A Free-Market Energy Blog

“Green Breakdown: The Coming Renewable Energy Failure”

By Steve Goreham -- August 22, 2023

Can wind, solar, and batteries replace the hydrocarbon fuels that power our modern industrialized society? Steve Gorham’s new book, Green Breakdown, shows why a forced transition to renewable energy—the Net Zero agenda—is costly, dangerous, and destined for failure. Integrating science, economics, and history, Steve Gorham’s most recent book exposes the weaknesses in green-energy planning and predicts a coming renewable-energy failure.

Green Breakdown is a complete discussion of all facets of the proposed renewable transition, including power plants, home appliances, electric vehicles, ships, aircraft, heavy industry, carbon capture and storage, and the hydrogen economy. Charts, graphs, and references to numerous studies are used to support the analysis. At the same time, the large collection of cartoons, images, and quotes grabs the attention of the reader.

From the Introduction:

“An engineer who attended one of my recent presentations told me his wife had returned her electric vehicle (EV) to Tesla, the manufacturer.

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Wind Output Plaguing Texas (ERCOT weathers on)

By Ed Ireland -- August 21, 2023

“Failures of wind and solar during severe weather events are a problem, but a larger problem is that failures are not confined to severe winter storms. In fact, these failures occur on a daily and even hourly basis. During the summer months, wind tends to die down in the afternoons, causing large drops in wind-generated electricity. Later afternoon rain storms can reduce solar generation significantly.”

Texas is blessed with mineral and natural resources. Texas is the largest crude oil and natural gas producer in the US. It would be the world’s 4th largest producer if Texas were a country.

For reasons of politics and government intervention over a quarter-century, Texas is the largest wind power producer and second-largest solar producer in the U.S. and will likely surpass California, the leading solar power state, within a year.…

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Dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act! (CEI letter to Congress)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 17, 2023

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has been a consistent voice for classical liberalism in energy and climate for several decades. CEI stays scholarly on the intellectual front (thank Marlo Lewis et al.) and activist on the policy front. The latest from the lean, pound-for-pound, heavy hitting think tank (letter of August 16, 2023) follows:

Dear Members of Congress:

On the first anniversary of enactment of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the undersigned organizations strongly urge you to ensure that the IRA’s Green New Deal-type policies quickly come to an end.

We recognize that in the next year complete repeal of the IRA’s harmful energy and environmental provisions is unlikely. However, clear and tangible legislative changes that make genuine progress towards that goal are realistic and expected.

IRA proponents will today be celebrating the bill’s passage.…

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Plant Vogtle (Georgia Power): What Now?

By Jim Clarkson -- August 16, 2023
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King Coal Outdistancing Wind/Solar/Hydro/Other Renewables

By Kennedy Maize -- August 15, 2023
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Energy and Environmental Review: August 14, 2023

By -- August 14, 2023
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Climate Crazy? Andrew Griffiths’ “Ecocide” Threat

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 10, 2023
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Notes: 1998 Enron Meeting on Climate Change

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 9, 2023
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Did DOE “flip the bird” to the DC Circuit?

By -- August 8, 2023
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Call to Action: Rod Guice to the Society of Petroleum Engineers

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 7, 2023
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