The Lie of Cheap Renewable Energy

Rats leaving the sinking ship.
Key Player in Biden’s Offshore Wind Push Withdraws from Deal with Blue State, Blames Inflation
Guest Blogger
The company said that inflationary pressure, high borrowing costs and supply chain problems have combined to make the state’s subsidies economically unviable, but that it is not yet abandoning the…

 

Another renewables fraud exposed.
Wood Pellets Aren’t CO2 Neutral, Emit More Than Coal… Double Of Natural Gas
By P Gosselin on 2. February 2024

Wood pellets are often viewed as an alternative, climate-friendly energy source, especially for heating. But an analysis shows this is not the case at all.





Data source: German Ministry of the Environment

Though it is claimed that the CO2 from burning biomass like trees remains in the natural carbon cycle, the CO2-absorbing trees are often commercially chopped down, pelletized and burned, thus emitting years worth of CO2 sequestration in just a matter of hours. Live trees recapturing that same emitted CO2 and storing it in the form of biomass takes decades.

Wood emits the most

How much CO2 does the production of one megawatt-hour of energy emit by different fuels? This is answered at FB by the account Umwelt- und Klimathemen. They write:

Isn’t it almost the same whether I burn wood from a 150-year-old oak tree in pellet form in my heating system or whether I burn coal that has been in the ground for thousands of years? Both the wood and the coal release the carbon dioxide they once filtered out of the air when they burn.

According to the German Ministry of the Environment, burning wood produces even more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels such as coal and gas.
– 202 kg of carbon dioxide for natural gas
– 340 kg carbon dioxide for hard coal
– 403 kg carbon dioxide wood

But for the climate, it doesn’t matter where the carbon dioxide comes from!
That’s why heating with wood is not climate neutral!
Even if we make pellets from our wood, it is still wood that enriches our atmosphere with carbon dioxide when it is burned.”

Wood emits double the CO2 that natural gas does. Never mind the particulates burning wood entails.

Also related, see: Planet of the Humans

 

Biden has screwed the Germans.
Germany’s Energy Sources Are Running Out As Biden Stops LNG Projects
By P Gosselin on 4. February 2024

Germany’s energy crisis deepens further due to Biden’s halt of U.S. LNG projects. Germany is backed into a corner after over-reliance on green energy.



The site of Germany LNG terminal, Wilhelmshaven, photographed in 2012. Later expanded in 2022. Image: RaBoe. CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Germany has dug itself into an energy hole

Due to the environmental and climate hysteria over the past decades, Germany has steadily moved to shut down its vast fleet of nuclear reactors, coal power plants, and even natural gas supplies (a major supply line from Russia got blown up).

Moreover, Germany is moving to ban fossil fuel heating systems for homes, and mandating electric cars by 2035.

Now in an energy crunch

Since the supply of natural gas from Russia got cut off, it became necessary to find an alternative source quickly – from USA in the form of imported LNG. The German government approved the construction an LNG terminal at the north German coast in record time. This would help secure Germany’s energy supply. Surely the USA could be viewed as a reliable partner.

That was the plan – until President Joe Biden unexpectedly put a stop to further LNG projects. Now, Germany suddenly risks finding itself in energy isolation. It’s panic time in Berlin.

“Devastating energy crisis”

“Germany is facing a devastating energy crisis that seriously threatens its security of supply,” reports Germany’s Blackout News. “Biden’s decision now has far-reaching consequences that could pose serious problems for German energy policy.”

Also see. berliner-zeitung: 26.01.24

The USA is the world’s largest exporter of LNG, but because of climate protection, Biden bowed to pressure from climate radicals and stopped plans to build new export terminals. This development has sent shockwaves through energy-starved Germany.

According to US government officials, four U.S. terminal projects are directly affected Biden’s decision.

Berlin has backed itself into a corner with its years of misguided green energy policy. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

 

Europe needs to learn not to be puppets of imperial America develop new contacts with other nations for NG and other petroleum products to free themselves from the yoke of being a vassal state.

