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Archive for the ‘climate’ Category

Victoria Bonnet’s piece in the Nantucket Current challenges certain assertions made at the Select Board’s July 29 press conference. Key points:

The government documents for ALL the Atlantic projects make it clear that there will be no benefit to climate change from implementing wide scale offshore wind.”

And how is it possible that an attorney representing an island that is receiving the full brunt of the environmental impacts from this massive industrial project is lecturing the press that historic preservation can co-exist with offshore wind? The sight of just the first 40 towers from Vineyard Wind makes it clear they can’t.”

Blindly following public relations statements about offshore wind as a critical solution to climate change that must be implemented immediately is how we got here in the first place. It has become clear that Nantucket receives no benefits from, but is significantly harmed by, Vineyard Wind. Our Select Board’s role should not be to advocate for any energy source that harms Nantucket.”

Dawn Hill, a signatory to the Good Neighbor Agreement and the current Select Board Chair, was a bright spot in the meeting. Her acknowledgment that the project is way more impactful than communicated at the time the Good Neighbor Agreement was signed gives hope that more rational thinking and action is on the way.

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As indicated in the Jens Christiansen graphic above, Denmark’s net imports exceeded 80% of demand several times in July. Per Jens, a Danish physicist, “this is the downside of being a wind leader we have to talk about.”

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North Sea pioneer, JL Daeschler, reports from Scotland that more than 13,000 Scots oil and gas jobs have been lost in the space of just one year while over 40% of the UK’s energy needs is being imported.”

The UK’s self destructive energy policy, while sadly not unique, is particularly troubling because of the North Sea’s enormous contribution to the domestic economy over the past 50 years. As Gillian Bowditch aptly commented:

We all want to protect our environment and Scotland, with its vast natural resources and expertise in energy, should be leading the way. Instead, we have squandered an opportunity in favour of a facile show of moral posturing.”

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Danish Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus boasted that other countries will be inspired by the world’s first tax on livestock emissions.

Not so fast says the University of Nebraska; perhaps the cows deserve a tax credit! 😉

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The full report is attached.

Not at all shocking:

The public is most interested in the cost and reliability of the energy they use and the convenience and comfort of their energy-using products. They are unwilling to sacrifice much at all financially to address climate change or significantly change their consumer behavior.

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With victory in sight, the President pulled the ball away from his most ardent East Coast supporters.

Further thoughts on the reasons for the Empire Wind reversal:

  • Legal/regulatory: Although lease cancellation is not a reasonable option at this time, a pause for further review of the environmental and procedural issues is justified. During the previous Administration, the regulators seemed to function primarily as cheerleaders, as evidenced by the departures (examples here and here), the BOEM/NOAA strategy document, and the promotional tweets. Also, where is the long awaited report on the turbine blade failure? How do you proceed with development before that has been released for public review?
  • Norwegian govt intervention: Some would argue that Empire Wind was a bad investment by Equinor (2/3 govt owned) and it would have been better to take the losses and move on.
  • Trade unions: Concerns about the job losses are warranted, but the long term viability of the subsidy dependent offshore wind industry is in doubt, and important industries (e.g. fishing and tourism) may be negatively impacted. Other job losses could occur if offshore wind drives up electric prices and decreases grid reliability.
  • Pipeline deal: The regionally important Constitution natural gas pipeline is still very much in doubt despite reports of a deal with Governor Hochul. With or without her support, climate-ultras are driving NY/New England energy policy and will, at a minimum, stall this project. Fisheries Nation was particularly blunt in criticizing fishermen being “used as a poker chip” to gain tepid support for the pipeline project.

Following the reversal of the Empire Wind decision, Green Oceans, ACK for Whales, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Protect Our Westport Waters, Save Greater Dowses Beach, Save Right Whales Coalition, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah petitioned Secretary Burgum to halt all wind construction in New England coastal waters and begin a “complete reevaluation” of their permits under applicable federal laws. In addition to right whale and tribal cultural resources concerns, the letter cited:

  • Critical habitat destruction impacting cod spawning grounds.
  • Inadequate response to turbine blade failures and environmental cleanup.
  • Severe adverse impacts on regional fisheries and economic displacement.
  • Compromised national defense radar and marine safety capabilities.
  • Misleading economic analyses that omit substantial regional job losses and increased electricity prices.

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Kathryn Porter is a well informed and articulate energy consultant. This video linked below is highly recommended.

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UK Energy Minister Ed Miliaband

By Richard Littlejohn with apologies to Bob Dylan 😉

“How many pits must a man close down

Before we run out of coke?

How many North Sea oil rigs must shut

Before the UK goes broke?

Yes, and how many windmills must the countryside take

Before it’s beyond a sick joke?

Disaster, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

Disaster is blowin’ in the wind.

Yes, and how many more must be dumped on the dole

Before the worm starts to turn?

Yes, and how long will we go on importing foreign coal

As if we’ve got money to burn?

Yes, and how many times will the lights go out again

Before this madman will learn?

Disaster, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

Disaster is blowin’ in the wind.

Yes, and how much higher will our gas bills have to go

So Miliband can play superhero?

Yes, and while the economy goes up in flames

Mister Ed fiddles madly like Nero,

Yes, and how many old folk will die from the cold

In futile pursuit of Net Zero?

Disaster, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

Disaster is blowin’ in the wind.

And here is Miliband with his version (You can’t make this up! 😉):

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“Despite our previously unified stance, some Members of our conference now feel compelled to defend wind and biofuel credits, advocate for carbon capture and hydrogen subsidies, or protect solar and electric vehicle giveaways. Keeping even one of these subsidies opens the door to retaining all eight. How do we retain some of these credits and not operate in hypocrisy? The longstanding Republican position has been to allow the market to determine energy production. If every faction continues to defend their favored subsidies, we risk preserving the entire IRA because no clearly defined principle will dictate what is kept and what is culled.

The full letter is attached.

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Die Dunkelflaute or dark lulls have drawn attention to the need for dispatchable power (typically from gas turbines or coal-fired power plants) when the weather isn’t cooperating.

The massive power outage in Spain and Portugal on Monday may be the result of the opposite challenge – a surge in solar power supply greatly exceeding demand (dark line in chart below).

Note that no extreme weather events were reported in Spain on April 28, 2025. The Portuguese grid operator mentioned “extreme temperature variations” in Spain’s interior, possibly causing grid oscillations, but no storms or heatwaves were noted. Weather was typical for April, with mild temperatures (8-19°C) and some rain.

Meanwhile, the political focus in the US (chart below), and perhaps more so in Europe, had been on “clean” rather than reliable power.

Bottom line: Over-reliance on highly variable wind and solar power challenges grid management, putting supply reliability at risk.

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