with market factors cannot succeed..
And has NOTHING to do with Obama.
Cut the crap....
Oh, this conundrum is hilarious...
Environmentalists protesting placement of the wind turbines...
Environmentalists Have a Problem With a Proposed Wind Farm Overlooking Legendary Loch Ness
Anti-Occupy Protest Takes on Bird Killing Wind Turbines The Weekly Standard
N.J. environmentalists protest proposed bill restricting on-shore wind power projects NJ.com

You:......"Obama is MY hero"......UGH

 

[thereisnospoon]

That means we ALL win big.

Thanks for posting.

Who wins? The RICH corporations which build these things are sucking at the taxpayer tit.

 

[Old Rocks]

And that is just one of the groups interested in grid scale batteries. Tesla is also investigating the possibility of building them in addition to the EV batteries.

New Battery Startup Alevo Has Raised 1 Billion In Private Funding Looking To Blow Up US Energy Storage Industry CleanTechnica

The company’s plan is to sell the batteries as grid-scale energy storage devices. The battery has been in development for about a decade, in secret, according to those involved.

“We’ve been very stealth,” stated Jostein Eikeland, a Norwegian entrepreneur backing the company. “We didn’t know if we were going to succeed.”

The Alevo Group is currently aiming to begin manufacturing the batteries in 2015, at a large ex-cigarette-plant near Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s expectation is that it will employ around 2,500 people within three years of opening.

Interestingly, the battery — developed by Alessandro Volta — will be produced without any state funding or incentives, but financed entirely through anonymous investors. Hmmm.

One billion dollars is a significant amount of money for a cleantech startup. Given the company’s plan of going straight into full production, and skipping the pilot project phase, the funding is, I suppose, necessary. But it certainly remains to be seen if the strategy will be a successful one.

The advantage of such an approach is obviously that economies of scale will be in play from the start — potentially allowing for “low-costs” from the start of production.

The company is aiming to produce and deliver roughly 200 MW worth of batteries in 2015.

 

[skookerasbil]

Coal, natural gas and oil will be relics of a former era by 2016!! Oh.....and everybody will be driving electric vehicles by then too!!!

Lets see what Shin thinks???

 

[Vigilante]

Where are the RESPONSIBLE LIBERALS when shit like this happens? Where are the animal Rights liberals?.....Is this ALL HYPOCRISY, LIBERALS?....Or do you have your PRIORITIES FUCKED UP??

 

[Old Rocks]

Looking real good for renewables in Texas.

Oncor proposes giant leap for grid batteries Dallas Morning News

Oncor, which runs Texas’ largest power line network, is willing to bet battery technology is ready for wide-scale deployment across the grid.

In a move that stands to radically shift the dynamics of the industry, Oncor is set to announce Monday that it is prepared to invest more than $2 billion to store electricity in thousands of batteries across North and West Texas beginning in 2018.

Utility-scale batteries have been a holy grail within the energy sector for years. With enough storage space, surplus electricity can be generated at night, when plants usually sit idle, to be used the next day, when demand is highest. Power outages would become less frequent. Wind and solar power, susceptible to weather conditions, could be built on a larger scale. The only problem has been that the price of batteries has been too high to make economic sense. But if they’re purchased on a large enough scale, that won’t be the case for long, said Oncor CEO Bob Shapard.

“Everyone assumed the price point was five to six years out. We’re getting indications from everyone we’ve talked to they can get us to that price by 2018,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

The Dallas-based transmission company is proposing the installation of 5,000 megawatts of batteries not just in its service area but across Texas’ entire grid. That is the equivalent of four nuclear power plants on a grid with a capacity of about 81,000 megawatts.

 

[skookerasbil]

Hate to rain on the parade of those enamored with wind and solar, but its gonna be a fringe energy source for a long, long, long time#!!!

Obama's EIA even made this graph public last year.

[URL=http://s42.photobucket.com/user/baldaltima/media/8abb9baf6-4.jpg.html][/URL]

Of course, Obama will be expected to throw a few bones to his big supporters going back to 2012........keep 'em all warm and fuzzy for a couple more years. But heres the poop................fossil fuels are going to dominate the energy landscape for decades!!

 

[Old Rocks]

The President has been pushing renewables the whole time he has been in office. Now it is paying off, and you loonies are having serious bedwetting problems. LOL

 

[skookerasbil]

Renewables will continue to grow but relative to fossil fuels, they will provide only a fraction of our energy.........and its all because of one thing: costs. Government will always choose fossil fuels because if they didn't, they couldn't compete economically. All one has to do is look at the about face Germany has done on renewables in the past 2 years. Tells you everything you have to know.

Germany initiates new generation of coal-fired new builds - Power Engineering International

http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304450904579367074233771140

Researchers Alarmed at Rise in German Brown Coal Power Output - SPIEGEL ONLINE



Its actually quite simple.........countries cant compete if they are using too much expensive energy. That's the way it will always be..............not to mention that 2 years ago in the winter, when the Thames froze over during a harsh cold snap, estimates are that more than 1 million people would have died if they were running on solar/wind. How can that possibly be a good thing?

 

[OnePercenter]

And that is just one of the groups interested in grid scale batteries. Tesla is also investigating the possibility of building them in addition to the EV batteries.

New Battery Startup Alevo Has Raised 1 Billion In Private Funding Looking To Blow Up US Energy Storage Industry CleanTechnica

The company’s plan is to sell the batteries as grid-scale energy storage devices. The battery has been in development for about a decade, in secret, according to those involved.

“We’ve been very stealth,” stated Jostein Eikeland, a Norwegian entrepreneur backing the company. “We didn’t know if we were going to succeed.”

The Alevo Group is currently aiming to begin manufacturing the batteries in 2015, at a large ex-cigarette-plant near Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s expectation is that it will employ around 2,500 people within three years of opening.

Interestingly, the battery — developed by Alessandro Volta — will be produced without any state funding or incentives, but financed entirely through anonymous investors. Hmmm.

One billion dollars is a significant amount of money for a cleantech startup. Given the company’s plan of going straight into full production, and skipping the pilot project phase, the funding is, I suppose, necessary. But it certainly remains to be seen if the strategy will be a successful one.

The advantage of such an approach is obviously that economies of scale will be in play from the start — potentially allowing for “low-costs” from the start of production.

The company is aiming to produce and deliver roughly 200 MW worth of batteries in 2015.

Since the cost of cleanup for three-mile-island was $1B (1980's monies) that's pretty good.

 

[Shrimpbox]

Notwithstanding these issues, alternative energy sources will not be capable of meeting the baseload generation needs of an advanced economy for the foreseeable future.

This is a quote from the Lazard article.

I don't have any problem with Unsubsidized solar and wind energy, but what are some of these realities. The report was published in September and one wonders what price points with respect to nat gas were used. One also has to wonder if the builders of these projects are so desperate to get a contract that they are selling way below cost. Do we have any wind farms and solar farm that have been on line for 30 years or more so we can measure the dependability and maintenance of these projects. The ones I have seen in California seem to be very unkempt. Additionally many people like Boone Pickens have backed out of wind energy in no small part because running power lines from where all the wind is to the places that really need it is almost an impossibility because of Nimby, creating the very real possibility of wind farms with no place to go.

These are by no means insurmountable problems and I am not disparaging alternative energy, I just find that the euphoria does not always jive with reality. It may be that we need to think of better synergies for solar and manufacturing, for transportation and nat gas, for a national passenger rail system to ease pressure on the highways especially with more and more people living in urban areas. Personally, I hope I see fusion in my lifetime.