The Lie of Cheap Renewable Energy

Alberta Suspends Approvals for Green Energy Projects, such as Wind or Solar Power
Charles Rotter
Rural municipalities cover roughly 85 percent of Alberta’s land and their voices must be included in the approval process for all renewable energy projects. . . .

 

Costs Beginning To Change The Net Zero Debate In The UK
August 06, 2023/ Francis Menton

• 
  I have long said that when the costs of fossil fuel suppression policies start to hit home to average consumers, the whole climate alarm movement will become politically toxic, and will fade away.
  
  
• So far in the U.S. we haven’t seen much movement in this direction.
  
  
• The red states are mostly alert to the issue of the costs of Net Zero, and want no part of fossil fuel suppression. The blue states have inflicted some substantial early costs on themselves (up to about doubling the cost of electricity in the case of California) without the voters having yet gotten too upset. At the federal level, the misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act” passes out hundreds of billions of dollars worth of handouts and subsidies to hide the cost of fossil fuel suppression from the public. It could be several more years before blue state voters figure out how they are getting fleeced.
  
  
• But in Europe, and particularly in the UK, there are serious signs of shifting political winds.
  

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The Real World Costs Of Backing Up Weather-Dependent Electricity Generation With Battery Storage
August 08, 2023/ Francis Menton

• 
  A recurring question at this blog has been, how do the world’s politicians plan to provide reliable electricity without fossil fuels? Country after country, and state after state, have announced grand plans for what they call “Net Zero” electricity generation, universally accompanied by schemes for massive build-outs of wind and solar generation facilities. But what is the strategy for the calm nights, or for the sometimes long periods at the coldest times of the winter when both wind and sun produce near zero electricity for days or even weeks on end?
  
  
• When pressed, the answer given is generally “batteries” or “storage.” That answer might appear plausible before you start to think about it quantitatively. To introduce some quantitative thinking into the situation, last December I had a Report published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation titled “The Energy Storage Conundrum.”
  
  
• That Report discussed several calculations of how much energy storage would be required to get various jurisdictions through a year with only wind and/or solar generation and only batteries for back-up, with fossil fuels excluded from the mix. The number are truly breathtaking: for California and Germany, approximately 25,000 GWh of storage to make it through a year; for the continental U.S., approximately 233,000 GWh of storage to make it through a year. At a wildly optimistic assumption of $100/kWh for storage, this would price out at $2.5 trillion for California or Germany, $23.3 trillion for the U.S. — equal or greater than the entire GDP of the jurisdiction. At more realistic assumptions of $300 - 500/kWh for battery storage, you would be looking at 3 to 5 times GDP for one round of batteries, which would then need replacement every few years.
  
  
• But even these numbers wildly understate the real world costs of storage that would be needed. Here’s why.
  

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'Net Zero' Roadmap Is Chasing Windmills
Benjamin Zycher, RealClearEnergy

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Great Reset U-Turn: British Mainstream Political Parties are Road Testing Anti-Green Policies
Eric Worrall
In the wake of the shock Uxbridge by-election result, mainstream British political parties are questioning whether an unequivocal commitment to green policies is a guaranteed vote winner. . . .

 

King Coal Outpaces Wind/Solar/Hydro and Other Renewables
ENERGY SECURITY AUGUST 18, 2023

 

The Green Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think -- Or Not
August 19, 2023/ Francis Menton

• 
  Among the media sources serving as propagandists and cheerleaders for the “green energy transition,” two of the most prominent are the New York Times and Bloomberg News. To get an idea how the “transition” is going, let’s take a look at the latest from those two.
  
  
• From the Times, in this morning’s print edition, we have a feature article that apparently first appeared online a couple of days ago, August 17. The headline is: “The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think.” The sub-head continues the excitement: “The United States is pivoting away from fossil fuels and toward wind, solar and other renewable energy, even in areas dominated by the oil and gas industries.”
  
  
• But then Bloomberg News comes out yesterday with an editorial that seems to reach the exact opposite conclusion. Headline: “Net Zero Is Stalling Out. What Now?”
  
  
• So which is it? Is the green energy future arriving “faster than you think,” or “stalling out”? Both can’t be right. Who has the better side of this?
  

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Offshore Wind Farms Altering Marine Ecosystems: “Sufficiently Potent To Redirect Existing Currents”
By P Gosselin on 20. August 2023

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Wind Turbines are causing climate change
Hat-tip: Klimanachrichten here
It’s ironic: Man is changing the environment and climate in order to prevent change.



Atmospheric wakes extending from the bottom to the top of the picture [contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (Sentinel 2A-MSI 29/03/2021), processed by ESA & Hereon/ Dr Martin Hieronymie]

Researchers from the Hereon Helmholtz-Zentrum have found shifts in airflows and sea currents, which are connected to offshore wind farms.

