tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post1131133733318312821..comments2024-03-29T22:18:45.103+11:00Comments on loon pond: In which the pond does a late special edition on the plight of Malware ...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-64771141442947099742018-04-04T20:21:17.409+10:002018-04-04T20:21:17.409+10:00I've often wondered that.Some people find socc...I've often wondered that.Some people find soccer endlessly fascinating, almost the whole meaning of life, but I will never feel that. Some of the right wing blogs start off talking about sea level or something, but pretty soon they are into the most interesting topic - coal.<br />My father was an engineer in a coal-fired power station, but he never talked about it, probably because he rightly thought nobody was interested.NHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-30483941705180371572018-04-04T09:17:02.818+10:002018-04-04T09:17:02.818+10:00Ahh, but think about the 'duck curve' in e...Ahh, but think about the 'duck curve' in electricity consumption, FD, and how to raise that sunken back.<br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_curve<br /><br />But really, can anybody understand, and then explain to us all (or at least to me) why this total infatuation with really obsolete processes and practices such as 'brown coal' (lignite) power generation ? It seems to have infected quite a few of them.GrueBleennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-67637136876145462602018-04-04T01:30:49.903+10:002018-04-04T01:30:49.903+10:00These guys are so obsessed with 29 Newspolls that ...These guys are so obsessed with 29 Newspolls that they seem to be unable to read any other polling that's being done. Over the last 12 months, respondents have consistently favoured renewables over coal by factors of anywhere from 2-to-1 to 5-to-1. <br /><br />Sure, for many voters, climate change is not a first-order issue (it should be, but that's another story), but power prices certainly are, and HELE is not a path to any part of the quadruple bottom line any government needs to look to here. affordable, reliable, dispatchable and (to a greater-or-lesser extent) low emission.<br /><br />The simple fact here is that to comply with the Paris Agreement, we effectively need to phase out virtually all coal-fired static electricity generation by somewhere between 2030 and 2040. After that, every GWh a HELE plant produces is two GWh a cheaper, more dispatchable, lower emission gas turbine can't. The lifespan of one of these new HELE plants will reach out beyond 2050 even if we broke sod on one tomorrow. So, what, we are going to build multi-billion dollar assets knowing that they are going to be useable for half of their design life? If they are only going to be 50% productive, you are effectively doubling their capital cost (because you only get to offset the capital cost over half the productive life), which makes the hopeless uncompetitive on price, even without an actual carbon price, which will probably make a comeback sometime before 2030. <br /><br />A new HELE plant fails on three out of the four success criteria. They are (presumably) reliable, but that's it.<br /><br />But going back to voting - suppose the COALition were to adopt the Monash Forum fantasy, even if coal -v- renewables (on climate or power price) is a first order issue for only 5% of people, the expressed voter preferences are so lopsided that it would cost the coalition 6 to 9 seats, on its own (if I've done the maths right). So sure, Canetoad Christiansen, Sturmbannführer Abetz and Soapy Sam Andrews can commit suicide if you want, don't let me stop you.<br /><br />The Monash Forum is officially ground zero for morons.FrankDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-85572350394402609312018-04-03T22:36:32.538+10:002018-04-03T22:36:32.538+10:00Hanging Rock! Ah, DP, you know how to make my hear...Hanging Rock! Ah, DP, you know how to make my heart beat faster.... At one point, I used to regularly threaten to retire there - unfortunately, the rest of the family used to encourage me to do so...... Sadly, the last time I visited I found that the yabbying at Sheba Dam was much reduced - truly tragic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com