A Free-Market Energy Blog

Paying the Price for Renewables (Georgetown, TX power surplus generates cost deficits)

By -- September 12, 2018

“Georgetown is paying dearly for its surplus energy. With annual demand growing at roughly 3% per year, it could be 15+ years before the City’s consumption begins to match its contracted supply.”

“Accepting accolades for signing long-term contracts is easy. Now Georgetown consumers deserve honest answers about what to expect in the coming years.”

Georgetown, Texas, just 30-miles north of Austin, earned international acclaim after announcing its transition to a 100% renewable energy portfolio. Since mid-2018, all electricity consumed by the City, its residents and businesses, is sourced from a combination of wind and solar plants operating in the state. Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross, a CPA, touted the decision as a “no-brainer” grounded in economics and long-term strategic planning. For Ross, wind and solar were cheaper, more reliable, and the way of the future.…

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“Gore’s Greenness Fades” (remembering a 2000 WP article in light of this week’s Global Climate Summit)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 11, 2018

“Gore the Policy Apostle can utter statements that most colleagues would regard as wildly impolitic: calling for elimination of the internal combustion engine by 2020 or denouncing excessive consumerism in Western nations as evidence of a ‘dysfunctional civilization.’ Gore the Politician, say some of these people, is prone to brooding over the electoral risks of his beliefs.”

“… environmentalists note that the [Clinton/Gore] administration since [the Kyoto Protocol of 1997] has done little to build support for the treaty’s passage or to reduce U.S. emissions.”

 – John F. Harris and Ellen Nakashima, “Gore’s Greenness Fades,” Washington Post, February 28, 2000.

A niche of MasterResource is remembering the past to inform the present in energy/environmental policy debates. With a strong worldview and historical perspective, this emphasis is a rich vein to mine.

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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: September 10, 2018

By -- September 10, 2018

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

A new Overview about Bats and Wind Turbines

Implications of Wind Development for Raptor Populations

EPA confirms GenX related compounds used in solar panels

Seven Ways EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy Rule is a Better Approach than the Clean Power Plan

Op-Ed: Finding ‘clean power’ is the least of New York’s energy worries

A Damning Report — Putting New Yorkers at Risk

Does Russia Deploy American Green Groups as Pawns?

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Corporate Cover for the Environmental Left in the 1990s (“Enron Ascending”)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 6, 2018
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A New Energy Treatise (via a ‘contra-capitalist’ company)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 5, 2018
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Twenty-Five Industrial Wind Energy Deceptions

By -- September 4, 2018
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California Climate Crazy: Lobbying to Outlaw Fossil Fuels (… calling Tom Tanton and Alex Epstein)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 29, 2018
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The Energy Race Is On (improving fossil fuels vs. political favorites)

By Greg Rehmke -- August 28, 2018
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Krugman’s Paranoia on a Lack of Climate Paranoia

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 27, 2018
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Environmentalism vs. the Environment (from the UK to small-town America)

By Tom Shepstone -- August 23, 2018
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