Energy Security

[Auditor #9]

There are better buys for $126k but I suppose its aimed at the Al Gores of the world. I listened to Eamon Ryan on radio, he gets more like a Concern collector every day. He would be better employed focussing the ESB on reducing the cost of electricity rather than spending money on a network of plug ins for cars that people are in no position to buy.

The internal combustion engine has plenty of miles in it yet - particularly the Diesel engine. We'll need a lot more installed wind energy if we're to get any decent level of self-sufficiency going for those cars. The scrubbers in Moneypoint power station aren't even working right.

And as wombat says - where are people going to get the money for €60k Tesla s-classes (that yoke above costs €100k) when the country has €1.6 trillion of external debt ?

The diesel engine will be around for a long time to come don't worry.

The city of Venice has announced a plan to utilize algae in a different way than we're used to hearing about. The Italian city plans to produce 50 percent of its electricity needs from an algae-based power plant instead of fossil fuels.

Venice to Use Algae for 50% of Its Electricity | EcoGeek - Clean Technology

SALT LAKE CITY, March 25, 2009 — Chemists reported development of what they termed the first economical, eco-friendly process to convert algae oil into biodiesel fuel — a discovery they predict could one day lead to U.S. independence from petroleum as a fuel. First economical process for making biodiesel fuel from algae

[SPN]

Whether we like it or not, we cannot meet the challenges of energy supply in the future without the far wider use of civil nuclear power. In April 2006, a government-commissioned report by Forfas pointed to the need for Ireland to reconsider nuclear power in order "to secure its long-run energy security, Ryan refuses to consider it.

Just as this thread about Energy Security has been running since 2006, we also have a thread for debating the economic viability, and technical feasibility of Nukes on the Irish Grid dating back to that time.

As you will see from that thread, we neither need, nor can afford a pair of Nukes on our Grid - and that's before we consider the abundant, more cost effective alternatives that are available to us.

Minister Ryan is on the record as saying that we should reopen the debate about Nuclear - because he, like anyone else who has done the sums, knows that a pair of Nukes have no place on the Irish grid. If we need to take the time to bring everybody up to speed on the reality, then lets do it.

We need an indigenuous, distributed, cost effective electricity generating system.

We do not need a pair of over priced White Elephants.



If you want to discuss the Nukes issue further, please take it to the appropriate thread.

This thread is about Energy Security.

[orbit]

There are better buys for $126k but I suppose its aimed at the Al Gores of the world. I listened to Eamon Ryan on radio, he gets more like a Concern collector every day. He would be better employed focussing the ESB on reducing the cost of electricity rather than spending money on a network of plug ins for cars that people are in no position to buy.

Are you serious? These cars cost $126k ?

[wombat]

Are you serious? These cars cost $126k ?

According to the video. On the subject of Nuclear power SPN is the only one who thinks we need two. Anyway, once the interconnector is in place, we will have access to the British grid and we know, there is no danger that the Brits will try to screw us , unlike those nasty Russians.

[soubresauts]

Just as this thread about Energy Security has been running since 2006, we also have a thread for debating the economic viability, and technical feasibility of Nukes on the Irish Grid dating back to that time.

There's also this recent thread about nuclear.

[Limerick Lad]

Just as this thread about Energy Security has been running since 2006, we also have a thread for debating the economic viability, and technical feasibility of Nukes on the Irish Grid dating back to that time.

As you will see from that thread, we neither need, nor can afford a pair of Nukes on our Grid - and that's before we consider the abundant, more cost effective alternatives that are available to us.

Minister Ryan is on the record as saying that we should reopen the debate about Nuclear - because he, like anyone else who has done the sums, knows that a pair of Nukes have no place on the Irish grid. If we need to take the time to bring everybody up to speed on the reality, then lets do it.

We need an indigenuous, distributed, cost effective electricity generating system.

We do not need a pair of over priced White Elephants.



If you want to discuss the Nukes issue further, please take it to the appropriate thread.

