Monday, May 14, 2007
Hybrids Do Not Save You Money
Hybrids: Don't buy the hype
Sure, hybrids save gas but they won't save you money. There are smarter ways to go, says By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN/Money staff writer
With gasoline prices at a high, you might think it makes a lot of sense that hybrid cars are hot sellers.
They may make a social statement you're interested in, but if you want to save money because of rising gas prices, you're heading down the wrong road by buying hybrid autos, at least for now, says this report.
This kind of gets me thinking about the prices of various alternative energy sources right now...and in almost every case, the prices are higher than what we get from conventional sources and fossil fuels.
For instance, in the case of hybrids, I understand that they don’t save much at highway speeds, and many Americans commute at highways speeds. The capital costs on hybrids are higher as well. And it is not just with hybrids...I live in a hot (not sexy, but 105 degree F hot) city in India, and may be I can simply capture all the sun's heat and convert into electricity...maybe, but solar panels aren't cheap. Geothermal perhaps, way too costly.
You go across the spectrum, and analyse other alt energy sources - wind energy, wave energy, biofuels, all these cost relatively more right now...
Now don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just stating a fact. This does not unduly worry me though, the prices are higher but not unaffordable, which in itself is great...when you consider that we are just on the threshold of exploring new sources of energy, I am optimistic the prices will fall quickly, and all the time, the prices of fossil fuels will be rising...
Back to hybrids. A further search on the cost of ownership of hybrids landed me on an interesting post on hybrids which said, "The Time for Hybrid has Come". The author cites an Edmunds.com report which gives the following reason why the hybrids are more economical now:
1. Now is the time when the prices and expenses on hybrid vehicles are at its lowest because there is now more supply than demand.
2. Incentives are now being offered on most of the popular hybrid vehicles.
3. Tax credits would be way lower especially later in the spring.
4. Gas prices are going up again.
So, perhaps right now hybrids might be more attractive than what they could be a couple of months lower, especially if gas prices go down again (optimistic thinking, I admit), but we need a far more stable price differential than that. Overall, I am not sure the time for hybrids has come, but perhaps what that day is not far into the future.
If I write a similar post perhaps a couple of year later the title in all probability will be, "Of course Hybrids save you money".
Read the full post here @ Hybrid Cars News
Sure, hybrids save gas but they won't save you money. There are smarter ways to go, says By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN/Money staff writer
With gasoline prices at a high, you might think it makes a lot of sense that hybrid cars are hot sellers.
They may make a social statement you're interested in, but if you want to save money because of rising gas prices, you're heading down the wrong road by buying hybrid autos, at least for now, says this report.
This kind of gets me thinking about the prices of various alternative energy sources right now...and in almost every case, the prices are higher than what we get from conventional sources and fossil fuels.
For instance, in the case of hybrids, I understand that they don’t save much at highway speeds, and many Americans commute at highways speeds. The capital costs on hybrids are higher as well. And it is not just with hybrids...I live in a hot (not sexy, but 105 degree F hot) city in India, and may be I can simply capture all the sun's heat and convert into electricity...maybe, but solar panels aren't cheap. Geothermal perhaps, way too costly.
You go across the spectrum, and analyse other alt energy sources - wind energy, wave energy, biofuels, all these cost relatively more right now...
Now don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just stating a fact. This does not unduly worry me though, the prices are higher but not unaffordable, which in itself is great...when you consider that we are just on the threshold of exploring new sources of energy, I am optimistic the prices will fall quickly, and all the time, the prices of fossil fuels will be rising...
Back to hybrids. A further search on the cost of ownership of hybrids landed me on an interesting post on hybrids which said, "The Time for Hybrid has Come". The author cites an Edmunds.com report which gives the following reason why the hybrids are more economical now:
1. Now is the time when the prices and expenses on hybrid vehicles are at its lowest because there is now more supply than demand.
2. Incentives are now being offered on most of the popular hybrid vehicles.
3. Tax credits would be way lower especially later in the spring.
4. Gas prices are going up again.
So, perhaps right now hybrids might be more attractive than what they could be a couple of months lower, especially if gas prices go down again (optimistic thinking, I admit), but we need a far more stable price differential than that. Overall, I am not sure the time for hybrids has come, but perhaps what that day is not far into the future.
