JBG
Liberal democrat
Gee, what a surprise. This Fourth Grade fantasy of free and clean energy from the wind and sun is ending as surely as Puff's dreams in Puff the Magic Dragon. Or, "where have all the flowers gone. An article, in all places, the New York Times, A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals (link) describes this process. Excerpt:
One can only suspect that the goal or result of this "green" frenzy will be to materially reduce living standards. Why don't they just be straightforward about this?
See also free article, "The Planet Needs Solar Power. Can We Build It Without Harming Nature? (link in headline).Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in.
Many power companies were already struggling to keep the lights on, especially during extreme weather, and say the strain on grids will only increase.*************
“The numbers we’re seeing are pretty crazy,” said Daniel Brooks, vice president of integrated grid and energy systems at the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit organization.
In an ironic twist, the swelling appetite for more electricity, driven not only by electric cars but also by battery and solar factories and other aspects of the clean-energy transition, could also jeopardize the country’s plans to fight climate change. ***************
Burning more gas and coal runs counter to President Biden’s pledge to halve the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gases and to generate all of America’s electricity from pollution-free sources such as wind, solar and nuclear by 2035.
“I can’t recall the last time I was so alarmed about the country’s energy trajectory,” said Tyler H. Norris, a former solar developer and expert in power systems who is now pursuing a doctorate at Duke University. If a wave of new gas-fired plants gets approved by state regulators, he said, “it is game over for the Biden administration’s 2035 decarbonization goal.”
Some utilities say they need additional fossil fuel capacity because cleaner alternatives like wind or solar power aren’t growing fast enough and can be bogged down by delayed permits and snarled supply chains.
One can only suspect that the goal or result of this "green" frenzy will be to materially reduce living standards. Why don't they just be straightforward about this?