AVATAR backer plans to bore investors; "It's a GOOD thing!"

Started by Seze Mune, August 11, 2012, 07:46:11 PM

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Seze Mune

I want to pose a question to you guys as you read this story:  Is this a good way for the company to spend its money, or would it be better to take all that money and give it to the government as taxes?  What is the better use?

"Ingenious Media Holdings Plc, after thrilling audiences by backing blockbusters Avatar and X-Men, plans to bore investors by setting up a fund of as much as 250 million pounds ($390 million) for green-energy infrastructure.

"We're designing this to be boring," said Sebastian Speight, managing director of Ingenious Media's London-based clean energy unit, in an interview in the city. "Boring is what we like and for that reason we want proven technologies."

"About 35 percent of the open-ended fund will be for solar, 30 percent for wind, 10 percent to 15 percent for conventional biomass, and the rest for energy efficiency, Speight said. It will start up by the end of September, buy and hold operational assets, and seek a return of about 5 percent, he said. "

Source: X-Men, Avatar Backer Shuns Thrills With $390 Million Green Fund

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Althernative energy is one of those interesting but important 'gray areas'.

I am generally very conservative, and want minimal government interference in everyone's life. But the government can do some (not many!) things better than the private sector can. One of these is to invest huge amounts of money in an important project that (at least at first), has not good return on its investment. Developing alternative energy is one of these things, because it is necessary we do this, but it is not cost-effective (at least not now).

Now, when you have a private sector (read: business) who want to make a huge investment in alternative energy, they should be strongly encouraged to proceed by removing (some) regulatory barriers to making it work. The more alternative energy is utilized, the more it becomes a value proposition. Investing in proven technology is not at all bad, because we know it works. It is just expensive. But not as expensive as cutting-edge technologies that are not yet proven. For instance, a solar water heater and photovoltaic panels on every home would do far more at the present than perffecting a fusion reactor.

In the end, a lot of environmentalism is simple stuff- stuff that most any person can do, and often without a significant change to their lifestyle. These kinds of changes would do far more good than any radical plan for energy efficiency, especially if mandated by a government.

I would have solar energy now for both electric and heating, to the point of being a net energy producer, if I could afford to install it. Maybe they will finance me!

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Clarke

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on August 14, 2012, 03:17:34 PMFor instance, a solar water heater and photovoltaic panels on every home would do far more at the present than perffecting a fusion reactor.
I disagree entirely. A viable fusion reactor means all other forms of (large scale) power generation are simply obsolete. Since fusion's cost to the environment is negligible, if not entirely zero, and it is orders of magnitude more reliable than any other option, what possible benefit is there to any other technology?

Niri Te

 Clarke,  most "green identifying" people in this country would have huge hissyfit rallies and protests if anyone in this Country proposed fusion power. Of course the most "out there" radicals in the environmental movement don't. Like solar or wind power either,  citing dirty manufacturing methods for the solar panels,  and bird strikes to the wind power. What they don't. Seem to understand,  is that there is NO SUCH THING as an instantly available,  absolutely ZERO POLLUTING energy scource.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Blue Elf

IMHO and experience in my country giving money to taxes is bad idea. Government is bad house-holder. Maybe in some areas it can do better than private companies, but I'm sure I can take care of my money better.
In near past VAT was raised here (these days they're trying to raise it again) and what is result? Government got less money than expected/planned. Nearly any usage of money other than giving it to taxes is better.


