Editor Note: This study by the Energy Alliance of the Texas Business Coalition is in two parts, with Part II tomorrow. MasterResource appreciates the opportunity for publication.

“Where only a few years ago modern natural gas peaker plants would have been called on to meet peak demand at 5:55 pm on September 6, unreliable solar generation is now filling much of that role.”

“The Texas grid almost failed because $29 billion of federal, state, and local subsidies over the last 18 years have left Texans relying on renewable energy sources that cannot generate electricity when it is most needed.”

When the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the operator of most of the Texas electric grid, declared an Energy Emergency Alert 2 on September 6 for the first time since Winter Storm Uri, it exposed how renewable energy and renewable energy subsidies are rapidly undermining the reliability of the Texas electric grid.…

Ed. Note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnighly 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:
*** New Wind Energy Costs Blow the Doors Off Projections
*** Electricity from wind isn’t cheap and it never will be
*** Another fairy tale about the levelized cost of renewables
Wind farms gaming system to inflate millions earned when asked to halt production
Support for offshore wind sinks as costs soar
Low Interest Shown in US’ First Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind Auction

Unreliables: Energy Health and Ecosystem Consequences:
Cobalt Carnage, Child Labor, and Ecological Destruction

Unreliables (General):
*** The US is facing a blackout ‘crisis’ – thanks to green energy
*** Why wind and solar power are running out of juice
California’s planning a renewable energy project at a scale never before attempted in the world
Maine town in path of proposed power corridor approves moratorium on utility lines
In Blow to Renewables, Ninth Circuit Mostly Upholds FERC’s PURPA Reforms

Wind Energy — Offshore:
*** Offshore wind project will damage ocean ecosystem with no environmental benefit
*** Offshore wind projects may be cancelled in NJ, according to report
*** This board advises RI on offshore wind’s impacts on fisheries: they all just resigned
Wind Industry Money Behind Media Misinformation about Whale Deaths
U.S.…

Big Brother Warning: Banning gas stoves is just the start. A long list of household appliances are on the federal hit list to be either banned, made ineffective, or made too expensive to buy.

“Something is terribly wrong with the current direction of federal regulation. Not only are the number and scope of new rules out of control, but many are driven by the blind ambition to ban the use of fossil fuels without regard for the stability of the power grid or the actual health and safety of citizens.”

While EPA is finalizing rules that will essentially ban natural gas and coal-powered electricity generation, risking blackouts according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, other federal regulators are working on plans to ban gasoline-powered portable generators. The very thing that people need when the power goes out, backup generators, will soon be back-door banned just in time for the power blackouts that the new EPA rules are poised to cause.…

“The separation of government and electricity (six words) or, more precisely, the separation of government and the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity (twelve words) is simple enough…. Why deny this Political Economy 101 definition between free-market reliance and government intervention?”

The separation of government and electricity is a straightforward, time-honored application of classical liberalism (or the free market). It has existed as long as I have been in the debate (the 1990s) and probably since the beginning of the industry. In contrast, restructuring, partial deregulation, or reregulation connotes the mixed-economy alternatives of market here-government there in this sector.

Deregulation as an escape from public utility regulation harks back to the Reason Foundation and Robert Poole Jr. in the early 1980s. In 1985, Poole’s Unnatural Monopolies: The Case for Deregulating Public Utilities (Lexington Books) challenged the “natural monopoly” case for franchise protection and rate-and-service government regulation in the different industries.…