[CarlosFerreira]

Not Flash, just Gordon's speech on a post-oil economy, courtesy of The Oil Drum:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4300

Note the reference to nuke, as the middle (3rd) of 5 points. I understand to Brits, nuke power is a matter of fact, but it still shocks me. Great speech, though. First world leader to acknowledge Peak Oil and the need for alternatives?

Maybe he's Flash, after all.

[Graeme]

Portugal Gives Itself a Clean-Energy Makeover

Five years ago, the leaders of this sun-scorched, wind-swept nation made a bet: To reduce Portugal’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, they embarked on an array of ambitious renewable energy projects — primarily harnessing the country’s wind and hydropower, but also its sunlight and ocean waves.

Today, Lisbon’s trendy bars, Porto’s factories and the Algarve’s glamorous resorts are powered substantially by clean energy. Nearly 45 percent of the electricity in Portugal’s grid will come from renewable sources this year, up from 17 percent just five years ago.

Land-based wind power — this year deemed “potentially competitive” with fossil fuels by the International Energy Agency in Paris — has expanded sevenfold in that time. And Portugal expects in 2011 to become the first country to inaugurate a national network of charging stations for electric cars.

“I’ve seen all the smiles — you know: It’s a good dream. It can’t compete. It’s too expensive,” said Prime Minister José Sócrates, recalling the way Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, mockingly offered to build him an electric Ferrari. Mr. Sócrates added, “The experience of Portugal shows that it is possible to make these changes in a very short time.”


Portugal was well poised to be a guinea pig because it has large untapped resources of wind and river power, the two most cost-effective renewable sources. Government officials say the energy transformation required no increase in taxes or public debt, precisely because the new sources of electricity, which require no fuel and produce no emissions, replaced electricity previously produced by buying and burning imported natural gas, coal and oil. By 2014 the renewable energy program will allow Portugal to fully close at least two conventional power plants and reduce the operation of others.

“So far the program has placed no stress on the national budget” and has not created government debt, said Shinji Fujino, head of the International Energy Agency’s country study division.

If the United States is to catch up to countries like Portugal, energy experts say, it must overcome obstacles like a fragmented, outdated energy grid poorly suited to renewable energy; a historic reliance on plentiful and cheap supplies of fossil fuels, especially coal; powerful oil and coal industries that often oppose incentives for renewable development; and energy policy that is heavily influenced by individual states.

nytimes

[Timo]

Portugal Gives Itself a Clean-Energy Makeover

If the United States is to catch up to countries like Portugal, energy experts say, it must overcome obstacles like a fragmented, outdated energy grid poorly suited to renewable energy; a historic reliance on plentiful and cheap supplies of fossil fuels, especially coal; powerful oil and coal industries that often oppose incentives for renewable development; and energy policy that is heavily influenced by individual states.

nytimes

What a perfectly viable use of federal money, putting people to work, replacing and upgrading the grid for the long-term benefit of every single American. Jobs, income, advancied technology.....all this adds up to true progress.

Oh, wait. The "grid" isn't public in the same sense as sewers and water lines. Everything is privately owned by megolithic corporations. Hands off, Uncle Sam! Int's not in the best interest of the coal companies and the coal burning companies to go out of business.

I'm NOT a communist, as i'm sure i'll be accused of being, but i do recognize advantageous avenues for the common good. Getting the hell off burning coal as our primary source of energy is not only in our nation's best interest, it's in the planet's best interest. If 1/2 of this coutry honestly believes that health care is a "right," then i certainly catagorize the energy needed to enable our "non-negotiable way of life" as a right, too. Energy is a public asset, and needs to be thought of in the communal sense, and not the private proprietary sense. Community Wind is a huge step in the right direction, but these smaller communities almost always utilize a municipal power utility as the means of enacting such necessary changes. Portugal has figured out how to do it. Globally, it will undoubtedly be harder, but you automatically miss every shot you don't take. From my point of view, this realization isn't too far off in the future. People only respond to emergencies, and as Mr. Kunstler has duly noted, this is a real long emergency we are all in.

