Month: May 2017

If Wind Power Really is Cheap, Why Not Slash the Massive Subsidies?

If Wind Power Really is Cheap, Why Not Slash the Massive Subsidies?

via STOP THESE THINGS
http://ift.tt/2kE7k62

competition noun: the activity or condition of striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others; an event or contest in which people take part in order to establish superiority or supremacy in a particular area; the person or people over whom one is attempting to establish one’s supremacy or superiority; … Continue reading If Wind Power Really is Cheap, Why Not Slash the Massive Subsidies?

via STOP THESE THINGS http://ift.tt/2kE7k62

May 29, 2017 at 07:30PM

Indigenous Weather Knowledge

Indigenous Weather Knowledge

via Errors in IPCC climate science
http://ift.tt/1F9oSq3

For years now the BoM have had this link to Indigenous Weather Knowledge in the far bottom right corner of their home page. I have not noticed the content change over time.
Issues around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ATSIP) are much in the news lately with the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, the meeting at Uluru and talk of Constitutional Recognition, Treaties and special ATSIP representative bodies. Do not read beyond here if you might be offended by views not in favour of Constitutional Recognition and Treaties.

Starting at the beginning it seems that the forbears of ATSIP peoples were migrants arriving here via a land bridge to Asia during the period of lowered sea level ~midway through the last ice age – ~45,000 years ago according to research in recent news.

While the vast majority of Homo sapiens made progress towards what we term “civilisation” over the last several thousand years – the ATSIP peoples maintained their long standing stone age lifestyles with an Olympian detachment. The wheel never rolled on their lands, metals were not utilised while similarly agriculture long established in the outside world did not penetrate.

Jumping forward now to the last several hundred years when European navigators and East Indies traders were blundering around the great southern land – all we can say with certainty is that little lasting contact was made with ATSIP peoples.

When Captain Cook arrived and stuck the Anglo flag in southern soil – there must have been resulting ATSIP disussion about the odd visitors in widespread coastal areas with ripples of information extending inland.

Fairly quickly after Cook the First Fleet arrived and the Sydney penal colony was set up. Over decades the several colonies were established and the ATSIP lands were explored, invaded, occupied and settled by Anglo Celt and European peoples. The ATSIP population was seldom sufficient or well enough organised to resist this process and no doubt many wrongs were committed by the invaders. By the standards of the day the Anglo Celt invaders did not treat ATSIP as badly as colonised people were sometimes treated in other places. And let us not kid ourselves that pre-European ATSIP life would have been some idyllic “bed of roses”. Life would have been short and brutish for many, the weak would have been harmed and dominated by the strong.

Over thousands of years the entire tapestry of the development of civilisation on planet earth is typified by invasions and colonisation by the strong and efficient while the weaker & dispossessed parties have generally been treated badly by our modern standards and had little recourse to right historic wrongs.

The 1901 Federation of the colonies into the political entity Australia saw the adoption of a written constitution that does not mention ATSIP and I suppose this says something about the lack of sufficient political influence by ATSIP in those distant and very different days.

During much of the 20th Century ATSIP people were mostly in the background of Australian politics but of course many had intermarried with the dominant Anglo/European group and many were working and building a life in the new Australia. ATSIP affairs gained in prominence post WWII culminating in 1967 with the +90% yes vote in the referendum. Northern Teritory ATSIP stockmen learnt to use the strike weapon against Vesteys and gained national attention for their cause. In the 90’s the landmark Mabo case changed the administration of land in Australia for ever. I have always puzzled how the rights and wrongs around a few fly-speck gardens on small islands could be extrapolated instantly to vast unoccupied areas of Australia. But thats the left infested legal system for you.

For decades now Govt spending on ATSIP per capita has outstripped welfare spending on the rest of the population but there is still much talk about the need to “close the gap”.

I look at ATSIP issues through a lens where for decades I have been hoping that increased Govt spending on ATSIP plus the increasing income from land rights would lead to the following sorts of “close the gap” outcomes.
Reduction in proportion of ATSIP on benefits
Improvement in ATSIP health benchmarks
Improved Education results
Higher rates of School attendance
Lower rates of Family violence
A reduction in violent crime and drugs in communities dominated by youth gangs.

Fast forwarding to today around the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and we are bombarded by media to approve Constitutional Recognition and further softened up to accept the notion of treaties and special ATSIP representative bodies. The propaganda by the GreenLeft media is constant, skilful and taking the ABC as an example permeates all news and current affairs programs.

My view on Constitutional Recognition (CR) is that any changes will be re-interpreted by the left riddled legal system and we will end up with unintended consequences. The thought of multiple treaties is just a recipe for an enriched ATSIP industry and as I recall there was a representative body a while back named ATSIC – but that was abolished amid claims of corruption and disfunction. I heard Noel Pearson recently on TV claiming to have the answers but hey he could not run a school on Cape York.
Stopping here because this has run on too long now. I have not addressed “the intervention” or the stolen generation – some would say rescued generation.

via Errors in IPCC climate science http://ift.tt/1F9oSq3

May 29, 2017 at 07:06PM

ARE THE TORIES “KILLING OFF” THE SMART METER REVOLUTION?

