Obama: Excessive pay ‘does offend our values’

[bkg]

I don't have a problem with wind farms, but they are not a reliable source of power.  They have to be backed up by traditional power plants which nullifies any gain from wind power.  Europe has the right idea in going with nuke plants.

I concur. Britain - one of the windiest places on earth - is failing w/ wind power. T. Boon Pickens abandoned his investment. I'm so frustrated at seeing all of these idle windmills as I drive down I35 or I80.

But since we're not allowed to recycle nuclear material, we have to have storage... which Yuka Mountain was supposed to handle, but I heard Obama nixed that. How sad is it that we're getting our ass handed to us on energy by the French?

[thundley4]

I concur. Britain - one of the windiest places on earth - is failing w/ wind power. T. Boon Pickens abandoned his investment. I'm so frustrated at seeing all of these idle windmills as I drive down I35 or I80.

But since we're not allowed to recycle nuclear material, we have to have storage... which Yuka Mountain was supposed to handle, but I heard Obama nixed that. How sad is it that we're getting our ass handed to us on energy by the French?

I posted in another thread that coal plants produce more radioactive waste than nuke reactors do.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste

[Alpha Mare]

Don't count T Boone out yet.

T. Boone Pickens seeks stimulus funds to convert trucks to natural gas

WASHINGTON – T. Boone Pickens said Tuesday that he's seeking as much as $28 billion from the economic stimulus plan to convert heavy-duty trucks from diesel to natural gas engines.
Pickens' latest lobbying effort comes as congressional Democrats negotiate details of the $800 billion package of tax cuts and government spending.

Pickens wants to see a pilot program that would convert about 350,000 heavy-duty trucks from diesel to natural gas engines. The effort would cost $75,000 per vehicle and create about 454,470 jobs, according to Pickens.

Pickens said he discussed his request Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller.

A Pelosi spokesman refused to provide details of the "private conversation."

http://current.com/items/91164876_t-boone-pickens-seeks-stimulus-funds-to-convert-trucks-to-natural-gas.htm

Oh yeah, and Pelosi invested in Boone's energy plan last year.

[thundley4]

Don't count T Boone out yet.
http://current.com/items/91164876_t-boone-pickens-seeks-stimulus-funds-to-convert-trucks-to-natural-gas.htm

Oh yeah, and Pelosi invested in Boone's energy plan last year.

If running trucks on natural gas is a worthwhile endeavor, then why haven't the auto makers just built them that way?  Wait, I know, that wouldn't allow Pickens to suck money from the government teat. It would likely drive the price of natural gas higher for those that use it to heat their homes. 

[NHSparky]

I hate windfarms. I drive through IA and NE a lot and they riddle the country side. Theoretically, that's really not an issue. But they kill more birds than Exxon could ever hope to, and it takes over 30 sq miles to put out the same electricity as a nuclear plant AT THEIR PEAK... But the NIMBY crowd, including the elites, is definitely affecting everythign these days.

EDIT: Fixorated for you.  And that's not even a larger nuclear power plant.  Most of the ones today were built during the 70's and have outputs anywhere between 700-900 MWe.  Larger/newer ones such as us, Palo Verde, and Watts Bar are putting out 1250 MWe.  Consistently.  100 percent, 100 percent of the time.

Can wind power make that promise?

[NHSparky]

I don't have a problem with wind farms, but they are not a reliable source of power.  They have to be backed up by traditional power plants which nullifies any gain from wind power.  Europe has the right idea in going with nuke plants.

Ah, job security.  Ain't it wonderful?

[Carl]

If running trucks on natural gas is a worthwhile endeavor, then why haven't the auto makers just built them that way?  Wait, I know, that wouldn't allow Pickens to suck money from the government teat. It would likely drive the price of natural gas higher for those that use it to heat their homes. 

If it is anything like the LP gas used in some farm tractors through the 60s then it is the least efficient fuel option there was.
Less BTU/gallon compared to gasoline or diesel.
Excessive costs of transportation and storage in pressurized tanks made it unfeasible unless very close to a source.

Diesel as a "heavy" fuel is ideal for heavy duty engines as it is slow combusting and therefore much more fuel efficient.

For comparisons of the different fuels in the same model tractor. http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/000/0/6/64-john-deere-4020-tests.html

No doubt in 2009 there have been advances in engine technology and ignition that may offset the differences some but you simply can`t alter the basic characteristic of the fuel.

[bkg]

EDIT: Fixorated for you.  And that's not even a larger nuclear power plant.  Most of the ones today were built during the 70's and have outputs anywhere between 700-900 MWe.  Larger/newer ones such as us, Palo Verde, and Watts Bar are putting out 1250 MWe.  Consistently.  100 percent, 100 percent of the time.

Can wind power make that promise?

Thanks for the correction, Sparky. I was thinking that when I typed it but forgot to add it in. Spot -on..