If I write a similar post perhaps a couple of year later the title in all probability will be, "Of course Hybrids save you money".
Read the full post here @ Hybrid Cars News
Labels: analysis, autos, costs, hybrids, prices
Energy, the Next Boom Industry
Energy, the Next Boom Industry
The changes in the energy industry will create huge opportunities for new technology, says the author of this post @ Alt Energy Technology.
The energy business is about to change in a big way, and its growth could dwarf the changes in the Internet and telecom businesses. Similar to what happened to the IT & Telecom businesses starting a decade ago, we can start to see the changes happening in the energy industry now. The incumbent oil companies and other energy companies like the way it is, the oil companies and will react the same way and protect their core businesses at all costs, as did the big telecom companies. By the time the large telecom companies started reacting to the changes seriously, it was too late. The same could happen to the large energy companies, feels the author.
Alternative energy has the potential of making the Internet/Telecom boom look like pocket change. Energy is a trillion dollar market and growing and any company that gets a piece of that action will do extremely well.
Read the full post from here @ Alt Energy Technology blog
The changes in the energy industry will create huge opportunities for new technology, says the author of this post @ Alt Energy Technology.
The energy business is about to change in a big way, and its growth could dwarf the changes in the Internet and telecom businesses. Similar to what happened to the IT & Telecom businesses starting a decade ago, we can start to see the changes happening in the energy industry now. The incumbent oil companies and other energy companies like the way it is, the oil companies and will react the same way and protect their core businesses at all costs, as did the big telecom companies. By the time the large telecom companies started reacting to the changes seriously, it was too late. The same could happen to the large energy companies, feels the author.
Alternative energy has the potential of making the Internet/Telecom boom look like pocket change. Energy is a trillion dollar market and growing and any company that gets a piece of that action will do extremely well.
Read the full post from here @ Alt Energy Technology blog
Labels: analysis, comparisons, investments, strategies, trends
Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report
Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report
May 07, 2007
Here’s a brief analysis of and comments on the recent IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change released from Bangkok, Thailand as it relates to alternative energy. The summary is provided on the following sections:
1. Energy Efficient & Net Zero Energy Buildings
2. Alternative Energy = Energy Security
3. Transport Policy & Fossil Fuels Subsidies
4. Research and Development + Technology Transfer
Read the full summary from here @ Alternative Energy Blog
Original working group report here (PDF)
May 07, 2007
Here’s a brief analysis of and comments on the recent IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change released from Bangkok, Thailand as it relates to alternative energy. The summary is provided on the following sections:
1. Energy Efficient & Net Zero Energy Buildings
2. Alternative Energy = Energy Security
3. Transport Policy & Fossil Fuels Subsidies
4. Research and Development + Technology Transfer
Read the full summary from here @ Alternative Energy Blog
Original working group report here (PDF)
Labels: analysis, climate-change, environment, research
Saturday, May 12, 2007
James Lovelock, the Gaia Hypothesis Theorist Foresees Crises
James Lovelock, the Gaia Hypothesis Theorist Foresees Crises
We are on the edge of the greatest die-off, and will lucky if 20% of us survive what is coming. We should be scared stiff, feels James Lovelock.
Lovelock, famous for the Gaia Hypotheses which maintains that life on Earth regulates its environment keeping it in a remarkable state of balance, not unlike the way a body regulates its own metabolism, now believes that human activities have set off reactions that will knock the biosphere out of it's present balance into one with substantially higher temperatures. The melting of permafrost above the arctic circle will release huge quantities of methane and carbon dioxide, while melting ice reduces the surface albedo and causes less sunlight to be reflected back into space, he feels.
Read more about this and the author's analysis of Lovelock's hypothesis from this post @ Green Future
We are on the edge of the greatest die-off, and will lucky if 20% of us survive what is coming. We should be scared stiff, feels James Lovelock.
Lovelock, famous for the Gaia Hypotheses which maintains that life on Earth regulates its environment keeping it in a remarkable state of balance, not unlike the way a body regulates its own metabolism, now believes that human activities have set off reactions that will knock the biosphere out of it's present balance into one with substantially higher temperatures. The melting of permafrost above the arctic circle will release huge quantities of methane and carbon dioxide, while melting ice reduces the surface albedo and causes less sunlight to be reflected back into space, he feels.
