Power Hungry
Page 36
24 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009.
25 Ibid.
26 Keith Bradsher, “China’s Unemployment Swells as Exports Falter,” New York Times, February 5, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/business/worldbusiness/06yuan.html?_r=1&sq=china%20and%20electricity&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=all. Goldman Sachs analysts have indicated that they also use electricity data as a proxy for output in China.
27 “Energy Statistics: Electricity: Consumption (per capita) (most recent) by Country,” http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_ele_con_percap-energy-electricity-consumption-per-capita.
28 Alan D. Pasternak, “Global Energy Futures and Human Development: A Framework for Analysis,” Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, October 2000, https://e-reports-ext.llnl.gov/pdf/239193.pdf, 17.
29 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009.
30 Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html.
31 For images of Africa at night, see “Satellite Photo of Earth at Night” and other NASA images, at http://geology.com/articles/satellite-photo-earth-at-night.shtml.
32 “Poverty Facts and Stats,” n.d., http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats.
33 Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, “Country Comparison: Death Rate,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2066rank.html.
34 Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, “Country Comparison: Infant Mortality Rate,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html.
35 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008.
36 Ibid.
37 Xina Xie, “Capitalist Coal Versus Socialist Electricity,” Energy Tribune, July 21, 2009, http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=2103.
38 Energy Information Administration, “Existing Capacity by Energy Source,” http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat2p2.html.
39 “Graphic: The State of Nuclear Power,” National Post, July 31, 2009, http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/07/31/graphic-the-state-of-nuclear-power.aspx.
40 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009.
41 Ibid.
42 “Graphic: The State of Nuclear Power.”
43 World Bank, “World Bank Supports Modernization of Old, Polluting Coal-Fired Power Plants in India to Lower Carbon Emissions,” June 18, 2009, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:22217371∼menuPK:2246552~pagePK:2865106∼piPK:2865128~the SitePK:223547,00.html?cid=ISG_E_WBWeeklyUpdate_NL.
44 “Pachauri Defends India’s Climate Stand,” July 22, 2009, http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200907220334.htm.
45 Robert Bryce, “From Lahore to Copenhagen,” Energy Tribune, November 3, 2009, http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=2533. For the full text of Clinton’s remarks, see U.S. Department of State, Diplomacy in Action, “Roundtable with Business Leaders Opening and Closing Remarks: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Governor’s House, Lahore, Pakistan, October 29, 2009,” http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/10/131073.htm.
46 Energy Information Administration, Table 8.2a, “Electricity Net Generation: Total (All Sectors) 1949–2008,” http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0802a.html.
47 Energy Information Administration, Table 1.1, “Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors),” http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/tablel_1.html.
48 Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, “Europe: Spain,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp.html#Econ.
49 Energy Information Administration, Table 8.2a. Note that in 1994, coal provided 1,690 billion kWh. In 2008, coal provided 1,994 billion kWh, for an increase of about 300 billion kWh.
50 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009. In 2008, U.S. coal consumption equaled 565 million tons of oil equivalent. The total primary energy use for Central and South American countries was 579.6 million tons of oil equivalent.
51 Energy Information Administration, Table 1.1.A, “Net Generation by Other Renewables: Total (All Sectors),” http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table1_1_a.html.
52 Ibid.
53 American Society of Mechanical Engineers, “National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks: Edison ‘Jumbo’ Engine-Driven Dynamo and Marine-Type Triple Expansion Engine-Driven Dynamo,” May 29, 1980, http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5537.pdf.
54 Klein, The Power Makers, 202.
55 See EveryGenerator.com for the Briggs and Stratton 30207, http://www.everygenerator.com/Briggs-and-Stratton-30207-BAS1008.html.
Chapter 6
1 U.S. Institute for Peace, “Iraqi Oil Revenues: ‘Managing the Devil’s Excrement,’” n.d., http://www.usip.org/events/iraqi-oil-revenues-managing-devils-excrement.
2 For an analysis of various fuels and their energy densities, see Wikipedia, “Energy Density,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density.
3 Vaclav Smil, “The Two Prime Movers of Globalization: History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines,” Journal of Global History 2 (2007), 376–377, http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~vsmil/pdf_pubs/jgh%202007.pdf.
