Lawmakers in Oregon and Washington State have passed ambitious legislation to combat climate change, aiming to eliminate fossil fuels and rely solely on zero-emission electricity sources, such as solar and wind, by 2040 and 2045, respectively.
In this documentary, Ken Peterson explores the devastating economic consequences of this legislation. He explains that electricity prices will increase to exorbitant rates, that the demand for electricity will exceed the abilities of the electrical grid, and that the resulting decrease in global temperature would only be 0.003 ⁰C.
“What Does It Cost?” draws heavily from a report by Jonathan Lesser and Mitch Rolling, which you can review here:
https://www.discovery.org/m/securepdfs/2024/09/Crippling-Costs-of-Electrification-20240918.pdf
Learn more at Reasonable Energy: http://reasonable.energy
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Discovery Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan, public policy think tank promoting thoughtful analysis and effective action on local, regional, national and international issues.
The mission of Discovery Institute is to advance a culture of purpose, creativity and innovation.
The Institute is home to an inter-disciplinary community of scholars and policy advocates dedicated to the reinvigoration of traditional Western principles and institutions and the worldview from which they issued. Discovery Institute has a special concern for the role that science and technology play in our culture and how they can advance free markets, illuminate public policy and support the theistic foundations of the West. For more information about the mission and program of Discovery Institute visit: https://www.discovery.org/about/
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“That sh!t don’t work” is a fair summary.
Too many have lost their sense of smell.
Or they have convinced themselves it smells good.
Can’t argue against the boss’s nose.
You can get used to almost anything, if you get your mind right first.
Convince yourself the bugs really taste like shrimp. Arthropods, after all.
And TDA and MS-13 are victims of mean ol Trump. They just smuggle, traffic, rape and murder to seek a better life.
Just a “Maryland dad”.
I wonder if he likes crab cakes.
It’s all part of “The Plan
The Plan
In the beginning, there was a plan,
And then came the assumptions,
And the assumptions were without form,
And the plan without substance,
And the darkness was upon the face of the workers,
And they spoke among themselves saying,
“It is a crock of shit and it stinks.”
And the workers went unto their Supervisors and said,
“It is a pile of dung, and we cannot live with the smell.”
And the Supervisors went unto their Managers saying,
“It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong,
Such that none may abide by it.”
And the Managers went unto their Directors saying,
“It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide by its strength.”
And the Directors spoke among themselves saying to one another,
“It contains that which aids plants growth, and it is very strong.”
And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents saying unto them,
“It promotes growth, and it is very powerful.”
And the Vice Presidents went to the President, saying unto him,
“This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor
Of the company With very powerful effects.”
And the President looked upon the Plan
And saw that it was good,
And the Plan became Policy.
And this, my friend, is how shit happens.
The smell of subsidy money can mask many a bad odour.
What it doesn’t say is that wind and solar power have already made electricity unaffordable for many people!
B-B-But it’s freeeeee!!
Don’t work…as in blackouts?
https://joannenova.com.au/2025/04/days-after-spain-reaches-100-renewable-mass-blackouts-hit-due-to-mysterious-rare-atmospheric-phenomenon/
It seems that the rare atmospheric phenomenon was a temperature of 23C.
In Spain.
That is truly bogglesome.
In my opinion, cost is not the real issue, no matter how exhorbitant. The thing cannot work technically, period, in those two states. The introductory sections of the referenced written report make that quite clear.
There is simply no grid scale solution for renewable intermittency other than backup fossil fuel CCGT. Hydro is tapped out. Grid scale battery storage is infeasible.
Cost is NOT a winning argument to climate alarmists, who apply the precautionary principle asserting no cost is too high to ‘save the planet’.
Excellent summary.
Remember, democrats are opposed to energy efficiency for one reason only. No matter what their argument is, it always boils down to “It’s not fair”.
Without defining “fair”.
As Michael Crichton pointed out in 2004, “Environmentalism Is a Religion.’ It’s not a matter for facts, arguments, efficiency, serving people’s needs or any other such thing. It’s a matter of deeply held beliefs about sin, and punishing sinners.
In that context, the more suffering they inflict, the greater the proof the sinners are being properly punished.
There’s also the problem of longevity of wind and solar equipment. Virtually every wind turbine and solar panel currently installed will have to be replaced within 5 to 15 years. Entire utility scale solar farms have been taken out by a single hail storm or high wind event. Off-shore wind turbines are showing erosion and corrosion effects of constant salt water exposure. At what point does the failure of installed equipment outpace the economic feasibility of replacing it?
