- Wind Power Facts and Trends 2015 link
- Why California Electricity Costs More than US Average link
- A Perfect Correlation - US Electricity Price v Consumption link
- California Electricity Rates - Residential - Not That High link
- Designing an Electrical Grid From Scratch link
The most-viewed articles from 2016 all have a common theme: electricity in California. These were prompted by articles, and the comments on those articles, in various publications. It is appalling to me that so many people write on such issues when their knowledge is very poor. They typically opine that California's huge investment in wind and solar power production is responsible for high electricity prices; that is absolutely wrong. They also opine that California is nuts to install wind and solar, because the electrical grid will have frequent blackouts; that also is absolutely wrong. They offer statements on the high costs of installing wind turbines and the low productivity from wind turbines; both are absolutely wrong. My articles above provide factual data from reputable authorities.
Most important issues in 2016:
- President Trump and the Future of American Oil
- This Battery is a Game Changer
- Nuclear Radiation Illness in Japan after Fukushima Dai-Ichi Meltdown
- A Few Excellent Reasons To Oppose Nuclear Power Plants
- A Perfect Correlation - US Electricity Price v Consumption
- The Case Against Carbon Dioxide - Fatal Flaws
- USCRN Shows Slight Warming in 2015
In my view, 2016 had a number of very important issues; the list above is for those that have articles on SLB. The most important, by far, was the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States. His pragmatic, data-driven views on many subjects will finally halt the agenda-driven progress that has stifled the US and much of the world for far too long. In particular, President Trump is not duped by the false narrative that the global climate is overheating due to man's consumption of fossil fuels. The article above, President Trump and the Future of American Oil, also discusses how President Trump could negotiate and profoundly affect world affairs with the oil from just one oil field known as The Wolfcamp. (20 to 50 billion barrels of shale oil, potentially wiping out OPEC).
The second article, This Battery Is A Game Changer, is about the novel battery for grid-scale electricity storage that is under development by a California company, BioSolar Inc. The battery would revolutionize power grids by storing excess power from wind and solar, then releasing the power into the grid in load-following mode. This is the battery we have been waiting for.
The third article, Nuclear Radiation Illness in Japan after Fukushima Dai-Ichi Meltdown, shows there has been, and continues to be, human suffering from radiation sickness in Japan. This is part of a long-running controversy about nuclear power plants, whether or not their operation causes any excess diseases. Nuclear proponents, or cheerleaders, of course claim that the plants are safe and no one gets diseases. The facts show quite the opposite.
The fourth article, A Few Excellent Reasons To Oppose Nuclear Power Plants, see link, was a comment I wrote in response to a challenge by a commenter at WUWT, Watts Up With That blog, related to nuclear power. Anthony Watts' blog (WUWT) is widely read with a huge following worldwide. Most of the commenters, it appears, are pro-nuclear but are woefully ill-informed on the subject. Much like the false-alarmism of climate change or global warming, there is a concerted effort in the nuclear power industry to over-sell the technology by ignoring, downplaying, and falsifying the vast number of negative issues and facts. I am continually amazed by how many people dig deep into the data and misrepresentations put forth by the climate alarmists, yet accept the nuclear power industry's misrepresentations without challenge.
The fifth article, A Perfect Correlation - US Electricity Price v Consumption, was also one of the most-viewed articles from above. As with every article on SLB, hard data from reputable sources - in this case, from US Energy Information Agency - put the lie to California having high electricity prices because of renewable energy investments. This article shows that nationwide, residential electricity prices are almost perfectly correlated with annual electricity consumption per customer (r-squared of 0.9997). California price is on the high end of the range, but the specific consumption (kWh/yr/customer) is very low. California's unique climate results in low electricity use per customer, but the state has a very large infrastructure that must be paid for. Each kWh sold therefore has a higher price because so few kWh are sold each year on a per-customer basis. In contrast, the low prices in the US Southeast are due to very high consumption per customer and small infrastructure. When one obtains an almost perfect correlation using actual data, there can be no argument over the cause. The anti-renewables crowd refuses to accept this; but science and statistics are not swayed by their acceptance or not.
The fifth article, A Perfect Correlation - US Electricity Price v Consumption, was also one of the most-viewed articles from above. As with every article on SLB, hard data from reputable sources - in this case, from US Energy Information Agency - put the lie to California having high electricity prices because of renewable energy investments. This article shows that nationwide, residential electricity prices are almost perfectly correlated with annual electricity consumption per customer (r-squared of 0.9997). California price is on the high end of the range, but the specific consumption (kWh/yr/customer) is very low. California's unique climate results in low electricity use per customer, but the state has a very large infrastructure that must be paid for. Each kWh sold therefore has a higher price because so few kWh are sold each year on a per-customer basis. In contrast, the low prices in the US Southeast are due to very high consumption per customer and small infrastructure. When one obtains an almost perfect correlation using actual data, there can be no argument over the cause. The anti-renewables crowd refuses to accept this; but science and statistics are not swayed by their acceptance or not.
The sixth article, The Case Against Carbon Dioxide - Fatal Flaws, is yet another article in the long series on why false-alarmism on global warming is in fact, false. One of the bedrock principles of science, any science, is correct attribution of causation to any observed phenomenon. The Fatal Flaws article presents and discusses seven actual causes that result in positive temperature trends over time in cities. None of those seven are increased Carbon Dioxide, CO2. The only way to correctly measure atmospheric temperature trends is to completely exclude measurements from cities and other non-pristine sites.
The seventh and final article, USCRN Shows Slight Warming in 2015, also relates to the global warming issue. As expected and widely written about, the El Niño event in 2015 caused a slight increase in the annual average temperature across the US. The declining temperature trend from 2005-2014 was slowed by the El Niño. However, it is also expected that the temperatures will continue dropping as the years unfold and the El Niño fades into history.
The seventh and final article, USCRN Shows Slight Warming in 2015, also relates to the global warming issue. As expected and widely written about, the El Niño event in 2015 caused a slight increase in the annual average temperature across the US. The declining temperature trend from 2005-2014 was slowed by the El Niño. However, it is also expected that the temperatures will continue dropping as the years unfold and the El Niño fades into history.
Roger E. Sowell, Esq.
Marina del Rey, California
copyright (c) 2017 by Roger Sowell - all rights reserved
Marina del Rey, California
copyright (c) 2017 by Roger Sowell - all rights reserved