4 Robert Bryce, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of “Energy Independence” (New York: PublicAffairs, 2008), 63–64. Diesel consumption in 2008 was about 3.9 million barrels per day. See Energy Information Administration, “Product Supplied,” http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_cons_psup_dc_nus_mbblpd_a.htm.
5 Ibid.
6 Energy Information Administration, “Diesel—A Petroleum Product,” http://www.scribd.com/doc/12860647/Encyclopedia-of-Energy-Basic.
7 Smil, “Two Prime Movers,” 377–378.
8 Ibid., 391.
9 Ibid., 379.
10 Rachel Layne, “GE, Safran Plan Engine to Help Keep Lead into New Era,” Bloomberg, July 13, 2008, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arNVkr5BBKjI&refer=home.
Chapter 7
1 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/2009_downloads/renewables_section_2009.pdf. See also Jad Mouawad, “OPEC Plans Further Output Cut,” New York Times, December 17, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/business/worldbusiness/17opec.html?fta=y. Mouawad reports that the Saudis settled on a production rate of 8.5 million barrels per day in November 2008.
2 Here’s the math: 5,800,000,000 J / 86,400 s = 67,129 W. To account for heat lost during the conversion of energy into electrical power, we must multiply the 67,129 W by 0.33, which leaves us with 22,152 W.
3 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009.
4 Energy Information Administration, Table 1.1, “Primary Energy Overview, 1949–2008,” n.d., http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0101.html.
5 Gene Whitney, Carl E. Behrens, and Carol Glover, “US Fossil Fuel Resources: Terminology, Reporting, and Summary,” Congressional Research Service, October 28, 2009, http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=f7bd7b77-ba50-48c2-a635-220d7cf8c519, 17.
Chapter 8
1 Witold Rybczynski, “The Green Case for Cities,” Atlantic Monthly, October 2009, http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/solar-panels.
2 E. F. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered (New York: Harper and Row, 1973).
3 The calculations for the power densities of the renewable sources is based on work done by Jesse Ausubel. See Ausubel, “The Future Environment for the Energy Business,” APPEA Journal (2007), http://phe.rockefeller.edu/docs/ausubelappea.pdf, 8. Ausubel’s estimates for renewables are of the same orders of magnitude as those published by the Nature Conservancy. Furthermore, Ausubel’s numbers are almost identical to estimates provided to the author by Stan Jakuba, an engineer who has collected power-density data from numerous sources.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Robert I. McDonald, Joseph Fargione, Joe Kiesecker, William M. Miller, and Jimmie Powell, “Energy Sprawl or Energy Efficiency: Climate Policy Impacts on Natural Habitat for the United States of America,” August 26, 2009, http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0006802#pone-0006802 -g001.
7 Author interviews with Porter by telephone, January 25 and 26, 2010.
8 See the work by Nina Pierpont at the website Windturbinesyndrome.com.
9 American Wind Energy Association, “Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects, An Expert Review Panel,” December 2009, ES-1, http://awea.org/newsroom/releases/AWEA_CanWEA_SoundWhitePaper_12–11–09.pdf.
10 Richard Cockle, “Oregon wind farms whip up noise, health concerns,” The Oregonian, March 26, 2009, http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/oregon_wind_farms_whip_up_nois.html. See also Dan Gunderson, “Wind turbine noise concerns prompt investigation,” Minnesota Public Radio, August 4, 2009, http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/03/wind-turbine-noise.
11 Vaclav Smil, “A Reality Check on the Pickens Energy Plan,” environment360, August 25, 2008, http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2058.
12 The math here is simple: 40,000 miles times 5,280 feet/mile times 100 feet equals 21.1 billion square feet. Divide by 27.9 million square feet per square mile to get approximately 750 square miles. Data on rights-of-way from American Transmission Company, “Property Values,” n.d., http://www.atcllc.com/PropertyValues.shtml. For Rhode Island info, see “U.S. States (plus Washington, D.C.): Area and Ranking,” n.d., http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/area.shtml.
