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The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

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Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#61

Post by ben_w »

dangerlibrary wrote: post #44
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I worked in an industry, and a new competitor came out that was initially more expensive, but killed less people, I'm not sure I'd be that surprised if my work started to dry up in favor of the less deadly alternative(s). If at least one of the alternatives was cheaper too, then I would surmise the game was up.

If you were an arms manufacturer you would be thoroughly unconcerned.

While your witty retort made me laugh, unless you are suggesting that coal power stations are weapons designed to kill people living near them, I think you are missing the point.

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#62

Post by enraged_camel »

philipkglass wrote: post #54

Trump can slow the decline of coal consumption but he can't reverse it. Investors in new generating plants expect them to operate for decades. The regulatory pendulum is going to swing back against coal within a decade. The optimal thing to do if you own an old coal plant is to run it as much as you profitably can right now, don't invest in major upgrades for the future, and be ready to scrap it whenever the EPA resu…

>>Trump can slow the decline of coal consumption but he can't reverse it.

He doesn't want to reverse it. He doesn't give a shit about coal. He only wants their votes, and the votes of similar industries who will view him as a defender of old-school industry.

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#63

Post by soperj »

philipkglass wrote: post #54

Trump can slow the decline of coal consumption but he can't reverse it. Investors in new generating plants expect them to operate for decades. The regulatory pendulum is going to swing back against coal within a decade. The optimal thing to do if you own an old coal plant is to run it as much as you profitably can right now, don't invest in major upgrades for the future, and be ready to scrap it whenever the EPA resu…

I don't know if it'll be as big as you think. It takes a fair amount of power to actually refine gasoline.

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#64

Post by erikpukinskis »

matt4077 wrote: post #31
mirko22 wrote: post #5

More and more people are turning to Molten Salt Nuclear Reactors, like Liquid Fluoride Thorium Breeders, If Kirk Sorensen and others are right this will revolutionize energy (and probably not just energy but mining, water desalination etc.) as we know it unlike wind or solar ever could. Natural gas and coal should die once and for all as they are as dirty as it gets. I strongly believe we are ready for truly nuclear…

Yeah, and fusion is just around the corner... I wonder why the tech community has this infatuation with nuclear power. Ever since I registered my three-digit slashdot account, I've been reading exactly this post, just that the type of reactor people dream of seems to change every five years or so. Good to know it's "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Breeders", right now. Meanwhile, solar power has lowered prices by a factor of…

A new generation of students who grow up doing math in VR will solve the plasma containment geometry problem, which is one of the major fusion hurdles.

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#65

Post by erikpukinskis »

matt4077 wrote: post #31
mirko22 wrote: post #5

More and more people are turning to Molten Salt Nuclear Reactors, like Liquid Fluoride Thorium Breeders, If Kirk Sorensen and others are right this will revolutionize energy (and probably not just energy but mining, water desalination etc.) as we know it unlike wind or solar ever could. Natural gas and coal should die once and for all as they are as dirty as it gets. I strongly believe we are ready for truly nuclear…

Yeah, and fusion is just around the corner... I wonder why the tech community has this infatuation with nuclear power. Ever since I registered my three-digit slashdot account, I've been reading exactly this post, just that the type of reactor people dream of seems to change every five years or so. Good to know it's "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Breeders", right now. Meanwhile, solar power has lowered prices by a factor of…

A new generation of students who grow up doing math in VR will solve the plasma containment geometry problem, which is one of the major fusion hurdles.

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#66

Post by ams6110 »

mirko22 wrote: post #5

More and more people are turning to Molten Salt Nuclear Reactors, like Liquid Fluoride Thorium Breeders, If Kirk Sorensen and others are right this will revolutionize energy (and probably not just energy but mining, water desalination etc.) as we know it unlike wind or solar ever could. Natural gas and coal should die once and for all as they are as dirty as it gets. I strongly believe we are ready for truly nuclear…

More and more people? Who? Where are these reactor types being operated commercially for electric power generation?

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#67

Post by Mendenhall »

rz2k wrote: post #60
Mendenhall wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That falls under "rhetoric" the author takes a small unit of time "when sun is shining and wind is blowing" to then use the word "free". Thats cherry picking to the extreme and rhetoric 101. It is used to paint a picture that does not really exist. What happens to solar and wind when its night and the wind is still? By cherry picking and creating a scene which doesnt truly exist it paints a false picture of the effic…

I don't think anyone here is being fooled by the "rhetoric". This is a forum for people who are inclined toward entrepreneurship, who understand basic economic terms like marginal cost without additional explanation. Marginal cost is the only appropriate measure for discussing what even becomes a challenge where/when electric energy approaches non-scarcity — for example you may not have a use for it, but it requires…

This article is being read by other people besides on HN. My comment was directed at the overall quality and rhetoric/falshoods used in article not how it effects HN readers or to try to save them from themselves.

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#68

Post by acqq »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #55
Mendenhall wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That falls under "rhetoric" the author takes a small unit of time "when sun is shining and wind is blowing" to then use the word "free". Thats cherry picking to the extreme and rhetoric 101. It is used to paint a picture that does not really exist. What happens to solar and wind when its night and the wind is still? By cherry picking and creating a scene which doesnt truly exist it paints a false picture of the effic…

I don't understand. If someone is giving out free balloons but only during certain hours, you shouldn't call it free?

The "free" balloons were paid for to be produced before being given away as ads.

The production of energy has always the costs, and some interested parties attempt to hide them to make them an easier sell.

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#69

Post by [deleted] »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #55
Mendenhall wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That falls under "rhetoric" the author takes a small unit of time "when sun is shining and wind is blowing" to then use the word "free". Thats cherry picking to the extreme and rhetoric 101. It is used to paint a picture that does not really exist. What happens to solar and wind when its night and the wind is still? By cherry picking and creating a scene which doesnt truly exist it paints a false picture of the effic…

I don't understand. If someone is giving out free balloons but only during certain hours, you shouldn't call it free?

[deleted]

Re: The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It

#70

Post by Dylan16807 »

Mendenhall wrote: post #59
Dylan16807 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand. If someone is giving out free balloons but only during certain hours, you shouldn't call it free?

As rhetoric I would compare it more with "I will be giving everyone free balloons all day while supplies last!" and the supply is one balloon. Sounds great but reality is vastly different. Again though I dont expect everyone to see the rhetoric I see.

One balloon? Maybe if renewables exploded after half an hour.

The solar-power equivalent would be a balloon every few minutes every weekday, but they run on a strange calendar and you can't predict when weekends happen.

I just don't see how a supply that's unpredictable on a short-term basis, but very predictable on a long-term basis, disqualifies it from being "free".

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