 

Thanks Joe. Say what you will about Trump but his energy policies including IIRC an offer to sell LNG to Europe which was rejected would be a lifeline to Germany now.

 

Of topic but greetings from our home in the third world country aka California. Today some tain (hard at times) wind ~ 30 mph winds. We just had power restored after the tenth power outage. Lasg year we were in Peru and Tanzania with no power outages. Isn’t green energy wonderful.

 

The German economy is circling the drain.

Green Energies Shattering German Economy…Industrial Production Falls 7th Consecutive Month
By P Gosselin on 7. February 2024

-1.6%!
That’s how much Germany’s industrial production fell in December, 2023. It’s the seventh-straight month of decline as the country’s energy woes mount.

One reason is reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports today :”Germany’s Industrial Production Falls For Seventh-Straight Month” in December 2023, far worse than expected.

To underscore the seriousness, 2023’s industrial production result is a whopping 10% below pre-pandemic levels.

One of the major drivers behind the demise is arguably the country’s disastrous energy policy, which has entailed shutting down cheap and steady conventional sources such as nuclear and natural gas and increasingly relying on unstable wind and solar energy. Energy prices have soared over the past years, thus driving inflation.

Things aren’t expected to improve much any time soon as the country is currently being plagued by strikes by train drivers, airport and airline personnel, who are fighting for higher wages that have been eroded away by high inflation. Energy supplies remain unstable and are expected to stay high.

Farmers are angry and have been demonstrating for weeks, often blocking transportation routes.

If there’s any light at the end of the tunnel, it’s a very faint one and the tunnel may be very long.

Currently many companies are announcing plans to move operations to business- friendlier locations.

 

"Sometimes the magic works. Sometimes it doesn't."

Time to Retire the Term “Renewable Energy” from Serious Discussions and Policy Directive: Part II
Posted on February 16, 2024 by curryja | 24 comments
By Planning Engineer (Russ Schussler)

“Renewables:” some resources support a healthy grid, other challenge it

Continue reading →

 

Like Forrest's mother said, "Stupid is as stupid does."
Largescale Solar Parks Just Can’t Withstand The Harsh Elements of Nature
By P Gosselin on 18. February 2024

Planners and governments keep denying vulnerability.

Europe is still considering massive solar energy plants along sun-rich North Africa in order to produce hydrogen gas that could be piped over the European mainland, despite having concluded 10 years ago that such projects wouldn’t pay off.

In the latest push, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens) visited Algeria earlier this month. The focus was on a “southern H2 corridor”, according to the Frankfurter Rundschau here.

The move highlights how desperate Germany has become in terms of energy supply.

Not only is the North African region politically unstable, but it is plagued by extremely harsh climatic conditions and sand storms. Green energy dogmatists have a habit of unrealistically thinking green energy systems are robust and low maintenance. In fact, they are very vulnerable to weather events, as they cannot be protected by a statically sound roof.

Largescale solar parks are pie-in-the-sky

Check out the fate of this 1 billion dollar Nevada project:


Though it appears to be operating today, the costs have been extremely high.

And recall how back in June, 2023, hailstorms in Nebraska smashed a 14,000-panel 4.375 MW ac solar facility to pieces. thus underscoring the fragility of solar power generation systems:


You’d think planners would have learned by now.

 

Here's why Levelized Cost of Energy is a bogus metric.
The ‘Energy Trilemma’ And The Cost Of Electricity – OpEd
Guest Blogger
Claiming “renewable” energy from wind and solar is cheap and comes without environmental consequences, is a crucial and detrimental energy economic misunderstanding. . . .

