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https://www.icis.com/resources...

The things that article talks about, like an extended planned outage due to a botched upgrade, are literally already figured into those capacity factors. The typical reactor is offline for one month out of 18 for refueling, inspections, upgrades, etc. That's around 5% downtime, as most nuclear plants run at 100% capacity outside of that time period. The reason the capacity factor is 90% instead of 95% is expressly accounting for those extended outages and unplanned shutdowns. You can look historically and see real measure of actual uptime, as in the links given above. Those aren't estimates, there is not conspiracy not to account for things. Its actual capacity.

https://www.icis.com/resources...

I'm glad that you are so happy with the cost of electricity. However, I keep reading magazine articles about what a disaster the energy policy in Germany has been, and your one data point does not convince me.

The Economist wrote:

The simultaneous dash to renewables and new fossil-fuel power plants resulted in overcapacity and caused wholesale prices to tumble, which has battered the utilities' profits.

At the same time, the prices paid by consumers have been rising. This is because of the above-market prices guaranteed for renewable energy.

[...]

This means that traditional utilities have turned instead to much more climate-damaging coal for generation. The result is that prices have gone up and the use of renewable sources has expanded, but Germans have ended up emitting more carbon dioxide as a result of the extra coal...

But it gives me no happiness to think that the energy plan in Germany is failing. I hope that it will work out eventually.

What Germany really needs, what everyone really needs, to make renewable energy work is storage. I am hoping for new storage technologies to make grid-level storage practical... the liquid metal batteries from Ambri, or pumped electrolyte batteries, or whatever. The only currently practical technology is pumped hydro, and the energy policy in Germany has led to pumped hydro facilities shutting down. If your energy policy leads to coal plants continuing to operate and pumped hydro shutting down, You're Doing It Wrong.

On the other hand, I am also reading that that companies in Germany are planning to build more pumped storage within a decade despite the current economic disincentives, and coal use is going down. Perhaps it will work out in the future.

I'm glad that you are so happy with the cost of electricity. However, I keep reading magazine articles about what a disaster the energy policy in Germany has been, and your one data point does not convince me.

The Economist wrote:

The simultaneous dash to renewables and new fossil-fuel power plants resulted in overcapacity and caused wholesale prices to tumble, which has battered the utilities' profits.

At the same time, the prices paid by consumers have been rising. This is because of the above-market prices guaranteed for renewable energy.

[...]

This means that traditional utilities have turned instead to much more climate-damaging coal for generation. The result is that prices have gone up and the use of renewable sources has expanded, but Germans have ended up emitting more carbon dioxide as a result of the extra coal...

But it gives me no happiness to think that the energy plan in Germany is failing. I hope that it will work out eventually.

What Germany really needs, what everyone really needs, to make renewable energy work is storage. I am hoping for new storage technologies to make grid-level storage practical... the liquid metal batteries from Ambri, or pumped electrolyte batteries, or whatever. The only currently practical technology is pumped hydro, and the energy policy in Germany has led to pumped hydro facilities shutting down. If your energy policy leads to coal plants continuing to operate and pumped hydro shutting down, You're Doing It Wrong.

On the other hand, I am also reading that that companies in Germany are planning to build more pumped storage within a decade despite the current economic disincentives, and coal use is going down. Perhaps it will work out in the future.

"Solar's production curve does not match the peak user curve of electrical power."
One can make such claims - or look at actual data:
http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/e...

Other evidence: pumped-storage is currently under-utliziled in Germany:
http://www.icis.com/resources/...

But don't let yourself be confuded by facts...

Pumped storage is certainly not underutilized in Germany.

You can look up the actual use of pumped storage here:
http://www.agora-energiewende....

Power from pump storage never even comes close to 10GW. Does look pretty underutilized to me. But if you have better data, please share.

Pumped-storage definitely is also not profitable at the moment because solar reduced peak power prices:
http://www.icis.com/resources/...

Pumped storage does not show up on 'renewable' charts as it is a zero sum game, you get the same energy out of it you pumped up first.

Ofcourse, why are you telling me this?

If you had a clue how power grids work you would not make such brain dead comments.

Well, if you would be able to present actual numbers, you would not have to resort to insults.

Germany has roughly 10GW pumped storage power and roughly 50GWh storage as work/energy.

This sounds about right, but this is installed capacity, not what is actually used.

Afaik in percentage of daily power production we are world leader.

Ah, I guess the above anti-capitalist was trolling. I didn't check the values that were quoted. That will teach me.

Looks like $200/tonne is the price ceiling for refined bulk sulfur. Let's say these workers haul 300 kg of *ore* per day. Even if that's pure sulfur that could skip refinement it would only be worth $~70. Suddenly, paying $15/worker/day doesn't seem like a predatory wage.

Troll overstated the value of the ore by an order of magnitude.

Still, the workers should be provided with safety gear.

