Category Archives: Fossil Fuels are Important

Perceptions vs. Reality

If it was simply the laws of Physics, Economics and Global Experiences of which source of Bulk Power was Best; then coal power plants would be on order by the hundreds. How can we fix the poor perceptions of coal power? Here are my thoughts.

Energy Powers Life as We Know It

America runs on energy. Energy is the Lifeblood of our economy and it is far more important than the MSM or public education teaches or explains. America has used right at 100 Quadrillion BTUs of primary energy each year for the last 25 years. Let me state this a different way, the total PRIMARY Energy used by the U.S. annually is about 100 quadrillion BTUs. Pro-rated, this is about 300 million BTUs for each U.S. citizen per year. I attempted to explain the use of about 300 million BTUs of energy per capita, each year by Americans here. The disconnect between perceptions and reality is, I think, a lack of understanding of basic physics and basic electricity generation economics. No one is an expert in everything and I freely acknowledge that there is much I do not understand about a lot of subjects. One reason such a large percentage of the public (and policymakers) became hoodwinked on renewables was, in my opinion, they were indoctrinated by green energy zealots that thought they knew a lot about solar and wind, but these zealots did not know as much about the energy and electric power business as they thought they did. Then these renewables advocates, with little understanding of bulk power generation, became influencers of elected officials who also did not understand. Thus, the blind led the blind into setting the Net Zero trap with high expectations from wind and solar. The result has been the self sabotaging of our reliable Grid. Many people I talk to, think they know a lot about power generation. Why? Because they have been indoctrinated with wind and solar propaganda. So, now we have a huge amount of the population, not only in the U.S. but all across the west, including the UK, EU, Australia and more. Many elected officials still believe that wind, solar and batteries can provide the electricity to compete with the world and still power our comfortable lives.

Energy Awareness, Thanks to the Iranians

The Iran war and closed Strait of Hormuz has helped create energy awareness with the general public. The last shock like this to ignite public interest, at least in my lifetime, to demonstrate the importance of energy in their lives was the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. An unexpected benefit of the Iran War is that the public is forced to gain a better understanding of the availability and reliability of the conventional fuels: gasoline, Diesel, Jet fuel, natural gas, coal and nuclear. These six forms of primary energy provide over 90% of the energy we need and use.

Keep in Mind, April is a Low Electricity Demand Month

If this was winter and the world demand for LNG soared, then U.S. natural gas prices would (LNG Demand will likely exceed supply in the winter) escalate to peaks of over $10/million BTU. Fortunately, April is a low electricity demand season. Winter will come and I predict much higher than expected natural gas prices due to the world demand for LNG. Just as a reminder, the graph below shows natural gas spot market prices compared to coal prices, from 1980 to 2024.

Coal Power and Public Perceptions

I advocate for coal because that is the fuel that I know and understand, having worked for five decades in the design, construction, startup, testing, operations, maintenance, upgrade modifications, tuning for efficiency and applying low NOx solutions to coal plants. I also advocate for natural gas and nuclear power because I believe a Balanced generation portfolio is best for the U.S.A. and each fuel has its advantages. Here is a slide from a recent presentation showing my preferred Bulk Power Generation portfolio.

In my effort to help increase energy awareness of the public, I have recently been involved in presentations to two Lifelong Learning groups, both local here in the Hilton Head Island area. For the most part, it is rewarding to share my knowledge and experiences and I have been involved with about five courses at USCB-OLLI and in addition, have given presentations to a number of civic clubs. I really appreciate the feedback from surveys that show the candid comments of the participants. Some people are very gracious and appreciative for the instructors efforts, and as an instructor, I appreciate the kind words. However, as all of us who have worked in the real world of conventional energy and electricity generation, we know that many of the public have been indoctrinated to believe that wind and solar are good, and coal (all fossil fuels for that matter) is bad. Period. This is the divided society that we live in and I wish I knew how to change it. What follows are some suggestions to help improve the average Energy IQ of voters.

Some of the Public Understand Energy and Electricity Generation, Most Do Not

My estimate of those who understand the true facts on energy and electricity generation is 5%. That is one person in twenty. Why do I say this? Because for the last twenty years I have been active in public advocacy for common sense energy policies by preparing paid ads in newspapers, presenting paid radio “Energy Fact Minutes”, presented dozens of presentations to civic clubs, taught courses at colleges and discussed with many people whom I had never met before. Thus my low estimate of 5%, although statistically unscientific, this is based on personal contact with thousands of people over the last two decades. I have confidence that it is close to being realistic.

Let’s assume that I am correct that one in twenty understands energy and that we are going to educate the other 95% on energy and electricity generation. What would be a reasonable approach? Here are three suggestions.

A Path to Better Energy & Environmental Education

I suggest a three step program to improve the public’s understanding of energy, electricity generation and the environment:

1. Electric Utilities to Replicate the 1926-1973 “Reddy Kilowatt” Program to Teach the Fundamentals of Energy and Electricity Generation

Readers born before about 1955 will remember Reddy Kilowatt, the mascot of the Investor Owned Utilities advertising campaign which began about 1926 and lasted (ironically) up to about the first Arab Oil Embargo in 1973.

Reddy Kilowatt was used to teach the basics of “Living Better Electrically”. It was also part of a magazine advertising campaign in 1950. Here is an ad by B&W which manufactured about 40% of the steam generators used by the electric utilities and the U.S. Navy. B&W has a long history of steam generator manufacturing in the U.S. since 1867, providing steam generators to Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse and then growing to be a Fortune 500 company in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

(B&W Fortune 500- #141 in 1957)

That theme of “Living Better Electrically” caught on well and none other than the Great Communicator himself was the spokesperson for General Electric on the Sunday night TV show, the General Electric Theater, 1953-1962. Ronald Reagan plugged G-E appliances but the advertising message included power generation.

Back in the early 1970’s I personally, as a CP&L startup engineer had many interactions with G-E’s Power Generation Division and they enjoyed wide public acceptance, everyone knew what G-E did to improve our quality of life and including building high quality steam turbines and generators.

I recommend that President Trump provide an incentive for all Utilities and large power generation equipment corporations to become involved with educating the public on the true facts on energy and electric power generation. Like the EEI and many municipal utilities did up to about 1974 using the “Live Better Electrically Theme” with Reddy Kilowatt as the mascot. Perhaps a new tag line, new mascot, but a replication of the public education on energy is what I am proposing.

2. Government Printing of Factual Textbooks on Energy, Electricity Generation and the Environment

The EPA and the Department of Energy, TVA, ORNL, LLNL and other government organizations together have tens of thousands of employees. This talent bank could be used to create and in some cases, simply update literature that can be reused for High Schools and Colleges to teach the true facts on energy, electricity, the environment and energy economics. The fundamentals written and illustrated in books, pamphlets and other published information on the generation of electricity by coal, gas and nuclear has not changed. Therefore, updating is all that is needed. Thermodynamics, chemistry and fluid mechanics are still the same. The few changes are higher pressures and temperatures, advanced alloys and the addition of enormously complicated Flue Gas Cleanup systems that have made clean coal, clean.

3. Encourage K-12 and University Teachers/Professors to teach the true factual physics, economics, chemistry and environmental science

Much of the existing textbooks and culture is basically biased against fossil fuels. As mentioned above with the reference to Reddy Kilowatt, back in the 1960’s, chemistry, physics, general science and environmental science was taught based on factual science. We need to return to teaching unbiased science courses to all students. Enormous amounts of literature that is factual and teaches the true laws of physics exist in the private sector. Here are some examples to help the average person (whether a High School student or an adult) understand the importance of affordable, reliable and environmentally acceptable energy:

  1.   Providing a Sustainable Million BTUs per Day/Person, May 17,  2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/05/17/providing-a-sustainable-million-btus-per-day-per-person-by-fuel-source/
  2.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 1, 1850-1955, January 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/14/a-short-history-of-energy-electricity-and-how-our-high-quality-of-living-came-to-be-high-human-development-index-part-1-1850-1955/
  3. G-E TV ad from 1957, “Living Better Electrically”: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7lhp0
  4.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 2:  https://wp.me/p5DzAo-k6
  5. Ronald Reagan, Narrator of 1962 film, “Head Start on Tomorrow” a story about the Big Rock Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan: https://archive.org/details/28762HeadStartOnTomorrow
  6.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 3: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-ll 
  7.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 4: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-n4
  8. Energy=Life as We Enjoy it, Aug. 22, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/08/22/energy-life-that-is-life-as-we-enjoy-it/
  9. Dr. Leen Weijers of Liberty Energy on the history of renewable energy, “Human Energy Systems, A Primer”: https://wirescrossed.substack.com/p/human-energy-systems-a-primer-1?r=1r9eeo
  10. Dick Storm 2024 on “If you want to electrify everything, you better learn about Primary Energy”: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/if-you-want-to-electrify-everything?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  11. CO2 Coalition.org, “Climate Facts”: https://co2coalition.org/facts/
  12. Dr. Roy Spencer website on Climate Science: https://www.drroyspencer.com
  13. CLINTEL, Climate Scientific organization: https://clintel.org
  14. Ken Haapala’s The Science and Environmental Policy Project, SEPP, April 18, 2026:  http://www.sepp.org/twtwfiles/2026/TWTW%20April%2018%202026.pdf
  15. WUWT “Resourceful Earth” by Fred Smith and Julian Simon, April 22, 2026: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/04/22/resourceful-earth-day-fred-smith-on-julian-simon-2/
  16. Dr. Leen Weijers on Energy and Human Progress: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leen-weijers-49a69b51_energy-power-fossilfuels-share-7453088020544540672-lkba?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  17. Dr. Lars Schernikau’s website, “Unpopular Truths” which has numerous factual articles on energy and electricity generation: https://unpopular-truth.com/blog/
  18. Dr. Leen Weijers on Human Energy and Power, a primer: https://open.substack.com/pub/wirescrossed/p/human-energy-systems-a-primer-1?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  19. Liberty Energy, “Bettering Human Lives Report” https://libertyenergy.com/esg/bettering-human-lives/
  20. 830,000 BTUs per Day/Person, Sept. 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/09/16/830000-btus-per-day-person/
  21. America Needs 100 Quadrillion BTUs of Primary Energy Each Year, May 16, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/16/back-to-basics-the-u-s-needs-100-quadrillion-btus-year-of-primary-energy/  
  22.  Pillars of Modern Civilization, Ammonia, Food, Steel, Concrete, Plastics, Aluminum, July 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/25/pillars-of-modern-civilization-all-dependent-on-energy/
  23. Kathryn Porter Blog post, Green vs. Base Load, April 2026, Outstanding overview of Dispatchable and Not-Dispatchable Power: https://watt-logic.com/2026/04/20/green-vs-baseload-the-most-suitable-energy-for-a-developing-country/

Conclusion

All of us that understand energy and electricity generation should do our part to help the other 95% of the population to understand the true facts and “How the World Really Works”, by the way, Vaclav Smil published an excellent book by that title.

I would add this and Smil’s other books to the required reading for anyone who is involved in creating energy policy, or anyone who really does want to learn “How the World Really Works”. Energy is the Lifeblood of all that we cherish, it is my hope that the public will learn more and respect the sources of energy that power our lives.

Yours truly,

Dick Storm, April 23, 2026

References and Including Documents that address CO2 and Control of Exhaust Emissions from coal power plants

For my friends that asked, “Why didn’t you discuss more of the environmental impacts of coal power, well, here is a lot of reading if you are sincerely interested in learning more.

  1. Ron Clutz on “What Coal Did Today?” https://rclutz.com/2026/04/26/what-coal-did-today/
  2. 1973 Arab Oil Embargo: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil-shock-of-1973-74
  3. Roger Caiazza on New York Renewable Policy, April, 2026:  https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/claims-that-renewables-are-the-cheapest?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  4. USAID Scandal of abuse of funds to fund “Fake Climate Emergency”: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-usaid-scandal-continues-to-unfold?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  5. American Mind article by Dr. Richard Lindzen, Nov. 2024: https://americanmind.org/salvo/manufacturing-consensus-on-climate-change/
  6. Chinese Carbon Credits Scam investigation by German DW Magazine: https://www.dw.com/en/how-a-chinese-firm-ran-a-billion-euro-carbon-credit-scam/a-71010148
  7. Dr. Vinos interview on You Tube discussing natural Climate forces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7GdHPypAC8
  8. Heritage Foundation, “Climate Page” of Website: https://www.heritage.org/climate?mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGXfz3aREvIc4jAVmPqgO1KYBASQWFmxQ-BHw-RdsKU3zea2ONFX-HMz9iWNa3xxSVod5kd_G7r5LGVHI-fRyutA0OlgmXwc1DWzLyLX5vzmHHT47o
  9. IPCC Report Proves CO2 is Not an Emergency, Substack by Rob Schneider: https://rmschne.substack.com/p/ipcc-confirms-we-are-not-in-a-climate
  10. Competitive Enterprise Institute, 2019 article and references of; “50 Years of Failed Predictions of Environmental Activists”https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions/
  11. Heritage Foundation, “Climate Page”: https://www.heritage.org/climate?mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGXfz3aRIOsM-V1SirqN9euVM6CrLmE7mNXZhQ4H2glt9Gd_2YoZbmYOg5fUa5b7JmJoMHRBDVsGZP1lCmb_NkcC5x399HjWdkBQj0Z1KMzBL-m-oM
  12. Firebreak article on Lawfare on a Global Scale, Jan. 9, 2025: https://www.thefirebreak.org/p/supreme-court-should-crush-the-climate?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
  13. Lars Schernikau Blog, “Unpopular Truth”: https://unpopular-truth.com/blog/
  14.  American Dream = 100 Quadrillion BTUs per Year April 7, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/04/american-dream-100-quadrillion-btus/
  15. Dick Storm Blog post, “The Impossibility of Net Zero Carbon”, October 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/13/the-stupidity-of-net-zero-carbon/
  16. MSNBC High Grade Canadian Uranium Mine, video: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/12/11/a-look-inside-the-worlds-highest-grade-uranium-mine.html?__source=linkedin%7Cmain%7Cverticalvideo
  17. Stephen Heins, January 2025 on Importance of Coal Power Plants: https://open.substack.com/pub/stephenheins/p/required-to-ensure-power-grid-resiliency?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false  
  18. NERC December 2024 Reliability Report: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_Long%20Term%20Reliability%20Assessment_2024.pdf
  19. History of Energy Policy since Jimmy Carter, Real Clear History: https://www.realclearhistory.com/articles/2025/01/22/irony_and_failure_the_energy_policies_of_jimmy_carter_1086054.html
  20. Chris Bond on California Dreaming: https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisbond/p/california-dreaming?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  21. Battery Storage BESS in California, LI Post by Oscar Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/oscarlmartin_californias-grid-batteries-have-turned-out-activity-7294973477780865024-EfRk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  22. Battery Storage Chart: https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/charted-battery-capacity-by-country-2024-2030/
  23. Last 10 Years Electricity generation LI post by Mike Caravaggio, Feb. 10, 2025: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michael-caravaggio_last-ten-years-of-electricity-generation-activity-7291223299571818497-u6VI?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  24. BESS description by Lars Stephan using German example, LI Feb. 10, 2025: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lars-stephan_energystorage-activity-7294633711931715585-ErXn?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  25. Rafe Champion, Australia, April 24, 2026, “Burn Coal in 
  26.  Ron Clutz interview of Chris Wright with excellent text and cartoons: https://rclutz.com/2025/02/11/us-energy-status-quo-and-outlook-sec-chris-wright/
  27. WUWT, David Mittleton on Fossil Fuels saving New England from freezing in Jan. 2025, posted Feb. 12:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/02/12/fossil-fuels-save-new-england-from-freezing-in-the-dark-again/
  28. Lakeland McIntosh #3 Demolition, January 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GFkzRvrQ4A
  29. Power Magazine video of McIntosh Coal Plant: https://www.powermag.com/watch-implosion-topple-florida-coal-fired-plant/
  30. Scott Tinker and Mark Mills Book, “Energy for the 21st Century” Feb, 2025:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/75cce-markmillsandscotttinkerenergyforthe21stcentury.pdf
  31. EIA Report on Coal Plant Retirements, Feb. 2025: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64604
  32. Mike Caravaggio LI Post on world Power Generation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michael-caravaggio_global-electricity-mix-evolution-2012-to-activity-7299561874142969856-INbX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  33. Foreign Affairs magazine, “The Troubled Energy Transition “March- April 2025: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/troubled-energy-transition-yergin-orszag-arya
  34. IEA World Energy Prices, Dec. 2024: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/energy-prices#energy-prices-and-taxes
  35. Western Electricity Markets reports: https://www.westerneim.com/Pages/About/QuarterlyBenefits.aspx
  36.  Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling Substack article summarizing the J.P. Morgan Chase 2025 Energy report: https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/9-takeaways-from-the-jp-morgan-chase?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  37. Heliocentrism, March 4th , 2025, J.P. Morgan Chase Energy Report: https://assets.jpmprivatebank.com/content/dam/jpm-pb-aem/global/en/documents/eotm/heliocentrism.pdf
  38. Thomas Troszak articles on the fallacy of renewables: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335083312_Why_do_we_burn_coal_and_trees_to_make_solar_panels?