A team led by Nils Christiansen recently published a research paper about the impacts offshore wind farms have on the ocean dynamics, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Press release here.

“Wind speed deficits spread up to 70 km behind the wind farms”

The turbines extract kinetic energy from the wind field to generate electricity. Downwind of the wind turbines, the so-called atmospheric wakes develop, and are characterized by reduced windspeed, specific pressure conditions and enhanced air turbulence. During stable atmospheric circumstances, the wind speed deficits spread up to 70 km behind the wind farms.

Using high-resolution hydrodynamic computer simulations, the team analyzed the effects on the southern North Sea for the summer of 2013 (May to September). The analysis shows a link between atmospheric wakes and transformation in the momentum-driven exchange between the atmosphere and water. As a consequence, the horizontal currents and the stratification of the water could be affected.

Redirecting existing currents

The wake effects are sufficiently potent to redirect the existing currents, and thus results in shifting mean temperatures and a changed salinity distribution in the wind farm areas.

“While the occurring changes remain within the range of interannual variability, they illustrate similar magnitudes as the presumed mean changes due to climate change or year-to-year variability,” says Nils Christiansen, from the Hereon Institute for Coastal Systems, who was lead author on the study.

Reduced water surface turbulence

Another wake effect is the reduction of shear-driven processes at the sea surface. In other words, the turbulent mixing of the water surface caused by shear wind is reduced dozens of kilometres around the wind farm. Water is usually stratified, thus a layer of warmer water may lie on top of a layer with cold water. Wind farms disturb this natural stratification. Due to reduced mixing, a stabilized stratification of the water is fostered. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable during the decline in summer stratification.

The natural stratification of the water is especially prominent in summer and decreases towards autumn. In the area of the wind farms, however, a stabilized stratification outside the seasonal variation was measured.

“The magnitude of the induced mean changes does not indicate severe local effects, however far-reaching structural changes in the system occur“, says Christiansen.

“Far-reaching structural changes in the system”

“The transformation concerning currents and mixing are likely to affect plankton production and the food web structure. As a result it may influence the function of protected areas. Hence it is important to consider these consequences while developing marine protection concepts“, says Hereon Institute Director Prof. Corinna Schrum.

Moreover, possible feedbacks on air-sea exchange potentially affects regional atmospheric conditions and ecosystem dynamics.

 

Texas is plagued by problems of their own making.
Wind Output Plaguing Texas (ERCOT weathers on)
Guest Blogger
Until sufficient utility-scale battery storage is available, which is unlikely anytime soon due to the cost of current technologies, the ERCOT power grid and all others will require substantial natural…

 

The limitation of the grid is that you can't store electric, so power stations were cranked up or down but they always functioned at some level. If you invest millions into a wind farm, you need to produce electric, that's your income. So when the grid asks you to stop producing and switch your wind turbines off, they pay you for doing so. So the consumer not only pays for electric to be produced, we also pay for electric to not be produced.

The only viable energy production is nuclear.

The other thing is, houses used to have one electric outlet per room. Now you need a minimum of three double sockets per room because of all the electrical paraphernalia society has come accustomed to using; hair tongs, games consoles, hi-fi's, multi TV's, clock radios, lamps, microwaves, mobile phone charging and so on and so on. And now electric cars.

 

almost as bad as the lie of "Cheap American Oil"

more cheap foreign oil will always cause the price of oil to drop

 

The selling point for American oil has never been that it's cheaper, but rather that supply is more reliable. The price of oil is set by a global market.

 

New Book—Green Breakdown: The Coming Renewable Energy Failure
Guest Blogger
Green Breakdown is a complete discussion of all facets of the proposed renewable transition, including power plants, home appliances, electric vehicles, ships, aircraft, heavy industry, carbon capture and storage, and…

Do you think that wind, solar, and batteries can replace the hydrocarbon fuels that power our modern industrialized society? A new book, Green Breakdown, shows why the Net Zero agenda—a forced transition to renewable energy—is costly, dangerous, and destined for failure. Using science, economics, and in-depth analysis, the book exposes the weaknesses in the planned green energy transition and predicts a coming renewable energy failure.


Green Breakdown is a complete discussion of all facets of the proposed renewable transition, including power plants, home appliances, electric vehicles, ships, aircraft, heavy industry, carbon capture and storage, and the hydrogen economy. Charts, graphs, and references to numerous studies are used to support the analysis. At the same time, the large collection of cartoons, images, and quotes grabs the attention of the reader. . . . .

 

The horrible truth is coming to light.
“Degrowth”: The Future of Green Growth?
Charles Rotter
The quest for a sustainable future shouldn’t necessitate the forfeiture of human advancement. . . .

 

Oops!
Danish Wind Energy Giant Crashes 25% in One Day, Blames “Severe” US Market
Eric Worrall
“… in talks with federal stakeholders to qualify for additional tax credits, which haven’t progressed as expected….”

