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Integrated Solar Combined Cycle
www.IntegratedSolarCombinedCycle.com

Integrated Solar Combined Cycle - ISCC

What is Integrated Solar Combined Cycle?

Integrated solar combined cycle or "ISCC" is a solar power generation technology that combines or integrates solar power generation with natural gas based combined cycle power plant sharing the same power block.  

The Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Laboratory states that ISCC plants provide the following economic and thermodynamic benefits:

• Incremental Rankine cycle efficiencies are 95 to 120 percent those of a SEGS plant, and up to 105 percent those of a combined cycle plant.

• Daily steam turbine startup losses are eliminated

• Incremental Rankine cycle power plant costs are 25 to 75 percent those of a SEGS plant

• Solar conversion efficiencies are higher than conventional plants, yet Brayton Cycle and Rankine Cycle conditions remain unchanged

• Thermodynamic availability is improved by reducing temperature difference in heat transfer

• Largest Rankine cycle temperature differences occur in high pressure evaporator of the heat recovery steam generator

Thermodynamic Benefits

• The most efficient use of solar energy is displacing saturated steam production

• Corollary: Sensible heat transfer has the smallest temperature differences; thus, the least efficient use of solar energy is feedwater preheating and steam superheating Heat Transfer Diagram for Combined Cycle Plant ISCCS with Small Solar Input
ISCCS with Large Solar Input

 
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All the Electricity the World Needs With Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
from Concentrating Solar Power and Integrated Solar Combined Cycle 
Plants Using a Very Small Parts of the Deserts

In the map below, the larger red square on the left shows an area of hot desert that, if covered with concentrating solar power plants, 
would produce as much electricity as the world currently uses. The smaller square shows a corresponding area for providing all of the 
power needed by the European Union.



The map and information above courtesy of www.Desertec.org

The Following Press Release Re-printed with Permission from The World Bank

Over $5.5 billion in New Investment for Clean Energy Technology in the Middle East and North Africa Region

World Bank Press Release No:2010/MNA/183

Washington, DC, December 9, 2009 - The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) approved financing of $750 million on December 2, 2009, which will mobilize an additional $4.85 billion from other sources, to accelerate global deployment of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). It will do so by investing in the CSP programs of five countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. The CTF is a multi-donor trust fund to facilitate deployment of low-carbon technologies at scale. Specifically, the CTF approved an investment plan which will:

• Enable MENA to contribute the benefit of its unique geography to global climate change mitigation -- no other region has such a favorable combination of physical and market advantages for CSP;
  

• Support the deployment of about 1 gigawatt of CSP generation capacity, amounting to a tripling of worldwide CSP capacity;
  

• Support associated transmission infrastructure in the Maghreb and Mashreq for domestic supply and exports, as part of Mediterranean grid enhancement. This will enable the scale up of CSP through market integration in the region;
  

• Leverage public and private investments for CSP power plants, thereby almost tripling current global investments in CSP; and
  

• Support MENA countries to achieve their development goals of energy security, industrial growth and diversification, and regional integration

The proposed gigawatt-scale deployment through 11 commercial-scale power plants over a 3-5 year time-frame would provide the critical mass of investments necessary to attract significant private sector interest, benefit from economies of scale to reduce cost, result in learning in diverse operating conditions, and manage risk.

Shamshad Akhtar, World Bank Regional Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa, said “This is a most strategic and significant initiative for MENA countries. The initiative would leverage energy diversification, while promoting Euro-Mediterranean integration to the benefit of MENA countries that will be able to exploit one of the major untapped sources of energy. This endeavor is far-reaching with global objectives, implications, and potential impact. It will facilitate faster and greater diffusion of this technology in this region which holds significant potential for CSP".

Potential for Green House Gas (GHG) reduction: The proposed projects will avoid about 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide per year from the energy sectors of the countries. If the program is successful and replicated, the global benefits will be far larger. The transformational objective of this investment plan is served by accelerating cost reduction for a technology that could become least-cost globally, and then be replicated in other countries with high GHG emissions.

