Renewable Energy

If someone wants an very outrageous idea, how about using energy at peak production to nuclear fission helium-4 into 2 deuteriums. Then the deuteriums are then sent to use in nuclear fission reactor. That's all I shall say. Do not bombard me with questions -- as I typed it is very outrageous.

 

OK, I won't bombard you with questions. Outrageous is right.

 

what about these fart energy pants?

https://www.facebook.com/OnzinComXL/videos/1030728070281623/

 

Sorry Poppy, Trump appears to believe in climate change when it's threatening his golf courses http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38228037

I have to say I sure missed seeing the bees this summer. First summer ever I recall not dodging them in the garden.

 

??? What benefit are you going to get from deuterium in a fission reactor? I suspect the energy efficiency of spitting He-4 would be incredibly low as well. Better to hydrolyze water or pump it up hill.

 

Pumped storage is useful for meeting peaking demands, but it always costs more energy to pump it than can be recovered by reverse flow.

 

That's true of any storage system. You will never get out as much as you put in. Green systems however tend to have some pretty serious peaks and valleys and the peaks don't always coincide with demand. So you either need some form of storage that is reasonably efficient or a form of generation that peaks at different times. Getting two or more that compliment each other perfectly is rather difficult so in reality some form of storage is necessary (or an on demand system like more conventional power plants). There's also been some work in thermal storage I believe. Not sure what sort of efficiencies they are up to but I'd be surprised if any of the storage systems is over 90%.

 

And if the energy is basically free (sun, wind, tide) once you have the facilities in place and are paying the cost to operate it using a storage medium makes a fair amount of sense even if it's not very efficient. On demand systems like hydro, gas, oil, coal, and nuclear can also complement the above.

 

What I mean by "free" is there is little reason to run a solar or wind plant at less than 100% efficiency. You've already bought the plant and have to pay to keep it up. If you are producing more energy than you can use at some point putting it into some form of energy storage is better than wasting it or not producing it. Hydro is a bit different as at some time of the year you may be in that position but other times the water is in more limited supply. Some of the wave generation technologies have a lot of promise as waves are fairly consistent over time.

 

Heard of potential systems implanted in highways. The vehicles running over it generate electricity probably in the same way wave generators do.
hehee, yes if political discussions could only be tapped for energy spent.

 

There was also one I think that turned can be used to pave highways and produces solar power. It can use the power to for deicing in the winter as well.

 

Did u see the one where the highway would light up as you drove along it- centre lines embedded in the highway, not erected posts

 

I didn't see it but it could be an out growth of he one I was talking about. One of my kids found a fair amount more information on it than I actually saw and I don't remember how much I read and how much she told me.

 

As batteries are horrible, wind also takes a toll of bats and birds. Maybe solar? (still need batteries)- nope.
Giant reflective stations are kill zones for any that should happen into the concentrated light.
Gas, coal, oil are still much more efficient than any green...Should tear a page out of lying algores playbook, and show all the poor animals dying from green tech.
Solar Farms-
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/08/18/california-weighing-bird-deaths-from-concentrated-solar-plants-as-it-considers.html

 

What about insects. Windmills could be giant fly swatters (i'll buy that).

Edit- in retrospect...the kill zone around a windmill could result in very rich farming. So there may be an up.