A poetic take on the environmental question; Gray

An estimated 23 million people worldwide live on ground contaminated with potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic metal-mining waste, such as lead, zinc, copper and arsenic. Researchers analysed how waste from 22,609 active metal mines — and seven times as many abandoned ones — is distributed by rivers and deposited in floodplains. "Whether those people will be affected by that contamination, we simply can't tell with this research," says ecologist and study co-author Chris Thomas. "But there is agriculture and irrigation in many of those areas." Crops and livestock can accumulate high levels of harmful metals.

BBC | 4 min read

Quote from Alan Smith

An estimated 23 million people worldwide live on ground contaminated with potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic metal-mining waste, such as lead, zinc, copper and arsenic. Researchers analysed how waste from 22,609 active metal mines — and seven times as many abandoned ones — is distributed by rivers and deposited in floodplains. "Whether those people will be affected by that contamination, we simply can't tell with this research," says ecologist and study co-author Chris Thomas. "But there is agriculture and irrigation in many of those areas." Crops and livestock can accumulate high levels of harmful metals.

BBC | 4 min read

I have visited a coast wetland in Perú that is literally an accumulation of arsenic rich copper mine tailings ongoing fo 60 years, and people feed cows on the grass that grows in it. It has high concentrations of everything toxic, and no one bats an eye. Peoples that evolved in the Atacama desert have a natural high tolerance for high levels of Arsenic. Life adapts to everything, given the chance.

Quote from Curbina

high tolerance for high levels of Arsenic.

There was a wide use of arsenic compounds, at one time, in wood preservatives, paints, wallpapers, and wall/plaster fungicidal washes. They helped to make damp buidings habitable - by preventing the growth of toxic molds and reducing insect infestation. We didn't all die of arsenic poisoning (although some historians seem obsessed by the idea that Napoleon Bonaparte died of arsenic poisoning from the furniture paint and wallwaper in his room, when in exile).

Since the gradual removal of "toxic" compounds from the domestic setting (lead paints, copper arsenate treatments) we have seen a huge rise in mold-related illness - particularly in countries with damp climates (such as the UK). Although this can be partly tackled through improved building techniques (materials, moisture control, ventilation) I think there is still an urgent need for the development, and widespread use, of "safe" fungicidal treatments.

Quote from Frogfall

There was a wide use of arsenic compounds, at one time, in wood preservatives, paints, wallpapers, and wall/plaster fungicidal washes. They helped to make damp buildings habitable - by preventing the growth of toxic molds and reducing insect infestation. We didn't all die of arsenic poisoning (although some historians seem obsessed by the idea that Napoleon Bonaparte died of arsenic poisoning from the furniture paint and wallwaper in his room, when in exile).

In the late 1950's a factory in East London making 'Lin-Crusta' arsenic-impregnated wall coverings and as a sideline arsenic fly-papers closed down, and post-closure some of the workers started to fall sick. The cure for their ills was found to be micro-dosing with more arsenic.

Google reports on corporate plans (and role) for low-carbon energy.

https://www.gstatic.com/gumdrop/sustainability/accelerating-advanced-clean-electricity-technologies.pdf

Introduction

The world faces an unprecedented energy challenge. To mitigate the worst impacts of

climate change, we must collectively work to rapidly transition today’s energy system, which

is responsible for nearly three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions, to run entirely

on clean energy sources.1

At the same time, energy systems must expand significantly to

reach those who have inadequate access to energy today and to power growing industries

and national economies.

Electricity lies at the heart of this transition, as it is both a significant source of greenhouse gas

emissions and a key tool for decarbonizing other sectors of the economy, such as buildings,

industry, and transportation, through electrification. The International Energy Agency (IEA)

estimates that global electricity generation will need to reach net zero emissions globally by

2040 to give the world a chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 °C, while the total

amount of electricity generated is expected to nearly triple by 2050.2

Variable renewable energy (VRE) technologies such as wind and solar, along with lithium-ion

battery storage, will be core contributors to electricity grid decarbonization in many regions

around the world. In 2021, wind and solar power together provided 10% of global power

generation for the first time,3

and the world is expected to add a record 440 gigawatts (GW)

of new renewable capacity in 2023.4 Grid-scale lithium-ion batteries are also being deployed at

a growing scale, supporting the integration of variable wind and solar power into electricity grids.5

While we must continue to rapidly scale these technologies, we must also develop and

commercialize new technologies to fully decarbonize electricity systems quickly and

cost-effectively while maintaining reliability. According to leading energy system modelers,

clean firm generation technologies and advanced energy storage systems are needed to

reliably serve load during gaps in wind and solar energy production at minimum cost.6,7

These technologies include, among others, geothermal, nuclear, power generation with carbon

capture and storage, clean hydrogen, and long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies.....

