Wind & solar renewables: pointless

 

Bryan Leyland at The Telegraph UK explains why renewable energy sources (wind and solar) are never going to achieve "net zero".  I missed this column when it appeared a few weeks ago, but it's still current.  And it's still a pipe dream:

Many governments in the Western world have committed to “net zero” emissions of carbon in the near future. The US and UK both say they will deliver by 2050. It's widely believed that wind and solar power can achieve this. This belief has led the US and British governments, among others, to promote and heavily subsidise wind and solar.

These plans have a single, fatal flaw: they are reliant on the pipe-dream that there is some affordable way to store surplus electricity at scale.

In the real world a wind farm’s output often drops below 10 per cent of its rated “capacity” for days at a time. Solar power disappears completely every night and drops by 50 per cent or more during cloudy days. “Capacity” being a largely meaningless figure for a wind or solar plant, about 3000 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar capacity is needed to replace a 1000 MW conventional power station in terms of energy over time: and in fact, as we shall see, the conventional power station or something very like it will still be needed frequently once the wind and solar are online.

The governments of countries with a considerable amount of wind and solar generation have developed an expectation that they can simply continue to build more until net zero is achieved. The reality is that many of them have kept the lights on only by using existing fossil fired stations as backup for periods of low wind and sun. This brings with it a new operating regime where stations that were designed to operate continuously have to follow unpredictable fluctuations in wind and solar power. As a result operating and maintenance costs have increased and many stations have had to be shut down.

In fact it's already common to see efficient combined-cycle gas turbines replaced by open-cycle ones because they can be throttled up and down easily to back up the rapidly changing output of wind and solar farms. But open-cycle gas turbines burn about twice as much gas as combined cycle gas turbines. Switching to high-emissions machinery as part of an effort to reduce emissions is, frankly, madness!

Much more at the link here.  But try sharing any of these facts with a green zealot.  It may be that only after unimaginable damage and suffering resulting from reducing access to energy that the greenies will wake up.  Maybe not even then . . .

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Mis-named "renewable" energy sources

 

At American Greatness, Edward Ring published a good article on mis-named “renewable” energy sources, and it will surely be useful in those unavoidable debates with your relatives and friends who are true believers in the climate change / environmental protection rackets. The piece includes an excellent graph/chart.  Mr. Ring begins:

Today in America, there are obvious disconnects between observable reality and the narratives we get from the corporate special interests controlling the news we consume, along with politicians who are supposedly elected to represent us.

This is nothing new. Elites have defined America’s destiny throughout its history. The only difference today is that the internet, despite ongoing crackdowns, still manages to deliver an unprecedented volume of contrarian perspectives to millions of people. We aren’t any freer or less manipulated today than we ever were, we’re just more aware of it.

What may be different today, however, is the misanthropic folly of America’s current energy policies. America’s ruling elites are not only imposing these policies on everyone living here, they are attempting to impose them everywhere on earth. 

By now it should be beyond serious debate that “renewable” energy cannot possibly scale adequately to replace fossil fuels. Worse still, renewable energy systems are even less sustainable than fossil fuels and cause more environmental destruction. Renewables also fail to offer significant reductions in carbon emissions, and in some cases actually cause more carbon emissions.

Why these facts are dismissed by America’s elites is a story of corruption, collusion, megalomania, greed, cowardice, intellectual negligence, and delusional mass psychosis. Modern political theory offers solace to cynics who believe all democracies are actually just “managed” shams by suggesting pluralism and representative government are nonetheless at least approximated if there is competition among the powerful elites running a nation. But what if there is no inter-elite competition in the realm of ideas? What happens when every one of these elites believes the same things? When it comes to “renewables” and “net zero by 2050,” that’s what we have in America today. . . .

Read the full article here.

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Ohio energy legislation: northern Ohio impact

image credit: 123rf

Energy consumers in Northern Ohio will probably see lower monthly bills, but environmentalists insisting on renewables will not be happy. The Institute for Energy Research reports at the Canada Free Press:

Ohio’s New Energy Bill

Lawmakers in Ohio have chosen to rescue two existing nuclear plants and two existing coal plants in lieu of mandates on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and as a result, lower electricity prices are expected for electricity consumers. Renewable energy will have to enter the market on its own merits once renewable energy reaches 8.5 percent of electricity generated in the state—up from about 3 percent today—and once federal subsidies expire. Residential charges will be lowered by over $2.00 per month by the legislative change and grid reliability is expected to be enhanced. The Ohio bill is contrary to what most states are doing and it will be an interesting exercise to contrast future electricity prices here and in surrounding states that are continuing their renewable mandates and forcing new capital expenditures because of mandates and subsidies.

The new law in Ohio subsidizes two nuclear power plants. Residential customers will pay an 85-cent charge on their monthly bills and large industrial customers will pay up to $2,400. The surcharge will produce about $170 million a year; $150 million of that will be used to subsidize the two nuclear power plants‚Äî908 megawatt Davis-Besse, outside of Toledo, and 1,268 megawatt Perry, northeast of Cleveland, which will close within two years without the subsidy. The remaining $20 million will be divided between six existing solar projects in rural areas of the state. The subsidies are approved through 2026 and would total about $1 billion. The charge will start January 2021. Nuclear power accounts for 15 percent of the state’s energy generation and generates 85 percent of its carbon-free energy.

