3 ms·

> Unless otherwise indicated all prices and costs in this paper are in 2022 dollars.

PaulHoule 3y ago
It is astonishing how many "clean energy" technologies were talked about in the 1970s and are still being talked about today. For instance there is a constellation of technologies involving * pyrolysis reactors * gas turbines * steam turbines * Fischer-Tropsch reactors * water-shift reactors * amine strippers and similar technology that can do things like process coal or biomass into energy and fuels (hydrogen, methane, synthetic hydrocarbon) and possibly capture the resulting carbon. They are an El Dorado like the liquid metal fast breeder reactor that is talked about far out of proportion with the reality. I got interested in that stuff about 20 years ago and the first thing I noticed was that papers in 2002 quoted the exact same cost figures as papers from the 1970s, that is, people hadn't done the basic work to account for the inflation that's happened since then. All those same technologies are talked about a lot today, with very little action. I mean, they still might put natural gas into a gas turbine and then use a steam turbine to make even more energy, but, like fast reactors, there are probably 1000s of papers for every https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioenergy_with_carbon_capture_and_storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioenergy_with_carbon_capture_... plant that's been built. Of course, people getting paid to capture CO2 might give people a real reason to build something for once.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- brodouevencode 3y ago
  Not sure why you're getting downvoted here. Oh wait, yes I do.
jncfhnb 3y ago
I think an awful lot of people have confused themselves into thinking that inflation is this giant awful thing that totally distorts their view of money. 2022 was less than one year ago, and the average inflation rate for the past year was like 3%. Small and normal. This note here about using 2022 dollars is normal and reasonable.
- brodouevencode 3y ago
  Inflation is only a part of the equation.
  - jncfhnb 3y ago
    Then what’s the significance of 2022 dollars you felt compelled to show?

It is astonishing how many "clean energy" technologies were talked about in the 1970s and are still being talked about today. For instance there is a constellation of technologies involving * pyrolysis reactors * gas turbines * steam turbines * Fischer-Tropsch reactors * water-shift reactors * amine strippers and similar technology that can do things like process coal or biomass into energy and fuels (hydrogen, methane, synthetic hydrocarbon) and possibly capture the resulting carbon. They are an El Dorado like the liquid metal fast breeder reactor that is talked about far out of proportion with the reality. I got interested in that stuff about 20 years ago and the first thing I noticed was that papers in 2002 quoted the exact same cost figures as papers from the 1970s, that is, people hadn't done the basic work to account for the inflation that's happened since then. All those same technologies are talked about a lot today, with very little action. I mean, they still might put natural gas into a gas turbine and then use a steam turbine to make even more energy, but, like fast reactors, there are probably 1000s of papers for every https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioenergy_with_carbon_capture_and_storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioenergy_with_carbon_capture_... plant that's been built. Of course, people getting paid to capture CO2 might give people a real reason to build something for once.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
brodouevencode 3y ago
Not sure why you're getting downvoted here. Oh wait, yes I do.

jncfhnb 3y ago

I think an awful lot of people have confused themselves into thinking that inflation is this giant awful thing that totally distorts their view of money. 2022 was less than one year ago, and the average inflation rate for the past year was like 3%. Small and normal. This note here about using 2022 dollars is normal and reasonable.

brodouevencode 3y ago
Inflation is only a part of the equation.
- jncfhnb 3y ago
  Then what’s the significance of 2022 dollars you felt compelled to show?