I keep saying this over and over. Reliance on wind and solar installations will become a geometric progression to keep up with that can never be completed.
In my shallow opinion wind and solar alone cannot sustain themselves. They simply cannot produce the energy required to mine, manufacture, distribute, construct, and maintain themselves; while providing the energy to construct and maintain the grid and distribution of electricity. Anywhere you look in this vast chain of events to completion of net Zero is laughable. Today all of these functions are provided by coal, gas, and oil.
All of this before any customers are served.
To completely stop all CO2 emissions they need to remove all organit material including all humans from the state, They alos neen to cover up all bodies of water including the oceans. With no living things in the state there will be no need to generate any anergy.
Technically, you could overbuild to such an extent that even on the stillest, darkest days, you’d still have enough power, but that would likely imply ~$5/KWh electricity, so in the end cost is the real issue.
With that overbuild comes the question: Will there be enough land left over for people to live?
I was wondering about that after I made the post.
For the UK, and looking at wind alone, the minimum wind output is about 5% of installed capacity, thus to meet a winter peak of about 40GW, we’d need 800GW of installed capacity, roughly 40 times current capacity and about 6.5 times the CCC’s estimate for our 2050 wind requirement.
Onshore, forget it. Offshore, very roughly, 400km^2 per GW, times 800 equals 320,000km^2, only about 0.3% of the size of the Atlantic Ocean, totally do-able, so long as you ignore the obvious security risks, the engineering challenges of building outside littoral waters, any legal impediments to colonizing an area approximately the size of Poland, plus the fact that the cost would destroy the economy long, long before the project was ever completed.
I’m sure we both know the whole idea is ridiculous, however it’s interesting to look into just how ridiculous it is in detail.
That’s the problem here in Wokeachusetts. The governor wants to cover the state with solar panels- but she also wants more housing, thanks partly to to being a sanctuary state.
This is an excellent analysis. It considers all aspects of life cycle costs.
Per this report the average electric rate in WA/OR will rise to 28.7 cents/kWh.
That 28.7 cents sounds dirt cheap to me since I paid 45.6 cents/kWh last month here in California.
They’ll eventually catch up to CA as they remove dams and hydro.
yuh, gotta liberate the fish and snails and bugs that want a free flowing river 🙂
By wiping out the ecosystems (the fish and snails and bugs) that developed in the lakes the dams formed!
Right- it’s one ecosystem vs. another. At least with the lake we got electricity. It’s nice to have some free flowing rivers but we don’t need all that many as some people think.
I’ve been tracking my PG&E bill for the last year. The columns are kwh, peak price, off-peak price.
May 228.489 0.52376, 0.49541
Jun 198.804 0.52376, 0.49541
49.579 0.63879, 0.53579
Jul 217.708 0.63879, 0.53579
80.975 0.59089, 0.48789
Aug 271.169 0.59089, 0.48789
Sep 201.927 0.59089, 0.48789
26.778 0.59342, 0.49042
Oct 150.690 0.59342, 0.49042
25.174 0.49378, 0.46378
Nov 189.697 0.49378, 0.46378
Dec 256.763 0.49378, 0.46378
Jan 249.962 0.49378, 0.46378
50.436 0.49312, 0.46312
Feb 245.869 0.49312, 0.46312
Mar 239.978 0.49312, 0.46312
50.741 0.50086, 0.47086
Apr 294.235 0.50086, 0.47086
Every time I see someone moaning about their 25 cent cost being too high, or as here where the average will climb to 28 cents, I imagine Newsom saying, “Hold my French Laundry wine”.
Those peak prices make my eyes water. They completely overwhelm the off-peak costs on your bill.
The Californication of the PacNW has been underway for at least three decades. Give it time.
The Californication of the Country could happen if Newsome runs and wins in 2028…
Vance 2028/2032
Newsome is likely the Dems BEST prospect for a candidate in 2028 but the Potential Threat of country wide Californication could be sufficient to end his prospects.
5 decades, dad was complaining about Californians ruining Oregon in the 70’s.
“and that the resulting decrease in global temperature would only be 0.003 ⁰C”
As insignificant as this is is is almost surely an over estimate. There is no statistical evidence tying the increased atmospheric CO2 to increased global temperature.
You are correct. There is no real evidence that CO2 has any effect on our global climate system. The AGW hypothesis has been falsified by science.
The slope of the Keeling exponential curve does not show an effect due to the reductions, for the past 30 years, in man’s contribution of co2 to the atmosphere.
