Green hydrogen as a fuel has extremely bad economics and is a non-solution for anything else than replacing black hydrogen use in industrial processes. The EU has also spent billions on this to no end. But we need to try out new ideas to solve the climate issue and we will get it wrong sometimes. But I am glad people are waking up to the hydrogen hoax, especially also because of its bad impact on precious water resources.
The extremely low power densities of the alt-energy projects is simply astounding. To quote one passage from your article:
“ET Fuels plans to cover 30,000 acres of ranchland in Schleicher County with 300 megawatts of wind energy capacity, 300 megawatts of solar capacity, and an unspecified amount of battery storage.”
By contrast, a single coal or natural gas fired power plant on less than 30 acres of land can produce upwards of 1,600 MW of reliable power generation capacity.
None of us regular folk believe you "clean" and "green" energy corporations anymore. Plus hydrogen from nuclear is just as green. You have to be living under a rock to think wind turbines are "green." Agriculture and farming is far more important in the USA.
"The thermodynamic obscenity of making hydrogen, combined with the need to mix it with carbon dioxide (produced from somewhere else) to manufacture methanol..."
No problemo. Just strain it out of the air, another very energy-intensive process. That'll get another subsidy, along with the subsidy for building the necessary wind and solar to supply the energy.
As always, great job Robert! You are a Godsend. As every rancher knows, bull pies attract flies, and these crazy green energy subsidies attract plenty of green $$$ seeking flies. The subsidies are bull****.
Thanks for another eye opening article. There are many hidden realities with renewable sources. Especially the hidden energy costs as you point out. As a researcher, can you tell me where to find graphs for the following topics since 1980 on the federal government: yearly cost of govt, number of government agencies, number of gov't employees, number of regulations, laws, and presidential decrees, and the number of people on food stamps and social benefits like social security, medicare and medicaid. Thanks Joe
I remember the watermelons screaming and rending their garments because four-acre strip malls were "a blight on the landscape." Thousands of acres of proposed solar panels and windmills and it's, "Landscape? What landscape?"
As always, of enough money is at stake individuals inside of a large corporation are capable of terrible things. Tiny bad actions when aggregated create chaos and destruction.
This piece is intentionally (?) misleading: the water usage of the proposed Tierra Alta plant is a fraction of that used by a similarly productive hydraulically-fractured oil well in the Permian basin. You're showing the barrels per day comparison but not the water per day comparison, drawing a backwards conclusion
Beware the word “green”. Unfortunately, when these huge corporations profit, I’m always skeptical. But more importantly, it’s about the water and pumping aquifers like they will never go dry. They will go dry and huge areas of rural America will die with them.
The absurdity of it all is incredible & can only be explained by the green-grifters and government alliance. Heartbreaking to think of the waste of funds and environmental damage to be done in the name of saving the planet.
The "green hydrogen industry" is a consumer of energy. No matter how many times this is said, it is quite clear that it is misunderstood or simply not believed. There are no existing customers for such hydrogen and never have been. Its only possible productive application is for energy storage, where the burden of additional cost can perhaps be borne because of the value hydrogen might add to intermittent solar and wind energy sources. This in fact is the "value proposition" implicit in much of the promotional material for green hydrogen. That it has not yet had any market impact in the 50 or so years since the first wave of hydrogen interest does not bode well for the future. Governments that promote and support hydrogen should be ashamed of themselves.
Green hydrogen as a fuel has extremely bad economics and is a non-solution for anything else than replacing black hydrogen use in industrial processes. The EU has also spent billions on this to no end. But we need to try out new ideas to solve the climate issue and we will get it wrong sometimes. But I am glad people are waking up to the hydrogen hoax, especially also because of its bad impact on precious water resources.
The extremely low power densities of the alt-energy projects is simply astounding. To quote one passage from your article:
“ET Fuels plans to cover 30,000 acres of ranchland in Schleicher County with 300 megawatts of wind energy capacity, 300 megawatts of solar capacity, and an unspecified amount of battery storage.”
By contrast, a single coal or natural gas fired power plant on less than 30 acres of land can produce upwards of 1,600 MW of reliable power generation capacity.
None of us regular folk believe you "clean" and "green" energy corporations anymore. Plus hydrogen from nuclear is just as green. You have to be living under a rock to think wind turbines are "green." Agriculture and farming is far more important in the USA.
Once upon a time you farmed the land, and then the government gave it to you. Now you rent the land and farm the government.
"The thermodynamic obscenity of making hydrogen, combined with the need to mix it with carbon dioxide (produced from somewhere else) to manufacture methanol..."
No problemo. Just strain it out of the air, another very energy-intensive process. That'll get another subsidy, along with the subsidy for building the necessary wind and solar to supply the energy.
Not even God can adequately quantify the insanity of democrats. And "no", that's not blasphemy, it's a simple statement of fact.
As always, great job Robert! You are a Godsend. As every rancher knows, bull pies attract flies, and these crazy green energy subsidies attract plenty of green $$$ seeking flies. The subsidies are bull****.
Thanks for another eye opening article. There are many hidden realities with renewable sources. Especially the hidden energy costs as you point out. As a researcher, can you tell me where to find graphs for the following topics since 1980 on the federal government: yearly cost of govt, number of government agencies, number of gov't employees, number of regulations, laws, and presidential decrees, and the number of people on food stamps and social benefits like social security, medicare and medicaid. Thanks Joe
I remember the watermelons screaming and rending their garments because four-acre strip malls were "a blight on the landscape." Thousands of acres of proposed solar panels and windmills and it's, "Landscape? What landscape?"
I personally think windfarms are beautiful, and add character to wherever I've come across them. Same with old windmills, though a different style.
As always, of enough money is at stake individuals inside of a large corporation are capable of terrible things. Tiny bad actions when aggregated create chaos and destruction.
This piece is intentionally (?) misleading: the water usage of the proposed Tierra Alta plant is a fraction of that used by a similarly productive hydraulically-fractured oil well in the Permian basin. You're showing the barrels per day comparison but not the water per day comparison, drawing a backwards conclusion
The water used in fracking is actually producing something that every American needs and uses every day; energy.
The Tierra Alta plant is only going to make a few Euro-trash wealthy.
That's a strawman arguement as the water usage at Tierra Alta is still exceedingly high for the proposed area.
Beware the word “green”. Unfortunately, when these huge corporations profit, I’m always skeptical. But more importantly, it’s about the water and pumping aquifers like they will never go dry. They will go dry and huge areas of rural America will die with them.
Excellent article!! Linking it today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
The water worries are more serious than the windmill worries.
The absurdity of it all is incredible & can only be explained by the green-grifters and government alliance. Heartbreaking to think of the waste of funds and environmental damage to be done in the name of saving the planet.
The "green hydrogen industry" is a consumer of energy. No matter how many times this is said, it is quite clear that it is misunderstood or simply not believed. There are no existing customers for such hydrogen and never have been. Its only possible productive application is for energy storage, where the burden of additional cost can perhaps be borne because of the value hydrogen might add to intermittent solar and wind energy sources. This in fact is the "value proposition" implicit in much of the promotional material for green hydrogen. That it has not yet had any market impact in the 50 or so years since the first wave of hydrogen interest does not bode well for the future. Governments that promote and support hydrogen should be ashamed of themselves.