Ron Wagner

How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy

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(edited)

On 4/20/2022 at 4:54 PM, NickW said:

7 -20 years supply of gas. What then after that? 

Coal to fuel, biofuel, ethanol, wind turbines, solar, nuclear, wood pellets, wave power etc. 

The most promising is methane hydrates which have not even been tried yet. 

Edited by Ron Wagner

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5 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

I think that the figures I gave you were based on minimal surveys of certain areas rather than a real survey of all of Germany. It was just a quick link grab. I do know that they did relatively nothing compared to what they could have to explore including their coastal waters. 

the resource number is not bankable......resources are not proven reserves and they include uneconomical deposits. No one would plan their future production off of resources.............. 

 

Resources are like telling everyone you will win the lottery.........ok so if you buy 100 scratch tickets you might on average win on a few tickets but will you get back your $100???????   .........If your lucky...you will get back over $50..... Will the German resources turn into reserves .......if your lucky and only a percentage....but hey you can brag you won in the lottery

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So climate change will grow bigger storms for a few extra years. Air conditioned walking suits will be hot sellers. Invest now. So now that Europe will build nukes and drill for nat gas, how long will it take to resume the fight for killing coal. Is Europe smart enough to drill for gas and compete with wind and batteries? I worry about their track record. Their oligarchs have simply done a mind meld and sometimes I fear they have lost the reasoning and logic type stuff. 

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17 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

Coal to fuel, biofuel, ethanol, wind turbines, solar, nuclear, wood pellets, wave power etc. 

The point is the volumes are never going to be anything near that which would replace renewables. 

Pragmatic approach is to exploit local gas resources while developing renewables as quickly as possible. Sensible to throw some nuclear in as well but Germans not keen. 

 

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Towing With an Electric Truck, Is it Cheaper than Gas? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcZ_7qR_KBE

Rivian compared to a Ford. Very interesting and well done. A full spreadsheet analysis is at the end, you might want to just jump through to that. 

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38 minutes ago, NickW said:

The point is the volumes are never going to be anything near that which would replace renewables. 

Pragmatic approach is to exploit local gas resources while developing renewables as quickly as possible. Sensible to throw some nuclear in as well but Germans not keen. 

 

I am in total agreement with that. Germany will have to sacrifice some of its scenery but hopefully offshore will help reduce that loss. I am hopeful that wave power is finally harvested economically. It has even better potential than wind with less scenic loss. 

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On 4/13/2022 at 9:41 PM, notsonice said:

Peak oil.......are we there now ?????is oil demand going to go up by 10 percent before diving??????? We all can see peak oil happening in our lifetimes if not in the next decade or it is already happening......................

 

One thing is for sure

Renewable developement/installations/production  worldwide is accelerating and EV's/hybrids production/sales is doubling each year now and this is  laying the ground work for a fall in demand for Coal ...Oil and Nat gas

Peak Coal has happened

Peak Oil is happening

and Finally Peak Nat Gas will happen in my lifetime

Maybe, but costs keep rising on renewables and electric vehicles. Costs for electricity are also rising. I think you are a little overly optimistic. I am old so you may be young enough to see peak oil. Much of the world is still lacking in power of any kind. Good luck though, I am for it if people can actually afford it. 

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23 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

Don't you think that modern technology makes a big difference? The Germans were afraid of minor temblors that occurred. 

Schlumberger did strata studies  for Shell, Total and BP(formerly Amoco international) and did not think it worth the time. This was is 2008 when prices were higher than they are now.  Basic problem is that the Silurian shales  are extremely faulted which prevents the capture and retention of gas.  There are fields in Hungary and Galicia (Poland/Ukraine) Devonian to compare with and there is no drilling extravaganza there and you  are working with known geology.. Anything north of the Alps or Carpathian  Mountains probably leaked out many years ago When  Africa began to crash into the Eurasia  continent. . The North Sea sediments were laid down about 125 million later in the Devonian  which was after Gondolwana split at the end of the Silurian.  You have an unconformity  where the  Ordovican does not appear in Northern Europe and the Devonian is the next series of rock above the Silurian .  Coal miners working below  in the Pennsylvanian  never encountered any oil or gas shows as they went through the Strata.

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As I have said, modern technology and new exploration is what was needed. Here is one example. Note that this was also fought against. 

