In defense of sustainable energy.

[chuckChuck]

Chuck"
Toyota has said zero emissions by 2050 on all its cars and factories using hydrogen fuel cells. If they come anywhere close to achieving this it will revolutionize the automobile and energy usage."

This is yet another example of an easily led consumer confusing energy consumption with energy production. Hydrogen fuel cells are not a means of creating energy, but rather a very energy intensive process of converting energy forms and storing it. Creating Hydrogen fuel requires far more energy than can be returned. All due to those nasty laws of thermodynamics. But perhaps Toyota has circumvented those silly laws...

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/521671/cheap-hydrogen-from-sunlight-and-water/
Cheap Hydrogen from Sunlight and Water
Stanford researchers say new materials could help lower the cost of producing fuel with solar energy.

by Kevin Bullis November 14, 2013

Hydrogen generated using sunlight could replace fossil fuels for transportation and electricity generation.

By making a solar photovoltaic material more resilient, researchers may have found a way to make artificial photosynthesis—that is, using sunlight to make fuel—cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels.

If you want hydrogen to power an engine or a fuel cell, it’s far cheaper to get it from natural gas than to make it by splitting water. Solar power, however, could compete with natural gas as a way to make hydrogen if the solar process were somewhere between 15 and 25 percent efficient, says the U.S. Department of Energy. While that’s more than twice as efficient as current approaches, researchers at Stanford University have recently developed materials that could make it possible to hit that goal. The work is described in the journal Science.

[burnt]

Once again, chucky, we are interested in learning what your actions have been toward reducing your dependency on carbon fuels as well as your personal plans.

Seems like you keep avoiding the questions that have been repeatedly put to you.

Surely you are not just another socialist who loves to talk about it but expects everyone else to make the changes, are you?

[chuckChuck]

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/08/30/future-pv-the-feasibility-of-solar-powered-hydrogen-production/
Future PV: The feasibility of solar-powered hydrogen production

There is a solid business case to combine PV plants with electrolyzers, as generation costs are low enough to competitively produce hydrogen as a fuel, says Bjørn Simonsen of NEL Hydrogen. He will speak at pv magazine’s Future PV event at SPI in Las Vegas.

[chuckChuck]

Once again, chucky, we are interested in learning what your actions have been toward reducing your dependency on carbon fuels as well as your personal plans.

Seems like you keep avoiding the questions that have been repeatedly put to you.

Surely you are not just another socialist who loves to talk about it but expects everyone else to make the changes, are you?

Diversion from Burnt. Because your arguments are lame! LOL

[burnt]

Diversion from Burnt. Because your arguments are lame! LOL

So you are admitting that you're are just another "progressive" hypocrite.

Because you'll notice that I wasn't making any argument, merely asking how you back your "beliefs" and claim with actions.

It's because people like you vote that we end up with the worst empty suit of a PM that this country has ever had - all talk, no substance.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/521671/cheap-hydrogen-from-sunlight-and-water/
Cheap Hydrogen from Sunlight and Water
Stanford researchers say new materials could help lower the cost of producing fuel with solar energy.

by Kevin Bullis November 14, 2013

Hydrogen generated using sunlight could replace fossil fuels for transportation and electricity generation.

By making a solar photovoltaic material more resilient, researchers may have found a way to make artificial photosynthesis—that is, using sunlight to make fuel—cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels.

If you want hydrogen to power an engine or a fuel cell, it’s far cheaper to get it from natural gas than to make it by splitting water. Solar power, however, could compete with natural gas as a way to make hydrogen if the solar process were somewhere between 15 and 25 percent efficient, says the U.S. Department of Energy. While that’s more than twice as efficient as current approaches, researchers at Stanford University have recently developed materials that could make it possible to hit that goal. The work is described in the journal Science.

So all we need to do is more than double the efficiency of the solar process and hydrogen fuel from solar is a viable fuel, just a minor roadblock. The optimist in me hopes this will become reality, the realist thinks those same pesky laws of thermodynamics won't make it easy. I am all for subsidizing those researchers at Stanford to create the materials to improve the efficiency to make this a reality. I would be strictly against Toyota releasing a fuel cell powered car and my tax dollars subsidizing both the cost of the car and the cost of producing the fuel, if the technology does not yet exist to make it cost effective on its own. As has been happening with the current electric cars and green energy to power them.

[chuckChuck]

So you are admitting that you're are just another "progressive" hypocrite.

Because you'll notice that I wasn't making any argument, merely asking how you back your "beliefs" and claim with actions.

It's because people like you vote that we end up with the worst empty suit of a PM that this country has ever had - all talk, no substance.

If you said anything intelligent I might consider giving a better answer but most of the time your posts aren't worthy a serious reply.

[burnt]

If you said anything intelligent I might consider giving a better answer but most of the time your posts aren't worthy a serious reply.

Answer the question, chucky. Quite deflecting.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Genuine thanks to Chuck, this is turning into a productive engagement, instead of the usual Angryville insults match. I'm now prompted to do more research into the latest in Hydrogen fuel generation, Chuck has acknowledged that hydrogen fuel cells are not an energy source, and obviously done some homework on the subject.

If one were to simply read all the negatives about the current generation of renewables, one couldn't help but be very depressed about the future of energy once affordable supplies of fossil fuels decline, it is obvious that most of the worlds population would freeze and starve in the dark if we had to rely on current renewable technology. It is reassuring to know that there are other avenues being pursued, and that governments and taxpayers are waking up to the mind boggling waste of resources the current production scale experiments have been, and are cutting off the funding. I just hope this doesn't poison the research environment and affect funding for future concepts which may actually be viable.

[chuckChuck]

So how come no one is saying that Brad Wall and Saskpower are wrong for investing in wind and solar to get to 50% renewables by 2030? Why so quiet?

[AlbertaFarmer5]

So how come no one is saying that Brad Wall and Saskpower are wrong for investing in wind and solar to get to 50% renewables by 2030? Why so quiet?

They are wrong if they are subsidizing non-viable projects with tax payer and utility users dollars. They are hypocrites for making promises whose end date does not fit within their election cycle mandate. They are politicians acting like politicians. A left leaning voter might move right due to a left leaning policy like this, but this type of policy will not scare a right wing voter to go further even left. A safe political strategy.

[chuckChuck]

I think if you are fair minded and willing to do the research you will see that wind is competitive compared to new natural gas capacity.

Sask Power also has said carbon capture on coal retrofits are too expensive and they wouldn't recommend pursuing more.

The best option is to convert some aging coal plants to natural gas, buy surplus hydro from manitoba, and add some renewables. This would help reduce Saskatchewans carbon emissions which are some of the highest per capita in the world.