Comments on: Cheap Coal Is Dead

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0000

That makes sense. My money’s on that.

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:26:00 +0000

For some strange reason, more renewable energy gets build where electricity prices are high than where they are low. Here in Australia too. The state that had the highest electricity prices installed the most wind and solar capacity. It’s weird how it always seems to work like that. Must be some kind of conspiracy.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I think it has something to do with their ability to walk upside down on the bottom of the Earth.

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:50:00 +0000

i’m still skeptical. i hear it’s just a big conspiracy to create a one-world govt ruled by Australians. plus, last i heard, the world was flat, so why would they have diff seasons? ;D

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:47:00 +0000

i’m still nervous

… about coal, that is.

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:46:00 +0000

yeah… we had a post on it being as early as 2025 back in 2008: http://cleantechnica.com/2008/04/24/peak-coal-as-early-as-2025/

but as we all know, clean energy has been growing faster than projected.

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:44:00 +0000

Thanks a lot.

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:43:00 +0000

in 20 years, we could see a very transformed energy landscape.

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:41:00 +0000

Thanks, Ross!

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:40:00 +0000

perhaps.

By: Ross

Ross — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 10:37:00 +0000

Indeed although I haven’t visited Australia yet to experimentally confirm.

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 05:41:00 +0000

Of course, I expect Ross knows it’s winter here.

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 01:43:00 +0000

With competition from solar PV and and our carbon tax that started this month, Australia’s domestic coal use probably peaked last summer (it’s winter here now). As for Australia’s coal exports, Australia will keep exporting coal as long as people keep paying for it. The good news is that a lot of Australia’s exported coal is used in steel production and and at some point demand for new steel in drop in China and India and those countries will use more of their own scrap iron to meet their demand. So at some point, we will reach peak steel. We might be there now, but it’s very hard to say. (Several Australian mining companies are betting we aren’t there yet.)

By: Luke

Luke — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:35:00 +0000

Hi Bridget,
If you’re looking for more ‘user friendly’ turbines, take a look at some of the different types of wind turbines, such as VAWTs (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine), which don’t have a pivot point.

Specifically – the Darrieus & Savonius wind turbines which are more suited for urban areas.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 04:50:00 +0000

Well, don’t be a dope. Put some solar panels on your roof.

By: Middleageman46

Middleageman46 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:49:00 +0000

Hurray, Coal is dead.

I can’t wait for $0.35 per KW-H like in prosperous Denmark.

Especially with weeks of 110 degree weather in Tennessee…

By: jburt56

jburt56 — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Unfortunately coal may not stay dead. We’re still waiting to see if its fate is like that of Generalissimo Francisco Franco who Chevy Chase assured a nervous world was “still dead.”

By: Neil Blanchard

Neil Blanchard — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:53:00 +0000

That time cannot come soon enough! Electricity from renewables is the future, and our future hinges on how quickly we can make the switch.

Neil

By: Ross

Ross — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:43:00 +0000

According to wikipedia, computer says yes more or less.

UK peaked in 1913. Germany in 1958.
Canada in 1997.
USA in 1998.

China predicted in 2015 (by Energy Watch Group) US EIA predicts 2030 – the latter sounds to pessimistic given China’s planned cap on coal.
Australia in 2050 – bet it will peak long before that.

By: Daimon Sweeney

Daimon Sweeney — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:05:00 +0000

I know and love Google. This time asking here made more of a conversation, even including this exchange (and thanks for the link btw, which informs everyone). Don’t be a snob – there’s more than one way. And I like your comment below.