A Free-Market Energy Blog

Hate from a Wind/Solar Executive (Milton R. Howard, Terra-Gen)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 20, 2023

“I am actually a geologist and a republican but your spread of misinformation is disgusting. Anything for a buck. But you know what Rob? Karma is a bitch.” (Howard to Bradley, below)

“Hate speech? Sounds like you cannot handle the arguments against wind and solar and batteries. What about consumers, taxpayers, and basic energy freedom? Classical liberalism and the free market are obviously not your thing. But don’t get angry about it.” (Bradley to Howard, below)

An unpleasant exchange on social media began with my response to a post from DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm (or one of her handlers):

If there was one takeaway I hope folks took from #CERAWeek last week, it’s that America’s energy future and energy security depends on every sector working in concert to ensure we are prepared to meet and lead the moment.

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Texas’s Central Planning: Duplicating the Grid

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 16, 2023

“The answer to ensuring a reliable and affordable supply of electricity in Texas is not more subsidies, it is less subsidies. It is getting politicians out of the electricity business.” (Bill Peacock, below)

“The conundrum is that the greater the overall share of renewables in the energy mix, the more customers will have to spend on these largely redundant backups.” (Financial Times, below)

Economists have warned against central planning where a government monopoly is invoked and decisions are made from the center. Free-market analysts also long warned Texas that the government-enabled takeover of the grid with wind and solar (dilute, intermittent all) would cripple the ability of the reliables (gas-fired, coal-fired, and nuclear) to make the grid stable and secure, short of ‘Acts of God.’

But Acts of Political Man won out, and the Great Texas Blackout of February 2021 happened.…

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King Coal: India, Japan Update

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 15, 2023

“In a free energy market, Solar + Wind would be whittled down to less than 1-2% of total electricity on [India’s] Grid.” (C. S. Krishandev, below)

“Yokosuka is one of the 22 new coal-fired power plants planned to be built in Japan by 2025, and it is the only coal-fired facility being constructed in Japan’s Greater Tokyo area.” (NS Energy, below)

Two recent social media posts by independent energy consultant C. S. Krishnadev provide an interesting look at recent coal developments. One is on India electricity demand, the other on a coal-for-oil/gas plant conversion in Japan. The upshot: Coal has many decades left as a primary energy to generate electricity.

India Current

Krishnadev provided an interesting update on India’s electrical generation mix:

In a 24 hr period, India consumes 4.2 billion Kwh of electricity.

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Colin Hunt Goes Nuclear (an exchange on a problematic energy source)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 14, 2023
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Energy and Environmental Review: March 13, 2023

By -- March 13, 2023
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Texas Tribune: Misleading on Climate

By Sterling Burnett -- March 10, 2023
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New Nuclear: Three Projects, Three Problems

By Kennedy Maize -- March 9, 2023
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Global Cooling Alert! (1972)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 8, 2023
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Carbon Capture & Storage: ExxonMobil’s Big Political Play

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 7, 2023
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ExxonMobil Cans Algae (greenwash failure)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 6, 2023
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