DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Renewable Revolution
HTML https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Fossil Fuel Folly
*****************************************************
#Post#: 72--------------------------------------------------
Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: October 15, 2013, 11:36 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
European Utility Shareholders Lost Half A Trillion Euro In Five
Years
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/tissue.gif
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/245.gif
Says this article (without byline) at the Economist. I found it
because if this Retweet by Danny Kennedy.
As the article explains, the 20 biggest power companies in
Europe had a collective value of $1 trillion at their peak in
2008, and they are worth “only” $500 billion now. And Germany’s
biggest utility E-On has managed to beat that trend by declining
a full three quarters in value.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/ugly004.gif
The article blames this development partly on renewable energy.
They are right, of course.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/5yjbztv.gif
With much more renewable energy in the mix, the days of
guaranteed profit from fossil fuel and nuclear are gone.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/47b20s0.gif
E-On could have saved themselves a lot of this trouble if they
had invested aggressively in renewable energy in Germany
themselves. That investment came (and still comes) with a
guaranteed profit for twenty years. That would have accelerated
their problems with their existing fossil fuel and nuclear
capacity. But the transition to renewable will happen anyway.
Delaying it will always be a negative strategy helping only for
a short-time period (which is a couple of decades, when
discussing energy).
The most interesting part of this article was:
Some utilities have got into the renewables business themselves.
Drax, which used to be Britain’s largest coal-fired power
station, is being converted to run on wood pellets. Other
utilities are big investors in offshore wind power.
That’s interesting because it shows the way ahead with existing
fossil fuel plants. There is nothing wrong with running a coal
plant, if you run it either on wood pellets (the first time I
heard someone doing that), or on synthetic coal made from modern
biomass, as Suncoal wants to do. There’s nothing wrong with
running a gas plant if you fire hydrogen that has been produced
from excessive solar or wind energy.
Under the present German Law on the Priority for Renewable
Energy, it is not possible to run most of the coal power plants
because under Article 27 of the law, feed-in tariffs are paid
only for very small capacity plants. That should change. These
existing coal plants need to move to biomass eventually anyway.
Why not have it happen faster?
Read more at
HTML http://cleantechnica.com/2013/10/15/european-utility-shareholders-lost-half-trillion-euro-five-years/#jdDvcUswRuV8J1vF.99
#Post#: 132--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: October 21, 2013, 2:28 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[font=georgia]A $250 million Green Bond has been issued to
institutional investors by the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development.[/font]
[img width=140
height=140]
HTML http://carrieamedford.com/wp-content/uploads/money-emoticon.gif.jpg[/img]
SustainableBusiness.com News
Targeted at socially responsible investors that support
environmentally sustainable projects, 14 investors bought
shares: 51% from the US, 31% from Europe and 18% from Asia. The
majority are pension funds (64%).
HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25264
#Post#: 1090--------------------------------------------------
Fossil Fuels Face the Prospect of $30T in Losses
By: AGelbert Date: May 11, 2014, 12:31 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Fossil Fuels Face the Prospect of $30T in Losses
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/5yjbztv.gif
Assessing the combined impact of climate policy, pollution
controls and the declining cost of renewables [img width=40
height=40]
HTML http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/8/f/8/11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png[/img]<br
/>
RenewEconomy, Giles Parkinson
April 29, 2014
HTML http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/fossil-fuels-face-30-trllion-losses-from-climate-renewables?
#Post#: 1250--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: May 29, 2014, 10:23 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[img width=640
height=380]
HTML http://i1.wp.com/cleantechnica.com/files/2014/05/Poster-Divestment.jpg[/img]
#Post#: 1480--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: July 1, 2014, 1:18 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Unitarians Go Fossil Fuel Free With Divestment Resolution
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/za4.gif
HTML http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/30/unitarians-fossil-fuel-free-divestment/
#Post#: 1489--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: July 4, 2014, 7:40 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote]Keith Rowley
July 4, 2014
Don't be deceived, the utility companies know they are on a
"death spiral" and that DG and Photovoltaics is a "disruptive
technology". They just want to own all the money themselves,
hence, Monopoly.
An alternate to the Lithium batteries, Ultra-Capacitors using
Graphine or some other technology have over 1 Million
charge-discharge cycles, extremely rapid charge cycle,
significantly cheaper and less toxic than almost everything out
there. They are a good choice and have great promise.
