Wind, Solar, & Batteries: nope

Yesterday, we blogged on the Green Cult members, those environmental zealots who are actually up to something else.   As a follow-up, John Hinderaker at PowerLine explains why wind and solar power will “never work”:

Enormous amounts of money are being made by “green” fraudsters, utilities and politicians who tell us we are in the midst of a transition from fossil fuels to wind and solar energy. In fact, no such transition is underway; fossil fuel consumption is higher than ever. And no such transition will take place, ever, either in America or anywhere else in the world.

Why? Because wind and solar are both obsolete technologies. They produce electricity less than one-half of the time, a fact that will never change. How can we run a modern economy on intermittent energy sources? We can’t.

If you ask a liberal that question, his answer will be “batteries.” He will admit that wind and solar work only occasionally, but that is no problem, he will tell you, because the electricity they generate can be stored in batteries for later use.

Power can be stored in batteries, of course. We all do this every day, storing tiny amounts on our laptops, smart phones and so on. But our energy demands are almost unfathomably large, and all of the batteries in the world don’t begin to meet those needs. My colleague Isaac Orr created this graphic, which compares energy consumption in just one state in one country, as of 2019, with projected battery storage in the entire world as of 2030. You might as well rely on pixie dust as on batteries:

Click to embiggen

Much more at PowerLine here.

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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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