Prediction: Coal has fallen. Nuclear is next then Oil.

[RubberToe]

And in other news:
Court: Vectren can bill customers for $55 million lost revenue from energy efficiency plan

How brain-dead is that ?

It's kind of like if you were buying illegal drugs from the local dealer, then decided to quit cause it was ruining you life and health. So then the dealer tells you that he isn't making as much money as he used to, so you have to keep paying him even though he stopped selling you drugs.

RT

 

[mspohr]

Trump administration is ignoring a massive problem at U.S. nuclear plants

Trump administration is ignoring a massive problem at U.S. nuclear plants
“54 of the [60] nuclear plants operating in the U.S. weren’t designed to handle the flood risk they face.”

At first, the main effort was a direct bailout — Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s failed planto subsidize nuclear (and coal) power plants by raising consumer energy bills.

Now the administration has started cutting corners in nuclear safety and oversight. Trump appointees, who are a majority at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), are allowing the nuclear industry to avoid costly upgrades to plants that are not designed to withstand current flood risk.

 

[mspohr]

April to be momentous in transition from coal to renewables in US

Renewables are set to overtake coal.
The future of the U.S. electricity generation industry may have arrived, and it is not good news for struggling coal-fired generating plants.

This month, for the first time ever, the renewable energy sector (hydro, biomass, wind, solar and geothermal) is projected to generate more electricity than coal-fired plants, which totals about 240 gigawatts (GW) of still-operating capacity.

 

[mspohr]

PacifiCorp Proposes Replacing Wyoming Coal Plants With Renewables and Storage

Utility in Wyoming slowly waking up to the realization that coal is expensive. Dragged kicking and screaming to renewables. Wyoming has a coal protection law that is hindering the transition.

 

[mspohr]

Ugly mess. Private profits, socialized losses.

Canadian Oil Driller Abruptly Shuts Down, Abandons 4,700 Wells | OilPrice.com

"Trident does not have the funds to operate its infrastructure or enter into creditor protection. As a result, they have decided to walk away, leaving more than 4,400 licensed sites, many of them active, without an operator," the watchdog told CBC.

Data from the Alberta Energy Regulator says there are some 170,000 abandoned wells in the province, most of these sealed and taken out of service or reclaimed. The number represents more than a third of the total well count in Alberta, with the watchdog noting in its overview on the topic that even their abandonment, the wells remain the responsibility of the company that owns them.

 

[mspohr]

The UK is fighting fracking'

We are hammering the last nail in the coffin of the fracking industry'
Direct action has spooked the government, shackled the shale gas companies and raised public awareness. Are protesters winning the fight against the frackers?
'We are hammering the last nail in the coffin of the fracking industry'

'We are hammering the last nail in the coffin of the fracking industry'

 

[RubberToe]

As prolific as high tech weapons are becoming, you would think that large oil tankers roaming all over the world would be sitting ducks. How Large of a drone would be needed to disable or even ignite a fully loaded tanker? Note the lack of detail concerning today's incident. You don't want to let the "bad guys" know how successful they were, or inform the world in general how to go about easily putting you out of business.

Large scale economic disruption could be achieved by some entity starting to target them. Any kind of actual shooting war breaking out takes it to a whole nother level. Gas on the corner was $4.49 yesterday. A woman in my building has a car lease ending in May and needs to act before June 1st. I spoke with her a couple times about plug in hybrids, and passed along a recent insideevs chart. Will be interesting to see what she ends up doing.

Also, our HOA recently passed up $48,000 in city incentives to install 16 EV chargers in our garage because we would have had to pony up $26,000. Maybe sitting around in hours long lines at the gas station waiting for the station to get a delivery will ignite some long overdue critical thinking.

