Most days, following the energy news flow is a bit like swimming in a huge septic tank and doing it willingly for reasons of a highly selective kind of insanity.
So I saw the title and it had to be my first read of the morning. Then it had to be a listening session with my coffee and my cat, who turns down a cat who will be 21 in 2 days, you don't say no to that!
Thanks for the info on Texas, better reality than Mr. Lewin's crowing on his renewables saving the day and how well they have worked.... all heat off and windows wide open type weather.. so yes there is no need for extra generation , but solar will do it anyway whether you need it or not....when the sun shines..... then there's that pesky curtailment factor.
You rather made my day after finding out last night that there will be 4 - 5 battery storage facilities making a move on our county. Spent some time with politicians.... so needed a pick me up today - thanks.
and who doesn't love those "I told you so" days.....!!!
Fantastic summation, Irina. You almost make watching the destruction of the Enlightenment by the well-coiffed nincompoops fun. They have the answer to that septic tank problem, though. They'll simply ban bleach.
"If something can't go on forever, it won't." The questions, then, are how long until "Mistress Hard Reality" pays a visit, how much strong disinfectant she'll bring, and how much it will sting when she applies it.
"Total wind power output for the year came in at 4,500 GW..."
Irina, this number you quoted from Reuters doesn't seem to make any sense. First of all it's in units of power and not energy. Secondly a quick internet search reveals that the installed capacity for wind power in Texas is roughly 40,000 MW or 40 GW.
So I had another look at the table of year by year data in the Wikipedia article. It looks like the 2023 data only goes up to September - so this probably accounts for the cumulative year end total which is less than 2022. Nevertheless what is reported by Reuters just makes no sense.
40 GW X ~8000Hrs. X .2 (capacity factor) = 64,000 GWHrs.
So the number 4500GW makes no sense if one appends Hrs to it.
Perhaps they meant to say that wind output was 4500 GW-Hrs lower in 2023 than in 2022? That would be somewhere in the neighborhood of a 5% decrease. That might make sense.
Thanks for that comment. I dare not question LSEG or any other reputable sounding data unless I absolutely must and can. This time, I didn't feel I could.
I have always loved Mistress Hard Reality. Especially the hip-high patent leather boots beneath the heels of which she squelches fairy tales like the Westchester Bartender Sandy's Green New Socialist Grift.
Another great article. I love how you combine the technical with the humorous. The opening paragraph is as good as it gets. I'm reminded of PJ O'Rourke & Hunter S Thompson. When a day without a smile or laughter, is not a day, thank goodness we can always rely on Irina.
Irina, great article! In the context of your article, I just finished watching this video with Michael Shellenberger and Sam Vaknin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS2ihUxMur0). I thought that this video would provide a psychological perspective on climate alarmist!
If it makes you feel better, a lot of American states are passing energy mandates that will damage the US economy as bad as Europe's. Not just California and New York, but recently Michigan as well.
It doesn't. This fan of misery does not like company. I do hope these mandates never have a chance to come into effect or if they do, they will get cancelled.
Irina, we always like to get what you call 'good news'. But you may have underestimated the situation - "In the meantime, because New York is very firm in its net-zero goals, it is paying utilities $200 million in credit for the more than 8 million New Yorkers who pay through the nose for their electricity." 8 million is the population of NY City, but the entire state is over 20 million. I expect that it's the 20 million that will all have higher rates, but a distribution of $200 million would only give each resident about $10 of relief, if my math is correct...and then they'd have to pay the $200 million back in taxes anyway!
That's the state that gives additional support to solar installations so their cost is 85% paid by ratepayers & taxpayers. Solar power in New York State makes as much sense as growing bananas in Alaska.
Good point, Al, thank you. I didn't know they were so many people living outside NYC, to be completely honest. The Reuters report referred to 8 million people and I made an assumption I shouldn't have. In the context you provide, the $200 mln sound ridiculous.
It gets better and better! A year or so ago I got very tired of the jousting match (cue scenes from A Knight's Tale) that is the so called Energy Transition debate and predicted the general public's excitement about green energy would start to wane once our utility bills started rising to pay for our neighbor's Tesla chargers and low and behold! Natural gas is apparently so abundant now that if we're still allowed to use it in our power plants the cost of electricity should be quite reasonable here in Texas. The last time it was around $2 (back during COVID), I was able to lock in a very nice price for my power on a 3 years contract. I had to renew it last year and it wasn't as nice. Imagine my excitement when gas hit lows I haven't seen since the 90s. I rushed to my computer to look for a new power deal. But, these rates are still 20% higher than I got last year. Gee, could it be the grid expansion/tie in costs ERCOT's tacked on to connect more renewables? Or possibly the guaranteed return to gas fired power plant operators who will have to fill in for renewables during off peak hours at lower rates? Or the payments to the bitcoin miners who've generously stepped up to use the "excess" renewable power during other times and get paid peak rates when they turn it off?
