new use for old fishing boat

Quote: TheCesspit

This doesn't generate electricity. This stores energy where it's been generated elsewhere for later use. Which is a pretty important problem to solve for many renewable sources. It's a pretty neat answer on the face of it.

There's a reservoir in France (?) that is used as a battery... water is pumped back up into it when it's cheap and plentiful, then the hydro electric plant is run when a power surge is needed.

Molten salt towers are another way of storing energy long term.

That is the beauty of any hydro electric dam. Natural will keep on filling the reservoir and you can generate the power when it is convenient for you. This is what California sued BC Hydro about. They were buying cheap off peak power from the US grid rather than using the dam. When there were power shortages in California they would sell the power from the dam back at a premium price. They were making hundreds of millions of dollars.

The difference here is that they are using power to fill the reservoir, not nature. But I agree, that's the nice part about hydro. I hadn't realized that's what BC hydro was doing... smart move.

Quote: Nareed

What are the downsides? Cost? Maintenance? Dependability? Tides? What happens in a storm? That kind of thing.

All of these questions are relevant, and at the end of the day the ultimate arbiter of whether a particular type of alternative energy can survive in the marketplace is co$t. If it's cheap, it will thrive. If it's not cheap, it will die.

But one huge cost advantage that this boat (and windmills and solar power) have over oil & coal is: safety. Just consider that earlier this week a train with 3 million gallons of oil from North Dakota derailed in West Virginia on Monday, and the fire is still burning today (Wednesday). Yesterday, Exxon Mobil's oil refinery in Los Angeles exploded, and the explosion was as big as a 1.7 magnitude earthquake; I'm guessing Exxon's bill will be in the tens of millions, maybe much more. The accidents themselves are outrageously expensive to clean up, and the insurance premiums are also outrageously expensive. Private insurers won't insure nuclear power plants, so the U.S. federal government subsidizes nuke insurance.


Photo of the aftermath of Exxon Mobil's refinery explosion:

Quote: reno

But one huge cost advantage that this boat (and windmills and solar power) have over oil & coal is: safety. Just consider that earlier this week a train with 3 million gallons of oil from North Dakota derailed in West Virginia on Monday, and the fire is still burning today (Wednesday). Yesterday, Exxon Mobil's oil refinery in Los Angeles exploded, and the explosion was as big as a 1.7 magnitude earthquake; I'm guessing Exxon's bill will be in the tens of millions, maybe much more. The accidents themselves are outrageously expensive to clean up, and the insurance premiums are also outrageously expensive.

*ahem*



Yeah. Boat burns down and sinks, viola!, new reef. Wouldn't even need much attention, as I can't imagine it would be carrying a fuel load (maybe if they made them portable for whatever reason). But even if it was, we're talking minimal damage. Not exactly the case for most other form of generation.

Ideas like this boat give me hope that we can move further and further away from fossil fuels for our energy. However, our infrastructure seems so dominated by oil and gas is it just wishful thinking to imagine a world run by renewable sources of energy?

Quote: FrGamble

Ideas like this boat give me hope that we can move further and further away from fossil fuels for our energy. However, our infrastructure seems so dominated by oil and gas is it just wishful thinking to imagine a world run by renewable sources of energy?

There are two issues involved: producing energy and delivering it.

For the electric grid, and home and industrial use of electricity, the source of energy is not relevant to delivering it where it will be used, but it's relevant on how much energy can be delivered. This is well-illustrated by wind and solar energy.

For vehicles the energy source needs to be portable and last long enough for a given purpose. Right now there is no easy substitute for gas, natural gas, propane, diesel and jet fuel, or whatever other fossil fuels are used.

Electric cars perform very well, but lack range and take a long time to recharge. I can easily travel 700 kilometers on my conventional car without refilling. No electric car can match this. Jets these days can travel longer distances than ever, but an electric plane won't have either the range or the speed.

And then there's price...

Quote: FrGamble

Ideas like this boat give me hope that we can move further and further away from fossil fuels for our energy. However, our infrastructure seems so dominated by oil and gas is it just wishful thinking to imagine a world run by renewable sources of energy?

I have a religion question for you. God created the Earth, and humans are damaging God's creation via pollution, deforestation, etc. Shouldn't destroying God's precious creation be as serious a sin as any other sin? I'm glad that the current Pope has condemned climate change, but I don't recall the previous 2 Popes ever mentioning it (I might be wrong on that).

Moreover, I doubt most Catholic parishioners would ever equate the sin of pollution as being as significant as the sin of, say, murder, theft, or abortion. (Wasting Earth's resources is gluttony at its worst, right?) The Church has the opportunity to lead the discussion on humanity's role as stewards of God's creation, I just wish the Vatican would speak out more forcefully.

Quote: FrGamble

Ideas like this boat give me hope that we can move further and further away from fossil fuels for our energy. However, our infrastructure seems so dominated by oil and gas is it just wishful thinking to imagine a world run by renewable sources of energy?

Hopefully science can provide an answer.... ;)

And religion provide the inspiration.

Genesis 1:26 through 1:30. All of everything is ours to use. "Pollution" is a necessary byproduct. At one time, oxygen was a poison, wasn't it? Whether you follow evolution or creation, plants came first and O2 is their waste.

I'm (relatively) sure FrG will go into shades of grey, mostly focusing on intent. Accidently spilling bleach into a storm drain that wipes out the local hatchery - accident. Purposely doing the same to protest animal rights - sin.