Regarding green energy, it don't have to be so green as one thinks. Producing solar panels is far from being clean technology, also - what about liquidation when operating life is out?
In EU it was ended production of standard light bulbs, because they consume more energy compared to fluorescent tubes. But their production is more difficult, more expensive and  liquidation at end of lifetime is more complicated. Not sure if someone compared all these charges (however I use fluorescent tubes for ages already...)
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Clarke

Quote from: Niri Te on September 06, 2012, 04:04:56 PM
Clarke,  most "green identifying" people in this country would have huge hissyfit rallies and protests if anyone in this Country proposed fusion power. Of course the most "out there" radicals in the environmental movement don't. Like solar or wind power either,  citing dirty manufacturing methods for the solar panels,  and bird strikes to the wind power. What they don't. Seem to understand,  is that there is NO SUCH THING as an instantly available,  absolutely ZERO POLLUTING energy scource.
Then they have no idea what they're talking about. The combination of fusion reactors and superconducting infrastructure (or some other nigh-zero-resistance transmission) is an instantly available, negligible-pollution source.  Even without the superconductors, compared to any sort of modern day generation scheme, it'd be like giving Leonardo Da Vinci a supercapacitive battery.  :P

In terms of pollutive/radioactive output compared to energy output, the only thing more efficient than fusion reactors is Dyson architecture, and that's even harder to build. (And might not even be worth it.  :P)

Niri Te

 There is a PROBLEM with "Public Perception" on this side of the Atlantic, Clarke. That problem, is that if you even mention Nuclear Power, People will be screaming Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and wherever that place was in Japan.  As much as I love nuclear power, I understand, that it WON'T happen anytime soon, perhaps not in my life time until there is a MAJOR shift in the Public's Attitude about it.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Meuiama Tsamsiyu (Toruk Makto)

I am personally a fan of redundancy and a fan or storage.

Here is what I am thinking. Since these obsolete facilities would just end up sitting in place until some random developer decided to funnel millions, if not billions, into tearing out a power facility such as a coal or oil power plant... Why not make them state property. As each new technology, wind, wave generators, fusion... come online. If something drastic happened that we cannot foresee entirely and that effected more than half of that new tech system, whether it is computer failure or a massive calamity like an earthquake in the region... then the redundant system should be fired up to bring society back online.

I am a fan of reducing coal and oil dependency but the fact of the matter is, humanity, as long as we are around and have the ability to mine for these items and store them away for later use, will always need them.

I am not trying to be a doomsayer but a new TV series called Revolution comes to mind where someone makes something happen and all the lights go out and cannot be turned back on, whether that be EMP or whathaveyou. This is where I am a fan of storage. Keeping these resources close at hand, a larger populace might be able to survive the next winter and possibly pull things back onto a quazi power grid.

I am not trying to get off topic there. But relying to much entirely on any form of ONE thing is bound to bite us in the rump.

Again, I am a fan of wind and wave generators as well as hypothetical fusion (Chill Factor). I thin the America knows how to utilize this power but they have their hands so deep in the oil cookie jar they simply do not care right now :(

I will get off this soap box and hope that I do not get lit up for trying to think outside the issue for a little bit. Thanks for your time and reading.

T



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Human No More

Quote from: Clarke on September 06, 2012, 02:04:18 PM
Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on August 14, 2012, 03:17:34 PMFor instance, a solar water heater and photovoltaic panels on every home would do far more at the present than perffecting a fusion reactor.
I disagree entirely. A viable fusion reactor means all other forms of (large scale) power generation are simply obsolete. Since fusion's cost to the environment is negligible, if not entirely zero, and it is orders of magnitude more reliable than any other option, what possible benefit is there to any other technology?
In principle, I couldn't agree more. In practical terms, we do still need stopgap technologies until it's ready and viable.
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archaic

Quote from: Niri Te on September 06, 2012, 08:56:03 PM
There is a PROBLEM with "Public Perception" on this side of the Atlantic, Clarke. That problem, is that if you even mention Nuclear Power, People will be screaming Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and wherever that place was in Japan.  As much as I love nuclear power, I understand, that it WON'T happen anytime soon, perhaps not in my life time until there is a MAJOR shift in the Public's Attitude about it.
Fukushima?
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The Dragon Affair my last fanfic, non Avatar related.

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What do you think Bloomberg means by Ingenious ``boring investors with fundings for green-energy infrastructure´´, ma tsmuke Seze Mune  ????
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