CNN: Two Saudi oil tankers damaged in 'sabotage attack,' says press agency.
Two Saudi oil tankers damaged in 'sabotage attack,' says press agency - CNN

RT

 

[mspohr]

As prolific as high tech weapons are becoming, you would think that large oil tankers roaming all over the world would be sitting ducks. How Large of a drone would be needed to disable or even ignite a fully loaded tanker? Note the lack of detail concerning today's incident. You don't want to let the "bad guys" know how successful they were, or inform the world in general how to go about easily putting you out of business.

Large scale economic disruption could be achieved by some entity starting to target them. Any kind of actual shooting war breaking out takes it to a whole nother level. Gas on the corner was $4.49 yesterday. A woman in my building has a car lease ending in May and needs to act before June 1st. I spoke with her a couple times about plug in hybrids, and passed along a recent insideevs chart. Will be interesting to see what she ends up doing.

Also, our HOA recently passed up $48,000 in city incentives to install 16 EV chargers in our garage because we would have had to pony up $26,000. Maybe sitting around in hours long lines at the gas station waiting for the station to get a delivery will ignite some long overdue critical thinking.

CNN: Two Saudi oil tankers damaged in 'sabotage attack,' says press agency.
Two Saudi oil tankers damaged in 'sabotage attack,' says press agency - CNN

RT

We have been spending hundreds of billions of dollars for decades to protect "our" oil. Trump is about to blunder into another war.
This has to stop.
Renewables can make oil irrelevant.

 

[mspohr]

https://thinkprogress.org/cloud-peak-coal-workers-bankruptcy-trump-just-transition-a8fe2479013d/

The third-largest coal company in the United States has declared bankruptcy, leaving the future of its more than 1,000 workers uncertain. The announcement is also the latest indicator that the faltering coal industry is spinning further into decline despite the efforts of President Donald Trump to save it.

Wyoming-based Cloud Peak Energy filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on Friday, a move that has been expected since at least the spring. The company has pointed to a weak market as a leading reason for its struggles, in addition to sluggish success in expanding exports.

Cloud Peak’s financial troubles reflect the broader realities of coal, which is being displaced by cheaper energy sources, including natural gas and renewables. Since 2015, major coal companies Alpha Natural Resources, Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, Mission Coal, and Westmoreland Coal have all declared bankruptcy amid falling profits and increasing concerns over long-term viability.

 

[TheTalkingMule]

Note the lack of detail concerning today's incident. You don't want to let the "bad guys" know how successful they were, or inform the world in general how to go about easily putting you out of business.

You kidding? These guys were overjoyed to have some half-ass attack that probably didn't even ding the out hull. With the US-China news ramping up, SA needed something to juice the oil markets.

 

[RubberToe]

Long pipelines are also pretty soft targets too...

CNBC: Oil prices jump as Saudi energy minister reports drone 'terrorism' against pipeline infrastructure.
Oil prices jump as Saudi energy minister reports drone 'terrorism' against pipeline infrastructure

 

[mspohr]

Long pipelines are also pretty soft targets too...

CNBC: Oil prices jump as Saudi energy minister reports drone 'terrorism' against pipeline infrastructure.
Oil prices jump as Saudi energy minister reports drone 'terrorism' against pipeline infrastructure

Shows another advantage of local distributed energy generation, storage and use. Hard to take out much more than a local neighborhood.

 

[RubberToe]

You kidding? These guys were overjoyed to have some half-ass attack that probably didn't even ding the out hull. With the US-China news ramping up, SA needed something to juice the oil markets.

Mule,
I'm not much for conspiracy theories, but how about this...

Maybe SA production is declining, but they don't want anyone to catch on, and devalue the oil companies value. So they or someone stages selective "incidents" do curtail output slightly. Oil price goes up no one is the wiser?

With the amount of money at stake, virtually nothing would surprise me.

RT

 

[mspohr]

The power switch: tracking Britain's record coal-free run

The power switch: tracking Britain's record coal-free run

Britain is setting new records for going without coal-powered energy. In the latest milestone, it has gone for more than eight days without using coal to generate electricity – the longest such period since 1882.

