Last week, the Royal Society published two papers on the sustainable carrying capacity of New Zealand. I’ve been working on these for a while but,… Read More »Sustainable carrying capacity – or what are limits anyway?
Despite my previous bitching, the nuclear industry does have a track record of delivering low-carbon electricity, at a scale so far unmatched by renewables. Given… Read More »Thoughts on the eternal headache that is nuclear power – Part 6 of 6: The US & the UK
How radioactivity damages your health, or maybe doesn’t: Why can’t we agree on how many people were killed by the accident at the Chernobyl reactor?… Read More »Thoughts on the eternal headache that is nuclear power – part 5 of 6: Nukes in the real world
Ah, thorium. Thorium will power the future, resulting in endless electricity for all… oh wait, or was that fusion power? Anyway, every man and his… Read More »Thoughts on the eternal headache that is nuclear power – part 4 of 6: Thorium, not as easy as you’ve
Every technology starts by being too expensive. The production costs of solar cells started at US$250 per Watt, back in the 1950s, then $65 per… Read More »Thoughts on the eternal headache that is nuclear power – part 3 of 6: innovation cycles, cost, bombs
People keep asking me about nuclear power. This might be down to living in NZ, where people who know anything about it are few and… Read More »Thoughts on the eternal headache that is nuclear power – part 1 of 6
“Warm homes: Drivers of the demand for heating in the residential sector in New Zealand”, Philippa Howden-Chapman, et al, Energy Policy, 37 (2009), pp 3387-3399… Read More »Energy research geekery – insulation
“The feasibility of long range battery electric cars in New Zealand”, Mike Duke, et al, Energy Policy, 37 (2009), pp 3355-3462 In summary: Ffs, just… Read More »Energy research geekery – electric cars for NZ
“System-level energy efficiency is the greatest barrier to development of the hydrogen economy”, Shannon Page, et al, Energy Policy, 37 (2009), pp 3325-3335 “In the… Read More »Energy research geekery – The hydrogen economy
“Carbon capture and storage: Fundamental thermodynamics and current technology”, Shannon Page, et al, Energy Policy, 37 (2009), pp 3314-3324 New Zealand’s energy system is pretty… Read More »Energy research geekery – carbon capture and storage