From the GWPF and Dr. Benny Peiser
New Solar Installations Banned
Greece, aiming to stave off a fresh energy crisis, plans to support its main electricity market operator through a temporary tax on renewable power producers and by extending an emergency loan, a senior official said on Friday. The electricity system came close to collapse in June when market operator LAGHE was overwhelmed by subsidies it pays to green power producers as part of efforts to bolster solar energy. Greece has slashed the guaranteed feed-in prices it pays to some solar operators and is no longer approving permits for their installation. –Harry Papachristou, Reuters, 28 September 2012 (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/28/us-greece-interview-idUSBRE88R0UQ20120928)
Sharp Corp. plans to end production and sales of solar cells and modules in the U.S. and Europe by March as part of a restructuring, Kyodo News said. Osaka-based Sharp plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs, or about 18 percent of its workforce, and is in talks to sell plants as it tries to return to profit, two people with knowledge of the proposal said yesterday. –Bloomberg, 27 September 2012 (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-27/sharp-to-end-solar-panel-business-in-u-s-europe-kyodo-says.html)
The amount of electricity produced from “green” energy sources in Scotland fell by almost half for a period earlier this year – because it was not wet or windy enough. The figures prompted opposition concerns that Scotland could be left in the dark if the “wind isn’t blowing”. –Scot MacNab, The Scotsman, 28 September 2012 (http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/scotland-not-windy-enough-for-green-power-1-2550478)
The UK biofuels industry stands to be ‘devastated’ by draft proposals being developed by the European Commission, renewables chiefs have warned. “The great irony is we have been repeatedly asking for a clear pathway to 2020, not least to secure investment in technological advancement. Nobody listened. Now Europe is planning a quantum leap which threatens to wipe us out. It is a double whammy and an absolutely galling prospect for companies that have invested millions in good faith.” –Farmers Guardian, 28 September 2012 (http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/renewables/biofuels-industry-would-be-devastated-by-eu-plans-rea/50036.article)
Switzerland would have to charge higher end-user power prices and resort to new gas-fired plants to fill the supply gap created by its planned nuclear phase-out prompted by Japan’s Fukushima accident, the Swiss energy ministry said on Friday. The statement also said the average household electricity bill, estimated at 890 Swiss Francs ($950) a year, was due to rise in line with higher costs for renewable energy and to cover the costs of investment in the grid. –Reuters, 28 September 2012 (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/28/switzerland-gas-idUSL5E8KSFFT20120928)
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey has given the clearest indication yet that he expects gas to continue to play a major role in the UK’s energy mix for at least the next two decades, revealing 20 new gas-fired power plants are likely to built over the next few years. –Business Green, 27 September 2012 (http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2213148/davey-20-new-gas-power-plants-in-the-pipeline-for-the-uk)
The defence of windfarms put forward by Mark Lynas and Chris Goodall, which was discussed a couple of days ago, has now had a response from Gordon Hughes. Hughes is less than impressed with the two greens’ table manners. He seems even less impressed with their analysis of the electricity grid. –Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, 28 September 2012 (http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2012/9/28/ouch.html)
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@ur momisugly Sean.
And with the loss fo heat in Arctic seas, and the lack of heat gain in the southern oceans, and the rather sleepy sun.. I think this will happen MUCH sooner than people expect.
I hope I’m wrong, but there could be serious issues in northern countries this coming winter.
Who would have thought!
James Sexton says: “My feelings are that Greece will default sometime after the US elections. (Yes, Obama asked them not to make a decision on their bailout until after the election and the Eurozone complied.)”
Dang. You’re right. I can’t believe this. It’s huge:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/uk-eurozone-greece-report-idUKBRE88K0OQ20120921
Where are the headlines?: “EU/IMF ACT TO ENSURE OBAMA ELECTION”
When Greece fails, Obama’s identical policies in the US will be revealed as disastrous.
