A Free-Market Energy Blog

An Exchange with Michael Webber (UT- Austin) on the February 2021 Texas Blackouts

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 15, 2023

“So here is the study that PUCT, FERC, Rice, UT, etc. do not want to do. It is very politically incorrect. Without wind and solar forcing, what would the wholesale margins have been, and how much thermal capacity would there have been? The study could do runs of wind/solar at 90% of the-then level … 75% …. 50% …. 25%.”

This exchange concerns a new University of Texas summary, “Two years after its historic deep freeze, Texas is increasingly vulnerable to cold snaps – and there are more solutions than just building power plants.” My interpretation—and policy recommendations—are exactly opposite of the UTA op-ed (see here), so I responded and was pleased to get some pushback from Professor Webber. 

On LinkedIn, Webber wrote: “You might find our latest article to be of interest.…

Continue Reading

Gas Stoves: The Beloved Blue Flame is Just Better

By Mark Krebs and Tom Tanton -- February 14, 2023

“Forcibly moving the market via equipment costs is a typical DOE strategy. And then they say, ‘let the market decide’.”

On January 30, 2023, National Public Radio (NPR)  published an episode, How Worried Should You Be About Your Gas Stove?  On February 4, NPR released a follow up: Gas stove makers have a pollution solution. They’re just not using it. Listen to both audio clips.

NPR’s advocates are part of a choir trying to justify ending natural gas combustion, starting with gas stoves. They are just as purposefully misleading as the rest of the choir.

Policy Concern

The concern should not be about gas stove usage but the public policy of The Biden Administrative State to wean consumers off the direct use of natural gas and propane and on to electric appliances, ASAP. …

Continue Reading

Energy and Environmental Review: February 13, 2023

By -- February 13, 2023

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.

Renewables (General):
*** The Final Nail in The Coffin Of “Renewable” Energy
*** Murphy’s Law of Alternative Energy
*** BP to cut back on green shift amid booming demand for fossil fuels
*** We Demand a Demonstration Project of a Mainly Renewables-Based Electrical Grid
Replacing Cheap, Reliable Power With Unreliable Energy Is Actually Hard
The Human Price of Cobalt

Wind Energy – Offshore:
*** Why Environmentalists May Make This Whale Species Extinct
*** Study: The Interaction Between Resource Species and Electromagnetic Fields Associated with Electricity Production by Offshore Wind Turbines
Feds push ignorance defense for whale killing by offshore wind development
Are NOAA Scientists Being Silenced?

Continue Reading

Kevon Martis Responds to ‘Heated’ Ad Hominem

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 10, 2023
Continue Reading

‘Al Gore and the End of Climate Policy’ (autopsy time)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 9, 2023
Continue Reading

Craig Idso on CO2 Benefits: A Summary

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 8, 2023
Continue Reading

“Cognitive Dissonance” and Climate Change: A Takedown

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 7, 2023
Continue Reading

Climate Anxiety: A Simple Cure (Heartland conference: February 23–25, 2023)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 6, 2023
Continue Reading

“BP’s CEO Plays Down Renewables Push as Returns Lag” (‘beyond petroleum’ imaging wearing thin)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 2, 2023
Continue Reading

Houston Chronicle: Unpublished ‘Letters to the Editor’ (cancelling me)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 1, 2023
Continue Reading