Tag Archives: wind energy

Intermittent Renewables Can’t Favorably Transform Grid Electricity

Many people are hoping for wind and solar PV to transform grid electricity in a favorable way. Is this really possible? Is it really feasible for intermittent renewables to generate a large share of grid electricity? The answer increasingly looks … Continue reading

Posted in Energy policy, Financial Implications | Tagged , , , , , , | 1,882 Comments

Eight Pitfalls in Evaluating Green Energy Solutions

Does the recent climate accord between US and China mean that many countries will now forge ahead with renewables and other green solutions? I think that there are more pitfalls than many realize. Pitfall 1. Green solutions tend to push … Continue reading

Posted in Alternatives to Oil, Energy policy, Financial Implications | Tagged , , , , , , | 1,278 Comments

Update on US natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables

On August 6, I wrote a post called Making Sense of the US Oil Story, in which I looked at US oil. In this post, I would like to look at other sources of US energy. Of course, the energy … Continue reading

Posted in Alternatives to Oil | Tagged , , , , , , , | 984 Comments

Renewables – Good for some things; not so good for others

Based on the sound of the name renewable, a person might think that using only “renewable” energy is ideal–something we should all strive to use exclusively. But there are lots of energy sources that might be called “renewable,” and lots … Continue reading

Posted in Alternatives to Oil, Introductory Post | Tagged , , , , , , , | 266 Comments

Obstacles Facing US Wind Energy

In the United States, we have been working on scaling up wind energy but not getting very far. In 2010, wind energy supplied only 2.3% of electricity purchased. Such slow progress seems strange for a product that seems to have … Continue reading

Posted in Alternatives to Oil | Tagged , , | 81 Comments