An efficient house can be built. My house is Net-Zero and I am
doing all I can for the environment, national security, local
grid stability, and helping the local economy.
Let us all keep going to promote this infant technology that
helps in so many ways. Remember, you will never hear of a
national environmental disaster because we used too much solar
power!. Keith Rowley[/quote]
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/19.gif
HTML http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/07/arizona-utilities-are-not-supporting-a-solar-friendly-policy#comment-133144
#Post#: 1530--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: July 14, 2014, 5:27 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Fossil Fuel Divestment Sweeps Through Religious Community
SustainableBusiness.com News
With the World Council of Churches decision to divest from
fossil fuels, a huge percentage of humanity is closing the door
on the past.
The organization - a fellowship of 300 churches - represents
some 590 million people in 150 countries, and is calling on its
members and other religious institutions to join them. In the
past, they took a stance against nuclear energy.
"The general ethical guidelines for investment already include
concern for a sustainable environment, for future generations
and CO2 footprint. Adding fossil fuels to the list of sectors
where we do not invest serves to strengthen the governing body's
commitment on climate change as expressed in various sessions of
the Central Committee," says Guillermo Kerber, who coordinates
their work on care for creation and climate justice.
Divest World Council of Churches
Divestment is catching on among religious leaders across the
world. Other recent divestment decisions are: Unitarian
Universalist General Assembly (US), United Church of Christ
(US), University of Dayton (Ohio) - the first Catholic
institution to divest - Union Theological Seminary (New York
City), the Church of Sweden and Quakers (UK). Regional Lutheran,
Quaker, and Episcopal denominations have joined the effort in
the US, and the Anglican Church is leading the way in New
Zealand and Australia, with many local dioceses and the entire
Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
committing to divestment.
The Vatican held a 5-day summit, Sustainable Humanity,
Sustainable Nature: Our Responsibility.
"The World Council of Churches may be the most important
commitment we've received yet," says Tim Ratcliffe, 350.org's
European Divestment Coordinator. "It opens the doors for
churchgoers around the world to encourage their institutions to
live up to their values and divest from companies that are
destroying the planet and our future."
In September, the World Council will join religious and
spiritual leaders from around the world at the Religions for the
Earth conference in New York City:
Website:
www.cvent.com/events/religions-for-the-earth/event-summary-acce9
de322684b8db91a98466c4f6da9.aspx
HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25808
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-210614215719.gif<br
/>[img width=100
height=100]
HTML http://marvelousteachermusings.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/run1.gif[/img]<br
/>
HTML http://dl9.glitter-graphics.net/pub/1529/1529939gg8yeanop9.gif<br
/>
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/treeswing.gif
[img width=80
height=70]
HTML http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/yayayoy/yayayoy1106/yayayoy110600019/9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg[/img]<br
/>
#Post#: 2089--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: October 24, 2014, 8:46 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
The Next Revolution: Discarding Dangerous Fossil Fuel Accounting
Practices
Alex Nicolson, Contributor
October 23, 2014
The green revolution and, in particular, renewable energy
products such as solar power, wind turbines, geothermal and
algae-based fuels are not waiting for viable technology — it
already exists in many forms.
HTML http://www.runemasterstudios.com/graemlins/images/2thumbs.gif
What they are waiting for is a massive sea change in our
antiquated financial accounting systems.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/301.gif
We keep hearing that green technology has too long a payback or
too low an internal rate of return and just can’t compete with
non-renewable coal, oil and natural gas, etc.
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2932.gif
Now to be fair, renewables have two drawbacks that have to be
considered in their use and integration into the power grid. The
first is their low capacity factors. For example, wind farm
turbines sit idle when the wind stops blowing, and solar power
output drops sharply when the sun is not shining. On the other
hand, non-renewable energy systems can operate 24 hours a day
without interruption, so they will be used for some time to come
as more dependable baseload power sources.
The second factor is evident when we compare installation and
operating costs. Renewable installations spend 80 percent of
their budget in the first year and 20 percent over their 20- or
30-year operating life. Non-renewables are the opposite; only 20
percent is spent on the initial installation and 80 percent on
the next 20 or 30 years of operation. And so our antiquated and
myopic accounting practices analyse these facts and then say
that coal, oil and gas plants obviously have a better return on
investment.
