EIA: "Onshore wind looks to be competitive in only a few regions before the legislated phase-out of the production tax credit (PTC)." Is anyone really surprised?...
Continue reading
The story below from the Star Tribune summarizes a meeting held yesterday at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which was held to determine how well Minnesota’s utility companies weathered the polar vortex that brought bitter cold temperatures to our state at the end of January. In short, it was not a good day for Xcel Energy....
Continue reading
Want to learn more about the impact of the polar vortex on the energy system in Minnesota? Watch live as Xcel Energy's gas division, Centerpoint Energy, and Great Plains Gas talk about the impact of the bitter cold on natural gas supplies, with Minnesota electric utilities and grid operators to follow....
Continue reading
The energy world is buzzing today after the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO) released a report stating the wind didn't show up to work during the polar vortex that swept Minnesota on January 29 and 30. Electricity output from wind plummeted due to low wind speeds and because it was "too cold" for the wind turbines to operate. That being said, why on Earth would DFL lawmakers in St. Paul propose legislation mandating more wind turbines? Here are a few choice excerpts from media outlets covering the story with some of my own commentary sprinkled in. From E&E News: "As residents of the Twin Cities awoke...
Continue reading
Well, folks. The results of the Energy Information Administration's autopsy of the January 2019 polar vortex are in and wind fared very poorly, mainly because wind plants were turned off because it was too cold for them to operate safely. The article below is from EIA's Today in Energy series. Extreme cold weather in the Midwest at the end of January led to high—but not record-setting—electricity load on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, the coldest day of the period, on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator(MISO) grid. However, consumption of natural gas, the main fuel used for heating in the region, reached estimated record levels on...
Continue reading
New York has been anti-fossil fuel for many years, and it is finally starting to catch up with them. The following article originally appeared in the New York Post. New Yorkers experienced the headache caused by Gov. Cuomo’s crusade against natural gas last week, when a public hearing was held to discuss Con Edison’s January announcement that it would institute a moratorium on accepting new gas customers in Westchester County. The Empire State has stymied the construction of the necessary transmission infrastructure, so Con Ed is unable to keep up with demand. In addition to his decision to ban hydraulic fracturing in 2014...
Continue reading
The following article originally appeared in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. There have been many recent articles in The Daily Sentinel on Xcel's new Colorado Energy Plan related to climate change policy. In addition, the national news has been covering the Green New Deal being proposed by many politicians to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels in the next 10 years. It is ludicrous to think that we could live in a modern society without fossil fuels. Affordable fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil have brought more people out of poverty in the modern world than ever before. Nineteenth...
Continue reading
Happy Valentines Day, everyone. Here is an article I wrote three years ago that appeared in USA Today that is right for the occasion. With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, Americans naturally focus on romantic relationships. Chocolates ...
Continue reading
With Bernie Sanders recently announcing he intends to seek the presidency, I thought it was a good time to share an article I wrote in January of 2016 which was originally published at Investor's Business Daily. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has often talked about his desire for the United States to emulate the socialist welfare states of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden by providing free college and health care and expanding Social Security. Sanders also wants to ban oil, natural gas, and coal production on lands owned by the federal government, and he has called for a ban on hydraulic fracturing, which has dramatically increased production of...
Continue reading
The Star Tribune has published an opinion piece I wrote on how Minnesota's bitter cold should be a wake-up call for energy policy in our state. Instead of mandating the use of wind and solar, which generated just 24 percent of its installed capacity, and provided just four percent of MISO's electricity, we must maintain and keep reliable electricity sources like coal, nuclear, and natural gas plants running. You can read the article by clicking here....
Continue reading