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How far away are we from not using oil, coal, and nuclear and instead ethanol, wind, and solar?

Moderate71

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How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?
The fact that none of those alternative fuel sources can handle the required workload is the 'only' thing that keeps us from converting to pure clean energy.
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

It’s dark now. And if I relied on solar I too would be in the dark and my internet would be off until the sun came up. So mine and every other home in America will need to buy a battery backup for a couple of grand while America decides to ignore the economy of scale and let each home become its own utility. We will know soon enough how rare earth elements really are and how expensive scaling up will become.



Nothing runs forever, and there is no one to bail you out when you system goes down. Breakout the Benjamins.
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

I don't have answers that relate to specific substitutes however we are "one cubic mile from freedom".

ncmo01_0.gif
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

Affordability for the masses.
 
Denmark got 43 percent of their electricity from wind power in 2017 and also plan to meet 50 percent of all their energy needs with renewable energy by 2030

https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2018/0111/932573-denmark-wind-farm/

While Scotland got 68 percent of their electricity from renewable energy in 2017.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...scotland-climate-change-oil-gas-a8283166.html

You also have Northern Indiana Public Service Company NIPSCO, a energy company in Republican controlled Indiana, that will reduce carbon emissions by more than 90 percent by 2028, by replacing coal power with cheaper renewable power.

https://www.nipsco.com/your-energy
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

A VERY LONG WAYS as none of those can even REMOTELY meet our energy needs, in ant realistic capacity at this point, or in the near future.
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

We are 100% ready to switch to Renewables. The current Utility monopoly prevents it. Think of an Electricity Generating of Oil, Coal, or Nuclear as an Arcade Video game. Once connected, it automatically collects money. Once the Utilitiy is connected to its' custoer, it automatically collects money, Big Money. How hard would you fight ot keep that working. Would you spend billions of dollars to rent politicians. Hell yes! Rooftop solar and small wind generators and even miniature co-gen units are their greatest fear. That cuts them out of the loop. It's the politics that prevent 100% Renewables, not the feasibility. Those electric lines and gas pipelines to houses are/were a wonderful thing, but also exactly like a drug supplier with his needle in your vein. This is as bare bones as I can make the explanation and I hope it is clear. It is factually the status quo.Afterthought-Ethanol is not a renewable because iit contamiinates the atmosphere. Ethanol in gasoline is a politicized gift to the Big Chemical Corporations. Rental politicians. I honestly believe if we cut MIC spending in half and used the monies and unemployed military as paid local infrastructure employees, we could convert in record time. Then the Energy dollar savings in local communities woud be spent in those local communities creating entrepreneurial opportunities at the LOCAL level. We operate currently as Cororoatism atetmpting to build Big Money Centric Industries to benefit the Elite (CORPORATISM) and that is backwards for a Nation allegedly run by the people (POPULISM).
/
 
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How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

Well, I'm doing my best to get the wind power system working commercially.

Anybody out there some sort of experienced business man type (woman whatever) with the wish to set up a nice little earner of about $400k/yr per region of 800 miles diameter?

The transportation costs of finnished units will be high as they are large empty oddly shaped sheds. Cheap to build but costly to move so the natural model involves lots of small manufacture plants rather than a central one.
 
We are 100% ready to switch to Renewables. The current Utility monopoly prevents it. Think of an Electricity Generating of Oil, Coal, or Nuclear as an Arcade Video game. Once connected, it automatically collects money. Once the Utilitiy is connected to its' custoer, it automatically collects money, Big Money. How hard would you fight ot keep that working. Would you spend billions of dollars to rent politicians. Hell yes! Rooftop solar and small wind generators and even miniature co-gen units are their greatest fear. That cuts them out of the loop. It's the politics that prevent 100% Renewables, not the feasibility. Those electric lines and gas pipelines to houses are/were a wonderful thing, but also exactly like a drug supplier with his needle in your vein. This is as bare bones as I can make the explanation and I hope it is clear. It is factually the status quo.Afterthought-Ethanol is not a renewable because iit contamiinates the atmosphere. Ethanol in gasoline is a politicized gift to the Big Chemical Corporations. Rental politicians. I honestly believe if we cut MIC spending in half and used the monies and unemployed military as paid local infrastructure employees, we could convert in record time. Then the Energy dollar savings in local communities woud be spent in those local communities creating entrepreneurial opportunities at the LOCAL level. We operate currently as Cororoatism atetmpting to build Big Money Centric Industries to benefit the Elite (CORPORATISM) and that is backwards for a Nation allegedly run by the people (POPULISM).
/

A whole lot of prattle. Not much understanding of what the real limitations of renewable energy are...