Expected Results from the Investment plan: The results indicators for the investment plan are:

§ GHG reductions of at least 1.7 million tons of CO2-equivalent per year.

§ Approximately 900 MW of installed CSP capacity by 2020.

§ $4.85 billion of co-financing mobilized, including sufficient concessional financing to ensure viability of CSP plants.

§ Cost of typical solar field in US$ per m2 is expected to decline over the life of the program.

The Climate Investment Funds (CIF), implemented jointly by the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, and World Bank, is comprised of the CTF to provide scaled up financing for the demonstration, deployment and transfer of low carbon technologies that have a significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings; and the SCF, a suite of three targeted programs to pilot new approaches to climate action, each with potential for scaled up, transformational action: the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), the Forest Investment Program (FIP) and the Program for Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP).

What is Concentrating Solar Power?

Concentrating solar power plants produce electric power by converting the sun's energy into high-temperature heat using various mirror configurations. The heat is then channeled through a conventional generator. The plants consist of two parts: one that collects solar energy and converts it to heat, and another that converts heat energy to electricity.

Concentrating solar power systems can be sized for village power (10 kilowatts) or grid-connected applications (up to 100 megawatts). Some systems use thermal storage during cloudy periods or at night. Others can be combined with natural gas and the resulting hybrid power plants provide high-value, dispatchable power. These attributes, along with world record solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies, make concentrating solar power an attractive renewable energy option in the Southwest and other sunbelt regions worldwide.

Why Concentrating Solar Power is one of the Few "Superior" Renewable Energy Technologies

Concentrating solar power plants use the high annual solar irradiance of the geographic location to generate "carbon free energy" and "pollution free power."  

For generating power after the sun sets, many owners/developer of concentrating solar power plants are now installing "Molten Salt Storage" systems that reserves enough energy to allow for electricity generation throughout the nighttime period.  

Steam turbines and gas turbines powered by coal, uranium, oil and natural gas are the fuels used today for generating power and electric grid stability.  These fuels provide both base-load and peak power.  However, these same steam turbines can also be powered by the high temperature heat from concentrating solar power plants. 

Concentrating solar power plants in the 30 MW - 200 MW range are now operating successfully in locations from California to Europe.  Nearly every day now, new concentrating solar power plants are being planned for construction.  The concentrating solar collectors are very efficient and they also completely replace the fossil fuels that were used in traditional power plants.  Today's concentrating solar power plants generate the heat needed to generate electricity at a cost equivalent to $50 - $60 per barrel of oil (equivalent).  This cost is expected be slashed by 50% to below $25 - $30 per barrel in the next 10 years.  

Just like conventional fossil-fueled power plants, concentrating solar power plants generate  base-load and peaking power electricity.  

Just like fossil fuel fired conventional power plants, concentrating solar power plants have an availability that is close to 100 %, but without the carbon emissions, carbon dioxide emissions, hazardous air pollutants, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gas emissions that fossil fuel power plants emit.

A concentrating solar power plant with a molten salt storage facility for full load operation during the nighttime period is currently being built in the Spanish Sierra Nevada near Guadix. This concentrating solar power plant will generate 50 MW of power.

Another feature that distinguishes concentrating solar power plants is the opportunity for combined generation of heat and power - a technology that is called "Integrated Solar Combined Cycle" which achieves the highest possible efficiencies for energy conversion. In addition to power generation, such plants can provide steam for absorption chillers and/or adsorption chillers, industrial process heat or thermal ocean water desalination. A design study for such a plant was completed in 2006.  This plant is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2009. This Integrated Solar Combined Cycle will provide 10 MW of power, 40 MW of district cooling and 10,000 cubic meters per day of desalted water for a large hotel in Jordan.

What is a "Parabolic Trough" or a "Parabolic Trough Collector"?

A parabolic trough or a parabolic trough collector, is one of the components that make up a concentrating solar power plant.