[Tanada]

Why not let states like Maine and California play with a renewable power base and see if it works in those area's? Oh wait, there are too many objections to wind farms in ideal locations and solar thermal in 'environmentally sensitive' locations.

People want to have it both ways, but there is no such thing as a free lunch or a power supply with zero environmental impact. That being said we should look for and install the power supply with the lowest environmental footprint wherever and whenever possible, namely Fission.

[Graeme]

Tanada, A fission renaissance has just been suggested by UK scientists. I started a thread about this here. How do you respond to the comment at the bottom of the article that nuclear is too expensive?

Solar seems to be doing fine in California:

Calif. Desert on Pace to Become World's Solar Capital

Southern California is poised to become the world's solar power capital as the Obama administration continues to stamp its approval on large-scale renewable energy projects across the Mojave and Colorado deserts.

Since Aug. 1, the Bureau of Land Management has issued final environmental impact statements (EISs) for three commercial solar plants that, once built, will cover nearly 20,000 acres of BLM land in the desert regions and produce enough electricity to power nearly 1.6 million homes.

Final EISs were issued on Friday to Tessera Solar's 850-megawatt Calico Solar plant and BrightSource Energy Inc.'s 392-megawatt Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. Both plants are to be built in sparsely populated eastern San Bernardino County, California's largest county.

The Calico and Ivanpah EISs follow the release of a final environmental impact statement for Tessera Solar's 709-megawatt Imperial Valley project in Imperial County, which borders Arizona and Mexico in the southeast corner of the state (Land Letter, Aug. 5).

While the issuance of a final EIS does not authorize construction, which is a state responsibility, it removes the last major regulatory hurdle in getting a large-scale energy project involving federal land off the ground.

nytimes

And this from the USDA:

Blending Wind and Solar Meets Peak Energy Demands

In parts of Texas and California, a good match between renewable energy production and peak energy demands could be obtained by combining wind power with solar power, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist.

A better blending of solar and wind power, combined with a way to store excess energy, should increase the use of renewable energy for California, Texas and the rest of the nation, according to a study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agricultural engineer Brian Vick at the agency's Renewable Energy and Manure Management Research Unit in Bushland, Texas. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

Vick discovered that in the Texas Panhandle and West Texas, as well as in northern and southern California, there is almost an exact mismatch between wind power production and peak energy demands over a 24-hour period. In these locations, at the heights of modern wind turbines, winds are lowest at mid-day, when power demands are greatest. In Texas, there is also a seasonal mismatch: The winds are weakest in the summer, when power demands are highest.

But the sun's rays are most intense at mid-day and in summer months.

Texas is the top state for wind-generated electricity production, with Iowa ranking second and California third. California is the leader in solar-generated electricity production.

The most efficient storage system is one being used in solar thermal power plants, where the sun's heat is used to heat water or other fluids. The fluids are kept hot long after the sun goes down, ready to be used later to produce steam to generate electricity.

The excess electricity generated by wind in the late night and early morning hours could be pumped into the grid and removed by storage facilities (like pumped-storage hydroelectricity or compressed-air energy storage facilities) to match the utility loading in the daytime.

[Tanada]

Tanada, A fission renaissance has just been suggested by UK scientists. I started a thread about this here. How do you respond to the comment at the bottom of the article that nuclear is too expensive?

I disagree with the contention that Nuclear Fission is more expensive. I have looked through the issue many times and in most cases the people positing this factoid are basing it on very sloppy math. Nearly all the time they ignore land acquisition costs, continuing property taxes from that land, infrastructure needed and on and on and on. No system of generating electricity is "free", heck even building solar panels and shipping them to the location where they will be installed is a cost, both environmentally and fiscally. Fission has the huge advantage of being very energy dense, one compact reactor site can power a whole state in the USA if it is as big as Iowa or smaller and even a huge state like California would only need 3 or 4 dedicated generating area's to power the entire state. One place can house many reactors, which has a tremendous reduction on the environmental impact.

