[ausev] AusEV Digest, Vol 31, Issue 8

[Carey King]

Keep in mind that what is best for any individual company or investor in 
the US is not the same as what as is best strategically for the US as a 
whole. The market system is simply not organized to have the collective 
interests of the US, as a country, in mind. Look at China to see the 
difference as their companies and government work together to secure 
access to minerals (i.e. copper, zinc, etc.) in Africa.  This is not to 
say that the market cannot be structured in a way such that companies 
move more aligned in the interest of any particular country or the 
collective world, but that they are currently not set up this way.  Of 
course, whether you like it or not, this is what a worldwide price on 
carbon would move toward - by definition force countries to have their 
individual interests more inline with that of the collective world.

Note how countries that have little access to resources (Germany and 
Japan) are the ones most proactive on solar PV and other renewable 
policies. Also note how those countries were punished in the past for 
pursuing to take too much from others (e.g. losing WW II).  You could 
argue that the US has inherently subsidized the current PV industries of 
Japan and now Germany.

Carey

Joby Wieser wrote:
>
> John,
>
>  
>
> It’s easy to say “We should develop alternative energy”, but how do 
> you propose that would happen?   The PV industry has been working hard 
> for that cost /KW manufacturing breakthrough that would make solar 
> cost effective for 40 years with very slow improvement.  The Wind 
> farms only work in certain areas and they are far far away from 
> population centers which is why T Boone wants the Feds to get into the 
> transmission line business and even if he gets it built there still 
> has to be a conventional power plant idling on line to back up the 
> wing generation because sometimes the wind just stops blowing like it 
> did for an hour this last march which triggered a capacity emergency 
> that came very close to tripping off large interruptible customers.  
> As Wind generation becomes a larger percentage of the total generation 
> mix this problem will increase without higher levels of spinning reserve.
>
>  
>
> The bottom line is that the only economic alternative to fossil fuels, 
> Is Fission fuel. Nuclear generation combined with an effective battery 
> technology allowing more people to use electric cars that would be 
> charged at night when demand is otherwise low is our best hope. 
>
>  
>
> Joby
>
>      
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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