Continues....

Dutch Energy Minister Admits That Wind Power Agenda Is Pricier Than Anticipated

By Cyril Widdershoven - Oct 17, 2023, 4:00 PM CDTDutch Minister of Climate and Energy Rob Jetten admits that wind power is facing serious financial headwinds.Jetten: consumers should expect substantially higher electricity prices than initially anticipated.The increased costs are not primarily linked to global market developments but rather to the extra €10 billion required for connecting offshore wind farms at sea to onshore infrastructure.

Reality has returned to the European offshore wind sector, bringing financial challenges to the forefront. These challenges are not solely due to higher interest rates but are increasingly driven by supply chain constraints, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) issues, and investor caution. In a surprising announcement, Dutch Minister of Climate and Energy, Rob Jetten, has informed the market, government, and parliament that the costs of offshore wind projects in the North Sea will be significantly higher than previously assessed. Minister Jetten, a member of the left-wing liberal democrat D66 party, has also indicated that consumers should expect substantially higher electricity prices than initially anticipated.

This news has come as a shock to mainstream political parties and renewable energy sector operators. They had been advocating offshore wind and other renewables not only as a means of addressing climate change but also as a progressively cost-effective alternative. In the coming years, the development of hundreds of gigawatts of offshore wind capacity is required to establish a comprehensive renewable energy supply capable of significantly reducing or eliminating the reliance on fossil fuels. While some major projects have already been completed, many are still in the construction phase or awaiting investment decisions.

The increased costs are not primarily linked to global market developments but rather to the extra €10 billion required for connecting offshore wind farms at sea to onshore infrastructure. The Dutch state-owned company, TenneT, now faces higher financial burdens and increased risks. Previous assessments of TenneT's plans indicated financing needs of approximately €2 billion per year for the next several decades. However, new assessments reveal investment requirements of €3.6 billion per year, equivalent to €0.04 per kWh. In reality, these costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers through net tariffs, the fees for the delivery or transport of energy. The average Dutch household consumes 2,800 kWh per year.Related: Switzerland Stops Strategic Fuel Stock Drawdowns As Supply 

Normalizes

In response, Minister Jetten has pledged to explore ways to reduce the additional costs for consumers. One proposal is to use the same offshore-onshore connections for offshore solar projects. However, this concept is still in its infancy, as there are currently no viable large-scale offshore solar projects.

Analysis indicates that the Dutch government's decision to exclude Chinese manufacturers from participating in TenneT tenders has contributed to the current cost increases. This decision was made to prevent Chinese involvement in critical national infrastructure projects, particularly electricity networks.

It appears that Dutch energy transition and renewable energy strategies and projects may be advised by consultants who lack not only an understanding of market fundamentals but also foresight regarding potential challenges or risks. Increased material and manufacturing costs have been anticipated for years, predating both the Ukraine crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labor shortages and supply chain disruptions were also known factors but were apparently not fully considered.

Minister Jetten has suggested potential solutions, such as optimizing offshore grid usage and using offshore wind production for green hydrogen. These options are intended to reduce the overall future grid investment requirements. However, in the current and near future, the costs of these solutions, especially offshore hydrogen production, are extremely high, which may not yield positive outcomes.

Dutch offshore wind projects are now joining the global sector in facing negative financial news. Several major offshore wind producers, including Vattenfall in Sweden and Ørsted in Denmark, have encountered financial difficulties, primarily related to higher costs, interest rate issues, PPA constraints, or commercial factors making projects financially unfeasible. Without a comprehensive offshore-onshore power grid, most current and future projects may be put on hold.