 

Wind power advances by bribery.
Wind Power’s Unraveling: A Tale of Bribes and Misguided Ambitions
Charles Rotter
Tokyo prosecutors said Thursday they have arrested the former vice foreign minister of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet on suspicion of accepting more than 61 million yen ($414,000) in bribes…

 

The Elites Directing The Energy Transition Really Have No Idea What They Are Doing
September 06, 2023/ Francis Menton

• 
  We are on our way to Net Zero by 2050. It must be true because everybody says so.
  
  
• The entire $6+ trillion per year federal government is committed to the project, which obviously would not be the case if the whole thing were impossible. Equally fully committed are essentially all of the colleges and universities, where all of the smartest people are to be found. As well as every other elite institution of every kind and sort.
  
  
• Take the World Economic Forum. If there is a number one elitest among all elite institutions, this has to be it. At their annual confab in Davos, Switzerland, they gather the greatest of geniuses to instruct the very top government and business leaders how to run the world. Would you like to go? It will cost you $52,000 to join the organization, and then an additional $19,000 to attend the conference. Chartering a private jet to get you there will cost a few more thousand. Once there, you can hear the very smartest people imparting their thoughts on the most important topics of the day, like “The Great Reset,” “Emerging Technologies,” “Diversity and Inclusions,” and, of course, “The Net Zero Transition.”
  
  
• Is it possible that these people are completely incompetent and have no idea what they are doing?
  

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The Emperor has no clothes.
The Ill Wind of Offshore Wind Projects
Charles Rotter
The crux of the matter appears to be the economic viability of these offshore wind projects. . . .

 

Yes, The “World’s Dumbest Energy Policy” Is In Fact Getting A Whole Lot Dumber
By P Gosselin on 10. September 2023

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The “world’s dumbest energy policy” is getting a lot dumber: German power production plummets 11.4% in first half of 2023

Since Germany shut down its remaining nuclear power plants earlier this year, it’s no surprise the country’s electricity generation has slumped and is now more heavily dependent on foreign imports.

Tichy’s Einblick here reports that in the first half of 2023, Germany generated 233.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. “Sounds like a lot, but it’s not: In fact, it’s 11.4% less than in the first half of 2022.”

Exports fall 18%

In the first six months of 2023, German exports of electric power fell 18.1%. “By contrast, our electricity imports have virtually exploded, by almost a third (+ 30.8%),” Tichy’s Einblick adds.

Keep in mind that Germany shut down its nuclear fleet of plants because of safety issues, in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, yet the country has no problems importing the same type of energy from neighboring countries like France.

Citing Germany’s Federal Statistics Office, destatis: “This import surplus of 7.1 billion kilowatt hours corresponds roughly to the amount of electricity that was still fed in by the three nuclear power plants in Q2 2022 (7.3 billion kilowatt hours).”

French nuclear power comes up the big winner

Currently, “French nuclear power plants there are running smoothly and at full speed again. Our electricity imports from France promptly increased more than from any other country: by a whopping 147.8%. In France alone, we bought 4.4 billion kWh in the first half of 2023,” reports Tichy’s Einblick. “We shut down our nuclear power plants. France generates well over two-thirds of its electricity from its nuclear power plants. What does all this tell us?”

It tell us that Germany’s energy policy is purely ideological and completely detached from economic sense and technical practicality. The only thing that matters is that only green energy gets produced in the country, no matter what the costs are.

But the worst is yet to come as gas imports are restricted and coal power plants are shutting down – all during a time when the demand for electricity is rising because of the electrification of mobility and the heating of homes with heat pumps, which in the future will be mandatory.

 

Whales are being sacrificed on the altar of AGW.
The Wind Industry Is Killing Whales–Michael Shellenberger
Guest Blogger
Where are Greenpeace?

 

Wear and tear . . . .

A 10 GW Time Bomb
Charles Rotter
It is estimated that 10 GW of solar modules in Germany suffer from prematurely aging backsheets, with sites of all sizes affected. . . .

 

Biden Admin Misleads on Vast Expanses Needed for 'Net Zero'
James Varney, RCI




The Biden administration is misleading the country about the amount of land that will be required to meet its ambitious renewable energy... Read More

 

Stupid is as stupid does.
Europe’s solar industry warns of bankruptcy risk as prices drop
Guest Blogger
“This is creating concrete risks for companies to go into insolvency as their significant stock will need to be devalued,” SolarPower Europe said. . . . .

 

western countries have lost their collective minds. The paris accords are likely where most of these idiotic ideas stemmed from.

 

Funny math is a foundation of renewable energy advocacy.
The Mirage of Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Unraveling the IMF’s Dubious Claims
Charles Rotter
Climate policy is clearly beyond the scope of any financial regulator’s expertise. . . .