For myself I would design a grid to be 80% fission and 20% renewable, primarily Hydro and Wind farms. Hydro ideally would be for peak demand period and the reservoirs would be allowed to refill during non peak demand periods. The way we use the dams on the Colorado is nearly insane, baseload power production is IMO a foolish waste of Hydro's ability to store energy and release it on demand. Fission is excellent baseload power and Wind can be sited in places where it is very good for baseload supply as well.

Hope this makes sense, have to run off and work now

[eXpat]

Portuguese Government Rejects Austerity Plan, Government Collapses

Just out:

PORTUGUESE PARLIAMENT REJECTS GOVERNMENT'S DEFICIT-CUTTING PLAN
PORTUGAL'S PARLIAMENT BACKS RESOLUTION AGAINST GOVERNMENT PLAN

Next up: government resignation, crisis, bail out, etc. You know the drill.

Very modest drop in the EURUSD for now:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/portuguese-government-rejects-austerity-plan-government-collapses

and
Portugal PM Jose Socrates resigns after budget rejected

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates has resigned after parliament rejected an austerity budget.

The defeat is likely to trigger a bailout similar to the rescue packages Greece and the Republic of Ireland had to accept last year.

All five opposition parties voted against the austerity measures, which included spending cuts and tax rises.

Mr Socrates had earlier said he would no longer be able to run the country if the budget was not adopted.

Elections are likely to take place in a few months' time.

Mr Socrates, from the centre-left Socialist Party, presented his resignation to President Anibal Cavaco Silva two hours after the vote in parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12841492

[Lore]

Why would anyone give Portugal a bailout with no effective government to administer it?

[eXpat]

Why would anyone give Portugal a bailout with no effective government to administer it?

That´s why

French banks were the most exposed to Portugal's public debt as of the end of the first quarter, holding $US20.4 billion ($A20.81 billion), according to a report by the Bank for International Settlements, based in Basel, Switzerland.

Spanish banks held $US10.6 billion ($A10.81 billion) and Germany's $US9.9 billion ($A10.1 billion), from a total of $US62.9 billion ($A64.16 billion).

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-business/investors-keep-up-pressure-on-portugal-20101126-189es.html

[eXpat]

Portugal minister says country needs E.U. help

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Portugal’s finance minister on Wednesday asked for international assistance hours after the country paid an eye-water price to borrow a little over a billion euros in a closely watched T-bill auction.

Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said in an written interview with the Jornal de Negocios newspaper that the country needed help, saying it is necessary to refer to available funding mechanisms in the European context. A spokeswoman for the ministry confirmed the accuracy of the report, several news outlets reported.
Portugal now looks set to join Greece and Ireland in receiving bailouts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Portugal’s debt agency said it sold €455 million ($649.1 million) in 12-month bills, producing an average yield of 5.902%, up sharply from an already-elevated 4.331% at a previous auction. A sale of €550 million of 6-month bills produced a yield of 5.117% versus 2.984% in a previous auction.

“The auction today expresses well the deterioration of conditions in the markets after the rejection of the [budget program,]” dos Santos said. He added that domestic institutions took up 90% of the auction.

The yield on 10-year Portuguese government bonds pressed above 9% on Tuesday, a fresh euro-era high — and well above the 7% threshold widely viewed as sustainable.

Portugal faces around €4.3 billion of bond redemptions in April followed by a repayment of €4.9 billion in June.

Ratings agencies have slashed Portugal’s sovereign-debt ratings within a whisker of junk status following the minority government’s inability last month to pass a fourth round of austerity measures. The government also missed its 2010 deficit target.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/portugal-pays-nearly-6-to-borrow-12-months-2011-04-06

[Fishman]

Love you guys, but you look like toast from this side of the pond. Roadblocks eh? Well, expect that here later. Can bike to work, large garden.

[mattduke]

The Portuguese government has a large debt and deficit, you see.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?tic ... :IND#chart

[Daniel_Plainview]

FT -- Portugal risks missing fiscal targets

Portugal will fail to meet fiscal targets agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund as part of a €78bn bail-out package unless it takes “significant additional measures”, the country’s central bank has warned. In a report on Thursday the Bank of Portugal said the extra measures were required to meet budget deficit targets in 2011 and 2012 as the country’s economic recession grows deeper than forecast.