In addition, news has emerged that Tennet Holding's planned divestment of its German subsidiary, Tennet Germany, faces political constraints. If this deal does not materialize, it could significantly increase overall investment pressure and financial risks for the Dutch Transmission System Operator (TSO). This situation might necessitate reassessments of strategies and investments in the coming years.

Quote from Lenora

Dear Shane D. ,

This thread is about "green" technologies.

Modern advanced nuclear fission reactors are an emerging green technology (and I can prove it).

The world desperately needs energy dense solutions that require little land and few resources (unlike solar and wind and battery farms).

My posts in this thread revealed profound ignorance among many of your LENR forum members about nuclear fission.

Why did you move my posts about green nuclear fission?

Display More

deleted account , I don’t know who moved the posts, but is probably because we have a separate thread for nuclear fission, and this thread is for general non nuclear “green technologies”. Just a way to keep our topics relatively in order.

As for your assertion that “revealed profound ignorance among many of your LENR forum members about nuclear fission.”, you have to understand we are a diverse community and you will often find divergent opinions in many topics, don’t take it personal. I personally welcome all new technologies for energy production and in the nuclear fission chapter my favorite is Thorium Fluoride Liquid Reactors, which I think could solve many of our problems, and was tested with positive results to the MW scale in the late 1960s, with a clear set of challenges and hurdles to overcome,yet they were not favored by what some think, and I would tend to agree, geopolitic and military hegemony reasons.

Quote from Lenora

The world desperately needs energy dense solutions that require little land and few resources (unlike solar and wind and battery farms).

That is incorrect. Wind wind takes up very little land. The base of a wind turbine is the size of a small barn. It produces a megawatt or more. This is a much smaller footprint than something like a coal or gas-fired plant, when you include the coal mine and the railroad needed to bring the coal, or the natural gas pipe. The power lines for wind, coal or gas take up the same amount of space, whereas rooftop installed solar panels have no power lines, and they take up no space at all, since roofs are already there. A large fraction of electricity could be produced by rooftop solar. This would take no space, require no power lines, and it would bankrupt the power companies, which is what is happening in Hawaii.

Offshore wind takes up no land. There is enough offshore capacity to generate 18 times more electricity than we now consume, which is far more total energy than we now consume.

Offshore Wind Outlook 2019 – Analysis - IEA

Offshore Wind Outlook 2019 - Analysis and key findings. A report by the International Energy Agency.

www.iea.org

The power companies will soon have more solar capacity than all of the generator capacity in the U.S. The power companies know what they are doing. They make large profits. See:

Clean energy tech to surge by 2030, IEA says

Major shifts under way today are set to result in a considerably different global energy system by 2030, according to the IEA’s new World Energy Outlook.

www.renewableenergyworld.com

"Major shifts under way today are set to result in a considerably different global energy system by the end of this decade, according to the International Energy Agency’s new World Energy Outlook 2023.

The latest edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO), an annual source of energy analysis and projections, describes an energy system in 2030 in which clean technologies play a significantly greater role than today.

This includes almost 10 times as many electric cars on the road worldwide; solar PV generating more electricity than the entire U.S. power system does currently; renewables’ share of the global electricity mix nearing 50%, up from around 30% today; heat pumps and other electric heating systems outselling fossil fuel boilers globally; and three times as much investment going into new offshore wind projects than into new coal- and gas-fired power plants. . . ."

Quote from Shane D.

The increased costs are not primarily linked to global market developments but rather to the extra €10 billion required for connecting offshore wind farms at sea to onshore infrastructure.

They should have known about that expense. This sounds like poor planning to me.

Quote from Lenora

Dear Shane D. ,

This thread is about "green" technologies.

Modern advanced nuclear fission reactors are an emerging green technology (and I can prove it).

The world desperately needs energy dense solutions that require little land and few resources (unlike solar and wind and battery farms).

My posts in this thread revealed profound ignorance among many of your LENR forum members about nuclear fission.

Why did you move my posts about green nuclear fission?

Display More

That was me. As Curbina said, moving the posts had nothing to do with traditional nuclear being green/not green, but just to keep things tidy, and in their own thread.

