“The lesson from Europe is that reliance on wind, solar, and imported natural gas is expensive and risky energy policy. If you experience a low-wind year, a cold winter, an embargo, or a war, you can’t turn up the wind and solar.”

The year 2022 was an energy disaster for Europe. Citizens and businesses suffered from astronomical prices for natural gas and electricity, sky-high home energy bills, shuttered industrial plants, and bankrupt companies. Observers have blamed COVID-19 supply chain disruptions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but Europe’s green energy policies was the elephant in the room.

For the last two decades, closures of traditional power plants and renewable energy policies made European countries highly dependent upon a combination of intermittent wind and solar sources and natural gas. More than 100 nuclear plants had closed or were scheduled to close, including 30 in Germany and 34 in the United Kingdom.…

Ed. note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete Newsletter for this post can be found here.

Greed Energy Economics:
*** Right, OilPrice.com, Wind Power is Unprofitable
*** The Renewable Capital Cost Green Trick
*** Green Energy Is Stuck at a Financial Red Light
Wind lobby demands ever more subsidies from poor Europeans

Renewables (General):
*** How Greening the Economy Will Destroy America
*** The inhumanity of the green agenda
*** Environmental Bootleggers and Baptists Fleece Consumers
Video: The Great Renewable Energy Con explained by Dr Benny Peiser
A not-so-green reality behind green transition

Wind Energy — Offshore:
*** The Pentagon Tilts at Windmills
*** Whales and Offshore Wind: The Verdict Was in Before the Coroner’s Report
*** Conservative watchdogs highlight ‘alarming’ surge in whale deaths as wind projects grow off NY, NJ coasts
Wind energy developer funneled cash to Dem senator pushing offshore wind
NOAA proposes hammering 208% of vanishing Right Whales
Calls mount to stop offshore wind project as more whales wash up dead: ‘Need to take a very hard look at this’
Biden Admin Energy Official Won’t Say if Offshore Turbines Can Survive Hurricane
California Wind-power auction shows how money matters in climate projects
We Oppose Delaware Offshore Wind because it’s Expensive, Unreliable, and Threatens the Natural Environment
Cargo ship arrives in Germany with large hole after striking wind turbine

Wind Energy — Other:
*** Taking the Wind Out of Climate Change (referencing 60± studies)
Wind Energy Poll: Nearly 60% say embrace natural gas

Solar Energy:
*** China Dominates U.S.…

“But make no mistake, [Bradley]’s as venomous an antinuke as the most biased Greenpeacer.” (Colin Hunt, Canadian Nuclear Society)

Social media exchanges are educational and informative. Going head-to-head with an intellectual foe is a great opportunity to learn and unmask error–and to find out what you do not know. I report, you decide on the exchanges below, which get into some basic issues and the history of a troubled, government-subsidized technology.

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This LinkedIn exchange began with a post by Chris Keefer, Physician and President Canadians for Nuclear Energy:

Nuclear to the rescue. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Nuclear is best suited to replace many fossil fuel services. When fossil fuels become constrained nuclear doesn’t just become attractive, it becomes inevitable.

I responded as follows:

New nuclear capacity is just way too expensive and complicated compared to the alternatives.

“Since 2000, the world has spent more than $5 trillion on green energy. More than 300,000 wind turbines have been erected, millions of solar arrays were installed, more than 25 million electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold, hundreds of thousands of acres of forest were cut down to produce biomass fuel, and about three percent of agricultural land is now used to produce biofuel for vehicles.”

We are in the midst of history’s greatest wealth transfer. Government subsidized wind systems, solar arrays, and electric vehicles overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy members of society and rich nations. The poor and middle class pay for green energy programs with higher taxes and higher electricity and energy costs. Developing nations suffer environmental damage to deliver mined materials needed for renewables in rich nations.

Since 2000, the world has spent more than $5 trillion on green energy.…