Parabolic Troughs are, in essence, curved mirrors designed to reflect the energy from the sunlight, onto a "Dewar Tube" that  run the length of the parabolic trough's focal point.  Parabolic Troughs are typically constructed with either a coated silver or polished aluminum. 

Parabolic Troughs are aligned on a north-south basis and they track or rotate throughout the day to follow the sun in order to keep the maximum amount of the sun's available energy concentrated on them.

Inside the Dewar Tube is a "heat transfer fluid" that absorbs the heat energy from the sun, which is then pumped from the Dewar Tube to a Heat Recovery Steam Generator, where the heat energy is converted into steam, which then drives one or more steam turbines, which is connected to a synchronous generator, which then generates electricity and is sent to the electric grid. 

The temperature of the heat transfer fluid quickly reaches 750 degrees as the sun's energy is captured by the Parabolic Troughs.  The overall process is very economical and thermal efficiency ranges from about 60% to as high as 80%.

High Concentration Photovoltaic
www.HighConcentrationPhotovoltaic.com

HCPV & Concentrated Solar Power Project Development, Engineering, 
Feasibility Studies and Consulting Services

Email:  info@HighConcentrationPhotovoltaic.com

What is High Concentration Photovoltaic or HCPV?

" High Concentration Photovoltaic" or "HCPV" power plants are fueled with the energy from the sun. HCPV power plants operate at much higher efficiencies compared with typical solar PV panels.  Our HCPV technology is now at 41% efficiency, as compared with standard PV panels that are around 12% to 17% efficiency.  HCPV "concentrates" large amounts of solar energy onto small amounts of active solar material. 

Best of all, our HCPV solar power plants use about 99% less water than typical concentrating solar power plants.  And, our HCPV solar power plants generate 1 MW of electricity on 50% less land than concentrating solar power plants at about 40% less cost.

There is nothing in the solar industry that can compete with our HCPV technology!

What is "Concentration Photovoltaic" or "Concentrating Photovoltaic"? 

Today's typical photovoltaic ("PV") solar panels and energy systems are stationary flat-plate photovoltaic panels that are seen on roof-tops of homes and commercial businesses.  These photovoltaic systems are costly, covered with solar cells, and rely upon the direct illumination of sunlight on the entire surface of the PV panels. Unlike these typical PV panels, systems, "concentration photovoltaic" systems use a Fresnel lens that is located between the sun and the solar cells to focus and magnify sunlight onto the solar cells that are anywhere from 250 to 500 times smaller than the typical "one-sun" PV solar panels.  Concentration photovoltaic systems effectively replaces inexpensive plastic (Fresnel) lenses in place of the expensive silicon solar cells.

The efficiency of any solar-electric system increases if the sun is "tracked" to absorb the most direct normal sunlight.  Today's concentration photovoltaic solar systems integrate "track" the sun, to maintain maximum energy transfer from the sun to the solar cells. They are completely automated and integrate a tracking software control system that is hydraulically-driven.  Concentration photovoltaic solar systems integrate the Fresnel lens, solar cell, and solar receiver plate into the system.

We provide Concentration Photovoltaic, High Concentration Photovoltaic and Concentrating Solar Power:

• Project Development

• Project Finance/Investments

• Engineering

• Feasibility Studies 

• Legal

• Finance/Funding/Investments

• Power Purchase Agreements

• Interconnection Agreements

and other related consulting services.

Our work is performed on a strict adherence to "vendor-neutrality."   We seek to maximize the return on investment from both the economic and environmental aspects while simultaneously minimizing the operational expenses for our clients.

Technology Overview

Concentrating solar power plants produce electric power by converting the sun's energy into high-temperature heat using various mirror configurations. The heat is then channeled through a conventional generator. The plants consist of two parts: one that collects solar energy and converts it to heat, and another that converts heat energy to electricity.