Where did the "affordable" part of wind and sun go? I can't even get to Dallas on a charge in the EV Hertz wanted to rent me, and I don't have an extra hour to search for a working plug and wait.
The fun's just beginning. The next round of inflation is coming and it will be quite the budget ripper since it'll be energy this time. "Drill Baby Drill" won't do much when gas prices are already below rock bottom. What's the next idea?
Just wait until US gas prices explode to World price levels as G&R are now predicting. It's going to get ugly. Fire every creep politician responsible for the Wind/Solar mega-scam.
Consider this. About 60% of Texas electricity generation is gas and about 85% of the operating expenses of a gas plant are the cost of the gas.
In 2008 the price of gas was headed for $10/mmBTU. Within a few years the price was $2 - $3 per mmBTU. The price of gas was 1/3 - 1/4 of the previous cost, and accounts for 51% of the cost of electricity in Texas.
So shouldn't our electricity prices have gone down by ~15 - 20% between 2010 and 2020?
But they didn't because Texas was engaging in a massive wind build out at the same time and hiding the true costs in the natural gas savings.
When prices skyrocket, gas will get the blame, but the high costs were already baked in by allowing wind onto the grid.
A brilliant description of the collapse in slow motion, Anne, thank you! It is extremely frustrating to get saddled with the additional costs of "cheap" renewables and be in no position to do anything about it. We're putting up solar on our roof to shield against the pending deregulation of the local household electricity market, as much as we can, for as long as we can. We've got long summers here, lucky us. Still it feels forced and unpleasant to have to do this. The majority of people have no idea what's coming.
P.S. I just read some U.S. gas drillers are curbing drilling, so there's that, too.
Here is a document prepared by the orwellian wef and visual capitalist. It contains a map of the United States that shows wind power generation per state. In spite of the source the numbers look approximately correct for anyone interested in a rough idea of the order of magnitude of energy production from wind. Values are in TWh.
Things are only hopeless if you give up.
Right!
It's my pleasure.
Well done. Truth hurts sometimes! 🤣🤣🤣
Spending other people’s money is easy, until you’ve spent it all.
So I saw the title and it had to be my first read of the morning. Then it had to be a listening session with my coffee and my cat, who turns down a cat who will be 21 in 2 days, you don't say no to that!
Thanks for the info on Texas, better reality than Mr. Lewin's crowing on his renewables saving the day and how well they have worked.... all heat off and windows wide open type weather.. so yes there is no need for extra generation , but solar will do it anyway whether you need it or not....when the sun shines..... then there's that pesky curtailment factor.
You rather made my day after finding out last night that there will be 4 - 5 battery storage facilities making a move on our county. Spent some time with politicians.... so needed a pick me up today - thanks.
and who doesn't love those "I told you so" days.....!!!
Happy to hear that! And please say happy birthday to your cat from me. Well done, 21!
Fantastic summation, Irina. You almost make watching the destruction of the Enlightenment by the well-coiffed nincompoops fun. They have the answer to that septic tank problem, though. They'll simply ban bleach.
They are doing their best in that respect, yes.
"If something can't go on forever, it won't." The questions, then, are how long until "Mistress Hard Reality" pays a visit, how much strong disinfectant she'll bring, and how much it will sting when she applies it.
Well done!
It will sting a lot. :) Thank you!
Another morning of smiles, I should have read this first thing! Thanks
"Total wind power output for the year came in at 4,500 GW..."
Irina, this number you quoted from Reuters doesn't seem to make any sense. First of all it's in units of power and not energy. Secondly a quick internet search reveals that the installed capacity for wind power in Texas is roughly 40,000 MW or 40 GW.
Perhaps the correct power figure is more like 4500 MW instead of GW. Just a typo?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Texas?wprov=sfla1
Have a look at the charts near the end of this Wikipedia article... It even shows total output decreasing from 2022 to 2023...
So I had another look at the table of year by year data in the Wikipedia article. It looks like the 2023 data only goes up to September - so this probably accounts for the cumulative year end total which is less than 2022. Nevertheless what is reported by Reuters just makes no sense.
Not a typo, if you means the Reuters data. LSEG says 4,500,000 MW and right after that last year's figure, which was 4,400,000 MW.
40 GW X ~8000Hrs. X .2 (capacity factor) = 64,000 GWHrs.
So the number 4500GW makes no sense if one appends Hrs to it.
Perhaps they meant to say that wind output was 4500 GW-Hrs lower in 2023 than in 2022? That would be somewhere in the neighborhood of a 5% decrease. That might make sense.
But yeah, as stated, just makes no sense at all.
Thanks for that comment. I dare not question LSEG or any other reputable sounding data unless I absolutely must and can. This time, I didn't feel I could.
I have always loved Mistress Hard Reality. Especially the hip-high patent leather boots beneath the heels of which she squelches fairy tales like the Westchester Bartender Sandy's Green New Socialist Grift.
