The Houston Chronicle reported today that the Energy Department plans to award $200 million in grants for utility-scale energy storage products as part of the stimulus package enacted in February. The inability to efficiently store energy has long been the Achilles heel of the solar and wind power industries. Decades ago, scientists were looking into the possibility of using flywheels to store energy (it didn't pan out). And despite recent breakthroughs in battery design and materials, batteries are not even close to being a cost-effective method of storing energy so that it will be available when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing
One of the applicants is seeking $25 million to build a plant in California that will use compressed air that has been pumped into underground reservoirs to generate electricity when the wind turbines are unable to meet demand. According to the article, when additional energy is needed, "the air is released, heated and used to power turbines."
Apparently, the wind turbines will be used to generate electricity to sell to customers and to power the pumps that compress the air in the underground caverns. The air is then later released, heated (with what, coal, natural gas, oil?) and used to power turbines to generate additional electricity for sale. Can such a complex system possibly be economical? Color me skeptical.
Somewhere, Rube Goldberg is laughing.
Showing posts with label Department of Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Department of Energy. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Energy (renewable and traditional): wishing doesn't make it so
The Secretary of Energy designate, Stephen Chu, is no fan of fossil fuels. He thinks they cause climate change (formerly global warming). He is a fan of renewable energy, even advocating converting solar energy into automobile fuel. But, as the title of this post says, wishing doesn't make it so.
The Wall Street Journal reports that renewable energy contributed only 6.7% of the total US energy demand in 2007, down from 7% in 1981. This in spite of the fact that renewables received almost $4.9 billion in federal subsidies in 2007 alone. Renewable energy sources are not likely to dominate the scene anytime in the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the news regarding fossil fuels isn't reassuring either. Pemex just announced that its crude oil output fell 6.5% in November year-over-year, largely because production at its Cantarell field declined at a faster-than-expected rate. As I've noted in a previous post, Cantarell is the third-largest producing oil field in the world, and Mexico is one of our largest foreign suppliers of oil. Mexico can't even agree on how to develop the deepwater fields it is counting on to replace Cantarell. I would be surprised to see significant production from those fields within the next 10 years. Saudi Arabia's major field is half a century old, and it's production either is or soon will be declining.
What should we do? The answer is so obvious that I'm surprised there is even an issue: develop and produce our own supplies of domestic oil and natural gas. The logical place to start is the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. The oil companies already have a lot of experience and seismic data regarding formations in the western Gulf. And the extensive infrastructure already in place (particularly the subsea pipelines) can be extended to accommodate the new production. This will not solve the problem, and it may not have an impact overnight, but doing nothing is not a viable option.
The Wall Street Journal reports that renewable energy contributed only 6.7% of the total US energy demand in 2007, down from 7% in 1981. This in spite of the fact that renewables received almost $4.9 billion in federal subsidies in 2007 alone. Renewable energy sources are not likely to dominate the scene anytime in the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the news regarding fossil fuels isn't reassuring either. Pemex just announced that its crude oil output fell 6.5% in November year-over-year, largely because production at its Cantarell field declined at a faster-than-expected rate. As I've noted in a previous post, Cantarell is the third-largest producing oil field in the world, and Mexico is one of our largest foreign suppliers of oil. Mexico can't even agree on how to develop the deepwater fields it is counting on to replace Cantarell. I would be surprised to see significant production from those fields within the next 10 years. Saudi Arabia's major field is half a century old, and it's production either is or soon will be declining.
What should we do? The answer is so obvious that I'm surprised there is even an issue: develop and produce our own supplies of domestic oil and natural gas. The logical place to start is the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. The oil companies already have a lot of experience and seismic data regarding formations in the western Gulf. And the extensive infrastructure already in place (particularly the subsea pipelines) can be extended to accommodate the new production. This will not solve the problem, and it may not have an impact overnight, but doing nothing is not a viable option.
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