Wind and Solar Are Fragile
By Steve Goreham -- December 2, 2024“As a result of hail and other weather damage, insurance premiums for solar facilities are skyrocketing, in some cases up by as much as 400%. In addition, policy coverage is being capped at as little as $10-15 million, requiring system developers to obtain multiple policies to try to cover their projects.”
Wind and solar have been growing as a share of US electrical power generation over the last two decades. State and federal mandates and subsidies have driven the expansion of renewables because of their inherently dilute and intermittent nature. But it’s clear that renewable electricity sources have a third strike: they are fragile and prone to weather damage and destruction.
Twenty-three states now mandate Net Zero electricity by as early as 2035. Their aim is to replace coal- and gas-fired power plants with wind and solar generators.…
Continue ReadingThanksgiving 2024
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 28, 2024
From the 200+ authors at MasterResource to you, our readers.
Thanksgiving is a free market holiday. ““The true meaning of Thanksgiving is the triumph of Capitalism over the failure of Collectivism in all its forms,” Richard Ebeling has written. His classic essay “Thanksgiving: A Free Market Celebration,” begins:
… Continue ReadingThis time of the year is when Americans gather with their families and friends and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together. More than 54 million Americans are travelling this Thanksgiving to find their table of celebration in remembrance of those early Pilgrim Fathers who crossed the uncharted ocean from Europe to make a new start in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
What is less appreciated is that Thanksgiving also is a celebration of the birth of free enterprise in America. The English Puritans, who left Great Britain and sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower in 1620, were not only escaping from religious persecution in their homeland.
COP29: ‘Animal Farm’ Moment
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 26, 2024Climate scientist/activist Joyce Kimutai gave a frank assessment of the just completed two-week UN climate conference of parties (COP 29) on social media. Hers is a refreshing take in comparison to the whining of the developing (statist) countries seeking handouts and the glass-one-eighth-full newspaper reporting from the mainstream media. She began:
… Continue ReadingNow, as I recover from the exhaustion of the past weeks, I find myself sitting on my couch, sipping sweet Kenyan tea, while reflecting on the outcomes of COP29.
As the climate crisis deepens, multilateralism is weakening, leaving vulnerable communities at the center of geopolitical tensions. The $300 billion commitment is both insignificant and shameful in the grand scheme of addressing the climate emergency.
I participated in numerous negotiation and coordination sessions, as well as side events. One side event focused on the need to improve scenarios to better represent an equitable world.