Read more about this and the author's analysis of Lovelock's hypothesis from this post @ Green Future
Labels: analysis, climate-change, environment, trends
PermaLink - James Lovelock, the Gaia Hypothesis Theorist Foresees Crises posted by Ecacofonix : 9:55 PM
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Why is VAWT (Vertical Access Wind Turbine) Struggling?
Why is VAWT (Vertical Access Wind Turbine) Struggling?
This blog post @ WindBiz refers to an article in The Economist's Technology Quarterly which has picked up on recent developments in Vertical Access Wind Turbine (VAWT) designs, offering a glimpse at a company that sells equipments, one TMA Global Wind Energy Systems of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Dwelling on the Economist story, the author asks: why has VAWT technology struggled to make it to the mass, industrial scale market, since it's been affirmed time and again as a more reliable and cost-effective design than the current upright tri-bladers (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine -HAWT)?
The author feels there two broad technical and commercial reasons why VAWT has struggled. One is technical: VAWTs are low to the ground and don't capture the high winds like the 60-80m hub heights of HAWTs. Reason two is commercial: the same old story of technical innovators whose marketing story hasn't been well-banked, well-communicated, nor well-timed....
Read the WindBiz post for more of this discussion
This blog post @ WindBiz refers to an article in The Economist's Technology Quarterly which has picked up on recent developments in Vertical Access Wind Turbine (VAWT) designs, offering a glimpse at a company that sells equipments, one TMA Global Wind Energy Systems of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Dwelling on the Economist story, the author asks: why has VAWT technology struggled to make it to the mass, industrial scale market, since it's been affirmed time and again as a more reliable and cost-effective design than the current upright tri-bladers (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine -HAWT)?
The author feels there two broad technical and commercial reasons why VAWT has struggled. One is technical: VAWTs are low to the ground and don't capture the high winds like the 60-80m hub heights of HAWTs. Reason two is commercial: the same old story of technical innovators whose marketing story hasn't been well-banked, well-communicated, nor well-timed....
Read the WindBiz post for more of this discussion
PermaLink - Why is VAWT (Vertical Access Wind Turbine) Struggling? posted by Ecacofonix : 9:51 PM
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Friday, May 11, 2007
Peak Oil is not About Running Out of Oil!
Peak Oil is not About Running Out of Oil!
May 10, 2007
If you hear someone saying the peak oil theory is wrong and that the world is not about to run out of oil, tell him that he is wrong in his understanding that peak oil is about our running out of oil.
This post at Oil Be Seeing You details on the same issue:
"...No one in the peak oil movement, unless they too are new to the movement and do not yet understand, ever says, or ever would say, that peak oil means the end of oil, means we are running out of oil. Most in the peak oil camp, in fact, believe we will never consume all of the oil there is, for a wide variety of reasons. In general only about thirty percent of the oil in a reserve is recoverable so there is always going to be oil left over in a field after the last well has been shut down."
The post goes on to explain what indeed is peak oil:
"Peak oil is about a global society and global economy that have become hopelessly dependent on an ever-increasing supply of cheap, high-grade oil, increasingly dependent also on natural gas and coal, the other main fossil fuels. It is about the impact on that global society and global economy when the supply of oil can no longer be increased, when the demand for oil exceeds what the world's oil fields can produce..."
Useful post for those who want to have a clear and detailed understanding of the Peak Oil term.
Read the full post here @ Oil be Seeing You
May 10, 2007
If you hear someone saying the peak oil theory is wrong and that the world is not about to run out of oil, tell him that he is wrong in his understanding that peak oil is about our running out of oil.
This post at Oil Be Seeing You details on the same issue:
"...No one in the peak oil movement, unless they too are new to the movement and do not yet understand, ever says, or ever would say, that peak oil means the end of oil, means we are running out of oil. Most in the peak oil camp, in fact, believe we will never consume all of the oil there is, for a wide variety of reasons. In general only about thirty percent of the oil in a reserve is recoverable so there is always going to be oil left over in a field after the last well has been shut down."
The post goes on to explain what indeed is peak oil:
"Peak oil is about a global society and global economy that have become hopelessly dependent on an ever-increasing supply of cheap, high-grade oil, increasingly dependent also on natural gas and coal, the other main fossil fuels. It is about the impact on that global society and global economy when the supply of oil can no longer be increased, when the demand for oil exceeds what the world's oil fields can produce..."