    https://www.enseccoe.org/publications/energy-highlights-no-16/
  39. Rafe Champion website, March 18, 2025: https://www.flickerpower.com/index.php/search/categories/general/list-of-briefing-notes
  40. National Mining Association, (NMA) https://mineralsmakelife.org/blog/early-action-signals-progress-us-mineral-independence-still-hangs-in-balance/
  41. EIA on Electricity Growth of AI centers: https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-releases-new-report-evaluating-increase-electricity-demand-data-centers
  42. Utility Dive, Rising Demand Could Increase Electricity Prices 19% by 2028, Electricity Growth 68% by 2050: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-electricity-prices-19-percent-higher-2028-ICF/727317/
  43. EIA Energy Outlook, March 11, 2025: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/elec_coal_renew.php
  44. Kathryn Porter’s “Watt Logic” article on Heathrow Airport Outage, March 2025: https://watt-logic.com/2025/03/24/heathrow-airport-blackout/#comment-108225
  45. EIA Electricity Prices, March 2025: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a  
  46. https://electricityplans.com/average-electricity-bill-usage-rate-by-state/#top-10-states-for-cheapest-electricity-bills
  47. EIA Wholesale Electricity Rates, 2024: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64284
  48. Electric Choice.com March 2025, Electric Rates in U.S.: https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/
  49. Kathryn Porter Blog post, Green vs. Base Load, April 2026, Outstanding overview of Dispatchable and Not-Dispatchable Power: https://watt-logic.com/2026/04/20/green-vs-baseload-the-most-suitable-energy-for-a-developing-country/
  50. The UnMade Energy Nation, By Pandreco on the foolish energy policies of Canada: https://open.substack.com/pub/pandreco/p/the-unmade-energy-nation?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  51. Global Energy Monitor: https://globalenergymonitor.org
  52. Energy and Some People Who Contributed to the Rise of America, March 31, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/03/31/energy-and-notable-people-who-contributed-to-the-rise-of-america/  
  53. Earth Day, Let’s Celebrate True Sustainability of Our High Quality of Life, April 22, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/04/22/earth-day-lets-celebrate-true-sustainability-and-a-continuance-of-our-high-quality-of-life/
  54.   The War on Carbon, How it Came to Be” October 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/16/the-war-on-carbon-how-it-came-to-be/
  55. “My Paid Energy Ad from 2015 and here We Go Again”, January 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/01/28/my-paid-ad-for-energy-awareness-in-2015-here-we-go-again/
  56. How Can a 6,000 MW Utility in 2030 Become a 9,000 MW Utility in 2050 and Still Meet Net Zero Carbon? Update of last year’s article, May 2, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/05/02/how-can-a-6000-mw-regional-utility-in-2030-which-likely-will-be-a-9000-mw-utility-in-2050-achieve-net-zero-carbon-an-update-on-my-electricity-provider-in-south-carolina/
  57. Coal’s Final Battle, May 18, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/05/20/coals-final-battle/
  58. Tom Shepstone’s Substack repost of Dick Storm commentary, May 20, 2024: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/why-we-the-american-people-must-win?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
  59. Visualizing 100 Quadrillion BTUs. Shouldn’t Coal Remain in our Energy Mix?” : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/07/02/visualizing-100-quadrillion-btus-of-primary-energy-coal-should-remain-in-our-energy-mix/
  60. We the People vs. The Ten Headed Swamp Monster     :  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/07/10/we-the-people-vs-net-zero-indoctrination-by-the-ten-headed-swamp-monster/
  61. The Magnificent and Indispensable Heat Engines Society Depends on: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/07/30/the-magnificent-and-indispensable-heat-engine-on-which-civil-society-depends-part-1-heat-engines-1-3-million-horsepower/ 
  62. The Magnificent and Indispensable Heat Engine, Part II, Focus on Ocean Shipping:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/08/07/the-magnificent-and-indispensable-heat-engine-on-which-civil-society-depends-part-ii-focus-on-fossil-fuels-for-ocean-shipping/
  63. The Magnificent and Indispensable Heat Engine, Part III, August 13, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/08/13/the-magnificent-and-indispensable-heat-engine-on-which-civil-society-depends-part-iii-internal-combustion-engines-up-to-110000-horsepower/
  64. The Coming Electricity Reliability Crisis and the Importance of Coal, Sept. 12, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/09/12/the-electricity-reliability-crisis-and-the-importance-of-american-coal/
  65. The Kingdom of Heaven Runs on Righteousness, The Kingdom of Earth Runs on Energy, Oct. 3, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/10/03/heaven-runs-on-righteousness-earth-runs-on-energy/
  66. Charley Reese’s Last Column, “545 vs. 300,000,000 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/11/27/charley-reeses-last-column-a-classic-commentary-written-over-twenty-years-ago/
  67. Why is Western Civilization Self Sabotaging the Primary Energy that Provides 80% of the fuel for America’s Life-Blood of Reliable Electricity, with the War on Carbon?.     : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/12/17/why-is-western-civilization-self-sabotaging-the-primary-energy-sources-that-provide-80-of-the-fuel-for-americas-life-blood-of-reliable-electricity-with-the-war-on-carbon/
  68. Musings on the Self-Sabotaging Energy Policies and a Reminder of the History of the Rise and Fall of Nations:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/01/13/musings-on-self-sabotaging-energy-policies-and-a-reminder-of-the-history-of-the-rise-and-fall-of-nations/
  69. The EPA “Endangerment Finding” and why it Needs to Go, Feb. 2, 2025: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-1ZW
  70. The SWAMP MONSTER vs. 300 Million Americans, Feb. 21, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/02/21/the-swamp-monster-vs-the-best-interests-of-the-united-states-of-america/
  71. Thomas J. Shepstone Substack on Dick Storm’s “Primer on How to Ensure Electricity Security (and How to Destroy It)”:  https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/a-primer-on-how-to-ensure-energy?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 
  72. Thomas J. Shepstone version of Dick Storm article Feb, 2025. Time to Revoke the Endangerment Finding”  :  https://energysecurityfreedom.substack.com/p/its-way-past-time-to-revoke-the-pseudo
  73. Existing EPA-Endangerment Rules Impact South Carolina Electricity Costs and Will Cause Rationing if the EPA Endangerment Finding Isn’t Repealed  Feb. 28, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/02/28/existing-epa-rules-increase-costs-and-will-cause-rationing-of-electricity-in-south-carolina-if-endangerment-finding-is-not-repealed/
  74. David Siegel videos on Climate Change: https://www.cuttingthroughthenoise.net/climate-curious
  75.  The EPA Endangerment Finding Needs to Go! Thomas Shepstone publishing of Dick Storm article, March 9, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-epa-endangerment-finding-needs?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 
  76. The U.S. Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis was Created by GONGO the SWAMP Monster, March 19, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/19/the-u-s-self-inflicted-electricity-generation-crisis-was-created-by-gongo-the-swamp-monster-here-is-how-to-end-it/
  77. Coal Power, It is the End Result that Matters!:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/28/coal-power-it-is-the-end-result-that-counts/
  78. My Letter to Senator Davis on Coal Power in S.C. April 1, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/03/response-to-palmetto-electric-request-to-contact-our-s-c-senators/
  79. The Solution to America’s Electricity Generation Crisis: Build New Coal Plants Now! https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/18/the-solution-to-the-nations-coming-electricity-reliability-crisis-build-new-coal-plants/
  80. Clean Energy Crisis, May 2, 2025     https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/02/clean-energy-crisis-2/
  81. Thomas J. Shepstone, edited version of Clean Energy Crisis on Substack, May 3, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-clean-energy-crisis-and-why-it?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  82. Jason Hayes republishing of Why Electric rates in SC will Rise: https://open.substack.com/pub/jasonhayes/p/existing-epa-rules-increase-costs?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  83. Reality of Building 125 GW of New Coal Power Generation Capacity, Then and Now: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/07/the-reality-of-building-125-gw-of-new-coal-plant-generation-capacity-then-and-now/
  84. Repeal the IRA, Protect America’s Life-Blood of Energy and Electricity”:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/15/repeal-the-ira-protect-americas-lifeblood-of-energy-and-electricity-supply/
  85. Ron Stein and Dick Storm co authored article in America Out Loud, May 19, 2025: https://www.americaoutloud.news/intermittent-electricity-from-renewables-cannot-support-ai-and-data-centers/
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/27/internal-and-external-threats-to-the-u-s-electric-grid/
  86. The Reality of Returning Major Power Generation Equipment Manufacturing to the U.S. 
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/06/01/the-reality-of-returning-major-power-generation-equipment-manufacturing-to-the-u-s/
  87. Present DangerChina.org  Threats to the Electric Grid, Frank Gaffney, Grant Newsom, Sam Faddis, Dave Walsh and Dick Storm: https://presentdangerchina.org/webinar-inside-our-wires-the-ccp-has-penetrated-our-electric-grid-will-xi-destroy-it/
  88. Conventional Energy Including Coal is the Life-Blood of America:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/06/18/conventional-energy-including-coal-is-the-life-blood-of-america/
  89. Thomas J. Shepstone published version of Dick Storm blog post on the “Madness of the Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis” https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-madness-of-the-us-self-inflicted?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  90. Energy is the Economy and Electricity is the Life-Blood of western civilization Coal Can Make America’s Electricity Supply Great Again  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/07/30/energy-is-the-economy-electricity-is-the-life-blood-of-western-civilization-coal-can-make-americas-electricity-supply-great-again/
  91. Thomas J. Shepstone on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/electricity-is-the-life-blood-of?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  92. SWAMP People and Organizations Against Making America Great, Foreign and Domestic https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/08/07/swamp-people-and-organizations-against-making-america-great-foreign-domestic/    
  93. Published by Thomas J. Shepstone on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/fighting-the-swamp-and-our-enemies?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  94. Some Red States Still Embrace the Green New deal, Including the Usually Conservative State of S.C. Sept. 8, 2025:    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/09/08/some-red-states-still-embrace-the-green-new-deal-including-usually-conservative-south-carolina/
  95. FIVE REASONS TO BUILD NEW COAL PLANTS NOW! COAL SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS A CRITICAL FUEL TO POWER AMERICA’S FUTURE, SEPT. 24, 2025:  HTTPS://DICKSTORMPROBIZBLOG.ORG/2025/09/24/FIVE-REASONS-TO-BUILD-NEW-COAL-PLANTS-NOW-COAL-SHOULD-BE-INCLUDED-AS-A-CRITICAL-FUEL-TO-POWER-AMERICAS-FUTURE/
  96. Ten Hard Truths of Electricity Generation in South Carolina, the Life-Blood of the Economy, Oct. 8, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/10/08/ten-hard-truths-of-s-c-electricity-the-lifeblood-of-the-economy/
  97. Reality of Building 32,000 MW of New Generation Capacity/Year. Solutions; Build New Coal Plants Now!,  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/10/22/reality-of-32000-mw-year-of-new-generation-demand-solution-build-new-coal-plants-now/
  98. Power for the U.S.A. Reality of Building 32,000 MW each year: https://powerfortheusa.com/2025/10/22/reality-of-32000-mw-year-of-new-generation-demand-solution-build-new-coal-plants-now/
  99. The Importance of Coal and Thermal Performance Improvements for Heat-Rate and Resiliency: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2026/02/08/the-importance-of-coal-thermal-performance-considerations-for-heat-rate-and-resiliency/
    https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/look-at-the-data-the-demise-of-coal?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  100. Thomas J. Shepstone, Jr. on the Facts of the importance of coal power:
    https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/look-at-the-data-the-demise-of-coal?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  101. Pros and Cons of Conventional and Renewables in the Red State of S.C. Part 1:    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2026/03/11/pros-and-cons-of-conventional-and-renewables-electricity-generation-in-the-red-state-of-south-carolina-part-1/
  102. Pros and Cons of Conventional and Renewables in the Red State of S.C., Part 2: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2026/03/17/pros-and-cons-of-renewable-and-conventional-electricity-generation-in-the-red-state-of-s-c-part-2/
  103. Thomas J. Shepstone published version of Dick Storm article: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/why-coal-must-be-part-of-the-energy?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  104. Alex Epstein, Fossil Fuels Improve Life: https://www.prageru.com/video/fossil-fuels-the-big-picture?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_6613857
  105. Why are Electric Bills Increasing if more installations of cheap renewable power are being installed?: https://www.prageru.com/video/why-are-utilities-so-expensive
  106. Daily Caller, Earth Day, Celebrating Failures 2023: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/21/opinion-earth-day-celebrates-a-half-century-legacy-of-failure-mike-mckenna/&source=gmail&ust=1682352284111000&usg=AOvVaw0rbUb-Jii4B5UE4dV41uuU
  107. WSJ on What Drives the Division of Rural and Urban Voters, April 18, 2023: https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-drives-political-polarization-geography-republicans-democrats-manufacturing-culture-elites-4256ab4c?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
  108. NY Electricity Generation, “Non-Reassuring” Future, WUWT April 22, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/04/23/another-non-reassuring-report-on-new-yorks-energy-future/
  109. Dick Storm Blog, “Pillars of Modern Civilization, Energy & Food & Quality of Life”: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/25/pillars-of-modern-civilization-all-dependent-on-energy/
  110. Dick Storm Blog “Educating & Energizing the Public on the Impossibility of Powering America with Wind and Solar” March 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/03/20/educating-and-energizing-the-public-on-energy-policy-and-the-impossibility-of-powering-america-with-wind-and-solar/
  111. Canadian Pipeline Sabotage by Anarchists, Feb. 2023: https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/news/trend-of-escalating-violence-coastal-gaslink-decries-pipeline-sabotage-claims-on-anarchist-site/
  112. EPRI Post on the CAISO “Duck Curve changed to Canyon Curve” of Electric Load: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7056612841755181056-SCPK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  113. CAISO Website: https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/default.aspx
  114. Our World in Data Carbon Intensity of countries of the world: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/carbon-intensity-electricity
  115. CFACT, “Why Net Zero Is Neither Possible Nor Desirable, the Canadian Example”: https://www.cfact.org/2021/07/12/why-net-zero-is-neither-possible-nor-desirable-the-canadian-example-part-one/ 
  116. Hackaday “New Renewables are Overwhelming the U.S. Grid” April 2023: https://hackaday.com/2023/04/17/new-renewable-energy-projects-are-overwhelming-us-grids/
  117. Dick Storm, LinkedIn Post of “America Has No Energy Policy”, ENERUM Presentation, August 2022:  https://www.linkedin.com/posts/richard-storm-00557810_storm-presentation-to-columbus-energy-forum-ugcPost-7056884646923440128-ZQLR?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  118. Harvard Wind Study shows Greater Environmental Impact & Land Requirements than Originally Thought for Renewables: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/10/large-scale-wind-power-has-its-down-side/
  119. Solar and Wind Turbine Materials Requirements, from LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/arihashahi_energy-renewableenergy-renewableenergy-activity-7053119817586778112-4XZy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  120. Dick Storm Blog, Santee-Cooper IRP Comments: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/04/27/how-can-a-6000-mw-regional-utility-in-2030-which-likely-will-be-a-9000-mw-utility-in-2050-achieve-net-zero-carbon/
  121. EIA April Energy Outlook Charts and Data, April, 2023: https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/
  122. Axios Charlotte, Earth Day Edition, April 24, 2023: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ogbl#search/Earth+Day+Axios/FMfcgzGsmNMhrHGNRxvxsFmCxtGKSFlb
  123. WUWT Military Urged to go Total Electric by Biden-Granholm, April 29, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/04/29/joe-biden-wants-every-us-military-vehicle-to-be-climate-friendly/
  124. The Right Stuff Climate Stuff, Tom Moser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-gHWcrCK7w
  125. Why Batteries Cannot Backup solar and Wind generation: https://stopthesethings.com/2023/04/29/grand-delusion-why-battery-storage-cant-fix-wind-solars-intermittency-problem/
  126. Blackrock and U.N. start of “ESG” Investing Policies: https://unherd.com/2023/03/blackrocks-tyrannical-esg-agenda/
  127. EIA 2011 Report on Energy, Good reference 1900-2011: https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/pdf/aer.pdf
  128. NREL Report on Electrification to 2050: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy18osti/72096.pdf
  129. UN Climate News: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129892?_gl=1*1nhukiq*_ga*MTM1NjA2Njg4OS4xNjgyODY3NDQ5*_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z*MTY4Mjg2NzQ0OS4xLjEuMTY4Mjg2NzYzOS4wLjAuMA.. 
  130. UN-Climate page: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement#:~:text=The%20Paris%20Agreement%20is%20a,France%2C%20on%2012%20December%202015
  131. Our World in Data Charts of CO2: https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions
  132. IEA Executive Summary 2022 World Energy Outlook: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2022/executive-summary
  133. EPA Air Quality, National Summary: https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary
  134. Yale Report on Deaths from “Blackouts” : https://environment-review.yale.edu/true-cost-power-outages-0
  135. Sutton Plant Implosion video, 2016: https://youtu.be/miSapiaJTpM
  136. Boardman Plant Implosion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0azahkPUVA
  137. 60 Minutes program on Vulnerability of Electric Grid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65siHaUPsRM
  138. EIA October 2022 Energy Outlook: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/05%20October%2027%20-%20EIA%20Annual%20Energy%20Outlook%202022.pdf
  139. EEI EV’s in market 2030: https://www.eei.org/News/news/All/eei-projects-26-million-electric-vehicles-will-be-on-us-roads-in-2030
  140. EIA NZE 2050 Report: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/IEA%2C%20Net%20Zero%20by%202050_1.pdf
  141. WUWT Energy Crisis creates a Food production crisis due to fertilizer shortages: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/05/11/entire-global-food-supply-at-risk-from-disastrous-response-to-so-called-nitrogen-crisis/
  142. ELECTREK article on Chinese EV’s to dominate market: https://electrek.co/2023/05/11/chinas-ev-surge-threatens-legacy-automakers-market-dominance/
  143. Dr. Judith Curry Review of CLINTEL report analyzing IPCC-AR6: https://judithcurry.com/2023/05/13/clintels-critical-evaluation-of-the-ipcc-ar6/ 
  144. CLINTEL website: https://clintel.org
  145. Capital Research Center, Green Watch: https://capitalresearch.org/category/green-watch/
  146. Biggest engine in the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiwMJe9_vcQ
  147. LLNL Energy Flow Chart: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/sites/flowcharts/files/2022-04/Energy_2021_United-States_0.png
  148. Dick Storm Blog, May 16, 2023, U.S. Needs 100 Quads/year: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/16/back-to-basics-the-u-s-needs-100-quadrillion-btus-year-of-primary-energy/
  149. Heritage.org interview, Keeping the Lights on,  event page is here https://www.heritage.org/energy-economics/event/keeping-the-lights-america-looking-ahead-power-grid-reliability and I believe the recorded video will be posted soon
  150. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant History, started in 1958: https://jackdevanney.substack.com/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-yankee-rowe?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  151. Energy Markets Time to complete new connections to Grid, Berkely Lab: https://emp.lbl.gov/queues
  152. Washington Post article on Grid connections: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/18/permitting-reform-clean-energy-debt-ceiling/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-05-18%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:50602%5D
  153. Copied link of post of NERC Summer Reserves Warning May 18, 2023: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/richard-storm-00557810_two-thirds-of-north-america-is-at-risk-of-activity-7064912009884041216-DNHX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  154. Ron Clutz Blog, including You Tube of Jimmy Dore explanation of Google Biasing Propaganda on “Climate Change”: https://rclutz.com/2023/05/22/google-screens-your-climate-info/#like-31222
  155. WUWT on Smearing Journalists that do not agree with “Woke & UN-IPCC Manmade Global Warming narrative: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/05/23/regime-climate-censorship-enforcer-newsguard-the-tragic-case-of-zack-fishman/
  156. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, 60 years later, Fails Test of Time, WUWT: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/05/17/carsons-silent-spring-fails-test-of-time-new-york-times-verdict-in-2007/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=carsons-silent-spring-fails-test-of-time-new-york-times-verdict-in-2007
  157. WUWT-Global Surface Temperature comparison of MSM and science based trend by data: https://wattsupwiththat.com/uah-version-6/
  158. Forbes article on Environmental Groups Harming the Poor, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tilakdoshi/2023/05/23/environmental-ngos-in-the-global-south-saviors-of-humanity-or-predatory-special-interests/?sh=78c19c9e59aa
  159. NextEra Energy web site: https://www.nexteraenergy.com
  160. Congressional Research Service State of Electric Utilities, 1973-1984: https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/99th-congress-1985-1986/reports/doc10b-entire_1.pdf
  161. Earth Overshoot.org on world population: https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/
  162. https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/
  163. Paul Harvey, 1964, “If I Was the Devil” You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9NoQHgjM_0
  164. Mining of Rare Earth Minerals has a Dirty Little Secret, by FEE, May 2023:  https://fee.org/articles/green-energy-has-a-dirty-secret/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020_FEEDaily
  165. EPA opposes Petrochemical Industries in Louisiana using Taxpayer funds, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2023/05/25/how-epa-funds-the-petrochemical-industrys-opposition/?sh=7c39025a7176
  166.  Rigzone-“Will We Hit Net Zero Carbon by 2050” May 30, 2023: https://www.rigzone.com/news/will_the_world_hit_net_zero_by_2050-30-may-2023-172906-article/?utm_campaign=DAILY_2023_05_30&utm_source=GLOBAL_ENG&utm_medium=EM_NW_F1
  167. Germany Loses Trust in Automotive Manufacturing of the Future, June 1, 2023: https://www.euractiv.com/section/transport/news/germany-loses-trust-in-its-future-as-the-worlds-automotive- leader/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9717&pnespid=vONsDj0fa6YB3fWaozvrE4vTu0KuBJd4J.jlxrB69EVmIi05WkT6eEKuNWblScX1gKHYP2iqCw 
  168. The Decline of the American Empire, By “The Burning Platform” June 2023 : https://www.theburningplatform.com/2023/05/31/fall-of-american-empire-and-descent-into-a-new-dark-ages/
  169. Master Resource, Free Markets Energy Blog: https://www.masterresource.org/reading-list/
  170. Ed Ireland on China and EV’s June, 5, 2023: https://edireland.substack.com/p/electric-vehicle-boom-may-force-china?r=kv1a9&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
  171. Top Ten Energy Companies by Energy Digital : https://energydigital.com/articles/top-10-energy-companies-by-market-cap
  172. The Federal War on your Life-Style, WUWT, June 8, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/06/07/the-federal-war-against-your-lifestyle/
  173. Robert Bryce, No Uranium for Nuclear, June 9, 2023: https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/no-u
  174. Ken Braun on Leftist Organizations Funding anti Fossil Fuels: https://capitalresearch.org/article/nuclear-power-hating-hypocrites-part-1/
  175. World Economic Forum Doesn’t Even Hide their Intent to Create Decline of the Western World: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzGsnBbvwcrFHbjLsNkzqTMKjvCP
  176. WEF Urban Mobility Paper, May 2023: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Urban_Mobility_Scorecard_Tool_2023.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email 
  177. David Blackmon Energy Absurdities: https://blackmon.substack.com/?utm_source=cross-post&utm_campaign=434821&utm_medium=email
  178. David Blackmon, Democrats Patiently Wait for Power Positions: https://blackmon.substack.com/p/the-energy-absurdity-of-the-week-031
  179. E&E News Democrats into Power Positions, May 2023: https://www.eenews.net/articles/how-green-new-dealers-became-washington-power-players/
  180. John Kerry Speech on “The Great Reset” New American, Nov. 2020: https://thenewamerican.com/john-kerry-talks-great-reset-at-world-economic-forum/
  181. The Great Reset movement toward World Totalitarianism, Hillsdale College Lecture by Michael Rectenwald: https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/what-is-the-great-reset/
  182. John Kerry Targets Agriculture at WEF Speech, May 2023, Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-kerry-targets-agriculture-part-climate-crusade
  183. WEF Limiting Private Cars:  https://www.internationalfreepress.com/2023/06/wef-document-calls-for-limiting-private.html
  184. WEF on Degrowth, June 2022: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/what-is-degrowth-economics-climate-change/
  185. WEF Calls to reduce vehicles by eliminating ownership, Aug. 2022: https://www.climatedepot.com/2022/08/01/world-economic-forum-calls-to-reduce-private-vehicles-by-eliminating-ownership/
  186. Sierra Club and Abortion Alignment, On the Issues, : https://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Sierra_Club_Abortion.htm
  187. U.N., Planned Parenthood and Sierra Club Alignment Sept. 2015: https://unfoundation.org/media/un-foundation-planned-parenthood-federation-of-america-sierra-club-announce-winners-of-first-ever-why-we-care-youth-emerging-leaders-for-reproductive-rights-contest/
  188. Sierra Club & NRDC Environmental Groups Urge Support for Affordable Care Act and Reproductive Rights, March 2017: https://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2017/03/environmental-groups-urge-support-affordable-care-act-and-planned-parenthood
  189. Sierra Club & Planned Parenthood Join Conferences to Explain Sex and the Environment. Nov. 2007, Catholic News Agency, : https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/11091/sierra-club-joins-planned-parenthood-to-offer-conferences-on-sex-and-the-environment
  190. Professor Michael Kelly, UK, June 2017: https://www.soci.org/news/general-news/professor-michael-kelly-lecture
  191. FERC Energy Regulator States, “Power Grid is Facing Dire Consequences Due to Coal & Gas Retirements”, “WUWT June 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/06/13/federal-energy-regulatory-commissioner-mark-christie-power-grid-is-facing-dire-consequences-due-to-coal-gas-retirements/
  192. Donations to DeSantis Election Campaign by Duke and NextEra Utilities, June 2023: https://jacobin.com/2023/03/ron-desantis-florida-utility-companies-power-shutoffs-republican-party
  193. Electrical Disconnection by Utilities, June 2023 : https://bailout.cdn.prismic.io/bailout/49a01c18-5c8d-4821-ae22-5ee09a089cba_Powerless+in+the+US_Report.pdf?ref=the-lever
  194. Dark Money from Utilities to Elected Officials or Candidates, The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/15/us-power-companies-political-lobbying-donations-nonprofit
  195. Electric Power Company Donations; https://www.energyandpolicy.org/campaign-finance-reports-reveal-utility-industry-contributions/
  196. Daily Signal list of companies that donate to Planned Parenthood, Aug. 2015: https://www.dailysignal.com/2015/08/19/more-companies-that-have-donated-to-planned-parenthood/  and
  197. https://www.dailysignal.com/2015/07/21/meet-the-41-companies-that-donate-directly-to-planned-parenthood/
  198. More companies that donate to PP: https://www.partnersforethicalcare.com/planned-parenthood-donors
  199. JTF donations of 25 million to Democrats: https://jtf.org/follow-the-money-planned-parenthood-donated-25m-to-democrats-since-2000/
  200. INTEL and others that promote Zero Population Growth and Planned Parenthood: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/meet-the-biggest-planned-parenthood-supporter-in-corporate-america.html
  201. Open Secrets Donations to Planned Parenthood, 2022: https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2022?cmte=Planned+Parenthood&tab=donors
  202. AMAC Article on Planned Parenthood Funding, 2017, over 962,000 abortions and $1.3 Billion in “Donations”: https://amac.us/may-not-support-planned-parenthoodbut-favorite-companies/
  203. 2nd Vote website of companies that contribute $1.3 Billion to Planned Parenthood, 2017: https://www.2ndvote.com/planned-parenthood/
  204. John Kerry on BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57135506
  205. John Kerry coordination with Green Groups, Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-probe-john-kerrys-ties-eco-groups-efforts-shield-oversight
  206. Robert Bryce Substack on the “Iron Law of Electricity” Increases in coal use around the world, June 17, 2023: https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/the-iron-law-of-electricity-strikes
  207. California Globe, California’s Electricity Policy Failure, June 18, 2023: https://californiaglobe-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/californiaglobe.com/articles/the-failure-of-california-electricity-policy-in-one-image/amp/
  208. World Bank report, June, 2023, De-Tx Development, Mis-Use of Fertilizers & DeGrowth:  https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/61d04aca-1b95-4c06-8199-3c4a423cb7fe/content?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  209. NJ ROI (Return On Info) : https://www.roi-nj.com/2023/05/17/roi-influencers/energy-utilities-roi-influencers/roi-nj-presents-the-roi-influencers-energy-and-utilities/?utm_source=ROI-NJ+MAIN+Newsletter+List+%282%2F4%2F19%29&utm_campaign=ee9cbf68df-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_06_20_02_53&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ee9cbf68df-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D
  210. Capital Research Video on Green Ties to China: https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-china-designed-american-environmental-policy/
  211. China Influence of U.S.  Green Groups and U.S. Environmental Policy, Capital Research Center video:  https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-china-designed-american-environmental-policy/    
  212. Capital Research Center on Teen Vogue Influence of young female voters on Democrat policies: https://capitalresearch.org/article/teen-vogue-training-young-female-leftists/
  213. Good Energy News Reference: https://oilprice.com
  214. German Industry Shutting Down and Moving, due to high energy process, CNBC June 21, 2023 : https://www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/06/21/high-german-energy-prices-are-seeing-some-companies-relocate-bdi.html
  215. EIA Notice of Change in Calculating/Reporting Solar Primary Energy to use 3412 Btus/kWh, June 23, 2023: https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/change/
  216. WUWT Global Surface Temperature Chart 1880-2022: https://wattsupwiththat.com/uah-version-6/
  217. “Why Climate Change is Not an Emergency”, CO2 Coalition Presentations, May 27, 2023: https://co2coalition.org/media/why-climate-change-is-not-an-emergency/  
  218. Time Magazine, “The Modern World Can’t Exist Without These Four Ingredients. They All Require Fossil Fuels”, Vaclav Smil May 2022: https://time.com/6175734/reliance-on-fossil-fuels/
  219. ERCOT Dashboard: https://www.ercot.com
  220. EU Report and long list of references on the “DeIndustrialization of Europe” by forcing wind power on the citizens: 
    https://us1-campaign–archive-com.translate.goog/?u=a15449610a1df64c85f7499e1&id=5b33ebcfdc&e=59342c48f8&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=auto
  221. Causes of Blackouts in Europe, excellent paper, Jan. 2022: https://www-science–climat–energie-be.translate.goog/2022/01/07/les-blackouts-leurs-causes-et-consequences-economiques/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=auto
  222. Energy Institute Resources for Data and Statistics, June 2023: https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review/resources-and-data-downloads
  223. NERC Summer Reliability Report, May 2023: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_SRA_2023.pdf
  224. Balancing Energy Security, Affordability, the Economy, Decarbonization and Security, Energy Policy Research Foundation: https://assets.realclear.com/files/2023/06/2210_eprinc_balancing_energy_security_affordability_and_decarbonization.pdf
  225. The Rise and Fall of the American Grid, American Affairs Journal, Fall, 2022: https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2022/08/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-american-electrical-grid/
  226. WSJ article on $400 Billion Loans for Green Energy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/green-energy-climate-loans-49fda73b?mod=hp_lead_pos7
  227. WSJ Small towns benefit in green IRA spending: https://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-legislation-inflation-reduction-act-small-towns-eb0ce798?mod=article_inline
  228. WUWT on the “Myth of Replacing Fossil Fuels”: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/03/the-myth-of-replacing-fossil-fuels/
  229. Brattle Group Podcast: https://energymarketspodcast.buzzsprout.com/1568110/13142849
  230. Nuclear Power in the 1960’s. Great info: https://whatisnuclear.com/news/2023-07-03-film-about-pm1-microreactor-in-wyoming.html
  231. National Center for Education Statistics, Degrees in 2021: https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=37and https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cta
  232. America’s Power, Editorial on the Importance of Coal, July 10, 2023: https://americaspower.org/the-need-for-sensible-epa-rules/
  233. America’s Power Key Takeaways of Winter Storm Elliott Report on the importance of coal: https://americaspower.org/new-report-evaluates-the-performance-of-electricity-resources-during-storm-elliott/
  234. Net Zero Reality Coalition: https://www.cfact.org/netzerorealitycoalition/
  235. WUWT On National Academy of Engineering Summer Report on decarbonization, July 11, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/11/national-academies-climate-junk-summit-7-11-7-12-is-open-to-all/
  236. EPA Regulations will Destroy the American Power Grid, Ed Ireland Substack: https://edireland.substack.com/p/epa-proposes-anti-fossil-fuel-regulations?r=kv1a9&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
  237. Energy & Economic Prosperity of Various Countries of the world, There are no Rich Countries that do not Manufacture Products: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/richard-storm-00557810_electricity-income-activity-7084913097718562816-foX7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  238. Nuclear in the 1960’s. Our predecessors got lots of things done: 
    https://whatisnuclear.com/news/2023-07-03-film-about-pm1-microreactor-in-wyoming.html
  239. Robert Bryce Substack on “Carbon Myopia” and the need of 3 Billion people on the planet that need to be lifted from poverty: https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/carbon-myopia/comments
  240. I, Pencil, by Foundation for Economic Education, 1958: https://fee.org/resources/i-pencil/
  241. Rivotto Clean Energy Now: https://rivotto.webflow.io 
  242. Clintel Report, “There is No Climate Emergency” : https://clintel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/WCD-version-06272215121.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  243. Daily Skeptic on John Clauser Slamming the Corrupt Science used to create a “Climate Emergency” : https://dailysceptic.org/2023/07/14/nobel-physics-laureate-2022-slams-climate-emergency-narrative-as-dangerous-corruption-of-science/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  244. PA Pundits on PJM and Renewables, July 20, 2023: https://papundits.wordpress.com/2023/07/18/renewables-versus-the-grid-at-pjm/#like-256253
  245. WUWT Manipulative Weather Reporting in Europe, July 20, 2023:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/19/europes-48c-horror-that-never-wasesa-media-sharply-criticized-for-manipulative-reporting/ 
  246. Steve Milloy, Junk Science, July 20, 2023: https://twitter.com/JunkScience/status/1681843663276593159/photo/2
  247. Biased reporting of Texas weather reports, blaming “Climate Change” by WA PO called out by WUWT post, June 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/06/25/no-wapo-a-texas-heat-wave-has-nothing-to-do-with-global-climate-change/
  248. Mises Institute, Wind and Solar are Not Cheaper than Gas & Coal, July 18, 2023: https://mises.org/wire/wind-and-solar-are-not-cheaper-coal-and-oil
  249. WUWT from Roy Spencer’s Blog, “yes, Virginia, There is a Climate Crisis” July 19, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/19/yes-virginia-there-is-a-climate-crisis/ 
  250. Emma Jo Morris Testimony to Congress on Government collusion of Federal Agencies to cover-up Hunter Biden Laptop from Hell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CIgfJLELUA
  251. The Hill-Codified New Green Deal links, July 20, 2023: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4108506-trump-says-he-would-end-green-new-deal-atrocities-on-first-day-back-in-white-house/?email=84d4bddd0c71e4df29ecbc7fd21bc23942fd3d7b&emaila=165216f6fa37b0526d6bbc3b773b5c0c&emailb=462db23387b0b81da7e473e3205ce8df130a90dc5cc967a607e92936346e33c3&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MR%207/21
  252. American Coal Council, Coal Blog: http://www.coalblog.org
  253. WUWT The Cost to Wildlife Due to Green Regulations, July 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/22/retired-officer-exposes-how-environmental-policies-hurt-the-environment-john-baker/
  254. Dick Storm LinkedIn post, 2008 presentation to the American Coal Council, “Enhancing the Perception of Coal”: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7088732708389998592?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  255. WUWT What our Climate Overlords Fail to Understand about Fossil Fuels & Energy: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/16/david-blackmon-heres-what-our-climate-overlords-fail-to-understand-about-fossil-fuels/
  256. David Blackmon, Energy Absurdities, Carbon Fascism, Where it Came From” July 2023: https://blackmon.substack.com/cp/135331657
  257. Reuters on Refinery Capacity, Jan. 18, 2023: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/heavy-slate-us-oil-refinery-overhauls-crimp-fuel-output-2023-01-18/
  258.  EIA Refinery Capacity Report, Capacity of U.S. Refining is declining: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=52939#
  259. EIA report on Refinery closures: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/narrative/production/sub-topic-03.php#:~:text=Between%202020%20and%202021%2C%20six,Marathon)%20refinery%20in%20Martinez%2C%20California
  260. Reuters list of Coal Plants scheduled for or already Shut Down: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-coal-fired-power-plants-scheduled-shut-2021-10-28/
  261. Wikipedia list of coal plants shut down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_decommissioned_coal-fired_power_stations_in_the_United_States
  262. Republican Senators Capito (WVA) and Barrasso (WY) submit Bill to keep coal plants running, overturn EPA Rule, Fox News, June 2023: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-overturn-bidens-power-plant-crackdown
  263. Sen. Capito Website: https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/top-republicans-raise-alarm-on-bidens-power-plant-regs-growing-risks-to-electric-reliability
  264. Governing.com on threats of electricity reliability, June 2023: https://www.governing.com/infrastructure/experts-warn-lack-of-reliable-renewables-puts-grid-at-risk#:~:text=The%20retirement%20of%20fossil%20fuel%20electricity%20production%20and%20the%20lack,from%20a%20loss%20of%20power
  265. American Energy Alliance, 100 Ways the Democrats and Biden have Made the U.S. Less Energy Secure, May 2022: https://www.americanenergyalliance.org/2022/05/100-ways-biden-and-the-democrats-have-made-it-harder-to-produce-oil-gas/
  266. Environmental Progress Report on Carbon Intensity of Solar Panels including Chinese Manufacturing use of coal power to manufacture them, July 2023: https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/2023/7/3/solar-panels-are-more-carbon-intensive-than-experts-will-admit
  267. Census Bureau Report of Difficulty paying Electricity Bills in U.S.:  https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/hhp/#/?measures=ENERGYBILL
  268. USA Today November 2020 Map of Red & Blue County Election Results: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2020/11/10/election-maps-2020-america-county-results-more-voters/6226197002/
  269. Judith Curry Blog on Heat Waves, July 15, 2023: https://judithcurry.com/2021/07/15/heat-waves-and-hot-air/
  270. Dr. Patrick Moore on the Historical Temperatures of Earth for 65 million years, Tweet: https://twitter.com/EcoSenseNow/status/1684564828453756928/photo/1
  271. South Africa Minister Questions Green Agenda, July 2023: https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/south-africa-minister-questions-85bln-climate-deal-report-al1aabqc
  272. Breakthrough Institute Report on Renewables Not being Practical, July 2023: https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/what-the-100-renewables-literature-gets-wrong
  273. We should learn from the wind turbine mistakes of Europe, Stop These Things Blog, July 2023: https://stopthesethings.com/2023/07/23/dont-follow-the-leader-learning-from-europes-renewable-energy-disaster/
  274. Patrick Moore Tweet on temperature rise and CO2, July 28, 2023: https://twitter.com/EcoSenseNow/status/1684569534085349379?s=20
  275. Alex Epstein Talking Points Post on Substack on MSM Hot Weather Distortions, July 28, 2023:  https://alexepstein.substack.com/?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web
  276. 1973 Oil Embargo by Federal Reserve: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil-shock-of-1973-74
  277. European Scientist, on Agriculture and Energy, by Dr. Samuele Furfari, July 2023: https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/
    And https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/features/agriculture-who-wants-to-replace-22-billion-human-equivalents/
  278. CO2 Coalition, “Why CO2 is NOT a Climate Emergency”, : https://co2coalition.org/media/why-climate-change-is-not-an-emergency/
  279. NASA video and report on massive water vapor produced by Tonga Volcano in Jan. 2022 (Report August 2022): https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3204/tonga-eruption-blasted-unprecedented-amount-of-water-into-stratosphere/
  280. You Tube report on Renewables from LI: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7079754745808072704?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  281. Harold Hamm sees much more Oil and Gas in our future, Bloomberg, July 31, 2023: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/billionaire-harold-hamm-sees-a-great-oil-fortune-still-untapped-in-us-shale-1.1952915
  282. NCC Report on EOR in Ohio Valley using CCS from coal plants: https://www.nationalcoalcouncil.org/reports/NCC-Full-Report-June-2012.pdf
  283. Imprimis Essay by Bjorn Lomborg on Thinking Smartly About Climate Change, April 2023: https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/thinking-smartly-about-climate-change/
  284. Master Resource Blog on Energy, Electricity Regulation and Environment: https://www.masterresource.org/giberson-michael/classical-liberalism-electricity-not-complicated/#comment-401014
  285. CO2 Coalition Fact Page: https://co2coalition.org/facts/
  286. PA Pundits War on Fossil Fuels Empowers China: https://www.cfact.org/2023/08/03/the-war-on-fossil-fuels-empowers-china/
  287. Coal Hard Truths:  https://thecoalhardtruth.com/myths-about-coal-renewable-energy/
  288. Count on Coal, ACC Blog: https://www.countoncoal.org/category/blog/
  289. Dick Storm, Liberty Univ. CEO Summit, panel notes, Sept. 2024: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7266497381574098944?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  290. Coal Hard Truth on the Myths of Coal & Renewable Energy: https://thecoalhardtruth.com/myths-about-coal-renewable-energy/
  291. American Coal Ash Association:  https://acaa-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/22-ACAA-Brochure_FINAL.pdf
  292. Other scientific studies of note: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted risk analysis of the use of various coal combustion products in concrete, wallboard, and agriculture and found them all to be safe:
    https://acaa-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ccr_bu_eval.pdf
  293. Stossel & Curry You Tube Interview, August 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVi01vJ4nxM
  294. Mike O’ Gorman, Panamax Post Scoopit: https://www.scoop.it/topic/panamaxpost
  295. Steam Turbine Documentary by Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaRc0oHBk5M
    Steam Turbine video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwQxVKs_NnA
  296. Liberty Energy Report, “Bettering Human Lives”, Aug. 2022: https://www.libertyenergy.com/betteringhumanlivesv2/
  297. World Nuclear Heavy Pressure Vessel Manuf.: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/heavy-manufacturing-of-power-plants.aspx
  298. Climate Depot: https://www.climatedepot.com
  299. Paul Harvey, 1964 “If I Were the Devil” You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9NoQHgjM_0
  300. C-E Nuclear Power PPT’s: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sa=X&sca_esv=555979541&rls=en&cs=0&q=Combustion+engineering+nuclear+plants+ppt&tbm=isch&source=univ&fir=gE2dCejq_ZUJOM%252C-x1zEbiQe5xKAM%252C_%253BziIA5UXLtv888M%252CnRjm5uOw-lVjGM%252C_%253B_9hZdEMvLEDIwM%252CyjRhfW7RxQoBkM%252C_%253BogcYPhdiWtP2iM%252CkdTHstzg6EFjxM%252C_%253BC69pvQ0EdQEbFM%252Cj3GkYq9x335aHM%252C_%253B80XZl21eUjYUuM%252CUxpyl4H1GOm5kM%252C_%253BoTJMzr1q8v2jaM%252CtEezENYqvvBujM%252C_%253B63XFzUPlN1BbDM%252CCXqGmaln30X4wM%252C_%253BaO6z-tsQjnaPcM%252C_1q5rUfwKsoqzM%252C_%253BXQ6USqJX53-NbM%252CNy9QSgfH_dGccM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kTBiJcyQrfPtDrFODWq1NAjN53zWw&ved=2ahUKEwix5b31stWAAxX3mWoFHaYWAMwQ7Al6BAhLEFc&biw=1920&bih=1000&dpr=1
  301. World Nuclear Heavy Manufacturing of Nuclear Pressure Vessels: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/heavy-manufacturing-of-power-plants.aspx
  302. American Experiment.org Resources: https://www.americanexperiment.org/reports/big-blow-offshore-wind-powers-devastating-costs-and-impacts-on-north-carolina
  303. World Nuclear Symposium Presentations from Don: https://epri.app.box.com/s/8uu46f5hoo3x9loni23qvvmdopz7eg62
  304. Krishnadev LI Post on CCP Nuclear, Aug. 13, 2023: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/krishna81_chinas-small-nuclear-reactor-completes-core-activity-7096484093307088896-iS_k?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  305. If I Wanted America to Fail” You Tube, 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-4gnNz0vc
  306. Congress CSPAN support of Rio Conference Oct. 2, 1992: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4362236/user-clip-nancy-pelosi-pushes-agenda-21-dispite-fact-haarp-culprit-global-warming
  307. Wikileaks releases John Podesta emails on uranium deal with Russians: https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/299904-wikileaks-releases-alleged-podesta-emails/
  308. Politico, What you need to know about Clintons and the Uranium 1 Deal: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/14/hillary-clinton-uranium-one-deal-russia-explainer-244895
  309. Why Hillary Clinton Sold America’s Uranium: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-hillary-clinton-sold-americas-uranium-2016-10-26
  310. Forbes on Clinton Uranium One Deal: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2018/12/13/russian-uranium-one-deal-and-hillary-clinton-in-the-news-again/?sh=d5bb8ad526d5
  311. Fox News on Uranium One Deal with Russians: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II06/20190625/109694/HHRG-116-II06-20190625-SD004.pdf
  312. New American article on John Podesta’s involvement in lobbying for Uranium One Deal with Russia: https://thenewamerican.com/us/podesta-group-failed-to-register-as-agent-for-russian-company/?print=pdf
  313. Coal 101 You Tube educational: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN6LvH_4Q3g
  314. Dick Storm, POWER Magazine Commentary, Oct. 2021, “Thermal Power Plants are Still #1”: https://www.powermag.com/blog/all-fuels-are-important-but-thermal-power-generation-is-still-number-1/
  315. Epoch Times article on top Scientists Stating CO2 is not a threat: https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/two-princeton-mit-scientists-say-epa-climate-regulations-based-on-a-hoax-5460699?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport&src_src=partner&src_cmp=BonginoReport
  316. Neutron Bytes, Advanced Nuclear News:    https://neutronbytes.com/advanced-reactor-development-projects/  
  317. Russian Corruption, 1945 Magazine: https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/08/the-corruption-war-russia-is-losing-the-war-for-the-same-reason-it-started-it/
  318. EPOCH Times article on EPA Regulations, Aug. 2023: https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/two-princeton-mit-scientists-say-epa-climate-regulations-based-on-a-hoax-5460699?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport&src_src=partner&src_cmp=BonginoReport
  319. Blackrock and World Affairs, June 23, 2023: https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-james-okeefe-exposes-blackrock-recruiter-bragging-about-deciding-peoples-fate-saying-war-is-good-for-business?utm_campaign=64487
  320. Alex Epstein’s May 3, 2023 “Energy Talking Points” article on IPCC: https://energytalkingpoints.com/syr/
  321. Duke Energy Nuclear Plans for the future, POWER Magazine: https://www.powermag.com/despite-south-carolina-irp-rejection-duke-energy-seeks-80-year-operation-for-oconee-nuclear-units/
  322. Duke Energy Carolinas IRP Release, August 17, 2023: https://news.duke-energy.com/releases/duke-energy-files-updated-carbon-plan-to-serve-the-growing-energy-needs-of-a-thriving-north-carolina?_gl=1*1kojqv6*_ga*MTEyODIxMDQ3Mi4xNjkyMzU1Njg5*_ga_HB58MJRNTY*MTY5MjY5MjU5MS41LjAuMTY5MjY5MjYwMC4wLjAuMA..&_ga=2.177605357.978770941.1692630381-1128210472.1692355689
  323. Tucker Carlson and Douglas MacGregor interview, start at 40 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUAaWK79Vc
  324. Grace Stanke, “Miss America” Nuclear Engineer, https://www.powermag.com/the-power-interview-miss-america-talks-importance-of-nuclear-power/
  325. Tablet, Hoax of the Century, 13 Ways of Looking at Disinformation by Jacob Siegel: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/guide-understanding-hoax-century-thirteen-ways-looking-disinformation?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  326. Gatestone Institute on CCP Influence of U.S. Policy, Aug. 2023: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19921/china-influence-activity-us
  327. Ross Rant, August 2023: https://mailchi.mp/0ce835348441/the-ross-rant-august-21?e=2f947c15a6
  328. Happer & Lindzen vs. EPA Full Text, July 2023: https://co2coalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Happer-Lindzen-EPA-Power-Plants-2023-07-19.pdf
  329. Count on Coal Blog: https://www.countoncoal.org/2023/08/the-energy-policy-torpedo/
  330. 25 Myths of MSM Coverage of Hurricane Idalia by Alex Epstein, Sept. 2023: https://alexepstein.substack.com/p/25-myths-in-the-medias-idalia-coverage?r=kv1a9&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
  331. World Economic Forum August 2022 World Population Graphs and Data: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/populations-around-world-changed-over-the-years/
  332. ExxonMobil Energy Outlook-Sept. 2023: https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/what-we-do/energy-supply/global-outlook/global-energy-fundamentals
  333. Inside Lines, PJM Announcement of Power Shortages due to EPA Rules, August 8, 2023: https://insidelines.pjm.com/pjm-ercot-spp-and-miso-join-together-on-comments-on-epa-emissions-rule/
  334. Duke Power References of Oconee & Marshall Steam Plant Annual Report 1967: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1526/ML15261A046.pdf
  335. EnvironMENTAL Blog on Hunger Games, Food & Energy, Sept 2023: https://envmental.substack.com/p/hunger-games
  336. Babcock & Wilcox History and Time Line: https://www.babcock.com/home/about/corporate/history/
  337. Obama You Tube Describing Third Term with a Standin President: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI2Xtqd4Mts
  338. Western Journal on Obama Giving Instructions to a “Standin President” This from 2020: https://www.westernjournal.com/watch-obama-talks-using-stand-front-man-third-term/
  339. Rio Times article on the World Economic Forum: https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/meet-all-3800-graduates-of-klaus-schwabs-globalist-wef-education-programs-by-name/
  340. CO2 is Not A Pollutant, WUWT, Sept 8, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/09/10/why-co2-is-not-a-pollutant/
  341. U.S. Navy CO2 limits in submarines: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30511437/
  342. WUWT “Does CO2 Affect Human Performance?” https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/10/17/claim-co2-makes-you-stupid-as-a-submariner-that-question/
  343. Science Matters, Ron Clutz, Climatism History  Science Matters, Sept. 11, 2023: https://rclutz.com/2023/09/11/climatism-based-on-history-of-errors/#like-32981
  344. One Barrel of Oil, What Can it Provide? A Great Graphic: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/can-made-one-barrel-oil/
  345. POWER article on Reliability concerns of NERC, May 2023: https://www.powermag.com/nerc-identifies-energy-policy-as-key-risk-to-grid-reliability-amid-evolving-challenges/
  346. NERC Electric Reliability Corporation (ERO) Report August 27, 2023: https://www.nerc.com/comm/RISC/Related%20Files%20DL/RISC_ERO_Priorities_Report_2023_Board_Approved_Aug_17_2023.pdf
  347. Harold Hamm’s book, “Game Changer” Review by Dick Storm: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/09/17/harold-hamms-book-game-changer-a-must-read-for-elected-officials-and-candidates-for-elective-office/  
  348. EPOCH Times, Is ESG Illegal?: Kevin Stocklin on the New ‘High Priests of Society’ Transforming Corporate America
    video on the harm of ESG policies: https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/is-esg-illegal-kevin-stocklin-on-the-new-high-priests-of-society-transforming-corporate-america-5491828?utm_source=ref_share&src_src=ref_share&utm_campaign=gv-cc&src_cmp=gv-cc
  349. America’s Power website and summary of the importance of coal plants during the recent heat wave: https://americaspower.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Heat-Wave-Blog-September-202378.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2y0Tb8H7_fnsIYut1IRFdAWQx5ljYW5d3B-Yg9p6oQ1FTXRTU_y4EKVWg_aem_AfK9EPeglWxPOB-g_fIJWyhi9CwXDutc_uZ1rODmrxd2VD1EDQ2ikj4Ersx10d79bUw&mibextid=2JQ9oc
  350. Dr. Samuele Furfari article on BRICS+ : It reminds me of what an Italian MEP once said: ‘If you think you are a leader and nobody follows you, you are a loser.’ The BRICS+ demonstrate this obviousness.
    https://factuel.media/blogs/blog-articles/brics-et-co%E2%82%82-rebattent-les-cartes-de-la-geopolitique_ba_20552247
  351. MSNBC Interview with Chris Wright, The bear case for oil is the economy and a serious recession, says Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, Sept 15, 2023: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/09/15/the-bear-case-for-oil-is-the-economy-and-a-serious-recession-says-liberty-energy-ceo-chris-wright.html
  352. Grid Brief, Sept 22, 2023, “What’s Keeping the Lights On”: https://www.gridbrief.com/p/whats-keeping-lights-5281
    GRID Brief, Energy is the Economy, by Robert Hargraves, 2022: https://www.gridbrief.com/p/guest-feature-energy-economy
  353. Aluminum Production Costs summary by Taylor and Francis online, Carlos Braga 2016 : https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21642583.2016.1238325?utm_source=www.gridbrief.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guest-feature-energy-is-the-economy 
  354.  Biden’s Apocalyptic Green Fantasies will Bankrupt Us All, No, Joe, Climate Change  is Not Worse than Nuclear War, The Telegraph, Sept. 2023: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/24/biden-green-energy-evs-bankrupt/
  355. AP “Deindustrialization of Germany due to Energy Shortages/Costs” Sept 27, 2023: https://apnews.com/article/germany-economy-energy-crisis-russia-8a00eebbfab3f20c5c66b1cd85ae84ed
  356. American Thinker, Push for Net-Zero is Climate Hoax. Fiction not Energy Reality: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/05/the_push_for_net_zero_emissions_is_climate_hoax_fiction_not_energy_reality.html 
  357.  Woke Duke Energy Hikes Rates to meet ESG Goals, Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/09/20/woke-duke-energy-jacks-up-electric-rates-pay-esg-zero-carbon-mandates/?utm_source=TDS_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CapitolBell&mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGOcfMbXeZyx2Abdfet2xsuAhLUtNh7V903HWbHNDI1PfuObvYuaYqCNu2K-3WipQQks8kFb3CXNoRVHuFqkwHERIs0PbGRs-R-766huX_6DVqPomYvrQ
  358. ESG Rate increase in Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/09/26/more-scrutiny-over-details-of-30-rocky-mountain-power-rate-hike/
  359. Alabama Power Rate Increases due to ESG: https://dothaneagle.com/news/state-and-regional/alabama-power-electric-rates-rising-in-early-2023-for-third-increase-in-a-year/article_90bba23e-f14d-5fee-9b15-f0bcc311085a.html#:~:text=That%20increase%20took%20effect%20in,the%20beginning%20of%20this%20year
  360. Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed 30% Rate increase? RMP Rate Increase
  361. NC Legislature enacted “2021 Carbon Plan”: https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2021/Bills/House/PDF/H951v6.pdf
  362. Americas Best Coal Plants, 2014, Power Engineering Magazine: https://www.power-eng.com/emissions/air-pollution-control-equipment-services/america-s-best-coal-plants/
  363. Oil Production by country of the world, 2022: https://energynow.com/2023/09/charted-the-worlds-biggest-oil-producers-visual-capitalist/?utm_content=266130089&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lcp-11366997
  364. Election contributions by largest companies in U.S.: https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2023/09/21/all-your-country-are-belong-to-blue-n579698
  365. Zero Carbon: https://boereport-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/boereport.com/2023/09/29/the-rush-to-net-zero-2035-and-the-implications-for-electrical-grid-transitions/amp/  
  366. Our World in Data, CO2 Emissions of the world: https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions
  367. Daily Caller, Mike McKenna article on Earth Day, 50 years of failure: https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/21/opinion-earth-day-celebrates-a-half-century-legacy-of-failure-mike-mckenna/
  368. The Green Transition is “Social Vandalism” WUWT, Oct. 3, 2023:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/10/03/the-energy-transition-is-social-vandalism/
  369. America’s Power Coal Facts: https://americaspower.org/COAL-FACTS/
  370. NERC 200-2023 Winter Assessment: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_WRA_2022.pdf  
  371. EIA Peak U.S. Demand hits Record, July 27, 2023: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=60602&utm_source=LinkedIn&utm_medium=EIAsocial&utm_id=Amplification
  372. Heritage review of New Source Review, 2002: https://www.heritage.org/environment/report/why-the-new-source-review-program-needs-reform-primer-nsr
  373. EPA Update on NSR, (New Source Review) Sept 2023: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations
  374. EPA and Congress Testimony on NSR, 2018: https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/newsreleases/epas-new-source-review-actions-review.html
  375. Real Clear Energy, Oct. 6, 2023: https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2023/10/06/a_precipitous_dash_to_a_grid_reliability_crisis_984481.html
  376. RTO Insider Article on Loss of Reliability of the Grid, “Rendezvous With Reality” Sept. 11, 2023: https://www.rtoinsider.com/55069-grid-rendezvous-reality-resource-adequacy-summit/
  377. You Tube, Panama Canal Update, Oct. 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GI0zANA3S4
  378. Energy Institute World Energy Data and Report: https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review/resources-and-data-downloads
  379. Watt Logic, Kathryn Porter Website: http://watt-logic.com/blog/?latest
  380. Coal Power by State, Visual Capitalist: https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/biggest-sources-of-electricity-by-state-and-province/?fbclid=IwAR3Fa1bPKJl_dgeuep-N_9L5ILEdFleffPLjjK37dIT4pLyYZZKN0JEmXcE_aem_AXXqoqu4wBCFkYY6pj4YWwUqF6PWwTvj8RQs6De3q3c4PkMffZuWrA5J_tL2S4ql8z0&mibextid=2JQ9oc
  381. Electric Cooperatives of SC Testimony to Congress, Oct 2023: https://www.ecsc.org/news/mid-carolina-electric-ceo-paulling-urges-federal-officials-act-avoid-blackouts
  382.   Update on Nuclear Plants WUWT, Oct. 18, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/10/17/nuclear-go-round-nuscale-vogtle-palisades/
  383. LLNL Sankey Diagram, 2022 : https://flowcharts.llnl.gov
    Lithium Ion Battery fire risk: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwmiKXrKaz1/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
  384. Fear the Cold, CO2 Coalition: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Fear-the-Cold.html?soid=1101509381788&aid=TJ7nY5OPc1A
  385. IEA Methane Emissions: https://www.iea.org/reports/methane-tracker-2020
  386. WUWT The Energy Future We Need to Have Future Worth Having, Oct. 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/10/25/the-energy-future-we-need-to-have-a-future-worth-having/
  387. World Coal Assoc Facts. : https://www.worldcoal.org/coal-facts/
  388. China Coal Plants Update, Oct. 2023: https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/chinas-new-coal-power-spree-continues-as-more-provinces-jump-on-the-bandwagon/
  389. WUWT Aussie First Nation Leaders Calls Out Senators on Insane Climate Policies: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/11/07/one-nation-leader-pauline-hanson-slams-colleagues-for-climate-lunacy/
  390. FERC-NERC Report on Winter Reliability Lessons from Elliott: https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-nerc-release-final-report-lessons-winter-storm-elliott
  391. Heartland article on California importing 75% of petroleum to provide fuel for airports, trucking and vital U.S. interests, Ron Stein, Nov. 2023: https://heartland.org/opinion/california-continues-to-be-a-national-security-risk-for-america/
  392. Mid America Energy, video of building a wind turbine and the enormous quantities of steel and concrete required for each one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84BeVq2Jm88
  393. Thomas J. Shepstone and Ron Stein on the Trillions wasted on wind and solar generation, March 2026: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/8-trillion-of-investment-into-wind?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  394. $8 Trillion in Investment and all we get from Wind, Solar and other renewables and all we get for it is Higher Electric Bills, Thomas J. Shepstone, Jr, Ron Stein, et al: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/8-trillion-of-investment-into-wind?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  395. Capital Research Center on Warren Buffett’s Solar and Wind generation: https://capitalresearch.org/article/wind-power-doesnt-make-sense-without-the-tax-credits-part-1/
  396. Bjorn Lomberg: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bjornlomborg_nytimes-and-many-other-suggest-that-the-more-activity-7350118091680313344-CTSF?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  397. Bjorn Lomberg on high cost of solar and wind: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bjornlomborg_the-expensive-green-delusion-despite-green-activity-7331637580842594304-yJtG?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  398. Substack article by Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling on Solar with Battery Backup, July 5th, 2025:https://energybadboys.substack.com/p/the-baseload-solar-beatdown
  399. Substack by Orr and Rolling in 2024 on the Myth of Cheap Solar: https://energybadboys.substack.com/p/how-to-destroy-the-myth-of-cheap  
  400. Thomas J. Shepstone on Pennsylvania Solar project failure when tax subsidies were removed, March 2026: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/centre-county-solar-project-goes?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  401. EIA List of Electricity Rates by State: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a
  402. Hawaii has the highest electricity rates in the U.S. They have plenty of sunshine and wind and they quit using coal. Here is an update of why their electricity costs so much: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/20/hawaii-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal-aka-inflation-reduction-act-here-is-an-update/
  403. Thomas J. Shepstone on Why Do Wind and Solar Need Subsidies if they are so Chep?: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/why-are-solar-and-wind-still-government?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  404. EIA Most of new generation capacity in 2025 from Solar, Aug. 20, 2025: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65964&utm_medium=email
  405. WSJ on Wind and Solar subsidies, Aug. 21, 2025: https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/why-solar-and-wind-power-can-thrive-without-subsidies-cee47663
  406. Why are California Electricity Prices So High?, Sub Stack: https://open.substack.com/pub/mestes/p/why-are-californias-electricity-prices?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  407. Excellent article by Tilak Doshi, Renewables are Not Cheap, Dec. 2025, WUWT, https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/12/06/time-to-stop-pretending-renewables-are-cheap/
  408. Energy Bad Boys article on Electricity, Highest Rates in Red and Blue States, Dec. 13, 2025:  https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/blue-states-high-rates?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web  
  409. Energy Bad Boys Great Chart of Electricity Prices by States, Dec. 27, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/visualizing-2026?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  410. Failures of the renewables transition era are insults to taxpayers. The worlds’ population depends on insulation, wires, computers, and fertilizers that “renewables” cannot provide. Published September 1, 2025, in America Out Loud NEWS https://www.americaoutloud.news/failures-of-the-renewables-transition-era-are-insults-to-taxpayers/
  411. Inside Climate News on Maryland Matters of Why Electric Costs are Escalating: https://marylandmatters.org/2025/09/01/why-prices-are-soaring-in-the-countrys-largest-grid-region-explained-in-5-charts/

