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Tony Curzon Price on "Can we clean King Coal and live happily ever after?"

Tony Curzon Price — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:14:31 +0000

I am afraid it is Andrew Cox who seems to confuse the issues. Yes, advanced coal technologies could increase thermal efficiencies compared to old-fashioned coal plant (where 35% energy efficiency was considered rather good). 40% was being quite generous as an average efficiency for coal plant. Combined cycle natural gas plant have achieved much greater efficiencies, and coal gasification may help .... but the conversion is itself energy intensive. So the total energy efficiency of the process will not be in the high 50%'s as achieved in natural gas CCGT technology.

The reduction from 40% to 25% was entirely for the capture technology. This is an estimate, since no systems are currently operating at scale. The energy has to be used to extract the CO2 from the flue gas and pump it elsewhere.

The 90% figure mentioned by AC is simply irrelevant to this question: he is stating how much carbon could be captured, not the efficiency at which it could be captured.

The reduction in efficiency of about 1/3 is the assumption that David MacKay makes. AC has produced no argument against this assumption in his post. I would be most interested to have the basis for his assertion made explicit.

tony

Andrew Cox on "Can we clean King Coal and live happily ever after?"

Andrew Cox — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:36:21 +0000

Tony Price is inaccurate when he says that using clean coal technologies will reduce the [thermal] efficiencies from 40% to 25%.
One of the primary aims of developing new technologies - particularly clean coal technologies - is to increase the thermal efficiencies, extracting more useful energy per tonne of coal.
The latest generation of Super/Ultra Critical Power Plants that are currently being developed and installed in several countries - including China - can operate at effiencies of 45% or higher. The goal is to build these plants [which operate at higher temperatures and pressures than older plant] with thermal efficiencies of 50% or higher. Installing carbon capture and storage will reduce the overall efficiencies of any fossil fuel plant - but a range of new technologies and options are available that can ensure 90% or more of the carbon dioxide can be captured and sequestrated.
Other technologies, such as Integrated Gasification and Combined Cycle technologies are also been developed which have higher thermal efficiencies, pluis allow carbon dioxide to be removed from the gas stream prior to combustion - and can also allow the production of hydrogen and other products.

Henk Daalder Windpark Wiki on "Balance: thinly spread and unpopular"

Henk Daalder Windpark Wiki — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:57:35 +0000

This book is created with the sole purpose to prevent the UK to implement wind power.
To have you accept dangerous and costly nuclear power plants.
And dismiss that wind power actually is free energy, as long as the wind park is maintained.

Wind parks are the most cost efficient way to generate sustainable power, without the obligation to pay for CO2 pollution.
A single turbine of 3 MW and 100 m high, will power a community of 8000 inhabitants.
So citizens of the UK will live on sustainable energy with about 8000 of these turbines
When designed in long lines, from south to north, this would mean such a line every 30 to 100 km for densely populated areas and less populated areas.
Of course these lines will be designed with landscape design rules in mind.

And this way of generating your own energy, with your own piece of a wind turbine, will reduce costs of energy by a factor of 3, and will make this cost stable for the coming 20 years.

Coal and gas powered electricity produces CO2.
Nuclear power produces almost just as much CO2 as a gas fired power plant.
And their price will increase every year.

Just be wise and choose to become a member of a wind park building community.
Don't believe the lies of the fossil industry in their struggle of death.
Just make your own calculations, and verify my figures and proposal.

irishdivano1 on "David MacKay talking about Energy Without Hot Air"

irishdivano1 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:35:23 +0000

I just wanted to share something very positive and hopeful with regards to our planetary challenge to find new sustainable cleaner, friendlier forms of energy. An invention in Australia will provide some or much of the energy relief we are seeking. There is plenty of energy all around us, the whole universe is full of it. To access this unlimited supply, it is just a matter of reconsidering how to apply the laws of physics and practical knowlegde of the keys to creation (requires understanding the universal laws) and applying this information in a way that has never done before. As Napolean Hill explains in his book Think and Grow Rich, creative genius is a combination of ideas using Synthetic Imagination and Creative Imagination. These Australian inventors are using both synthetic imagination (making use of technology already there, old concepts and plans in new combinations) and creative imagination (communication between the human mind and Infinite Intelligence, which we like to call inspiration). They have formed a company in Australia called Lutec Australia Pty Ltd which seems to have combined both these uses of imagination with a strong desire for a new effective solution to our urgent need to replace fossil fuel. The result is a free energy machine using a technology based on spinning magnets. By applying some of the principles of physics and engineering in a new way combined with the knowldge that everything is spinning (and it is this dynamic of spin that creates unlimited energy), this solution was created. This project started about 10 years ago and is almost ready for the market in Australia and New Zealand. The generator can amplify electric energy by many times more that the input of energy needed to start the machine. Check out www.lutec.com.au for more information and videos on the new patented technology.

Aslo refer to www.theresonanceproject.org for a new spin on Einsteins field equations and the fundamental pattern of creation and the key to universal forces.

irishdivano1 on "Cutting the vampire appliances"

irishdivano1 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:32:45 +0000

Aslo refer to www.theresonanceproject.org for a new spin on Einsteins field equations and the fundamental pattern of creation and the key to universal forces.

irishdivano1 on ""Energy without hot air" Group Read"

irishdivano1 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:30:12 +0000

Aslo refer to www.theresonanceproject.org for a new spin on Einsteins field equations and the fundamental pattern of creation and the key to universal forces.

MarryMay on ""Small is beautiful" ... "but big is efficient" in heating systems"

MarryMay — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:20:37 +0000

Exactly. We should be using the ressources we have now to build assets for tomorow. Cheap energy as we know today won't last long unless we invest some of it into new and durable "production" or transformation of energy.

Tony Curzon Price on "Transport: Bicycles, trains, electric cars and nuclear ships"

Tony Curzon Price — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:33:46 +0000

Daniel - it's worth reading David on the detail here. Quoting his conclusion: "Planes have already been fantastically optimized, and there is no prospect of significant improvements in plane efficiency."

tony

DanielThompson on "Transport: Bicycles, trains, electric cars and nuclear ships"

DanielThompson — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:15:05 +0000

Electric car seem to be the best concept thus far. But there never seems to be much emphasis on the electric car. As for planes i think they should look at more fuel efficient engines and look to make the structure of the plane lighter.

Tony Curzon Price on ""Energy without hot air" Group Read"

Tony Curzon Price — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:11:14 +0000

Maggie from Diigo agrees that there seems to be a problem with the way the email works. To join in, it's best to go through the toolbar or the diigolet, I think, rather than try to use the options in the email notification.

---

tony

Sandra Jones on ""Energy without hot air" Group Read"

Sandra Jones — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:06:35 +0000

Hi there Tony,
I'm in the reading group - made a couple of comments on the comments which came through on my weekly email from you, but they don't seem to have gone anywhere. I assume that we can comment on each others' points of view? What have I done wrong? There was certainly a comments button on each Comment in the email.
Once I get the hang of the technology, I'll be fine...

opendemocracy on ""Energy without hot air" Group Read"

opendemocracy — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:08:51 +0000

I read chapter 1 this last week. The reference to the 1979 report on Climate Change was very good to have - a report from the age of political innocence of the topic, and with a simplicity that is now often lost in the sophistication of the modeling.

I was also interested to see David had already implemented the wiki/localisation idea, http://www.withouthotair.com/Wiki.html -- just the hard work needed, now.

I loved the private eye cartoon of the board meeting.

I look forward to getting into options next week.