What does it take to succesfully transition to a green energy economy?

[Jim T]

Tesla has just released their plan for the energy transition.

What is takes in energy, mining and what amount of batteries we need. And of course the costs.

Turns out it will cost 40% less than what the oil industry cost us the past 20 years, uses 50% less energy at the source and will use less mining.

Let's discuss based on the numbers they came up with. The report can be found here: https://www.tesla.com/ns_videos/Tesla-Master-Plan-Part-3.pdf

After this past icy blast how about starting with no cloud cover for solar power. Not happening in our lifetime. When Tesla builds cars that don't catch on fire and can be charged as easily as gas cars then we can talk. I can see another government funded project that never works.

 

[j_j]

That's the only reason why I said LCOE models can be mildly misleading given the complexities of energy transport. I am in no way ever attacking/disputing the merits of renewable, in fact I regard them as a mandatory no-brainer going forward. But they are not suitable for every application.

Well, yeah. My older house and the new one are a perfect example. Both have good siting on the roof for solar. Both have lots of roof area.

One is in the middle of a cedar forest.
The other is on top of a hill with no interference to the east, south, or west.

'nuff said?

We'll be putting solar and a battery on the new place shortly. Conveniently it already has a 25kw propane generator and a blockhouse kind of thing that's perfect for holding batteries and invertor/charger hardware. Sadly, the new (very small) PUC does not have a power banking system yet, or batteries would be going in already.

 

[pablolie]

Well, yeah. My older house and the new one are a perfect example. Both have good siting on the roof for solar. Both have lots of roof area.

One is in the middle of a cedar forest.
The other is on top of a hill with no interference to the east, south, or west.

'nuff said?

Same here. And I feed back int the grid with some regularity. Saves me a bunch of money on my monthly bill... but given the initial cost the full return on investment may well be something the *next* owner may truly benefit from... :-D

 

[Timcognito]

After this past icy blast how about starting with no cloud cover for solar power. Not happening in our lifetime. When Tesla builds cars that don't catch on fire and can be charged as easily as gas cars then we can talk. I can see another government funded project that never works.

I charge my EV at home in a few hours once a week and it has been averaging 312 miles on a charge. In 2024 before my EV my electric bill was $211 for that year thanks to solar panels and whole house battery for night and power outage use, also LED lighting. My system will return its initial cost in the summer of next year after 6-1/2 years at current production rate. California is expected to break 50% renewable energy production this year thanks to Federal and State programs. Gasoline cars have far more fires than EVs.

 

[Axo1989]

After this past icy blast how about starting with no cloud cover for solar power. Not happening in our lifetime. When Tesla builds cars that don't catch on fire and can be charged as easily as gas cars then we can talk. I can see another government funded project that never works.

That document was about more than Tesla cars of course. But I expect your 'then we can talk' will be infinitely postponed via one quibble or another.

Meanwhile we have national strategies inching forward despite some fierce short-term-ism via patronage from the fossil fuel equivalent of the tobacco lobby.

Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.

On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.

Australia’s long, complicated and difficult energy transition is finally working. As our recent research suggests, if these trends continue – and nothing new goes wrong – we should begin to see lower retail electricity bills by mid-2026. As more coal plants close and new transmission and storage infrastructure is delivered, electricity prices could rise again. But overall, shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.

That's the thing that 'never works' and is 'not happening in our lifetime'.

 

[EJ3]

Our personal expriences are one thing that may or may not align on a day to day basis. But the evidence that shows a trend towards global warming is pretty overwhelming. We may or may not agree on the immediacy and impact of the consequences. But ignoring it and not preparing ourselves seems very unwise. Scenario planning is a basic element of smart strategic thinking.

I live under dense tree cover. Both solar and wind are not feasible.
But the dense tree cover also minimizes my power bill year round. By keeping the area cool in the summer and warmer than being out in the open in the winter.

 

[pablolie]

I live under dense tree cover. Both solar and wind are not feasible.
But the dense tree cover also minimizes my power bill year round. By keeping the area cool in the summer and warmer than being out in the open in the winter.

That's exactly why I stated that not every application is the same. EVs are not practical for everybody. Solar isn't typically an option option for a local AI inference data centers in dense populated areas. Or your particular application. Often, technology depoyments are extremely dependent on the environment it's deployed.

 

[Axo1989]

I notice you're in Australia. I was wondering (as long as we're all taking a shot at Eco-humour), how that dung-beetle thing is going for you guys? It made me wonder if maybe we could find a good critter for naturally disposing of used wind-turbine blades.

I didn't address the second idea in my earlier reply. Human critters maybe? Here's a demountable house built from a wind turbine nacelle. Don't recall seeing things made from blades yet.

But I should read my own links. Here's a playground made from turbine blades and some other parts:

And another one:

Excuse the watermarks. The company is Blade-Made which makes sense.