One Hundred Twenty Quadrillion BTUs and The Need for Coal to Provide at Least 20 Quads of America’s Primary Energy-Part 1

Coal fuel should be included in the future electricity generation portfolio based on the laws of physics, available forms of primary energy, proven economics of electric power generation and the proven track record of coal power for providing reliable, dispatchable and affordable electricity generation. The CO2 Coalition’s Angela Wheeler interviewed me for the CO2 Coalitions Podcast, “Climate De-Brief” and here are my views of the absurd anti-American energy policies, many of which are still strangling President Trump’s path to restoring America’s Greatness. Energy is, in fact, The LifeBlood of Our Economy.

Part 1:
https://youtu.be/LYcJFIhxTe0?si=eyJwQcYy7Cruwkib
Part 2:
https://youtu.be/GrmXdpNGiUw?si=hi_Cr0EfeZICxPzI

Coal as an Important Source of Primary Energy

This article will attempt to show some of the reasons why based on the merits of coal why it should be increased as in the portfolio of reliable sources of primary energy.
Speaking of BTUs, I would like to start with describing the potential sources of the primary energy America needs and is using now to supply 100 quadrillion BTUs of primary energy.

Back to Basics: Let’s Look at the Available Sources of Primary Energy

From a primary energy viewpoint, America has used right at 100 quadrillion BTUs of energy each year since about the year 2000. 

This includes all forms of energy including oil, gas, coal, nuclear and renewables. As more AI Data Centers are built, more manufacturing is reshored, more EVs placed on the highways and greater electrification is transitioned across the economy, the demand for total primary energy is expected to increase. Coal is the most practical, achievable and available addition to provide 10-30 quadrillion BTUs more per annum of growing primary energy supply. Do you remember the phrase from a couple years ago, “Electrify Everything”? Let’s get back to the basics of Primary energy and then look at the incredibly huge contribution of conventional fuels. Also, the diminutive contribution of wind and solar.

Conventional forms of energy, that is those forms of energy we have depended on for the last hundred years, still provide well over 90% of the Primary energy that we need for our economy to thrive and to power our lives.

The Enormity of 100 Quadrillion BTUs

The statistics of energy use, fuel sources, electricity generation, plant efficiencies and much more are well understood by people who read this. However, outside of our energy professional’s network there are millions of Americans that have low energy IQ’s. Some of the low energy IQ individuals create national energy policy. As a result of indoctrination by renewable energy proponents many Americans believe that wind and solar can replace coal, gas and yes, even nuclear. 
 
The public in general, has a very weak understanding of the generation of electricity and how it is managed. Therefore, I thought I would describe in understandable terms; primary energy, electricity and the enormity of 100 Quadrillion BTUs. Perhaps this will reach people and politicians that are otherwise unaware of the magnitude of the primary energy supplied by conventional forms of energy which we absolutely need to power our lives.

Reliable, Dispatchable and affordable Electric power generation is the Life-Blood of any country’s economy. The source of most of the electric power generation for most of the industrialized world since the Industrial Revolution has been Thermal Power generation. Even in the western countries that have attempted to transition to carbon free sources of electric power generation, thermal power continues to dominate. For the year 2024 about 76% of the electric power production was from thermal power. The primary energy of over 90 quadrillion BTUs was provided by coal, gas, nuclear, oil and Biomass.  

One of the advantages of Thermal generation is just about all forms of Thermal power are dispatchable on demand. Gas turbines and Reciprocating gas engines obviously respond faster than a pulverized coal or nuclear unit, but most of the thermal power plants are in fact, dispatchable. 

The demand for electricity is growing. The quantity of growth in the future in debatable however, most experts agree, electricity demand is growing and U.S. growth may require as much as 100 GW of new generation by 2030 and 800 GW of new generation by 2040. Limited battery backup is available for intermittent renewables. Proven sources of dependable, affordable and dispatchable power are needed for grid reliability.

Gas fuel provides 43% of America’s electric power generation. Nuclear is now accepted by almost everyone. However, deploying 100 GW of new nuclear power generation by 2030 is unrealistic, given the record of permitting and construction times from recent new nuclear power plants such as Vogtle 3 and 4 which took about 10 years to build. In the U.S. nuclear power provided about 808 TWh of electricity out of about 4200 TWh total or about 19%. This is commendable, however, most of the U.S. nuclear plants were built decades ago and are an average age of about 42. 

Think about the need of 100 GW of new power generation by 2030. If the growth in supply was all nuclear, 100 GW would be equivalent to completing 45 new nuclear units the size of Vogtle units #3 & 4 in four years, if started today. 

Included in the heading “Conventional Energy” is Hydro. Why? Because it is important, it is dispatchable and it has been around for well over 100 years. Therefore, in my view, it qualifies as being conventional. When hydropower is included with thermal power, the total Primary Energy from conventional sources exceeds 90%. 

This is the primary energy that generates electricity, provides ground and air transportation, commercial & Residential heating, cooling, cooking and very importantly, industrial production. Electricity generation consumes between 33 to 40% of the world’s total primary energy. 

Electrify everything was the buzz phrase of a few years ago. Let’s look at the enormity of replacing the conventional fuels we all depend on now.

Thermal electric power generation dominates U.S. electricity generation. Gas fuel has taken the lead from coal since about 2010. The total Thermal power generation in the U.S. in 2024 was about 76% Thermal generation. 

The Enormity of BTUs Measured in Quadrillions

About 43% of America’s electricity was generated from pipeline supplied natural gas in 2025. It is hard to visualize 33 Quadrillion BTUs of methane, so I thought showing huge LNG tanker ships might be a way to describe the challenge of increasing America’s total Primary energy consumption from the current @ 100 Quads to the range of 120 Quads by 2050.

How About Coal?

In the year 2008 America consumed about 20 Quadrillion BTUs of coal generated electricity. Since then natural gas use has overtaken coal’s #1 position and coal in 2025 generated about 16% of America’s electricity and consumed about 10 Quadrillion BTUs. Coal has been demonized by many and is not perceived by the public to be the Treasure of American energy that I believe it is.  

