Bantam Communications’ Post

"The impending, but avoidable, reliability crisis" I originally published this article on Substack at the end of 2023. I'm reposting it now because I think the testimonies of FERC commissioners Danly, Clements, Christie, and Phillips in this May 2023 US Senate Committee Hearing are even more prescient now that we've experienced controlled load shedding in Alberta and the US EPA finalizes its rules on carbon emissions from thermal generators in the US... https://lnkd.in/gWhFnsnf US EPA GHG Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants: https://lnkd.in/g2bcfDkh

New York joins Massachusetts in leading the country on transitioning utility infrastructure away from outdated fossil gas dependence! California, birthplace of efficiency standards, air quality protections, and setting the global stage on climate change mitigation, is steadily losing ground when it comes to aligning utility investment with climate targets. With this recent commitment from Governor Hochul, New York will be looking at reforming the utility obligation to serve which will allow utilities to limit investment in fossil gas infrastructure that takes us further away from meeting our decarbonization targets. Every investment today in gas pipelines commits ratepayers to 50-60 year investments - investments that will become stranded assets when we achieve our zero-carbon energy system goals. Responsible utility investment involves building for tomorrow, not for yesterday. Congrats to my colleagues in New York, especially our NY Director Lisa Dix, for the tireless work that led to this important milestone. https://lnkd.in/gTwHMWhT

One enduring aspect of the flagging globalist attempt to debt-subsidize an energy transition into reality that is too often ignored is that higher costs for energy in all its various forms is a feature — not a glitch — of the overarching plan. When viewed from the perspective of the authoritarian central planners behind this project, constantly rising energy costs make perfect sense for a variety of reasons: - Higher prices for power generation and transportation fuels could result in “clean” energy alternatives becoming more competitive in the marketplace. - Higher energy costs should result in lower energy usage by individuals who can no longer afford to pay the bills. - Lower energy usage should result in lower carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, thus enabling the central planners to claim “victory” in the end. https://lnkd.in/dH_yb7yG

2024 GOP GRID RANT (EVS RENEWABLES NGAS & RELIABILITY) TIS TRUER THAN 2016 COAL LIE LINKED TO TRUMP45: CAN 2024 RANT DELIVER TRUMP47? “The rapid phase-out of coal and the shift to renewables and battery storage are forcing another reckoning with the bulk power grid and the challenge of building transmission lines. This time around, President Joe Biden’s goal of zeroing out carbon pollution, and now serious electric reliability concerns tied to the threats of extreme weather, are every bit the driver as the growing economy. As a result, that push to green the grid is stirring opposition and legal threats from a coalition of Republican attorneys general and political operatives, many with ties to Donald Trump’s campaign for president.”

Most professionals tend to sugar coat it or just stay quiet, but wind and solar are both OVERCOMPENSATED and UNDER DELIVER on critical fronts such as system adequacy contribution. Today's wholesale energy markets do far more than compensate for marginal costs. The single clearing price auction has always bee a strong CAPITAL INVESTMENT incentive - which twenty years ago was synonymous with FIRM (DISPATCHABLE) CAPACITY INVESTMENT. Non-emitting electricity is a luxury, not a necessity, and it is no substitute for system adequacy. If the WHOLESALE ENERGY MARKET rules don't change, then wind and solar will continue to collect what used to incentivize FIRM CAPACITY, and rates will go up by whatever else we do to prop up reserve margins. Furthermore, the net load curves left in the wake of zero-marginal-cost wind and solar demand the dispatchable fleet SELL LESS AT LOWER GROSS MARGINS, and require GREATER RAMP SLOPE and FREQUENCY with LESS REGULARITY. It truly is a train wreck. SO: WHO WILL STEP IN AND DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT RATEPAYERS (aka the ENTIRE ECONOMY) and be the needed Debbie downer to the clean energy movement? I am here to help!

