Tag Archives: wave

Why solar cuts it better than any other energy source

Solar power is the fastest growing industry in the world, and south Georgia is an excellent place for it to grow and produce jobs, with plenty of rooftops and parking lots for solar panels.

This is despite the misinformation people with vested interests in other energy sources put out about solar power. After Dr. Matthew Richard made some points about solar vs. biomass, one of the members of the 6 December 2010 panel that VLCIA spent more than $17,000 to assemble to defend biomass responded that he was in favor of the nearby 300kWatt solar plant, but: well, I’m going to interleave his buts with what he’s ignoring. Continue reading →

The politics of climate change denial

Why do some people deny the overwhelming science of climate change in a time when the evidence and analysis is so thorough and so conclusive that no reputable scientific organization in the world doubts any longer that humans are changing the climate of the whole planet for the worse: because it threatens their political and economic beliefs. Naomi Klein: Why Climate Change Is So Threatening to Right-Wing Ideologues:
And the reason is that climate change is now seen as an identity issue on the right. People are defining themselves, like they’re against abortion, they don’t believe in climate change. It’s part of who they are.
It’s like denying the earth goes around the sun. Why would they identify with such a silly thing? Because of what actually dealing with climate change would mean: Continue reading →

Center of Innovation – Energy

Where’s Waldo? And where’s the state renewable energy strategy for Georgia, or for the southeast, or for just south Georgia? Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) Project Manager Allan Ricketts found another candidate.
“Forests Dominate Georgia’s Land Use”
That’s the title of slide 10 of 21 in Center of Innovation – Energy (CIE) by Jill Stuckey, Director. Actually, massively pesticided planted pines dominate south Georgia’s land use; not the same as actual forests with species diversity and diverse ages of trees. The same CIE slide equates
Georgia Forestry = Biomass Energy
That is what the state government seems to want it to be.

Back on slide 9, solar is defined as a southwestern regional energy source; nevermind that the solar map on that page shows Georgia with the same insolation as most of Texas (more on that later). And wind is defined as a central U.S. regional strength, nevermind that even Georgia Power has started exploring the possibility of wind off the Georgia coast.

I get it that Georgia has trees and forestry is a big industry in Georgia. I’m a tree farmer myself. I’d love to be convinced that biomass from trees is one good way to go. But at what costs? And compared to what? Continue reading →

State Energy Strategy of Georgia

Among the questions local citizens asked the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) was where is the south Georgia, state, or southeast U.S. renewable energy strategy? VLCIA Project Manager Allan Ricketts looked, and he couldn’t find it, either. He did find this list of “renewable energy strategy” hits from a GEFA search. At least one of those links points us to http://www.georgiaenergyplan.org/, which now gets us
Are you interested in buying this domain name?
The state has apparently abandoned that domain. Is that an indication of how seriously Georgia takes renewable energy?

Here’s something that looks promising: State Energy Strategy for Georgia (SESG), December 14, 2006, Governor’s Energy Policy Council, GEFA. It says it’s an energy strategy, but it’s mostly about transportation of existing fuels such as natural gas. Towards the end of the document in Figure 2 (shown above) the SESG illustrates the pit we’re in: about a third of Georgia’s energy comes from coal, another third from petroleum, a sixth from natural gas, and so little from renewable sources they apparently weren’t worth putting on the pie chart.

The SESG does contain this: Continue reading →

Highland Renewable Energy Strategy

Previously writing about biomass and carbon dioxide I said I’d supply an example of the sort of thing I’m looking for as a regional analysis for renewable energy, including biomass, solar, wind, wave, tides, and others. Here it is: the Highland Renewable Energy Strategy approved by the Highland Council at its 4 May 2006 meeting. It’s a 58 page document about renewable energy strategy and planning guidelines, considering numerous types of renewable energy, pros and cons of each, power distribution, effects on environment, protected areas, etc., illustrated copiously with detailed maps. And updated: Continue reading →

Effects of proposed biomass plants in Massachusetts

Very interesting projection of Massachusetts Forest Impacts if Proposed Biomass Incinerators Are Allowed by Chris Matera, P.E., and Ellen Moyer, Ph.D, P.E., with GIS analysis and programming by Gordon Green:

The animations add the demand for wood for 5 proposed biomass incinerators in Massachusetts to the current wood demand, which is mainly for lumber and cord wood. The animations demonstrate the land area in western and central Massachusetts that would be required to be logged to satisfy the total demand for these 5 plants which would add only about 1 percent to Massachusetts’ electrical generating capacity (see calculations below).

Quite a price for such a small percentage of electricity generation. Solar, wind, and wave could generate far more electricity, even in far northern Massachusetts.

And the animation above is a conservative projection. Follow the link for

…the extreme case where all forested land in central and western Massachusetts would be made available for biomass cutting – including rare species habitat, scenic landscapes, public “protected” land, and other protected open space. In this case, all forested land in central and western Massachusetts would be logged in only 16 years.

In Georgia, that would include places like Reed Bingham State Park.

-jsq