However, from the standpoints of physics, economics, proven track record, dispatchability, energy storage and reliability….Coal is an important fuel for the next twenty or thirty years. Here are thirteen advantages of coal as a source of primary energy for electricity generation:

  • Coal Power is Proven Here and Now
  • Energy Density
  • Reliable
  • Affordable and has the best record of low cost electricity production over the long term
  • On-Site Fuel Storage for months
  • Dispatchable
  • Coal Plants are Robust and have a long life when properly maintained
  • The Manufacturing Supply-Chain is Established
  • America is the Saudi Arabia of Coal and has hundreds of year supply
  • Operations and Maintenance Training and Protocols are Established
  • Manufacturers, EPRI and Training companies all have an established library of Best O&M practices
  • Flyash/Bottom Ash Use as Concrete Additive for Strength and resistance to spalling, FGD sludge byproduct used for sheetrock and also a source of Rare Earth Minerals
  • Modern Coal Plants are clean and the emissions of major pollutants have been corrected with backend pollution control equipment. The six main pollutants have been reduced since 1970 in spite of increases in GDP, Population, auto miles driven and greater use of energy in all forms. The EPA chart below shows the progress achieved.

Conclusions

  • Wind and Solar are the Highest Cost Power and Cannot Meet Demand
  • More Dispatchable Bulk Power Plants Need to be Built
  • Coal, Gas and Nuclear Plants provide the lowest cost, most reliable Power
  • States and Countries on Path to Net-Zero Carbon are Paying a high price
  • Natural Gas Prices will likely rise in the future
  • Electricity prices will rise with fuel cost as well as from inflation of components and construction costs. 
  • Production prices of electricity will follow fuel cost
  • A Balanced Generation portfolio is Beneficial as a Hedge Against Fuel Cost Volatility
  • America should learn from the experiences of Germany, CA, Hawaii, CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ and other states with high electricity costs
  • States and countries that have shut down coal plants have experienced increased electricity production costs. This is not a forecast, this is fact
  • Building new clean coal plants are needed to continue America’s excellent record of providing reliable electricity at affordable costs.
  • Coal is the default fuel to increase America’s Primary energy supply beyond 120 Quadrillion BTUs in the next decade

Part ll will cover electric power generation in the rest of the world and some of the advances of clean coal power generation.

Thank you for reading this and very truly yours,

Dick Storm, January 28, 2025

References and Info for further reading:

  1. EIA on Coal Power Generation updated January 2026: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67084&utm_medium=email
  2. FIVE REASONS TO BUILD NEW COAL PLANTS NOW! COAL SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS A CRITICAL FUEL TO POWER AMERICA’S FUTURE, SEPT. 24, 2025:  HTTPS://DICKSTORMPROBIZBLOG.ORG/2025/09/24/FIVE-REASONS-TO-BUILD-NEW-COAL-PLANTS-NOW-COAL-SHOULD-BE-INCLUDED-AS-A-CRITICAL-FUEL-TO-POWER-AMERICAS-FUTURE/
  3. Ten Hard Truths of Electricity Generation in South Carolina, the Life-Blood of the Economy, Oct. 8, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/10/08/ten-hard-truths-of-s-c-electricity-the-lifeblood-of-the-economy/
  4. Reality of Building 32,000 MW of New Generation Capacity/Year. Solutions; Build New Coal Plants Now!,  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/10/22/reality-of-32000-mw-year-of-new-generation-demand-solution-build-new-coal-plants-now/
  5. EIA Most of new generation capacity in 2025 from Solar, Aug. 20, 2025: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65964&utm_medium=email
  6. WSJ on Wind and Solar subsidies, Aug. 21, 2025: https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/why-solar-and-wind-power-can-thrive-without-subsidies-cee47663
  7. Why are California Electricity Prices So High?, Sub Stack: https://open.substack.com/pub/mestes/p/why-are-californias-electricity-prices?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  8. Excellent article by Tilak Doshi, Renewables are Not Cheap, Dec. 2025, WUWT, https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/12/06/time-to-stop-pretending-renewables-are-cheap/
  9. Energy Bad Boys article on Electricity, Highest Rates in Red and Blue States, Dec. 13, 2025:  https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/blue-states-high-rates?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web  
  10. Energy Bad Boys Great Chart of Electricity Prices by States, Dec. 27, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/visualizing-2026?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
  11. Failures of the renewables transition era are insults to taxpayers.
    The worlds’ population depends on insulation, wires, computers, and fertilizers that “renewables” cannot provide.
    Published September 1, 2025, in America Out Loud NEWS
    https://www.americaoutloud.news/failures-of-the-renewables-transition-era-are-insults-to-taxpayers/
  12. Inside Climate News on Maryland Matters of Why Electric Costs are Escalating: https://marylandmatters.org/2025/09/01/why-prices-are-soaring-in-the-countrys-largest-grid-region-explained-in-5-charts/
  13. GRIDWATCH Australia
    AT 6.30 PM eastern time THE  WIND WAS CONTRIBUTING 13%  OF DEMAND IN THE EAST 
    AND  2.5% IN THE WEST OH DEAR!!  
     https://www.nem-watch.info/widgets/RenewEconomy/
  14. WHAT ABOUT TEXAS? 
    https://www.gridstatus.io/live/ercot
  15. BRITAIN
    https://grid.iamkate.com/    
  16.  PJM https://www.pjm.com
  17. MISO https://www.misoenergy.org
  18. Ed Ireland on TX wind and solar: https://substack.com/@edireland
  19. Interview with Dave Walsh on Bannon War Room, Rumble, Sept 5, 2025: https://rumble.com/v6yif84-walsh-91-of-new-capacity-power-being-built-this-year-is-solar-and-a-little-.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a
  20. Tom Shepstone Sub-Stack on Massachusetts high electric rates: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/political-reality-descends-upon-massachusetts?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  21. Tom Shepstone on POSIGEN Failure in PA, Sept. 8, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/posigen-provides-yet-another-example?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  22. Tom Shepstone on Wind and Solar after OBBB, Sept. 9, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/are-the-days-of-solar-stupidity-coming?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  23. Energy Bad Boys on Electricity Rates Rising due to Renewables, yet, Trump is blamed: https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/the-number-one-reason-trumps-policies?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  24. HeatMap Newsletter: https://heatmap.news/politics/electricity-price-politics#
  25. POWER, Sept. 2025 on cost of solar and wind: https://www.powermag.com/solar-and-winds-hidden-price-tag-why-cost-isnt-the-whole-story/
  26. Fraser Institute on solar and wind cost: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/commentary/solar-and-wind-power-make-electricity-more-expensive-thats-a-fact
  27. Daily Caller, Sept. 2025: https://ijr.com/frank-lasee-how-wind-and-solar-are-quietly-inflating-electricity-bills/
  28. Forbes, Yes, Wind and Solar do Increase Electricity Prices: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/04/25/yes-solar-and-wind-really-do-increase-electricity-prices-and-for-inherently-physical-reasons/
  29. America’s Coal: https://americascoal.substack.com/p/estimating-the-real-cost-of-electricity
  30. IER on cost of solar and wind: https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/rising-bills-bad-blame-whats-really-driving-electricity-prices/
  31. Energy Policy Research Chart of world electricity prices 2024. Excellent: https://eprinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/COW2024-34-USAndEuropeanHouseholdElectricityPrices.pdf
  32. EPI Charts: https://eprinc.org/chart-of-the-week/?gf_protect_submission=1
  33. Inside Climate, Great State by State chart: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-states-getting-hit-hardest-electricity-price-qybsc/
  34. EIA FERC Electricity and Energy Data, Sept. 2025:  https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/current_month/september2025.pdf
  35. Inside Climate News: https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/inside-clean-energy/
  36. Excellent Paper on the Cost of Wind and Solar across the World, Oct. 5, 2025:  https://www.cis.org.au/publication/the-renewable-energy-honeymoon-starting-is-easy-the-rest-is-hard/
  37. Clintel report in WUWT, Jan. 3, 2026: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/01/03/think-tank-iref-against-all-rationality-the-eu-persists-in-its-net-zero-delusion/
  38. WUWT on the UK Wind Subsidies hit record high CFd’s Jan. 20, 2026:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/01/20/cfd-subsidies-hit-record-high-in-2025/
  39. Australia’s Path to Net Zero :  
    https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisuhlmann/p/the-state-vs-the-people?r=1bynvt&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
  40. Bjorn Lomberg: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bjornlomborg_nytimes-and-many-other-suggest-that-the-more-activity-7350118091680313344-CTSF?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  41. Bjorn Lomberg on high cost of solar and wind: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bjornlomborg_the-expensive-green-delusion-despite-green-activity-7331637580842594304-yJtG?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  42. Substack article by Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling on Solar with Battery Backup, July 5th, 2025:https://energybadboys.substack.com/p/the-baseload-solar-beatdown
  43. Substack by Orr and Rolling in 2024 on the Myth of Cheap Solar: https://energybadboys.substack.com/p/how-to-destroy-the-myth-of-cheap  
  44. EIA List of Electricity Rates by State: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a
  45. https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/20/hawaii-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal-aka-inflation-reduction-act-here-is-an-update/
  46. Thomas J. Shepstone on Why Do Wind and Solar Need Subsidies if they are so Cheap?: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/why-are-solar-and-wind-still-government?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  47. Electricity Rates of World: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-electricity-by-country
  48. IEA Global Energy Review, Electricity 2025:  https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025/electricity
  49. Global Petroleum, Electricity Prices of World: https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/electricity_prices/
  50. Electricity Rates by U.S. State: https://electricityrates.com/electricity-rates-by-state/
  51. POWER article on China High Efficiency Coal Plants: https://www.powermag.com/chinas-pingshan-phase-ii-sets-new-bar-as-worlds-most-efficient-coal-power-plant/
  52. Advancements in Steam Turbine design, POWER Magazine:  https://www.powermag.com/advancements-in-steam-turbine-efficiency-for-modern-power-generation-reducing-costs-and-emissions/
  53. Area of states for reference of solar or wind land requirements: https://the50unitedstates.com/state-sizes
  54. EIA Electricity consumption in 2022 :  https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/use-of-electricity.php
  55. ICF Electricity Load Growth Forecast to 2030 and 2050: https://www.icf.com/insights/energy/electricity-demand-expected-to-grow
  56. IEEE Spectrum on the April 2025 Blackout in Spain: https://spectrum.ieee.org/spain-grid-failure
  57. EIA Gas Prices Jan. 2026:  https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67046&utm_medium=email
  58. Here is an absolutely nutty proposal, replace a reliable 2700 MW coal plant, (the Sherco Coal Plant) with solar panels. This is Minnesota where it gets very cold and also is known for heavy snowfall in the winter…, CNN report: https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/16/climate/coal-to-solar-minnesota
  59. Energy Bad Boys on Electricity Rates Rising due to Renewables, yet, Trump is blamed: https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/the-number-one-reason-trumps-policies?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  60. HeatMap Newsletter: https://heatmap.news/politics/electricity-price-politics#
  61. POWER, Sept. 2025 on cost of solar and wind: https://www.powermag.com/solar-and-winds-hidden-price-tag-why-cost-isnt-the-whole-story/
  62. Fraser Institute on solar and wind cost: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/commentary/solar-and-wind-power-make-electricity-more-expensive-thats-a-fact
  63. Daily Caller, Sept. 2025: https://ijr.com/frank-lasee-how-wind-and-solar-are-quietly-inflating-electricity-bills/
  64. Forbes, Yes, Wind and Solar do Increase Electricity Prices: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/04/25/yes-solar-and-wind-really-do-increase-electricity-prices-and-for-inherently-physical-reasons/
  65. America’s Coal: https://americascoal.substack.com/p/estimating-the-real-cost-of-electricity
  66. IER on cost of solar and wind: https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/rising-bills-bad-blame-whats-really-driving-electricity-prices/
  67. Energy Policy Research Chart of world electricity prices 2024. Excellent: https://eprinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/COW2024-34-USAndEuropeanHouseholdElectricityPrices.pdf
  68. EPI Charts: https://eprinc.org/chart-of-the-week/?gf_protect_submission=1
  69. Inside Climate, Great State by State chart: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-states-getting-hit-hardest-electricity-price-qybsc/
  70. EIA FERC Electricity and Energy Data, Sept. 2025:  https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/current_month/september2025.pdf
  71. Inside Climate News: https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/inside-clean-energy/
  72. Excellent Paper on the Cost of Wind and Solar across the World, Oct. 5, 2025:  https://www.cis.org.au/publication/the-renewable-energy-honeymoon-starting-is-easy-the-rest-is-hard/
  73. Clintel report in WUWT, Jan. 3, 2026: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/01/03/think-tank-iref-against-all-rationality-the-eu-persists-in-its-net-zero-delusion/
  74. WUWT on the UK Wind Subsidies hit record high CFd’s Jan. 20, 2026:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/01/20/cfd-subsidies-hit-record-high-in-2025/
  75. Australia’s Path to Net Zero :  https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisuhlmann/p/the-state-vs-the-people?r=1bynvt&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay

Ten Hard Truths of S.C. Electricity-The Lifeblood of the Economy

There are a number of states that are on a path to higher electricity bills and less reliability, including S.C. Why? Because the S.C. Governor and the Legislature are still stuck on Net Zero Carbon. I thought it might be informative to list 10 unpopular truths:

Hard Truths that Apply to S.C. as Well as All Other U.S. States

  •  New nuclear plants will take decades to be built to replace existing coal and gas units
  • Electricity generation for Dispatchable Electricity Generation capacity takes years to build
  • Most of our electricity today comes from power plants that are more than 30 years old. S.C. examples: The Wateree coal plant began operation in 1970, Duke Energy’s Oconee nuclear plant, the largest in South Carolina, first unit started up in 1973, and the first Santee-Cooper Cross Unit began operation in 1984 and Winyah 1975.
  • The major production cost component of electricity generation for Thermal Power Plants is fuel
  • The proven lowest production cost of electricity is from coal, nuclear and gas
  • Coal prices have remained stable for decades
  • Gas prices are volatile and can fluctuate with market changes. Low gas prices into the future are not guaranteed
  • Wind, Solar, and Battery storage are higher-cost producers of Bulk Power. Forget the “Free Fuel Myth of Wind and Solar”. All states and countries that have taken the S.C. Net-Zero Carbon path now have high-cost electricity
  • South Carolina is on a similar primary energy path as Germany was fifteen years ago
  • It takes decades for the impact of energy policies to be felt by consumers and industry

Here is a presentation to the Beaufort Federation of Republican Men, which summarizes the S.C. path to higher cost electricity.

Bulk Power Supply and Demand Projections to 2052

The Supply/Demand Chart of Santee-Cooper is shown below. Note the plan to reduce coal power generation and replace it with gas, purchased power and variable renewables.

A Better Path: Build New Coal Plants

The low country of South Carolina has been well served by Santee-Cooper since 1934. Also known as South Carolina Public Service Authority. SCPSA is state owned and controlled.

Like TVA, Santee-Cooper began with hydroelectric generation and as with TVA, the electricity demand rapidly increased to loads far in excess of the available hydroelectric capacity. Thus coal plants were built and for most of the last 80 years most of the electricity generation has been from coal fuel. This continues to be the case. The screenshot below is the electricity generation the week of December 2, 2024. The primary energy provided for the power production was 77% coal fuel at this time and it will be needed again this coming winter.

To this day most of the Santee-Cooper installed power generation capacity is coal power plants. Here is a list of their generating assets. Over 60% are dispatchable and proven to be affordable coal power. Electricity costs in our region has been amongst the lowest in the U.S. for decades. Thanks to coal fuel. As the transition to more renewables and more backup natural gas is made, the cost of Bulk Power generation will increase as it has in Germany, the UK, Hawaii, CT, MA, NJ and other states that are ahead of S.C. in transitioning from coal to more renewable energy. The so called “Energy Transition” is the root cause of increasing electric rates. Hawaii as a poster child example of a transition to expensive “Green New Deal” renewables.

What About Industry?

About a third of S.C. electricity is used by industry. This is important for U.S. security, competitiveness and for the jobs industry provides. For the low country of S.C. there are at least two very energy intensive industries; Century Aluminum and Nucor Steel. Both of these industries use hundreds of Megawatts for steel and aluminum production. The main reason the plants were built in S.C. was because of reasonable cost electricity provided by Santee-Cooper. The Century Aluminum plant at full capacity will use over 400 MW and each Nucor plant about 175 MW. These two companies alone represent 24/7 Demand that is about a quarter of the huge Cross Generating Station’s capacity.

Can We Learn From the Experiences of Germany, the UK, California, Hawaii, Connecticut and New Jersey?

Each of these states & countries have been working toward a transition away from coal and toward renewables. In each case the electric rates have escalated to the point that they have caused industries to shut down and harmed the industrial capacity of the countries or states. Electricity is the LifeBlood of an economy. Ask a knowledgeable German citizen about the results of their energy transition.

The high German electricity rates have caused many very well run and established companies to shut down and/or relocate manufacturing into other countries. Three examples are BASF, Krupp Steel and VW

The Optimum Future Electricity Generation Capacity

A Balanced generation portfolio is optimum as a hedge against fuel cost escalation, security of generation and reliability of generation. In my experience and based on the well documented experiences of other states and countries, a balanced generation portfolio of no more than 20% renewables with the balance of generation from dispatchable sources such as nuclear, gas and coal, is best. Plenty of references are listed below (also the chart above) which show the results of over-reliance on windmills solar and battery backup or BESS (Battery Electricity Storage and Supply).

Conclusions

The main point I wish to make here is that Bulk Power, that is huge amounts of electricity generation from large power plants take years, even decades to replace or to use the word more common today, Transition. Most of the vital 24/7 electricity supply to S.C. is provided by aging power plants. Examples, Oconee about 53 years, Wateree about 55, Winyah 50 and Cross about 40 years old.

As reliable, affordable and dispatchable coal plants are shut down the electric production cost will increase and along with the rising production cost, eventually increased rates.

Building new coal plants as once was planned at the Pee Dee plant site, was and still is a good idea. So is building more nuclear plants but that takes time.

My suggestion for the S.C. Legislature is to remove the Net-Zero Carbon laws that are on the books and to provide ample funds for maintenance of the existing coal plants serving S.C. so well.

Respectfully yours,

Dick Storm, October 8, 2025

References and info for further Research

  1. Santee-Cooper Celebrates 90 Years: https://www.postandcourier.com/kingstree/business/santee-cooper-celebrates-90-years/article_07d4c756-f1e2-11ee-a2fd-5b7595de1823.html
  2. Palmetto Promise, 2019 article on Century Aluminum and Electricity Provided by Santee-Cooper: https://palmettopromise.org/tale-of-the-century/
  3. Century Aluminum to Return to 100% Capacity with new PPA, Oct. 7, 2025: https://www.alcircle.com/news/century-aluminums-mt-holly-smelter-set-to-return-to-full-capacity-by-2026-115747
  4. Dick Storm presentation, October 2025 to Beaufort Federation of Republican Men: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7379119520445071360?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  5. America uses about 100 Quadrillion BTUs annually: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/16/back-to-basics-the-u-s-needs-100-quadrillion-btus-year-of-primary-energy/  
  6. Each citizen uses approx., 300 million BTUs annually https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/04/american-dream-100-quadrillion-btus/
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/08/22/energy-life-that-is-life-as-we-enjoy-it/
  7. EIA https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=SC
  8. Electric generation capacity of Dominion and Santee-Cooper about 12,000 MW of Bulk Power Capacity: https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/hjyEG/5/  Duke Energy about 6600MW
  9. Over 50% of S.C. total electricity generation is by nuclear power. 6 of the 7 nuclear units in S.C. are owned by Duke Energy
    Beaufort and Jasper counties are served by Palmetto Electric for transmission and Distribution of electricity https://www.palmetto.coop/sites/default/files/documents/Integrated-Resource-Plan.pdf
  10. Santee-Cooper 2025 updated IRP (Integrated Resource Plan that outlines Bulk Power sources for the future): https://www.santeecooper.com/About/Integrated-Resource-Plan/presentations/Santee-Cooper-2025-IRP-Update.pdf
  11. Dominion South Carolina updated 2025 IRP: https://www.dominionenergy.com/-/media/content/about/our-company/irp/pdfs/desc-integrated-resource-plan-2025.pdf
    https://south-carolina-energy-office-1-1-scors-eo.hub.arcgis.com/pages/electricity-data
  12. The S.C. Legislature has laws on the books to exit coal power and depend on gas, nuclear, solar, wind and Battery backup systems (BESS). All of which are higher cost generation than coal. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/3309.htm
  13. The decision to cancel the Pee Dee Coal Plant in 2009  and the failure of SCE&G to complete Units 2 & 3 at the Summer Nuclear Plant will result in increased electricity costs for all of Palmetto Electric customers: https://www.powermag.com/south-carolinas-santee-cooper-shelves-2-billion-coal-plant-project/
  14. Wind, solar and BESS systems need to be backed up by Dispatchable generation. Usually that backup (and planned for S.C) is natural gas fueled generating plants. Therefore, one reason electricity costs are higher with solar and wind is because two to four times the generation capacity is needed over a coal or nuclear plant. Solar and wind are intermittent generators dependent on nature. Solar averages about 6 hours per day of generation.
  15. How Can a 6,000 MW Utility that will be a 9,000MW Utility in 2050, become Net-Zero Carbon? April 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/04/27/how-can-a-6000-mw-regional-utility-in-2030-which-likely-will-be-a-9000-mw-utility-in-2050-achieve-net-zero-carbon/
  16. Providing a Sustainable Million BTUs per Day/Person, May 17,  2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/05/17/providing-a-sustainable-million-btus-per-day-per-person-by-fuel-source/
  17. Duke Energy to keep coal units running, by Stephen Heins, Sept. 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/stephenheins/p/headline-duke-energy-hoping-to-keep?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  18. Reuters on Duke Energy announcing the consideration of new nuclear and extending life of coal plants, Sept. 2025: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/duke-energy-considers-nuclear-reactors-coal-extensions-carolinas-energy-plan-2025-10-01/
  19. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 1, 1850-1955, January 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/14/a-short-history-of-energy-electricity-and-how-our-high-quality-of-living-came-to-be-high-human-development-index-part-1-1850-1955/
  20. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 2:  https://wp.me/p5DzAo-k6
  21. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 3: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-ll
  22. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 4: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-n4
  23. “The War on Carbon, How it Came to Be”, Oct. 16, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/16/the-war-on-carbon-how-it-came-to-be/
  24. Energy and Economic Prosperity, Jan. 11, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/03/energy-and-economic-prosperity/
  25. Energy and World Peace, April, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/04/05/energy-world-peace/
  26. Comparison of China and U.S. Energy Policies: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/01/18/comparison-of-china-energy-electricity-generation-with-u-s-a/
  27. Energy and Economic Prosperity Nov.  2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/11/18/energy-and-economic-prosperity-2/
  28. Without New Thinking on Nuclear Power, Anti-Carbon Policy Can’t Succeed, Nov. 11, 2021 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/11/13/without-new-thinking-on-nuclear-power-anti-carbon-climate-policy-cant-succeed/
  29. The Rise and Fall and Rise Again  of Nations and the  Realities of Energy: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/08/15/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-nations-and-the-realities-of-energy/
  30. Pillars of Modern Civilization, Ammonia, Food, Steel, Concrete, Plastics, Aluminum, July 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/25/pillars-of-modern-civilization-all-dependent-on-energy/
  31. Dick Storm Blog post, “Wake Up Americans!” Sept. 21, 2023:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/09/20/please-wake-up-america-your-energy-and-electricity-generation-reliability-are-at-risk/
  32. THE ERA OF RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE, ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY GENERATION: PART 1
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/10/04/the-era-of-reliable-affordable-energy-and-electricity-generation-part-1/
  33. The Green Energy Crisis is Here, Part 1, Sept. 17, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/29/the-green-energy-crisis-is-here-part-1/
  34. The Green Energy Crisis, Part 2, “Meet Some of the People that Caused it”,  June 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/06/14/green-energy-crisis-part-2-meet-the-policy-makers-that-caused-it/
  35. Comparison of China and U.S. Energy Policies: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/01/18/comparison-of-china-energy-electricity-generation-with-u-s-a/
  36. The Green Energy Crisis, Part 3, June 26, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/06/26/green-energy-crisis-part-3-public-energy-education-is-needed-each-person-in-the-u-s-uses-about-315-million-btus-of-primary-energy-year-this-is-not-practical-or-even-possible-to-replace-with-win/
  37. German Household electricity prices 2009-2024: https://countryeconomy.com/energy-and-environment/electricity-price-household/germany
  38. DW News, Germany YouTube on Germany’s dependence on Russian Gas and Oil: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/p4?projector=1
  39. Another YouTube video of German dependence on Russian Gas: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/p4?projector=1
  40. WSJ Jan. 2024 on relationship of Security of EU Economy, Russian gas and China: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/welcome-warily-the-eu-getting-serious-on-china-economic-security-net-zero-deindustrialization-de292bf1?st=JjwzXh&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalinkc
  41. “Update on Hawaii’s Glimpse of the Future of the Green New Deal” March 20, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/20/hawaii-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal-aka-inflation-reduction-act-here-is-an-update/
  42. The Reality of Electrifying Everything,  April 9, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/04/09/the-reality-of-electrifying-everything-and-the-primary-energy-required-to-generate-the-electricity/
  43. Am I Missing Something? Here is an Update on Hyundai’s Commitment to its EV Meta Plant in Georgia:   https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/04/14/am-i-missing-something-on-evs-here-is-an-update-on-hyundais-meta-plant-commitment-to-evs-and-hydrogen-vehicles/
  44. Tom Shepstone’s post on Substack of Dick Storm’s letter to Senator Tom Davis: https://energysecurityfreedom.substack.com/p/a-balanced-energy-portfolio-is-critical/comments
  45. Dick Storm LI Post on SC Energy policies and failed coal and nuclear plant plans: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7184184178920312833?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  46. DW YouTube on Russian oil and gas and Germany: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/p4?projector=1
  47. De-Industrialization of Germany article: 
    https://ceinterim.com/deindustrialization-in-germany/
  48. Rust Belt on the Rhine, De-Industrialization of Germany: 
    https://www.politico.eu/article/rust-belt-on-the-rhine-the-deindustrialization-of-germany/
  49. International Banker: Jan. 2025 https://internationalbanker.com/finance/germany-has-an-escalating-deindustrialisation-problem/
  50. Gatestone Institute Dec. 2024 on German Energy Policy and De-Industrialization: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21244/europe-germany-renewable-energy
  51. From WSJ, Jan. 2024. Net-Zero and German DeIndustrialization: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/welcome-warily-the-eu-getting-serious-on-china-economic-security-net-zero-deindustrialization-de292bf1?st=JjwzXh&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
  52. Devil’s Algorithm & Climate Matrix: https://open.substack.com/pub/tilakdoshi/p/the-devils-algorithm-unplugging-from?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  53. The EPA “Endangerment Finding” and why it Needs to Go, Feb. 2, 2025: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-1ZW
  54. The SWAMP MONSTER vs. 300 Million Americans, Feb. 21, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/02/21/the-swamp-monster-vs-the-best-interests-of-the-united-states-of-america/
  55. Thomas J. Shepstone Substack on Dick Storm’s “Primer on How to Ensure Electricity Security (and How to Destroy It)”:  https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/a-primer-on-how-to-ensure-energy?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 
  56. Thomas J. Shepstone version of Dick Storm article Feb, 2025. Time to Revoke the Endangerment Finding”  :  https://energysecurityfreedom.substack.com/p/its-way-past-time-to-revoke-the-pseudo
  57. Existing EPA-Endangerment Rules Impact South Carolina Electricity Costs and Will Cause Rationing if the EPA Endangerment Finding Isn’t Repealed  Feb. 28, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/02/28/existing-epa-rules-increase-costs-and-will-cause-rationing-of-electricity-in-south-carolina-if-endangerment-finding-is-not-repealed/
  58. David Siegel videos on Climate Change: https://www.cuttingthroughthenoise.net/climate-curious 
  59. The EPA Endangerment Finding Needs to Go! Thomas Shepstone publishing of Dick Storm article, March 9, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-epa-endangerment-finding-needs?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 
  60. The U.S. Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis was Created by GONGO the SWAMP Monster, March 19, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/19/the-u-s-self-inflicted-electricity-generation-crisis-was-created-by-gongo-the-swamp-monster-here-is-how-to-end-it/
  61. Coal Power, It is the End Result that Matters!:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/28/coal-power-it-is-the-end-result-that-counts/
  62. My Letter to Senator Davis on Coal Power in S.C. April 1, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/03/response-to-palmetto-electric-request-to-contact-our-s-c-senators/
  63. The Solution to America’s Electricity Generation Crisis: Build New Coal Plants Now! https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/18/the-solution-to-the-nations-coming-electricity-reliability-crisis-build-new-coal-plants/
  64. Clean Energy Crisis, May 2, 2025     https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/02/clean-energy-crisis-2/
  65. Thomas J. Shepstone, edited version of Clean Energy Crisis on Substack, May 3, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-clean-energy-crisis-and-why-it?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  66. Jason Hayes republishing of Why Electric rates in SC will Rise: https://open.substack.com/pub/jasonhayes/p/existing-epa-rules-increase-costs?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  67. Reality of Building 125 GW of New Coal Power Generation Capacity, Then and Now: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/07/the-reality-of-building-125-gw-of-new-coal-plant-generation-capacity-then-and-now/
  68. Repeal the IRA, Protect America’s Life-Blood of Energy and Electricity”:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/15/repeal-the-ira-protect-americas-lifeblood-of-energy-and-electricity-supply/
  69. Ron Stein and Dick Storm co authored article in America Out Loud, May 19, 2025: https://www.americaoutloud.news/intermittent-electricity-from-renewables-cannot-support-ai-and-data-centers/
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/27/internal-and-external-threats-to-the-u-s-electric-grid/
  70. The Reality of Returning Major Power Generation Equipment Manufacturing to the U.S. 
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/06/01/the-reality-of-returning-major-power-generation-equipment-manufacturing-to-the-u-s/
  71. Present DangerChina.org  Threats to the Electric Grid, Frank Gaffney, Grant Newsom, Sam Faddis, Dave Walsh and Dick Storm: https://presentdangerchina.org/webinar-inside-our-wires-the-ccp-has-penetrated-our-electric-grid-will-xi-destroy-it/
  72. Conventional Energy Including Coal is the Life-Blood of America:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/06/18/conventional-energy-including-coal-is-the-life-blood-of-america/
  73. Thomas J. Shepstone published version of Dick Storm blog post on the “Madness of the Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis” https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-madness-of-the-us-self-inflicted?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  74. Energy is the Economy and Electricity is the Life-Blood of western civilization Coal Can Make America’s Electricity Supply Great Again  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/07/30/energy-is-the-economy-electricity-is-the-life-blood-of-western-civilization-coal-can-make-americas-electricity-supply-great-again/
  75. Thomas J. Shepstone on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/electricity-is-the-life-blood-of?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  76. SWAMP People and Organizations Against Making America Great, Foreign and Domestic https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/08/07/swamp-people-and-organizations-against-making-america-great-foreign-domestic/
  77. Published by Thomas J. Shepstone on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/fighting-the-swamp-and-our-enemies?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  78. Some Red States Still Embrace the Green New deal, Including the Usually Conservative State of S.C. Sept. 8, 2025:    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/09/08/some-red-states-still-embrace-the-green-new-deal-including-usually-conservative-south-carolina/
  79. FIVE REASONS TO BUILD NEW COAL PLANTS NOW! COAL SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS A CRITICAL FUEL TO POWER AMERICA’S FUTURE, SEPT. 24, 2025:  HTTPS://DICKSTORMPROBIZBLOG.ORG/2025/09/24/FIVE-REASONS-TO-BUILD-NEW-COAL-PLANTS-NOW-COAL-SHOULD-BE-INCLUDED-AS-A-CRITICAL-FUEL-TO-POWER-AMERICAS-FUTURE/
  80. Forbes, Yes, Wind and Solar do Increase Electricity Prices: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/04/25/yes-solar-and-wind-really-do-increase-electricity-prices-and-for-inherently-physical-reasons/
  81. America’s Coal: https://americascoal.substack.com/p/estimating-the-real-cost-of-electricity
  82. IER on cost of solar and wind: https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/rising-bills-bad-blame-whats-really-driving-electricity-prices/
  83. Energy Policy Research Chart of world electricity prices 2024. Excellent: https://eprinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/COW2024-34-USAndEuropeanHouseholdElectricityPrices.pdf
  84. EPI Charts: https://eprinc.org/chart-of-the-week/?gf_protect_submission=1
  85. Inside Climate, Great State by State chart: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-states-getting-hit-hardest-electricity-price-qybsc/
  86. EIA FERC Electricity and Energy Data, Sept. 2025:  https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/current_month/september2025.pdf
  87. Inside Climate News: https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/inside-clean-energy/
  88. Excellent Paper on the Cost of Wind and Solar across the World, Oct. 5, 2025:  https://www.cis.org.au/publication/the-renewable-energy-honeymoon-starting-is-easy-the-rest-is-hard/

