Ed. Note: Michael Lynch’s Shifting Oil Industry Structure and Energy Security Under Investment Phase-Out’s (EPRINC: 2021) challenges the quest of Faith Birol/ International Energy Agency to cease investment in the petroleum industry. A summary of and excerpts from Lynch’s study follow.
“If we want to reach net zero by 2050 we do not need any more investments in new oil, gas, and coal projects.” (Faith Birol, IEA, 2021)
“… efforts to discourage the production of oil are entirely misplaced since consumption is not driven by supply but demand.” (Michael Lynch, below)
Introduction by Lucian Pugliaresi, President, Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc.
In May of this year, Fatih Birol, speaking as head of the International Energy Agency, stated publicly that “The pathway to net zero is narrow but still achievable. If we want to reach net zero by 2050 we do not need any more investments in new oil, gas, and coal projects.” Mr.
…“As we’ve said from the beginning of this project, we are going to build these units the right way…. We have endured and overcome some extraordinary circumstances building the first new nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years. Despite these challenges, progress at the site has been steady and evident.”
– Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power, October 21, 2021
Forget the U.S. Synthetic Fuel Administration of the 1970s. Forget the Obama Administration’s Solyndra project. The biggest debacle in modern U.S. energy history appears to be in Georgia, and the saga continues.
And far from unique, the latest-and-greatest in nuclear (this was supposed to be the breakthrough) is a warning sign about nuclear power in general. It has always needed government subsidies and protection. And it was a setup train wreck under lenient public utility regulation that allowed the franchised monopoly utility to recover all costs and a “reasonable” rate of return on invested capital.
…“… by Exxon’s calculations, a barrel of algal oil could be worth as much as $350, when factoring in existing low-carbon fuel standards and tax credits that add as much $260 in value to each barrel. Traditional crude oil currently sells for less than $80 a barrel.”
“The process requires vast amounts of energy so much so that algal biofuel production might consume more energy than it produces, some researchers concluded.”
Biofuels and biomass are energy technologies that are uneconomic and a mirage for the environmental gains that are desired by Left environmentalists. It is a loss-loss-loss for energy, stockholders, and the environment.
The article by Christopher Matthews, “Exxon Sees Green Gold In Algae-Based Fuels. Skeptics See Greenwashing” (Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2021) speaks for itself.
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