“President Joe Biden’s closing argument before the midterm elections presents contradictory promises of driving down carbon emissions while increasing the supply of fossil fuels.”
“Biden hasn’t been invited to spread the message of his climate victory in swing states, even though people are already voting early or by mail.”
– E&E News (October 24, 2022)
From time to time MasterResource amplifies E&E News articles that call a spade a spade. A bit of realism in a sea of hyperbole about all things climate and energy is worth commemorating.
Scott Waldman’s “Biden Struggles to Sell Climate Win in Final Midterm Stretch” (October 24, 2022) exposes the contradictory themes of lowering oil prices and addressing climate concerns. The article shows a picture of Joe Biden (teleprompter hidden) speaking at the East Portland Community Center in Portland, Oregon, surely friendly ground.…
Ed. note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete Newsletter for this post can be found here.
Greed Energy Economics:
*** Full Cost of Electricity “FCOE” and Energy Returns “eROI”
*** It is time to replace LCOE
*** Indiana says converting 1,052 MW of coal to gas will be $381M cheaper than renewables and storage
*** $3.8 Trillion of Investment in Renewables Moved Fossil Fuels from 82% to 81% of Overall Energy Consumption in 10 Years
Renewables (General):
*** Renewable energy is a failed path, scientist tells Utah legislators
*** Reliability is Key to a Successful Energy Transition
*** Grid Grief: Ideologues Refuse to Acknowledge the Big Problem!…
“… global commodity price increases … sharp and sudden increases in interest rates, prolonged supply chain constraints, and persistent inflation have significantly increased the expected cost of constructing the project.”
Electricity rates are going up because of wind, solar, and batteries being forced upon, and duplicating, the grid. Reliability is going down because of wind and solar intermittency. And higher interest rates are (further) ruining the economics of the infrastructure-heavy, up-front capital necessary to turn “free” wind and solar into electricity.
It’s a perfect storm that might just overcome the taxpayer largesse of the federal subsidies (DOE and IRS) and rate averaging for captive ratepayers. With offshore wind experimental and extra-uneconomic, the worst can be assumed.
An October 30, 2022, article by Colin Young, “Major Massachusetts offshore wind project no longer viable,” explains the fluid situation.…