Jim Ulvog – Page 80 – Outrun Change

Environmental harm along with not-so-good financial results for thermal solar farms, part 2 – solar #8

(Photo by James Ulvog)

Previous post highlighted financial info about solar farms I learned from an article in the Canada Free Press dated 1-18-14: Hard Times Hit Large Scale Solar Energy.

This post describes new info I learned about the environmental damage from the Ivanpah solar farm.

Next post will paint a picture of how I’m guessing one solar farm was financed and discuss the prospects for future thermal farms.

Environmental harm

The article linked above goes into detail on the environmental damage from the Ivanpah project I’ve discussed before.

Melted wings

Continue reading “Environmental harm along with not-so-good financial results for thermal solar farms, part 2 – solar #8”

Visual of progress in last 40 years

Check out a post from Cafe Hayek using picture to show the progress for middle-America with Scenes from 1970s Middle-Class America.

I remember each of those five items from my childhood. I far prefer the far better, more capable, easier technology of today.

There is no better time to be alive than today!

More good stuff on the open frontiers – 2-7-14

More good stuff on the open frontiers of energy, space, education, and publishing. Good info but only time to summarize in a paragraph. A few tidbits:

Study claiming fracking causes cancer is totally bogus
Ambulance drones?
Primer on MOOCs
The 1st amendment applies to everyone, even bloggers

Publishing

1-17 – AP – Court: Bloggers have first amendment protections – I don’t understand the case, but the point appears to be that bloggers are recognized as having constitutional protection when addressing public issues or public persons. Very cool.

But then since I’m writing on a blog to discuss this article I obviously have a dog in this fight.

1-17 – The Volokh Conspiracy – Bloggers = Media for First Amendment Libel Law Purposes – That’s the headline from the attorney who represented the defendant. Here’s a quote from the court’s ruling: Continue reading “More good stuff on the open frontiers – 2-7-14”

Financial results not looking good for wing-toasters, part 1 – solar #7

I’ve been wanting to find some financial info for the operations of a solar farm.

Wow, did I hit the jackpot with an article from the Canada Free Press dated 1-18-14: Hard Times Hit Large Scale Solar Energy.

I will extract some of the financial tidbits and reorganize them.

Here’s the summary reason (broken into bullet points) why solar power plants aren’t getting built very fast:

Solar companies are going out of business because solar power is not economic without large government subsidies and incentives;

projects are being canceled because of lack of financing;

saving threatened or endangered species, such as the desert tortoise, is costing solar developers dearly; and

once built, solar developers are having difficulty in negotiating agreements to sell their power to utilities because solar power requires higher rates than what utilities pay for power from traditional energy sources.

General relationship of electricity costs

Continue reading “Financial results not looking good for wing-toasters, part 1 – solar #7”

Newest book on differences between audits, reviews, and compilations now available in print and for Nook

Print copy and Nook e-book are in addition to availability for the Kindle and another half-dozen formats.

audit review compilation cover for wordpress croped

The book is an intentionally short read at about 30 pages. The print copy has 20 pages of text. Focus is to quickly describe the differences between those levels of services using three illustrations: Continue reading “Newest book on differences between audits, reviews, and compilations now available in print and for Nook”

Some updates on bird fatalities at solar farms (solar #6)

K Kaufmann from The Desert Sun has a followup report to the article I discussed here and here. Newer report, which I just read recently, is from 11/22/13: What to do about bird deaths at solar and wind farms.

Regulatory compliance reports are summarized for the Ivanpah solar farm. Here’s the data:

September – 34 dead birds – 15 with melted wings
October – 53 dead birds – 22 with melted wings

The wing-toasting facility’s mortality count went up in October. Not quite the trend needed to argue solar farms aren’t hurting birds.

Continue reading “Some updates on bird fatalities at solar farms (solar #6)”

Impact from another field in the shadows of Permian and Eagle Ford

The team at University of Texas San Antonio’s Center for Community and Business Research are busy, busy, busy.

The team just released a new study: Economic Impact of Oil and Gas Activities in the West Texas Energy Consortium Study Region . This one looks at the area adjacent to and just east of the Permian Basin.

Continue reading “Impact from another field in the shadows of Permian and Eagle Ford”

Reasons unknown why so many migratory birds are showing up dead at solar farms (solar #5)

Opening photo is of a feet-up bufflehead duck 25 miles from the nearest water.

Where was he? Between two rows of solar panels at the Genesis Solar farm in the California desert.

Condition? Decomposing. He is feet-up, as I said.

Cause of death? Unknown. Your guess is as good as the reporter’s.

