First, I downloaded the energy-parks report and I don't see any specific discussion of Pueblo though it sounded like Eric or Energy Innovation had done a specific study of that community and coal plant and an "energy park." Quick Google didn't yield any results. Any references y'all can provide?
Pueblo is kind of a sad situation. They seemed to be going all in on renewables to replace the coal plant; they have a wind turbine manufacturing plant in addition to the net-zero electric arc steel plant. From what I've heard the wind plant jobs have been kinda crappy in multiple ways. Certainly compared with steam powerplant jobs for a regulated utility. The city council shifted from Dem to GOP, and the pro-renewables vibe has disappeared. And the union folks can show that nuke plants need those steam fitting and operating jobs when most renewable concepts don't.
Second, this among other ideas to reduce costs and improve capacity factors of renewables is always worth considering. Just the wind/solar/storage hybrid would seem to be a good fit for much of the Midwest, if you can permit any of the above anymore.
Third, David sort of asks a few times "why the tech bro companies shifted from promoting renewables to nukes?" I think a big part has been the shift from annual net to 24-7 clean electricity accounting and an excessive focus on "100%" clean ratings, instead of thinking 80%, 90% etc. is good enough for now, given the rest of the grid is still only 30% clean. Maybe with 120% on an annual basis to "offset." (I know it would be embarrassing to back down from 100%, but reality bites.) I think David should interview someone who works with this 24/7 accounting about whether they think their system is being abused by the focus on 100%, and what really good fractions look like across the country.
Fourth, Eric mentions this FERC meeting where everyone was yakking about how regs would work with non-existent SMRs instead of wind and solar. I think somehow some macho vibe has infested DC and Silicon Valley where wind and solar are now uncool, unreliable, imported, non-union, disliked by "swing voters," just kind of embarrassing greenie stuff, etc. We gotta regroup and massively reinvigorate positive attention towards our primary tech. I was freaking out, apparently with good reason, during the presidential campaign while Trump kept dissing wind and solar specifically, and Harris could only vaguely support "clean" energy and walk back her comments about stopping fracking.
Here is an affordable multi year energy storage solution. If I had a heat pump and incentive to either burn wood or use the heat pump, I’m using energy stored 20 years ago in aspen logs, or pulling energy off the grid.
First, I downloaded the energy-parks report and I don't see any specific discussion of Pueblo though it sounded like Eric or Energy Innovation had done a specific study of that community and coal plant and an "energy park." Quick Google didn't yield any results. Any references y'all can provide?
Pueblo is kind of a sad situation. They seemed to be going all in on renewables to replace the coal plant; they have a wind turbine manufacturing plant in addition to the net-zero electric arc steel plant. From what I've heard the wind plant jobs have been kinda crappy in multiple ways. Certainly compared with steam powerplant jobs for a regulated utility. The city council shifted from Dem to GOP, and the pro-renewables vibe has disappeared. And the union folks can show that nuke plants need those steam fitting and operating jobs when most renewable concepts don't.
Second, this among other ideas to reduce costs and improve capacity factors of renewables is always worth considering. Just the wind/solar/storage hybrid would seem to be a good fit for much of the Midwest, if you can permit any of the above anymore.
Third, David sort of asks a few times "why the tech bro companies shifted from promoting renewables to nukes?" I think a big part has been the shift from annual net to 24-7 clean electricity accounting and an excessive focus on "100%" clean ratings, instead of thinking 80%, 90% etc. is good enough for now, given the rest of the grid is still only 30% clean. Maybe with 120% on an annual basis to "offset." (I know it would be embarrassing to back down from 100%, but reality bites.) I think David should interview someone who works with this 24/7 accounting about whether they think their system is being abused by the focus on 100%, and what really good fractions look like across the country.
Fourth, Eric mentions this FERC meeting where everyone was yakking about how regs would work with non-existent SMRs instead of wind and solar. I think somehow some macho vibe has infested DC and Silicon Valley where wind and solar are now uncool, unreliable, imported, non-union, disliked by "swing voters," just kind of embarrassing greenie stuff, etc. We gotta regroup and massively reinvigorate positive attention towards our primary tech. I was freaking out, apparently with good reason, during the presidential campaign while Trump kept dissing wind and solar specifically, and Harris could only vaguely support "clean" energy and walk back her comments about stopping fracking.
The Clockwork Shadow: An Energy of Secretary Lament based on Chris White (Trump’s pick)
Beneath the veil of state design,
A specter stirs through covert line,
Chris White ascends, a cipher’s guise,
His polished mask but cloaked disguise.
At BlackHydra’s throne of oil and fire,
He forged his path, his dark empire.
Through Arctic chills to Amazon’s breath,
His trade was plunder, his yield was death.
In whispers deep, they spin the tale,
Of deregulation’s wicked gale.
Methane loosed, green laws undone,
A race toward a scorched earth run.
The “clean coal” ruse, a fleeting gleam,
A Trojan horse within the scheme.
Geoengineering tempts the sky,
While truths of science he’ll deny.
A technocrat? A puppeteer,
Embedding pawns year after year.
He binds the watchdog, dulls the blade,
In Kafka’s maze, all laws degrade.
He casts as villains those who fight,
For Earth, for truth, for solar light.
“Globalists!” his battle cry,
To fracture minds and amplify.
Through webs of power, his chessboard grows,
As pipelines pulse where the land once glows.
The commons crushed, the megaphones ring,
While fossil barons crown their king.
Yet those who watch with eagle’s sight,
See through the fog of scripted blight.
Connect the threads, expose the plan,
Awake the will of every man.
For though the game seems darkly played,
The light of truth cannot be swayed.
The Earth resists, its voice profound,
And those who hear shall turn it ’round.
Resist the burn, the shadowed grip,
Reverse the course of White’s dark ship.
For in the clash of night and dawn,
The people rise, the lie withdrawn.
GQ
Here is an affordable multi year energy storage solution. If I had a heat pump and incentive to either burn wood or use the heat pump, I’m using energy stored 20 years ago in aspen logs, or pulling energy off the grid.