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Germany-To-Drill-For-Gas-In-North-Sea-To-Reduce-Reliance-On-Russia.html

 

Germany To Drill For Gas In North Sea To Reduce Reliance On Russia

By Alex Kimani - Apr 20, 2022, 4:20 PM CDT

 

 

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On 4/18/2022 at 7:06 PM, Ron Wagner said:

https://www.reuters.com/article/germany-shale/german-study-says-domestic-shale-gas-oil-production-possible-idUSL8N15A2SN

You just don't have a clue about anything aside from wind turbines and electric cars. 

German study says domestic shale gas, oil production possible

By Vera Eckert

3 MIN READ

 

* Authority says fracking and water safety can be reconciled

* Revises shale gas potential, newly estimates shale oil

* Legal uncertainty continues, opposition runs high

FRANKFURT, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Tapping Germany’s shale gas and oil without damaging drinking water is possible, said the author of a federal study on Tuesday, although the size of reserves is slightly smaller than previously estimated.

German lawmakers are debating whether to use the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technique to extract unconventional mineral resources, with many worrying it could damage Germany’s environment.

Fracking involves pumping water and chemicals at high pressure through drill holes to prise open shale rocks holding gas and oil, a process used in the United States.

 

Conventional resources reside in more porous and permeable rock, allowing easier access.

Geologists at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) used computer simulations to study what would happen to frack fluids when injected into the bedrock of the North German basin.

“We found that the injected fluids did not move upwards into layers carrying drinking-water,” said Stefan Ladage, lead author of the BGR study, which was published in Germany last week.

Germany’s powerful green lobbies warn against the possible contamination of drinking water through fracking.

The densely populated country is committed to moving to renewable energy. Proponents say that eliminates the need to look beyond existing oil and gas reserves.

But energy companies like ExxonMobil, Basf , Dea and CEP want to develop Germany’s shale resources, arguing this could reduce its dependence on imported energy.

 

The BGR said that between 0.32 trillion and 2.03 trillion cubic metres (cbm) of gas could be extracted in depths below 1,000 metres in northern Germany.

This is slightly less than between 0.7 trillion and 2.3 trillion cbm estimated by BGR in 2012, but outweighs the 0.11 trillion cbm of conventionally available gas.

“Gas production from domestic resources has been falling for 10 years,” Ladage said. “Using shale gas resources in Germany primarily bears the potential of mitigating part of the ongoing decline.”

The process would take decades as it was in its very early stages, he said.

BGR for the first time also estimated Germany’s shale oil resources, at a relatively small 13 to 164 million tonnes. It has 31 million tonnes of conventional oil reserves.

But federal environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said last week she did not see much scope for fracking.

“I don’t think it will be economically rewarding,” she told a conference. (Reporting by Vera Eckert, additional reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Katharine Houreld)

 

On 4/18/2022 at 7:15 PM, Jay McKinsey said:

So they confirm that there are minuscule oil resources and that it would take decades to access the gas. That is called vaporware.

To put that in perspective, that amount of natural gas if it were suddenly available all at once (it won’t be) tomorrow (that won’t happen either) would meet German domestic natural gas demand for about 8 months.

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On 4/19/2022 at 2:35 AM, notsonice said:

 

 

BGR for the first time also estimated Germany’s shale oil resources, at a relatively small 13 to 164 million tonnes. It has 31 million tonnes of conventional oil reserves.

 

 

Ron, resources are not reserves...........If you have worked on resource calcs and reserve calcs you would know the difference....To post the article thinking that Germany has plentiful amounts of reserves when they do not shows that you really do not understand that Germany really has no real chance of ever supplying itself with even 10 percent of its fossil fuel needs today. 31 million tonnes of reserves is peanuts and resources ....... at a relatively small 13 to 164 million tonnes????? which will never transform into not more than 20 or 30 million tonnes with fracking. 

“I don’t think it will be economically rewarding,” says it all.......

Again, to put that in perspective, if ALL the prospective resources actually exist and known reserves are combined, it amounts to ~ 195 million tons of oil.  That’s right at 2 years of German oil demand , or ~ 1.7 billion bbls of oil.  To put that in perspective, each of the many fields Exxon had recently discovered off the coast of Guyana in the last few years on average has more oil reserves (recoverable bankable oil) than the entire hypothetical amount for all of Germany.

And the German numbers aren’t partial - they cover the whole of the country - it’s a very well understood place from a geologic perspective.

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6 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

As I have said, modern technology and new exploration is what was needed. Here is one example. Note that this was also fought against. 

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Germany-To-Drill-For-Gas-In-North-Sea-To-Reduce-Reliance-On-Russia.html

 

Germany To Drill For Gas In North Sea To Reduce Reliance On Russia

By Alex Kimani - Apr 20, 2022, 4:20 PM CDT

 

 

And the entire field total gas supply is 8 months of German usage. How amazing.