HTML http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TzWpwHzCvCI/T_sBEnhCCpI/AAAAAAAAME8/IsLpuU8HYxc/s1600/nooo-way-smiley.gif
Of course as we run out of non-renewables, their power
production will slowly dwindle. We should be prepared for that
inevitable event by building up renewable energy options and
developing technologies now. The book “Last hours of Ancient
Sunlight” by Thom Hartman covers that inevitability very well.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/128fs318181.gif
AGREED
The Costs of Oil >:(
We complain about $4+ per gallon gasoline, but people do not
realize that we would likely pay over $10 a gallon if we add on
the currently ignored direct social and economic costs of oil.
Economists recognize the existence of these costs and call them
“externalities.” Other than this recognition, externalities are
still not assigned to their correct sources.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-311013200859.png
As just one example, consider the enormous U.S. military budget,
(currently a staggering $700 billion). A large portion of this
cost is spent on the 800+ military stations maintained around
the world that protect critical sea lanes for oil tankers and
oil pipelines >:( and act on a moment’s notice to attack any
politically motivated disruptions to foreign oil field
production or oil storage sites. A significant portion of that
budget is a direct cost of oil.
And to that cost figure, we have to add the social costs of
young soldiers being trained, deployed and killed, severely
injured or handicapped for the rest of their lives. Then we must
also consider the enormous stress this imposes on these
soldier’s families and friends, both economically and
emotionally. That is another direct cost of oil.
And on another front, consider the enormous costs of the oil
spill in the Gulf and its effect on the ocean, wildlife and
beach environments. Consider the effect on people’s health and
livelihood and the stress they were under during hurricane
seasons that threatened a resurgence of oil and toxic dispersant
sludge to be thrown up on their shores. That is another cost of
oil.
Consider poor mountain people in Afghanistan that are killed and
injured due to drone attacks against Al Qaeda. Their injuries
and deaths are simply written off as collateral damage, when the
truth is that the U.S. is in that poor mountain region mainly
due to the huge oil and gas fields located in southern Russia.
These sources will eventually need a pipeline to transport the
crude oil to a warm-water all-season coastal port where tankers
can pick up and transport the oil to markets in the West.
The coal industry has similar externalized costs. Apart from
carbon dioxide emissions, mercury and other heavy metals,
coal-burning power plants emit over 100 times the radioactivity
of nuclear plants producing the same amount of energy. These
emissions cause inevitable negative health effects as it is
exhausted into the atmosphere and carried to those people living
downwind. In fact, annual deaths due to coal plant emissions are
estimated at about 60,000 people in the U.S. alone, according to
various concerned citizen groups.
Also the huge amounts of foreign aid paid to protect dictatorial
regimes against the wishes of the people under their control are
all direct costs of oil. Incidentally we see these regimes are
starting to fail in the Middle East, due to their younger
generation’s frustrations with a static society that has been
kept backward and out of step with the modern world just to suit
the oil interests.
And closer to home, a typical oil company’s income statement
reveals enormous tax breaks, such as depletion allowances from
taxes for using up a non-renewable resource, which make no
economic or social sense.
And in more recent times, oil companies can drill in federal
waters without paying any royalties. To date taxpayers currently
subsidize the oil industry by as much as $4.8 billion a year —
an industry that shows record profits for owners and
shareholders.
And in the U.S., many states that are under the oil companies’
economic/political lobbying control do not charge them for
exploitation of these non-renewable resources. These resources
are state-owned assets, and the oil companies acquire them at a
very low cost.
Renewables Make Sense
Solar, wind, tidal and geothermal energy do not need these
massive hidden support costs. They cannot be stolen by any
super-power and are unlikely to be the source of dragged out
wars and intrigue between nations under the sham of spreading
democracy, which happens now over oil.
The sun is boundless, and in most mid- and southern-latitude
countries, a surprisingly small surface area of solar plants can
deliver most of the electricity a country needs. This is
particularly true here in the U.S.
Accounting Reform
So taking all these factors into account, accounting practices
must enter the 21st century, adapt to a global economy and
account for ALL of the real costs of each energy resource as
they are incurred worldwide. These numbers will reveal the most
viable energy resource technologies.
