Wasn't he supposed to be instrumental in revolutionizing the way this country does energy? During the 2008 elections you could hardly watch a show without seeing a commercial where he expressed his commitment to getting this country free from foreign oil dependency, but not a peep since the election ended.

9/19/2010 2:01:25 PM

i figured he died or something

9/19/2010 2:11:09 PM

Welcome to TWW chit chat.

9/19/2010 2:11:53 PM

I'm pretty sure he was the victim of a viscous ox attack 2 years ago in Guatemala.

9/19/2010 2:12:45 PM

TBP owns a fuck-ton of natural gas futures, so he is mostly looking out for himself. Unfortunately for him, natural gas is not the way of the future for energy production.

I like his stand on wind energy. Then again, it takes a fuck-ton of turbines to equal the energy output of a coal or nuclear plant, and not every state has tons of wind corridors. He's influental, but his plans aren't the best.

9/19/2010 2:14:28 PM

The massive investment needed for his 10 state wide wind park hit rocks getting approval for the transmission lines. We want cheap, renewable energy - BUT NOT IN MY BACK YARD

It was later paired down to something like 40 turbines in North Texas. Last I heard they were in the process of building them, and he did put his money where his mouth is - he paid for like 13 or something and built them on his big @$$ ranch.

All his investment into Natural Gas, however, continues to be ignored by the general politic. No one cares that we can get it on US soil, it's in abundant supply, cheap, and most of the infrastructure is already available. If I lived in a city with natural gas lines I'd STRONGLY consider converting a civic or something. Only a few grand for the conversion, and you'd get that back just in the first year of tax credits - nevermind the savings on energy expenditure.

Ironically the one getting all the attention is solar. Never mind we can't actually make money, there's no current technology capable of storing even a fraction of the energy needed to make it through the night (although there has been some huge advancements in kinetic storage mediums) and the efficiency is abysmal.

Ultimately Pickens preached a turn from foreign investment, and a combination of wind, NG, solar, and sea power generation was his bridge to get us off oil. Here's hoping.

9/19/2010 2:17:19 PM

Quote :

"I'm pretty sure he was the victim of a viscous ox attack 2 years ago in Guatemala."

sounds like a sticky situation

9/19/2010 2:42:41 PM

Quote :

"TBP owns a fuck-ton of natural gas futures, so he is mostly looking out for himself. Unfortunately for him, natural gas is not the way of the future for energy production. "

Natural gas IS the future of energy in this country. Utilities across the country are currently converting coal fired plants to run off of natural gas because natural gas is currently cheaper than coal once you factor in the cost of the scrubbers and fly ash cleanup. Also, natural gas produces three times as much energy as coal for the same amount of CO2 released. If cap and trade ever gets passed, coal will practically disappear in this country. The only reason cap and trade hasn't been passed is because of heavy lobbying from the coal industry.

If you think nuclear is going to make a comeback in this country, you are sorely mistaken. We'll never be able to build plants fast enough, and they're not economically viable because of the construction and long-term operating costs. Every utility in the nation is scared to death of the financial devastation that would come from a nuclear disaster.

Quote :

"The massive investment needed for his 10 state wide wind park hit rocks getting approval for the transmission lines. We want cheap, renewable energy - BUT NOT IN MY BACK YARD"

NIMBYISM wasn't the problem. Pickens expected the utilities to build the lines for free without any guarantee that turbine farms would ever be connected to them. I bet they are glad they didn't waste their money building transmission lines to nowhere.

Quote :

"Ironically the one getting all the attention is solar. Never mind we can't actually make money, there's no current technology capable of storing even a fraction of the energy needed to make it through the night (although there has been some huge advancements in kinetic storage mediums) and the efficiency is abysmal."

Solar thermal systems are incredibly efficient, and they have the ability to store energy to allow for ride-through periods during clouds and nighttime. More importantly, solar produces power when we actually need it - during the day. Solar technology is currently advancing similar to Moore's Law, so we could potentially see solar get cheaper than coal in 4 years.

9/19/2010 2:47:31 PM

Garage Sized Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators for all

9/19/2010 3:06:58 PM

Quote :

"Natural gas IS the future of energy in this country."

It's also the present. Look at a state like Rhode Island, which generates 99% of its electric power from natural gas:

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/energy_summary.cfm/state=RI

This reliance on fossil fuels will not change for Rhode Island and a number of other states anytime in the near future.

Quote :

"If you think nuclear is going to make a comeback in this country, you are sorely mistaken."

