Thousands of residents and businesses in Aspen, Colorado, were left without heat last week after an eco-terrorist attack on natural gas lines disrupted the supply of this essential energy source as the mercury dipped to nearly two degrees above zero....
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Apparently, the Union of Concerned Scientists isn't concerned about making sure that Minnesota does not experience the same kinds of rolling blackouts that California experienced in August when electricity demand soared as the sun was going down....
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California policymakers continue to enact bad energy policies. This time, the city of San Francisco joined nearly 40 other California towns in banning the use of natural gas in new buildings. According to Utility Dive, the city's Board of Supervisors passed legislation requiring new residential and commercial building construction to utilize all-electric power, starting with projects that file permits next year. Like the Minneapolis City Council, which keeps doubling down on defunding the police department despite an enormous uptick in crime, the people of California don't seem to be capable of helping themselves. San Francisco's decision was couched as a bold step toward...
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The regional electric grid operator expects there to be enough reliable power plants to keep the lights on this winter, but extreme weather may bring the risk of power outages....
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Xcel Energy is currently trying to get the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to rubber stamp their own version of the Green New Deal. Under this plan, the company would spend $57 billion on wind turbines, solar panels, natural gas plants, and mysterious "firm peaking" capacity, and stick your family or business with the bill. Xcel's preferred plan will increase electric bills for each of their customers by $1,428 per year through 2050 and have zero measurable impact on future global temperatures. It's crucial to remember that Xcel Energy is NOT a private company. They are a government-approved monopoly, and you are...
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Otter Tail Power Company (OTP), the smallest electric utility in the state of Minnesota, will build 50 megawatts of solar near their soon-to-be retired Hoot Lake coal facility. The Fergus Falls Journal reports the facility will include around 170,000 solar panels and generate enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes each year, but by my calculations, based on federal data on electricity usage and factoring in Minnesota's unproductive solar panels, the number would be closer to 6,750 OTP customers. Either way, it doesn't really matter, because the vast majority of OTP's power will be shipped in from coal and natural gas...
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In Mid-August, more than two million California families and businesses lost their electricity during a record-breaking heat wave because the sun was setting, rending The Golden State's fleet of solar panels unable to generate electricity. Decades of bad energy policy had left the state with too few sources of reliable electricity. Blackouts, or rather "greenouts," ensued. Since that time, there have not been more blackouts, but there have been several very close calls, including over Labor Day weekend. Last weekend again brought scorching temperatures to the Southwest, and the California grid operator, the California Independent Systems Operator, pleaded with residents to voluntarily...
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The following article was written by Isaac Orr and originally appeared in the Faribault Daily News: Millions of California families and businesses recently lost their electricity during a record-breaking heat wave. The blackouts occurred because of bad decisions by California politicians to shut down many of the state’s reliable nuclear, natural gas, and coal-fired power plants, resulting in an overdependence on unreliable energy sources like wind and solar. As a result, the state was unable to generate enough electricity to meet demand when it was needed most. California’s rolling blackouts should be a reality check for the Minnesota lawmakers, utility executives, and...
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California is giving America a preview of the Green New Deal. Millions of families have had their power shut off because of the bad decisions made by politicians. These politicians set up the dominoes leading to the blackouts for decades by shutting down reliable forms of electricity like coal, nuclear, and natural gas, and believing in the fairy tale that wind and solar power would be able to get the job done when the chips were down. We are seeing in real time that they cannot. Michael Shellenberger writes about how Joe Biden's climate plan would usher in an energy system...
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Last weekend, two million Californians suffered through rolling blackouts during record-breaking heat because cloud cover reduced the amount of electricity generated from solar power, and low wind speeds resulted in little production from wind energy, according to California's regional grid operator, the California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO). If Minnesota does not change it's current course on energy policy, we will soon suffer the same fate. California has some of the most stringent renewable energy mandates in the country. Currently, California law requires requires that 50 percent of California's electricity to be powered by renewable resources by 2025 and 60 percent by...
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