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Posted 10/27/09 2:04 PM Red in Blue State Watsontown, PA | I must have missed the argument where the case was made that the private market was incapable of funding power transmission lines. I guess that the major power companies cannot possibly be expected to fund their own business and so we must borrow more money from the Chinese that my children and grandchildren will repay.
Could someone please send me a link to that argument. |
Posted 10/27/09 7:21 PM schlegsb Fairborn, OH | What this whole green movement is doing is transferring the scarcity of one resource (oil, coal) to other resources such as silicon (solar), iron ore, copper, aluminum (wind). Either way you have to pay for it. |
Posted 10/27/09 9:52 PM jwfox1965 Las Vegas, NV | Wonderful Mr. President, let's blow some more money we don't have on things we don't need....... |
Posted 10/27/09 11:16 PM Major C Sharp garden grove, CA | Before anyone can criticize about the smart grid, did any of you know what it actually does? If it wasn't for the debt we're already in, I'm glad a Super Grid is being built.
schlegsb: Wrong, its not transferring one resource to another. It is about effectively and efficiently transferring electricity from one place to another. Now, an electric company in California can finally compete with one in New York. It actually INCREASES competition in the energy market (much like any infrastructure would.) |
| Posted 10/28/09 06:51 AM jwfox1965 Las Vegas, NV | "Before anyone can criticize about the smart grid, did any of you know what it actually does? If it wasn't for the debt we're already in, I'm glad a Super Grid is being built"
Completely beside the point a.) We cannot afford it, given scarce resources (money) we need to set priorities, we need to pay off debt and put money aside against future liabilities, those should be our highest priories. b.) If the benefits of a 'smart' grid make good business sense for producers and consumers then the free market can and will provide it. The government spending money that it doesn't have on something that neither producers nor consumers are demanding is completely insane, not to mention given the governments track record it's likely that whatever they do end up building will not accomplish the objectives set forth and will create unintended consequences. Might as well just burn the $3.4 billion at least then it would provide light and heat, not to mention the benign consequence of reducing the money supply without mis-allocating scarce resources (labor and materials). |
| Posted 10/28/09 07:08 AM schlegsb Fairborn, OH | I said the "whole green movement," not the grid specifically. Don't read into my sentences, read them.
Let's see, new transmission lines = copper, new transformers = copper, steel, silicon for the chips. Some fool in the article mentions how this helps solar and wind which feeds directly into the point I made above. This might be a good idea if it weren't for the debt we have already buried ourselves in. Private generation companies would probably want to do this if the savings were so significant. Since I am a EE, I hope you realize how dumb the concept is of generating electricity in CA to be used in NY unless you know of some miracle metal for transmission. The longer the wires, the thicker they must be or the heat loss is so significant that you lose all the energy by the time it gets to its destination. Local generation with shorter, thinner (less copper) wires is far better and cheaper for consumers. |
| Posted 10/28/09 12:25 PM schlegsb Fairborn, OH | I said the "whole green movement," not the grid specifically. Don't read into my sentences, read them.
Let's see, new transmission lines = copper, new transformers = copper, steel, silicon for the chips. Some fool in the article mentions how this helps solar and wind which feeds directly into the point I made above. This might be a good idea if it weren't for the debt we have already buried ourselves in. Private generation companies would probably want to do this if the savings were so significant. Since I am a EE, I hope you realize how dumb the concept is of generating electricity in CA to be used in NY unless you know of some miracle metal for transmission. The longer the wires, the thicker they must be or the heat loss is so significant that you lose all the energy by the time it gets to its destination. Local generation with shorter, thinner (less copper) wires is far better and cheaper for consumers. |
Posted 10/30/09 01:15 AM Bohemian Reno, NV | I'm all for an improved power grid, but this is not the way. Particularly if we are going to subsidize expensive, expansive, and inferior ways of generation like Wind and Solar. I see no mention of Nuclear Power anywhere.
Furthermore, a "smart" grid from the federal government really isn't about anything other control and authority. The "green results" are just PR and distraction. |
| Posted 10/30/09 01:18 AM Bohemian Reno, NV | "The government and industry want to deploy 40 million smart meters — wall-based units that can monitor how much electricity various appliances use and turn them off when energy is costlier to consume — within the next several years."
Is that a predication or a statement? Likewise, why does the government want to turn off your power? |
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