The Cheap Energy Revolution Is Here, and Coal Won’t Cut It
Well over 40% of US electricity is still from coal. Despite all the hype, renewables other than hydroelectric are only 3% in the US.<p>What&#x27;s driving energy prices is cheap natural gas.  Natural gas is cheap to extract and can be extracted fast.  But after a while, it&#x27;s all gone.  Britain&#x27;s North Sea Gas boom is over.[1] Gas fields also drop off faster than oil fields.  The cheap natural gas boom won&#x27;t last forever.  It&#x27;s created the illusion that the energy problem is over.<p>Nuclear is discouraging. After Fukushima, nuclear plants are scary.  Fukushima was a reasonably good plant which got hit by a larger than expected tsunami and lost site power. That was enough to cause a major disaster. Nuclear now looks like a technology where every decade or two you lose a city.  The small-nuclear enthusiasts are a bit scary; some argue they need fewer safety precautions because their reactors can&#x27;t melt down. What could possibly go wrong?  Big, expensive containment vessels are a good thing; when Three Mile Island failed, the containment held it in.<p>Battery technology will help.  Wind and solar are intermittent, and can&#x27;t carry too much of the load until there&#x27;s more storage. But it&#x27;s going to take a lot of batteries.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.crystolenergy.com&#x2F;assessing-future-north-sea-oil-gas&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.crystolenergy.com&#x2F;assessing-future-north-sea-oil-...</a>