The Europeans are looking at constructing solar-thermal power stations and taking the power across the Mediterranean. It’s called Desertec.
Right now, the cost is seen as about twice that of coal, but this should improve over time.
If only the US had some desert areas, perhaps we could try the same thing.
I would suggest that people look at this analysis of London’s congestion pricing scheme.
Basically, they have license plate scanners set up at entry points around central London, and commuters are charged £8 per day to enter the center city (residents get a discount).
The proceeds from this charge go to mass transit.
Before implementing this, London speeds were less than 10 miles per hour, with 30% of the time being sitting not moving at all.
The impact of the scheme exceeded expectations. In the first year of the charge, traffic delays in London dropped by 30 percent, journey time reliability increased by 30 percent, and average speeds rose 17 percent, reflecting a sharp fall in traffic jams at intersections (the time spent traveling at speeds less than 6 mph decreased by one-third). The charge also changed who was using the roads: private car trips dropped by 34 percent, and trucks and vans by 5 to 7 percent, but bus, taxi, and bike trips all rose sharply. The overall impact was a noticeable improvement in traffic conditions.
The London experience has also shown that it’s possible – and important – to spread the benefits of congestion pricing widely. By committing to plough all the revenues raised by the congestion charge into public transportation improvements, London has ensured that congestion pricing didn’t just improve mobility for car drivers who can pay the charge (the “Lexus lanes” problem) but also increased access to the city centre for everyone. Innovative policies, such as the popular mass bike-share program in Paris, can also help to spread the benefits.
This is simple, it can be implemented in a matter of months, and it is revenue positive, which makes it too sensible to happen here.
Bloomberg tried to implement it in New York City, and the state legislature shot it down.
Crude oil peaked at $99.29/bbl, and the Euro is at $1.4831:€1.0000.
Absent a major weather event, I don’t see much movement over the Thanksgiving weekend, but they are both close to crossing their respective psychological barriers.
Honda will be putting ultracapacitors in their cars in the next few years. They will use it on a fuel cell vehicle to handle demand peaks.
Capacitors have some advantages and disadvantages relative to batteries.
The pluses: hey don’t wear out, and they can put out a lot of juice in a short time (they are in camera flashes).
The minuses: They slowly* leak stored energy over time., and they have lower energy density.
The technology is advancing rather quickly†, so the disadvantages may decrease.
You could also use the capacitors in conjunction with batteries to go with a higher energy/lower power battere (higher power means lower energy and vice verse),
*Very slowly, as anyone who has gotten knocked on their when they open up a TV that has been in a junkyard for two years can attest.
†When I was in school, I was told that a 1 Farad capacitor would be the bigger than a a pick up truck, now there are commercially available ones that are smaller than a thimble.
The Dollar hit another all time low, it’s currently at $1.4645:1.0000€, oil peaked at $98.62/bbl, the Canadian Dollar briefly broke $1.10 US today and the Dow dropped 361 points.
Not only do I expect to be right on the Euro breaking $1.50 and oil breaking $100/bbl before year’s end, we may see significant moves toward moving oil to Euro denomination by next June. Iran and Venezuela are already pushing for this for political reasons, and the dollar’s decline will likely put pressure on other petro economies to go a similar way.
To quote Paul Krugman (PDF):
Almost everyone believes that the US current account deficit must eventually end, and that this end will involve dollar depreciation. However, many believe that this depreciation will take place gradually. This paper shows that any process of gradual dollar decline fast enough to prevent the accumulation of implausible levels of US external debt would impose capital losses on investors much larger than they currently expect. As a result, there will at some point have to be a ‘Wile E. Coyote moment’ – a point at which expectations are revised, and the dollar drops sharply. …..
You have to love an economist who can invoke the Warner Brothers.
More unrest in the Niger Delta. This time, the local rebels hit a Nigerian navy ship successfully.
Oil is not to be found in stable places with competent, non-corrupt, and transparent government. Look at Texas to see how oil makes a place backward and corrupt.
The Dow dropped 362.14 points. Oil peaked briefly at $96.24/bbl.
Normally, this is not the response to a Fed rate cut. I think that oil and currency concerns are behind this, though truth be told, the two are intertwined. When the dollar falls, if oil remains the same price as a world commodity, the dollar price must naturally go up.
Oil ended the trading day at $90.46/bbl.
Fow what it’s worth, I think that the price is actually lower for Canadians than it was post Katrina, since with their currency appreciating against ours, this is the equivalent of about $74/bbl two years ago.
The German-based Energy Watch Group has released a study indicating that peak oil has already passed, and production will now decline by 7% a year.
Even if they are only half right, this will not be pretty, and by the end of 2008 we could see $200/bbl oil.
Oil is now above above $89, given further shortages, and a falling dollar, $100/bbl oil will be here soon.
Here.
The question is, why? The owner of the mine, Robert E. Murray is a politically connected Republican, and it probably serves his purposes for there not to be disclosure.
Additionally, the release of information leading to more regulation of the mine industry that might result from disclosure is not something that either the mining industry, or the Bush administration wants.
It’s record high, and the basic reason is supply and demand, but it is also that oil is being denominated in a depreciating asset, the US dollar.
Oil exporting countries buy things denominated in Euros, Yen, Sterling, etc., and they can buy less of this when the dollar falls.