Read the rest here.

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Ohio Counts on Coal

From OCR --

Unfortunately, too many Americans do not understand the significant contributions coal makes to the U.S. economy and our way of life. President Obama is taking advantage of this lack of understanding by waging a war on coal to the explicit benefit of his green pork agenda. His recent proposal to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, including those powered by coal, will have a devastating impact on the economies of several states, including Ohio. This regulation will produce a ripple effect across the entire nation by forcing people out of work, while increasing the price of electricity for consumers and businesses.

Last year, President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new source greenhouse gas emissions standards that, once enacted, will make it impossible to build a new coal-fired power plant in America, simply because the technology does not yet exist to meet the EPA’s regulations. 

This is hardly fair or affordable. In addition, the move represents a circumvention of Congress by regulating rather than legislating new public policy.

According to Count on Coal, American coal provides 43% of U.S. electric power generation, providing power for more than 60 million homes and 3.4 million businesses. Direct and indirect employment generated by U.S. coal mining accounts for 555,270 jobs, for a combined annual payroll of $36.3 billion.

In Ohio, coal provides 73% of the state’s electric power generation, which is the equivalent of more than 4.5 million homes and 200,000 businesses. Based on the cost of electricity, Ohio ranks #27 in the nation in energy affordability, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Ohio ranks #10 in the nation in coal production and #4 in the nation in coal use. Direct and indirect employment generated by U.S. coal mining in Ohio accounts for 27,540 jobs, for a combined annual payroll of $1.6 billion.

President Obama has chosen a regulatory path to pursue his scorched earth green agenda, which will ensure that the hundreds of thousands of coal jobs in this country go up in smoke… but nothing else. The regulations proposed by his Administration will make it cost-prohibitive for the coal industry to survive, let alone thrive or expand. The impact of his proposed regulations could cripple too many Ohio communities whose workforces depend upon the coal community for jobs. In addition, the price of electricity we all pay will skyrocket.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield understand the burdens that the Obama Administration’s proposed over-regulations would place on working families and electricity consumers. They have introduced legislation to combat these encroachments and allow for Congressional debate on this important economic issue. 

Their bill would eliminate the Obama administration’s proposed greenhouse gas emissions rules for new power plants and prevent emissions rules on existing power plants from going into effect until Congress passes legislation setting an implementation date. Additionally, the bill would require the EPA to set up different regulatory categories for natural gas- and coal-fired power plants.

The battle for the future of coal is being waged on two fronts – regulatory in the EPA, and legislative on Capitol Hill. If President Obama and his allies have their way, there will be no future for coal. Period. This will impact our economy negatively in both the short and long terms. 

We count on coal for jobs. We count on coal to keep energy affordable. Ohio communities count on coal. Electricity consumers count on coal. We all count on coal. We need to realize what an integral part coal plays in our economy before it gets taken away.

Eli Miller is the State Director of Americans for Prosperity – Ohio and Americans for Prosperity Foundation – Ohio.

EPA’s Proposed Regulations Will Stifle Technologies That Allow Continued Use of Abundant, Affordable Coal

From our friends at Count on Coal -- 

EPA’s Proposed Regulations Will Stifle Technologies                  That Allow Continued Use of Abundant, Affordable Coal

Coal is America’s most abundant fossil fuel energy source and, historically, our most consistently affordable. It can and must continue to play a vital role in the nation’s energy future, with advancing technology assuring us of cleaner-burning coal to address environmental concerns.

Despite these technological advances and cleaner coal burning technologies, the most common use of coal in America – electricity generation – could be brought to a halt by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) new source performance standard (NSPS) regulations for new fossil fuel-based electric generating sources.

These regulations threaten to stifle technological advancement and make coal unusable for power generation in either existing or new power plants – a matter of tremendous importance to a nation that generates 43 percent of its electricity using coal. This could leave business, industrial and residential consumers open to surges in power costs when, inevitably, the cost of natural gas rises. 

The EPA is proposing standards unprecedented under the Clean Air Act, effectively banning construction of new coal-fired power plants. It requires that all future plants using fossil fuels—coal or gas—emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour. Even the most modern, efficient coal boiler emits 1,800 pounds, while combined cycle natural gas turbines come in barely under that threshold. This is simply a matter of regulatory policy favoring natural gas as an electricity generator and ignoring the promise that new technology holds for cleaner-burning coal. 

The regulations also will prevent upgrades of existing plants to improve efficiency and facilitate more electricity generation with less fuel and less emissions. This will cost America opportunities to provide economic stimulus through new manufacturing and construction jobs.

The goal of near-zero emissions from coal is within sight. New technologies will allow us to modernize the existing coal-fueled generation fleet, improving efficiency and reducing emissions while continuing to produce low-cost electricity. 

With innovation and technological advances, America can continue to use coal and continue to lower emissions at the same time.