Gas extraction will begin in the North Sea field within two years, ONE-Dyas director Chris de Ruyter van Steveninck said to the broadcaster. "The potential of this field and the fields in the vicinity is about 60 billion cubic meters." The Netherlands consumes 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, Germany 90.

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1 hour ago, Jay McKinsey said:

And the entire field total gas supply is 8 months of German usage. How amazing.

Gas extraction will begin in the North Sea field within two years, ONE-Dyas director Chris de Ruyter van Steveninck said to the broadcaster. "The potential of this field and the fields in the vicinity is about 60 billion cubic meters." The Netherlands consumes 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, Germany 90.

"Seek and ye shall find". Jesus. They have not even tried methane hydrates yet and there are far more there and elsewhere all around the world. Germany needs to invest in exploration and consider all options. I have been saying this for ten years but they just depended on Russia because of Merkel and her mistaken hopes and actions. 

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(edited)

1 hour ago, Ron Wagner said:

"Seek and ye shall find". Jesus. They have not even tried methane hydrates yet and there are far more there and elsewhere all around the world. Germany needs to invest in exploration and consider all options. I have been saying this for ten years but they just depended on Russia because of Merkel and her mistaken hopes and actions. 

Jesus was hungry. (Germany)
Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. (German gas deposits including hydrates.)
Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” (German non fossil fuel policy)
Mark 11:12-14
 
Edited by Jay McKinsey
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40 minutes ago, Ron Wagner said:

"Seek and ye shall find". Jesus. They have not even tried methane hydrates yet and there are far more there and elsewhere all around the world. Germany needs to invest in exploration and consider all options. I have been saying this for ten years but they just depended on Russia because of Merkel and her mistaken hopes and actions. 

The Baltic is too shallow for methane hydrates.  Once it ran out of coal, Germany had two options available with existing technology:  nuclear power from imported uranium  and imports of fossil fuels.  That’s what it chose while figuring out how to develop solar and wind. They could currently be in a situation like France where nuclear handles the bulk of the load, but they didn’t.  They literally don’t have anything else in their country.  It’s incredibly resource poor.

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48 minutes ago, Jay McKinsey said:
Jesus was hungry. (Germany)
Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. (German gas deposits including hydrates.)
Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” (German non fossil fuel policy)
Mark 11:12-14
 

Well wind turbines solar and batteries are not going to bear enough fruit quickly enough. They are still little fig trees. 

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4 minutes ago, Ron Wagner said:

Well wind turbines solar and batteries are not going to bear enough fruit quickly enough. They are still little fig trees. 

And for some bizarre freakish reason you think new virgin fossil fuel resources are quicker to bring online.

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38 minutes ago, Eric Gagen said:

The Baltic is too shallow for methane hydrates.  Once it ran out of coal, Germany had two options available with existing technology:  nuclear power from imported uranium  and imports of fossil fuels.  That’s what it chose while figuring out how to develop solar and wind. They could currently be in a situation like France where nuclear handles the bulk of the load, but they didn’t.  They literally don’t have anything else in their country.  It’s incredibly resource poor.

https://www.spectrumgeo.com/geological-resources/technical-paper-library/seismic-identification-and-applications-of-methane-hydrate-as-a-future-energy-source

They have a small map that sure looks like there are methane hydrate deposits in the northern coasts. 

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(edited)

14 minutes ago, Jay McKinsey said:

And for some bizarre freakish reason you think new virgin fossil fuel resources are quicker to bring online.

You have a limited comprehension of what natural gas and oil are needed for, possibly you just live in the River of DENIAL. Europe and the whole world will need oil and natural gas decades after you are gone. 

Electricity is great, but cannot replace oil and natural gas for a large portion of needs. I have explained that to you many times, but you just pretend to be ignorant to make your points. 

http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-sources/#:~:text=Our energy supply comes mainly,and not a primary source.

Our Energy Sources

Two questions immediately strike us: Will we have enough affordable energy in the near future? What will we do for the long term?

The answers depend on our inventory of sources. Our energy supply comes mainly from fossil fuels, with nuclear power and renewable sources rounding out the mix. These sources originate mostly in our local star, the Sun. Electricity falls into its own category because it’s an energy carrier and not a primary source. Here we explore the pros and cons of each resource and look at some of the emerging technologies that could transform our energy situation in the future.

The Sun

 

Most of the energy we capture for use on Earth originates in the nuclear reactions powering our Sun.