Useful post for those who want to have a clear and detailed understanding of the Peak Oil term.
Read the full post here @ Oil be Seeing You
Labels: analysis, fossil-fuels, opinions, peak-oil
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Energy Alternatives Competing For Funding
Energy Alternatives Competing For Funding
Advocates of various sources of alternative energy are beginning to point out the competition's warts. Everyone wants to use the energy crisis as leverage to support his or her solution.
But with limited government research and development money for ways to replace oil, any technology's gain is a loss for the others. So the criticism is flying in all directions.
Read more about the type of criticism each energy alternative is receiving, from this blog post @ Solar Sandiego
Advocates of various sources of alternative energy are beginning to point out the competition's warts. Everyone wants to use the energy crisis as leverage to support his or her solution.
But with limited government research and development money for ways to replace oil, any technology's gain is a loss for the others. So the criticism is flying in all directions.
Read more about the type of criticism each energy alternative is receiving, from this blog post @ Solar Sandiego
Labels: analysis, comparisons, investments, opinions, problems, trends
Cleaning Up Coal & The Future of Coal
Interesting discussion at this Biodiesel America page on Cleaning Up Coal & The Future of Coal
"
Hi JohnO,
I plan to look back at coal ten years from now the way I look at my old IBM 286 – dead technology. After we transform America to green energy making trillions of dollars of new industries in the process, we will reverse climate change – probably by making some kind of carbon dense briquettes (similar to coal) and putting them back in the ground. Right where they belong. JT
JohnO Writes:
Joshua: my parents forwarded this to me. I especially like his statement
"we've run out of backyards".
This brings to mind the question - what is the most concentrated form of
carbon that we might be able to sequester? Too bad glycerol doesn't
contain any significant carbon - we could sequester it, solving the
disposal problem. I could see raw veg oil as a potential carbon trap,
squeezing it out of beans and seed (and palm nuts) only to be pumped
into the ground to make room in the atmosphere for coal smoke. I'm
afraid to run the figures to see if that makes economic sense. Yikes!
Luckily I don't have the figures readily available, so I'll keep my head
in the sand a little longer. Sigh.
Cheers,
JohnO
"
Read the full discussion and the rest of the opinions here @ Biodiesel America
"
Hi JohnO,
I plan to look back at coal ten years from now the way I look at my old IBM 286 – dead technology. After we transform America to green energy making trillions of dollars of new industries in the process, we will reverse climate change – probably by making some kind of carbon dense briquettes (similar to coal) and putting them back in the ground. Right where they belong. JT
JohnO Writes:
Joshua: my parents forwarded this to me. I especially like his statement
"we've run out of backyards".
This brings to mind the question - what is the most concentrated form of
carbon that we might be able to sequester? Too bad glycerol doesn't
contain any significant carbon - we could sequester it, solving the
disposal problem. I could see raw veg oil as a potential carbon trap,
squeezing it out of beans and seed (and palm nuts) only to be pumped
into the ground to make room in the atmosphere for coal smoke. I'm
afraid to run the figures to see if that makes economic sense. Yikes!
Luckily I don't have the figures readily available, so I'll keep my head
in the sand a little longer. Sigh.
Cheers,
JohnO
"
Read the full discussion and the rest of the opinions here @ Biodiesel America
Labels: analysis, coal, fossil-fuels, opinions, trends
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Ethanol: Behind the Buzz
Ethanol: Behind the Buzz
By Keith Lieberthal - TheStreet.com, 19 Apr 2007
From the White House to Wall Street, ethanol has moved to the heart of national debate about energy...Its champions promise that it will win energy independence for the U.S.; aid its farmers; weaken hostile oil-subsidized regimes in Tehran, Caracas and Moscow; and better the environment. But the skeptics see little more than a massive agricultural subsidy dressed in patriotic and green rhetoric.
What's the real story? Read from this detailed report from The Street
By Keith Lieberthal - TheStreet.com, 19 Apr 2007
From the White House to Wall Street, ethanol has moved to the heart of national debate about energy...Its champions promise that it will win energy independence for the U.S.; aid its farmers; weaken hostile oil-subsidized regimes in Tehran, Caracas and Moscow; and better the environment. But the skeptics see little more than a massive agricultural subsidy dressed in patriotic and green rhetoric.
