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Talk About Tulsa => Development & New Businesses => Topic started by: sgrizzle on August 27, 2007, 07:30:44 AM

Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: sgrizzle on August 27, 2007, 07:30:44 AM
Anyone see the full page ad in Sunday's World?
http://tulsaworld.com/TWPDFs/2007/Final/W_082607_A_5.pdf

Their website:
http://www.knowyourpower.net/


Is this the group funded by chesapeake or someone else?

Does PSO have another "Black Fox" kind of opposition on their hands?
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: RecycleMichael on August 27, 2007, 08:32:56 AM
It is interesting to see a natural gas company fight an energy company over the use of coal.

Chesapeake has great wealth and has proven willing to spend it to convince Oklahomans that we should be making electricity from natural gas.

They have even partnered with many environmental groups to get out this message. That makes for some strange bedfellows.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: sgrizzle on August 27, 2007, 09:14:41 AM
What I really want to see is Chesapeake partner with a mexican restaurant.

Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: cannon_fodder on August 27, 2007, 09:38:54 AM
I'd be all about a nuke plant.

Proven safe (no US fatalities and less injuries than coal fire plants), no emissions (think dirty air list free), and cheap power.  If politicians would get out of the way, we even have a site built (costing billions) to store the waste in Nevada.

I'd be happy to have a nuclear power plant near Tulsa.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: Townsend on August 27, 2007, 10:44:37 AM
quote:
Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I'd be all about a nuke plant.

Proven safe (no US fatalities and less injuries than coal fire plants), no emissions (think dirty air list free), and cheap power.  If politicians would get out of the way, we even have a site built (costing billions) to store the waste in Nevada.

I'd be happy to have a nuclear power plant near Tulsa.



+1
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: rwarn17588 on August 27, 2007, 11:06:17 AM
I'm on board with Chesapeake on this.

The prevailing winds would take the smoke from that coal-fueled power plant right over Tulsa.

That's all we need: more smog on top of what we already have.

Switching to a cleaner-burning fuel like natural gas makes a helluva lot more sense -- especially since you don't have to ship it from halfway across the country.

I'm OK with nuclear except for one thing -- you screw up with the reactor, hundreds of square miles will pay for it for centuries.

If AEP really wanted to think out of the box, I'd put one or two of these babies in the Panhandle:

http://advancednano.blogspot.com/2007/07/1-gigawatt-wind-turbine.html
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: cannon_fodder on August 27, 2007, 11:33:55 AM
True Rwarn, but that hasnt ever happened.  The worst (Chernobyl) wasn't even THAT bad and it was the most assbackward plant design with no safety features that Russia could come up with.  3 Mile Island never actual leaked radiation.  In the 50 years of nuclear power in the US the public has never been exposed to hazards - every coal plant exposes people every day.

No reason to be complacent, but certainly a good reason to reconsider the technology.  Not to mention the current plants are 30++ years old and will have to start shutting down soonish... do you have any idea what replacing them with coal would do to emissions/coal prices?

Something will have to happen outside of the box, that's for sure.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: Conan71 on August 27, 2007, 01:45:07 PM
Poor timing to build a coal plant with all the bad press they are recieving vis-a-vis global warming, even with the "ultra-clean" technology.

Still not a "smoke" issue though.  Drive past the GRDA coal-fired plant off 412 or the AEP/PSO plant at Oologah.  No smoke, lots of steam from the boilers and cooling towers.  That's a bogus argument being put forth by Chesapeake.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: rwarn17588 on August 28, 2007, 09:48:17 AM
Another reason to dislike coal-fired power plants: toxic coal ash, which becomes even more useless and toxic when you inject the chemicals into it to make coal pollute the air less.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/26/ap4054580.html
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: waterboy on August 28, 2007, 09:56:32 AM
quote:
Originally posted by rwarn17588

Another reason to dislike coal-fired power plants: toxic coal ash, which becomes even more useless and toxic when you inject the chemicals into it to make coal pollute the air less.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/26/ap4054580.html



Recent studies (as per yesterday on NPR) are showing birds that eat spiders instead of fish are showing up with high concentrations of mercury which is affecting their reproduction. Previously it was thought that mercury was only concentrated in fish. The mercury comes from coal powered energy producers.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: sgrizzle on September 10, 2007, 03:18:11 PM
Supposedly, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has denied the application for this plant.

I saw a TV ad during Nascar. Talk about trying to reach a wide audience.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: Chicken Little on September 10, 2007, 04:57:05 PM
quote:
Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I'd be all about a nuke plant.
Did you see that doc, "Crude Awakening:  The Oil Crash (//%22http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0776794/%22)"?  It was ostensibly about peak oil, but the bigger picture is the conundrum we are going to be in for the next 50 years...there just aren't any good alternatives for limitless, cheap, energy, and nothing on the horizon.  One guy noted that nuclear is a bridge at best.  If we started using it as a coal replacement we'd exhaust uranium supplies in a matter of decades.  I'd never thought about it, but nuclear is finite, too.  They didn't like biomass or wind; they're sustainable, but produce unrealistically small supplies.  