Concentrating solar power systems can be sized for village power (10 kilowatts) or grid-connected applications (up to 100 megawatts). Some systems use thermal storage during cloudy periods or at night. Others can be combined with natural gas and the resulting hybrid power plants provide high-value, dispatchable power. These attributes, along with world record solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies, make concentrating solar power an attractive renewable energy option in the Southwest and other sunbelt regions worldwide.

The Solar Resource

The solar resource for generating power from concentrating solar power systems is plentiful. For instance, enough electric power for the entire country could be generated by covering about 9 percent of Nevada—a plot of land 100 miles on a side—with parabolic trough systems.

The solar resources for generating power from concentrating solar power systems is plentiful. For instance, enough electric power for the entire country could be generated by covering about 9 percent of Nevada – a plot of land 100 miles on a side – with parabolic trough systems.

The amount of power generated by a concentrating solar power plant depends on the amount of direct sunlight. Like concentrating photovoltaic concentrators, these technologies use only direct-beam sunlight, rather than diffuse solar radiation.

The southwestern United States potentially offers the best development opportunity for concentrating solar power technologies in the world. There is a strong correlation between electric power demand and the solar resource due largely to air conditioning loads in the region. In fact, the Solar Electric Generating System plants operate for nearly 100% of the on-peak hours of Southern California Edison.

How Does It Work?

There are three kinds of concentrating solar power systems—troughs, dish/engines, and power towers—that are classified by how they collect solar energy.

Parabolic Trough systems:

The sun's energy is concentrated by parabolic (curved) trough-shaped reflectors onto a receiver pipe running along the inside of the curved surface. This energy heats an oil that flows through the pipe.  The heat energy is then pumped to a location where the heat energy is converted to steam and the stem then generates electricity through one or more steam turbines. 

A collector field comprises many troughs in parallel rows aligned on a north-south axis. This configuration enables the single-axis troughs to track the sun from east to west during the day to ensure that the sun is continuously focused on the receiver pipes. Individual Parabolic Trough systems currently can generate about 80 megawatts of electricity.

Parabolic Trough designs can incorporate thermal storage - setting aside the heat transfer fluid in its hot phase - allowing for electricity generation several hours into the evening. Currently, all parabolic trough plants are "hybrids," meaning they use fossil fuel to supplement the solar output during periods of low solar radiation. Typically a natural gas-fired heat or a gas steam boiler/reheater is used; troughs also can be integrated with existing coal-fired plants.

Solar Power Tower systems:

What is a Solar Power Tower and How Does it Work?

A power tower converts sunshine into clean electricity for the world’s electricity grids. The technology utilizes many large, sun-tracking mirrors (heliostats) to focus sunlight on a receiver at the top of a tower. A heat transfer fluid heated in the receiver is used to generate steam, which, in turn, is used in a conventional turbine-generator to produce electricity. Early power towers (such as the Solar One plant) utilized steam as the heat transfer fluid; current designs (including Solar Two, pictured) utilize molten nitrate salt because of its superior heat transfer and energy storage capabilities. Individual commercial plants will be sized to produce anywhere from 50 to 200 MW of electricity.

What are the Benefits of Solar Power Towers?

Solar power towers offer large-scale, distributed solutions to our nation’s energy needs, particularly for peaking power. Like all solar technologies, they are fueled by sunshine and do not release greenhouse gases. They are unique among solar electric technologies in their ability to efficiently store solar energy and dispatch electricity to the grid when needed — even at night or during cloudy weather. A single 100-megawatt power tower with 12 hours of storage needs only 1000 acres of otherwise non-productive land to supply enough electricity for 50,000 homes. Throughout the sunny Southwest, millions of acres are available with solar resources that could easily produce solar power at the scale of hydropower in the Northwest U. S.


What is the Status of Power Tower Technology?