". . . The unpopular truth, which is undisputed even by top energy economic institutions such as OECD and IEA, is that (a) wind and solar at grid scale are always more expensive than coal and gas, even nuclear, and (b) the total costs to an economy rises exponentially with higher wind and solar share in the power system. The result is that the proposed “energy transition” would cost over 7 – 10% of the global GDP, amounting to trillions of dollars, and as per IPCC data would supersedes the cost of a warming climate. . . . "

 

You would enjoy his book:


“Schernikau and Smith

The Unpopular Truth about Electricity and the Future of Energy

An introduction to electricity in modern energy systems, including cost of electricity, energy returns (eROI), consequences of the energy transition, and recommendations for a sustainable energy policy”

— The Unpopular Truth: about Electricity and the Future of Energy by Lars Schernikau, William Hayden Smith
https://a.co/a2PRksh

 

Thanks!

 

Advocates for renewable energy should probably avert their eyes.

Time to Retire the Term “Renewable Energy” from Serious Discussions and Policy Directives: Part 3
Posted on February 22, 2024 by curryja
By Planning Engineer Russ Schussler

“Renewable good, non-renewable bad” is far too simplistic and unfortunately influential . . .

Continue reading →

 

Green investing was never profitable. Now it's not even fashionable.
Companies Backing Out Of ‘Climate 100’. Climate Doomsday No Longer Taken Seriously?
By P Gosselin on 24. February 2024

Green capitalism on the retreat? Blackrock and other heavyweights withdraw from Climate Action 100+
By AR Göhring

According to its own statement, “Klima-Aktion 100+“ (Climate Action 100+) is an “investor-led initiative to ensure that the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters take the necessary measures to protect the climate”.

Over 170 world-renowned companies and corporations are members of the organization, including more controversial ones such as Blackrock and JP Morgan. And many others, some of them VERY surprising:

A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S
Air France–KLM S.A.
Airbus SE
ArcelorMittal S.A.
BASF SE
Bayer AG
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)
The Boeing Co.
BP
Carrefour S.A.
Caterpillar Inc.
Chevron Corp.
Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Danone S.A.
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Dow Inc.
E.ON SE
Exxon Mobil Corp.
Ford Motor Company
Gazprom PAO
General Electric Co.
General Motors Company
Heidelberg Materials AG Cement

Hardly anyone who doesn’t want to believe that financial service providers like Blackrock are seriously interested in environmental protection and improving coexistence in the world believes it anyway. But green advertising always does well in the public eye, which is why Larry Fink, the head of Blackrock, for example, decided three years ago to invest in “SEG”. This means that “social, ecological and governance” projects should be prioritized when investing.

Sounds good, but the libertarian or simply critical reader naturally suspects that the company is more interested in the ever-flowing tax money collected by coercive means, which politicians in Western countries like to throw out for SEG – keyword “bicycle paths for Peru”.

From a business point of view, this makes sense, as you have to present bait on the market that appeals to the many fish – in a state environment, you no longer have to offer a sensible product, you just have to “convince” a politician.

Membership of “Climate Action 100+” can be seen in this light – privatize the profits, socialize the costs. However, as the NGO behind it now wants to tighten the reins somewhat (“Phase 2“), the cost-benefit ratio for Blackrock, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors has become unfavorable, which is why the three companies, which together manage around ten trillion dollars, have withdrawn in whole or in part.

Added to this was the decision by conservative states in the USA to no longer award public contracts to “green” companies.

Climate doomsday no longer taken seriously

Is the withdrawal of industry giants a warning sign for “green” capitalism? The climate conference in Dubai already showed through the behavior and statements of important participants that the doomsday story is no longer taken seriously by decision-makers and is only good as an advertising narrative.

Although corporations and billionaires such as Elon Musk will continue to happily pocket state or state-enforced transfer payments for “climate certificates” or similar, “climate” seems to have gradually become obsolete as a topic for big business.

It’s about time: the “dying forests” story was invented by a professor in 1979 and was perpetuated by politicians and the media for around ten years. It was a similar story with fairy tales about the “hole in the ozone layer” or “oil will soon run out”.