It was quite a decision for the staff to allow discussion about nuclear in the first place, as it is a very contentious issue. But it seemed to have worked out. The discourse has been very civil.

Quote from Lenora

and I can prove it

We all wait! Open a new thread and explain the technology in all detail. Explain how the concrete used for your reactor building will be green etc...

Quote from Wyttenbach

Explain how the concrete used for your reactor building will be green etc..

Green neutrons? Maybe if they paint the concrete green..

"In the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, several NPPs have already been shut down, dismantled, and decontaminated. According to the European Commission reports, 500 million tons of concrete waste will be generated in Europe by 2060 (O'Sullivan et al., 2010). Approximately 50–55 million tons of concrete waste is generated in each decommissioning of an NPP with radioactive concrete waste constituting ~5%. This waste is converted into 25,000 ton drums, constituting more than 80% of intermediate and low-level radioactive waste (U.S. NRC, 2001).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/…he%20nuclear%20facilities.

Quote from Lenora

Modern advanced nuclear fission reactors are an emerging green technology (and I can prove it.

Nowadays, we can read news like this...

https://www.cmblu.com/en/press-and-media/strabag-invests-100-million-euros-in-cmblu-energy/

Must be a promising technology!

On the other hand, there is also news like this...

The German government considers nuclear fission reactors - also new concepts - "...as a dead horse ..."

stated here:

Warum deutsche Forscher einen Kernreaktor in Ruanda bauen

Keine zwei Wochen nachdem Bundeskanzler Scholz Kernkraft als „totes Pferd“ bezeichnet hat, vermeldet ein Berliner Energieunternehmen einen Durchbruch. Nun soll…

jungefreiheit.de

So probably no considerable investment opportunity will be available here, as a result of lacking governmental support.

This is generally also not so good news for us LENR folks...

Don't be sad apart some coins involved in the Clean HME project ( and f...... Hermes) nothing more happened in EU.

Quote from gerold.s

Nowadays, we can read news like this...

https://www.cmblu.com/en/press…on-euros-in-cmblu-energy/

Must be a promising technology!

On the other hand, there is also news like this...

https://www.nuklearforum.ch/de…ual-fluid-reaktors-ruanda

The German government considers nuclear fission reactors - also new concepts - "...as a dead horse ..."

stated here:

https://jungefreiheit.de/wirts…rgierevolution-in-afrika/

So probably no considerable investment opportunity will be available here, as a result of lacking governmental support.

This is generally also not so good news for us LENR folks...

Display More

Quote from Cydonia

nothing more happened in EU.

we have to learn it now in the hard way.. ...key SHOULD HAVE been to invest in innovative energy autarky in EU the last thirty years. Now we have to build up our own military AND the military of Ukraine AND invest in energy autarky. Reduction of CO2 WOULD HAVE been a nice side effect. Thanks to a few greedy EU lobbiests!!!

well, i remain convinced that money isn't the problem.. Only old ideas strongly sticked .... For example about LEC most investigators were sticked with chemistry explanations, easiest been coasting than going to the deep sea.

Quote from gerold.s

we have to learn it now in the hard way.. ...key SHOULD HAVE been to invest in innovative energy autarky in EU the last thirty years. Now we have to build up our own military AND the military of Ukraine AND invest in energy autarky. Reduction of CO2 WOULD HAVE been a nice side effect. Thanks to a few greedy EU lobbiests!!!

Quote from gerold.s

key SHOULD HAVE been to invest in innovative energy autarky in EU the last thirty years.

Since around the year 2000 the German engineers have been declared replaceable by the greedy managers, that preferred to sell all technology to China for a quick return and huge bonus. Same happened in IT...

Such thing happen if you let the greedy and brain dead FM/R/B/(JF) mafia rule a country.

Now we have to buy products from China with unknown quality or worse composed of parts with unknown quality. Sanitary products from China are total crap and it takes just to long to replace them on warranty except the most crappy ones...Same with PVC parts that can last > 100 years or just 1 year just as you like to program the mixture....All from real live experience..

So the west is now lost in garbage on all levels including government.

Dennis Danzik Quantum energy discusses his technology Betty 4 part 2.

This video posted 2 days ago.