Power towers enjoy the benefits of two successful, large-scale demonstration plants. The 10-MW Solar One plant near Barstow, CA, demonstrated the viability of power towers, producing over 38 million kilowatt-hours of electricity during its operation from 1982 to 1988. The Solar Two plant was a retrofit of Solar One to demonstrate the advantages of molten salt for heat transfer and thermal storage. Utilizing its highly efficient molten-salt energy storage system, Solar Two successfully demonstrated efficient collection of solar energy and dispatch of electricity, including the ability to routinely produce electricity during cloudy weather and at night. In one demonstration, it delivered power to the grid 24 hours per day for nearly 7 straight days before cloudy weather interrupted operation.

The successful conclusion of Solar Two sparked worldwide interest in power towers. As Solar Two completed operations, an international consortium, led by the U. S. (with technical support from Sandia National Laboratories), formed to pursue power tower plants worldwide, especially in Spain (where special solar premiums make the technology cost-effective), but also in Egypt, Morocco, and Italy. Their first commercial power tower plant is planned to be four times the size of Solar Two (about 40 MW equivalent, utilizing storage to power a 15MW turbine up to 24 hours per day).

This industry is also actively pursuing opportunities to build a similar plant in our desert Southwest, where a 30 to 50 MW plant would take advantage of the Spanish design and production capacity to reduce costs, while providing much needed peaking capacity for the Western grid. The first such plant would cost in the range of $100M and produce power for about 15¢/kWh. While still somewhat higher in cost than conventional technologies in the peaking market, the cost differential could be made up with modest green power subsidies and political support, jump-starting this technology on a path to 7¢/kWh power with the economies of scale and engineering improvements of the first few plants. It would, at that point, provide clean power as economically as more conventional technologies.

The Solar Dish Engine project will evaluate the performance of the “critical” parts of the Stirling engine and develop the next-generation of the 25 kW Solar Dish Engine System.

Solar Dish Engines

What is a Solar Dish-Engine System?

A Solar Dish Engine is an electric generator that “burns” sunlight instead of gas or coal to produce electricity. The major parts of a system are the solar concentrator and the power conversion unit. Descriptions of these subsystems and how they operate are presented below.

The dish, which is more specifically referred to as a concentrator, is the primary solar component of the system. It collects the solar energy coming directly from the sun (the solar energy that causes you to cast a shadow) and concentrates or focuses it on a small area. The resultant solar beam has all of the power of the sunlight hitting the dish but is concentrated in a small area so that it can be more efficiently used. Glass mirrors reflect ~92% of the sunlight that hits them, are relatively inexpensive, can be cleaned, and last a long time in the outdoor environment, making them an excellent choice for the reflective surface of a solar concentrator. The dish structure must track the sun continuously to reflect the beam into the thermal receiver.

The power conversion unit includes the thermal receiver and the engine/generator. The thermal receiver is the interface between the dish and the engine/generator. It absorbs the concentrated beam of solar energy, converts it to heat, and transfers the heat to the engine/generator. A thermal receiver can be a bank of tubes with a cooling fluid, usually hydrogen or helium, which is the heat transfer medium and also the working fluid for an engine. Alternate thermal receivers are heat pipes wherein the boiling and condensing of an intermediate fluid is used to transfer the heat to the engine.

The engine/generator system is the subsystem that takes the heat from the thermal receiver and uses it to produce electricity. The most common type of heat engine used in dish-engine systems is the Stirling engine. A Stirling engine uses heat provided from an external source (like the sun) to move pistons and make mechanical power, similar to the internal combustion engine in your car. The mechanical work, in the form of the rotation of the engine’s crankshaft, is used to drive a generator and produce electrical power.

In addition to the Stirling engine, concentrating photovoltaic technologies are also being evaluated as possible future power conversion unit technologies. A photovoltaic conversion system is not actually an engine, but a semi-conductor array, in which the sunlight is directly converted into electricity.

What are the markets for Solar Dish-Engines?

Solar dish engines are being developed for use in emerging global markets for distributed generation, green power, remote power, and grid-connected applications. Individual units, ranging in size from 9 to 25 kilowatts, can operate independent of power grids in remote sunny locations to pump water or to provide electricity for people living in remote areas. Largely because of their high efficiency and “conventional” construction, the cost of dish-engine systems is expected to compete in distributed markets.

