Miscellaneous News

AndrewS

Brigadier
Registered Member
As I've said before, EROEI makes no sense when you're talking about an unlimited solar energy supply.
But even if you believe in EROEI as a limitation, look at the example in Fujian province below.

500W of solar panels requires about 1000 KWh to make.
If you assume these are standard P-Type panels with a 25 year guarantee, you get an EROEI of 18.2
Again, if these were to be N-Type, then should get an EROI of 27+, which is comparable to coal or gas today.

So it's not just sunny deserts where solar panels have a high EROEI.
If you look at the insolation map below, Fujian (and much of China) receives a similar level of solar radiation as Northern Europe or Russia. The rest of the world generally receives more sun.

Source
cnevpost.com/2022/08/30/sinopec-supercharging-station-capable-of-charging-24-evs/
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Global-Solar-Atlas_World_PVOUT_Solargis.png

@9dashline

And something else just occurred to me. The EROEI analysis for oil only goes to the point where Petrol is delivered to the pump.

But ICE vehicle engines are at most, 40% efficient at converting petrol into motion.
In comparison, electric vehicles are over 80% efficient at converting electricity from the socket into motion.

So you have the following EROEI modifiers

Petrol: 30->12
P-Type Solar: 18->14
N-Type Solar: 27->21

So for cars, solar electricity has a higher EROEI than oil today.

EROEI omits this stage which is a fatal flaw.

---

As I've said before, your argument that we are doomed due to declining hydrocarbon EROEI is just nonsense. Let there be no more talk of EROEI.

The correct measure to use is "Aggregate Energy Efficiency" which takes into account from when energy is generated to when it is finally consumed into useful work.

EROEI diagram below.

1-s2.0-S0301421513003856-gr1.jpg
 

FairAndUnbiased

Brigadier
Registered Member
@9dashline

And something else just occurred to me. The EROEI analysis for oil only goes to the point where Petrol is delivered to the pump.

But ICE vehicle engines are at most, 40% efficient at converting petrol into motion.
In comparison, electric vehicles are over 80% efficient at converting electricity from the socket into motion.

So you have the following EROEI modifiers

Petrol: 30->12
P-Type Solar: 18->14
N-Type Solar: 27->21

So for cars, solar electricity has a higher EROEI than oil today.

EROEI omits this stage which is a fatal flaw.

---

As I've said before, your argument that we are doomed due to declining hydrocarbon EROEI is just nonsense. Let there be no more talk of EROEI.

The correct measure to use is "Aggregate Energy Efficiency" which takes into account from when energy is generated to when it is finally consumed into useful work.

EROEI diagram below.

View attachment 96554
What's the efficiency of the power plant? Petrol is an energy source but the wall socket is not. It's just an energy transmission medium. The energy source is the power plant.

Average coal fired plant in the US is 33% efficiency.

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FriedButter

Brigadier
Registered Member
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Don’t charge electric cars, California government urges​


California’s power grid operator warned residents of the Sunshine State that it will issue voluntary calls for power conservation in the coming days, as a heatwave threatens to interrupt the supply of electricity.

The California Independent System Operator (ISO), which manages the state’s power grid, said on Tuesday that it will issue a series of ‘Flex Alerts’ during the upcoming days, the Sacramento Bee reported. These alerts call for residents of the state to keep their thermostats above 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.5 Celsius), avoid using large appliances, and turn off all unnecessary lights.

Among a litany of power-saving tips, the ISO also urges Californians not to charge electric vehicles during the daytime.

Heatwaves increase the risk of blackouts, as households are forced to crank up their air conditioners. This risk is greatest during the early evening, when solar panels no longer function, but homes still need cooling and lighting. With temperatures set to reach 10-20 degrees above normal from Wednesday through to next Tuesday, peak demand is set to be reached on Monday, or Labor Day.

The ISO’s warning came less than a week after the California Air Resources Board voted to approve a plan by Governor Gavin Newsom to ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars in California by 2035. While Newsom claimed that the ban would cut “915 million oil barrels worth of emissions” out of the air, the San Francisco Chronicle noted that it would require California to expand the capacity of its power grid by 30%.

