Re: Using nuclear power to make renewables and a hydrogen economy cost effective

From: G. R. L. Cowan (gcowan_at_eagle.ca)
Date: 11/01/04 

Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 13:07:03 -0500

charliew2 wrote:
>
> Alex Terrell <alexterrell@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:d81e59c9.0411010230.2f570f1e@posting.google.com...
> > "charliew2" <charliew2@ev1.net> wrote in message
> news:<10oas9ik37rr67c@corp.supernews.com>...
> > > Alex Terrell wrote:
> > > > "charliew2" <charliew2@ev1.net> wrote in message
> > > > news:<10o9rptsn9a2n3f@corp.supernews.com>...
> > > >
> > > >>>
> > > >>> Meanwhile, I'm continually amazed at how people with no experience
> > > >>> of economics or business choose such a narrow definition of excess.
> > > >>> If their trying to get rid of the stuff at below cost, that could be
> > > >>> treated by excess. (I wonder if Ryanair considers the seats it sells
> > > >>> for ?0.99 "excess seats").
> > > >>
> > > >> Those seats are a material thing. Electricity is energy. There's a
> > > >> big difference.
> > > >
> > > > They are very similar as far as this discussion is concerned, as both
> > > > cannot be stored and used later, and have very low marginal cost.
> > >
> > > So show me how you can store any significant amount of electricity.
> Even a
> > > big capacitor bank can only store a small amount, and only for dc
> current.
> > > If you have a storage device for ac current, I would really like to see
> it.
> > > Seats on the other hand, can be put in a warehouse for months, if
> necessary.
> > >
> > I'm not sure if you're joking. When an airline talks about selling a
> > seat, they mean a bum on a seat for a journey. The 747 taking off
> > tomorrow has 412 (for example) seats. Any not used are wasted. I can't
> > store them.
>
> You really haven't a clue, do you? The airlines are selling a service. The
> plane uses approximately the same amount of energy to fly its route with or
> without that single passenger aboard. If a seat is empty, the airline loses
> the ability to recoup some of its fuel costs, which is actually an energy
> cost, and its efficiency goes down.

You and Terrell seem to be in violent agreement.

--- Graham Cowan, former hydrogen fan
http://www.eagle.ca/~gcowan/Paper_for_11th_CHC.doc --
how individual mobility gains nuclear cachet

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