This will require a sea change in accounting. Accounting
principles and practice are still stuck in the industrial
revolution where we witnessed horrendous costs to the
environment and to workers. All these enormous social costs were
externalized and thrown onto the back of the society. Companies
were measured on profitability within incredibly narrow
accounting standards. Often the most polluting, child-exploiting
companies were deemed the most efficient and profitable and
given the most support.
Admittedly there has been many improvements over the past 150
years as we can see with child labor laws enforced and many
companies in the US and other developed countries are being
asked to clean up their dangerous emissions and remove toxins
from their workplaces and are starting to do so.
However we need to further expand our accounting horizons to a
world-view and take that same approach to a global scale,
especially when comparing renewable energy technologies and
demand that the comparison be based on their real costs.
If we can achieve that vision, then the correct decisions for
support of green renewable energy will become abundantly clear —
and the world will be a safer and cleaner place for us all.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/earthhug.gif
HTML http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/10/the-next-revolution-discarding-dangerous-fossil-fuel-accounting-practices#comment-136353
Agelbert Comment: What Brian Donovan said!
I have sometimes wondered at the term energy RESOURCE used by
the media (and everybody else) to describe fossil fuels. It
seems to me that they should be referred to as a SOURCE of
energy, not a RE-source; you use fossil fuels once, period. They
can't be re-used. All renewable energy is, on the other hand, a
genuine energy REsource.
I believe our vocabulary is corrupted. Fossil fuels should be
called energy sources, not energy resources. But then the cat
would be really out of the bag for the fossil fuel polluters,
wouldn't it? ;D
When the math actually gets done to include costs to society and
the biosphere. renewable energy is the obvious choice. In fact,
when all is said and done , the issue is what works
indefinitely. Just like running an internal combustion engine in
your garage "works" if you don't care about living, burning
fossil fuels on a planetary scale "works" if you don't care
about life.
This is not hard. Either we have an equitable, do ALL the math.
society that respects, not just fellow humans, but the biosphere
we and hundreds of thousands of other species of earthlings
require for life, or we perish.
See one minute clip on Natural Capitalism:
HTML http://viewrz.com/video/real-money
Fossil fuel Government 2 minute Video Clip from "The Age of
Stupid" Video:
HTML http://viewrz.com/video/fossil-fuel-government
FDR two minute clip on Trickle Down "Economics"
HTML http://viewrz.com/video/fdr-on-trickle-down-economics
#Post#: 2196--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: November 13, 2014, 5:18 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Except for Hallitosis Corporation, the following activity for
today is MUSIC to my ears. [img width=40
height=40]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-291014182422.png[/img]<br
/>
Halliburton Company HAL 53.79 +0.56 (1.05%) 46.82B
Schlumberger Limited. SLB 94.85 -2.58 (-2.65%) 124.86B
Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM 94.66 -0.72 (-0.75%) 403.34B
Kinder Morgan Inc KMI 38.38 -0.15 (-0.39%) 39.44B
Chevron Corporation CVX 116.45 -1.20 (-1.02%) 220.89B
HTML http://www.runemasterstudios.com/graemlins/images/2thumbs.gif
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp<br
/>
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191456.bmp<br
/>ANYTHING that gives the fossil fuelers in general, AND MKING i
n
particular ;D, a headache makes my day.
HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif
Schlumberger N.V. (SLB): The BIG OIL Planet Polluter you never
heard of...
HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/fossil-fuel-folly/fossil-fuel-propaganda-modus-operandi/msg2088/#msg2088
#Post#: 2217--------------------------------------------------
Re: Fossil Fuel Profits Getting Eaten Alive by Renewable Energy!
By: AGelbert Date: November 17, 2014, 1:34 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
DOE Loan Guarantee Program Vilified by Republicans Turns a
Profit [img width=70
height=60]
HTML http://elqahera-trading.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg[/img]<br
/> ;D
Justin Doom, Bloomberg
November 13, 2014 | 7 Comments
NEW YORK -- The U.S. expects to earn $5 billion to $6 billion
from a federal loan program, bolstering President Barack Obama’s
decision to back low-carbon technologies.
It’s the first time the Energy Department has released an
estimate of the potential gains for the loan guarantee program,
designed to back clean-energy projects when venture capital or
financing from banks and other investors is unavailable. The
department expects a loss rate of about 2 percent on $32.4
billion set aside for loans to spur energy innovation, according
to a report today.