In addition to direct solar power from photovoltaic and solar thermal sources, coal, oil, natural gas, biomass, and even the wind and hydropower we harness to generate electricity originally derive their energy content from the effects of sunlight. Learn how our local star is the ultimate energy source.

More about the sun

Electricity

 

39% of U.S. energy from all sources is used to generate electricity.

Experts predict an 11% increase in the demand for electricity in the United States by 2040. What sources do we currently depend on to generate our electric power supply and how might they change in the future?

More about electricity

Fossil Fuels

 

In 2015, fossil fuels provided about 81% of the energy used in the United States, including the energy to generate most of our electricity.

 

Fossil fuels supply the affordable energy we need for many of the functions essential to our society. Learn about the costs and benefits of each of these sources, including the environmental consequences of maintaining the status quo.

 

More about fossil fuels

Nuclear

 

20% of our electricity was generated by nuclear fuel in 2015.

Nuclear power provides about 9.5% of the total U.S. energy supply, emitting no greenhouse gases but producing spent-fuel waste that is radioactive and must be stored safely. What are the implications of expanding this resource?

More about nuclear

Renewable Sources

 

In 2015, 10% of our total energy use came from renewable energy sources, such as biomass, wind, solar, and hydropower.

 

Renewable sources are environmentally attractive for many reasons but today there are some notable limitations to their use. Nonetheless, experts project that during the next two decades, renewable energy will provide a growing portion of U.S. overall energy supplies.

 

More about renewable sources

Emerging Technologies

 

An increasing share of future energy needs will be met by technologies now in limited use or still in the research or development phase.

 

Public and private research into technologies that could improve—or even completely change—our energy situation has been active for years. Learn about a few of our options, the problems they address, and the obstacles to their implementation.

 

More about emerging technologies

Edited by Ron Wagner

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33 minutes ago, Ron Wagner said:

You have a limited comprehension of what natural gas and oil are needed for, possibly you just live in the River of DENIAL. Europe and the whole world will need oil and natural gas decades after you are gone. 

Electricity is great, but cannot replace oil and natural gas for a large portion of needs. I have explained that to you many times, but you just pretend to be ignorant to make your points. 

http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-sources/#:~:text=Our energy supply comes mainly,and not a primary source.

Our Energy Sources

Two questions immediately strike us: Will we have enough affordable energy in the near future? What will we do for the long term?

The answers depend on our inventory of sources. Our energy supply comes mainly from fossil fuels, with nuclear power and renewable sources rounding out the mix. These sources originate mostly in our local star, the Sun. Electricity falls into its own category because it’s an energy carrier and not a primary source. Here we explore the pros and cons of each resource and look at some of the emerging technologies that could transform our energy situation in the future.

The Sun

 

Most of the energy we capture for use on Earth originates in the nuclear reactions powering our Sun.

In addition to direct solar power from photovoltaic and solar thermal sources, coal, oil, natural gas, biomass, and even the wind and hydropower we harness to generate electricity originally derive their energy content from the effects of sunlight. Learn how our local star is the ultimate energy source.

More about the sun

Electricity

 

39% of U.S. energy from all sources is used to generate electricity.

Experts predict an 11% increase in the demand for electricity in the United States by 2040. What sources do we currently depend on to generate our electric power supply and how might they change in the future?

More about electricity

Fossil Fuels

 

In 2015, fossil fuels provided about 81% of the energy used in the United States, including the energy to generate most of our electricity.

 

Fossil fuels supply the affordable energy we need for many of the functions essential to our society. Learn about the costs and benefits of each of these sources, including the environmental consequences of maintaining the status quo.

 

More about fossil fuels

Nuclear

 

20% of our electricity was generated by nuclear fuel in 2015.

Nuclear power provides about 9.5% of the total U.S. energy supply, emitting no greenhouse gases but producing spent-fuel waste that is radioactive and must be stored safely. What are the implications of expanding this resource?

More about nuclear

Renewable Sources

 

In 2015, 10% of our total energy use came from renewable energy sources, such as biomass, wind, solar, and hydropower.

 

Renewable sources are environmentally attractive for many reasons but today there are some notable limitations to their use. Nonetheless, experts project that during the next two decades, renewable energy will provide a growing portion of U.S. overall energy supplies.

 

More about renewable sources

Emerging Technologies

 

An increasing share of future energy needs will be met by technologies now in limited use or still in the research or development phase.

 

Public and private research into technologies that could improve—or even completely change—our energy situation has been active for years. Learn about a few of our options, the problems they address, and the obstacles to their implementation.

 

More about emerging technologies

Yet you didn't cite a singe thing that can't be replaced by green electricity.

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