Contribution equals trillions of dollars squandered.
The answer is easy. It costs you more and you receive less.
Remember, people who want to lower your standard of living are not your friends
As stated by WEF: “You will have nothing and you will be happy.”
Here in the US Northwest, the ninth northwest regional power plan is due out in 2026 and is the next scheduled five-year successor to the 2021 regional power plan.
NWPCC Ninth Power Plan (Due in 2026)
As was the case in past power planning exercises for the region, the planning for the ninth plan is heavily influenced by Washington state’s and Oregon’s legislated direction to fully decarbonize their supplies of electricity.
The NWPCC reports to the Western Electricity Coordination Council (WECC) headquartered in California. The WECC’s power planning approach for the western US and parts of Canada is similarly influenced by California’s decarbonization policies.
California, Oregon, and Washington remain fully committed to the Net Zero transition and will be using their influence in the regional power planning organizations to impose their decarbonization policies on other states in the western US.
For one example, in doing the cost-versus-benefit analysis for the various alternatives which will be presented in the NWPCC’s ninth power plan, the NWPCC will be using the Social Cost of Carbon that Washington state uses for its own cost-versus-benefit calculations.
In which case the ninth power plan’s cost-versus-benefit calculations will have exactly zero credibility.
Plan 9 from Outer Space!
I really want to know what happened to plans 1 to 8…
Decarbonize is such an oxymoron as it takes carbon to fabricate those atrocities.
From the report:
“…thousands of megawatts (MW) of wind turbines and solar photovoltaics, which will be located in the eastern (and rural) portions of the two states…”
Should give stronger support to the petition for Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon to join Idaho:https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/eastern-washington-and-eastern-oregon-to-join-idaho.html
No such thing as emission free energy of any kind. How can it reduce temperatures when co2 doesn’t affect temperatures? Codswallop.
There IS such a thing as codswallop, however. Also humbug, hooey, hokum, palaver, pabulum, and rubbish.
And balderdash.. !
> Lawmakers in Oregon and Washington State have passed ambitious legislation to combat climate change, aiming to eliminate fossil fuels and rely solely on zero-emission electricity sources, such as solar and wind, by 2040 and 2045, respectively.
Does California know they are about to be cut off from Pacific Northwest hydropower?
The proponents of Net Zero can’t recognize the fact that they’re chasing a constantly-receding mirage. They’ve been babbling away on the topic for several decades now, but what the rest of us see is that despite billions in subsidies to alternative energies like wind and solar, fossil fuels still account for 82% of the world’s primary energy generation. Meanwhile, since 1990 carbon emissions have risen 60%. So where’s this big demand for Net Zero beyond the wishful thinking of environmentalists and governments looking to hit consumers with carbon pricing?
Carbon emissions have declined. CO2 emissions have risen.
Don’t start confusing people with facts. The high priests of humbug don’t like facts.
The operative word in your post is “babbling.” The climate panic is a doomsday fad. The jargon revolving around it, such as “net zero,” “alternative energy,” et cetera, ad nauseam, is so much twaddle. If only empty words could fill the battery banks. . .
All this effort to condemn wind/solar/battery is off target. The documentary generally supports the Climate Scam™.
Climate has always changed and always will. The prime driver is orbital precession and the sun is not constant output. It is a relentless process of changing solar intensity across the globe. The current cycle of NH glaciation began around 1500. The trends are now well established – rising temperature of NH oceans causing increased snowfall across the NH. Greenland already gaining ice extent and elevation at the summit. The NH is 500 years into a 9500 year upswing in snowfall.
While true, I would suggest now is not the time to vacation in Spain.
Excellent, this is really important everybody needs to spread this far and wide.
They should require that all equipment be made locally in Washington ans Oregon. The reality is that there is no real evidence that CO2 has any effect on our global climate system. The AGW hyporhesis has been falsified by science. So there is no reason to do this. This effort will have no effect on our climate. If they really want to eliminate all CO2 emissions from the state they need to remove all living things and organic material from the state as well as cover up all bodies of water in the states including the ocean. Even then that will not stop CO2 from passing through froim out of state. So the trillion dollars is only a small part of the total cost needed.
Oké now what? If this documentary tells a true story because scientifically there out te do always doubt we have a problem. This doc show us what the consequences are of carbon free energy but what part of the so called very reliable scientific world is afraid of telling or what I think is the case they don’t even know because the subsidies the free money flow is getting in danger. They are afraid of that monster in the White House. He who pays calls the shots,the taxpayers but maybe that’s old fashion.
