gy Notes // (Steven Hayward)
The latest energy news is the report from Lawrence Livermore Lab that they have made a potential breakthrough in fusion energy . This means that for the first time, they are able to extract more energy from a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it.
According to people who know the results, the US government facility’s fusion reaction produced approximately 2.5 megajoules (or 120 percent) of the 2.1 megajoules energy from the lasers. . .
Tomorrow is expected to be a formal announcement.
It is encouraging to see the progress, but it is important to remember that there are some limitations. First, fusion energy has been 50 years away for the past 50 years, according to the old cliche. I remember Lawrence Livermore Lab workers stating ten years ago that they were close to making the breakthrough. Although this may be the end of the road, there are still many engineering challenges that must be overcome before fusion can become affordable and commercially viable. In 2008, I visited the Max Planck Institute’s Munich fusion project. Their timeline for developing fusion energy was set to 2040, before they could hope to build the first practical, self-sustaining fusion reactor. The international ITER fusion project, which was based in France, was conceived in the 1980s. It was finally launched in 2006. However, principal construction of its small research reactor didn’t begin until 2020, more than 10 years after it was originally planned. ITER is the most expensive science project in human history. It is funded by seven countries, including the United States. There is still much to be done.
Ask yourself two additional questions: How fast will environmentalists oppose fusion energy despite the fact that it is free from the dangers of nuclear power? Remember that Paul Ehrlich once stated that a cheap and unlimited supply of energy, which fusion in theory promises will be, would be a disaster for humanity. I predict that environmentalists will voice their opposition to fusion energy after tomorrow’s announcement.
Next, think about how rent-seekers who currently receive billions of dollars in subsidies for wind and sun power will react to the possibility of cheap fusion power. It would be an understatement to say that “Not well” is not the right word. The planet-saving rent-seekers will try to impede the development of fusion fuel with regulatory and financial constraints using the same playbook that was used to thwart nuclear power 50 years earlier.
Currently, the conventional (meaning fossil fuel-based) energy recovery is still going strong. The most remarkable story is that a Biden White House official is mocking Wall Street over its opposition to expanding shale gas and oil production.
The refusal of US shale oil investors to increase drilling has been described by the White House’s chief energy advisor as “un-American”, even though Moscow’s invasion in Ukraine is causing havoc on global oil markets. Wall Street has been pressuring US oil companies to funnel record profits to investors this year, despite President Joe Biden’s repeated calls to pump more oil to curb rampant inflation.
“I find it outrageous that financiers would tell American companies not to increase production, to buy back shares and increase dividends while profits are at all time highs,” Amos Hochstein (President Biden’s international energy envoy) said. It is not only un-American, but it is also unfair to the American people. You want to pay dividends. You want to pay shareholders. If you want to receive bonuses, do so, too. You could do all that and still invest more. We want you to increase production and seize this moment.
Wall Street will always remember that shale overproduction caused large losses for investors a decade ago. Besides, it wasn’t that long ago when the Biden Administration announced its intention to shut down the shale oil & gas industry as soon and as possible. Do they think Wall Street is stupid or not? John Kemp, a London-based energy analyst, comments:
It is common for policymakers to appeal to patriotism or decry its absence. This usually means that they are running out of good arguments. When I hear arguments that are based on patriotism or its variants, it is usually because they lack good arguments. I try to figure out why someone is trying to mislead me or distract from my own failures.
Finally, coal continues to make a comeback
KOLKATA (Reuters) – Coal India’s chairman said Monday that they will increase spot auctions of the fuel because of Coal India’s increasing output. This is to meet growing demand from non-utility power stations.
Spot auction sales, which offer higher margins that its mainstay long-term contracts will allow Coal India to continue its record profit and maintain its share price. This has helped Coal India increase its share price by 25%, surpassing a 5.9% increase in the Nifty index.
That’s it for the whole “decarbonization” thing.