ARE THE TORIES “KILLING OFF” THE SMART METER REVOLUTION?

via climate science
http://ift.tt/2jXH2Ie

This article implies that they are. To me it seems more like they are leaving it in  the long grass, rather than killing it off. It appeals to energy companies for the reason that they will be able to do away with meter readers (I doubt if they are interested in emissions of CO2). Also I suspect that these meters will soon lead to prices being changed at different times of day. At first this will be presented as a means of customers saving money by offering cheaper prices at times of low demand, but later it will be used to jack up prices in high demand times. Beware the Trojan horse!

via climate science http://ift.tt/2jXH2Ie

May 29, 2017 at 06:30PM

California Renewables Dream’n

California Renewables Dream’n

via Master Resource
http://ift.tt/1o3KEE1

“It’s no wonder there’s increasing debate over expanding California’s grid into a regional system. Meanwhile, the economic viability of traditional generators will continue to suffer unless they, like their renewable energy counterparts, can derive benefit from above-market power contracts. Ultimately, it will be California ratepayers that pay the steep price for this impossible dream.”

As California considers a 100% renewable-energy mandate, the state’s legislators should be asking what happens to California’s energy profile when the sun doesn’t shine and the winds don’t blow.

This month, the national press hyped how California renewables met a record-breaking 67% of the state’s electricity generation. It happened during the 3 pm hour on a Saturday, the day before Mother’s Day. We checked the numbers, and sure enough wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewables had a combined output of 14,215 megawatts out of a total generation of 21,390 megawatts in that hour. It was discernibly a sunny day with the hours of highest penetration of renewables between 8 am and 7 pm.

No doubt, the timing of this impressive event was opportune. This month California’s Senate is considering passage of SB 100, a bill which seeks to accelerate the state’s renewables mandate to 50% by 2026, 60% by 2030 and 100% by 2045.

What better way to convince idealistic legislators to enact a 100% mandate, than declare the state has already skipped past the current 50% by 2030 threshold? At this rate, why not mandate 110%, 200%, or better?

Not so fast. The bigger question state legislators should be asking is what happens to California’s energy profile when the sun doesn’t shine and the winds don’t blow. We looked at the energy production figures for the available days in May (1-28) and compared them to the same period in January of this year. The aggregate data shows California is nowhere near meeting its lofty goals.

Fuel Type January 1-28, 2017 May 1-28, 2017
Wind 5% 8%
Solar 5% 15%
Other Renewables[1] 7% 7%
Non-Renewables[2] 83% 70%
Total 100% 100%
[1] Includes geothermal, biomass, biogas and small hydro

[2] Includes imports and large hydro

Of the 672 hours represented in January (28 days x 24 hours), 73% or 489 hours showed renewables producing less than 20% of the total generation. In May, performance was much better, with most hours producing more than 20%; however when we  omit solar from the mix in each month, renewables (including wind) produced less than 20% in all but 7 hours in January and less than 20% in most of the hours of May.

January 1-28, 2017 May 1-28, 2017
Renewables Generation (MWh) Hrs Generation <20% Generation (MWh) Hrs Generation <20%
WITH Solar      2,818,892 489 Hrs (73%)   5,204,519 195 Hrs (29%)
NO Solar      1,895,072 665 Hrs (99%) 2,670,267 483 Hrs (72%)

Obviously, policy debates cannot be based on the renewable energy performance in one hour of one day when demand is low. Sacramento could vote all-day-long to raise energy mandates, but none of those votes will make renewables perform at the levels now being discussed. Banking on storage technology might make up for some of the difference, but that’s not proven at the scale needed and the cost will be exorbitant.

Meanwhile, the push for more transmission is becoming urgent in order to export generation to neighboring states rather than the other way around. As excess megawatt-hours of renewables during the daylight hours collapse real-time market prices, utilities in other states are looking to join the California ISO so they can buy the cheap power — that is, power that’s heavily subsidized by California ratepayers.

It’s no wonder there’s increasing debate over expanding California’s grid into a regional system. Meanwhile, the economic viability of traditional generators will continue to suffer unless they, like their renewable energy counterparts, can derive benefit from above-market power contracts. Ultimately, it will be California ratepayers that pay the steep price for this impossible dream.

California Senate President Pro Tem, Kevin De León, touts his bill as a jobs creator. Maybe so, but before he and his fellow legislators ram this policy through, they owe it to their constituents to wake up from the renewable energy fantasy and recognize the truth right in front of them.

 

The post California Renewables Dream’n appeared first on Master Resource.

via Master Resource http://ift.tt/1o3KEE1

May 29, 2017 at 06:27PM