“Climate”, on the other hand, has been promoted by half- and pseudo-scientists such as Hoimar von Ditfurth since the late 1970s, and was implemented worldwide after the UN conference in 1992. The topic of the “hot age caused by CO2” has therefore been with people in Western countries for over 40 years – an astonishingly long time compared to the other alarmist rip-off stories.

Since, in the course of globalization and the self-destruction of Western countries, the Western zeitgeist with its eco-indulgence trade is becoming increasingly unpopular worldwide, it is not surprising that global corporations are increasingly evading it in order not to go under.

 

The energy transition is not getting closer.
Electric Power vs. Green Goals
From MasterResource
By Steve Goreham “The green movement calls for a shutdown of coal and gas power plants. At the same time, it demands a switch to electric vehicles, electric…

 

The Germans have done this to themselves.
Germany’s Energy Mess Intensifies: Power CEO Warns Of Further “Rising Prices”
By P Gosselin on 28. February 2024

Blackout News: “EON chief warns of a cost explosion due to transition to green energies.”

Blackout News here reports that there’s no end in sight for Germany’s self-inflicted energy crisis. Energy prices are expected to continue rising, thus posing a huge risk to industry.

This is of course no surprise as Germany, driven by radical green dogmatism, has shut down its fleet of nuclear power plants and is moving to also eliminate power plants fired by coal and natural gas. The country’s economy and environmental policy is led by economics minister Robert Habeck.

The problem is that Habeck is woefully unqualified for leading the country’s federal economics ministry.

In 2000,Habeck received his doctorate in literature and philosophy at University Hamburg, and has no experience in any fields of economics, business, engineering or energy.

Recently Habeck claimed that companies do not go bankrupt, rather they just stop producing, and that the economy was okay – “only the numbers are bad”.

EON chief warns of further rising energy costs

At the beginning of the year, head of Eon, Leonard Birnbaum, announced higher electricity prices and this is “now manifesting itself in reality,” reports Blackout News. “A few weeks after this forecast, energy companies EnBW and EWE announced their intention to increase tariffs.”

The increase will average 6%.

Birnbaum blames “increased investment costs” as the expansion of renewable energies and their integration into the electricity grid requires “rapid and intelligent grid expansion as well as sufficient reserve capacity”.

“In view of current developments, Birnbaum warns of further price increases if the political leadership does not take decisive countermeasures. Energy-intensive industry in particular is severely affected by rising electricity costs, which jeopardizes its competitiveness.”

Birnbaum also says that wind energy has been hampered by “uncoordinated planning” and “the problem of overloading the electricity grids due to the uneven distribution of wind turbines.”

 

The Germans are being defeated by reality.
Germany’s Unstable Power Grid…Coal Plants Will Be Needed “For A Very Long Time”
By P Gosselin on 1. March 2024

When green energy ideology clashes with the laws of Engineering and physics…
By KlimaNachrichten Editor

Manfred Haferburg, power plant engineer, explains the problems of the German power grid in connection with the green energy transition at online site Achgut. The result is a very informative article. It is not primarily about blackouts due to a lack of power.

The author begins by explaining three important terms: The n-1 criterion, reactive power and instantaneous reserve.

“Let’s translate all the technical gobbledygook. The experts at the power transmission grid operators have been ‘preoccupied”‘ with the topic for a long time, but politicians have not understood it because ‘it is a very complex issue’. And then comes the kicker: the German transmission grid can no longer cope with the ‘n-1 error’ in every case. This means that if, in a tense situation, one of the large transmission lines suddenly fails due to a lightning strike, long-wave conductor vibrations in high winds and snow, sabotage or a transformer/high-voltage switch fault, ‘the electricity grid could become unbalanced’ – in other words, it could collapse in a domino effect. This could result in a partial grid failure or, in the worst case, a blackout. This time it’s not me saying this, but the team leader for system behavior in the strategic grid planning department at TransnetBW. I wrote this on this site years ago and was berated for it.”