This thread is about Energy Security.

This thread started off debating the need to find secure sources of energy other than our current over reliance on Russian gas and Middle Eastern oil, yet you have told me and other posters that nuclear energy an obvious alternative source of energy supply should not be discussed here.

Nuclear energy technology is available now and is not some pie in the sky Jules Verne source of energy yet we continue to bury our head in the sand hoping than some alternative will suddenly appear that could in reality replace gas and oil as our major source of energy not just 5 or 10% depending on whether it's windy that day or not.

[SPN]

This thread started off debating the need to find secure sources of energy other than our current over reliance on Russian gas and Middle Eastern oil, yet you have told me and other posters that nuclear energy an obvious alternative source of energy supply should not be discussed here.

This thread is about Energy Security.

Nukes do not help us achieve thqt goal.

Nuclear energy technology is available now and is not some pie in the sky Jules Verne source of energy yet we continue to bury our head in the sand hoping than some alternative will suddenly appear that could in reality replace gas and oil as our major source of energy not just 5 or 10% depending on whether it's windy that day or not.

If we decided to build a Nuke, plus a second to act as back-up for when the first is out of action, we are talking 20-25 years before they would come on stream (if we can raise the finance).

We can have Biomass CHP Plans up and running in 5 years, for a fraction of the price, with a higher efficiency, lower electricity price, and no dependance on foreign sources of rapidly depleting Uranium supply.

This thread is about solving our short term Energy Security problems, not about half baked schemes to build taxpayer subsidised White Elephants twenty years from now.

[myksav]

40% of our energy use goes on Transport, but this is the area where we have the most limitations on alternatives.

Hydrogen is a joke. It is 20 years away, always has been, and always will be.

Biofuels have extremely limited potential because we can't grow the massive quantities we would need to replace mineral fuels on a 1:1 basis.

Electric vehicles have been quietly making progress in recent years, and they offer the best short term solution to solving the problem of transitioning our transport fleet to a non-fossil fuel basis.

Ireland: Electric Car Hub



Moving swiftly along:


Government signs electric car deal



Want to know more?

Here is the state of the art ......

I think I prefer this one for an EV. Or better yet a 'plug-in hybrid' model.

[cactusflower]

A lot of threads on wind, wave, microgeneration and peak oil here:
Machinenation.org • View topic - Wind Energy

The EPA site here has a report on the call for a very radical switch to a low energy economy in Ireland published two days ago:
2009 - Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland

Ireland is very well placed in terms of wind and wave potential. We need a functioning and economic interconnector that allows us to sell excess wind energy.

Denmark, very similar to Ireland from the point of wind potential, is building 50,000 charging points (like petrol stations) for electric cars to mop up wind energy excess.

I am very sceptical of wood chip: it is difficult to manage the boilers and store the fuel and they produce dioxins and carbon emissions when burnt. No one can guarantee that the amount being extracted will be replaced.

We are already using British nuclear via the existing, costly, interconnector are we not?

The EPA rightly sees us as an energy exporter in future. Government so far has done nothing serious, in fact has impeded progress in terms of a move to wind energy production. There is the usual ghastly inertia, incompetence and
pandering to vested interests. It really is time they were put out to grass.

[myksav]

Sounds interesting. What is "the deal"? Is there some financial incentive or VRT rebate being offered? That is (yet another) great thing about VRT You can use it to shape the motor industry pretty much any way you want.

How much does it cost to fuel these vehicles?

Find the capacity of the batteries and do a rough estimate. Electricity is about 16c/KWh. A 10KWh battery would theoritically need 1.60 Euro per charge. Figure in a ball-park loss in charging and say 2 Euro for 10KWH.
The claim from Aptera is 120 miles (190km) on a 13KWH battery. About 2.50 per trip, 48 miles (76km) per Euro.

Works out much cheaper to run than any small petrol car.

edit. The Apteras is aimed at a price of 25-50 K. US Dollars. That's about 25 quid, I think.