Opportunities are emerging for the deployment of dish-engine systems in the Southwest U.S. Many states are adopting green power requirements in the form of “portfolio standards” and renewable energy mandates. While the potential markets in the U.S. are large, the size of developing worldwide markets is immense. The International Energy Agency projects an increased demand for electrical power worldwide more than doubling installed capacity. More than half of this is in developing countries and a large part is in areas with good solar resources, limited fossil fuel supplies, and no power distribution network. The potential payoff for dish-engine system developers is the opening of these immense global markets for the export of power generation systems.

 

Experience gained with Solar Two has established a foundation which will lead to the first commercial Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Plant

Business and Market Opportunities

With one of the best direct normal insolation resources anywhere on earth, the southwestern states are poised to reap large and as yet largely uncaptured economic benefits from this important natural resource. California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico are each exploring policies that will nurture the development Concentrated Solar Power Technologies..

In addition to the concentrating solar power projects under way in this country, a number of projects are being developed in India, Egypt, Morocco, and Mexico. In addition, independent power producers are in the early stages of design and development for potential parabolic trough power projects in Greece (Crete) and Spain. Given successful deployment of one or more of these initial markets, additional project opportunities are expected in these and other regions.

One key competitive advantage of concentrating solar energy systems is their close resemblance to most of the power plants operated by the nation's power industry. Concentrating solar power technologies utilize many of the same technologies and equipment used by conventional central station power plants, simply substituting the concentrated power of the sun for the combustion of fossil fuels to provide the energy for conversion into electricity. This "evolutionary" aspect—as distinguished from "revolutionary" or "disruptive"—results in easy integration into today's central station–based electric utility grid. It also makes concentrating solar power technologies the most cost-effective solar option for the production of large-scale electricity generation.

Analysts predict the opening of specialized niche markets in this country for the solar power industry over the next 5 to 10 years. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that by 2005 there will be as much as 500 megawatts of concentrating solar power capacity installed worldwide.

What Does It Cost?

Concentrating solar power technologies currently offer the lowest-cost solar electricity for large-scale power generation (10 megawatt-electric and above). Current technologies cost $2–$3 per watt. This results in a cost of solar power of 9¢–12¢ per kilowatt-hour. New innovative hybrid systems that combine large concentrating solar power plants with conventional natural gas combined cycle or coal plants can reduce costs to $1.5 per watt and drive the cost of solar power to below 8¢ per kilowatt hour.

Advancements in the technology and the use of low-cost thermal storage will allow future concentrating solar power plants to operate for more hours during the day and shift solar power generation to evening hours. Future advances are expected to allow solar power to be generated for 4¢–5¢ per kilowatt-hour in the next few decades.

* Some of the above information from the Department of Energy website with permission.

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How we make and distribute electricity is changing! 

The electric power generation, transmission and distribution system (the electric "grid") is changing and evolving from the electric grid of the 19th and 20th centuries, which was inefficient, highly-polluting, very expensive and “dumb.”  

The "old" way of generating and distributing energy resembles this slide:

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Hubbert's Peak Oil Predictions Now Proving True?

Marion King Hubbert was a geologist and scientist who worked at Shell Oil company's research lab in Houston, Texas.  Hubbert made several important contributions to geology, geophysics and petroleum geology.  Hubbert is most recognized for the "Hubbert Curve" and " Hubbert Peak Theory" which is now referred to as " Peak Oil. 

Hubbert's life work determined that the world has a finite amount of petroleum that can be produced.  (Similarly, there is a finite amount of coal.) Many scientists and engineers believe we have reached Hubbert's "peak oil" limit.  Hubbert's espouses that when 50% of domestic crude oil production has been reached, that there will be such significant upward demand on prices of the limited supplies of oil production, that the U.S. economy will experience severe economic, social, and political turmoil.

