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Footnotes:

 

[12] Denmark is has the largest proportion of wind generation in the world. It is also has the greatest fossil dependency (mainly on imported coal) and highest cost electricity in the EU, over seven times that in France.

 

 

[13] France produced 536.9 TWh of electricity in 2003; is the largest net exporter of electricity in the EU (103.6 TWh in 2003); and has the highest proportion of nuclear electricity in the World.

 

[14] http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2008/key_stats_2008.pdf Energy in Australia 2009 ibid; note that currency fluctuations and varying time-of-day tariffs make non EC price comparisons dubious.

 

[15] Suzlon S88 - Hub Height: 80m; Maximum Blade Tip Height: 124m; Swept area: 6250m2

 

[16] Energy Statistics 2007 www.ens.dk

 

[17] This would suggest that there are some turbines so badly sited that they will not recover the energy consumed in their construction within their 20 year working lifetime (of course this may be a lot longer than 20 years as they hardly get used). Their carbon footprint rises steeply as their capacity factor falls.

 

[18] 2xEnercon E-126; 7 MW; 18,000 MWh/yr; rotor diameter 126m; hub height 135m; Rysumer Nacken, Germany.

 

[19] http://www.suzlon.com/pdf/Capital%20Wind%20Farm%20Flyer.pdf  

 

[20] The Economics of Wind Energy, www.awea.org

 

[21] Counter intuitively, water vapour reduces air density. The molecular weight of water is 18. As a gas water vapour displaces nitrogen molecules (mw: 28) and oxygen (mw: 32).

 

[23] Measured under Standard Test Conditions (STC) : irradiance of 1,000 W/m², solar spectrum of Air Mass (AM) 1.5 and module temperature at 25°C

 

[24] Average pool price in the NEM last year was AUS$42/MWh = 4.2 cents /kWh. The average commercial return to wind farms (after RECs) was around 9 cents /kWh delivered.

 

[25] 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate, in tanks measuring 14 m in height and 36 m in diameter, each storing 375 MWh – from Wikipedia

 

[26] Bayswater B Submissions Report - AECOM

 

[27] For example at a recent workshop of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSC)

 

[28] The present ten largest producers of nuclear energy are in order: USA, France, Japan, Russia, Germany, South Korea, Ukraine, Canada, UK and Sweden. Except for Germany and Sweden, all have new nuclear plant under construction or announced. Worldwide there are presently 53 nuclear power stations under construction and another 432 announced or proposed. There are 31 countries with one or more operating nuclear power stations and 9 more with planned stations, including Indonesia.

 

[29] China has 18 new stations under construction (to raise generating capacity by 70 GWe by 2020); 35 planned; and more than 90 proposed. India has 6 new stations under construction (to raise capacity by 41 GWe by 2020); 23 planned (to raise capacity to 470 GWe by 2050); and 15 proposed.

 

[30] cf. Australia 246 TWh in 2004

 

[31] NSW: total thermal capacity (coal & gas) 11,940 MW; all renewable (mainly hydro) 4,600 MW

 

[32] Financial Times, and AFR, 25 Mar 2010, P63 ‘Nuclear power renaissance in Asia’.

 

[33] By market size: Japan 58%; Korea 12%; Taiwan 10%; India 6%; China 4%.

 

[34] Worth over $13billion in exports to NSW in 2009

 

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Travel

Canada and the United States - Part1

 

 

In July and August 2023 Wendy and I travelled to the United States again after a six-year gap. Back in 2007 we visited the east coast and west coast and in 2017 we visited 'the middle bits', travelling down from Chicago via Memphis to New Orleans then west across Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and California on our way home.

So, this time we went north from Los Angeles to Seattle, Washington, and then into Canada. From Vancouver we travelled by car, over the Rockies, then flew east to Toronto where we hired a car to travel to Ottawa and Montreal. Our next flight was all the way down to Miami, Florida, then to Fort Lauderdale, where we joined a western Caribbean cruise.  At the end of the cruise, we flew all the way back up to Boston.

Seems crazy but that was the most economical option.  From Boston we hired another car to drive, down the coast, to New York. After New York we flew to Salt Lake City then on to Los Angeles, before returning to OZ.

As usual, save for a couple of hotels and the cars, Wendy did all the booking.

Breakfast in the Qantas lounge on our way to Seattle
Wendy likes to use two devices at once

Read more: Canada and the United States - Part1

Fiction, Recollections & News

His life in a can

A Short Story

 

 

"She’s put out a beer for me!   That’s so thoughtful!" 

He feels shamed, just when he was thinking she takes him for granted.

He’s been slaving away out here all morning in the sweltering heat, cutting-back this enormous bloody bougainvillea that she keeps nagging him about.  It’s the Council's green waste pick-up tomorrow and he’s taken the day off, from the monotony of his daily commute, to a job that he has long since mastered, to get this done.  

He’s bleeding where the thorns have torn at his shirtless torso.  His sweat makes pink runnels in the grey dust that is thick on his office-pale skin.  The scratches sting, as the salty rivulets reach them, and he’s not sure that he hasn’t had too much sun.  He knows he’ll be sore in the office tomorrow.

Read more: His life in a can

Opinions and Philosophy

Holden - The Demise of an Iconic Brand

 

I drive a Holden. 

It’s my second. The first was a shiny black Commodore.  A V6 Lumina edition.

I have owned well over a dozen cars and driven a lot more, in numerous countries, but these are my first from General Motors.

The new one is a white Calais Sportswagon and it's the best car I've ever owned.

Based on the German Opel, it has traction control conferring impeccable braking and steering and ample power and acceleration even with four adults and luggage.  Add to that: leather seats; climate control; head-up display; voice commands for entertainment, phone and so on; and it's a luxurious ride.

Yet I’m starting to think that I can put an end to any car brand, just by buying one.

Holden finally ceased manufacturing in Australia just after my present model rolled off the production line.

Read more: Holden - The Demise of an Iconic Brand

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