Re: "Europe: No. 1 in Sustainable Energy"

On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:08:04 GMT, Ann <nntpmail@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Currently more than 25,000 wind farms are operating throughout Europe,
and capacity is expected to double by 2015.
...
Similarly, solar panel capacity in Germany, the world's largest market
with annual sales over $5 billion, is expected to reach 4,500 megawatts by
2010-the equivalent of almost six coal-fired power stations.

Or about 4 full sized nuclear plants.

...
Ocean Power Delivery, a Scottish company that has designed a turbine
powered by wave energy, has targeted North America as a key battleground.
Growth in the U.S., according to the company's Business Development
Director Max Carcas, could propel the wave-power sector to a $10
billion-per-year industry by 2012."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,498312,00.html

This is like standing back and watching kids play house. Fun to watch but pretty
much meaningless. Except to those who have to pay for all this reckless spending, of
course.

Funny thing, no where in that article does it mention the cost per KWh of power
produced by these boondoggles. There's a reason for that, something we call "sticker
shock".

Meanwhile TVA announced last week a major step toward energy independence for this
region. It announced that it will be completing and starting up Watts Bar nuclear
plant, scheduled to be online by 2012. That's between a 1200 and 1400 megawatt chunk
of capacity (depending on what core and turbine upgrades they include.) in one fell
swoop.

I expect sometime in the near future for them to announce that they'll finish Belle
Fonte nuclear plant which is over 90% finished.

Those two actions should give the Valley a positive reserve margin for the first time
since the 80s. A nice position to be in, with no taxpayer money and no silly games
involved.

Are those crazy Germans still planning on shutting down their nukes? Wouldn't
surprise me. Look at all the other crazy crap they've pulled over the last 100
years. Maybe we won't be there to bail 'em out this time.

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
What do you call a blonde's dildo? Pneumatic tool.

.

Relevant Pages

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