Hubbert's Peak Oil predictions have proven to be true and this is validated as the U.S. in the early 1970's produced about 60% of its' oil demand and imported 40%.  That equation has flipped since then, because our domestic oil production has been on the decline since 1970, so now, due to our declining domestic oil production, we have to import 60% of our oil supplies, to meet our country's oil/energy demands.

The Next Oil Shock Could be the "mother" of All Oil Shocks

How severe our economic calamity and next "oil shock" will depend upon a number of factors, including when this occurs, as well as the following:

1.  the dependence of the individual country upon its own crude oil production to meet its energy needs and to subsidize consumer imports; 

2.  the rate of relative decline in crude oil production; 

3.  the degree of difficulty encountered in replacing missing energy inputs; 

4.  the degree to which our country had prepared in advance for this inevitable geological and economic calamity.

Examples of past "oil shocks" and the economic and political calamities that followed:

United States: Our peak crude oil production of domestic oil occurred in 1970; the first "oil shock" and oil crisis followed in 1973 with the Arab/OPEC Oil Embargo.

Iran: Their peak crude oil production occurred in 1974; They had their islamic revolution 1979 that overturned government and replaced it with radical islam.

Soviet Union: Their peak crude oil production was in 1989; what happened next? 
Their country disintegrated and the collapse of the Soviet Union followed in 1991. 

Indonesia: Their peak crude oil production was in 1991; their financial and government crisis followed in 1997.

Iraq: Iraq's crude oil production was in 1989; they then invaded Kuwait (for their oil) in 1991.

Using Mr. Hubbert's predictions, that beginning around 2000  we would see peak (global) oil production, then, if the country's not weaning themselves off of their oil addiction, and had not begun making the switch to renewable energy, that the negative economic and political calamities would soon follow, including ever-increasing prices of energy that is from fossil fuels. 

Now is the time to begin weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels and making the transition to and increasing the use of renewable energy. If you don't believe in climate change, or global warming, GREAT! Join us in the switch to renewable energy and a fossil-free economy!

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America's Clear and Present Danger

America Has INCREASED its' Dependence on Foreign 
Sources of Energy by 50% Since 1973.

America is even more "addicted" to foreign oil today, than we were in 1973 - 1974 when OPEC, Saudi Arabia and other suppliers from the Middle-East  stopped selling us their fossil fuels, and created a significant blow to our economy.

According to Monty Goodell, Founder and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Institute, "our increased dependence and reliance on foreign energy supplies represents a Clear and Present Danger to our national security, our economy, and the lives and livelihood of every American. Energy - including the energy we use from imported fossil fuels, is the very "lifeblood" of the American economy as it is for every industrialized country.  An economy dies without it's lifeblood of energy. This Clear and Present Danger we face is far more serious than the problems related to greenhouse gas emissions.  And while greenhouse gas emissions are very serious issue, in the long-term, pales in comparison to America's vital national security interests and America's economic stability in the short term.  For this reason alone, America needs to transition away from its addiction to foreign energy supplies. And America's abundant renewable energy resources such as the energy we receive from the sun, and renewable energy technologies such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants - can supply 100% of America's power requirements with a concentrating solar power plant measuring 75 miles by 75 miles, located in the Southwest U.S.  By generating America's power from concentrating solar power plants, America resolves its' short-term Clear and Present Danger as it relates to importing its energy from foreign countries, and the long-term problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions."

Continuing, Mr. Goodell states that "too many Americans have forgotten what happened to us in 1973, when the Arabs and OPEC brought the United States economy to a screeching halt during the OPEC Oil Embargo.  This happened because they (mainly the country of Saudi Arabia) disagreed with our foreign policy and is the reason why they "turned off the tap" of our need for their oil supplies. When Saudi Arabia and OPEC stopped the vital flow of oil to our country in 1973, they caused an "oil shock" that severely and negatively impacted our economy. 

