Michael Barrio’s Post

Let’s think about the problem we are trying to solve. Is it global warming? Is it air pollution? Is it water pollution? Is it for someone’s agenda to make money? Biden’s plan has merit, but what is the price? By eliminating fossil fuels, not only can you be assured of eliminating pollution, but undoubtedly a large number of the population that were the cause of the pollution. There will be a time to eliminate fossil fuels, when one of our offspring can invent a technology that hasn’t been invented yet, but we will have ZERO chance of that happening IF we can’t have reliable Uninterrupted Power. When you can put Uninterrupted Reliable Power in a CAN, then there might not be a need for fossil fuels. Well, how much battery acid is in my Green water? At least that third arm can hold your slide rule to make the proper calculation, it is surprising how much power is needed to power a datacenter, and how fast you can lose data on a computer in a crash, without Reliable Power our Nation as we know it now will make Mad Max happy, but not me.

Over a span of less than 20 days in April and May, Biden regulators at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) published new regulations that, according to grid expert Robert Bryce, add more than 1 million words targeting natural gas to the federal register. https://lnkd.in/gSTGfFx8 via David Blackmon Energy Transition Absurdities #natgas #oil #energy #LNG #naturalgas #economy #oilandgas #txenergy #permian #oilindustry #regulation

Tomorrow, join us for our latest webinar where we'll delve into the vital role of interregional #transmission capacity in strengthening our #electricgrid. Without it, we risk struggling to power our grid and achieve our ambitious #cleanenergy objectives in the Northeast. Register to gain insights from our panel of Northeast energy officials, including CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Senior Policy Advisor Bruce Ho, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' Deputy Secretary Jason Marshall, New Jersey Office of the Governor’s Policy Advisor Preethy Thangaraj, and the Center on Global Energy Policy’s Director of Non-Technical Barriers Abraham Silverman, on state-level strategies and collaborative efforts needed to harmonize interests and pave the way for mutually beneficial interregional transmission. https://lnkd.in/eNHEGCy7 

Interesting move by Energy Transfer. I’m very curious to see what comes of this.

Public Comment Period Deadline Approaching! Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff have opened a comment period for the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project with planned facilities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Comments are due by July 5 by 5:00 p.m. EDT. Your comments will help FERC assess the potential impacts on the environment resulting from construction and operation of the project. They will also help evaluate ways to reduce potential environmental impacts, so your feedback is important! To submit a comment, visit FERC’s eFile/eComment: https://lnkd.in/dpNrnuar and reference Docket No. PF24-2-000. If you need assistance in submitting your comment, DM us! #NaturalGas #Pipeline #NaturalGasPipeline #Energy #Virginia #NorthCarolina #Environment

I reviewed the https://lnkd.in/gk5eJ4Pa Ohio/Pennsylvania Legislative Energy Policy "Summit" held last week, replayable here: https://lnkd.in/g8ifPHYR. Kudos to the best researched, most balanced, and most relevant presentation, the one given by Isaac Orr of The Center of the American Experiment. This presentation was frank and unapologetic. It did not dive into wholesale market design but nevertheless pointed out the central problems of insufficient revenue adequacy for many indispensable units in the dispatchable (thermal) fleet. I considered each of the positions offered on their own merits and relevance, and then through my own grid restructuring ideas and sensibilities. A takeaway statement formed in doing so, directed toward wholesale electricity market regulators. (No, that is not an oxymoron) Here it is: "Energy market participation and/or gross margins earned therein must be indexed in some way to system adequacy contribution." This is a natural, logical guardrail that flows from extrapolating wind and solar energy market share and those technologies' respective impact on "SYSTEM LEVELIZED COST" - not levelized cost of any one resource, but instead the entire costs of the system by summing the costs (capital, O&M and fuel) of each generating technology as they work together to meet historical load patterns of the regions they serve. It's not an exact science at all, even though it uses only real data in its calculation. But it is straightforward and accurate enough so as not to have dark corners to bury bad logic or math. Years ago I lobbied former employers to fund a report entitled "Optimizing Levelized System Cost of Electricity at Standardized Sufficient Reserve Margins" So far no takers. Might your interests as a ratepayer, patriot or interest group benefit from such a report? Institute for Energy Research for instance? If so, please feel free to reach out to me by private message email or phone. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission PJM Interconnection Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)

The EGL links form part of planned #electricity grid reinforcements to boost the capability of the existing UK transmission network and facilitate increased flows of planned renewable generation in the North to demand centers to the South, supporting the ambition of enabling 50 GW of #offshorewind generation by 2030 and achieving a #netzero economy by 2050. #subsea #offshoreenergy GEOxyz

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Commissioner Mark Christie responded to the questions from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding his testimony to the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan 2.0. Commissioner Christie’s answers emphasized the severe risks posed by the rule, which would force the retirement of coal plants that are essential for grid reliability. He specifically warned that, “… if the EPA’s new power plant rule survives court challenge, it will force the retirements of nearly all remaining coal generation plants and will prevent the construction of vitally needed new combined-cycle baseload gas generation. This loss of vitally needed dispatchable generation resources will be catastrophic.” America’s Power commends Commissioner Christie for continuing to call attention to the risks posed by the EPA’s CPP 2.0 to electric reliability.

The energy industry directed profits to corporations while leaving the long term costs of environmental degradation and cleanup to local communities. In many cases those local communities were destroyed. The article in HBR talks about Pennsylvania’s past errors. The same is true for New Jersey’s Delaware Bay communities like Money Island. There are simple direct ways to avoid the same problems but those solutions are politically challenging. Baysave is committed to addressing the social justice inequities but so far our state government has not been responsive in addressing local governments in our rural region or our citizens’ concerns. We hope that the state does not repeat the injustice of the oil processing and tanker transport system and nuclear energy generation that have destroyed our marine-based economies and environment here. This topic will likely be discussed when the national convention of the National Association of Environmental Journalists visits us town in April. https://lnkd.in/e9urrzH9

Tearing down a critical bridge before the replacement is built would halt traffic. Shuttering on-demand power generation before reasonable replacements are available will harm our economy and put reliable energy service in real jeopardy. Limiting climate change is a shared goal. The energy industry and NorthWestern Energy are taking actions to transition to an even cleaner energy future. The transition must and does include achievable timelines, utilize proven, cost-effective technology and maintain reliable, affordable energy service. The Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules for the power industry threaten a reality-based transition.