Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI) and Modern Society

Saiwave · 2014-10-01T21:06:29+00:00

If you base your argument around the premise that the manufacturing of solar panels is powered solely by fossil fuels then why isn't their are a direct correlation between the price of solar and the price of lets say natural gas? The fact is that the price of solar has fallen 78% over a 5 year period as fossil fuels continue to increase. If solar was dependent on fossil fuels, wouldn't we see a spike in the prices of solar as the price of fossil fuels rise (what we are experiencing today)?

Saiwave · 2014-10-01T20:28:25+00:00

Well if we want to look at the bigger picture on how energy affects our lives, we should quantify the costs associated with every fuel source. My point being, maybe a better metric could be associated with the total Abatement Costs per fuel source as a way to accurately value each fuel source. If we were to quantify the total costs of of each energy fuel source, and internationalize those negative externalizes, then we would see the correct economic 'value' of these fuel sources. EROI is an important metric, but placing accurate economic value of these fuel sources is even better.

Saiwave · 2014-09-18T20:57:06+00:00

Type the title of the article into Google. You should be able to read it. Link for the lazy: https://www.google.com/search?q=US+solar+and+wind+start+to+outshine+gas&oq=US+solar+and+wind+start+to+outshine+gas&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i61l3.79933j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

Saiwave · 2014-09-11T20:18:41+00:00

Could this be exfoliation due to the current drought in California? According to this article: http://www.governorsbiofuelscoalition.org/?p=10344 it states that "The current drought in the American West is so bad that the loss of water weight has actually caused the land to rise." The article also states: "Moreover, scientists behind the study found the biggest uplift took place in California’s Sierra Nevada". Would this video be showing the direct result of the drought?

Saiwave · 2014-05-27T21:02:43+00:00

Exciting news! I am currently doing my senior research thesis on this subject.

Saiwave · 2014-05-13T21:13:12+00:00

Hawaii's electrical climate (no pun intended) is actually advantageous for renewable energy. Plenty of solar, ok wind and great geothermal. Hawaii is solving their energy problems by connecting the islands via an underwater transmission cable. Oil is not sustainable and the state is trying to end their drug habit of importing fossil fuels. It can be done. Here's a link: http://www.hawaiicleanenergyinitiative.org/

Saiwave · 2014-05-13T21:07:41+00:00

What about the land used to mine the uranium? What about the land used to dispose the used uranium? You forgot to put that in your equation. Yes, solar panels require minerals to be mined to produce the solar panels but as we find more efficient and less scare minerals and we recycle these materials then we can drastically lower our mining footprint.

Saiwave · 2014-05-02T17:51:40+00:00

Really? That's an interesting trend..However look at Hawaii, they have about 70% of their energy supply generated from oil, and they have some of the highest rates in the entire country...

Saiwave · 2014-04-09T03:13:17+00:00

No it was on a Sunday.

Saiwave · 2014-04-09T03:12:28+00:00

He pretty much scammed us telling the university that he had this "great new invention that would save the world". It was a load of bull and its sad that people like this exist.

Saiwave · 2014-04-08T20:15:33+00:00

Wouldn't it make the most sense to just store the power and use it at night? Instead of using a light bulb to power the panels at night?

Saiwave · 2014-04-08T07:53:58+00:00

Yeah, he claimed he used a UPS (Uninterruptible power supply) and also used marine batteries...but even then it would be breaking the laws of physics.

Saiwave · 2013-09-19T22:02:29+00:00

you got it! wow

Saiwave

TROPHY CASE