Five Reasons to Build New Coal Plants NOW! Coal Should Be Included as A Critical Fuel to Power America’s Future

We can call it a “Bridge Fuel” or just face the reality that it now takes over 100 Quadrillion BTUs of Primary Energy to Power America each year and that Primary Energy Demand will increase in the future. America is the Saudi Arabia of coal and we have the richest and highest quality coal on the planet. Also, an infrastructure to mine it and to transport it. This treasure should be utilized for the benefit of America and all of Humankind.

There are many reasons that new Base Load coal power plants should be under construction right now. In fact, they should have been under construction ten years ago!

Dick Storm’s Top Five Reasons to Build New coal Plants Now:

  • Electric Power Demand is Soaring and Coal has proven to be reliable and affordable
  • Coal power plants of sufficient Base Load Generation capacity could be built within ten years or less
  • Coal fuel cost is stable with less volatility than gas
  • America has more than sufficient coal reserves within our borders to fuel new coal power plants at a stable price
  • America’s Primary Energy Demand is likely to exceed 120 Quadrillion BTUs per year in the next decade. Coal will provide the additional productive capacity and it has been proven to do so by existing infrastructure

Choices of Primary Energy to Fuel the World

Global energy demand hit a record 592 exajoules (EJ) in 2024 — up 2%.



So, where did it come from?
 • Oil: 199 EJ (33.6%) – still the #1 source
 • Coal: 27.9% 
 • Gas: 25.2% 

Fossil Fuels are Still Important!
Together, oil, coal, and gas supplied 86.7% of global energy. Despite the MSM reports, these three fuels still provide the primary energy we need and depend on.

🔥 Keeping the lights on
🥘 Cooking our food
🚗 Driving us to work
❄️ Powering our fridges and hospitals
🏠 Keeping us warm

Powers the manufacturing that in-turn, powers the Economy
👨‍🌾 Keeping us alive 

Vaclav Smil shows that at least half of humanity is fed by nitrogen based fertilizers — made using natural gas via the Haber-Bosch process. That’s ~4 billion people who simply couldn’t survive without hydrocarbons. Add to that the energy needed for water, hospitals, heating, and transport, and the death toll from eliminating oil, coal, and gas overnight would not be in the millions — but in the billions.

Our much maligned Hydrocarbons don’t boast about this. They just work quietly to keep us alive. Each American uses right at 300 million BTUs each year. This is an average of just under 1 million BTU/day/person.

President Trump stated it correctly at the U.N. yesterday, “Climate Policies are a big Con Job” The only thing that the transition to solar and wind has done is to drive our electric bills through the roof and causing hardship and suffering amongst our most vulnerable. 

🔌 Let’s not forget the reality of the sources of PRIMARY Energy that powers the world

Electricity Generation

About a third of the primary energy is used to generate electricity and the other 2/3’s for Transportation, Industrial, Commercial and Residential use.

America uses and has used right at 100 Quadrillion BTUs of Primary Energy annually. The total of 100 Quads is bound to grow in the future owing to natural electricity demand growth of a growing population, electricfication of some transportation, through reshoring of U.S. manufacturing and AI Data Center new electricity Demand. Note from the chart below the relatively constant total Primary Energy use. It is within 5% of a constant 100 Quadrillion BTUs per year ever since about the year 2000. In my opinion, it is reasonable to expect the total primary energy demand to increase by at least 20% over the next 20 years.

Visual Capitalist has another excellent illustration of projected U.S. Electricity growth to 2050. Please keep in mind, electricity uses between 33 and 40% of available primary energy. Therefore, considering all factors, including energy security, volatility of natural gas prices, exported LNG and other facts, coal provides the readily available primary energy to generate electricity in the needed Bulk Power quantities.

Electricity is important and so is transportation, residential heating, cooking and Industrial production from viable manufacturing plants.

Conclusion

The best solution to the self inflicted electricity generation crisis is to immediately begin building new coal plants. Over 150 new coal plants were planned in 2007, then President Obama launched his all out “War on Coal” and he was successful in stopping most of them from being constructed and even worse, created policies that resulted in the shutting down and demolishing over half of the existing coal power generation capacity.

The Life-Blood of America is electricity. I presented my thoughts on this in July at the Coal Institute summer meeting. I stand behind those comments and recommendations.

Thankfully we now have President Trump and he understands the relationship of reliable, affordable electricity generation. His speech to the U.N. yesterday was spot on. May God Bless and protect President Trump and his outstanding Cabinet.

Yours very truly,

Dick Storm, September 23, 2025

References and for further research of the facts:

  1. EIA sources of Primary Energy 1950-2024: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65524
  2. Visual Capitalist on Primary Energy used in the World: https://www.voronoiapp.com/energy/What-Powered-the-World-in-2024–6217
  3. EIA U.S. Primary Energy use 1950-2024: https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/browser/index.php?tbl=T01.01#/?f=A&start=1949&end=2024&charted=4-6-7-14
  4. POWER Magazine June 2006 Cover Story, Coal Fired Plant Capacity Continues to Increase : https://www.powermag.com/cover-story-coal-fired-electric-power-capacity-continues-to-increase/
  5. Global Energy Monitor Proposed Coal Plants Planned in 2007: https://www.gem.wiki/Proposed_coal_plants_in_the_United_States
  6. Global Energy Monitor  https://www.gem.wiki/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_the_United_States
  7. GEMS, “What Happened to the 151 Coal Plants” updated by GEMS 2017: https://www.gem.wiki/What_happened_to_the_151_proposed_coal_plants%3F
  8. NETL Report on Status of New Coal Plants 2010: https://www.netl.doe.gov/projects/files/TrackingNewCoalFiredPowerPlants_010810.pdf
  9. Dick Storm presentation to the Coal Institute, July 2025: http://www.thecoalinstitute.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Dick%20Storm%20Presentation%20July%202025.pdf
  10. Thomas Shepstone on President Trump’s speech to the U.N: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/trump-says-it-out-loud-climate-alarmism?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  11. Thomas J. Shepstone version of Dick Storm article Feb, 2025. Time to Revoke the Endangerment Finding”  :  https://energysecurityfreedom.substack.com/p/its-way-past-time-to-revoke-the-pseudo
  12. Existing EPA-Endangerment Rules Impact South Carolina Electricity Costs and Will Cause Rationing if the EPA Endangerment Finding Isn’t Repealed  Feb. 28, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/02/28/existing-epa-rules-increase-costs-and-will-cause-rationing-of-electricity-in-south-carolina-if-endangerment-finding-is-not-repealed/
  13. The U.S. Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis was Created by GONGO the SWAMP Monster, March 19, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/19/the-u-s-self-inflicted-electricity-generation-crisis-was-created-by-gongo-the-swamp-monster-here-is-how-to-end-it/
  14. Coal Power, It is the End Result that Matters!:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/28/coal-power-it-is-the-end-result-that-counts/
  15. My Letter to Senator Davis on Coal Power in S.C. April 1, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/03/response-to-palmetto-electric-request-to-contact-our-s-c-senators/
  16. The Solution to America’s Electricity Generation Crisis: Build New Coal Plants Now! https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/18/the-solution-to-the-nations-coming-electricity-reliability-crisis-build-new-coal-plants/
  17. Clean Energy Crisis, May 2, 2025     https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/02/clean-energy-crisis-2/
  18. Thomas J. Shepstone, edited version of Clean Energy Crisis on Substack, May 3, 2025: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-clean-energy-crisis-and-why-it?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  19. Jason Hayes republishing of Why Electric rates in SC will Rise: https://open.substack.com/pub/jasonhayes/p/existing-epa-rules-increase-costs?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  20. Reality of Building 125 GW of New Coal Power Generation Capacity, Then and Now: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/07/the-reality-of-building-125-gw-of-new-coal-plant-generation-capacity-then-and-now/
  21. Repeal the IRA, Protect America’s Life-Blood of Energy and Electricity”:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/15/repeal-the-ira-protect-americas-lifeblood-of-energy-and-electricity-supply/
  22. Ron Stein and Dick Storm co authored article in America Out Loud, May 19, 2025: https://www.americaoutloud.news/intermittent-electricity-from-renewables-cannot-support-ai-and-data-centers/
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/05/27/internal-and-external-threats-to-the-u-s-electric-grid/
  23. The Reality of Returning Major Power Generation Equipment Manufacturing to the U.S. 
    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/06/01/the-reality-of-returning-major-power-generation-equipment-manufacturing-to-the-u-s/
  24. Present DangerChina.org  Threats to the Electric Grid, Frank Gaffney, Grant Newsom, Sam Faddis, Dave Walsh and Dick Storm: https://presentdangerchina.org/webinar-inside-our-wires-the-ccp-has-penetrated-our-electric-grid-will-xi-destroy-it/
  25. Conventional Energy Including Coal is the Life-Blood of America:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/06/18/conventional-energy-including-coal-is-the-life-blood-of-america/
  26. Thomas J. Shepstone published version of Dick Storm blog post on the “Madness of the Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis” https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/the-madness-of-the-us-self-inflicted?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  27. Energy is the Economy and Electricity is the Life-Blood of western civilization Coal Can Make America’s Electricity Supply Great Again  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/07/30/energy-is-the-economy-electricity-is-the-life-blood-of-western-civilization-coal-can-make-americas-electricity-supply-great-again/
  28. Thomas J. Shepstone on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/electricity-is-the-life-blood-of?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  29. SWAMP People and Organizations Against Making America Great, Foreign and Domestic https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/08/07/swamp-people-and-organizations-against-making-america-great-foreign-domestic/
  30. Published by Thomas J. Shepstone on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/fighting-the-swamp-and-our-enemies?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  31. Some Red States Still Embrace the Green New deal, Including the Usually Conservative State of S.C. Sept. 8, 2025:    https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/09/08/some-red-states-still-embrace-the-green-new-deal-including-usually-conservative-south-carolina/
  32. Energy and Economic Prosperity, Jan. 11, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/03/energy-and-economic-prosperity/
  33. Energy and World Peace, April, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/04/05/energy-world-peace/
  34. Comparison of China and U.S. Energy Policies: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/01/18/comparison-of-china-energy-electricity-generation-with-u-s-a/
  35. Energy and Economic Prosperity Nov.  2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/11/18/energy-and-economic-prosperity-2/
  36. Without New Thinking on Nuclear Power, Anti-Carbon Policy Can’t Succeed, Nov. 11, 2021 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/11/13/without-new-thinking-on-nuclear-power-anti-carbon-climate-policy-cant-succeed/
  37. The Rise and Fall and Rise Again  of Nations and the  Realities of Energy: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/08/15/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-nations-and-the-realities-of-energy/
  38. America Needs 100 Quadrillion BTUs of Primary Energy Each Year, May 16, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/16/back-to-basics-the-u-s-needs-100-quadrillion-btus-year-of-primary-energy/  
  39. Pillars of Modern Civilization, Ammonia, Food, Steel, Concrete, Plastics, Aluminum, July 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/25/pillars-of-modern-civilization-all-dependent-on-energy/
  40. How Can a 6,000 MW Utility that will be a 9,000MW Utility in 2050, become Net-Zero Carbon? April 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/04/27/how-can-a-6000-mw-regional-utility-in-2030-which-likely-will-be-a-9000-mw-utility-in-2050-achieve-net-zero-carbon/
  41. Energy=Life as We Enjoy it, Aug. 22, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/08/22/energy-life-that-is-life-as-we-enjoy-it/
  42. “The War on Carbon, How it Came to Be”, Oct. 16, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/16/the-war-on-carbon-how-it-came-to-be/
  43. 830,000 BTUs per Day/Person, Sept. 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/09/16/830000-btus-per-day-person/
  44.   The Stupidity of Net-Zero Carbon, Oct. 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/13/the-stupidity-of-net-zero-carbon/
  45. America’s Treasure of Fossil Fuels, Update of 2011 presentation to ASME: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/11/26/americas-treasure-of-fossil-fuels/
  46.  American Dream = 100 Quadrillion BTUs per Year April 7, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/04/american-dream-100-quadrillion-btus/
  47.   Providing a Sustainable Million BTUs per Day/Person, May 17,  2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/05/17/providing-a-sustainable-million-btus-per-day-per-person-by-fuel-source/
     

CLEAN ENERGY CRISIS

Title of the prescient 2023 book by the late Mr. Donn Dears.

Mr. Dears wrote many books and several are listed in the references below. His last book, “Clean Energy Crisis” was written before the announcement of many Data Centers were to be built and would drastically increase the rate of electricity usage. Mr. Dears wrote much on the flaws and fiction of Net-Zero Carbon and dependence on electricity by carbon-free forms of power. In fact, his statements written in 2023 regarding “What would it take to replace Fossil Fuels” are listed below: Remember, this is before the advent of AI Data Centers.

Here is what Donn Dears calculated in power generation by 2050 from the combination of Wind, PV Solar, and Nuclear:

  • 995,141 Wind turbines of 2.5 MW each
  • 3,918,996 MW of PV Solar
  • 881 new Nuclear Units like Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle Units 3 & 4

In summary of this, Mr. Dears writes: ” It is not possible to generate all the electricity needed for electrification of the economy (including the replacement of ICE vehicles and BEV’s, and the replacement of natural gas for heating with electric heat pumps) by relying on wind, PV Solar, or nuclear power, whether alone or in combination”

Thank you Donn Dears, we miss your great engineering talent and visionary work. RIP my friend, your numerous published books, blog and voluminous published technical articles warned us. It is my hope that the state and Federal Bureaucrats who create laws and regulations, will read your books and all available publications.

The Importance of Coal Power

Previous articles by me and others have highlighted the importance of coal power. Especially during peak Demand in the winter. As this is written, it is May and the period between March and May, in the U.S.A. lower 48 has always been a period of low demand, due to the mild weather not requiring much heating or cooling. The crisis periods are peak summer, July-August and winter December-February. Coal has unique and proven benefits for power generation. Such as long term on-site storage.

Here are a dozen articles that cover the importance of coal power for electricity reliability, affordability, Dispatchability and National security.

  1. Facing the Hard Truths of Energy, Part 2, The Reality of Replacing Conventional Forms of Energy, Jan. 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/02/06/facing-the-hard-truths-of-energy-part-2-some-facts-on-the-reality-of-replacing-conventional-forms-of-energy/
  2.  Facing the Hard Truths of Energy, Part 3, The Transition that Isn’t, from the perspective of Minerals, Feb. 8, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/02/08/facing-the-hard-truths-of-energy-part-3-the-transition-that-isnt-from-the-perspective-of-minerals/
  3. Facing the Hard Truths of Energy, Part 4, The True Agenda for Climate Policies, Feb. 13, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/02/13/facing-the-hard-truths-of-energy-electricity-generation-and-environmental-protection-part-4-what-is-the-true-agenda-for-climate-policies/
  4. Energy Matters! March 2024 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/11/energy-matters/
  5. Update on Hawaii’s “Green New Deal” Hawaii was one of the first states to recklessly shut down their one, lowest cost electricity producing coal plant. Check the results a few years later when there is no GRID to import coal power from other states as California does. March 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/20/hawaii-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal-aka-inflation-reduction-act-here-is-an-update/
  6. The Rise and Fall of Nations from the perspective of nuclear power systems manufacturing: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/08/15/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-nations-and-the-realities-of-energy/
  7. Thomas J. Shepstone posting on Substack of,  “Energy Matters If You Value the Life You Now Have and Don’t Want to Live Under Socialism https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/energy-matters-if-you-value-the-life?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email  
  8. Threats to the Electric Grid, March 15, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/15/threats-to-the-grid-electricity-reliability/
  9. The U.S. Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis was Created by GONGO the SWAMP Monster, March 19, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/19/the-u-s-self-inflicted-electricity-generation-crisis-was-created-by-gongo-the-swamp-monster-here-is-how-to-end-it/
  10. Coal Power, It is the End Result that Matters! That is if you want reliability and reasonable cost power:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/28/coal-power-it-is-the-end-result-that-counts/
  11. My Letter to Senator Davis on Coal Power in S.C. April 1, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/03/response-to-palmetto-electric-request-to-contact-our-s-c-senators/
  12. “The Value of Coal”, by Fred Palmer and Frank Clemente, “Coal Zoom” March 2025: https://www.coalzoom.com/article.cfm?articleid=39111
  13. The Solution to America’s Electricity Generation Crisis: Build New Coal Plants Now! https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/04/18/the-solution-to-the-nations-coming-electricity-reliability-crisis-build-new-coal-plants/

Conclusions

Generation of the power required for our country to remain the #1 world economy and to sustain our high quality of life will require much more electricity generation capacity. The EIA, NEMA and IEA forecast that electricity demand by 2050 will increase by 50%. (In my opinion plus the opinions of Stephen Heins, Chris Wright, Thomas Shepstone and others… this is conservative considering AI Data centers and plans to reshore manufacturing)

Satisfying this Demand increase will need to come from conventional forms of proven Primary Energy. Those proven forms of primary energy for electricity generation are natural gas, nuclear, coal and hydro-electric.

A 50% increase in capacity will be about 600 GW of generation capacity from the current 1, 200 GW of installed capacity. The 50% increase is also reported by NEMA report. So what sources of power can supply this enormous amount of growth of electricity generation Demand?

Let’s be realistic. For reliable, Dispatchable power, 24/7 that generation must come from coal, gas or nuclear. Here is my take on this. For gas power production G-E has reported record sales and the shops are full till about 2030. They hope to produce about 54 GW of power production by 2030. Let’s say with facilities modernization and expansion by 2050 they can produce say 300 GW more. That gets us to about 350 GW by 2050. Yes, I know there are also other Gas Turbine manufacturers such as Mitsubishi and Siemens. But….in my view we are already too dependent on “Just in Time” pipeline supplied gas. America is now about 45% dependent on natural gas for electricity generation.

Nuclear is well proven and has provided about 20% of our electricity for decades. However, expansion takes time and the Supply-Chain needs to be rebuilt. Back to Donn Dears forecast of 881 new nuclear plants by 2050. We must remember it took Georgia Power about ten years to build the 2200 MW expansion at Plant Vogtle. So, nuclear should be included in the portfolio of new generation. However, the entire U.S. Fleet of about 94 operating nuclear units took about 30 years to design and construct. 1957-1987. The current operating nuclear plants represent 97 GW.

I know this is rough, back of the envelope estimating, but so are all forecasts.

So, if gas plants can provide say 350 GW of new capacity and new nuclear units another 200 GW (I may be optimistic on doubling existing fleet capacity, considering the age of existing plants and the fact that some will be retired by 2050). Where do we get the remaining 50+ GW of required electricity generation capacity? I predict much more than 50 GW of new coal or other Dispatchable power will be required before 2050 and we must absolutely consider the retirements of existing coal plants. According to the Washington Times article, over 117 coal plants are scheduled to be shut down by 2030.

My suggestion is build at least 125 GW of new coal plants. This is about the same capacity as has been shut down and demolished since Obama was President. It will not be easy to do so.

A large coal plant can be imploded with explosives in about ten seconds and reduced to a pile of rubble as Green supporters cheer. However, to build a magnificent, Dispatchable, Reliable, and Affordable 600 MW coal plant will take about five years after the permitting is completed.

My next article will be on the challenges of building 125 GW of new coal plants.

