Nature’s influence on solar and wind power generation

When it comes to electricity generation, terms like capacity factor, utilization, and load factor often get thrown around like confetti at a parade. And guess what? They’re not synonymous with one another. A lot of confusion about using the term “capacity factor” stems from the press, certainly from politics, and even amongst “energy experts. It’s understandable, though. Knowing what phrases like “natural capacity factor” (nCF), “utilization”, “load factor”, and “conversion efficiency” really mean and which can be influenced/ improved with further investment is, in my opinion a crucial piece of the “renewable energy” puzzle…now as always with a puzzle let´s start with some corner stones/pieces

The Dilemma of Pricing CO2

CO2 pricing aims to internalize the external costs of CO2 emissions, thereby encouraging businesses and individuals to reduce their “carbon footprint”.

The concept is straightforward: by assigning a cost to CO2 emissions, it becomes financially advantageous to emit less CO2. However, this simplistic view overlooks significant complexities and unintended consequences.

Our entire existence is based on taking things from nature (“renewable” or not), so the “Net-Zero” discussion ignores a fundamental requirement of our survival. I agree that it should be our aim to reduce the environmental footprint as much as possible but only as long as our lives, health, and wealth don’t deteriorate as a result.

Now, I am sure, some readers and many “activists” may disagree, which I respect but find unrealistic at a global level. However, I would assume that most agree that no-one’s life ought to be harmed or shortened for the sake of reducing the environmental impact made. Otherwise, there is little room for a conversation

Why primary energy is still king

Primary energy is simply “raw unprocessed and free energy” we extract from nature (Lars Schernikau)
Discussions about the use of the primary energy metric have emerged as “renewables” such as wind and solar make up a larger share of electricity but a lower share of primary energy, as you can see in Figure 1. Some economists consider primary energy outdated and misleading because they consider that “primary energy” from solar and wind can be converted to usable electricity with little energy losses.

Coal’s importance for solar panel manufacturing

So why are coal and solar so closely interlinked? Why is it that solar panel manufacturing is impossible without coal?
So why are coal and solar so closely interlinked? Why is it that solar panel manufacturing is impossible without coal?
In this blog post you will see how important uninterrupted power supply is, especial for industrial processes such as silicon smelting. Obviously, this power comes from coal in China, and cannot come from wind or solar. Let’s dig deeper.

Energy Trilemma

Why “Renewables” cannot save but cost billions. Over the last 150 years, abundant electricity from coal and gas led to an unprecedented reduction in poverty, as well as an increase in longevity and health. Currently, these low cost, reliable power sources generate approximately 60% of electricity and 50% of primary energy worldwide. Primarily due to climate change concerns, coal and gas fuels are now slowly replaced by ‘renewables’, such as wind and solar based energy. But this comes with a cost.

Poverty, peace, health, education, and the environment should have our highest attention and are short of funds. We should divert investment from wind, solar and hydrogen and/or batteries to where the money will make a genuine positive impact to our environment and economies. For a truly long-term sustainable, energy dense future, in addition to more R&D and fission/fusion, we should invest in building/upgrading to newest high efficiency thermal power plants and installing up-to-date filter systems, globally.

Advantages of Nuclear Energy

The world’s first nuclear power plant started operation near Moscow in 1954. The following decades saw hundreds of nuclear reactors being built around the world, with the United States, France, and China leading the build-out, making up about half of today’s global installations. About 90 per cent of today’s operating nuclear reactors were built during the 1970s and 1980s, with a global average reactor age of about 32 years. Apparently over 90 per cent of US reactors received extensions to operate up to 60 years.
The world hosts about 420 GW of installed nuclear capacity, expected to rise to about 620 GW by 2050. Thus, today about 5 per cent of a total of 8.6 TW of installed power capacity is nuclear. The over 400 nuclear reactors contributed almost 10 per cent of global electricity generation of about 29,000 TWh in 2022 (Figure 1). (Only about 40 per cent of global primary energy of over 170,000 TWh is used to generate electricity; the other 60 per cent is used for industry, heating, and transport.)
Read about the advantages of nuclear energy

South Africa Electricity

Coal is globally, and certainly for South Africa, the most important source of power. The commodity is required for almost every product and structure that we see around us and use every single day, either directly or indirectly. There is virtually no machine, cement, steel, aluminum, building, car, computer, iPhone, or even a solar panel or windmill that can be created without coal.
South Africa should rather embrace good old King Coal as part of its energy future by supporting investments to improve environmental and economic efficiencies. In a global context, coal has enormous value. The fuel, originating from plants that date back millions of years, retains its position as the most important source of electricity, constituting about 36% in 2023, and the second most crucial source of primary energy, accounting for approximately 25% share in 2023. As the graph below shows, its absolute volumes continue to set new records almost every year, despite a slight reduction in the global share of coal.

What now Germany?… How do we get electricity…?

What now Germany… how do we get electricity…???

“Germany’s heavy industry is worse off now than during the worst COVID times”…True or False?

Of course, the high gas and coal prices of 2022 have something to do with it… they were high because of Putin, which affected Germany as it doubled its “energy transition-related” dependence on Russian gas over the last 20 years.

Or maybe we should consider that coal and nuclear power were gradually reduced, or maybe because energy security was not really taken seriously, or because the sun doesn’t shine at night and the wind doesn’t always blow?… certainly not.

The Germany energy news is … as German policymakers and energy industry leaders face enormous challenges due to a recession, deindustrialization and more, the country continues to work to meet ambitious renewable energy goals amidst an unfolding energy crisis.

Read more…