Used Value vs Age

[hornett22]

I run my pre-emissions Kubota in that same RPM range.

As far as regens go, I fail to understand how storing the soot so that it can all be blown out at once during a regen makes any difference to total pollution.

The same logic that traps gasoline vapors causing gas cans to swell up like basketballs until the cap breaks so the fumes can be all released at once. Or just when you open them to get gas.

 

[hornett22]

It doesn’t store the soot.

It catches the soot and waits for EGTs to get high enough to convert it into less harmful gases .

 

[Torvy]

The people in Texas who got high bills last year voluntarily signed up for variable rate plans that gave them considerably cheaper power prior to the cold snap. Disingenuous of them to complain about higher prices when they also benefited from the lower ones. A coach/econ teacher with whom I worked last year had that type of plan. Unlike many, he took it in stride as he understood the risks.

 

[IndyJay]

I'd have to go back and refresh myself on it, but it seems that part of the reason for the crisis in Texas last year was related to regulations requiring a certain amount of their power to come from "green" energy. The unusually cold temperatures made it impossible to comply but they were unable to get a variance quickly enough to avert the disaster that befell these unfortunate people.

 

[AndyMA]

In a statement provided to Reuters via email, Ed Crooks, vice chairman of Wood Mackenzie’s Americas division (here), said, “The crisis in Texas was not caused by the state’s renewable energy industry. The largest loss of generation came from gas-fired power plants, with the drop-off from wind farms a long way behind.”

He explained, however, that “the loss of power has been a warning of the issues that will be raised as the proportion of renewable generation on the grid rises.” Crooks said that businesses and policymakers who are managing the transition to green energy must pay careful attention to the kinds of catastrophic risks that Texas is experiencing by building resilient generation, transmission and distribution equipment.

In a statement to Reuters via email, Paul Goydan, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group who leads the firm’s energy practice in North America, said that there “were extended power outages because large portions of the U.S. natural gas supply were taken offline due to weather, and generation sources of all types froze from the extreme cold.”

Goydan said he expected “discussions of mandatory weatherization,” followed by “questions around natural gas storage, liquid natural gas export in times of crisis, and overall energy system resiliency” to take place as Texas plans for its future in energy.

On Feb. 16, federal regulators said they would open an inquiry into power outages in Texas and the Midwest due to extreme cold weather (here). The same day, Governor Abbott called for reform of ERCOT after it received widespread criticism for not preparing for the extreme weather.

CAN RENEWABLES WORK IN COLD WEATHER?​

Benjamin Sovacool, professor of energy policy at the University of Sussex, reportedly told Newsweek that in Northern Europe, “wind power operates very reliably in even colder temperatures, including the upper Arctic regions of Finland, Norway, and Sweden.” (here)

More can be read on adapting renewable energy forms to cold weather here , here , and here .

Crucially, the continued use and investment of renewable energy can help slow the effects of climate change, which leads to more extreme weather patterns.

A recent Reuters fact check of social media posts claiming to show “a helicopter, using fossil fuels, spraying de-icer, made with fossil fuels, to de-ice a wind turbine” in Texas is available here .

VERDICT​

Misleading. The use of wind turbines in Texas does not appear to be the primary cause of statewide power outages amid historic cold weather. The state’s woes mainly stem from issues surrounding its independent power grid. The cold weather affected all fuel types, not just renewables.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

 

[jyoutz]

Having had both pre and post emission tractors, I personally don't see al the negatives about the tractors with emission systems.

A few folks on this forum have a very different opinion.

We need to do all we can to slow climate change and cut emissions

Andy

My old pre-emissions tractor gave me a sinus headache after operating for an hour or so. My new tractor with tier 4 doesn’t cause that problem. That is reason enough for me to love the new machines.

 

[jyoutz]

I'd have to go back and refresh myself on it, but it seems that part of the reason for the crisis in Texas last year was related to regulations requiring a certain amount of their power to come from "green" energy. The unusually cold temperatures made it impossible to comply but they were unable to get a variance quickly enough to avert the disaster that befell these unfortunate people.

Not true. It was because ALL of the electrical generation in Texas wasn’t properly designed for winterization. The outages affected both natural gas and wind energy. However in my state next door, we routinely get must colder than Texas and our wind and gas generation facilities are designed for cold temperatures. We had no problems during that same cold snap period.

 

[jyoutz]

Got it!
We should choke our US economy, so that we can virtue signal the remainder of the world!

Except we aren’t choking the economy. Solar, wind and natural gas energy is driving down electricity costs.

 

[jyoutz]

Ok because 30 trillion debt looks real good on the balance sheet.
Maybe some more multi-trillion dollar boondoggles coming soon for “infrastructure“

It’s time that we spent money improving our own country. Will there be some fraud and waste? Of course. That goes with any large expenditures. But our country is in sad need of infrastructure remodeling. This is especially evident when you travel to Europe and see how shabby US roads, airports, and other infrastructure is compared to other first world countries.

 

[jyoutz]

Doesnt it? I’m not 100% sure, but it sounds like the words spoken of a “faculty lounge expert”, with no real world experience.
From the belt driven smog pump of 1972 all the way to today’s DPFs and all the catalytic converters in between, every pollution control device reduces efficiency and increases fuel consumption. That’s just plain fact for the last 50 years.
Now do they reduce emissions? Of course they do and that’s a good thing. However, the word we are focused on is “efficiency“.

My 1972 pre-emissions car got 15 mpg. Our new Subaru with all current emissions gets 34 mpg.