The loan program, which opened in 2009, was targeted by
Congressional Republicans who charged taxpayer money was wasted
on startups including Solyndra, the solar manufacturer that
closed its doors in 2011 after receiving $528 million. Jonathan
Silver resigned as director in 2011 after repeated congressional
inquires.
“People make a big deal about Solyndra and everything, but
there’s a lot of VC capital that got torched right alongside the
DOE capital,” Michael Morosi, an analyst at Brentwood,
Tennessee-based Jetstream Capital LLC, which invests in
renewable energy, said in an interview. “A positive return over
20 years in cleantech? That’s not a bad outcome.”
The program’s biggest success story has been Tesla Motors Inc.
The Elon Musk-backed electric carmaker paid back its $465
million federal loan nine years early. Abengoa SA, which
received a $132.4 million guarantee, opened in October a
biofuels plant in Kansas.
The successes didn’t stop Republican representatives John
Shimkus of Illinois, California’s Darrell Issa, and Fred Upton
of Michigan who focused on the program’s failures in a series of
hearings on Capitol Hill. [img width=40
height=40]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-291014182422.png[/img]<br
/>[img width=40
height=40]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-051113192052.png[/img]<br
/>
Taxpayer Risk
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/126fs3187425.gif
“I’m obviously glad to hear that DOE doesn’t expect to lose
money on its post-Solyndra loans,” Shimkus said today in an
e-mailed statement. “That said, we can’t forget that no matter
how positive today’s projections may be, billions of taxpayer
dollars are still at risk.” ::)
A spokesman for Issa didn’t immediately respond to phone and
e-mail messages seeking comment. ;)
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said
that while the loan program may be well intended, “what we have
seen is incredible mismanagement, and it’s become the poster
child for crony
capitalism.”
HTML http://www.coh2.org/images/Smileys/huhsign.gif
(AGELBERT NOTE: See Orwell for translation. ;D)
Blackburn said she’d prefer a tax-credit-based incentive system
to loans or grants.
Last Resort
The $5 billion to $6 billion figure was calculated based on the
average rates and expected returns of funds dispersed so far,
paid back over 20 to 25 years. Applicants view the Energy
Department as a lender of last resort, according to Peter
Davidson, the program’s director.
“When these project developers took their projects to
conventional financing sources, those lenders said, ‘Sorry,
there’s too much risk here,’” Davidson said in a phone
interview. “That’s the gap that we’ve filled.”
The department didn’t disclose terms for investments in specific
companies and declined to estimate how much the rest of its
portfolio may earn.
“There’s no picking winners and losers — we’re just open for
business and people apply,” Davidson said.
Four Failures
The failure of four companies has cost about $780 million.
Solyndra burned through $528 million of a $535 million loan
guarantee before filing a bankruptcy plan approved in October
2012. The California-based solar manufacturer went bust pursuing
an alternate photovoltaic technology that became too expensive
as panel prices plunged worldwide.
The electric carmaker Fisker Automotive Inc. filed for
bankruptcy in November 2013. Abound Solar Inc. and Vehicle
Production Group LLC failed in 2012.
Considering the whole portfolio of projects, a $5 billion return
to taxpayers exceeds profits from many venture capital and
private equity investments in clean energy, Morosi said.
The department is weighing applications for nuclear :P , energy
efficiency and advanced fuels projects.
The program was the only source of funding for some developers
after financial markets crashed in 2008, said Joe Aldy, who
worked in the White House as a special assistant to the
president for energy and environment from 2009 to 2010.
“The people in the VC world who made a lot of money with IT and
Internet companies — they made their money on the EBays and the
Googles and the Facebooks,” Aldy said. “They lost money on a lot
of other things.”
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg
HTML http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/11/doe-loan-guarantee-program-vilified-by-republicans-turns-a-profit
Agelbert NOTE: Of course, the "INVESTMENT" (i.e. dirty energy
welfare queen annual give away) these SAME Republicans support
is NEVER mentioned...
HTML http://images.sodahead.com/polls/003730383/3816438968_29Oil_Subsidies_xlarge.jpeghttp://graysondemocrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/end-oil.jpg
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page