Neill says: “Even as all these ominous events occur in fairly rapid succession, the Warmist faith in their Cause seems unshaken. Truly disastrous events are sure to occur before they realize their folly, after which it will likely be too late to avert massive economic catastrophe.”
Oh, they will have an answer. They always do. Here it is: “Using half measures was our only mistake. Full Marxist policies should have been implemented from the start, instead of permitting partial free markets. Thus the disaster is actually the result of capitalism, QED.”
Silver Ralph says: “I posted long articles about wind-intermittancy on the Wiki wind power pages, in 2005, and they were deleted time and time again. Finally I was kicked off Wiki for “site vandalism”. That’s right – telling the truth on Wiki is classed as vandalism.”
Do you mean Wikipedia? A wiki can mean one of a fairly large number of sites: wiki – Any collaborative website that users can easily modify via the web, typically without restriction. ‘Wiki’ is not a useful abbreviation for Wankerpedia…oops, I mean Wikipedia.
Reblogged this on Is it 2012 in Nevada County Yet? and commented:
California has often been compared to Greece as our debt continues to grow and our political leaders continue to spend. Business are leaving the state and our political leaders continues to claim that the state has a business friendly environment. They are in denial, just like the Greeks, were and now reality if forcing them to pay the price of economic stupidity. We will soon have our own reality check.
jorgekafkazar says:
September 29, 2012 at 8:01 pm
James Sexton says: “My feelings are that Greece will default sometime after the US elections. (Yes, Obama asked them not to make a decision on their bailout until after the election and the Eurozone complied.)”
Dang. You’re right. I can’t believe this. It’s huge:
=================================================
Somewhere along the way we lost our free media. We lost our way. Our free press died long ago. It is the only reason why blogs like WUWT exist. This too, will end.
Sen says: September 29, 2012 at 6:10 pm
“Who would have thought!”
___________
We did. This climate and energy debacle was predictable, and was predicted.
We wrote a decade ago, in 2002:
http://www.apegga.org/Members/Publications/peggs/WEB11_02/kyoto_pt.htm
1. Climate science does not support the theory of catastrophic human-made global warming – the alleged warming crisis does not exist.
…
8. The ultimate agenda of pro-Kyoto advocates is to eliminate fossil fuels, but this would result in a catastrophic shortfall in global energy supply – the wasteful, inefficient energy solutions proposed by Kyoto advocates simply cannot replace fossil fuels.
_________
We could not have stated this more clearly, but we were ignored and criticized for climate sacrilege.
The results, a decade later, are obvious:
Re #1: Despite increases in atmospheric CO2, here has been NO net global warming in 10-15 years.
Re #8: Green energy has been a total disaster.
If your auto mechanic or your plumber had a track record as bad as the IPCC and the global warming fanatics, you would have sued them by now, for wrecking your car and your house.
Perhaps it is time to sue the IPCC and the greens for all the needless trouble they have caused
Barbara Skolaut says:
“Switzerland . . . planned nuclear phase-out prompted by Japan’s Fukushima accident”
Lessee if I’ve got this straight: Japan had a pretty bad incident with Fukushima caused by a once-in-a-lifetime tsunami, so Switzerland is going to phase out nuclear power?
Far rarer than once-in-a-lifetime IIRC the last similar size earthquake and tsunami to affect Japan was something of the order of 1,500 years ago. When did Switzerland last have a large earthquake? Don’t think a landlocked country has ever encountered a tsunami in recorded history either…
Let us not forget that wind turbines fail to produce with no wind, obviously, but also with too much wind. They only work within a narrow speed band.
Useless idea.
I posted up on Bishop Hill about power lines in the Channel Tunnel and the Prospect of major civil Unrest and very very very very remote possibility of civil war in Bankrupt Greece.
There was a Greek Anarchist Terrorist group operating in th1980s .They kidnapped a British diplomat and shot dead the British Military Attache.We ve had rioting in the UK.In Greece they had a 15 year old Petrol Bomber shot dead by police.
A European Smart grid to feed in renewable power may not be such a smart idea
Constant power outrages was one of the driving factors of the fierce Insurgency in Iraq.