Many factors affect new nuclear power plant construction in the United States: rising costs, the regulatory environment, community opposition to new reactors, reactor design changes, and relatively low-priced competing fuels. But a number of existing plants are expanding. Current projections show that we should reach the power output equivalent of about six new nuclear power plants by 2035.

And only about ten states get <50% of their electric power generation from fossil fuels. These states have made a significant commitment to nuclear power and/or have abundant hydropower resources. If we could just deregulate and build more efficiently, we could have more relatively safe and renewable nuclear power online within a few years--and we could enjoy a reliable power source that a number of other countries already do.

Quote :

"Solar thermal systems are incredibly efficient, and they have the ability to store energy to allow for ride-through periods during clouds and nighttime."

Actually, even the most advanced photovoltaic systems are quite inefficient.

Solar Power Efficiency Is Improving – Time To Get Off The Fence
Thu, Apr 15, 2010

Quote :

"One of the primary obstacles holding back the popularity of solar power was its efficiency rating. Consistently in the past, it was able to convert about five to fifteen percent of radiated energy into electricity depending on certain aspects of the overall install. That was then; today the advancements made in solar power technologies have been impressive and continue to evolve. The efficiency ratio has risen to upwards of forty percent. The problem is this progressive technology is not available at this time on a residential commercial scale."

http://www.renewablepowernews.com/archives/1293

Even the efficiency levels claimed in this article are questionable. And I'm not sure about your use of "thermal"; sometimes, individuals use it to mean "passive" solar. In any event, even the newer CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) panels, which are thinner and cheaper to produce, achieve <20% efficiency.

[Edited on September 19, 2010 at 10:25 PM. Reason : .]

9/19/2010 10:22:07 PM

I read that he got hit hard with the financial meltdown a few years ago.

9/19/2010 10:24:21 PM

he got hit in a traffic circle on hillsborough

9/19/2010 10:26:20 PM

i don't think eleusis was even talking about photovoltaic solar energy

9/19/2010 10:26:54 PM

^ Maybe not, but power generation is the topic.

9/19/2010 10:28:43 PM

i was just pointing out how you somehow got out of soapbox long enough to roll up in here acting like you're some sort of expert on the topic and you don't even know what thermal solar electric generating systems are.

[Edited on September 19, 2010 at 10:30 PM. Reason : cc]

9/19/2010 10:30:41 PM

that sounds like some cool shit

does this mean star trek was involved

9/19/2010 10:32:41 PM

Quote :

"i was just pointing out how you somehow got out of soapbox long enough to roll up in here acting like you're some sort of expert on the topic and you don't even know"

clearly you don't know hooksaw...

9/19/2010 10:33:00 PM

i do

that post was mainly to inform other readers who don't know any better of his stupidity

9/19/2010 10:35:20 PM

^^^^ and ^^ Actually, I know enough to know that people sometimes confuse certain terms. I'm not saying that's what he did.

And I have no doubt that I know more about the subject at issue than either of you. But I was just trying to share a little knowledge. My mistake.

9/19/2010 10:39:17 PM

[Edited on September 19, 2010 at 10:55 PM. Reason : not worth it]

9/19/2010 10:49:16 PM

^ Well, Mr. Industry Guy, feel free to disprove anything I posted. You can't, of course, because it's correct.

So, basically, it's not about me. It's about you and a couple of others being nut-riding assholes. That's all.

9/19/2010 10:56:02 PM

No, it's actually about you being a dumbass who doesn't know what you're talking about.

9/19/2010 11:01:22 PM

Quote :

"^ Well, Mr. Industry Guy, feel free to disprove anything I posted. You can't, of course, because it's correct. So, basically, it's not about me. It's about you and a couple of others being nut-riding assholes. That's all."

9/19/2010 11:04:03 PM

I don't need to disprove you're wrong because it's incredibly obvious that you did what you always do and just posted information from some other source without commenting on it or offering any insightful thoughts. And your sources are biased so they pretty much discredit themselves.

9/19/2010 11:06:20 PM

all i'm saying is eleusis says thermal solar systems are efficient and you came in here with your patented link/quote attack about some photovoltaic shit that no one was even discussing

get on topic, broski

9/19/2010 11:07:28 PM

Whatever Happened to Jeffrey Dalton

9/19/2010 11:08:23 PM

^^^^ Can you please contain your bullshittery in TSB?

[Edited on September 19, 2010 at 11:10 PM. Reason : .]