“Here, too, an attempt at layman’s language: the large rotating generators of the power plants are ‘grid-forming’ machines; due to their large mass, they keep the frequency of 50 Hz constant in the range of seconds. For our colleagues at the Feferal Ministry of Economics and Federal Grid Agency, inertia is a physical property that ensures that power fluctuations are cushioned in a range in which the time for human intervention is too short. Wind turbines have only small masses and solar panels have no rotating parts at all, they are ‘grid-following’ with their inverters; this means that they are connected to the grid of the ‘grid-forming machines’ and do not have a stabilizing effect. Incidentally, gas-fired power plants tend to be ‘grid-following machines’. The large power plant generators have also been responsible for maintaining the voltage in the grid through reactive power control.”

At the end of the article, Haferburg comes to the conclusion that we will continue to see coal-fired power plants in operation for a very long time.

Read the full article on Achgut.
(Note: Today’s modern translation tools do a pretty good job at translating the text into English)

 

Nope, wind is cheaper, even in Montana.

 

Sorry, but that's merely a propaganda visual aid. Every intermittent renewable energy source must be supported by dispatchable back-up (either fossil or nuclear fueled) and that must be included to provide an accurate cost comparison.

 

It is fair to ask how many times the folly of Net Zero must be exposed.
Population is Not Being Told the True Cost of Net Zero, Warns Former World Bank Economist

BY CHRIS MORRISON

The insanity of Net Zero becomes clearer by the day.

Bankrupt, blackout Britain where the ever-expanding ranks of the poor get clobbered, open borders place intolerable burdens on public spending and services, the rich spivs get richer backing heavily-subsidised energy white elephants – and those of a certain age look back to the good old days of the 1970s. That isn’t quite how Professor Gordon Hughes spells it out in his excellent new report that crunches the energy transition numbers of the collectivist Net Zero project, but it might be considered a fair summation of reading between the lines. . . . .

 

Renewable energy may cause the lights to go out in New York.
New Data Points In New York's Unfolding Energy Implosion
March 05, 2024/ Francis Menton

• 
  The energy implosion set in motion by New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (Climate Act) continues to unfold slowly. This week we have gotten a few more new data points.
  
  
• If you can read between the lines of wild spinning by the Governor and her team of bureaucrats, you will find that the scope of offshore wind projects moving forward with accepted bids has decreased by about two-thirds, while the price has just jumped by over 30%.
  
  
• First, some background. The Climate Act sets several unachievable and impossible targets, the first of which is 70% of electricity from “renewables” by 2030.
  
  
• How to get there? The bureaucrats in charge of meeting the targets have no idea what they are doing, but they have established as a first goal to have some 9,000 MW of offshore wind turbines (nameplate capacity) up and running by some point in the 2030s.
  

READ MORE

 

The costs of renewable energy aren't counted only in money.
Germany Begins Felling 120,000 Trees From ‘Fairy Tale’ Forest to Make Way for Wind Turbines
BY CHRIS MORRISON

Work has started on the clearing of up to 120,000 trees in the forest, the setting for many of the Brothers Grimm mythical stories, to provide access for an initial…

 

BP investors are canaries in the coal mine.
BP Shareholders Unhappy With Green Strategy
By Paul Homewood
BP has been under increasing pressure over net zero commitments that have allegedly left shareholders £40bn poorer. . . .

 

Who says? Iowa gets 60% of their power from wind, with natural gas power plants as a backup. They have a wind-first philosophy. They have some of the most affordable electricity in the US. The dispatchable power backup is factored into the price that they pay.

• Iowa's Electricity Prices and Usage Residents in Iowa enjoy a lower residential electricity rate than many people around the US, with an average state electric rate of 13.21 cents per kilowatt hour compared to the US average price of 16.01 cents.

 

Link?