An analysis by CalMatters, a nonprofit news organization, found that Newsom’s plan could also put almost 32,000 mechanics out of business.

Newsom has urged state lawmakers to give up to $1.4 billion to power company PG&E Corp to keep California’s last remaining nuclear plant open for another 10 years to avert the consequences of his own ban.
 

AndrewS

Brigadier
Registered Member
What's the efficiency of the power plant? Petrol is an energy source but the wall socket is not. It's just an energy transmission medium. The energy source is the power plant.

Average coal fired plant in the US is 33% efficiency.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

It depends on the power plant, but the power plant I'm specifically looking at is local solar panels.

---

My point is that we are entering an age where [solar electricity + electric cars] is better than [oil + petrol engine cars].
This is from the perspective of both end-cost and aggregate energy efficiency. And we will not face a shortage of sunlight, like with oil.

That alone means solar should be deployed on every new building as its more efficient in the long-run compared to petrol cars.

In Europe for example, the proposal for mandatory solar is 2027 for new commercial buildings and 2029 for new residential buildings.
 

9dashline

Captain
Registered Member
@9dashline

And something else just occurred to me. The EROEI analysis for oil only goes to the point where Petrol is delivered to the pump.

But ICE vehicle engines are at most, 40% efficient at converting petrol into motion.
In comparison, electric vehicles are over 80% efficient at converting electricity from the socket into motion.

So you have the following EROEI modifiers

Petrol: 30->12
P-Type Solar: 18->14
N-Type Solar: 27->21

So for cars, solar electricity has a higher EROEI than oil today.

EROEI omits this stage which is a fatal flaw.

---

As I've said before, your argument that we are doomed due to declining hydrocarbon EROEI is just nonsense. Let there be no more talk of EROEI.

The correct measure to use is "Aggregate Energy Efficiency" which takes into account from when energy is generated to when it is finally consumed into useful work.

EROEI diagram below.

View attachment 96554
Electrity is a carrier of energy not a source of energy.

By weight, oil burned optimally contain more energy than TNT explosives, no battery can ever match that.

Oil is both a source of energy and a storage thereof...therefore, "infinite solar" is useless without the storage requirement, batteries are heavy, and they dont get lighter as the fuel is used up, this is why you wont ever see Boeing 747s as EV, or even 18 wheeler semis for that matter, and you can forget about tanks, rockets, fighter jets, tankers, and so on and so forth. Oil doesnt have a storage or conversion issue to solve.

Oil has a positive net return of energy from day 1. You can immediately use it to generate net energy. Solar and wind takes years to have a positive energy return. This is important to note because energy trumps finance, money is useless without energy. You cannot borrow on credit from mother nature to build out the energy infrastructure that you magically assume to already exists when scaling out in mass. This is known as the Energy Trap, read it and understand the implications. Look no further than Europe and its current reaction to energy crunch to see real life example that politics and human nature will not be able to bootstrap to climb out of the Energy Trap hole to make the energy infrastructure transition... No one in society will want to make that sacrifice, thats why we find outselves at crossroads today.

And Renewables are really just replaceables...Just like the recycling hoax, renewables are not sustainable either... there arent enough raw materials, rare earths, to scale out the outlays needed to power global civilization at its current size, scale, and energy requirements much less to allow for the perpetual growth need to maintain current living standards.

Both Texas and California have told its citizens to refrain from charging EVs as its too taxing on existing infrastructure...

Diminishing EROEI means all the bubbles will start popping in an inverse cascading scale invariant fashion... this is a thermodynamic certainty.
 

FairAndUnbiased

Brigadier
Registered Member
Electrity is a carrier of energy not a source of energy.

By weight, oil burned optimally contain more energy than TNT explosives, no battery can ever match that.

Oil is both a source of energy and a storage thereof...therefore, "infinite solar" is useless without the storage requirement, batteries are heavy, and they dont get lighter as the fuel is used up, this is why you wont ever see Boeing 747s as EV, or even 18 wheeler semis for that matter, and you can forget about tanks, rockets, fighter jets, tankers, and so on and so forth. Oil doesnt have a storage or conversion issue to solve.

