Excellence in CleanTech Journalism
2GreenEnergy got off the ground in 2009, just as Stephen Lacey was assuming the exalted post of editor of Renewable Energy World, a huge website with which we’ve had a great deal of extremely positive and productive interaction over the years. The fact that this was Stephen’s first job out of college is testimony to how bright he is; he developed a rich understanding of the entire industry within the first year, and has been an extremely powerful voice in advocating for clean energy ever since.
One of the many things I’ll always remember about our long-standing collaboration (I interviewed him for two of my four books) is what he told me when I first spoke with him and asked him about the editorial policies at REW: “We advocate for renewables, and against nothing.” He went on to counsel me about what I was writing and submitting to his organization. “If you want to rail against the avowed enemies of renewables like the Koch Brothers or ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council), have at it, but you won’t find us doing the same.” Seemed fair enough, which I told him at the time.
Fast-forward seven years and we find Stephen at GreenTechMedia, arguably the most venerable institution in cleantech journalism. Here’s his most recent article Stem CTO: Lithium-Ion Battery Prices Fell 70% in the Last 18 Months, on the plunging costs of lithium ion batteries and what that means to a world trying desperately to right its ship in terms of environmental sustainability. It doesn’t get much better.
Has it been determined whether the world’s supply of lithium is sufficient to produce battery capacity sufficient to make renewables reliable?
Hi Frank,
The world has truly vast reserves of lithium. However, lithium is not the ultimate but rather a stepping stone in the evolution of superior ESD technology. ESD technology is receiving massive investment support for R&D.
I believe, in the next decade we will see astonishing improvements in ESD capacity.
I hope that you’re right. Energy storage would be helpful regardless of the type of power source we use.
Here is part of a post I found on bravenewclimate.com:
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I have actually scripted a couple of ads along those lines, only from the opposite perspective; dissatisfied RE customers faced with melting ice cubes and steaming-hot homes calling an alternate electric supplier, a nuclear plant. These things practically write themselves. Here’s an unformatted cut-and-paste of what I wrote 2 years ago:
OPENING SHOT: Door opens. Woman walks through, closes door, fans herself while looking around as if it’s very hot. She moves to a thermostat on the wall.
THERMOSTAT SHOT: Thermostat shows 87 degrees.
FACE SHOT: Woman, with visible perspiration, dials her phone.
OPERATOR #1: “Green Power Company, your Greenpeace-approved electric supplier. How can we help you today?”
WOMAN: “I’m home and my air conditioning isn’t working.”
OPERATOR #1: “Yes, we’re having an overcast day and the solar panels aren’t working well. We’ve had to cut back customers to avoid blackouts.”
WOMAN: “But what do I do? It’s too hot in here to do anything.”
OPERATOR #1: “We’re forecast to have power later tonight when the wind picks up.”
WOMAN: “But what do I do until then? I need to make dinner.”
OPERATOR #1: “I’m sorry, we’ll have your air conditioning on as soon as we have more power. But thanks for using Green Power Company, your Greenpeace-approved electric supplier.”
CUT TO SHOT: 2-liter of nondescript soda hits the counter. Shortly, a glass comes down next to it.
CUT TO SHOT: View from the inside of freezer door being opened, starting with totally dark frame. Woman removes ice-cube tray. Door closes, frame goes dark again.
CUT TO SHOT: Closeup of ice-cube tray. Ice cubes are obviously melted.
FACE SHOT: Woman, with visible irritation, dials her phone.
OPERATOR #1: “Green Power Company, your Greenpeace-approved electric supplier. How can we help you today?”
WOMAN: “My refrigerator isn’t getting power. My freezer is half-thawed!”
OPERATOR #1: “Yes, our wind power is low and we’ve run out of biogas. We’ve had to cut back customer loads to avoid blackouts.”
WOMAN: “But what do I do? All of my food will be ruined!”
OPERATOR #1: “We’ll have your freezer running again as soon as we have more power. But thanks for using Green Power Company, your Greenpeace-approved electric supplier.”
WOMAN: Rolls eyes, grimaces and emits a wordless sound of pure frustration. She starts punching things on her phone as the audio goes off.
VOICEOVER: “Is your Green power truly coming from renewable sources? If you’re not putting up with this, it’s a sure thing that most of your electricity actually comes from fossil fuels. This is called Greenwashing. Greenwashing may look good at first, but it’s no way to save the environment.”
WOMAN: Finishes punching things into her phone, holds it to her ear. Sound of ringing, phone picks up.
OPERATOR #2: “Thank you for calling Fermi Power Company, how can I help you?”
WOMAN: “I’m a Green Power customer, but they have my whole house shut down right now. They say this is to avoid blackouts, but I AM blacked out.”
OPERATOR #2: “I’m glad to help. Fermi Power runs our reactors day and night, rain or shine to give you the reliable power you need and deserve with zero air emissions. Can we sign you up?”
WOMAN: Smiles broadly. “Yes, PLEASE!”
FADE TO SHOT: Nuclear plant seen past trees swaying in the breeze
VOICEOVER: “Nuclear power. No coal, no gas, no waiting at the mercy of the weather. It’s the choice of climate scientists around the world.”
CUT TO SHOT: Dr. James Hansen appears on screen. “I’m Doctor James Hansen, and I endorse this message.”
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Here is the link:
https://bravenewclimate.com/2016/07/03/open-thread-25/#comment-460306