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Recently on BNC, I ran two guest posts on the economic and technical challenges of supplying an energy-intensive, developed-world market using 100% renewable sources (under a situation where large hydro and/or conventional geothermal can provide little or no contribution). The case study was the national electricity market of Australia, with an average demand of 25-30 GWe. […]
Filed under: Renewables | Tagged: | 39 Comments »
Guest post by Dr Ted Trainer, University of NSW (http://ssis.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/). Wood, A, T. Ellis, D. Mulloworth, and H. Morrow (2012) No Easy Choices: Which Way to Australia’s Energy Future. Technology Analysis. Grattan Institute, Melbourne. This report is a valuable addition to the literature on the prospects for renewable energy in Australia, providing some recent data on key […]
Filed under: Emissions, Policy, Renewables | Tagged: | 68 Comments »
Download the printable 33-page PDF (includes two appendices, on scenario assumptions and transmission cost estimates) HERE. For an Excel workbook that includes all calculations (and can be used for sensitivity analysis), click HERE. By Peter Lang. Peter is a retired geologist and engineer with 40 years experience on a wide range of energy projects throughout […]
Filed under: Emissions, Policy, Renewables | Tagged: | 153 Comments »
I have published a new paper in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Policy with the title “Could nuclear fission energy,etc., solve the greenhouse problem? The affirmative case” (currently online first, DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2011.11.041 — it will appear in the print version, with volume/page details, later this year). If you would like a PDF copy of the article, email me […]
Filed under: Hot News, Nuclear, Policy | Tagged: | 55 Comments »
The following is a detailed guest post by Dr Ted Trainer, University of NSW (http://ssis.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/). In it, he provides the most detailed critique I’ve yet seen of the recent IPCC renewable energy scenarios report. Now, I don’t agree with everything Ted says — in particular the conclusion that the only feasible alternative to large-scale renewables is “The […]
Filed under: Policy, Renewables | Tagged: | 96 Comments »
A common lament of those analysts wishing to get to grips with the real-world performance of solar thermal power plants has been, well… an absence of data. Trainer noted, in ‘Solar Thermal Questions‘: It would be great to get some actual data on their year round performance. I have found it fiendishly difficult to get […]
Filed under: Emissions, Renewables | Tagged: | 90 Comments »
All BNC posts, in chronological order. Hyperlinked Title DATE AUTHOR 2008 Welcome to A Brave New Climate 6/08/2008 Barry Brook Geoengineering – damned if you do, damned if you don’t? 7/08/2008 Barry Brook Climate Change Q&A Seminar 1: Is the Earth Warming (Discussion Thread) 8/08/2008 Barry Brook How long will Old King Coal reign? Part […]
In this post, I develop a hypothetical multi-energy-supply scenario for global low-emissions electricity in ~2060. The assumed energy mix is 75 % nuclear fission and 25 % non-nuclear sources, with fossil fuel use virtually eliminated except where it is used with carbon capture and storage. The % annual growth rate (GR) of energy supplied assumes […]
Filed under: Nuclear, Renewables, Scenarios | Tagged: | 29 Comments »
In a previous post on BraveNewClimate – TCASE #The energy demand equation to 2050 — I estimated a mid-century global primary energy demand of ~1000 EJ (see here for definitions). But it may as well have been 2060; the actual date that this global demand will be reached is obviously uncertain, but will likely occur between 2040 […]
Filed under: Scenarios | Tagged: | 29 Comments »
When I was at UNSW yesterday — prior to my debate with Mark Diesendorf — I met up with Ted Trainer, author of ‘Renewable Energy Cannot Sustain a Consumer Society“. We had a great chat, and I think I even inched him a little towards IFRs (ever the optimist). Anyway, Ted asked me to post […]
Filed under: Emissions, Renewables | Tagged: | 82 Comments »
This post follows on directly from part 1, which you can read here. Here, a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) on climate change and nuclear energy are answered. These are quite deliberately not technical – you won’t find explanations of adiabatic lapse rates, actinide isotopes or Brayton cycle efficiency here! Nope… these are ‘big […]
Filed under: Clim Ch Q&A, Emissions, Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged: | 282 Comments »
Here is an incomplete list of the sustainable energy and climate change books I read in 2009 (actually, a few also scraped in from late 2008). I’ve provided a 2 — 3 sentence summary of each book (from my perspective) and a Rating out of 5. Some books have been reviewed in more detail on […]
Filed under: Clim Ch Q&A, Emissions, Future, Impacts, Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged: | 28 Comments »
This is the first post in what is planned to be an extended series, ‘Thinking critically about sustainable energy‘ (henceforth TCASE #). As explained in my previous blog entry, A necessary interlude, this series will look in detail at the issues confronting renewable and nuclear energy, with an aim to break down the often complex […]
Filed under: Nuclear, Renewables, TCASE | Tagged: | 94 Comments »
Like most interesting things in life, blogs are dynamic beasts. They are a reflection of the personality of their writer(s), projected into cyberspace. They evolve, as the opinions of their writers are shaped by new or unappreciated knowledge, commentary, feedback, and changing circumstances. My blog, Brave New Climate, is no different. After a little over […]
Filed under: Clim Ch Q&A, Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged: | 128 Comments »
Thinking critically about sustainable energy (TCASE series): A necessary interlude TCASE 1: Prologue TCASE 2: Energy primer TCASE 3: The energy demand equation to 2050 TCASE 4: Energy system build rates and material inputs TCASE 5: Ocean power I – Pelamis TCASE 6: Cooling water and thermal power plants TCASE 7: Scaling up Andasol 1 to […]
To round out the controversial critique of solar power started here, I reproduce below the most detailed critical analysis I’ve read on solar thermal electricity. It’s written by a University of NSW academic, Ted Trainer. I’d strongly encourage you to read his full 44-page set of arguments on the inability of renewable energy to sustain an energy […]
Filed under: Renewables | Tagged: | 105 Comments »
The two recent posts focusing on Peter Lang’s wind study have generated considerable debate, and some very stimulating discussion, among BNC readers. This post is a follow-up, which this time highlights Lang’s analysis of solar power and related problems associated with energy storage. This is about solar photovoltaics (PV), which generate electricity directly via the […]
Filed under: Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged: | 505 Comments »
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘fraud’ as the wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain, or a person intending or thing intended to deceive. Okay. So how could this word possibly be connected with ‘solar‘, an adjective relating to or determined by the sun or its rays? Howard Hayden, in his controversial […]
Filed under: Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged: | 90 Comments »
As foreshadowed in my previous post on Integral Fast Reactor nuclear power, I recently ordered Prescription for the Planet, by Tom Blees (subtitle: The Painless Remedy for Our Energy & Environmental Crises). Well, it’s now arrived, and I’ve set about reading through it with a careful eye for detail. After 3 chapters, I can already […]
Filed under: Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged: | 12 Comments »
At least that is the argument put forward by Dr Ted Trainer from the University of New South Wales. To quote: It is commonly assumed that greenhouse gas and energy problems can be solved by switching from fossil fuel sources of energy to renewables. However little attention has been given to exploring the limits to […]
Filed under: Renewables | Tagged: | 36 Comments »
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