A very good documentary and a must watch.
It’s going to take one very large financial failure combined with very unreliable electrical power/service to begin a move away from unreliable wind and solar.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that because of bad choices made by management and unavailable financing related to our current insolvency, we are reducing electric power availability to 12 hours (or less) per day (on a rotation basis) and doubling electricity prices. There will be no new hookups or other service expansions until our debt has been reduced by at least 50% when we hope to once again have access to financial markets.”
“Those receiving ‘green power’ will have availability limited to times when the sun is shining and/or the wind is blowing. Power hoarding using batteries will be prohibited.”
“Electric power will no longer be available to areas serviced by wires on poles until all fire risks such as un-trimmed trees and shrubs are eliminated.”
Have a nice day.
One of the reasons my wife and I are leaving Washington, as soon as I retire, is the continued shift toward unworkable energy policy. Lot of other reasons, but we can’t afford to stay. We have solar panels on our roof (installed by prior owner), but during ~ 5 months of the year, it’s not contributing much power. Too cloudy, too low of an incidence angle.
Spain just enjoyed a nationwide “blackout”, power went out around 12 o’clock while I was enjoying my frist beer. It is believed that a normal power supply will be restired within 6 to 10 hours…of course once all PV modules switch off naturally (due to the lack of sunlight)…what a coincidence lol.
I doubt that there will be an honest asessment of the total cost all “renewable” BS added to the grid caused today.
Certainly the real fun was to observe all the plastic and contacless pay idiots scrambling for cash to pay for their beers.
The waitress smiled at me, knowing that I always pay and tip in cash, can’t out a price on that
Cheers and ring the bell 🤣
Perhaps Spain has too much wind and solar generators and not enough traditional generators with rotational mass to hold the grid in sync.
Across southern France and the Iberian Peninsula, low winds on Monday.
Over reliance on wind power.
But they’ll blame fossil fuel power failed them.
We will be seeing more of these blackout events as the grid depends more and more on wind and solar.
When enough adverse technical incidents inside the grid caused by wind and solar overwhelm the control system’s ability to cope with them, the power grid blacks out.
And, as was completely predictable, the news media is now blaming this massive blackout on a coordinated cyber attack.
Low wind today across Spain and France.
Region has become too dependent on wind power with an inability to balance the load across Spain and southern France. Dispatchable power wasn’t available in sufficient supply or unable to come on-line fast enough (fossil fuel-run gas turbines).
Meanwhile, Wind turbine farms across Texas to Great Plains are cranking it out today. But that changes quickly day to day.
Wind power is just unreliable and adds tremendously to the cost of keep power grid reliable and stable.
All for that one day a year that the Left can stand and applaud Wind’s ability to produce any amount over 50% of the daily need. To be able to take their collective fingers out of their collective ears and proclaim “We Told You So”
The claim it was oscillations in the EU energy grid.
Seems to me that this video focused on cost- without ever saying that there’s no need for renewable energy- which would mean that every cent spent on it is a waste- and we’ll have to face all sorts of problems if we keep going down this path- including more industries, families barely able to afford electricity, increased taxes since of course the burros must have inflation protection, and the cost to run schools, fix roads, etc. will go up rapidly.
Today: Spain, Portugal and parts of France are completely belly up because of massive grid failure.
The BBC reports that it was caused by ‘extreme atmospheric circumstances’ which somehow is not further explained.
‘No wind’, perhaps or ‘watery sunshine’?
You have to admire the brass neck of the BBC news presenters. The fear was that such outings were caused by climate change. No mention of the effect of idiotic policies to prevent the imaginary problem of ‘climate change’. Among the inconveniences of having no power for a prolonged period of time the only real one mentioned was the failure of clean water supply. No mention of what few days of refrigeration failure does to the food supply.
Story tip:https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/spain-hit-massive-really-massive-power-blackout
Backouts have a cost don’t they?
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/04/27/what-does-it-cost-the-consequences-of-the-net-zero-energy-agenda/#comment-4066361
Beware this ‘clean’ thing. The only dirty affected by decarbonisation is power staton effluent. Is that dirty? Why aren’t they being prosecuted?
THis is what it costs: The Spanish Gran Apagon
Here is what was generating just beforehand
For completeness I include a chart of April 16th, when they claimed that demand was met 100% by wind, solar and hydro. They didn’t shut down the nuclear, gas and coal, so the claim is bogus.