Oil at $30/bbl will collapse the House of Saud and nobody will care.

http://www.icis.com/blogs/chemicals-and-the-economy/2013/05/oil-markets-risk-rapid-reprici-1.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22524597

Oil at $30/bbl will collapse the House of Saud and nobody will care.

http://www.icis.com/blogs/chemicals-and-the-economy/2013/05/oil-markets-risk-rapid-reprici-1.html

You'd be very popular in these places, all of which could produce more food on their own if government was not taxing and subsidizing and regulating food in the world:

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especially painful for the poor

I bet it would get pretty personal for you if you came to these places and started spouting your socialist views on how cheap food is that your government is subsidizing farmers and then paying farmers to destroy it

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especiall

wages rose by 16%

Bullshit.

Somewhere around half a percent of the Earth itself and 1 percent of soil is titanium, so it isn't exactly rare. There's a large market for titanium dioxide in industrial quantities and it currently costs about $1.50 per pound.

I couldn't find any sources of GFP in industrial quantities (or any industrial uses of it), but looking at the production costs of other recombinant proteins is telling. In 1997, heparinase I production was estimated to cost around $250,000 per pound with capital costs in the tens of millions of dollars for an annual production of only 3 kg. On the other hand, bovine somatotropin is currently produced, and costs about $6.60 per 500 mg dose, which works out to about $6000 per pound.

I'm no expert, but the idea that GFP (a recombinant protein) is cheap and TiO2 (processed dirt) is expensive seems a bit strange to me. Can someone explain?

"Saudi Arabia has led OPEC through the largest supply cut in its history to boost oil prices to the level publicly favored by Saudi King Abdullah, $75 a barrel." http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-09/09/content_8669671.htm

"Back in December, the blog analysed statements by King Abdullah, and concluded that Saudi Arabia had a 'target range' for oil prices of $75 - 100/bbl. Yesterday, this analysis was confirmed by Saudi Oil Minister, Ali Naimi, who said the world economy could now 'weather oil prices at $75 - 80/bbl'." http://www.icis.com/blogs/chemicals-and-the-economy/2009/05/saudi-confirms-75bbl-oil-price.html

"Saudi Arabia on Saturday cited $75 a barrel as a "fair price" for oil, the first time in years that the world's biggest exporter has identifed a target for crude prices.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said oil prices needed to return to $75 to keep the more expensive new projects at the margins of world supply on track. His comments may come as a relief to consumer nations fearful of a return to $100-plus oil." http://www.cnbc.com/id/27967401

"Big Asian oil consumers India and Japan gave a cool response to Saudi Arabia's suggestion that $75 a barrel was a "fair" price for oil, saying cheaper crude was preferable during the worst economic crisis in generations." http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-191062480.html

"At a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over the weekend, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah reportedly said the "fair price" for petroleum is $75 per barrel." http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/12/saudi-king-suddenly-hopeful-for-75-oil-us-too.html

Can it change? Sure, and it has in the past, but it's pretty apparent that they've seen something in the $75 price point for a good while now.

begin with

That all depends on what type of plastic it is and how it is made. Perhaps you didn't know that before Du Pont received a patent on making nylon from synthetic polymers plastic was made from plants. The old Cellophane plastic wrap was made from plant cellulose. Kodak used to make film from cellulose. Today bioplastics are making a comeback. Despite the recession, their market is expanding.

Falcon

Ethanol -> lots of space to make fuel.

That's why you grow it vertically.

Beer might be selling well but Heiniken is worried URL: http://www.icis.com/blogs/biofuels/archives/2007/0 2/corn-ethanol-and-pricing.html />

Corn ethanol is a pay day loan, it might tide you over the week-end but it's no way to run the family budget. It is not politically sustainable in the US in the face of a bad harvest ahref=http://www.icis.com/blogs/biofuels/archives/ 2007/05/just-how-politically-sustainab.html/rel=ur l2html-12942http://www.icis.com/blogs/biofuels/arc hives/2007/05/just-how-politically-sustainab.html/ > The US may traditionally over produce corn, which may be a good thing, in terms of making sure that Americans don't starve, and ensuring that there is at least some available to feed people through things like UN food aid in drought regions. But if we find another use for corn then a number of things happen assuming that the volume of corn grown in the world is fixed. The price of corn is going to rise, this will make other crops more attractive as they substitute for corn. This means that the area of land planted will increase. Farming probably happens on fairly sustainable land, if new areas are planted these will be more marginal and put increasing pressure on fragile soils and water resources. The potential for desertification increases. Who has the first call on water hidden in aquifers, farmers or people? Oh and it will fuel inflation in the US http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/2007/03/19/is -inflation-coming-back/#comment-6255/ and that's worrying the US shop keeping community http://www.gmabrands.com/news/docs/NewsRelease.cfm ?DocID=1731/ Secondly, because the price of corn rises in the short term the UN and other aid agencies cannot afford to buy as much to feed to the starving... I think we need to do a couple of things, in no particular order of importance: Insulate more and make more efficient use of energy in our homes, offices, workplaces etc. Make more fuel efficient cars. Its not difficult, if the world auto industry can move to catalytic converters and fuel injection in a decade then it can start building more efficient cars in much less time. Efficiency is at the crux of this problem. If we keep on running inefficient vehicles, then swapping to fuels from other sources is simply fuelling the addiction to badly designed engines http://www.icis.com/blogs/biofuels/archives/2007/0 5/biofuels-displace-traditional-1.html/ Trees might be a better bet as biofuel source....