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Energy Discussion

RHINOWSO said:
I would put solar on our property but for a long time the sunshine state wasn't really solar friendly. We have a tall house, so it would have to be a ground array (we have property for that too) - it's just not a priority as we'd need to drop some trees, etc. Maybe when the college kids are out of the house.
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As soon as balcony solar, or plug-in solar is legal in PA (or maybe sooner) I am going to some and put it on the roof. Too easy to set up.

I also have a treehouse in a tree that is cut down to the top of the treehouse, so full sun exposure. On top of that too.
 
taxi1 said:
We just bought a Honda passport
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What trim did you end up getting? I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on that car. Honda came out with the updated Trail versions of the Passport shortly after I bought my 5th Gen 4Runner a couple of years ago. If they had brought it out sooner, I would have seriously looked at it over the 4Runner.

Now that the 6th Gen 4Runner is the size of a small glacier, powered by a 4-banger, it seems the Passport would move to the top of the list if I ever needed another SUV.
 
Gatordev said:
What trim did you end up getting?
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It is the Trail version. Nice car, terrible gas mileage. Got it right as the Iran thing kicked off and gas exploded upwards, lol. Previous car was a 20 year old Toyota with a road mapping system in it that was based on a DvD in the trunk, so half the roads no longer existed and none of the new ones were in there. Worse than no navigation at all. :)

We came close to a 4-Runner, that was her initial target, but driving the Passport, it is a little more car and a wee bit less full-blown offroad, closer to what she needs rather than what she thinks she needed.

My wife was the buyer. She insisted on a straight aspirated engine, no turbo. Swears they are unreliable. Meanwhile, my Alltrack with 110,000 miles and a turbo 4 keeps chugging along with zero maintenance required (knock on wood).
 
Randy Daytona said:
Report out on record coal consumption. And with the need for electricity for more data centers combined with the disruption of piped gas from Russia and LNG capabilities being taken offline in Qatar by the Iranians, coal will be an important part of the energy mix for awhile.

Global coal demand forecast to rise by 1.2% in 2026 to a record 8.94 billion tonnes due to Middle East conflict, IEA says​

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Global growth in solar “the largest ever observed for any source”​

“The absolute increase of solar PV generation in 2025 is the largest ever observed for any source,” the IEA says, “excluding years marked by rebounds from global economic shocks such as COVID-19.” In other words, with nothing in particular driving the energy markets in 2025, Solar’s growth was unprecedented. On its own, its growth covered a quarter of the rising demand for all forms of energy. If you limit it to electricity, increased solar production covered over two-thirds of the increased demand.
 
While we are talking about EV automobiles - the push for E-Aviation continues as discovery on tonight's News Hour:

 
taxi1 said:
It is the Trail version. Nice car, terrible gas mileage. Got it right as the Iran thing kicked off and gas exploded upwards, lol. Previous car was a 20 year old Toyota with a road mapping system in it that was based on a DvD in the trunk, so half the roads no longer existed and none of the new ones were in there. Worse than no navigation at all. :)

We came close to a 4-Runner, that was her initial target, but driving the Passport, it is a little more car and a wee bit less full-blown offroad, closer to what she needs rather than what she thinks she needed.

My wife was the buyer. She insisted on a straight aspirated engine, no turbo. Swears they are unreliable. Meanwhile, my Alltrack with 110,000 miles and a turbo 4 keeps chugging along with zero maintenance required (knock on wood).
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Did you not consider Land Cruiser?
 
taxi1 said:
We came close to a 4-Runner, that was her initial target, but driving the Passport, it is a little more car and a wee bit less full-blown offroad, closer to what she needs rather than what she thinks she needed.
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My assessment of the 4Runner as well, even right before I bought my second one. But at the time, there wasn't anything else in that class. Sounds like the Passport was what I was suspecting it could be.

And bad gas mileage? It can't be any worse than my 4Runner!

taxi1 said:
She insisted on a straight aspirated engine, no turbo. Swears they are unreliable.
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They've come a long way, but I'm kind of with her when it comes to putting it in a 6,000 pound car.

ChuckMK23 said:
Did you not consider Land Cruiser?
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Those are CONSIDERABLY more expensive than the 4Runner and Passport. And potentially even more capable in the off-road department. I'd argue a Lexus 470 (or whatever the 4Runner equivalent is) might be the more competitive option.
 
Flash said:

Global growth in solar “the largest ever observed for any source”​

“The absolute increase of solar PV generation in 2025 is the largest ever observed for any source,” the IEA says, “excluding years marked by rebounds from global economic shocks such as COVID-19.” In other words, with nothing in particular driving the energy markets in 2025, Solar’s growth was unprecedented. On its own, its growth covered a quarter of the rising demand for all forms of energy. If you limit it to electricity, increased solar production covered over two-thirds of the increased demand.
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Good to see solar make some increases - and it definitely has a place if the geography is suitable (Texas and Arizona for example). However, it is intermittent and must be paired with batteries, the technology is produced in China and, although the power source is free, the costs are all upfront which means interest rates/financing can be a significant factor.

The premise that coal is dead worldwide I find to be trendy, but not realistic. Coal is widely available, inexpensive, easily transportable (and stored) and provides 24/7/365 power. It will be a significant contributor to global electricity production for decades, especially with the demonstrated vulnerability of gas pipelines and LNG facilities/transport.

and a fascinating article in the WSJ about the possibility of floating nuclear reactors. If the link doesn’t work, its in Apple News.

 
taxi1 said:
Literally, everything is better when paired with batteries, including coal. They are justified just by their ability to deal with peak loads and rapid transients.
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Agreed, I found this out first-hand during a recent power outage - an Anker Power station coupled with a dual fuel generator pretty much tripled the time our fuel stores would last while running the refrigerator constantly. Only ran the generator twice a day for a total of 4-6 hours (depending if we had to run a load through the dishwasher or run other electric appliances that day). Single 25lb propane tank would last 2-2.5 days as opposed to burning 1-1/2 tanks per day.
 
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