***WARNING - RANT AHEAD*** Affordable, reliable electric power is at the center of successful heavy industry (think mining, which provides our great paying jobs) and keeping the heat and lights on in our chilly Upper Midwest climate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has once again put its idealogy way ahead of what's best for consumers. Tim Walz and the Metro DFL, which includes Grant Hauschild and Dave Lislegard, are on parallel lines with the EPA crazy bus as well, driving up costs and endangering businesses across the state. LOOK NO FURTHER than the 90 jobs in Hibbing, at the Northern Foundry, that were lost just last month. The reason? Mostly the non-stop rate increases in electric power. Lake Country Power, one distributor of regional electricity in northeast MN, will confirm what Mr. Nolan is talking about, and is powerless (pardon the pun) to change the direction this state and nation are going with it's energy resources. From the article: While the confetti may be falling at EPA headquarters, the agency’s plan to effectively disassemble the foundation of our power supply has gone over like a lead balloon with the nation’s utilities, electricity grid operators, and grid reliability regulators...When electricity rationing, soaring power prices, and blackouts come, there shouldn’t be any confusion over who is to blame. The warnings couldn’t have been any clearer. This is a self-made crisis and the buck stops with the President Biden EPA. Let's do everything we can to turn this ship around on a state and national level. Pay attention to WHO YOUR ALLIES are for affordable and reliable power. Hint: it's not the Democrats. #WeCanDoBetter #DoneWithTheDFL #HiDave #CalWarwasForHouse #EndTheTrifecta #ExpandYourRange #ChangeFirstisRangeFirst #MyIronRange THIS TWO MINUTE READ IS WORTH YOUR TIME.. https://lnkd.in/ge-J9DrQ

Victoria has done a policy backflip on gas, abandoning their anti-gas rhetoric and telling around 2 million residents they can continue to use their gas cooktops. As reality bit on its ambitious climate plans, the Victorian Government has announced it's moving to soften its gas ban, and declared that gas will be an integral fuel in the energy transition. However these moves will not solve the looming gas shortage crisis in Victoria, around 70% of the gas in the Bass Strait has now been depleted, and there are still serious questions as to where new gas supply will be sourced. With Victoria setting a net zero target by 2045, the government set upon an ambitious campaign to wean Victorians off gas. This was to be achieved firstly by banning gas connections to new homes, and then through regulations that mandated expensive new refurbishments of rental properties from gas heating and cooking to full electrification. Household were looking at tens of thousands of dollars to make these changes, and in a cost-of-living crisis, this was a political bridge too far. What happens now? 👉 A regulatory impact statement is currently being prepared, but consultations will specifically exclude discussions on phasing out existing residential and commercial property cooktops. 👉 New state laws are also being planned to allow gas to be stored in empty gas reservoirs under the sea, which can be extracted to store gas off the Gippsland coast, where carbon capture and storage projects have been planned. 👉 New gas-fired generation will also be encouraged, to allow the retirement of Victoria's brown-coal fired power stations. With Victoria's manufacturing base deeply dependent on gas, the State faces an economic shock if it doesn't get the energy transition right. #VictoriaBackflipOnGas

In the almost two years since the #InflationReductionAct was signed into law on August 16, 2022, companies have announced or advanced 646 new #cleanenergy projects, creating 334,565 new jobs and driving $372 billion in new investments across 47 states and Puerto Rico. That's the latest from Climate Power's August Clean Energy Boom report, released today. Plans include 183 new #battery manufacturing sites, 155 new or expanded #electricvehicle manufacturing facilities, and 185 #solar and #wind manufacturing plants. The majority of projects are in five states —Michigan, Texas, Georgia, California, and South Carolina. As BCSE works with industry leaders and policymakers to advance the clean energy transition, ensuring the efficient and effective implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a top priority. Dive into Climate Power's report for the latest data on IRA progress: https://lnkd.in/e9dMTjZf

What is allowed under Greg Abbott’s #Texas: “CenterPoint is one of the worst utilities in the U.S. when it comes to pushing against action to slow climate change, according to an analysis by U.K. think tank InfluenceMap. And the utility doesn’t just advocate against climate action in Texas, where it is headquartered; it tries to delay climate policies all over the country—and succeeds. According to InfluenceMap’s report, CenterPoint has successfully fought policies to ban methane gas in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and Indiana. In Minnesota, CenterPoint also successfully lobbied politicians to oppose building electrification, and support methane-powered heat instead.” #TexasHoldEm #FAFO #utility #grift Stop LNG expansion, start cleaning up and restoring fossil fuel sites. #uspoli

Life rarely presents clean cut answers to any problem and our nation's energy supply is no different. While the mix will continue to change, the answer for a the foreseeable future will be a mix of energy production technologies and unfortunately this means no solution will be perfect. As we increase energy consumption it will mean we can't decommission current power generation as fast as some would like and I appreciate the work NRECA is doing to highlight the challenges while providing a path forward to an orderly change in generation mix. While not related to the PNW, download the MISO app to see real-time energy production and consumption across the Midwest. Mesmerizing to watch and really educational to the challenges that the nation's grid operators have keeping the lights on.