Mr. Goodell's question for us to ponder is, "do these countries who sell us 60% of our daily energy requirements, like us and our foreign policy, or might they leverage our addiction to their fossil fuels, and turn off the tap to make us adjust or revise our foreign policy??  Like any addict, America's foreign policy may be held hostage to its addiction, and in this case, our addiction to foreign oil, may over-ride our national interests."

Have American's forgotten the gas shortages and long lines at 
their gas stations to get gas during the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973? 

"Apparently so."  Mr. Goodell states that "in 1973, America was 'addicted' and 'over the barrel' of foreign oil to the amount of 40%.  Forty percent of our energy 'needs' in 1973 came from countries - many of which didn't like us then, and I'm afraid, many of them still don't.  The difference between 1973 and today - is that today we receive 50% MORE foreign oil now than we did in 1973.  And now we know about the problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions that we didn't know then.  America needs to change course, and change course now, in terms of its' energy supplies and how we keep America's economy strong, without the threat of being held hostage to a middle-east tyrant or regime, that could once again, turn on us, and turn off our supply of foreign oil." 

Remember ????

"Sadly," Monty Goodell continues, "most Americans have forgotten the long lines of people waiting in their cars - lined up and waiting for gasoline at their nearby gas station, with lines that were many blocks long.  And, after waiting 4-5 hours, many even waiting overnight in many places, to finally take their turn to fill up their car with gasoline, only to find that the gas station had run out of gas." 

"Let me Repeat.... That was 1973 when we imported 40% of our daily energy requirements in the form of crude oil from overseas, and from foreign countries - and many of these from countries that don't like us.

Today, over 35 years later, America has yet to learn the lesson.  We cannot continue our reliance on energy from foreign countries that supply us with 60% of the crude oil that our refineries use as a feedstock for producing gasoline and diesel fuel for our cars and trucks comes from overseas. 

America is "over the barrel" and it's not our barrel, but the barrels of oil that we are addicted by and owned by other countries.  Why have we not learned the lessons we needed to learn in 1973 when we were cut-off from the vital energy supplies we need? 

Countries like China, are growing rapidly, and have an insatiable need for crude oil. China, with their booming economy, is increasingly growing in its clout and control over international supplies of crude oil - whether they do this through their ability to buy as much oil as they need on a daily basis, or whether they simply but American drilling rigs, technology, and explore and produce oil and gas from their own fields. China, is buying large amounts of oil for their country, and causing upward pricing on declining supplies. What happens if Russia, with all of their oil and natural gas, along with China and Venezuela, with or without the help of OPEC, decided to NOT sell oil to us????

To be sure, greenhouse gas emissions are a problem, and to some, greenhouse gas emissions are also a Clear and Present Danger, but not to the extent that it presents an imminent Clear and Present Danger. 

America's reliance for 60% of our energy "needs" coming from foreign suppliers is un-acceptable.

The "driver" to get America to begin reducing and eliminating fossil fuel use should be our nation's national security and the welfare and safety of its citizens. And this can all begin with developing and investing in our own renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies, let's start by putting solar on every rooftop that has a clear and unobstructed view of the Southern sky. See www.RooftopPV.com  or  www.DistributedPV.com  for more information.  Let's create incentives begin with adopting a national "Feed In Tariff" as Germany did in 1990. 

America, we simply do NOT have the luxury of time on our hands.  We need to end our dependence and reliance on foreign fossil fuels, especially from countries that don't like us! We need to rapidly begin expanding renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies from our vast and abundant renewable energy resources, such as; solar, solar energy systems, solar cogeneration, solar trigeneration, "solar on every roof," waste to energy, waste to fuel, biomass gasification, B100 Biodiesel, Biomethane, Synthesis Gas, geothermal, E100 Ethanol (from sugar cane and NOT from corn), and wind, where it makes economic sense."   

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The Renewable Energy Institute is "Changing The Way The World Makes and Uses Energy by Providing Research & Development, Funding and Resources That Creates Sustainable Energy via 'Carbon Free Energy' and 'Pollution Free Power' Through Expanding the use of Renewable Energy Technologies."

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