excalibur
Diamond Member
- Mar 19, 2015
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What a mess in the making over the false religion of "climate change".
From a long and very informative article.
From a long and very informative article.
...
Back in the real world (via The Daily Telegraph on September 9, my emphasis added):
Ireland has been forced to freeze power exports to the UK to prevent a shortage which could have sparked blackouts as surging energy prices continue to cause chaos across Europe.
A toxic combination of low wind speeds and a severe squeeze on the supply of natural gas sent power costs jumping tenfold on the British mainland on Thursday to as much as £2,300 per megawatt-hour, a new record high. ...
The cost of energy has been spiralling across Europe, due in part to calm weather which has drastically reduced the availability of renewable power.
In the UK, which relies on wind for around a fifth of its electricity throughout the year, prices rocketed to hit a high of £2,300 per megawatt-hour by the afternoon – ten times higher than they were earlier in the morning, according to Bloomberg figures.
...
Sadly, the Biden administration is set on making things more difficult for U.S. producers of natural gas, thus eroding that advantage, a point only underlined by this not altogether surprising, but profoundly stupid development (via Bloomberg) on Friday:
Natural gas won’t count as clean energy under a House Democratic plan that would eventually rid the electric grid of carbon and is part of the $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending package moving through Congress.
The proposal by a House panel would provide $150 billion to help spur electric providers to add more clean energy through a system of payments and penalties for electric suppliers. . . .
Under the plan, natural gas would be excluded because only electricity with a carbon intensity of less than 0.10 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour will count, according to a summary provided by the committee. That drew praise from environmental groups who oppose the power source because of concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and associated emissions of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas.
"We’re grateful the House is moving to keep dirty gas from getting support under the Build Back Better Act,” said Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Energy Justice program. “The Senate should follow suit on this bold step toward making our energy system truly renewable and ensuring a safe climate and vibrant future for our communities.” . . .
The perfect will be the enemy of the good.
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Given all the above, is there a certain irony about stories such as this? Well, yes.
Sept 9 (Reuters) — California’s grid operator has asked the Biden administration to allow some natural gas power plants to operate without pollution restrictions for 60 days to shore up the state’s tight electricity supplies, the U.S. Energy Department said on Thursday.
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which is seeking an emergency order by Sept. 10, made the ask in a Sept. 7 letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. The agency is reviewing the request, an official said.
The move is the latest example of California’s struggle to move away from fossil fuels like natural gas that contribute to climate change. Governor Gavin Newsom this year has already loosened restrictions on diesel generators and engines, and the state’s water agency is adding gas-fired power plants to boost supplies.
The state is increasingly relying on large amounts of wind and solar energy that only run when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. This year extreme drought has slashed the state’s hydroelectric power capacity while wildfires threaten transmission lines that bring in power from other states. . . .
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Winter Is Coming: Europe’s (Natural) Gas Crunch (and in Due Course, Ours) | National Review
The week of September 6, 2021: Soaring natural-gas prices, woke capital, employment, and much more
www.nationalreview.com