A hot Middle Eastern country Air Conditioning and Refrigeration are a Necessity
Most NATO Losses are the Strategic Helmond Province .The Helmond River supplying the Hydro Electric Dam in Afghanistan. The highest profile Taliban target
A Europe wide power smart Grid .And French and German Power companies and they can simply pull the plug when they want paying they got Bills to pay too.
Austerity power cuts in Greece.The European Superstate in super trouble
James Sexton says:
September 29, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Lost our way…
It’s what happens when being educated in what to think becomes more important than being taught how to think.
>>>Dang. You’re right. I can’t believe this. It’s huge:
Dang, dang, dang, you are right. And I thought I kept up to date with Euro news. They sure kept this one quiet.
But it makes sense. It was the fawning Europeans who gave Obama a Nobel Prize simply for being elected. How utterly absurd was that?
It was the Guardianistas of London who genuflected to their new god and said the world would not have a decade of peace because their new god had been elected in the US. Oh, and his son had just won the F1 motor racing contest and his other son had won the Ryder Cup (I kid you not).
This is how off this planet the Guardianistas really are.
.
I’m all for renewable’s like wind, water, solar, wood burning,,,you name it. But you know lunatics are running the asylum is the time they pay you more for a power source than the value of supply.
Nuclear power as we know it now is ***not sustainable***. We are down to a world reserve peak reserves to 40 years of yellow cake. LFTR’s are the only saving grace.
Sean mentioned rolling blackouts over the EU for lessons learned. Hey, I have a telescope. Bring it on :)))
Seriously and also hilariously nearly all Solar units are grid tied. So if the mains supply goes down because the French cannot keep up with European demand then all the localised Solar units on peoples roofs will also be turned off.
Not one left whinger loves this guy and the party he represents.
Gamecock says:
September 29, 2012 at 5:51 pm
““Being developed” means it does not exist. The great presumption that it will be developed has no historical basis. Breeding thorium to U-233 has been done in government reactors. But even at 100 times the neutron flux in power reactors, not enough was converted to be worthwhile.
With the abysmal track record, thorium breeding must be demonstrated as feasible before it should be accepted as feasible. ”
How do you define “worthwhile”? What’s your source?
A working Thorium reactor is the HTR. China has licensed it from Germany and works on the implementation.
About HTR’s:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTGR
About the Chinese project:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTR-10
Kudos to the UK for not entering the trap but, they’ve large challenges ahead as well
But they have; They follow all EU regs to the letter. The only euro country that does.
GeoLurking September 29, 2012 at 12:24 pm
For me the really issue about the back-up generators at Fukushima was the genius who placed them in the basement….
This comment has nothing to do with the article, but i was just wondering what an advert for Tridos Renewables is doing on Watts up with that?
[Reply: WordPress is responsible for the ads, not Anthony. — mod.]
One consequence of calling anyone who presents scientific, engineering, and economic data that supports the assertion that “green” energy is a scam a “denier” is the scam causes significant economic and environmental damage before countries run out of money to support the scam.
The fiasco of converting food to biofuel is another example. As there is a limited amount of agricultural land to grow food, mandating that automobile and aviation fuel must contain 10% biofuel will result the destruction of vast regions of virgin forest and a lack of food in third world countries. For example 40% of the US corn crop is currently converted to biofuel.
When the increased CO2 emissions from the destruction of virgin forest is taken into account biofuel produces more greenhouse gases and causes significantly less environmental damage than conventionally sourced transportation fuel.
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/2075071-brussels-will-have-revise-its-policy
“Once these indirect emissions are factored in, it turns out that biofuel from rapeseed, enforced by quotas and supported by tax breaks, harms the climate more than conventional oil.”
