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The Nevada Crescent Dunes Thermal Solar Plant: Another Expensive Solar Scheme Bites the Dust
American Thinker ^ | 01/08/2020 | Norman Rogers

Posted on 01/08/2020 6:46:38 AM PST by SeekAndFind

The purveyors of solar energy are working overtime to spin the now official failure of the Crescent Dunes thermal solar plant in central Nevada. The contracts to purchase the electricity from the constantly broken plant will be voided. Bloomberg Businessweek claims that Crescent Dunes was obsoleted by technological advances in the form of photovoltaic based solar plants. That is nonsense and misses the whole point of the Crescent Dunes project. It also misses the reality that all utility-scale solar is a failure — not marginal, not growing into being practical, but a total and complete failure.

The scalable forms of renewable energy are wind and solar. Hydro is severely limited by most state laws that define renewable energy — not because hydro is not renewable, but because it is not politically correct. Dams are not politically acceptable to the kayakers and big thinkers at the Sierra Club. Nevada is wind poor but sunshine rich. So for Nevada, solar is the only route to energy nirvana.

Nevada has a law requiring that 50% of the electricity be from renewable sources by 2030. That law was passed by the Nevada Legislature. No doubt they were influenced by the state’s utility, NV Energy, owned by the Warren Buffett organization. Tom Steyer is a California billionaire and global warming fanatic. Currently, he is running for president. Steyer bankrolled an initiative to put a 50% renewable electricity requirement by 2030 into the Nevada state constitution.

The final vote on the constitutional amendment will be in November 2020. Presumably, renewable energy must be frozen into the constitution so that the investors in solar energy can be protected against the possibility that the Legislature will come to its senses and repeal the renewable energy quota.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California; US: Nevada
KEYWORDS: bankruptcy; california; crescentdunes; globalwarminghoax; greennewdeal; nevada; nvenergy; solar; tomsteyer; warrenbuffett
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THE CRESCENT DUNES SOLAR PROJECT


1 posted on 01/08/2020 6:46:38 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Beyond stupid.


2 posted on 01/08/2020 6:48:21 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

Legislating the currently economically/technically unfeasible by date certain is so incredibly foolish it’s off the charts. Yet here we are.


3 posted on 01/08/2020 6:53:52 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: SeekAndFind
Something not fixed by rubbing a little money on it?

I'm shocked.

4 posted on 01/08/2020 6:54:37 AM PST by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory !!)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’ve read that due to cheap solar panels (over-produced by China) electricity from large-scale Solar power may be cheaper than coal or gas. The problem is scalability - the footprint is of course huge - and as such will never become a large percentage of an electrical system.


5 posted on 01/08/2020 6:57:24 AM PST by PGR88
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

It worked as designed.
It transferred tax dollars to Democrat cronies, who then laundered some of it back to the Democrats.


6 posted on 01/08/2020 7:01:33 AM PST by Little Ray (Freedom Before Security!)
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To: SeekAndFind

The contracts to purchase the electricity from the constantly broken plant will be voided. Bloomberg Businessweek claims that Crescent Dunes was obsoleted by technological advances in the form of photovoltaic based solar plants. That is nonsense and misses the whole point of the Crescent Dunes project. It also misses the reality that all utility-scale solar is a failure — not marginal, not growing into being practical, but a total and complete failure.

...

From what I’ve read, utility scale thin film solar and onshore wind are now economical and can compete without subsidies.

https://www.lazard.com/media/451086/lazards-levelized-cost-of-energy-version-130-vf.pdf


7 posted on 01/08/2020 7:02:08 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
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To: SeekAndFind

This professor is a good resource for all things power and energy. I recommend that you subscribe to him.

“Energy Stats: Then and Now, Here and There”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Bi2LpLoK8&feature=youtu.be

He also talks at length about nuclear power, has a video on fracking...


8 posted on 01/08/2020 7:03:42 AM PST by dhs12345
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

If it costs more energy to build and maintain these places than they produce - it’s insane.


9 posted on 01/08/2020 7:04:11 AM PST by GOPJ (Iran's Mulllahs, thugs and terrorists want to thank MSNBC, CNN, and WP for standing with them...)
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To: PGR88

Please see the link in my post #7.


10 posted on 01/08/2020 7:05:55 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
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To: SeekAndFind
There have been several places on earth that *I've* visted where solar just might make sense...either now or at some point in the future (when the cost of producing a killowatt hour of power comes down). Those places are 1) the Arabian Peninsula (lots and lots of sun and close to the equator) 2) the Australian Outback (ditto) a 3) Arizona/Nevada/California.

But the fact that a facility in Nevada has failed suggests that I could be wrong.

11 posted on 01/08/2020 7:05:59 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (The Rats Can't Get Over The Fact That They Lost A Rigged Election)
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To: GOPJ

It takes a lot of time and money to build a nuclear power plant.


12 posted on 01/08/2020 7:07:34 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
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To: Gay State Conservative

The technology used in Nevada is the cause of the failure, not the location.


13 posted on 01/08/2020 7:08:47 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
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To: FreedomPoster

Sadly, based purely on lies and BIG propaganda by gangreen at last (s)election, we’re strapped with an addition to the state constitution madating that 50% of power generated in NV be “renewable” by 2030. Currently less than 10%. Consequences for failure to meet-——? Not sure but I’ll bet it won’t be cheap. Much dumbassery going on.


14 posted on 01/08/2020 7:09:03 AM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: rktman

Cui Bono?


15 posted on 01/08/2020 7:09:43 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Gay State Conservative

RE: There have been several places on earth that *I’ve* visted where solar just might make sense...either now or at some point in the future

Good. I’m sure if the project is feasible, PRIVATE INVESTMENTS will come to build them AT THE RIGHT TIME.

Why use tax payer money to force a project which is not feasible today?


16 posted on 01/08/2020 7:10:52 AM PST by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: rktman

...also, there is an excess of nitwittery.


17 posted on 01/08/2020 7:11:09 AM PST by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp???)
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To: Moonman62

True. But they produce a lot of energy for a long time...


18 posted on 01/08/2020 7:12:40 AM PST by GOPJ (Iran's Mulllahs, thugs and terrorists want to thank MSNBC, CNN, and WP for standing with them...)
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To: Moonman62
Selected renewable energy generation technologies are cost-competitive with conventional generation technologies under certain circumstances

From your source.

19 posted on 01/08/2020 7:21:27 AM PST by SanchoP (Yippy,the next generation search engine.)
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To: SeekAndFind

You’re right.


20 posted on 01/08/2020 7:21:30 AM PST by babble-on
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