Great report! Love "Mistress Hard Reality"!
Thank you!
Another great article. I love how you combine the technical with the humorous. The opening paragraph is as good as it gets. I'm reminded of PJ O'Rourke & Hunter S Thompson. When a day without a smile or laughter, is not a day, thank goodness we can always rely on Irina.
I'm really happy to hear that, Karloff, thank you!
Irina, great article! In the context of your article, I just finished watching this video with Michael Shellenberger and Sam Vaknin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS2ihUxMur0). I thought that this video would provide a psychological perspective on climate alarmist!
If it makes you feel better, a lot of American states are passing energy mandates that will damage the US economy as bad as Europe's. Not just California and New York, but recently Michigan as well.
It doesn't. This fan of misery does not like company. I do hope these mandates never have a chance to come into effect or if they do, they will get cancelled.
Irina, we always like to get what you call 'good news'. But you may have underestimated the situation - "In the meantime, because New York is very firm in its net-zero goals, it is paying utilities $200 million in credit for the more than 8 million New Yorkers who pay through the nose for their electricity." 8 million is the population of NY City, but the entire state is over 20 million. I expect that it's the 20 million that will all have higher rates, but a distribution of $200 million would only give each resident about $10 of relief, if my math is correct...and then they'd have to pay the $200 million back in taxes anyway!
That's the state that gives additional support to solar installations so their cost is 85% paid by ratepayers & taxpayers. Solar power in New York State makes as much sense as growing bananas in Alaska.
Good point, Al, thank you. I didn't know they were so many people living outside NYC, to be completely honest. The Reuters report referred to 8 million people and I made an assumption I shouldn't have. In the context you provide, the $200 mln sound ridiculous.
It gets better and better! A year or so ago I got very tired of the jousting match (cue scenes from A Knight's Tale) that is the so called Energy Transition debate and predicted the general public's excitement about green energy would start to wane once our utility bills started rising to pay for our neighbor's Tesla chargers and low and behold! Natural gas is apparently so abundant now that if we're still allowed to use it in our power plants the cost of electricity should be quite reasonable here in Texas. The last time it was around $2 (back during COVID), I was able to lock in a very nice price for my power on a 3 years contract. I had to renew it last year and it wasn't as nice. Imagine my excitement when gas hit lows I haven't seen since the 90s. I rushed to my computer to look for a new power deal. But, these rates are still 20% higher than I got last year. Gee, could it be the grid expansion/tie in costs ERCOT's tacked on to connect more renewables? Or possibly the guaranteed return to gas fired power plant operators who will have to fill in for renewables during off peak hours at lower rates? Or the payments to the bitcoin miners who've generously stepped up to use the "excess" renewable power during other times and get paid peak rates when they turn it off?
Where did the "affordable" part of wind and sun go? I can't even get to Dallas on a charge in the EV Hertz wanted to rent me, and I don't have an extra hour to search for a working plug and wait.
The fun's just beginning. The next round of inflation is coming and it will be quite the budget ripper since it'll be energy this time. "Drill Baby Drill" won't do much when gas prices are already below rock bottom. What's the next idea?
Just wait until US gas prices explode to World price levels as G&R are now predicting. It's going to get ugly. Fire every creep politician responsible for the Wind/Solar mega-scam.
Consider this. About 60% of Texas electricity generation is gas and about 85% of the operating expenses of a gas plant are the cost of the gas.
In 2008 the price of gas was headed for $10/mmBTU. Within a few years the price was $2 - $3 per mmBTU. The price of gas was 1/3 - 1/4 of the previous cost, and accounts for 51% of the cost of electricity in Texas.
So shouldn't our electricity prices have gone down by ~15 - 20% between 2010 and 2020?
But they didn't because Texas was engaging in a massive wind build out at the same time and hiding the true costs in the natural gas savings.
When prices skyrocket, gas will get the blame, but the high costs were already baked in by allowing wind onto the grid.
Not sure I understand ypur comment. Gas has always been on the grid. Dud you mean wind and solar?
Thank you. Fixed with "edit".
A brilliant description of the collapse in slow motion, Anne, thank you! It is extremely frustrating to get saddled with the additional costs of "cheap" renewables and be in no position to do anything about it. We're putting up solar on our roof to shield against the pending deregulation of the local household electricity market, as much as we can, for as long as we can. We've got long summers here, lucky us. Still it feels forced and unpleasant to have to do this. The majority of people have no idea what's coming.
P.S. I just read some U.S. gas drillers are curbing drilling, so there's that, too.
Here is a document prepared by the orwellian wef and visual capitalist. It contains a map of the United States that shows wind power generation per state. In spite of the source the numbers look approximately correct for anyone interested in a rough idea of the order of magnitude of energy production from wind. Values are in TWh.
I hope this helps.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/us-wind-electricity-generation-renewable-energy/