“Why, then, did more than a hundred non-governmental organisations recently send the European Commission a warning letter, and why have about two hundred renowned scientists launched another appeal? The answer is to be found in four letters: ILUC, for “Indirect Land Use Change.” If it were European fields that were sown to oilseed rape for biodiesel, under current legislation all would be well: we would emerge with clear emission savings, even factoring in the fuel consumed in the harvesting and in producing fertilisers and so on.
European rapeseed, however, was once pressed into edible oils, which covered European consumption and even made its way into the kitchens of China and India; today, however, rapeseed oil is ending up in diesel engines, and Europe is importing vegetable oils to replace it. These replacement oils are made from (among other things) palm oils, which are grown on immense plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia – often on land opened up by clearing virgin rainforests and by draining wetlands.
Once these indirect emissions are factored in, it turns out that biofuel from rapeseed, enforced by quotas and supported by tax breaks, harms the climate more than conventional oil.”
http://www.unep.org/pdf/foodcrisis_lores.pdf
http://joannenova.com.au/2012/09/there-goes-the-biofuels-21-billion-dollar-industry-reality-bites-in-eu-draft/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-04-14/biofuel-production-a-crime-against-humanity/2403402
http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/eu-commission
With a few clicks below, you can add your voice against an issue we at the Rainforest Foundation UK and many other NGOs around the world consider to be a total scandal.
EU renewable energy legislation states that 10% of all road transport fuel in the EU will need to be “renewable” by 2020. Unfortunately this means biofuels, many of which are causing rainforest destruction and making climate change worse. Biodiesel from palm oil is one of the worst offenders. …. …. A leaked draft EU document shows that the EU Commission would like to rename palm oil plantations as “forest” so that biodiesel from palm oil plantations can still meet EU biofuels sustainability criteria. Palm oil expansion is a major cause of deforestation and biodiesel from palm oil can create more greenhouse gas emissions than the fossil fuel it is meant to replace. Please email the new energy and environment Commissioners and ask them to change this document to give a clear message to member states that biodiesel from palm oil should not be part of sustainable EU energy provision. The leaked draft document from the EU Commission is available HERE.
Gamecock said: “’Being developed’ means it does not exist. The great presumption that it will be developed has no historical basis. Breeding thorium to U-233 has been done in government reactors. But even at 100 times the neutron flux in power reactors, not enough was converted to be worthwhile. With the abysmal track record, thorium breeding must be demonstrated as feasible before it should be accepted as feasible. People … saw it didn’t work. The technology was the problem, not the Democrats.”
Where do you get that nonsense? Or don’t you have any valid references?
William says:
September 30, 2012 at 6:32 am
“http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/eu-commission
With a few clicks below, you can add your voice against an issue we at the Rainforest Foundation UK and many other NGOs around the world consider to be a total scandal.”
That organisation is a promoter of REDD (or UNREDD).
http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/files/RF%20UK%20Audited%20Accounts%202010.pdf
“Forest peoples demand their seat at the table in climate change talks.”
http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/Accra_News2
They are typical UN-accredited climate change alarmists feeding at the CO2AGW trough.
So happy and proud to be from California where we are rocketing down the same path. Can you say exodus?
stephen richards says:
September 30, 2012 at 5:59 am
Kudos to the UK for not entering the trap but, they’ve large challenges ahead as well
But they have; They follow all EU regs to the letter. The only euro country that does.
================================================================
True, but the trap I was referring to was the decision not to enter the Eurozone. The EU regs are correctable. The Eurozone is soon to end in tears and heartbreak.
James Sexton says:
September 30, 2012 at 8:11 am
“True, but the trap I was referring to was the decision not to enter the Eurozone. The EU regs are correctable. The Eurozone is soon to end in tears and heartbreak.”
No, it will take decades of devaluation and political chaos to unravel. This is not a quick divorce; it’s an alcoholic who beats his wife green and blue for 30 years before the wife runs away.
The alcoholic is the eurocracy; the wife are the economies of the Eurozone.
Don’t forget Miasole: they got bought by a Chinese company for $30 million. But over $550 million in venture capital and $100 million in tax credit went in.
Classic large fortune to small fortune…