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.

Unreliables (General):
Rising Electricity Rates under Biden (Texas wholesale up 200%)
An Australian community’s expensive experiment to go all renewable, is over after a fortnight of blackouts

Wind Energy — Offshore:
*** How President Trump can stop offshore wind on day one
*** ‘Not feasible’ – Engineers whack offshore wind plans
*** Sweden says no to 13 Wind Projects, as they could slow its response to a Russian missile attack
*** Massive Big Wind Project Off Massachusetts Coast Suffers Another Big Blow
Whales Declare BOEM is a Terrorist Organization Committing Genocide

Wind Energy — Other:
*** Taking the Wind Out of Climate Change (referencing 60± studies)
Intermittent Wind Generation on Full Display in the First Two November Days
Dutch coalition party calls for stop on land turbines after devastating Clintel report

Nuclear Energy:
Thorium’s potential as a source of fuel for the future, and its other important uses

Fossil Fuel Energy:
*** Resolving the Dissonance Regarding Fossil Fuels
*** Report: Estimation of the quantity of metals to phase out fossil fuels in a full system replacement, compared to mineral resources
*** Fracking and Pennsylvania: Why it Matters
*** Alec Epstein: The most heretical idea in the world
Resolving the Dissonance Regarding Fossil Fuels
Coal Is Still King In Spite Of War On ‘Fossil Fuels’

Electric Vehicles (EVs):
*** Ford lost $58,391 for every EV it sold during the 3rd quarter
*** Electric Vehicles: A Tale of Woe in the Absence of the Market Process
The “Energy Transition” coupled with “White Gold” Generates Battery Fires

Miscellaneous Energy News:
*** Affordable electricity can resolve worldwide poverty
*** SCOTUS Stumbles: EPA’s Power Plant Rule is Inflicting Irreparable Harm
Alex Epstein: Answers to questions about fracking, Keystone, hurricanes, and more
Navigating the physical realities of the energy transition
FBI thwarts man’s alleged plan to attack Nashville power grid with explosive-laden drone

Manmade Global Warming — Some Deceptions:
*** The Carbon Capture Pipeline Deception
*** A Looming Political Earthquake
*** AI knows it is biased on climate change
*** World Bank Missing $41 Billion in Climate Funds

Manmade Global Warming — Miscellaneous:
*** Climate Journalism Done Right
*** Who Really Cares About Climate Change?…

“Whether it is the unprecedented subsidies for renewable energy or the unprecedented war on American energy, the Biden administration’s policies are behind the increase in America’s electricity prices.”

During the first three years under Biden vs. last three under Trump, average wholesale electric prices in the seven U.S. independent or regional service areas have increased by 72%. Retail prices are also higher. The average 2024 U.S. residential rate to date is 24% higher than in 2020. For all end users—residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors—prices are up 23%.

This rate surge reflects the massive renewable energy subsidies authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed by President Biden, that tripled the outlay of such federal largesse. Another factor is the administration’s natural gas policies, which banned imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal; joined with the European Commission to reduce Europe’s dependance on Russian oil; and put a pause on LNG permits.…

“The ‘virtual power plant’ is the end-state of electricity interventionism, where government-subsidized wind, solar, and batteries–and in-home regulated (rationed) electricity use, via ‘smart meters’–replace consumer choice and taxpayer neutrality in a free marketplace.”

Lynne Kiesling has long sold herself as a freedom-loving classical liberal. Except she is the opposite when it comes to her specialty, electricity markets. This social media post is illustrative.

The “virtual power plant” is the end-state of electricity interventionism, where government-subsidized wind, solar, and batteries–and in-home regulated (rationed) electricity-use, via “smart meters”–replace consumer choice and taxpayer neutrality in a free marketplace.

Tomorrow’s post, “Free Market Electricity,” will outline the worldview of the missing-in-action alternative to Kiesling’s politically correct statism.

Appendix A: Critical Posts on Kiesling and Electricity

Electricity Statism Conference: Kiesling Rides High (June 25, 2024)

The Great Texas Blackout of 2021: Triumph of the Unreliables (February 20, 2024)

Kiesling vs.…

“If Americans want to keep their gasoline-powered cars and their large refrigerators … be able to afford travel across their states and country … avoid European—and California—style energy poverty, their only hope is to convince politicians to end subsidies for renewables and all other forms of energy.”

It is common for advocates of renewable energy to complain about the subsidies given to fossil fuels. “We have heard testimony,” stated U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, “about the threat climate change poses to entire sectors of our economy.”

So, what are we, the federal government, doing to protect against these threats?  Actually, we are subsidizing the danger.  As we’ll hear today, the United States subsidizes the fossil fuel industry with taxpayer dollars.

Joining Sen. Whitehouse in this vein are groups like the International Monetary Fund, The Future is Electric, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.…