Comments on: Gore, Reid Plug the Electric Superhighway

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best nitric oxide supplements 2010 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:38:13 +0000

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By: Can The Sahara Desert Power Europe? - Environment and Energy

Can The Sahara Desert Power Europe? - Environment and Energy — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:25:27 +0000

[...] rumbling beneath the surface here in the United States: Democrats like Harry Reid and Al Gore have talked up the need for a "electric superhighway," large new high-voltage transmission lines that [...]

By: Chuck Brody

Chuck Brody — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:20:56 +0000

I probably don't know what I'm talking about either (yet), so I'll pose this as a question: does the preoccupation with proximity to power lines reflect a set of assumptions about energy generation and distribution that might be "old" thinking? I see a lot of press and investment in "industrial scale" deployments of alternate or renewable energy, but why is that more efficient / effective than decentralizing the model? Understandably the incumbents and our default infrastructure reflect a centralized production model, which itself facilitates controlling the revenue stream, but that's only one paradigm.

What's infeasible about reducing (not eliminating) the draw on the incumbent infrastructure by deploying micro-local supplements that become "primary" for specific subsets of consumption (e.g., IT equipment)? It's not that different from applying geothermal to a heating/cooling system to reduce the total temperature swing that the conventional system has to handle.

Where's the flaw in my thinking?

By: Eideard

Eideard — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:33:43 +0000

Sorry, Russell, you don't know what you're talking about.

A significant portion of core generation of alternative energy is going to continue to be wind-generated. Right now, it's the leading component. And wind - really is geography-dependent.

Though I live in a state capable of being a net wind energy exporter, test show my on back meadow not to be such a great place to site a wind generator. It will work well for solar, though - and eventually shall.

Most of that high-wind generating capacity isn't anywhere near existing transmission lines.

By: Russell Betts

Russell Betts — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:31:24 +0000

This plan to run power transmission lines with no regard for environmental concerns is reckless and unthinking. The sun shines just as brightly near existing energy corridors. This is akin to building a Denny's and then running a highway to it. Totally irresponsible energy policy. Shocking that it would even be proposed.