Oil has a positive net return of energy from day 1. You can immediately use it to generate net energy. Solar and wind takes years to have a positive energy return. This is important to note because energy trumps finance, money is useless without energy. You cannot borrow on credit from mother nature to build out the energy infrastructure that you magically assume to already exists when scaling out in mass. This is known as the Energy Trap, read it and understand the implications. Look no further than Europe and its current reaction to energy crunch to see real life example that politics and human nature will not be able to bootstrap to climb out of the Energy Trap hole to make the energy infrastructure transition... No one in society will want to make that sacrifice, thats why we find outselves at crossroads today.

And Renewables are really just replaceables...Just like the recycling hoax, renewables are not sustainable either... there arent enough raw materials, rare earths, to scale out the outlays needed to power global civilization at its current size, scale, and energy requirements much less to allow for the perpetual growth need to maintain current living standards.

Both Texas and California have told its citizens to refrain from charging EVs as its too taxing on existing infrastructure...

Diminishing EROEI means all the bubbles will start popping in an inverse cascading scale invariant fashion... this is a thermodynamic certainty.
There are only 2 renewables with all 3 requirements of ideal electricity source: high EROEI, near immediate energy payoff, continuous on demand generation

Hydroelectricity
Nuclear

What a coincidence that these were also the first renewables put in use and don't require subsidies.
 

AndrewS

Brigadier
Registered Member
Electrity is a carrier of energy not a source of energy.

By weight, oil burned optimally contain more energy than TNT explosives, no battery can ever match that.

Irrelevant

Oil is both a source of energy and a storage thereof...therefore, "infinite solar" is useless without the storage requirement, batteries are heavy, and they dont get lighter as the fuel is used up, this is why you wont ever see Boeing 747s as EV, or even 18 wheeler semis for that matter, and you can forget about tanks, rockets, fighter jets, tankers, and so on and so forth. Oil doesnt have a storage or conversion issue to solve.

We will have huge fleets of car batteries which can be used to store solar electricity during the day - which can be released in the evenings. The vast majority of civilian transport will go electric due to lower costs.

Oil has a positive net return of energy from day 1. You can immediately use it to generate net energy. Solar and wind takes years to have a positive energy return. This is important to note because energy trumps finance, money is useless without energy. You cannot borrow on credit from mother nature to build out the energy infrastructure that you magically assume to already exists when scaling out in mass. This is known as the Energy Trap, read it and understand the implications. Look no further than Europe and its current reaction to energy crunch to see real life example that politics and human nature will not be able to bootstrap to climb out of the Energy Trap hole to make the energy infrastructure transition... No one in society will want to make that sacrifice, thats why we find outselves at crossroads today.

No. It doesn't take years for solar to have a net positive energy return.

Look at the example from Fujian.
If you actually bothered to think and to run the numbers, you get a figure of 9.8 months for a solar panel to have a positive energy return. That is good enough.

You have to start thinking properly.

And Renewables are really just replaceables...Just like the recycling hoax, renewables are not sustainable either... there arent enough raw materials, rare earths, to scale out the outlays needed to power global civilization at its current size, scale, and energy requirements much less to allow for the perpetual growth need to maintain current living standards.

Both Texas and California have told its citizens to refrain from charging EVs as its too taxing on existing infrastructure...

Diminishing EROEI means all the bubbles will start popping in an inverse cascading scale invariant fashion... this is a thermodynamic certainty.

As I've said before, this is a temporary disruption due to insufficient investment in wind and solar.

It looks like Chinese companies plan to double solar production this year, then double again in the following year.
 

AndrewS

Brigadier
Registered Member
There are only 2 renewables with all 3 requirements of ideal electricity source: high EROEI, near immediate energy payoff, continuous on demand generation

Hydroelectricity
Nuclear

What a coincidence that these were also the first renewables put in use and don't require subsidies.

Note that Hydro and Nuclear have a typical 5-year construction period, so they don't really have an immediate energy payoff.
But the other advantages are very true.

In comparison, a solar farm can be put into operation within a year. Then it takes about 10 months for the energy payoff.
 
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