13 Los Angeles Times, “Regulators Approve $1.9 Billion Power Line,” December 19, 2008, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/19/business/fi-sunrise19.
14 Desert Protective Council, “Big Solar,” February 26, 2009, http://www.dpcinc.org/_bigsolar.shtml.
15 Miriam Raftery, “Courts Likely to Overturn Sunrise Powerlink Approval, Consumer Attorney Predicts to Crowd of 600 Protestors in Alpine,” East County Magazine, April 8, 2009, http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/856.
16 Robert Bryce, Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron (New York: PublicAffairs, 2002), 241.
17 For Senate dates, see Wikipedia, “Phil Gramm,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Gramm.
18 Lisa Sorg, “Power Play,” San Antonio Current, October 30, 2003, http://www.sacurrent.com/columns/story.asp?id=57671. For info on Government Canyon, see “Government Canyon State Natural Area,” n.d., http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/government_canyon/. Visitors to Government Canyon should request a chat with interpreter/peace officer/all-around good guy John Koepke.
19 See “StopNYRI.com: What You Can Do Today,” n.d., http://www.stopnyri.com/towns.php.
20 Kate Galbraith, “Environmentalists Sue Over Energy Transmission Across Federal Lands,” New York Times, July 8, 2009, http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/environmentalists-sue-over-energy-transmission-across-federal-lands/?hp.
21 Earthjustice.org has the entire July 7, 2009, complaint online at http://www.earthjustice.org/library/legal_docs/final-complaint-energy-corridors.pdf.
22 Map of project from Lower Colorado River Authority, available at http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/22/WEB0722lcrapowerlinesfinal3.html.
23 Asher Price, “In the Line of Ire,” Austin American-Statesman, July 22, 2009, http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/22/0722wind.html.
24 Laura Hancock, “BLM OKs Milford Wind Project,” Deseret News, October 21, 2008, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705256822,00.html.
25 All data provided by personnel who worked on the Milford project. Note that in addition to the massive amounts of steel and concrete needed for the project, it also consumed about 700 tons of copper, or about 2.3 tons per megawatt. When accounting for wind’s intermittency, that means that each reliable megawatt of wind-power capacity requires about 6.9 tons of copper.
26 Per F. Peterson, “Issues for Nuclear Power Construction Costs and Waste Management,” September 16, 2008, http://www.ostp.gov/galleries/PCAST/PCAST%20Sep.%202008%20Peterson%20slides.pdf, 4. Wind’s resource intensity is also far greater than coal’s. Peterson’s report says that coal requires 98 tons of steel and 160 cubic meters of concrete per megawatt of capacity. That means that wind power’s steel requirements are 4.7 times as great as those of a coal plant, and its concrete requirements are 5.4 times as great as those of a coal plant.
27 Rybczynski, “The Green Case for Cities.”
28 “A Pragmatic Response to Climate Change,” October 26, 2009, http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/26/pm-whole-earth-q/.
29 David Case, “Texas Oil Tycoon Tackles Renewable Energy,” Fast Company, May 9, 2008, http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/126/a-mighty-wind.html.
30 The entire STP facility covers 12,000 acres. STP Nuclear Operating Company, “About Us,” n.d., http://www.stpnoc.com/About.htm. The math is straightforward: 12,000 acres is equal to 48 million square meters. The plant produces 2.7 billion watts. Thus 2,700,000,000 / 48,000,000 = 56.2.
31 Based on author calculations. Assumes that the average U.S. gas well produces 4.8 million Btu per hour. Converted to electricity (assuming a loss of two-thirds of the heat energy), that yields about 470 kilowatts. Assuming each well covers 2 acres, it works out to about 235,000 watts per acre.
32 Here’s the math: 60,000 cubic feet = 60,000,000 Btu = 60,000 MJ, and 60,000 MJ / 86,400 = 694,444 W. So, 694,444 times 0.33 = 229,166 W, and 229,166 W / 746 W = 307 hp. Assuming a 2-acre well site: 307 / 2 = 153/5 hp per acre.