What's the real story? Read from this detailed report from The Street
Labels: analysis, biofuels, ethanol
Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health
Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health
Medical Research News, 20-Apr-2007
Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel. But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. His findings are published in the April 18 online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T).
Read the full article from here @ Medical Research News
Medical Research News, 20-Apr-2007
Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel. But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. His findings are published in the April 18 online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T).
Read the full article from here @ Medical Research News
Labels: analysis, environment, ethanol, problems, research, transportation
PermaLink - Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health posted by Ecacofonix : 6:55 AM
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Latin America Divided Over Ethanol
Latin America Divided Over Ethanol
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez calls the boom in ethanol the equivalent of starving the poor "to feed automobiles." It's not just Mr. Chávez who is questioning whether the benefits outweigh the unintended consequences. Now poultry industry executives, who have seen the price of feedstock go up; Mexican consumers, facing a 60 percent jump in the cost of tortillas; and even environmentalists, who look at the amount of fertilizer that will be needed to grow extra crops, are wondering aloud about the effects of ethanol...
Read the full article from here @ CBS News, 20 Apr 2007 post
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez calls the boom in ethanol the equivalent of starving the poor "to feed automobiles." It's not just Mr. Chávez who is questioning whether the benefits outweigh the unintended consequences. Now poultry industry executives, who have seen the price of feedstock go up; Mexican consumers, facing a 60 percent jump in the cost of tortillas; and even environmentalists, who look at the amount of fertilizer that will be needed to grow extra crops, are wondering aloud about the effects of ethanol...
Read the full article from here @ CBS News, 20 Apr 2007 post
Labels: analysis, ethanol, problems, south-america
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Fueling the Debate: Ethanol vs. Biodiesel
Fueling the Debate: Ethanol vs. Biodiesel
By Jack Uldrich, April 20, 2007, Motley Fool
This past week offered a perfect synopsis of the continuing debate over whether ethanol or biodiesel is the preferred biofuel of the future. Determining which fuel is better, though, is about as helpful as determining whether running or swimming is the healthier exercise option -- since both, of course, are beneficial. So how do they differ, and what really are the benefits of each?
This article from Motley Fool discusses the topic
By Jack Uldrich, April 20, 2007, Motley Fool
This past week offered a perfect synopsis of the continuing debate over whether ethanol or biodiesel is the preferred biofuel of the future. Determining which fuel is better, though, is about as helpful as determining whether running or swimming is the healthier exercise option -- since both, of course, are beneficial. So how do they differ, and what really are the benefits of each?
This article from Motley Fool discusses the topic
Labels: analysis, biodiesel, comparisons, ethanol
Friday, April 20, 2007
Let's get real about alternative energy
Let's get real about alternative energy
Henry E. Payne, Apr 2007
Wind power is intermittent. Wind and sun only run 8 to 9 hours a day.
Solar energy, with possibilities of up to 30 percent capacity factor, produced only 541,000 megawatt-hours of electricity in 2005. The subsidies for solar power are many times that for wind power simply...The capital cost of equivalent coal or nuclear generating plants is far less than the "alternative power" schemes.
These two (solar & wind) energy sources provided less than .4 percent of all the electricity generated in the U.S. for 2005.
Read more on Henry Payne's take on alternative energy from this interesting article @ Charleston Daily Mail
Henry E. Payne, Apr 2007
Wind power is intermittent. Wind and sun only run 8 to 9 hours a day.
Solar energy, with possibilities of up to 30 percent capacity factor, produced only 541,000 megawatt-hours of electricity in 2005. The subsidies for solar power are many times that for wind power simply...The capital cost of equivalent coal or nuclear generating plants is far less than the "alternative power" schemes.
These two (solar & wind) energy sources provided less than .4 percent of all the electricity generated in the U.S. for 2005.
Read more on Henry Payne's take on alternative energy from this interesting article @ Charleston Daily Mail
Labels: analysis, incentives, opinions, problems, solar, wind
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Corn can't solve our problem
Corn can't solve our problem
March 27, 2007, By David Tilman & Jason Hill - Check Biotech
The world has come full circle. A century ago our first transportation biofuels -- the hay and oats fed to our horses -- were replaced by gasoline. Today, ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soybeans have begun edging out gasoline and diesel.