If the Fed cuts rates tomorrow, and all signs point to this, I would expect to see a new record low vs the Euro in the next 5-10 business days.
This time, it involves mishandling nuclear fuel.
I think that we should move all nuclear fuel processing and waste storage to Crawford, TX.
For example:
The commission said there were two areas, the glovebox and an old elevator shaft, where the solution potentially could have collected in such a way to cause an uncontrolled nuclear reaction.
In response to discoveries of the screwups, they’ve locked down documents.
Delightful.
Well, it looks like the lobbiests slipped a provision in the Senate’s energy bill allowing for the taxpayer to cover billions in loan guarantees for the Nuclear industry.
As before, the Department of Energy would be allowed to guarantee 100 percent of the loans and up to 80 percent of the total cost to build a reactor.
But the bill essentially allows the department to approve as many loan guarantees as it wants for both new reactors and plants that use other “clean” technologies.
That is a big change. Under current law, the government is only allowed to guarantee a volume of loans authorized each year by Congress. Last year, Congress limited the government to awarding just $4 billion in loan guarantees for clean energy projects during the 2007 fiscal year.
It’s a big sloppy kiss for the Nuclear Industry.
Mr. Bingaman, the bill’s primary architect, said that he was aware of the provision but believed that it would apply only to reactors with fundamentally new technology.
“I would be amazed if this generic loan program applied to most of the plants that are being proposed, either for the nuclear industry or coal industry,” Mr. Bingaman said Monday night. “The idea of this is not just to help an industry build plants. It’s to demonstrate new technology that meets the nation’s energy needs.”
But industry officials say the measure would directly affect the reactors on the drawing board
Somehow, even if the law is written in the manner that Sen. Bingaman says, I think that the Bush Admin is going to engage in an orgy of loan guarantees, to ensure that 20 or 30 (at least) of these expensive white elephants are issued, on the theory that it guarantees profits for their friends, and consulting gigs for themselves after 2009.
Well, it appears that there is company that will be converting left over animal fats from slaughter houses into jet fuel.
That’s right, planes powered by schmaltz (chicken fat).
I’m wondering when Colonel Sanders will open his own airline.
This makes it more likely that other nations will be putting part of the foreign reserves in non-US currencies.
This will place further downward pressure on the USD, and further upward pressure on interest rates.
Iran Asks Japan to Pay Yen for Oil, Start Immediately
uly 13 (Bloomberg) — Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran’s central bank said it is reducing holdings of the U.S. dollar.Iran wants yen-based transactions “for any/all of your forthcoming Iranian crude oil liftings,” according to a letter sent to Japanese refiners that was signed by Ali A. Arshi, general manager of crude oil marketing and exports in Tehran at the National Iranian Oil Co. The request is for all shipments “effective immediately,” according to the letter, dated July 10 and obtained by Bloomberg News.
The yen rose on speculation for an increase in demand for the currency, the result of Japan’s annual 1.24 trillion yen ($10.1 billion) of oil imports from Iran. Central bankers in Venezuela, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will invest less of their reserves in dollar assets because of the weakening currency.
….
We are at or near peak oil, and even minor disturbances can cause major spikes in prices.
We are in for a bumpy ride.
Nigeria: Gunmen occupy oil installation
une 18, 2007: 09:18 AM EST
Jun. 18, 2007 (AFX International Focus) —
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – Unidentified gunmen have occupied an oil pipeline switching center in Nigeria and are preventing local workers and security forces from leaving, company officials said Monday.
Some two dozen Nigerian workers and soldiers are being held after the attack Sunday on a flowstation in southern Bayelsa state, Italian energy giant Eni Spa (NYSE:E) said in a statement. No injuries were reported, it said.
The company statement didn’t say if crude output had been curtailed and a spokesman in Nigeria had no information on the attack. Government officials weren’t immediately available for comment. Eni operates in Nigeria through its Agip subsidiary.
…
The problem is that the likely sources of fuel.
Air Force Hopes to Cut Oil’s Role in Fuel
By DON PHILLIPS
Published: June 18, 2007The United States Air Force has decided to push development of a new type of fuel to power its bombers and fighters, mixing conventional jet fuel with fuels from nonpetroleum sources that could eventually limit military dependence on imported oil.
The decision will open a contest between fuel refiners and other companies to produce a jet fuel composed of no more than 50 percent petroleum. The plan is to be announced at the Paris Air Show by the secretary of the Air Force, Michael W. Wynne; the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Marion C. Blakey; and other American officials.
“The goal is to certify the entire fleet by 2010 with a 50-50 mix,” said Paul Bollinger, an Air Force official who is working on a shift to synthetic fuels.”
…
Today’s most popular alternative fuel, made from corn, is not suitable for use in aviation. “Corn doesn’t have the B.T.U.’s for jet fuel,” Mr. Bollinger said, referring to the British thermal unit, a measure of energy. Richard L. Altman, executive director of an industrywide group called the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, said fuels would most likely be developed in three phases, beginning with a focus on creating liquid fuels from nonrenewable resources like coal and natural gas.
Natural gas’s greatest utility is that it can be piped to point of use with very low losses, and coal liquification releases more C02 than burning it to generate electricity.