Dick Storm, May 2, 2025

References and for Further Research using respected and factual sources

  1. EIA Forecast of electricity growth 2020-2050 (Also see reference #195 by NEMA): https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/consumption/sub-topic-03.php
  2. EIA Current Installed Electricity Generation Capacity by Nameplate as of 2023, 1,189,492 MW: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us-generation-capacity-and-sales.php
  3. EIA Operating Nuclear Plants as of April 2025, 97GW: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65104
  4. Donn Dears book, “Clean Energy Crisis” available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRH737HM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=101IJSF3ORQFO&keywords=books+donn+dougherty+dears&qid=1672668053&sprefix=books+donn+dougherty+dears,aps,85&sr=8-1
  5. NERC Long Term Reliability study: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_LTRA_2021.pdf
  6. POWER Magazine, May 2025, “World Nuclear Power Projected to Rise by 100 GW by 2035” : https://www.powermag.com/group-projects-100-gw-rise-in-global-nuclear-power-capacity-across-next-decade/?utm_source=omeda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pwrnucleardirect+eletter&oly_enc_id=3214I3524889A9B
  7. Self Sabotage the Electric Grid: WSJ January 2023:  https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-self-sabotages-its-electrical-grid-renewable-fossil-fuel-power-11672685320
  8. The Christmas Grid Emergency: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-christmas-electric-grid-emergency-11672091317?mod=article_inline
  9. World Nuclear News, France to Build more Nuclear Plants: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/French-Senate-adopts-bill-on-accelerating-nuclear
  10. Capital Research Center on Al Gore’s 30 years of wrong predictions: https://capitalresearch.org/article/al-gores-30-years-of-climate-errors-part-1/
  11. James Brooks, RBAC on bringing improved living conditions to Billions: https://rbac.com/rbacs-role-in-bringing-energy-to-a-billion-people/
  12. Cyrus Brooks Video on Renewables, Outstanding communication in 2 minutes: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cyrus-brooks-03274713_energy-power-energybills-ugcPost-7040102595239055360-BoVt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop 
  13. The Real Price of Wind and Solar: https://www.wsj.com/articles/renewable-energy-balancing-costs-united-kingdom-energy-bills-9795e48d?mod=opinion_lead_pos4
  14. The Critic: “The End of Civilization, 2035” : https://thecritic.co.uk/2035-the-end-of-civilisation/
  15. New York Post, Get Ready for Lights out and Heat off in 2040: https://nypost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/nypost.com/2023/02/09/get-ready-for-the-lights-and-heat-to-go-out/amp/
  16. The Critic: Energy Planning in the UK, a Horror Story: https://thecritic.co.uk/british-energy-planning-a-horror-story/
  17. Cowboy State Daily, March 2023: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/03/10/letter-to-the-editor-children-should-be-taught-what-energy-is-so-they-can-fight-idiocy/
  18.  S & P Global China Coal Plans, April 20, 2022: https://cleanenergynews.ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/china-seeks-to-perform-balancing-act-with-latest-national-ener.html
  19. NREL Solar cost Info: https://www.nrel.gov/solar/market-research-analysis/solar-installed-system-cost.html
  20. LLNL TOTAL PRIMARY ENERGY FLOW CHART 2021: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov
  21. EIA Total Energy Sources, 2021 including Pie Chart & Fuels 1950-2021: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/
  22. St. Louis Fed (FRED) Energy & Economy: https://www.stlouisfed.org/search#siteresults_e=0&siteresults_q=%20Energy%20&siteresults_o=%2CRelevance
  23. Washington Examiner Feb, 2, 2023. Anti-Police and Environmental Extremists have similar Goals, destroy the American System: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/anti-police-and-environmentalist-activists-share-the-same-goal-the-destruction-of-the-american-system
  24. Ken Wilson, P. Eng. Canada, IPCC vs. Facts, CO2 Coalition Feb.. 2023:  https://co2coalition.org/publications/ipcc-vs-the-facts-the-case-for-climate-realism/
  25. CO2 Coalition, Publications, All Excellent: https://co2coalition.org/publication_category/member-publications/
  26. GWPF UK Study, Where are the Engineers” By Professor Michael Kelly : https://www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2020/05/KellyDecarb-1.pdf
  27. GWPF NZ Professor, Michael Kelly: http://www.bryanleyland.co.nz/power-industry-stuff.html
  28.  Samuel Furfari,  “Hydrogen, an old Idea and still Windy”: https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/features/hydrogen-a-century-old-idea-and-still-windy/
  29. New England Electricity Sources during cold February week: https://blackmon.substack.com/p/saturdays-energy-absurdity-meredith/comments
  30. U.S. Dept of Energy Plan to Net Zero on NPR Feb. 4, 2023:  https://www.npr.org/2023/02/02/1148370220/biden-renewable-energy-goals
  31. Paul Harvey, “If I Were the Devil” A old story, prescient today to watch and listen to this wise man’s comments from 1964 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9NoQHgjM_0
  32. A newspaper article updating the fact that we did not listen, on Paul Harvey’s classic radio talk, “If I were the Devil”: https://www.joplinglobe.com/opinion/geoff-caldwell-paul-harvey-warned-and-we-didnt-listen/article_0f5c948e-c180-11ec-941d-8becd457c17d.html
  33. Canary Media Electrify Everything, Feb. 6, 2023:  https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/electrification/home-of-the-future-climate-friendly-electrified-and-closer-than-ever?utm_campaign=canary&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=244754760&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–6rlMJjZBNphFujAKeUSOclhM7MDo3MAq3t8u3MAn-Hv5pscN1RZ8R1qq_RNf10dSqng0r9Wbyq214_bxo0U_i_LgE4Bn5CS-Zttgn5ClFXBvgoBU&utm_source=newsletter
  34. Judith Curry Blog, 2016, “Balancing the Grid” : https://judithcurry.com/2016/09/12/balance-and-the-grid/
  35. American Coalition of Clean Coal Energy, 2016 Report on Economics: http://www.americaspower.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Family-Energy-Costs-2016.pdf
  36. WUWT on Use of Academic Studies, Feb 7, 2023, Includes good links to Planning Engineer and Economic consequences of unreliable power: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/01/12/academics-and-the-grid-part-i-i-dont-think-that-study-means-what-you-think-it-means/
  37. USGS List of Critical Materials/Metals: https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/us-geological-survey-releases-2022-list-critical-minerals
  38. Paul Driessen list of Billionaire Climate Activists: https://climatechangedispatch.com/billionaire-climate-elites-have-their-own-rules-and-agenda/
  39. IEA 2021 Energy Report, Exec. Summary: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021/executive-summary
  40. BP Statistical Review 2021 (released (July 2022): https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2022-full-report.pdfenergy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2022-full-report.pdf
  41.  Germany’s Nuclear Power Implosion July 2022:  https://www.wsj.com/articles/germanys-nuclear-implosion-bundestag-robert-habeck-energy-europe-russia-11657572926?st=i8v3nn5fczebec0&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
  42. World Nuclear Assoc.  U.S. Uranium Mining in U.S Profile, Nov. 2021: https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-t-z/us-uranium-mining.aspx
  43. Inside Sources, Creating our Own Energy Crisis, NMA: https://insidesources.com/creating-our-own-electricity-crisis/
  44. NMA Statement, DOE Action on Uranium Reserve to bring Uranium Mining back to U.S. A Good First Step: https://nma.org/2022/07/01/doe-action-on-uranium-reserve-is-an-important-first-step/
  45. Framatome You Tube video of steam generator replacement: https://youtu.be/RqGFI76yj9E
  46. Framatome Manufacturing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9WfWIKkXsc
  47. Bjorn Lomborg Science Direct, Jan. 20233, We should adapt not adopt drastic changes to the way we live. Excellent fact and science based common sense: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162520304157
  48. Influence watch, Sierra Club: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/sierra-club/
  49. Robert Stilson Page at Capital Research on Biden Cabinet Members: The Biden Administration connections. Hope you might find it helpful: https://www.influencewatch.org/hub/biden-administration/
  50. Bloomberg Beyond Carbon: https://www.beyondcarbon.org
  51. Sierra Club, Beyond Coal website: https://coal.sierraclub.org
  52. Sierra Club Success stories: https://coal.sierraclub.org/the-campaign/success-stories
  53.  WSJ Article on Sri Lanka “Green Revolution” July 14, 2022: https://www.wsj.com/articles/sri-lankas-green-new-deal-was-a-human-disaster-gotabaya-rajapaksa-borlaug-synthetic-fertilizers-hunger-organic-agriculture-11657832186?mod=MorningEditorialReport&mod=djemMER_h
  54. Woke Anedote, Ron Clutz:   https://rclutz.com/2022/07/12/woke-antidote/
  55. EIA Energy Fact Sheet, 2022: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/
  56. VOX, “Electrify Everything” August 2020: https://www.vox.com/podcasts/2020/8/27/21403184/saul-griffith-ezra-klein-show-solve-climate-change-green-new-deal-rewiring-america
  57. World Nuclear Assoc. Small Modular Reactors: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/small-nuclear-power-reactors.aspx
  58. POWER Mag, Article on HELE Plants 2018: https://www.powermag.com/could-high-efficiency-low-emissions-hele-technology-revive-u-s-coal-power/
  59. World Coal Assoc. : https://www.worldcoal.org/clean-coal-technologies/clean-coal-2/
  60. Climate Fact Check from Junk Science, March 7, 2023: https://junkscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Climate-Fact-Check_February-2023-Edition_v2.pdf
  61. Dr. Faith Birol, IEA World Energy Crisis May Get Worse, Bloomberg, July 11, 2022: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/worst-of-global-energy-crisis-may-be-ahead-iea-s-birol-warns
  62. Reuters, IEA Head Warns of Energy Crisis Ahead, July 11, 2022: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iea-warns-against-energy-crisis-deepening-fossil-fuel-reliance-2022-05-23/
  63.  World Economic Forum States that Gas Prices must go higher: https://climatechangedispatch.com/world-economic-forum-save-democracy-gas-prices-go-higher/
  64. The Energy Crisis will Worsen, Daniel Yergin, July 11, 2022: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/energy-crisis-will-deepen-no-supply-by-daniel-yergin-2022-07
  65. Short Link to No Energy=No Power July 13, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/13/no-energyno-power-extremists-want-more-than-clean-air/
  66. Australia Energy Crisis July 1, 2022: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-warning-from-australias-power-crisis-green-energy-anthony-albanese-11655659465?mod=Searchresults_pos5&page=1
  67. Judith Curry July 15, 2022: https://judithcurry.com/2022/07/16/week-in-review-climate-edition-4/
  68. CFACT, Where wind is used, prices soar excellent essay on the true cost of wind power, March 2023: https://www.cfact.org/2023/03/07/electricity-prices-are-soaring-in-heavy-wind-energy-states/?mc_cid=993d261e3e&mc_eid=2f8550900e
  69. Feasibility of Achieving Net-Zero Carbon by 2050, by Professor Michael Kelly: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/03/04/feasibility-for-achieving-a-net-zero-economy-for-the-u-s-by-2050/
  70. Wind Power Report by IRENA : https://www.irena.org/Energy-Transition/Technology/Wind-energy
  71. Judith Curry Website on Cost of wind power:  https://judithcurry.com/2015/05/12/true-costs-of-wind-electricity/
  72. The Conversation on Why are Household Electricity Prices Going Up If Wind is so Cheap?: https://theconversation.com/renewables-are-cheaper-than-ever-so-why-are-household-energy-bills-only-going-up-174795
  73. Boston Energy Costs High, Feb. 2023: https://www.bostonsolar.us/solar-blog-resource-center/blog/why-are-energy-costs-so-high-this-winter/
  74. Electricity Prices U.S. by EIA, Feb. 2023: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/tables/pdf/7ctab.pdf
  75. Climate Policies will Cost Germany 960 + Billion and still will not make much difference…..:https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/03/08/claim-climate-change-will-cost-germany-960-billion-by-2050/
  76. 41 Realities on Energy, By Mark Mills: 
    https://fee-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/fee.org/articles/41-inconvenient-truths-on-the-new-energy-economy/amp
      
  77. WSJ EV Sales Jolt, Jan 2023:  https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-ev-sales-jolted-higher-in-2022-as-newcomers-target-tesla-11672981834
  78. WSJ Coal Provides the Fuel Needed for Germany to Keep the Lights on in 2022: https://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-coal-energy-electricity-renewables-4700b442?mod=opinion_lead_pos2
  79. Visual Capitalist Coal in Asia, March 2023: https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/asias-biggest-sources-of-electricity-by-country/
  80. Daily Caller. Biden’s EPA Rule to Kill Off Coal Plants, March 8, 2023: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/08/biden-epa-new-regs/&source=gmail&ust=1678615516765000&usg=AOvVaw0di3ndkkR73iVUOKpvIzfh
  81. Vaclav Smil book, “How the World Really Works” available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-World-Really-Works-Science/dp/B09FC3D9ZQ/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=635981343309&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9010739&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=16468172001605479783&hvtargid=kwd-1662165196696&hyd
  82. Europe’s Industry Crippled by high Energy Costs NYT, Sept. 2022: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/19/business/europe-energy-crisis-factories.html
  83. Power Engineering article on Hydrogen Hub: https://www.power-eng.com/policy-regulation/doe-encourages-33-groups-to-submit-regional-clean-hydrogen-hub-applications/
  84. Is Green Energy China’s Trojan Horse? Western Standard by Joseph FOURNIER, OCT. 2022: https://www.westernstandard.news/opinion/is-green-energy-the-chinese-communist-partys-trojan-horse/article_6bbc2b04-50a5-11ed-bdc4-9b18b8d01f80.html
  85. China to build 106 GW of new coal plants March 2023: https://chinadialogue.net/en/energy/two-sessions-chinese-provinces-push-coal-and-clean-energy/
  86. WUWT Post, ”Gas Generated Electricity is less expensive than Wind”: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/03/03/gas-power-is-cheaper-than-wind-despite-carbon-briefs-claims/
  87. Dr. Judith curry, Climate Uncertainty review by WUWT: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/03/03/judith-curry-part-1-presentation-about-her-new-book-tom-nelson-podcast-77/
  88. WSJ LNG Paths from Texas to France: https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-fracked-gas-ukraine-invasion-europe-import-9e5cc725?mod=hp_lead_pos7
  89. Alex Epstein, Talking Points on the Importance of Energy for Human Flourishing: https://alexepstein.substack.com/p/some-of-my-favorite-talking-points?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  90. WUWT Energy and Military Strength, March 3, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/03/03/russias-biggest-weapon-and-chinas-too-is-fossil-fuel-energy/
  91. Capital Research Center: Ken Braun’s latest at Real Clear Energy: https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2023/05/16/facebooks_esg_agenda_went_down_to_georgia_and_trashed_a_trophy_fishing_lake_899609.html
  92. Capital Research info on Sierra Club: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/sierra-club/
  93. Capital Research background and funding estimate for Planned Parenthood, which is allied with the Sierra Club and has much influence on voters: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/planned-parenthood-federation-of-america/
  94. Finland GTK Time to Wake up Slide Presentation: https://www.gtk.fi/en/research/time-to-wake-up/
  95. Heartland Institute 2015 Summary of Obama Carbon Rules: https://heartland.org/opinion/senate-exposes-epa-green-group-secret-collusion-on-carbon-rules/
  96. CNBC Interview with Liberty Energy CEO, Chris Wright: https://lnkd.in/gyeD9Jdf  
  97. China buying Russian oil, gas and coal, Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/asian-buyers-russian-oil-gas-coal-2022-02-22/
  98. China-Russian Energy Deal, February 2022: https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russia-china-may-sign-energy-other-deals-amid-moscow-tension-with-west-2022-02-03/
  99. Russia overtakes Saudi Arabia as World’s largest oil supplier, June 20, 2022 Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-20/china-buys-7-5-billion-of-russian-energy-with-oil-at-record
  100. Korea Times, China depends on Sanctioned Russian Fuel, June 20, 2022: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/world/2022/06/501_331352.html
  101. Utility Dive, Capacity Auction Prices, June 25,2022: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-capacity-auction-nuclear-solar-coal-prices/625861/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-06-22%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:42604%5D&utm_term=Utility%20Dive
  102. Detroit News, Consumers Energy to End Coal Use in 2025: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2022/06/23/michigan-panel-approves-consumers-energy-plan-end-coal-use-2025/7716918001/
  103. Alliant and WEC Change Plans to Retire Coal to Meet Demand, June 22, 2022: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/wisconsin-utilities-coal-retirement-miso-delay/626005/
  104. WSJ Report on Ameren Keeping Rush Island Operating to Satisfy Demand June 10, 2022:https://www.wsj.com/articles/old-coal-plant-neared-retirement-but-now-its-needed-to-keep-the-lights-on-11654858801?mod=djem_EnergyJournal
  105. WSJ May 8, 2022, Power Plants Struggling With Electricity Shortages to Keep Power on: https://www.wsj.com/articles/electricity-shortage-warnings-grow-across-u-s-11652002380?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_2&cx_artPos=0&mod=WTRN#cxrecs_s 
  106. WSJ June 18, 2022, West Risks Blackouts From Drought and loss of Hydroelectric Capacity: https://www.wsj.com/articles/west-risks-blackouts-as-hydroelectric-power-dries-up-11624008601?mod=article_inline 
  107. WSJ, Opinion, May 27, 2022, Jason Hayes, “Why Blackouts are Coming to Michigan” Regarding shutdown of Palisades Nuclear Generating Plant: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-electricity-blackouts-are-coming-to-michigan-nuclear-power-plant-green-energy-renewable-climate-11653685521?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_2&cx_artPos=5&mod=WTRN#cxrecs_s
  108. NERC Warning of Blackout Risk: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/north-american-electric-reliability-corp-warns-of-increased-risk-of-grid-blackouts-this-summer/
  109. The Guradian (UK) China’s Premier Calls For More Coal Plants, June 24, 2022: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/24/chinese-premier-calls-for-more-coal-production-as-electricity-demand-soars 
  110. Global Food Supply at Risk Due to High Energy Prices, The Guardian, June 25, 2022: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/25/our-global-food-supply-is-at-risk-when-high-gas-prices-limit-the-creation-of-fertiliser
  111. US and World Coal Reserves Map: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Coal-reserves-volumes-by-countries-of-the-world-3_fig1_328037099
  112. EIA 2nd reference on World Coal Reserves, EIA 2011: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=2930
  113. American Geosciences institute, World Coal Reserves: https://www.americangeosciences.org/critical-issues/maps/interactive-map-coal-resources-united-states
  114. EIA Total Energy Use 1950-2020: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=43515
  115. NZ/UK Professor Michel Kelly & Bryan Leyland Web page:  http://www.bryanleyland.co.nz/power-industry-stuff.html
  116. Professor Michael Kelly web page:   https://www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2020/05/KellyDecarb-1.pdf
  117. WUWT Electricity Prices Rising Due to Wind & Solar Installations, Feb. 22, 2023:https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/02/20/wind-solar-and-household-electricity-prices/
  118. Climate Depot website for renewables production costs: https://www.climatedepot.com/2018/01/25/who-would-have-thought-nations-with-more-renewables-have-more-expensive-electricity/
  119. Vogtle Nuclear Plant Update, also info on SCE&G Summer 2&3, Feb. 20, 2023:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/02/21/still-more-vogtle-nuclear-delays-how-will-it-end/ 
  120. Union of Concerned Scientists Clarification on Nuclear Power, 2018: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/11/23/ucs-clarifies-stance-on-nuclear-power/
  121. “Renewables are cheaper than 99% of coal plants” Utility Dive, Feb. 9, 2023: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/renewables-cheaper-energy-than-99-percent-of-us-coal-plants-just-energy-transition/642393/
  122. Capital Research Center information on Wild Earth Guardians: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/wildearth-guardians/
  123. Joe Goffman Atty in EPA Revolving Door of well funded non-Profits and EPA: http://www.scientificintegrityinstitute.org/USSEWP080415.pdf
  124. Shelly Moore Capito Opinion in WVA “Intelligencer” Newspaper, July 2022: https://www.theintelligencer.net/opinion/local-columns/2022/07/joe-goffman-the-wrong-choice-to-help-lead-epa/  
  125. March 2022 Letter from Congressmen to Janet Yellen complaining of Russia Influence of Funds to NGO’s: https://www.scribd.com/document/564227085/RSC-Letter-to-Treasury-on-Russia#
  126. Gina McCarthy employee wage record on NRDC-Action Fund 990 https://www.nrdcactionfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/nrdc-actionfund-990-2020.pdf  Biden Administration people. Robert Stilson Blog is:  https://www.influencewatch.org/hub/biden-administration/
  127. Washington Post, Earth First Eco Terrorist Group with leader (Tracy Stone-Manning) now part of Biden Administration, BLM Dept: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/07/14/did-bidens-pick-lead-bureau-land-management-support-eco-terrorism/
  128. Paris Based Liberty Group on Russia Funding of Anti-EU or U.S. Domestic Energy: https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/freedoms-at-risk-the-challenge-of-the-century/
  129. Business Insider, Links of Russian Funds to NRDC Funding to fight Fracking: https://www.businessinsider.com/a-russian-linked-company-in-bermuda-is-funneling-millions-to-us-anti-fracking-groups-2015-1
  130. Russia Dark Money to EU and U.S. Environmental Groups to fight Hydraulic Fracturing: https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/596304-investigate-russias-covert-funding-of-us-anti-fossil-fuel-groups/  
  131. Washington Examiner, 2011, Russia Funds Invested in Anti-Fracking: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/russian-funded-environmental-group-gave-millions-to-anti-fracking-groups
  132. Gatestone Institute on Russia Funding Environmental NGO’s: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18330/russia-funding-environmental-groups
  133. Big Green Radicals, 2014  : https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/epa-report.pdf
  134. John Kerry, Far Left Support, Fox News Aug 2022: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-kerrys-climate-office-rife-ties-far-left-green-groups
  135. CRC, This profile deals with the Department of the Interior: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-department-of-the-interior/
  136.  the Department of Energy: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-department-of-energy/
  137. The EPA: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-independent-agencies/#environmental-protection-agency
  138.  the WH Council on Environmental Quality: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-executive-office-of-the-president/#council-on-environmental-quality
  139.  the WH Office of Domestic Climate Policy: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-executive-office-of-the-president/#office-of-domestic-climate-policy
  140.  The Office of Science and Technology Policy: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-executive-office-of-the-president/#office-of-science-and-technology-policy
  141. section on environmental group connections in this blog post from June 2021: https://capitalresearch.org/article/nonprofits-in-the-biden-administration-special-interest-and-advocacy-groups/
  142. EPA Retains Tools to Harm Coal Power Production, Utility Dive, July 1, 2022: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/supreme-court-epa-GHG-carbon-power-plant/626456/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-07-01%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:42837%5D&utm_term=Utility%20Dive
  143. EPA New Source Review  Settlements Summaries: https://www.gem.wiki/EPA_Coal_Plant_Settlements
  144. EPA Settlements on NSR violations by WEPCO 2003: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/wisconsin-electric-power-company-wepco-clean-air-act-civil-settlement 
  145. Dissertation on the Sierra Club Success of Beyond Coal Campaign 2020: https://www.proquest.com/openview/b734be1b4fa402463fbb2ee03a7993e5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
  146. Inside the War on Coal Politico, The Agenda 2015: https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/05/inside-war-on-coal-000002/
  147.  NRDC China Office: https://chinadevelopmentbrief.org/ngos/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/ 
  148.  Government Accountability Office Report on Environmental Protection Agency–Application of Publicity or Propaganda and Anti-Lobbying Provisions
  149. EPA Lobbying, 2015: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-326944 
  150.  NRDC About us and link to IRS 990 Form: https://www.nrdcactionfund.org/about/
  151. Influence Watch, NRDC page: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/
  152. Washington Examiner: Gina McCarthy CEO of NRDC: https://eelegal.org/washington-examiner-gina-mccarthy-and-nrdc-together-again/
  153. Wrong Kind of Green, NRDC and Source Watch: https://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/the-group-of-ten/natural-resources-defense-council/
  154. Bezos awards $100 million to NRDC : https://www.nrdc.org/media/2020/201116
  155. Bezos plans to give Billions to Environmental Org’s: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/20/jeff-bezos-pledges-1-billion-to-conservation-through-bezos-earth-fund.html
  156. Activist Facts,  Environmental Report (Follow the Money): https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/19-natural-resources-defense-council/
  157. Washington Examiner 2013 EPA and Sue and Settle Lawsuits: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/epas-back-room-sue-and-settle-deals-require-reform
  158. Activist Facts, Sierra Club, Beyond Coal, Beyond Gas, Nuclear :https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/194-sierra-club/
  159. Mother Jones 2012, Sierra Club “War on Coal” update to kill 167 coal plants: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/04/map-american-coal-plants/
  160. Source Watch Brags on NRDC being responsible for forcing shutting down of Seven major coal plants in Texas in 2007: https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Natural_Resources_Defense_Council#Support_for_coal_gasification
  161. Environmental Defense Fund: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Defense_Fund
  162. Influence Watch profile of EDF: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/environmental-defense-action-fund/
  163. Paul Driessen Federalist Papers on Global Warming News: https://thefederalist.com/category/science/global-warming/
  164. Michael Bloomberg Awards 174 million to Sierra Club Beyond Coal Program: https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2020/09/bloomberg-philanthropies-and-sierra-clubs-beyond-coal-campaign-reaches
  165.  Tom Steyer Starts Fund of 100 million to fight Climate Change, Philanthropy News Digest: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/hedge-fund-billionaire-to-step-up-climate-change-advocacy-efforts
  166. Capital Research Information on Natural Resources Defense Council: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/
  167. Capital Research information on the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (this one certainly needs an update): https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/blue-ridge-environmental-defense-league/
  168. Capital Research background, funding and information on the Southern Environmental Law Center, Opposition to coal, offshore drilling and more: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/southern-environmental-law-center/ 
  169.  Andy May, Petro-Physicist Energy use 2020-2021: https://andymaypetrophysicist.com/2023/01/05/energy-use-2020-to-2021/
  170. World’s Climate Scientists Told to Cover Up the Fact the world has not warmed in 15 years, Daily Mail, UK: https://www-dailymail-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2425775/amp/Climate-scientists-told-cover-fact-Earths-temperature-risen-15-years.html
  171. CLINTEL website: https://clintel.org
  172. Retired NASA Engineers web site: The Right Climate Stuff : https://www.therightclimatestuff.com 
  173. CO2 Coalition. Excellent, science based information on CO2 and Climate: https://co2coalition.org 
  174. Climate Science by Dr. Ole Humlum of Norway: https://climate4you.com/
  175. Dr. Timothy Ball Paper on the Deliberate Corruption of Science, 2014: https://www.alachuacounty.us/Depts/epd/EPAC/BOOK%20REVIEW%20-%20‘THE%20DELIBERATE%20CORRUPTION%20OF%20CLIMATE%20SCIENCE%20by%20TIM%20BALL.pdf
  176. Tim Ball, CO2 is not a pollutant 2018: https://www.technocracy.news/tim-ball-the-evidence-proves-that-co2-is-not-a-greenhouse-gas/
  177. Dr. Roy Spencer Website on Atmospheric Science https://www.drroyspencer.com/
  178. Review of Dr. Judith Curry’s new book: “Climate Uncertainty and Risk, Rethinking Our Response” available June 6th, 2023: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/05/27/book-review-climate-uncertainty-and-risk-rethinking-our-response/ 
  179. Lars Schernikau, “Unpopular Truths” Newsletter on the decline of German Industry due to failed energy policies: https://sh1.sendinblue.com/3gvdip76f0lpfe.html?t=1744529565190  
  180. EIA Stats on Past & Future Generation, April 2025: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/?mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGZ43WWFr9wNO8tPTOKgsmgwPPWNk8RGWot7DxVoIoE1kJAseIHl5QOIFpB76qfZCFPWq3TXGNoBegkdD42BBUBalqtXixFnxyn9aADnl2Y44Sbvxc
  181. EIA List of electricity generation plants, by fuel source, 2013-2023: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/table.php?t=epa_04_02_a.html
  182. NERC Long Term Reliability Assessment Report and including, Data Center Load Growth, December 2024: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_Long%20Term%20Reliability%20Assessment_2024.pdf
  183. Beautiful Clean Coal and it is Affordable too, Stephen Heins, Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling! https://open.substack.com/pub/stephenheins/p/headline-beautiful-clean-coal-is?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  184. We Need More Energy, Lots More Energy, by Stephen Heins, Chris Wright and Shan Sankara : https://open.substack.com/pub/stephenheins/p/headline-chris-wright-by-shan-sankara?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  185. POWER Magazine on the surge in Gas Turbine sales, four year lead times, April 2025: https://www.powermag.com/gas-powers-boom-sparks-a-turbine-supply-crunch/
  186. Cowboy State Daily, Good News for Coal Plants: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/04/18/politically-red-wyoming-utah-and-idaho-talk-break-from-power-giant-pacificorp/
  187. Grid Security Now website: https://securethegrid.com
  188. WUWT Roger Ciazza on the implications of extreme weather on renewable power reliability: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/04/13/implication-of-assessment-of-extreme-renewable-resource-lulls/
  189. Santee-Cooper enacts higher rates for AI Centers:  https://thisweekinenergy.substack.com/p/scs-state-owned-utility-enacts-higher
  190. Gas Turbine World: https://gasturbineworld.com/category/forecasts/
  191.  Washington Times article by Michelle Bloodworth, April 28, 2025: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/apr/28/strong-nation-requires-reliable-electricity/
  192. Coal Zoom, “The Value of Coal”, by Fred Palmer and Frank Clemente, March 2025: https://www.coalzoom.com/article.cfm?articleid=39111
  193. Electrical Manufacturers Association study of electricity growth to 2050, April 2025: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-electricity-demand-will-grow-50-by-2050-electrical-manufacturer-study/744575/
  194. Full report on the Grid growth by NEMA, April 2025: https://www.makeitelectric.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/grid-reliability-study-nema-deck.pdf

Coal Power: It is the End Result that Counts!

Solar and Wind are not the lowest cost electricity generation, in spite of what is written or hyped

Electricity Demand is Growing at the Fastest Rate in a Decade

An excerpt from the latest IEA Energy 2025 report follows:

The National Mining Association provides the map below which shows the U.S. States with the lowest cost electricity and also the percentage of electricity generation from coal.

The NMA illustration above is based on electricity prices in 2023. A more recent listing is compiled by the EIA, here.

The previous article I wrote covered the sad cancellation of most of the 151 new coal plants that were planned in 2008. Also, the coal plants canceled between 2007 and 2015 are covered here, here and here.

Here below is a slide I used for my presentation to the 2011 ASME Summer Meeting in Dallas for my talk on the “Importance of Coal and America’s Treasure of Fossil Fuels” as of the summer of 2011. Note the electricity prices when coal provided over 40% of America’s electricity generation. The increases are NOT simply inflation. The price increases since 2010 are primarily the result of the “War on Coal”.

Also, moving from 2011 to present day power demand, the 2025 winter peak power generation from coal remains important. Here is a typical winter day generation. This one from January 21, 2025. Coal was providing over 20% of America’s electricity.

Reliable, Affordable Electricity Powers the U.S. Economy

The WSJ recently published an article, “Economic Growth Depends on Electricity, Not Oil”. The article is good with respect to showing the relationship of reliable, affordable power, but in my opinion has too much emphasis (again) on renewable green power as the solution. Here is the historical growth of electricity as reported in the WSJ.

Green Power Obfuscation

Here is another example of greenwashing from my local electricity supplier in South Carolina. Most of the generation for Palmetto-Electric Cooperative is provided by the primarily coal fueled Santee-Cooper generation. Yet, propaganda such as this tends to indoctrinate the public that renewables are powering Hilton Head island.

Here is a slide I used in a presentation several years ago where threee well respected organizations, WSJ, Palmetto Electric and the IEA all have obfuscated the facts on the cost of new generation capacity built or power produced during 2020.

Results Engineering

One of the positions I held over the years was that of Results Engineer for Babcock & Wilcox. I thought it was a corny title at the time (1967) but after many years, can appreciate the significance of measuring the true Results of Thermal Power Generating plants. The Results Engineering Team tested new power plants to measure efficiency and other performance parameters. Back then (as is done now) the total heat input is measured that is inputed to a power generation system and then the net output is determined as the Heat-Rate based on measuring the total heat input, and the equivalent energy output. A typical modern ultra-supercritical coal plant may achieve an efficiency of 41% at design conditions. This would be a Heat-Rate of 8,323 Btus/kWh. Back to basics: one kWh of electricity is equivalent to 3412.6 BTUs. Thus, 3412.6/8323 X 100=41% Thermal efficiency

Yes, I am aware that natural gas combined cycle plants (GTCC) can achieve up to 65% Thermal Efficiency. However, with the fuel cost component about 90% for natural gas fuel, the production cost is directly impacted by increased fuel costs. Even at a much higher efficiency, a 60% GTCC plant will have a higher production cost than a 40% efficient coal plant if the fuel is 2x more expensive. More on that later.

Why are Heat-Rate and Thermal Efficiency Important?

Few energy writers discuss the importance of Thermal Power in electricity generation (or transportation). For example, the January 21, 2025 electricity generation example shown above is provided by over 90% Thermal Power. Thermal energy converted to electricity from nuclear, natural gas and coal. The importance of PRIMARY Energy is rarely written about. One energy expert, Lars Schernikau has written much on Primary energy. As a reminder for the U.S., here is the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Sankey Diagram of Total PRIMARY Energy Flows for 2022: Note that of the total Primary Energy used in the U.S. over 94% for the entire year 2022 was from conventional forms of electric power generation when old hydro, Biomass and nuclear are included. The 100 Quadrillion BTUs of total Primary energy includes all uses of energy; electricity generation, transportation, industrial production, heating, cooking and commercial end uses.