This has been hailed as an overwhelmingly positive development that will help us reduce the threat of climate change and ease our dependence on foreign oil...But lost in the euphoria, however, is the fact that three of our most fundamental needs -- food, energy, and a livable and sustainable environment -- are now in direct conflict. Moreover, a recent analyses of the full costs and benefits of various biofuels, performed at the University of Minnesota, present a markedly different and more nuanced picture than has been heard on the campaign trail, says this analysis article at Check Biotech
Read the full article from here @ Check Biotech
March 27, 2007, By David Tilman & Jason Hill - Check Biotech
The world has come full circle. A century ago our first transportation biofuels -- the hay and oats fed to our horses -- were replaced by gasoline. Today, ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soybeans have begun edging out gasoline and diesel.
This has been hailed as an overwhelmingly positive development that will help us reduce the threat of climate change and ease our dependence on foreign oil...But lost in the euphoria, however, is the fact that three of our most fundamental needs -- food, energy, and a livable and sustainable environment -- are now in direct conflict. Moreover, a recent analyses of the full costs and benefits of various biofuels, performed at the University of Minnesota, present a markedly different and more nuanced picture than has been heard on the campaign trail, says this analysis article at Check Biotech
Read the full article from here @ Check Biotech
Labels: analysis, economics, ethanol
UK push for biofuels may harm environment, campaigners say
UK push for biofuels may harm environment, campaigners say
19 Mar 2007 bbj.hu
A UK plan to help tackle global warming by increasing the use of biofuels such as palm oil and rapeseed may do more harm to the environment than good,
environmental campaign groups said.
Fuel suppliers will have to ensure that from April 2008 a certain percentage of their sales come from biofuels, under a UK Department for Transport program. The proposal could see businesses producing biofuels by destroying rainforests and wetlands, threatening endangered habitats and species and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, according to Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The groups said the government should tighten rules to ensure biofuel producers meet minimum standards on greenhouse gas emissions, and establish "environmental audits” of the entire life-cycle of the fuel, from cultivation through transportation to combustion.
Read the full report from here @ BBJ, Hungary
19 Mar 2007 bbj.hu
A UK plan to help tackle global warming by increasing the use of biofuels such as palm oil and rapeseed may do more harm to the environment than good,
environmental campaign groups said.
Fuel suppliers will have to ensure that from April 2008 a certain percentage of their sales come from biofuels, under a UK Department for Transport program. The proposal could see businesses producing biofuels by destroying rainforests and wetlands, threatening endangered habitats and species and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, according to Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The groups said the government should tighten rules to ensure biofuel producers meet minimum standards on greenhouse gas emissions, and establish "environmental audits” of the entire life-cycle of the fuel, from cultivation through transportation to combustion.
Read the full report from here @ BBJ, Hungary
Labels: analysis, climate-change, co2, environment, problems
PermaLink - UK push for biofuels may harm environment, campaigners say posted by Ecacofonix : 10:50 AM
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Pros and cons of solar power
Pros and cons of solar power
24 Mar 2007
Vicki Vaughan, Express-News Business Writer - My San Antonio
In this article, the author discusses the pros and cons of solar energy.
One interesting concept discussed is "net metering". If, for instance, you instal solar panels and if you do not have batteries to store excess power, on some days the extra energy being generated by the solar panel can be fed being fed back into the electric grid, thus making a meter "run backward." Known as "net metering," customers who produce electricity at home (or their business) using renewable sources such as solar and wind get credit for any excess power they put back into the Energy grid.
But solar energy is not without its pitfalls, the main issue being cost, says this article.
Read the full article from here @ My San Antonio
24 Mar 2007
Vicki Vaughan, Express-News Business Writer - My San Antonio
In this article, the author discusses the pros and cons of solar energy.
One interesting concept discussed is "net metering". If, for instance, you instal solar panels and if you do not have batteries to store excess power, on some days the extra energy being generated by the solar panel can be fed being fed back into the electric grid, thus making a meter "run backward." Known as "net metering," customers who produce electricity at home (or their business) using renewable sources such as solar and wind get credit for any excess power they put back into the Energy grid.
But solar energy is not without its pitfalls, the main issue being cost, says this article.
Read the full article from here @ My San Antonio
Labels: analysis, costs, incentives, problems, solar
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