Chris Clarke reports in ReWire on 7-17-13: Water Birds Turning Up Dead at Solar Projects in the Desert.

Continue reading “Reasons unknown why so many migratory birds are showing up dead at solar farms (solar #5)”

13 items in a 1991 Radio Shack ad fit in your phone today with a 90% drop in cost to buy the capabilities

Steve Cichon read through a stack of local papers from the first quarter of 1991 and discovered Everything From 1991 Radio Shack Ad I Now Do With My Phone.

Compression of size

In 23 years, all of the following products fit inside a phone: Continue reading “13 items in a 1991 Radio Shack ad fit in your phone today with a 90% drop in cost to buy the capabilities”

Palen solar farm on hold – solar #4

I’m slowly catching up on the happenings in the solar industry. In my research for this series of articles, I’ve learned the Palen Solar Electric Generating System was put on hold by the California Energy Commission this past December.

If you think I’m slow on the uptake, keep in mind the purpose of this blog is to learn what’s going on around me. I may be a slow learner but I’m learning.

Joshua Hill explains at Clean Technica on 12/20/13: California Blocks Another Concentrated Solar Power Project. Continue reading “Palen solar farm on hold – solar #4”

What strange, mysterious, magical force is loose that increased US production of both oil and gas by one-third in six years?

Is it targeted federal subsidies? Breakthrough law from the Congress? Socialist industrial policy? Keynesian monetary policy? Blockbuster documentary from Hollywood that changed minds across the country? More support for college loans? A landmark special on network TV? Quantitative Easing?

No. It’s none of those things.

Barron’s is pondering the question as well: The Secret of U.S. Energy Success.

Federal subsidies have produced a substantial increase in some things. The editorial provides a partial list. Subsidies have given us…

..our national surpluses of grain, milk, unemployment, nonprofit companies, disabilities, and mortgage debt.

Those subsidies didn’t produce the massive increase in oil production in Bakken and Eagle Ford.

The best paragraph from the editorial: Continue reading “What strange, mysterious, magical force is loose that increased US production of both oil and gas by one-third in six years?”

Background of Ivanpah solar farm – solar #3

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a huge solar farm in California near the Nevada border. It is quite visible just north of I-15 a few miles south of the border. An article at the Washington Post by Lenny Bernstein provides a lot of background on the solar farm: Solar on a grand scale: Big power plants coming online in the West.

All photos in this post are of the Ivanpah solar farm and were taken by me in October 2013. Photo above shows one tower in operation and the lake-like mirrors around it.

Since I expect to be writing about Ivanpah and other thermal solar facilities in the future, here’s some of the general background from the 1,500 word article.

Operational description

Mirrors reflect sunlight to one of three towers, which heats the tower to 1,000 degrees. The tower glows white-hot when in operation. Continue reading “Background of Ivanpah solar farm – solar #3”

You want to succeed in your career? Invest in yourself.

That’s the extended point made by Tony Nitti in a New Years’ post at Going Concern – This Year, Resolve to Finally Decide What You Want To Be When You Grow Up in Public Accounting.

This article is cross-posted from my other blog, Attestation Update. While the focus of the article is people working in public accounting, the point applies to every single person who has a job – invest in yourself.

Don’t rely on the networking, hand-shaking, going-out-for-drinks-after-work schmoozing, and drumming up new business to get where you want. (Those things are important in public accounting and many other fields.) Although you may have to get really good at those things, the first priority is to invest in your skills and knowledge.

Oh, as expected for any Going Concern post, there is a fair amount of naughty language and word pictures. Just letting you know.

Three superb comments: Continue reading “You want to succeed in your career? Invest in yourself.”

Solar farms = wing-toasters (part 2, solar #2)

Previous post started a discussion of the danger solar farms pose to migratory and other birds.

This pair of posts is based on an article in My Desert on 11/9/13 by K Kaufmann of The Desert Sun: Palen project raises concerns across Coachella Valley.

A few of the known fatalities

Some comments from the article referenced above –

Thermal farm damage:

Of the 34 birds reported dead or injured at Ivanpah in September, 15 had melted feathers.

Dozens of other bird carcasses, not singed but with critical injuries, have been found in recent months at two solar projects about to go online…

Continue reading “Solar farms = wing-toasters (part 2, solar #2)”

Solar farms = wing-toasters (part 1, solar #1)

The photo is of a dead northern rough-winged swallow.

Gloved hands extend the wings. There’s something odd.

Many of the feathers are gone. With the wings spread out, all that’s visible is the torso and charred spines where the wings should be. Looks like they were cut off.

Or burned off.

What could toast the wings off a swallow?

Continue reading “Solar farms = wing-toasters (part 1, solar #1)”