Interestingly, the only ray of hope that any of them offered was the sun (pun intended).  It's the only resource with virtually unlimited potential.  But to date, all the solar cells we've created would cover about 2 1/2 square miles...and we'd need to create something that would cover an area half the size of California (75,000 sq mi) just to keep up with today's demand.  So we are only 0.003% where we need to be.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: rwarn17588 on September 10, 2007, 05:55:12 PM
One of the new technologies, Chicken, is triple-junction super-concentrated solar cells. These babies can take up to the sunlight of 1,000 suns (focused through lenses) and can create a lot of energy.

Dunno if the doc takes that into account or not.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: swake on September 10, 2007, 08:14:38 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Chicken Little

quote:
Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I'd be all about a nuke plant.
Did you see that doc, "Crude Awakening:  The Oil Crash (//%22http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0776794/%22)"?  It was ostensibly about peak oil, but the bigger picture is the conundrum we are going to be in for the next 50 years...there just aren't any good alternatives for limitless, cheap, energy, and nothing on the horizon.  One guy noted that nuclear is a bridge at best.  If we started using it as a coal replacement we'd exhaust uranium supplies in a matter of decades.  I'd never thought about it, but nuclear is finite, too.  They didn't like biomass or wind; they're sustainable, but produce unrealistically small supplies.  

Interestingly, the only ray of hope that any of them offered was the sun (pun intended).  It's the only resource with virtually unlimited potential.  But to date, all the solar cells we've created would cover about 2 1/2 square miles...and we'd need to create something that would cover an area half the size of California (75,000 sq mi) just to keep up with today's demand.  So we are only 0.003% where we need to be.



We need to perfect fusion, runs on water and no radioactive waste.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: RecycleMichael on September 10, 2007, 08:18:19 PM
I am trying to perfect static electricity.

I have been rubbing ballons against my head for weeks now.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: Chicken Little on September 11, 2007, 10:09:32 AM
quote:
Originally posted by rwarn17588

One of the new technologies, Chicken, is triple-junction super-concentrated solar cells. These babies can take up to the sunlight of 1,000 suns (focused through lenses) and can create a lot of energy.

Dunno if the doc takes that into account or not.

That's good news.  I'm sure the guy on the documentary was talking about 1 sun panels.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: cannon_fodder on September 11, 2007, 10:23:24 AM
Where do we get the extra suns?

Realistically though, that approach seems to create just as many problems as it solves.  If you have to cover the area with lenses to refract the sun, why not just put a panel there to start with?

Newer broad spectrum cells utilize the blue wave as well as the red, garnering nearly 2x the power from a solar cell.  Still too expensive even for use in novelty events like the solar challenge car race though...
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: sgrizzle on September 11, 2007, 10:43:32 AM
Mirrors are cheaper than the panels, plus the concentrated heat is easier to use.

One unfortunate side effect, those things frikkin' VAPORIZE birds.
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: Chicken Little on September 11, 2007, 10:52:45 AM
quote:
Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Where do we get the extra suns?

Realistically though, that approach seems to create just as many problems as it solves.  If you have to cover the area with lenses to refract the sun, why not just put a panel there to start with?...


I was thinking that, too.  But, lenses and concave mirrors are cheap technology, and solar panels are relatively expensive.  I'm sure there are theoretical limits with solar power, and I'm sure that we'll end up having to cover vast areas, regardless.  But, I like the idea.  For one thing, the sun is everywhere, and you can use it to produce hydrogen either directly through photo-synthesis, or indirectly using electricity from solar panels.  In theory, you wouldn't have to transport hydrogen very far...that's one of the biggest obstacles, as I understand it.  Instead, you could produce it on-site or near the "gas station".
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: Townsend on September 11, 2007, 10:54:41 AM
quote:
Originally posted by sgrizzle

Mirrors are cheaper than the panels, plus the concentrated heat is easier to use.

One unfortunate side effect, those things frikkin' VAPORIZE birds.



I'd go see that.  I know, I know...
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: Chicken Little on September 11, 2007, 10:55:05 AM
quote:
Originally posted by sgrizzle

Mirrors are cheaper than the panels, plus the concentrated heat is easier to use.

One unfortunate side effect, those things frikkin' VAPORIZE birds.

Just the dumb ones.  The fittest among them will figure out how to get at all the yummy cooked bugs!
Title: AEP + OG&E's coal power opposition
Post by: rwarn17588 on September 11, 2007, 12:23:01 PM
The answer on how to concentrate the sun: Fresnel lenses.