The coal-free run comes less than two years after the National Grid first ran without coal power for 24 hours.

Phasing out the heavily polluting fuel is a key step in the transition towards a net-zero carbon economy and essential to averting catastrophic climate change

Across the EU, renewables are on the rise

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The power switch: tracking Britain's record coal-free run

The power switch: tracking Britain's record coal-free run

Britain is setting new records for going without coal-powered energy. In the latest milestone, it has gone for more than eight days without using coal to generate electricity – the longest such period since 1882.

The coal-free run comes less than two years after the National Grid first ran without coal power for 24 hours.

Phasing out the heavily polluting fuel is a key step in the transition towards a net-zero carbon economy and essential to averting catastrophic climate change

Across the EU, renewables are on the rise

Note that unlike the USA, where electricity demand peaks in summer, UK electricity demand is lows in late spring and summer. The low point for coal use is the 2nd quarter, and it's also low in the 3rd quarter.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...ploads/attachment_data/file/789363/ET_5.1.xls

What's being seen is the continued trend of offshore wind capacity displacing coal, and as long as new offshore wind capacity continues to be added, the coal-free period will continue to expand.

While coal is now a small part of UK generation, there's a long way to go to get to zero.

In the UK, onshore wind and large-scale solar installations have stopped. The government sees offshore wind as an industrial strength so is much more supportive of that. So, it's going to be quite a while before UK supply will be coal-free.

When the North Sea link to (HVDC linked from the UK to Norway) opens in 2021, it will have a capacity equivalent to about 3.7% of UK annual generation and will connect the UK's wind-heavy grid, to Norway's hydroelectricity resources. That should further help to displace some coal and natural gas generation.

There are also interconnects being built between the UK and France and the UK and Belgium.

 

[SageBrush]

In the UK, onshore wind and large-scale solar installations have stopped. The government sees offshore wind as an industrial strength so is much more supportive of that.

And rightly so. It is an awesome resource

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

And rightly so. It is an awesome resource

It is also improving, as tower heights and turbine blade lengths have increased. But, while cost per MWh is falling, it's still _much_ more expensive than onshore wind, so removing support for onshore wind and solar has a cost.

I'd hope that the solar market come back without subsidy.

 

[S'toon]

I dunno. I read about these "drone attacks" and I can't help these are exaggerated for effect. Someone just probably accidentally flew a drone into a pipeline, becomes a "terrorist attack" by authorities trying to gin up a state of fear for a war.

 

[SageBrush]

It is also improving, as tower heights and turbine blade lengths have increased. But, while cost per MWh is falling, it's still _much_ more expensive than onshore wind, so removing support for onshore wind and solar has a cost.

You will have to define "much" more expensive but the hope and expectation is that off-shore wind will have a least as steep a price curve fall as PV so the total cost to the country compared to alternatives may turn out to be minimal or perhaps an improvement.

Much less NIMBYism,
More favorable and predictable wind patterns

It is hard to overstate just how much of a treasure off-shore wind is for the UK.

UK offshore wind 'could beat onshore on cost'
Analysis: UK auction reveals offshore wind cheaper than new gas

 

[TheTalkingMule]

I'm not sure about UK, but Irish electricity rates(net of taxes) are literally the highest in Europe, and here they sit surrounded by limitless offshore potential.

Have to think nimbyism is only a portion of the issue, knowing govts I'd bet it's more likely a natural drive to keep energy sources centralized. A large landowner in Ireland or UK can't source 50MW of wind offshore.

Once Ireland and the British Isles are linked up to continental Europe properly and storage starts playing a major role, truly open energy markets should turn the average Irish homeowner's electric bill negative. Maybe my Irish relatives will stop yelling at me to take shorter showers.

In other news ,Germany is poised to lead the next phase of distributed battery storage....

Green parties surge across Europe as 'Green Wave' hits EU elections