Solar is great for Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. In some states sun doesn't shine but a fraction of time as those.

Example,

San Diego... >150 days of sun shine.
Seattle... <60 days of sun shine.

Limited geothermal.

Wind farms have had issues to include deaths of thousands and thousands of birds. High maintenance costs, etc.

The usual utopian pie in the sky nonsense.
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

Sanity. You wish to have the cost of a BTU as high as the Europeans pay for it? That would really be a boon to our economy if we could get 7.50 per mcf for natural gas.
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

How many solar panels does one need to charge one car?
 
Sanity. You wish to have the cost of a BTU as high as the Europeans pay for it? That would really be a boon to our economy if we could get 7.50 per mcf for natural gas.

62% of Switzerland's electricity comes from renewable resources, and their economy is doing better than the U.S.
 
62% of Switzerland's electricity comes from renewable resources, and their economy is doing better than the U.S.

That’s nice. The Italians haven’t been wanting to go after their 3 trillion cubic feet of gas. Yet they pay 7.50 for it to be bought in Azerbaijan for 2.43
 
I don't have answers that relate to specific substitutes however we are "one cubic mile from freedom".

ncmo01_0.gif

Not to get overly pointey headed, but each one of the options has a replacement cost that needs to be added in. Oil is “harvested prehistoric sunlight”, and the only direct cost is lifting and infrastructure.

In California forcing the use of renewables is causing high utility prices, and one more reason for jobs to leave,or not be created in the first place.
 
Not to get overly pointey headed, but each one of the options has a replacement cost that needs to be added in. Oil is “harvested prehistoric sunlight”, and the only direct cost is lifting and infrastructure.

In California forcing the use of renewables is causing high utility prices, and one more reason for jobs to leave,or not be created in the first place.

Sorry but using terms like "direct costs" is nonsense. There are costs, and it doesn't matter if they are direct or indirect.
Petroleum is notorious for having "indirect costs" which dwarf the actual cost of recovering the mineral assets.

Almost all of our foreign policy revolves around petroleum, and our war in Iraq wasn't about 9/11, it was about oil.
Wars are fought by numerous countries over oil. In any case, I put the link and the graphic up to simply illustrate how much energy is needed to break free of petroleum, not as a convenient excuse to drag California bashing into the thread.

I never said that we're just around the corner from achieving these energy figures, I just put them up for consideration.
 
How many solar panels does one need to charge one car?

Between twelve and seventy-five, depending on how much you drive each day, and the efficiency of your panels.
Most residential solar installations have about 25-30 panels. Since most residential solar systems are grid-tied, and most people charge their cars at night, you're really trading the power you use during the day, which comes from solar, for the power you use at night.

In any case, it appears to be a reasonable arrangement.

"Pick My Solar"

On a personal note, that is how the neighbor down the street charges their Nissan Leaf, and it appears to be a more than satisfactory arrangement.
PS: His electric bill is still remarkably lower than it used to be as well, even with his car charging every night.
 
That’s nice. The Italians haven’t been wanting to go after their 3 trillion cubic feet of gas. Yet they pay 7.50 for it to be bought in Azerbaijan for 2.43

The point is that another country has managed it without destroying their economy, therefore it is possible.
 
We should include nuclear and dump ethanol from your list, and then talk.
 
Not to get overly pointey headed, but each one of the options has a replacement cost that needs to be added in. Oil is “harvested prehistoric sunlight”, and the only direct cost is lifting and infrastructure.

In California forcing the use of renewables is causing high utility prices, and one more reason for jobs to leave,or not be created in the first place.

Well yeah if you want to get technical, all power is solar if you trace it back far enough. Even nuclear!
 
How much progress has been made? How much progress remains before we can use ethanol, wind, and solar instead of fossil fuels? What is still standing in our way?

Forever.
 
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