Obama’s War Against Coal: coming soon to YOUR electricity provider

The Obama administration’s EPA regulations (read: strangulations) will essentially destroy the coal industry, and that will hit YOU in the pocketbook. Just six weeks ago came this bad news [emphasis added]:

One of the country’s largest regional power grid operators, PJM Interconnection, today announced the results of its annual auction that locks in electricity capacity prices three years in advance. Today’s auction established capacity prices for 2015-2016, the first year electric generators will be required to comply with EPA’s costly Utility MACT rule. The results of the auction confirmed the predictions of Republican lawmakers who warned that EPA’s new power rules would drive up electricity costs for American consumers.

The auction set capacity prices at $136 per megawatt (MW) across the PJM footprint, which includes the Mid-Atlantic region and parts of the Midwest. This price is 8 times higher than the $16 per MW price that was set for 2012-2013. Electricity customers in parts of Ohio will be hit the hardest, with the auction setting the price for capacity resources in northern Ohio at $357 per MW, nearly triple the 2014-2015 price set last year. As explained by PJM, the “auction was impacted by an unprecedented amount of planned generation retirements (more than 14,000 MW) driven largely by environmental regulations, which drove prices higher than last year’s auction.”

President Obama’s EPA has issued and proposed a suite of costly new rules on America’s power sector that have already resulted in the premature closure of power plants across the country. Today’s auction shows how these plant closures will affect how much American families and businesses pay for electricity.

“The PJM auction forecasts a dim future where Americans will be paying more to keep the lights on. We are seeing more and more coal plants fall victim to EPA’s destructive regulatory agenda, and as a result, we are seeing more job losses and higher electricity prices,” said Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY). “The Obama administration continues to wage a war on affordable energy, and it is the American people who will suffer the consequences.”

Tea Party Patriots "greet" Pres. Obama at Tri-C Metro

President Obama made a campaign stop in Cleveland today (Thursday, 14 June 2012). He spoke nearly an hour to enthusiastic supporters at the Tri-C Metro campus. Approximately 50 patriots turned up at Tri-C Metro today to register their opposition to Mr. Obama’s policies that have destroyed jobs, and have adversely affected the economy, energy (especially Ohio coal), and healthcare. Tea Party Patriots were standing with Romney supporters, despite the different messages: Tea Party Patriots were there to express opposition to President Obama’s policies; Romney supporters were there to advocate Romney’s candidacy.

Among the media that either photographed and/or interviewed participants were The Plain Dealer (scroll down) - see also here (crowd underestimated), WKYC-TV Ch. 3, WEWS-TV Ch. 5, and a reporter from the AP. Check back for updated links.

UPDATE: Big Government reports that even a liberal "like Jonathan Alter had to admit that [Obama's speech] was, overall, a dramatic failure". Quoted at The Daily Caller:

“I thought this honestly was one of the least successful speeches I’ve seen Barack Obama give in several years,” Alter said. “It was long-winded. He had a good argument to make. And at the beginning of the speech he seemed to be making it in a fairly compelling way but then he lost the thread and the speech was way too long and I think he lost his audience by the end.”

OHIO COAL : More Insanity from the EPA

Targets in the EPA's cross-hairs: the eggs industry, our Way of Life Act, and now the coal industry. 

From Ohio Coal Assoc.:

MEDIA STATEMENT: Ohio Coal President Mike Carey

‘EPA Administrator: Obama Coal Rules will Kill Industry’

Columbus, Ohio (June 5, 2012) – In video footage released by Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe yesterday evening, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Curt Spalding said the Obama administrations air regulations will kill the coal industry.

“This video is powerful. It explicitly shows the level of understanding of senior EPA officials that President Obama is trying to vanquish an entire industry,” said Ohio Coal Association President Mike Carey.

The footage was filmed at Yale University at “Beyond Pesticides’ 30^th National Pesticide Forum” held March 30-31, 2012.

Mr. Spalding, a Region 1 EPA Administrator said:

“Lisa Jackson has put forth a very powerful message to the country. Just two days ago, the decision on greenhouse gas performance standard and saying basically gas plants are the performance standard which means if you want to build a coal plant you got a big problem. That was a huge decision.”

“You can’t imagine how tough that was,” Spalding continued. “Because you got to remember if you go to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and all those places, you have coal communities who depend on coal. And to say that we just think those communities should just go away, we can’t do that. But she had to do what the law and policy suggested. And it’s painful. It’s painful every step of the way.”

Watch the video here.

“Coal provides nearly 86 percent of our electricity in Ohio with reserves lasting an estimated 250 years. Destroying our industry, as planned by President Obama, would decimate Ohio because our economy relies on an affordable and abundant supply of electricity to power economic sectors like manufacturing,” said Carey.

The Obama administration’s new air standards would prematurely force the retirement of more than 140 coal-fired electricity generating units from 19 states by 2015. Senator Inhofe is sponsoring a resolution (S.J. Resolution 37) that would disprove EPA’s new standards.

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Mike Carey is available for media interviews by request. Please contact Mike Carey directly if you would like to schedule an interview: 614-228-6336 / Media Contact: Matthew Henderson / Cell: 614-499-6602