“The LCOE narrative has just collided with reality. If ‘cheap’ solar and wind really were enough, the energy transition would largely run on autopilot. Emissions would fall. Subsidies wouldn’t be…
Tag: Solar power
The Problem With Wind Energy in the Northwest
With rapidly increasing demand for electricity, expected to roughly double by mid-century (see NW Power Council estimate below), without new generation capacity, there is a near certainty of blackouts, particularly…
‘Big Oil’ and Early Solar: Trying and Failing
New-generation extraction technologies (resourceship) have made these energy minerals expanding resources, not depleting ones. Thus,the need for solar as grid electricity has diminished, except for the artificial prop of special…
Solar Blasphemy in India’s Thar Desert
the government allows its despoilment by solar installations at a staggering scale. The solar blight already afflicts more than 200 square miles.
Which Are The “Stranded Assets” Now?
The prediction that wind and solar assets will become “stranded” is fundamentally different, and fundamentally sounder, than the comparable prediction for fossil fuel assets. That is because wind and solar…
U.S. “renewables” mad scramble to build is on
It looks like the U.S. renewables industry is going to be scrambling financially. This is certain for the next twelve months and maybe long after that. Watching the mad scramble…
Energy Investment Out of Balance… And It Could Cost Us All
Prioritizing these low-return investments while starving high-EROI energy sources will only drive costs higher for taxpayers, slow economic growth, and compromise grid reliability. If we continue down this path, the…
Spain’s Impossible Dream Of ‘Green’ Electricity
Congress, state governors and legislatures, the Trump Administration, our courts and utility companies need to act quickly and decisively to end this wasteful spending and fix our fragile electricity generating…
‘Net Zero’ Is Collapsing in U.S. States
From New York to California, state renewable electrical power dreams are collapsing. Power demands soar, while the federal government cuts funding and support for wind, solar, and grid batteries. Renewables…
Reliance on ‘Renewables’ Makes Widespread Blackout Nightmare More Likely
Will the disaster of April 28 make European leaders think twice about abandoning our most reliable energy sources? Hardly. Following the devastating blackout, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government would…
Blackouts Surge: How Fragile Grids Threaten Global Energy Security
We need to be honest with ourselves… wind and solar alone can’t provide energy security. Not today. Maybe not ever without massive redesigns. We have leaned too hard on brittle…
Why “cheaper” solar raises costs. Part II: The hidden costs of residential solar
Residential solar follows a similar pattern: it seems affordable for homeowners, but raises system costs through rate structures that over-incentivize adoption. Generous subsidies, like retail-rate net metering, drive excessive solar…
NERC’s latest reliability assessment is unreliable
If NERC is assuming major solar and wind output to meet peak need, their findings are ridiculously unreliable. The combination of using wind and solar with merely average conditions makes…
A New IEA Report and the Iberian Blackout End Dreams of an ‘Energy Transition’
What it does mean is that whatever one believes about the science of the climate, the fact is that mandates and subsidies can’t change the physics of energy systems. Systems…
Rogue Devices Capable Of Triggering Blackouts Reportedly Found In Chinese Solar Panels
Over the past nine months, “rogue communication devices” not listed in product documents were found in solar power inverters and batteries from several Chinese suppliers, according to sources familiar with the…
New Texas Law to Force Renewables to Be Dispatchable
Sounds like Texas is getting fed up with its electricity system being increasingly put at risk by wind and solar power. After years of papering over the cracks with half…
European Blackout Update (yes, it was solar)
“Could the reliability of the Iberian Peninsula grid be ensured by introducing new technical solutions? Technically, yes—but economically, the feasibility is more challenging.” ( – J.K. Nøland, below)
Spanish Grid Operator Warned of Nation’s Heavy Reliance on Renewable Energy in February
Investigations into the cause of the power outage are continuing. However, a great deal of focus is turning to a pair of solar power plants that appeared to have issues…
Towns and States Don’t Want Green Energy
Trump Administration actions to scale back renewable energy capture headlines, but citizens are also pushing back. Efforts to deploy wind and solar systems face a rising tide of opposition in…
Providing Trump facts he needs on wind and solar
CFACT will continue to provide the Trump Administration with the facts it needs to avoid the energy mistakes so many others have made.