Ukraine conflict has thrown cold water on clean energy transition --- there will be a greater reliance on fossil fuels
Clemente, 5/8/2023 --- Principal at JTC Energy Research Associates, LLC, B.A. in International Relations from Penn State University, with a minor in Statistical Analysis, M.S. in Homeland Security from San Diego State University, with a focus on Energy Security, and an MBA from St. Francis University, with a focus on Energy Economics (May 08, 2023, Jude, “Wind and Solar Aren’t Nearly Enough: Why Biden Is Suddenly Supporting Fossil Fuels,” https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2023/05/08/wind_and_solar_are_not_nearly_enough_why_biden_is_suddenly_supporting_fossil_fuels_897517.html, JMP))
Nobody loves the Biden administration’s new EPA regulations to force huge amounts of electric cars onto the power grid more than the beleaguered coal industry.
Electric cars and the overarching goal of electrification will surely surge U.S. electricity demand, a sector that has been flat at 4,100 terawatt hours since the Great Recession 15 years ago (see figure).
Ultimately, renewables and electric cars share the same outlook: “growing markets but nowhere near taking over the market.”
Physics and higher than expected costs (e.g., only 10-15% of Americans can now afford an electric car) will ensure that many of the policies we’re hearing about today will be pulled back and/or drastically watered down.
When the rubber hits the road, energy dreams die hard: “Despite climate commitments, the EU is going back to coal.”
The lavish, wasteful subsidies for renewables and electric cars are bound to become politically untenable at some point: “Ford Is Losing $66,446 On Every EV It Sells.”
Indeed, after promising “no more drilling” during his presidential campaign, President Biden has a newfound affinity for the reliable resources that meet 80% of our energy needs: “Another big Alaska fossil fuel project gets Biden team’s blessing.”
And just a few weeks ago, the Biden administration gave approval to two more giant projects to export natural gas, Texas LNG and Rio Grande LNG.
It turns out that Vladimir Putin’s war has brought the sleepwalking West the great energy reality check that it so desperately needed – and that includes even the most “climate ambitious administration in U.S. history.”