All around America there is an avalanche of proposed wind and solar projects. The idea is to replace fossil-fueled electric power, which is the dominant source in most places. Some States even have laws to this effect. Setting aside that this is an impossible goal it is interesting, even amusing, to see how this avalanche might play out in Washington State. The majority of their power comes from hydro, but wind and solar power are poised to wipe that out as well. This is an objective losing … [Read more...]
The Green New Deal Could Make Electricity 28 Times More Expensive
Below, I show how the Green New Deal can cause the average household electricity bill to go up a crushing $52,500. The reason is simple. Wind and solar require a lot of battery backup, and we use a tremendous amount of electricity, so the cost of all these batteries is many trillions of dollars. Here is the basic derivation. It is kept simple, and the numbers are all rounded off so they can be remembered. (The U.S. Energy Department should have done a detailed analysis long ago.) — The … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Whale Protection Groups
Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash There are two groups specializing in trying to protect the severely endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, of which only about 340 critters remain alive, fewer every month, it seems. One is new and small, while the other is old and big. The small group says that offshore wind development is killing whales, which I, too, believe, but NOAA denies it. The big group, which includes NOAA and some of their funded researchers, is now up to thinking about the … [Read more...]
Support for Offshore Wind Sinks as Costs Soar
Things are looking bad for offshore wind in America (which makes me happy). On one hand, opposition is growing. On the other, the cost crisis is driving prices way up. Whether the offshore US boom will bust remains to be seen, but it is certainly possible. Here’s hoping. Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash Bad news for the industry is coming in daily, so there is too much to report. Here are just a few samples to give the flavor of the debacle in progress. In New Jersey, we get … [Read more...]
NOAA Proposes Hammering 208% of Vanishing Right Whales
Okay, it is a trick headline because they can only hammer 100% of the severely endangered North Atlantic Right Whale population. The point is that NOAA is proposing, for offshore wind development, to authorize a horrific 706 cases of physical harassment of Right Whales, whose dwindling population is down to just 340 magnificent critters. Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash The average whale will get hammered roughly twice. The Right Whales migrate along the coast twice a year. … [Read more...]
Breakthrough! A Big Utility Says Net-Zero May Not Be Reliable
Dominion Energy, the big Virginia utility, has finally admitted that net-zero may not work. I have been writing about Dominion, which operates under the net-zero Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), for a while now. VCEA requires Dominion to shut down all gas, oil, and coal-fired power by 2045. My point has been that VCEA cannot be done. Now Dominion has met me halfway, saying in their new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that maybe it cannot be done. So far, so good. In their new 2022 IRP, … [Read more...]
Whale Death Confusion Abounds, and Some is Deliberate
Press coverage of the tragic whale deaths is a supreme study in confusion, especially the foolish attempts to somehow exonerate offshore wind development. Here are some prominent examples. The evergreen New York Times wins the race for worst coverage by claiming to explain the numerous recent whale deaths as due to online shopping. I am not making this up. Their headline promises an explanation: “Why 23 Dead Whales Have Washed Up on the East Coast Since December”. The primary reason … [Read more...]
FERC Considers Constraining Renewables
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC, rhymes with jerk) is taking comments on a proposed order that might actually constrain the destructive impact of renewables on America’s grid. FERC would order the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC, also rhymes with jerk) to do something about the growing adverse impact of renewables. NERC is a private corporation endowed with federal authority to keep America’s lights on. NERC makes and enforces the regulations governing … [Read more...]
Feds Push Ignorance Defense for Whale Killing by Offshore Wind Development
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the NOAA Fisheries agency have both put out what amount to “arguments from ignorance” claiming that offshore wind development has nothing to do with the recent whale deaths. “We know nothing about it so it must not be happening” is a ridiculous defense to the charge of offshore wind development causing the death of a lot of whales. But this is exactly what the Feds are now saying. Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash NOAA Fisheries is a … [Read more...]
FERC’s Role in the Offshore Wind Stampede
I am looking at a fat study titled “The Benefit and Urgency of Planned Offshore Transmission: Reducing the Costs of and Barriers to Achieving U.S. Clean Energy Goals." The term FERC occurs a whopping 92 times. Not surprisingly the 103-page report is mistitled. It is actually about the onshore transmission of offshore wind power, not offshore transmission. The urgency is that the present power system cannot handle all that offshore juice coming ashore. FERC is in the crosshairs because they … [Read more...]