33 This definition of stripper well comes from ConocoPhillips, http://www.conocophillips.com/newsroom/other_resources/energyglossary/glossary_s.htm. Here’s the math: 10 bbls = 58,000,000 Btu, and 58,000 MJ / 86,400 seconds = 671, 296 W. So, 671,296 times 0.33 = 221,152 W (221 kW), and 221,152 / 746 = 297 hp. Again, assuming 2 acres: 297 / 2 = 148.5 hp per acre.
34 The calculations for the energy densities of the renewable sources is based on work done by Jesse Ausubel. See Ausubel, “The Future Environment for the Energy Business.”
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid.
37 Ibid.
Chapter 9
1 Global Wind Energy Council, “Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008,” http://www.gwec.net/index.php?id=92, 46.
2 When asked for data, officials at the American Wind Energy Association pointed to a report by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) that estimates possible carbon reductions. The report, “Analysis of Transmission Alternatives for Competitive Renewable Energy Zones in Texas,” dated December 2006, is available at http://www.ercot.com/news/presentations/2006/ATTCH_A_CREZ_Analysis_Report.pdf. The American Wind Energy Association officials also pointed to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy projecting that if wind power in the United States reached 20 percent of electricity generation, then some 825 million tons of carbon dioxide would be “saved.” See U.S. Department of Energy, “20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to US Electricity Supply,” May 2008, http://www.20percentwind.org/20percent_wind_energy_report_05-1 1-08_wk.pdf, 12.
3 Global Wind Energy Council, “Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008,” 46.
4 Lawrence J. Makovich, Patricia DiOrio, and Douglas D. Giuffre, “Renewable Portfolio Standards: Getting Ahead of Themselves?” Cambridge Energy Research Associates, February 2008, summary page.
5 Ibid., 14.
6 Keith Johnson, “Wind Power: Everything’s Bigger in Texas,” WSJ blogs, April 13, 2009, http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/04/13/wind-power-everythings-bigger-in-texas/.
7 Office of the Governor (Texas), “Gov. Perry Dedicates Desert Sky Wind Farm in Pecos County,” May 3, 2002, http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/4304/.
8 Lone Star Sierra Club, “Cool Texas: A 12-Step Plan for Meeting Electricity Needs That Is Good for Texas’ Economy ... and Our Climate
,” n.d., http://lonestar.sierraclub.org/Conservation/coolTexas2page.pdf.
9 Richard S. Dunham, “President Points to a Benefit for Texas,” Hearst Newspapers, June 25, 2009, http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/President_points_to_a_benefit_for_Texas.html.
10 Data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. See http://www.ercot.com/about/.
11 Electric Reliability Council of Texas, “ERCOT Response to US Rep. Joe Barton,” March 29, 2007, http://www.ercot.com/news/press_releases/2007/ERCOT_Response_to_Rep._Barton.html.
12 Electric Reliability Council of Texas, “Report on the Capacity, Demand, and Reserves in the ERCOT Region,” May 2009, http://www.ercot.com/content/news/presentations/2009/2009%20ERCOT%20Capacity,%20Demand%20and%20Reserves%20Report.pdf, 13.
13 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “Wind Powering America,” n.d., http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_installed_capacity.asp. Texas capacity numbers were current as of September 27, 2009.
14 Electric Reliability Council of Texas, “Report on the Capacity, Demand, and Reserves in the ERCOT Region,” 13.
15 Rowena Mason, “Wind farms produced practically no electricity during Britain’s cold snap,” Daily Telegraph, January 11, 2010, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/6957501/Wind-farms-produced-practically-no-electricity-during-Britains-col-snap.html.
16 Makovich et al., “Renewable Portfolio Standards,” 15.
17 Peter Lang, “Cost and Quantity of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Avoided by Wind Generation,” Carbon-sense.com, February 16, 2009, http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/wind-power.pdf, 5.
18 Renewable Energy Foundation, “Wind Power Study Reveals Hidden Cost and Reliability Issues,” press release, June 7, 2008, http://www.ref.org.uk/Files/pr.07.07.08.pdf. The full article, by James Oswald, Mike Raine, and Hezlin Ashraf-Ball, appeared in Energy Policy 36 (2008): 3212–3225, and is available at http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/wp-content/uploads/oswald-energy-policy-2008.pdf.