The primary cost of Electricity production at the Bus Bar of a thermal power plant is fuel. A coal plant production cost component will be in the range of 70% of electricity cost. The natural gas fuel cost component for a GTCC or simple cycle gas turbine will be about 90% of the production cost. Therefore, the cost of the primary energy determines the production cost of electricity. One of many advantages of coal plants is the fairly level cost of fuel over the years. Thus, stable electricity prices.

Thomas Troszak has written an excellent paper on the fallacy of wind and solar. It is entitled, “Why Do We Burn Coal and Wood to Make Solar Panels“? Lars Schernikau has an excellent web page entitled “Unpopular Truths” and he has published books on the importance of Primary Energy. Suffice it to say, Primary Energy needs to be discussed more at a level for the general public to understand. The absence of sound energy education which has been masked by public green indoctrination, is one reason why the importance of primary energy is, misunderstood by the public and policy makers.

But, I digress. Let’s get back to the Results of various sources of electricity generation and comparing the end Results of wind, solar and coal power generation. One of my all time favorite words: RESULTS!

RESULTS Matter! U.S. States with Lowest Cost Power and the Primary Fuel Used for Electricity Generation

The EIA lists the electricity costs for all 50 states. That list is here. Also, Electricity Plans.com, Here. Five with the lowest average retail rates (EIA) are:

  • North Dakota $0.0102/kWh
  • Idaho $0.10.97/kWh
  • Utah $0.1102/kWh
  • Wyoming $0.117/kWh
  • Nebraska $0.1078/kWh

Let’s dig into the principal fuel used for power generation by North Dakota according to the EIA Energy Profile for ND. The Primary source of energy for power generation is 54.4% coal and 39.7% renewables. The next lowest cost producer of electricity is Idaho. EIA Energy Profile for Idaho shows: Natural gas 68.7% and renewables 30.8%. Nebraska is another low cost producer, data from EIA Energy Profile for Nebraska is: 48% coal, 16.7% nuclear and 33.5% renewables. These three examples are what I would consider “Balanced Generation Portfolios”. The reason the power costs are reasonable has many moving parts but primarily the low electricity rates are attributed to low cost, affordable Primary energy. Idaho is blessed with wind and abundant hydropower from Bonneville Power dams in the Columbia River system. The hydropower supply in the Pacific Northwest is unique and obviously different than the geography of Florida or the plains states of the midwest. The Green New Deal plan of solar and wind powering all 50 states just simply will not and is not working. One policy does not fit all 50 states.

How about South Carolina?

My adopted state of S.C. ranks pretty well in electricity rates, for now. The S.C. EIA Energy profile shows our state electric costs at $0.01387/kWh. Not too bad. The Primary energy sources for S.C. total state electricity generation are 56.3% nuclear (the success of nuclear in S.C. is almost never discussed by the MSM), 18.6% coal, 19.8% natural gas and 5.2% renewables. Again, in my view, a nicely Balanced generation portfolio. The high percentage of nuclear generation is from old nuclear plants. Four nuclear units which started up in the 1970’s. As a resident of South Carolina, I appreciate the good record of reliability and affordability of our electricity. However, it should be noted that the future cost and affordability of electricity are in jeopardy if the current path to eliminate coal is not changed.

The States With the Highest Cost Electricity

Here are the top seven states with the highest cost electricity.

  • Hawaii $0.4234/kWh
  • California $0.03055/kWh
  • Massachusetts $0.03122/kWh
  • Connecticut $0.02816/kWh
  • Maine $0.02629/kWh
  • Rhode Island $0.02531/kWh
  • New York $0.0.2437/kWh

Additional references are included below to provide information on primary energy, electricity generation profiles of states and including the highest and lowest cost electricity in the U.S. and the world.

Bjorn Lomberg, One Practical Environmentalist

Lomberg has published numerous books, magazine articles, news articles and technical papers. He has been a consistent voice of reason. Here below is one of his charts published in Canada’s Financial Post on the cost of electricity in countries that have moved deeply into carbon free, wind and solar electricity generation.

The red circled statement in the lower right corner of the chart sums up wind and solar power generation. There is “No Cheap Electricity”. Dick Storm’s take is: There is reasonable cost, reliable electricity and that is electricity generated from coal. American policy makers should study the impact of green power being forced on Germany and the consequent deindustrialization, due to high energy costs. Several of Lomberg’s other publications are listed in the references.

Conclusions, The most important points I am trying to make are:

  • Solar and wind are NOT less expensive sources of primary energy to produce electricity 24/7 8760 hours per year
  • Coal, nuclear and natural gas provide Dispatchable, affordable power and the Result in lower power costs when applied in a Balanced Generation Portfolio produce the least cost and most reliable electricity generation
  • When wholesale and retail electricity rates are compared from states that have high percentages of coal, nuclear, natural gas and hydropower, they have the lowest electricity rates over the course of years.
  • When solar and wind are forced onto the Grid, it raises electricity prices. A very good example is Hawaii which once had a coal plant and then, blessed with plenty of wind and sunshine, tried to become Net Zero Carbon. The result is the highest electricity costs in America. I wrote a few articles on Hawaii as a perfect energy island example of applying the “Green New Deal”. With no Grid to connect, the true costs of electricity show up faster than they will in a states practicing the “Green New Deal” but are connected to the Grid such as California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine.
  • The states with a high percentage of coal power generation also have amongst the lowest electricity prices

Thank you for taking time to read this and I encourage you to read more in the reference links provided below.

Dick Storm, March 28, 2025

References and for further research

  1. Thomas Troszak articles on the fallacy of renewables: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335083312_Why_do_we_burn_coal_and_trees_to_make_solar_panels?

    https://www.enseccoe.org/publications/energy-highlights-no-16/
  2. Rafe Champion website, March 18, 2025: https://www.flickerpower.com/index.php/search/categories/general/list-of-briefing-notes
  3. National Mining Association, (NMA) https://mineralsmakelife.org/blog/early-action-signals-progress-us-mineral-independence-still-hangs-in-balance/
  4. EIA on Electricity Growth of AI centers: https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-releases-new-report-evaluating-increase-electricity-demand-data-centers
  5. Utility Dive, Rising Demand Could Increase Electricity Prices 19% by 2028, Electricity Growth 68% by 2050: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-electricity-prices-19-percent-higher-2028-ICF/727317/
  6. EIA Energy Outlook, March 11, 2025: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/elec_coal_renew.php
  7. Kathryn Porter’s “Watt Logic” article on Heathrow Airport Outage, March 2025: https://watt-logic.com/2025/03/24/heathrow-airport-blackout/#comment-108225
  8. EIA Electricity Prices, March 2025: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a  
  9. Electricity Plans.com: https://electricityplans.com/average-electricity-bill-usage-rate-by-state/#top-10-states-for-cheapest-electricity-bills
  10. EIA Wholesale Electricity Rates, 2024: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64284
  11. Electric Choice.com March 2025, Electric Rates in U.S.: https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/
  12. NMA Map of Electricity Prices and coal power in lower 48 states: https://nma.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/coal-gen-map-2023.pdf
  13. WSJ article on “Economic Growth Depends on Electricity, Not Oil”, March 27, 2025: https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/economic-growth-now-depends-on-electricity-not-oil-40250941?st=cbzcRt  
  14. Lars Schernikau Blog, “Unpopular Truth”: https://unpopular-truth.com/blog/
  15. MSNBC High Grade Canadian Uranium Mine, video: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/12/11/a-look-inside-the-worlds-highest-grade-uranium-mine.html?__source=linkedin%7Cmain%7Cverticalvideo
  16. Stephen Heins, January 2025 on Importance of Coal Power Plants: https://open.substack.com/pub/stephenheins/p/required-to-ensure-power-grid-resiliency?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false  
  17. NERC December 2024 Reliability Report: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_Long%20Term%20Reliability%20Assessment_2024.pdf
  18. History of Energy Policy since Jimmy Carter, Real Clear History: https://www.realclearhistory.com/articles/2025/01/22/irony_and_failure_the_energy_policies_of_jimmy_carter_1086054.html
  19. Chris Bond on California Dreaming: https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisbond/p/california-dreaming?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  20. Battery Storage BESS in California, LI Post by Oscar Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/oscarlmartin_californias-grid-batteries-have-turned-out-activity-7294973477780865024-EfRk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  21. Last 10 Years Electricity generation LI post by Mike Caravaggio, Feb. 10, 2025: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michael-caravaggio_last-ten-years-of-electricity-generation-activity-7291223299571818497-u6VI?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  22. BESS description by Lars Stephan using German example, LI Feb. 10, 2025: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lars-stephan_energystorage-activity-7294633711931715585-ErXn?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  23.  Ron Clutz interview of Chris Wright with excellent text and cartoons: https://rclutz.com/2025/02/11/us-energy-status-quo-and-outlook-sec-chris-wright/
  24. WUWT, David Mittleton on Fossil Fuels saving New England from freezing in Jan. 2025, posted Feb. 12:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/02/12/fossil-fuels-save-new-england-from-freezing-in-the-dark-again/
  25. Lakeland McIntosh #3 Demolition, January 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GFkzRvrQ4A
  26. Power Magazine video of McIntosh Coal Plant: https://www.powermag.com/watch-implosion-topple-florida-coal-fired-plant/
  27. Scott Tinker and Mark Mills Book, “Energy for the 21st Century” Feb, 2025:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/75cce-markmillsandscotttinkerenergyforthe21stcentury.pdf
  28. EIA Report on Coal Plant Retirements, Feb. 2025: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64604
  29. Mike Caravaggio LI Post on world Power Generation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michael-caravaggio_global-electricity-mix-evolution-2012-to-activity-7299561874142969856-INbX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  30. Foreign Affairs magazine, “The Troubled Energy Transition “March- April 2025: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/troubled-energy-transition-yergin-orszag-arya
  31. IEA World Energy Prices, Dec. 2024: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/energy-prices#energy-prices-and-taxes
  32. Western Electricity Markets reports: https://www.westerneim.com/Pages/About/QuarterlyBenefits.aspx
  33.  Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling Substack article summarizing the J.P. Morgan Chase 2025 Energy report: https://open.substack.com/pub/energybadboys/p/9-takeaways-from-the-jp-morgan-chase?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  34. Heliocentrism, March 4th , 2025, J.P. Morgan Chase Energy Report: https://assets.jpmprivatebank.com/content/dam/jpm-pb-aem/global/en/documents/eotm/heliocentrism.pdf
  35. All Fuels are Important, A Review of Competitive Electricity Generation and Supply of Needed Transportation Fuels : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/02/10/all-fuels-are-important-a-review-of-the-reality-of-competitive-electricity-generation-and-the-supply-of-needed-transportation-fuels/  
  36. Texas and Coal Power,  6,000 MW of Coal Power Generation is Missed, Feb. 19, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/02/19/texas-and-coal-power-6000-mws-of-coal-plant-capacity-is-missed/
  37. Executive Orders to Weaken the U.S. Economy, March 3, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/03/03/presidential-executive-order-signed-by-biden-that-will-harm-the-u-s-economy/
  38. Energy and Some People Who Contributed to the Rise of America, March 31, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/03/31/energy-and-notable-people-who-contributed-to-the-rise-of-america/  
  39. Earth Day, Let’s Celebrate True Sustainability of Our High Quality of Life, April 22, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/04/22/earth-day-lets-celebrate-true-sustainability-and-a-continuance-of-our-high-quality-of-life/
  40.   The War on Carbon, How it Came to Be” October 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/16/the-war-on-carbon-how-it-came-to-be/
  41. “My Paid Energy Ad from 2015 and here We Go Again”, January 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/01/28/my-paid-ad-for-energy-awareness-in-2015-here-we-go-again/
  42. Energy and Economic Prosperity, My Thoughts, a presentation to the Delaware County Bar Association, July 2016: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2016/07/25/energy-and-economic-prosperity-my-thoughts-dick-storm/
  43. “Dick Storm’s Thoughts on the Green New Deal”,    October 2020: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/10/10/part-5-dick-storms-thoughts-on-the-green-new-deal/
  44. “Are You Worried about the Future of the U.S.A.?”    : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/01/21/are-you-worried-about-the-future-of-america/
  45.  830,000 BTUs per Day/Person, Sept. 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/09/16/830000-btus-per-day-person/
  46.   The Stupidity of Net-Zero Carbon, Oct. 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/13/the-stupidity-of-net-zero-carbon/
  47. America’s Treasure of Fossil Fuels, Update of 2011 presentation to ASME: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/11/26/americas-treasure-of-fossil-fuels/
  48.  American Dream = 100 Quadrillion BTUs per Year April 7, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/04/american-dream-100-quadrillion-btus/
  49.   Providing a Sustainable Million BTUs per Day/Person, May 17,  2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/05/17/providing-a-sustainable-million-btus-per-day-per-person-by-fuel-source/
  50.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 1, 1850-1955, January 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/14/a-short-history-of-energy-electricity-and-how-our-high-quality-of-living-came-to-be-high-human-development-index-part-1-1850-1955/
  51.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 2:  https://wp.me/p5DzAo-k6
  52.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 3: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-ll
  53.  A Short History of Power Generation, Part 4: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-n4
  54. Energy=Life as We Enjoy it, Aug. 22, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/08/22/energy-life-that-is-life-as-we-enjoy-it/
  55.  “The War on Carbon, How it Came to Be”, Oct. 16, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/16/the-war-on-carbon-how-it-came-to-be/
  56. Energy and Economic Prosperity, Jan. 11, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/03/energy-and-economic-prosperity/
  57.  Energy and World Peace, April, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/04/05/energy-world-peace/
  58. Without New Thinking on Nuclear Power, Anti-Carbon Policy Can’t Succeed, Nov. 11, 2021 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/11/13/without-new-thinking-on-nuclear-power-anti-carbon-climate-policy-cant-succeed/
  59.  The Rise and Fall and Rise Again  of Nations and the  Realities of Energy: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/08/15/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-nations-and-the-realities-of-energy/
  60. America Needs 100 Quadrillion BTUs of Primary Energy Each Year, May 16, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/16/back-to-basics-the-u-s-needs-100-quadrillion-btus-year-of-primary-energy/  
  61.  Pillars of Modern Civilization, Ammonia, Food, Steel, Concrete, Plastics, Aluminum, July 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/25/pillars-of-modern-civilization-all-dependent-on-energy/
  62. How Can a 6,000 MW Utility that will be a 9,000MW Utility in 2050, become Net-Zero Carbon? April 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/04/27/how-can-a-6000-mw-regional-utility-in-2030-which-likely-will-be-a-9000-mw-utility-in-2050-achieve-net-zero-carbon/
  63. Dick Storm Blog post, “Wake Up Americans!” Sept. 21, 2023:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/09/20/please-wake-up-america-your-energy-and-electricity-generation-reliability-are-at-risk/
  64. THE ERA OF RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE, ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY GENERATION: PART 1: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/10/04/the-era-of-reliable-affordable-energy-and-electricity-generation-part-1/
  65.  The Green Energy Crisis is Here, Part 1, Sept. 17, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/29/the-green-energy-crisis-is-here-part-1/
  66. The Green Energy Crisis, Part 2, “Meet Some of the People that Caused it”,  June 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/06/14/green-energy-crisis-part-2-meet-the-policy-makers-that-caused-it/
  67. The Green Energy Crisis, Part 3, June 26, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/06/26/green-energy-crisis-part-3-public-energy-education-is-needed-each-person-in-the-u-s-uses-about-315-million-btus-of-primary-energy-year-this-is-not-practical-or-even-possible-to-replace-with-win/
  68.   Review of Harold Hamm’s Book, “Gamechanger” on Dick Storm blog: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/09/17/harold-hamms-book-game-changer-a-must-read-for-elected-officials-and-candidates-for-elective-office/
  69.  Over Achieving Minorities in Western Civilization, Nov. 11, 2023 :  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/11/11/over-achieving-minorities-of-western-civilization/
  70. Wake Up America! Sept. 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/09/20/please-wake-up-america-your-energy-and-electricity-generation-reliability-are-at-risk/
  71.  Facing the Hard Truths of Energy, Part 1,  79 Quadrillion BTUs, The Enormity of the Fossil Energy Systems Providing Sustainable Lives, Jan. 11, 2024 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/01/11/facing-the-hard-truths-of-energy-part-1-79-quadrillion-btusthe-enormity-of-the-fossil-energy-systems-providing-sustainable-lives/
  72.  Influencers of U.S. Energy Policy, January 3, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/01/04/influencers-of-american-energy-policy/
  73. Facing the Hard Truths of Energy, Part 2, The Reality of Replacing Conventional Forms of Energy, Jan. 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/02/06/facing-the-hard-truths-of-energy-part-2-some-facts-on-the-reality-of-replacing-conventional-forms-of-energy/
  74.  Facing the Hard Truths of Energy, Part 3, The Transition that Isn’t, from the perspective of Minerals, Feb. 8, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/02/08/facing-the-hard-truths-of-energy-part-3-the-transition-that-isnt-from-the-perspective-of-minerals/
  75. Facing the Hard Truths of Energy, Part 4, The True Agenda for Climate Policies, Feb. 13, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/02/13/facing-the-hard-truths-of-energy-electricity-generation-and-environmental-protection-part-4-what-is-the-true-agenda-for-climate-policies/
  76. Energy Matters! March 2024 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/11/energy-matters/
  77. Update on Hawaii’s “Green New Deal” March 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/20/hawaii-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal-aka-inflation-reduction-act-here-is-an-update/
  78. The Rise and Fall of Nations from the perspective of nuclear power systems manufacturing: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/08/15/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-nations-and-the-realities-of-energy/
  79. Thomas J. Shepstone posting on Substack of,  “Energy Matters If You Value the Life You Now Have and Don’t Want to Live Under Socialism
  80.  March 11, 2024: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/energy-matters-if-you-value-the-life?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email  
  81.  Threats to the Electric Grid, March 15, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/15/threats-to-the-grid-electricity-reliability/
  82. Giant Sucking Sound, March 18, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/18/giant-sucking-sound/
  83. “Update on Hawaii’s Glimpse of the Future of the Green New Deal” March 20, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/03/20/hawaii-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal-aka-inflation-reduction-act-here-is-an-update/
  84. The Reality of Electrifying Everything,  April 9, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/04/09/the-reality-of-electrifying-everything-and-the-primary-energy-required-to-generate-the-electricity/
  85. Am I Missing Something? Here is an Update on Hyundai’s Commitment to their EV Meta Plant in Georgia:   https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/04/14/am-i-missing-something-on-evs-here-is-an-update-on-hyundais-meta-plant-commitment-to-evs-and-hydrogen-vehicles/
  86. Tom Shepstone post on Substack of Dick Storm letter to Senator Tom Davis: https://energysecurityfreedom.substack.com/p/a-balanced-energy-portfolio-is-critical/comments
  87. Dick Storm LI Post on SC Energy policies and failed coal and nuclear plant plans: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7184184178920312833?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  88. Saving America: Issues that Matter, April 28, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/04/29/saving-america-from-destructive-policies-the-real-issues-that-matter-part-1/
  89. How Can a 6,000 MW Utility in 2030 Become a 9,000 MW Utility in 2050 and Still Meet Net Zero Carbon? Update of last year’s article, May 2, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/05/02/how-can-a-6000-mw-regional-utility-in-2030-which-likely-will-be-a-9000-mw-utility-in-2050-achieve-net-zero-carbon-an-update-on-my-electricity-provider-in-south-carolina/
  90. Coal’s Final Battle, May 18, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/05/20/coals-final-battle/
  91. Tom Shepstone’s Substack repost of Dick Storm commentary, May 20, 2024: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/why-we-the-american-people-must-win?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
  92. Visualizing 100 Quadrillion BTUs. Shouldn’t Coal Remain in our Energy Mix?” : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/07/02/visualizing-100-quadrillion-btus-of-primary-energy-coal-should-remain-in-our-energy-mix/
  93. We the People vs. The Ten Headed Swamp Monster     :  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/07/10/we-the-people-vs-net-zero-indoctrination-by-the-ten-headed-swamp-monster/
  94. The Magnificent and Indispensable Heat Engines Society Depends on: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/07/30/the-magnificent-and-indispensable-heat-engine-on-which-civil-society-depends-part-1-heat-engines-1-3-million-horsepower/ 
  95. The Magnificent and Indispensable Heat Engine, Part II, Focus on Ocean Shipping: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/08/07/the-magnificent-and-indispensable-heat-engine-on-which-civil-society-depends-part-ii-focus-on-fossil-fuels-for-ocean-shipping/
  96. The Magnificent and Indispensable Heat Engine, Part III, August 13, 2024: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/08/13/the-magnificent-and-indispensable-heat-engine-on-which-civil-society-depends-part-iii-internal-combustion-engines-up-to-110000-horsepower/
  97. The Coming Electricity Reliability Crisis and the Importance of Coal, Sept. 12, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/09/12/the-electricity-reliability-crisis-and-the-importance-of-american-coal/
  98. The Kingdom of Heaven Runs on Righteousness, The Kingdom of Earth Runs on Energy, Oct. 3, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/10/03/heaven-runs-on-righteousness-earth-runs-on-energy/
  99. Charley Reese’s Last Column, “545 vs. 300,000,000 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/11/27/charley-reeses-last-column-a-classic-commentary-written-over-twenty-years-ago/
  100.  Why is Western Civilization Self Sabotaging the Primary Energy that Provides 80% of the fuel for America’s Life-Blood of Reliable Electricity, with the War on Carbon?.     : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/12/17/why-is-western-civilization-self-sabotaging-the-primary-energy-sources-that-provide-80-of-the-fuel-for-americas-life-blood-of-reliable-electricity-with-the-war-on-carbon/
  101. Musings on the Self-Sabotaging Energy Policies and a Reminder of the History of the Rise and Fall of Nations:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/01/13/musings-on-self-sabotaging-energy-policies-and-a-reminder-of-the-history-of-the-rise-and-fall-of-nations/
  102. The EPA “Endangerment Finding” and why it Needs to Go, Feb. 2, 2025: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-1ZW
  103. The SWAMP MONSTER vs. 300 Million Americans, Feb. 21, 2025: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/02/21/the-swamp-monster-vs-the-best-interests-of-the-united-states-of-america/
  104. Thomas J. Shepstone Substack on Dick Storm’s “Primer on How to Ensure Electricity Security (and How to Destroy It)”:  https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/a-primer-on-how-to-ensure-energy?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 
  105.  Dick Storm article on the 151 coal plants planned in 2007-2009: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2025/03/19/the-u-s-self-inflicted-electricity-generation-crisis-was-created-by-gongo-the-swamp-monster-here-is-how-to-end-it/
  106. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),  S.C. Energy Profile: https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=SC
  107. U.S. EIA, Electricity explained: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us-generation-capacity-and-sales.php
  108. S.C. Energy Office, Charts and discussion of S.C. energy and electricity generation: https://south-carolina-energy-office-1-1-scors-eo.hub.arcgis.com/pages/electricity-data#clcw7fc2k
  109. EIA Dashboard, this shows the actual generation by fuel and region in real time: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/gridmonitor/dashboard/electric_overview/balancing_authority/SC
  110. Santee-Cooper Integrated Resource Plan for future electricity generation assets. This is the latest 2024 update: https://www.santeecooper.com/About/Integrated-Resource-Plan/Reports-and-Materials/Santee-Cooper-2024-IRP-Update.pdf
  111. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Energy Flow Charts: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov
  112. Bjorn Lomberg on the High Cost of Solar and Wind, Climate Change Dispatch, Jan. 2, 2025: https://climatechangedispatch.com/wind-solar-hidden-truth-behind-rising-electric-bills/
  113. Frazer Institute, “Hot Air, Cold Truths, Bjorn Lomberg, March 2025: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/hot-air-and-cold-truths-bjorn-lomborg
  114. Delaware County Insider, Wind and Solar are Expensive, Bjorn Lomberg, May 24,  2024: https://delawarevalleyjournal.com/lomborg-the-true-cost-of-wind-and-solar-energy/
  115. Yahoo Finance and National Post, March 2025, Bjorn Lomberg, Wind and Solar are Expensive: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/bjorn-lomborg-solar-wind-power-100008520.html
  116. What Happened to the 151 Coal Plants Planned in 2008? GEM: https://www.gem.wiki/What_happened_to_the_151_proposed_coal_plants%3F
  117. NETL Slide Deck on Coal Plant resurgence 2007: https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/netl_new_coal_5.2007.pdf
  118. POWER Mag Siting of New Coal Plants, Considerations, Mar. 2008: https://www.powermag.com/the-future-of-coal-power-development-and-siting-obstacles-for-new-coal-plants/
  119. POWER, May 2011 Coal Fleet References at the time: https://www.powermag.com/predicting-u-s-coal-plant-retirements/
  120. POWER Magazine ct. 2018 on MATS Rule impact on coal plants: https://www.powermag.com/how-did-mats-affect-u-s-coal-generation/
  121. WEF April 2019 Fall of Coal Plants Worldwide: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/04/chart-shows-fall-in-planned-coal-power-iea/
  122. Power Engineering Feb. 2024 A look at Projected  Coal Retirements: https://www.power-eng.com/coal/plant-decommissioning/a-look-at-projected-u-s-coal-and-gas-plant-retirements/
  123. Univ. of Chicago, 2010 Report on Coal Plant Retirements: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/717217
    Institute for Energy Economics Report on Coal Plant Closures (about 50% by 2026) with data from peak 2011 Capacity of 318 GW, April 2023: https://ieefa.org/resources/us-track-close-half-coal-capacity-2026  
  124. Alabama Attorney General is Amongst 22 Other States Calling for Coal Fuel to Revive the Electric Grid: https://gulfcoastmedia.com/stories/alabama-attorney-general-calls-for-reviving-americas-energy-grid-with-coal,257548?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0XeLob6rYc5WaBBtSyuB7vHctTdzVhTJxJZ96bExtALJBFoqUPAJPKaY0_aem_8TNpNEKQSIdjNrJTJeBF8Q#//
  125. China is building almost all of the new coal plants in the world in 2024, POWER Magazine, Feb. 2024: https://www.powermag.com/global-domination-china-accounts-for-nearly-all-new-coal-fired-power-plant-construction/?utm_source=CP&utm_medium=email&utm_id=02072024&oly_enc_id=3247D5884312C9W
  126. WUWT Steve Goreham article “Electricity Generation vs Green Goals” Feb. 28, 2024: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/02/27/electric-power-vs-green-goals/  
  127. Robert Bryce article on Increasing T&D is not the answer: https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/out-of-transmission-revisited/comments
    Grid Down, Power Up YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kErOyJ0u-8&t=180s
  128. EPA Air Quality Report, Nov. 2023: https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary
  129. Grid Status App: https://www.gridstatus.io/home
  130. Bloomberg, German Industry Days as Industrial Superpower Coming to an End, due to Energy Costs/shortages: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-02-10/why-germany-s-days-as-an-industrial-superpower-are-coming-to-an-end?embedded-checkout=true
  131. Politico on German Industry Shutting Down, Moving to China due to shortages and high Costs of energy, July 2023: https://www.politico.eu/article/rust-belt-on-the-rhine-the-deindustrialization-of-germany/

Existing EPA Rules Increase Costs and Will Cause Rationing of Electricity in South Carolina, if Endangerment Finding is NOT Repealed

Cost of Power in S.C. will Increase and Electricity Availability will Decrease. I will try to explain why…

Earlier this week I was honored to share the instructional duties of a short course on EV’s with my friend Henrik de Gyor at USCB-OLLI in Bluffton, S.C. Later, my friend Thomas Shepstone published the fact sheets that we provided to the 75 or so attendees to the course. It was enjoyable and satisfying to share our experiences and knowledge with this group, which had very good Energy IQ’s and good questions.

One takeaway for me was the reminder that charging EV’s in a few years is going to be problematic if the sales of EV’s picks up and they become very popular. Why? Because the Bulk Electric power supply to charge them is under siege by remaining Federal and state Regulations and laws. Namely, the EPA-“Endangerment Finding”. This Rule which basically considers CO2 a pollutant, is the at the heart of the government’s “War on Fossil Fuels”. Remember when Obama’s Administration increased the Fleet Fuel Mileage standard to 54.5 mpg”? Many engineers and car enthusiasts wondered, “How could that ever happen, it is impossible to obtain a fleet average fuel economy of 54.5 mpg with a fleet of 3500 pound+ cars and SUV’s that American’s love”. The answer, force most people to drive EV’s whether we want them or not.

