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Showing posts from August, 2023

More Proof That The Electrify Everything Push Is A Regressive Tax

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  Robert Bryce robertbryce.substack.com   More Proof That The Electrify Everything Push Is A Regressive Tax Latest DOE numbers: electricity costs 3.3 times more than natural gas AUG 29         Photo:  Wikipedia.   On December 14, 2022, the Biden administration held “ the first-ever White House  Electrification Summit .” The goal of the meeting, which included officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Climate Policy Office, and Office of Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, along with leaders of various NGOs, including the American Federation of Teachers, Greenlining Institute, and Rewiring America, was to create a “strategy to accelerate affordable, equitable, and efficient electrification of American homes, businesses, and transportation.” The same day of the Electrification Summit, the White House released a “ rapid innovation agenda ” that included President Biden’s goal of “a carbon pollution-free electricity grid by 2035, and to reach net-zero

Filings show N.Y. green energy could cost consumers 64 percent more

  ALBANY  — Electricity prices could rise 64 percent in order to cover inflation and the higher-than-anticipated costs that are becoming apparent in New York’s shift to renewable energy, according to a leading state agency.   “The impact of implementing ACE (Alliance for Clean Energy) NY’s requested relief … would be an increase in weighted average strike (base) prices of 64 percent,” reads part of the comments from the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency, which sets contracts for electricity sales by solar and wind developers.  What that means for the consumer isn't clear as yet.   The comments were filed with the state Public Service Commission, which must approve the wholesale energy prices. They came as part of an  earlier request  by ACE, a trade group, to increase the amount of money that solar and wind developers will get for the energy they produce. While ACE’s request in June cited the rising costs of converting from fossil fuels to renewables,  the comme

Lawmaker wants state to check health of first responders at solar farm fire

  https://www.wwnytv.com/2023/08/29/lawmaker-wants-state-check-health-first-responders-solar-farm-fire/ />

Congratulations To Germany On Achieving More Than 50% Of Its Electricity Production From "Renewables"!

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  On the march to Net Zero carbon emissions from usage of energy, the key first step is to eliminate fossil fuels from the generation of electricity, replacing them with the magical “renewables.”   Or so we are told.   Once electricity generation is fossil fuel-free, then all energy use can be switched to electricity, without any of the evil emissions. Voilà — Net Zero! But somehow , in the places that have tried to go this route with wind turbines and solar panels, the push to get more electricity generation from “renewables” has seemed to stall out at around 40 - 45%. (Some small countries with lots of hydropower get higher percentages by counting the hydropower as “renewable.”). Countries may build more and more solar panels and wind turbines, but somewhere in the 40s the percentage that those things contribute to electricity generation just doesn’t seem to budge very much any more. And that’s why it’s so exciting that in the first half of 2023 Germany finally crashed through the 50

Young climate activist tells Greenpeace to drop ‘old-fashioned’ anti-nuclear stance

  Swedish teenager Ia Anstoot says group’s ‘unscientific’ opposition to EU nuclear power serves fossil fuel interests   Helena Horton  Environment reporter   Tue 29 Aug 2023   An 18-year-old climate activist has called for  Greenpeace  to drop its “old-fashioned and unscientific” campaign against nuclear power in the EU.   In April, the environmental campaign group announced  it would appeal  against the EU Commission’s decision to include nuclear power in its  classification system for sustainable finance . This “taxonomy” is designed as a guide for private investors wanting to fund green projects, aiming to boost environmental investment. Ia Aanstoot, from Sweden, who for three years took part in the Friday school strikes movement started by Greta Thunberg, said Greenpeace’s legal challenge served fossil fuel interests instead of climate action. With campaigners from five other EU countries, Aanstoot has launched the  Dear Greenpeace  campaign, asking the NGO to “drop your old-fashio

Bidenomics and the New Political-Subsidy Economy

  The White House is celebrating the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act like it’s VE-Day, and you have to admire the political chutzpah. The Administration is spending literally trillions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies and calling the projects that result an economic miracle. But government can always get more of what it subsidizes, and in this case it’s a gusher on politically favored industries. No wonder construction spending on factories has soared nearly 80% in the last year, according to the Census Bureau. Public works spending increased (13.6%), especially on electric power projects (36.7%), conservation and development (30.1%), and highways and streets (20.4%). *** Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, sent a memo to “interested parties” (i.e., the press) on Wednesday touting “nearly 200 new projects totalling over $110 billion of investment in building America’s clean energy economy.” That’s hardly surprising given the magnitude of new subsidies for big

The Iron Law Of Power Density, Part 2

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  “If we are serious about cutting emissions, land sparing, preventing the industrialization of our oceans, saving the North Atlantic Right Whale, saving Bald and Golden Eagles, protecting bats, and reducing the amount of mining we have to do to produce the metals, minerals, and magnets needed for our energy and power systems, the way forward is now — and always will be — N2N: natural gas to nuclear.” Robert Bryce   The Iron Law Of Power Density, Part 2 A look at EROEI and material intensity per megawatt-hour AUG 20     READ IN APP   Discarded wind turbine blades near Sweetwater, Texas, in 2021. Photo by author. My August 13 article, “ The Power Of Power Density ,” is the second most popular article I have published here on Substack. The article struck a chord. Why? I suspect that lots of people want to have a better grasp of the physics that rule our energy and power systems. As I explained last week, power density is perhaps the most important — and yet least understood — metric in p