4 ms·

The fact that someone actually built this, sent it to the bottom of the ocean, and then put people inside it to weld a 1200km pipeline underwater boggles my min

The fact that someone actually built this, sent it to the bottom of the ocean, and then put people inside it to weld a 1200km pipeline underwater boggles my mind. Meanwhile we inexplicably struggle to figure out clean/cheap energy at scale.

faeriechangling 4y ago
This IS cheap energy at scale, they just skipped the clean part.
- adrianN 4y ago
  You can't really separate clean and cheap because somebody will have to pay for the pollution eventually.
  - euroderf 4y ago
    For all $SOMEBODY elements of the set { Everybody else }
pstuart 4y ago
Wind power is advancing at a rapid clip (cost competitive without subsidies). Solar PV too keeps getting cheaper (same re subsidies as far as the panels themselves). I'm hopeful that battery research keeps advancing the game (moving from lithium to sodium could lead to significant price cuts IIRC). It's not enough to wean us but it is headed in the right direction. I think the end of the Russian NG pipelines is going to help accelerate this so it could ultimately be a very good thing (but brutal to start with). Always look on the bright side of life, ta da, ta da da da dee da!
est31 4y ago
Yeah fossil fuel extraction has a lot of engineering behind it (as well as transport, handling, processing, etc): there had been easily accessible deposits, but they've been depleted a long time ago, at least in europe. The issue with technological progress and scaling bringing down costs for renewables is that there is a similar effect for fossil fuels too. On the other hand, technologies originally developed for fossil fuel extraction can also be used for renewables deployments.
skrbjc 4y ago
We did figure out how to split atoms and turn that into reliable, usable energy with nearly zero carbon emissions. That seems more impressive than welding under water, as impressive as that is.
benmmurphy 4y ago
Natural gas makes clean energy possible in a lot of countries where reliable clean energy is not feasible. If you don’t have reliable clean energy then you need a source of energy that can be cheaply turned off and on to smooth supply and natural gas was perfect for this. This is also why some countries prices are determined by the price of natural gas because they are using marginal pricing and natural gas is the supplier at the margin.

faeriechangling 4y ago

This IS cheap energy at scale, they just skipped the clean part.

adrianN 4y ago
You can't really separate clean and cheap because somebody will have to pay for the pollution eventually.
- euroderf 4y ago
  For all $SOMEBODY elements of the set { Everybody else }

pstuart 4y ago

Wind power is advancing at a rapid clip (cost competitive without subsidies). Solar PV too keeps getting cheaper (same re subsidies as far as the panels themselves). I'm hopeful that battery research keeps advancing the game (moving from lithium to sodium could lead to significant price cuts IIRC). It's not enough to wean us but it is headed in the right direction. I think the end of the Russian NG pipelines is going to help accelerate this so it could ultimately be a very good thing (but brutal to start with). Always look on the bright side of life, ta da, ta da da da dee da!

est31 4y ago

Yeah fossil fuel extraction has a lot of engineering behind it (as well as transport, handling, processing, etc): there had been easily accessible deposits, but they've been depleted a long time ago, at least in europe. The issue with technological progress and scaling bringing down costs for renewables is that there is a similar effect for fossil fuels too. On the other hand, technologies originally developed for fossil fuel extraction can also be used for renewables deployments.

skrbjc 4y ago

We did figure out how to split atoms and turn that into reliable, usable energy with nearly zero carbon emissions. That seems more impressive than welding under water, as impressive as that is.

benmmurphy 4y ago

Natural gas makes clean energy possible in a lot of countries where reliable clean energy is not feasible. If you don’t have reliable clean energy then you need a source of energy that can be cheaply turned off and on to smooth supply and natural gas was perfect for this. This is also why some countries prices are determined by the price of natural gas because they are using marginal pricing and natural gas is the supplier at the margin.