It said the economy would contract 2.2 per cent in 2012, compared with a previous projection of a 1.8 per cent contraction. The economy was expected to contract 1.9 per cent this year, the bank added, which is a marginal improvement from its earlier forecast.
The downward revision in the bank’s 2012 projection came after Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Portugal’s conservative president, warned on Wednesday that “budget discipline” would have to be “tough and relentless”.

A failure to control public spending and introduce economic reforms could force Portugal to ask for additional bail-out funds, he said.

Mish -- Portugal Central Bank Warns of Fiscal Deficit Slippage and Recession

The Central Bank of Portugal warned the economy might fail to meet budget deficit targets set for this year and next under the EU/IMF programme (5.9% and 4.5% of GDP, respectively), unless it takes "significant additional measures".

According to the report, lower-than-previously projected GDP growth and lack of implementation of structural reforms (as opposed to one-off actions) would be responsible for the anticipated fiscal slippage in 2012. The Central Bank expects GDP growth to contract 1.9% this year (BarCap: -2.0%, EU/IMF: -2.0%) and 2.2% next (previous forecast: 1.9%, BarCap: -1.7%, EU/IMF: -1.8%).

[Daniel_Plainview]

Mish -- IMF slashes Portugal GDP forecast, predicting a GDP contraction of -3%

[eXpat]

Fitch cuts Portugal rating on high debts, worse outlook

LISBON (Reuters) - Fitch downgraded Portugal's credit rating to junk status on Thursday, citing large fiscal imbalances, high debts and the risks to its EU-mandated austerity program from a worsening economic outlook.

The ratings agency cut Portugal to BB+ from BBB-, which is still one notch higher than Moody's rating of Ba2. S&P still rates Portugal investment grade.

Fitch said a deepening recession makes it "much more challenging" for the government to cut the budget deficit but it still expects fiscal goals to be met both this year and next.

"However, the risk of slippage - either from worse macroeconomic outturns or insufficient expenditure controls - is large," Fitch said.

The challenging economic environment was clear in a Reuters poll on Thursday, where economists forecast Portugal's economy will contract by 2.9 percent next year, the deepest recession since the 1970s, and 1.6 percent this year, in line with the government's estimates.

Portugal's 10-year bond prices plunged, sending yields surging more than 100 basis points to 13.85 percent -- the second highest level in the euro zone after Greece. The spread to German Bunds also rose more than 100 basis points to 1,168.

The downgrade of Portugal came after the dramatic deterioration of the euro zone crisis in recent weeks as it spread to bigger countries like Italy and Spain.

http://news.yahoo.com/fitch-cuts-portugal-rating-junk-status-113718420.html

[dolanbaker]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... power.html

Portugal has entered dangerous political waters. For the first time since the creation of Europe’s monetary union, a member state has taken the explicit step of forbidding eurosceptic parties from taking office on the grounds of national interest.

Anibal Cavaco Silva, Portugal’s constitutional president, has refused to appoint a Left-wing coalition government even though it secured an absolute majority in the Portuguese parliament and won a mandate to smash the austerity regime bequeathed by the EU-IMF Troika.

He deemed it too risky to let the Left Bloc or the Communists come close to power, insisting that conservatives should soldier on as a minority in order to satisfy Brussels and appease foreign financial markets.

Democracy must take second place to the higher imperative of euro rules and membership.

“In 40 years of democracy, no government in Portugal has ever depended on the support of anti-European forces, that is to say forces that campaigned to abrogate the Lisbon Treaty, the Fiscal Compact, the Growth and Stability Pact, as well as to dismantle monetary union and take Portugal out of the euro, in addition to wanting the dissolution of NATO,” said Mr Cavaco Silva.
....

Democracy is at risk in the EU, as another country (almost) votes in a radical anti Troika party in, but is being prevented from taking power.