9/19/2010 11:10:21 PM

whatever happened to predictability? The news man, the paperboy, evening t.v.?

9/19/2010 11:14:28 PM

^x5 Just shut the fuck up, troll. You've revealed yourself with that post in particular.

I've conducted years of graduate research in the field. Much of it coming from personal interviews with industry experts. And most of what I offered in the post at issue was original thoughts from my own research.

Is government statistical data biased in this situation? I mean, it's pretty easy to measure the amount of natural gas that Rhode Island, for example, is using and fossil fuels that other states are using. Do you dispute the DOE numbers?

Again prove me wrong or shut the fuck up. You can't--but this, of course, is self-evident.

^^^^ Nobody cares.

^^^ And fuck you.

[Edited on September 19, 2010 at 11:29 PM. Reason : .]

9/19/2010 11:18:41 PM

Quote :

"^ Can you please contain your bullshittery in TSB?"

9/19/2010 11:19:58 PM

^ You don't.

9/19/2010 11:21:10 PM

Quote :

"^ Can you please contain your bullshittery in TSB?"

9/19/2010 11:21:47 PM

Quote :

"Nobody cares."

Quote :

"And fuck you."

Typical. That's about the most I expect you to debate.

9/19/2010 11:22:08 PM

Quote :

"^ Well, Mr. Industry Guy, feel free to disprove anything I posted. You can't, of course, because it's correct. So, basically, it's not about me. It's about you and a couple of others being nut-riding assholes. That's all."

9/19/2010 11:23:13 PM

Quote :

"^ Can you please contain your bullshittery in TSB?"

9/19/2010 11:24:01 PM

you guys about fucking done here?

9/19/2010 11:24:22 PM

I've already discredited you in this thread and numerous times in TSB. Until you can provide some original thoughts and not your copy/paste/bold quotes format, I feel no need to embarrass you further.

9/19/2010 11:26:05 PM

Quote :

"copy/paste/bold/insult quotes format"

Fixed.

9/19/2010 11:27:25 PM

9/19/2010 11:58:14 PM

The only real solution is to use energy more efficiently. Theres no way we can continue to use energy at our current rate. Even with nuclear fusion, we'd run into distribution problems.

9/20/2010 12:04:04 AM

9/20/2010 12:36:15 AM

Wow this blew up while I was gone...

And NeuseRvrRat is right - solar thermal is both viable and evolving. Didn't they just open a huge plant in the desert? But I'm not sure the exotic materials used are really viable for something like the roof of my house. Aren't they using liquid salt in those? And they're also using a huge patch of desert for that generation; not too space efficient (not that I give a flip; if it works I say we blanket the whole freaking thing and run over the environmental nuts huggin' cacti in the process.)

Photovoltaic, however, are receiving massive tax incentives, are available for easy installation on almost any structure, and are basically made of sand. And their efficiency sucks. If you're not in prime sun-grabbing position you'll never even make your initial investment back including the tax incentives - zero chance without them.

As simple as it sounds to put panels on every roof, turbines on the plains, and parabolics in the desert it's just not as cheap or space efficient as setting something on fire. We've been doing it a looong time and we're dang good at it.

And for what it's worth I think nuclear is a pipe dream - near endless power just sitting in launch tubes waiting to be put to domestic use. But the risk of being sued out of existence is an interesting driving force. Unrelated, but I have always wanted a small reactor built in or around my house - the NCSU reactor was freaking beautiful when they cranked it up.

9/20/2010 2:51:55 AM

I assume acquiring the fuel is quite hard as a civilian?

9/20/2010 2:56:07 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

9/20/2010 2:30:41 PM

i am always amazed at how many experts we have on TWW

9/20/2010 2:40:34 PM

He's bailing Eddie Sutton out of jail.

9/20/2010 2:51:11 PM

ITT:

9/20/2010 2:53:47 PM

Quote :

"Natural gas IS the future of energy in this country."

I'm not sure what percentage of American Natural gas production is currently produced by hydraulic fracturing, but it did seem like a lot of people were crowning it as the new best way to get natural gas (as opposed to drilling or however else they get it out of the ground). But the EPA is studying its effects on groundwater. Depending on what they find (based on good science plz) and if the political will is there it could potentially be made illegal or atleast severly regulated.

9/20/2010 3:24:34 PM

t. boone pickens is my hero. god bless t. boone pickens.

9/20/2010 3:54:29 PM

set em up

9/20/2010 4:08:39 PM