Up till now, the general public has not been affected by this extreme and restrictiveRule. Call it law. But, if not repealed it will weaken America, drive electricity prices higher and provide government more control of our freedoms. I have written previous articles on Santee-Cooper, the EPA Endangerment Finding and importance of Electricity.

Over 100 links of relevant technical and political references are included at the end. These are to provide confidence for the reader that the conclusions written here are in-fact, well thought out & researched.

Let me explain below what it means from an electricity generation viewpoint and the harm these Federal EPA Rules have done to impact the people of my adopted state of South Carolina.

Bulk Power Supply to Palmetto Electric

Let me be specific and discuss the Bulk Power Supply for our area, the low country of South Carolina. One of the few regions in the U.S. that still has a regional utility. This region is supplied electricity by Palmetto Electric which is a cooperative. Palmetto Electric does not generate electricity, they transmit and distribute electricity to homes and businesses in our area. They do a very good job at it. Palmetto Electric obtains its primary supply of Bulk Electric Power from Santee-Cooper. (the term Bulk Power refers to huge quantities of electricity measured in Megawatts). Santee-Cooper is also known as “South Carolina Public Service Authority”. This is a state owned agency and is governed by the Legislature of S.C. and so far is independent of Regionasl RTO’s (Regional Transmission Operators) such as the massive PJM Interconnection. I hope our state remains independent!

The generation assets of Santee-Cooper are listed below, this is from the latest IRP (Integrated Resource Plan). According to Santee-Cooper’s facts, Coal power plants represent 60.1% of the total owned generation. Natural gas 20.9% and Solar 2.5%. This is where Palmetto Electric obtains nearly all of the Bulk Power used on Hilton Head, Bluffton and other areas served by Palmetto Electric. On January 8th, 2025 coal power provided over 88% of the electricity generated. That is because it was needed then and coal also was the lowest cost fuel at that moment. So, the percentages of installed capacity do not necessarily match actual generation.

Here is a graph of the actual generation, by fuel for a cold week in January 2025.

Why are Electricity Rates Rising?

The path to replacing coal power with solar, natural gas, wind and Battery Electric Storage Systems (BESS) will be at enormous cost. Worse yet, wind and solar are intermittent generation. They only generate when the wind is blowing and the sun shining, this is obvious to most everyone, but the BESS promoters claim Battery storage will smoothen the generation through the day. (It may for a few hours, but not days). Further, this has been tried by Hawaii, Germany, UK and California and the cost of electricity has risen significantly in each of these locations. Last September I was invited to Liberty University by my friend Dave Walsh. Dave is an energy expert from Florida who has done extensive studies on the Retail cost of electricity. Below is a chart of the ten lowest and the ten highest cost electricity prices in the United States. The highest costs of generation are in the states that are the most aggressive in shutting down coal plants. The low costs in Washington & Oregon are due to the locally abundant and inexpensive hydropower. The other eight low cost electricity states all use significant amounts of coal power, just as Santee-Cooper does now.

Coal power has numerous advantages

Amongst the advantages are:

  • Least cost fuel to generate electricity (from above chart and past history of power costs in S.C.)
  • Coal fuel cost has been stable for decades
  • They are Dispatchable when electricity Demand increases, load can be increased to satisfy Demand
  • Proven Reliability
  • Most resilient in cold weather
  • Long lasting, robust power plants
  • On-site fuel storage capacity for months, unlike pipeline provided natural gas which the flow can be interrupted if there is a control problem or physical damage to the pipeline providing fuel flow to the power plant

Planning to shut these reliable coal plants down is Planning for higher cost & less reliable electricity

Why do I say that? Because that is what has occurred in every location it has been tried. Such as Germany, UK, Hawaii, Canary Islands, California, Denmark and more. Here is some more data provided by my friend Dave Walsh on the cost of electricity in selected countries. This chart is as of last summer 2024. The red dots above the bars indicate more than 30% wind and/or solar on the respective Grids.

The chart above is titled “Comparative Global Economic Access to Electricity”. It is not only cost, it is also a matter of power reliability. In many countries electricity is rationed and industry has been downsized due to either the high cost or the unavailability of electricity. There are reference links provided at the end if you are interested in more details of De-Industrialization due to certain other countries “Self Sabotaging their electricity Infrastructure”. Two are Germany and the U.K. Interestingly, the Panel Discussion at Liberty University that Dave Walsh and I were involved with was titled, “The Impacts of the Coming Self-Inflicted Electricity Generation Crisis”. My written notes and presentation are included in the references. President Trump has declared a “National Energy Emergency”. He is correct in doing so. Let’s take a look at the current planning for South Carolina electricity generation and expected Demand through 2040. The chart below is from Santee-Cooper’s latest (September 2024) IRP.

The dotted black line that shows about 6700 MW Demand in 2030 is about 1700 MW above the installed capacity planned to be owned by Santee-Cooper in 2030. This deficit is planned to be filled with purchased power from other Utilities or IPP’s (Independent Power Producers) and the construction of more natural gas generation. Maybe supplying Bulk Power to meet Demand is possible, but there is a gap between Supply and Peak Demand. Further, if we check the IRP’s for the neighboring Utilities of Duke Energy and Dominion, they too are planning to exit coal about the same time. (Back to the anti-American EPA Rules).

Build nuclear some say. OK, but remember, it took Georgia Power about ten years to build Units 3 & 4 at Plant Vogtle and they cost about 34 Billion dollars. The final cost was well over expected. By the way, Georgia Power, another neighboring and connected Utility recently updated their IRP to keep coal plants running that had previously been announced to be closed.

Long story short, the fact is, the least cost Bulk Power Supply in this region is from the coal plants.

Until new nuclear plants can be constructed and started up, these coal plants need to be properly maintained and…In my opinion, more new coal plants, such as the once planned (and equipment purchased) Pee Dee Coal Plant should be built. Why? for two reasons. To satisfy the growth in Demand and do so with reasonable cost equipment using the most reasonable cost fuel that is proven. By the way, the cost of electricity production in a Thermal plant 75-92% fuel cost. That’s right, double the cost of natural gas in a gas plant and the production cost of electricity nearly doubles with it.

One outstanding plan was to build the 600 MW Pee Dee County coal plant. This was properly planned in 2008, but stopped in 2011 due to environmental activism against CO2 production of coal fuel. Here is an artists depiction of that plant

I remember Mr. Bill McCall, (now retired) then a senior executive at Santee-Cooper presenting a case for why it was needed. He was right. It should not have been canceled. Of course, the Summer nuclear plant expansion of units 2 and 3 was also a good plan. References below if you are interested in the history of the Summer units 2 and 3. Topics for another day. Let’s get back to the likely difficulty of keeping South Carolina’s existing high electricity Demand industries (Nucor and Century Aluminum are just two) and also, supplying power to provide a transportation fuel to thousands of EV’s in 2032.

Charging Your EV in 2030

I have tried to show how electricity may become limited when the coal plants are shut down. Also, as they are replaced with plants that burn natural gas, the electricity prices are likely to be higher. Have you heard the terms “Demand Response” and “Smart Meters”? These are polite terms for “Rationing”. Demand Response of the utility shutting off your water heater or your air conditioner for a few moments or an hour is not a big deal. However, in 2032 when you come home and plan to charge your EV, it may not be allowable until late at night. Maybe not a problem? But, maybe you would like to charge your EV to be available just as your current ICE powered vehicle is available on a moments notice? I encourage you to read the Santee-Cooper IRP and follow the news on power generation in South Carolina. Yes, South Carolina is a leader in nuclear power, our state ranks #3 in the nation. But for our region, only 322 MW of power come from the Summer Unit #1 nuclear plant. Therefore, the existing EPA Rules, in particular the “Endangerment Finding” will impact all of those served by Palmetto Electric.

Conclusions

  1. The EPA Endangerment Finding needs to be repealed so that Utilities can get back to proper planning of affordable, reliable electricity generation
  2. The State Legislature should push back on extreme EPA Rules that are rooted in political bias, not protection of human health or the environment
  3. The Pee Dee Coal Plant should be constructed, as was planned in 2008.

Our state Senator Tom Davis understands energy and electricity generation better than most. I wish him good success in improving the Energy IQ of his colleagues in the Legislature. My Congressional Representative is Nancy Mace, I will be writing her as well. I encourage my friends to do likewise. If our elected representatives do not hear from us, South Carolina’s electricity prices and availability may match California or Hawaii’s in the future.

Respectfully,

Dick Storm, February 28, 2025

References and Reading for Additional Research

  1. President Trump’s National Energy Emergency EO: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-energy-emergency/
  2. The Kingdom of Heaven Runs on Righteousness, The Kingdom of Earth Runs on Energy, Oct. 3, 2024:  https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/10/03/heaven-runs-on-righteousness-earth-runs-on-energy/
  3. Here is a linkedIn post I made: Dick Storm LI Post on SC Energy policies and failed coal and nuclear plant plans: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7184184178920312833?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  4. How Can a 6,000 MW Utility that will be a 9,000 MW Utility in 2050, become Net-Zero Carbon? April 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/04/27/how-can-a-6000-mw-regional-utility-in-2030-which-likely-will-be-a-9000-mw-utility-in-2050-achieve-net-zero-carbon/
  5. Dick Storm’s views on the 2009 EPA-Endangerment Finding”: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-1ZW
  6. Texas Tribune report on Feb. 2021 cold weather storm deaths: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/02/texas-winter-storm-final-death-toll-246/#:~:text=Texas%20has%20added%2036%20more,disasters%20in%20the%20state’s%20history.
  7. South Carolina Legislation to achieve Net-Zero Carbon and replace coal generation with carbon free primary energy: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess124_2021-2022/bills/3194.htm
  8. Thomas J. Shepstone Substack on Dick Storm’s “Primer on How to Ensure Electricity Security (and How to Destroy It)”:  https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/a-primer-on-how-to-ensure-energy?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  9. Thomas J. Shepstone substack article. “A Balanced Energy Portfolio is Critical but South Carolina Doesn’t Seem Get It” : https://energysecurityfreedom.substack.com/p/a-balanced-energy-portfolio-is-critical?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
  10. Post & Courier article on Power Demand increase from Data Centers, April 2024: https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/editorials/google-data-centers-energy-hogs/article_1c7b558c-062b-11ef-836f-87365c650aef.html
  11. WLTX News on Data Center Power Requirements, April 2024: https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/south-carolina-energy-data-centers/101-9a055fc9-e66f-4e3e-bebb-c58f5b7c1ab5
  12. POWER Magazine on stopping construction of Pee Dee Coal Plant in 2009: https://www.powermag.com/south-carolinas-santee-cooper-shelves-2-billion-coal-plant-project/
  13. Inside Climate News, 2011:  https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05042011/coal-plant-canceled-south-carolina-santee-cooper-parts-for-sale/
  14. Engineering News Record, 2016: https://www.enr.com/articles/23106-santee-cooper-nixes-plans-for-proposed-2-2-billion-pee-dee-energy-campus
  15. Post and Courier, 2009: https://www.postandcourier.com/news/pulling-the-plug-on-pee-dee-plant/article_3372de17-64a1-5d91-aaea-84c83fcc792f.html
  16. Global Energy Monitor article on Pee Dee coal plant:  https://www.gem.wiki/Pee_Dee_Generating_Facility
  17. Battle Between Reality and Fantasy in Nuclear Power in Pacific Northwest, Substack, Dec. 12, 2024: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/a-battle-between-climate-fantasy?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
  18. POWER on Nuclear Fuel Supply, Dec. 2024: https://www.powermag.com/six-companies-tapped-for-2-7-billion-leu-push-to-boost-domestic-nuclear-fuel-supply/?utm_source=omeda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pwrnews+eletter&oly_enc_id=3214I3524889A9B
  19. Dick Storm panel notes for presentation, “Impacts of the U.S. Self-Inflicted Electricity Crisis”, Liberty University, Sept. 2024: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7266497381574098944?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  20. LinkedIn Wish Bakshi on the German Energy experience: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7271156730317750272?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  21. LinkedIn Post on “Clean Energy Funding” by Mark Lewis: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7270766274668892160?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  22. Recurrent Blackouts in New York by 2026: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7269663571012161536?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  23. LinkedIn post of Liberty University presentation by David Walsh, Sept. 2024: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7266777394617749504?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  24. EPSI (Electric Power Supply Institute) News release Dec. 17, 2024: https://epsa.org/with-nerc-declaring-urgent-need-for-energy-resources-competition-essential-to-meet-the-moment/  
  25. NERC Generation Retirements Infographic, Dec. 17, 2024: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_LTRA_Infographic_2024.pdf
  26. NERC Long Term Reliability Assessment, Dec. 2024: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_Long%20Term%20Reliability%20Assessment_2024.pdf
  27. Dr. Nicholas Kokel Blog on the history of Energy: https://portfolio-pplus.com/Communicator/Details/1023
  28. Lars Schernikau on advantages of nuclear power: https://unpopular-truth.com/2024/02/22/advantages-of-nuclear-energy/
  29. IEA World Energy report: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023
  30. POWER Magazine Coal references: https://www.powermag.com/category/coal/
  31. Washington Free Beacon report on CCP funding of Climate Extremists in the U.S. Dec. 19, 2024: https://freebeacon.com/energy/ex-ccp-officials-steered-millions-to-us-based-green-groups-universities-for-climate-initiatives/
  32. IEA World Coal Consumption: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/global-coal-consumption-2000-2026
  33. Report, Indian Summary of the Role of SMR Reactors in the Energy Transition, May 2023: https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-05/The-Role-of-Small-Modular-Reactors-in-the-Energy-Transition-05162023.pdf  
  34. Lars Schernikau video “Unpopular Truth of Energy”: https://unpopular-truth.com/why-read-the-unpopular-truth/
  35. Daily Skeptic on German Policy Failures, Dec. 27, 2024: https://dailysceptic.org/2024/12/27/germanys-economic-and-political-suicide/
  36. EIA Net Generation over decades, by fuel source: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/  
  37. Mike Caravaggio LI graph of cost of power in 48 states by Coal %: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michael-caravaggio_was-playing-with-the-eia-electricity-data-activity-7281036749697376257-Jqig?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  38. Summer Nuclear Plant Builders Solicited by Santee-Cooper, Jan. 2025: https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/27/sc_nuclear_reactors_ai/
  39. Doug Sheridan LI post on the cost of Batteries for backup of solar and wind: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sheridandoug_bess-renewables-power-activity-7174507881050910720-7Y24?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
  40. Hawaii Electric Update by Civil Beat, Feb. 1, 2024: https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/hawaiian-electric-gets-the-green-light-on-its-190-million-resiliency-plan-to-harden-the-grid/
  41. Hawaii Electric Update, Sept. 2023 on “Setting the Record Straight” on the Highest Cost Electricity in Nation: https://www.civilbeat.org/2023/09/setting-the-record-straight-on-resilience-and-renewables/
  42. ASCE Report/update on the 180 MW Battery storage at Hawaii Electric, March 12, 2024: https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/article/2024/03/large-battery-energy-storage-system-now-operating-in-hawaii
  43. Civil Beat article, “Huge Battery Storage Replaces last Coal Plant,” January 2024: https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/01/a-huge-battery-has-replaced-hawaiis-last-coal-plant/
  44. Huge Kapolei Battery Plant Replaces Coal at Hawaii Electric, Canary Media, Kapolei battery is officially online. The pioneering project is a leading example of how to shift crucial grid functions from fossil-fueled plants to clean energy. January 2024: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/energy-storage/a-huge-battery-has-replaced-hawaiis-last-coal-plant
  45. Hawaii Electricity Rates Highest in nation, KHON March 5, 2024: https://www.khon2.com/local-news/hawaii-1-for-expensive-electricity-were-being-priced-out/
  46. EIA List of U.S. Electricity Rates, December 2023, Hawaii Top Rate for Residential $0.416/kWh: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a
  47. Marc Christie to Gulf States, March 10, 2024: https://www.rtoinsider.com/73336-ferc-christie-warns-very-dark-place/
  48. Heritage Foundation on the De-Industrialization of Europe, Feb. 2024: https://www.heritage.org/energy/commentary/high-electricity-prices-have-europe-facing-deindustrialization-dont-let-it-happen.
  49. Hawaii, Green New Deal, A Glimpse into the Future, June 3, 2020: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/06/03/hawaii-a-gimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal/
  50. The Importance of Energy to Power Our High Quality Lives, Aug. 25, 2020: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/08/25/the-importance-of-energy-to-power-high-quality-of-life-part-1/
  51. The Importance of Energy to Power Our High Quality Lives, Part 2, Aug. 28,2020 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/08/28/the-importance-of-energy-part-2-our-energy-sources/  
  52. The Importance of Energy, Part 3, Heat Engines, Sept. 9, 2020: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/09/09/the-importance-of-energy-part-3-heat-engines-a-primer/
  53. The Importance of Energy for Economic Prosperity, Part 4, The Rise of the U.S and the Rise of China from an energy perspective: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/09/21/part-4-the-importance-of-energy-to-economic-prosperity/
  54. Dick Storm thoughts on the “Green New Deal” , Oct. 10, 2020: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/10/10/part-5-dick-storms-thoughts-on-the-green-new-deal/
  55. A Thriving Economy and Clean Air Too, Oct. 23, 2020 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/10/23/part-6-a-thriving-economy-and-clean-air-too/
  56. China’s Influence in the World and the Need to Reshore American Manufacturing, Nov. 3, 2020 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/11/03/chinas-economic-influence-in-the-world-and-some-thoughts-on-the-need-to-reshore-american-manufacturing/  
  57. Thank You President Trump, Nov. 13, 2020 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/11/13/thank-you-president-trump/
  58. Are You Worried about the Future of America? Jan. 21, 2021 Thoughts on Energy Policies, Industrial and Economic Growth: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/01/21/are-you-worried-about-the-future-of-america/
  59. My Paid Energy Awareness Ad, 2015: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/01/28/my-paid-ad-for-energy-awareness-in-2015-here-we-go-again/
  60. U.S. War on Carbon Accomplishes Two Things, Weakens America, Enriches China, Jan. 30, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/01/30/us-war-on-carbon-accomplishes-two-things/
  61. Blue Planet in Green Shackles, What is Endangered, Climate or Freedom”: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-nD
  62. All Fuels are Important, A Review of Competitive Electricity Generation and Supply of Needed Transportation Fuels : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/02/10/all-fuels-are-important-a-review-of-the-reality-of-competitive-electricity-generation-and-the-supply-of-needed-transportation-fuels/  
  63. Texas and Coal Power,  6,000 MW of Coal Power Generation is Missed, Feb. 19, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/02/19/texas-and-coal-power-6000-mws-of-coal-plant-capacity-is-missed/
  64. Executive Orders to Weaken the U.S. Economy, March 3, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/03/03/presidential-executive-order-signed-by-biden-that-will-harm-the-u-s-economy/
  65. Energy and Some People Who Contributed to the Rise of America, March 31, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/03/31/energy-and-notable-people-who-contributed-to-the-rise-of-america/ 
  66.  Earth Day, Let’s Celebrate True Sustainability of Our High Quality of Life, April 22, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/04/22/earth-day-lets-celebrate-true-sustainability-and-a-continuance-of-our-high-quality-of-life/
  67. The War on Carbon, How it Came to Be” October 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/16/the-war-on-carbon-how-it-came-to-be/
  68. Energy and Economic Prosperity, My Thoughts, a presentation to the Delaware County Bar Association, July 2016: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2016/07/25/energy-and-economic-prosperity-my-thoughts-dick-storm/
  69. Primary Energy that American’s are Accustomed to: 830,000 BTUs per Day/Person, Sept. 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/09/16/830000-btus-per-day-person/
  70. The Stupidity of Net-Zero Carbon, Oct. 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/13/the-stupidity-of-net-zero-carbon/
  71. America’s Treasure of Fossil Fuels, Update of 2011 presentation to ASME: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/11/26/americas-treasure-of-fossil-fuels/
  72. American Dream = 100 Quadrillion BTUs per Year April 7, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/04/american-dream-100-quadrillion-btus/
  73. Providing a Sustainable Million BTUs per Day/Person, May 17,  2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/05/17/providing-a-sustainable-million-btus-per-day-per-person-by-fuel-source/
  74. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 1, 1850-1955, January 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/14/a-short-history-of-energy-electricity-and-how-our-high-quality-of-living-came-to-be-high-human-development-index-part-1-1850-1955/
  75. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 2:  https://wp.me/p5DzAo-k6
  76. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 3: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-ll
  77. A Short History of Power Generation, Part 4: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-n4
  78. Energy=Life as We Enjoy it, Aug. 22, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/08/22/energy-life-that-is-life-as-we-enjoy-it/
  79. “The War on Carbon, How it Came to Be”, Oct. 16, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/10/16/the-war-on-carbon-how-it-came-to-be/
  80. Energy and Economic Prosperity, Jan. 11, 2021: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/03/energy-and-economic-prosperity/https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/01/03/energy-and-economic-prosperity/
  81. Energy and World Peace, April, 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/04/05/energy-world-peace/
  82. Without New Thinking on Nuclear Power, Anti-Carbon Policy Can’t Succeed, Nov. 11, 2021 : https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/11/13/without-new-thinking-on-nuclear-power-anti-carbon-climate-policy-cant-succeed/
  83. The Rise and Fall and Rise Again  of Nations and the  Realities of Energy: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/08/15/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-nations-and-the-realities-of-energy/
  84. America Needs 100 Quadrillion BTUs of Primary Energy Each Year, May 16, 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/05/16/back-to-basics-the-u-s-needs-100-quadrillion-btus-year-of-primary-energy/  
  85. Pillars of Modern Civilization, Ammonia, Food, Steel, Concrete, Plastics, Aluminum, July 2022: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/25/pillars-of-modern-civilization-all-dependent-on-energy/
  86. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),  S.C. Energy Profile: https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=SC
  87. U.S. EIA, Electricity explained: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us-generation-capacity-and-sales.php
  88. S.C. Energy Office, Charts and discussion of S.C. energy and electricity generation: https://south-carolina-energy-office-1-1-scors-eo.hub.arcgis.com/pages/electricity-data#clcw7fc2k
  89. EIA Dashboard, this shows the actual generation by fuel and region in real time: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/gridmonitor/dashboard/electric_overview/balancing_authority/SC
  90. Santee-Cooper Integrated Resource Plan for future electricity generation assets. This is the latest 2024 update: https://www.santeecooper.com/About/Integrated-Resource-Plan/Reports-and-Materials/Santee-Cooper-2024-IRP-Update.pdf
  91. China’s Nuclear Power Plants: According to the World Nuclear Safety Council, as of September 2021, China had 52 nuclear reactors in operation and another 18 under construction, representing a total nuclear power generation capacity of approximately 51 GW.
  92. Additionally, China plans to build many more nuclear reactors in the coming years, with the goal of increasing its installed nuclear power capacity to 70 GW by 2025. https://nuclear-energy.net/nuclear-power-plants/list/china
  93. EIA Information on Nuclear Plants in China, updated, May 2024: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61927&trk=public_post_comment-text
  94. U.S. Nuclear Fuel is mostly imported, Jan 25, 2025: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64444
  95. World Electricity Growth projected to be 4%/year by IEA through 2027: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alessandro-blasi-6579a66_entering-the-age-of-electricity-in-a-chart-activity-7297539477021839360-l5te/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAI4KQUBYW-cbQRlA1kgj9X3llGi7u6KNnQ
  96. Four more Westinghouse Reactors to be built in China, Westinghouse Nuclear News: https://info.westinghousenuclear.com/news/four-westinghouse-ap1000-reactors-in-china
  97. New Coal Power in China, Report by Global Energy Monitor-CREA, Feb. 2025: https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CREA_GEM_China_Coal-power_H2-2024_FINAL.pdf
  98. Battery Electricity Storage Systems References (BESS)
  99.  Grid Scale BESS (Battery Electricity Storage Systems) Info by NREL (Dept. of Energy): https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/74426.pdf
  100. Canary Media Report on Moss Landing Vistra Battery Fire, January 2025: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/batteries/moss-landing-the-worlds-biggest-grid-battery-just-caught-fire-again
  101. “Felicity Ace” ship sinking with approx. 4,000 cars due to Lithium battery fire off the coast of Portugal, February 2022: https://maritime-executive.com/article/report-volkswagen-sued-by-mol-for-the-loss-of-felicity-ace-car-carrier
  102. Maritime fire of 500 vehicles disaster of “Freemantle Highway” by G-Captain News July 2023: https://gcaptain.com/k-line-confirms-nearly-500-electric-vehicles-on-burning-car-carrier-in-the-north-sea/
  103. References and Further Reading on EV’s and Hybrid VehiclesThomas Shepstone article “EV’s-Green Transition or Green Delusion” : https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/green-transition-or-green-delusion?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
  104. Georgia Power IRP Update, January 2025 to show the need to keep coal plants running: https://www.georgiapower.com/news-hub/press-releases/georgia-power-files-2025-irp-plan-to-meet-energy-needs.html
  105. POWER ENGINEERING Magazine article on Georgia Power revised IRP, Jan. 2025: https://www.power-eng.com/gas/georgia-power-proposes-uprates-life-extensions-for-generation-assets-in-latest-resource-plan/
  106. Duke Energy Carolinas, News to review the existing IRP, January 2025: https://www.duke-energy.com/our-company/about-us/irp-carolinas
  107. Duke Energy Carolinas, IRP-2023: https://www.duke-energy.com/our-company/about-us/irp-carolinas/prior-plans
  108. Dominion Energy-IRP 2023 (South Carolina) which shows plans to replace coal plants with natural gas capacity before 2030: https://cdn-dominionenergy-prd-001.azureedge.net/-/media/pdfs/global/company/irp/sc/desc-integrated-resource-plan-2024.pdf?rev=42a0728dbf894c979aefc95151401fcb
  109. Study Destroys Basis for EPA – Climate Regulations, Watts Up With That https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/03/20/study-destroys-basis-of-epa-climate-regulations/

The SWAMP Monster vs. the Best Interests of the United States of America

GONGO, The 14 Headed SWAMP Monster

Congress should have reined in the Bureaucratic SWAMP monster long ago. Remember Charlie Reese’s editorial? The column title: 545 vs. 300 Million. It is here. The 435 members of Congress through their delegation of authority (or more correctly, abdication of responsibility) have allowed the EPA, Dept. of Education, Dept. of Energy and other Bureaucratic organizations to careen out of control to such an extent that they are now more lethal to our freedoms and prosperity than any other entity on planet earth. They have become the Deep State and are very intertwined (don’t forget the DOJ/Homeland Security open borders policy 2021 to 2024) with tax sheltered NGOs, certain politicians, members of the Judiciary, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and the other remaining heads of the SWAMP Monster. Follow the money is what Elon Musk is doing and so far, the findings are alarming. We the People have been funding much of what I and many others would consider enemies of our country. Yes, certain Rules and Regulations are against the best interests of America and I would categorize these rules and regulations as enemies from within. I wrote on Jan. 21, 2021 my thoughts regarding Joe Biden’s (un-American) policies. I thought at the time, Biden was more interested in a strong China than a strong and prosperous America.

Thomas J. Shepstone recently wrote on the USAID scandal. I liked the word GONGO that he coined. I am quoting Mr. Shepstone below and I used his graphic of the SWAMP Monster above:

“The USAID scandal grows with every chime of the clock on the wall. Jo Nova captures the essence of the crime:

Today we found out that news outlets like Politico, and the New York Times were being given millions of dollars from the US government.

Then this week it was revealed that the EPA has given $2 Billion dollars to a Climate Action Fund which is closely affiliated with Stacy Abrams. Excerpts from the New York Post follow:

“The Environmental Protection Agency recently discovered that the Biden administration awarded $2 billion to a climate group with ties to former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a fierce supporter of former President Joe Biden. 

The money was earmarked for Power Forward Communities — a nonprofit partnered with multiple left-wing groups founded by Abrams and which the Georgia Democrat has stated she was “thrilled” to be part of, the Washington Free Beacon reported on Wednesday. 

The funds were set aside at an outside financial institution — Citibank — before Biden left office and part of a larger, $20 billion pot of money the former president’s EPA received through the Inflation Reduction Act to dole out to climate groups. 

“It’s extremely concerning that an organization that reported just $100 in revenue in 2023 was chosen to receive $2 billion,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told the outlet, referring to Power Forward Communities’ latest tax filings. “That’s 20 million times the organization’s reported revenue.”

My take on all of this is, the corruption in government, and especially the Democrat Party is far worse than even I ever believed.

It turns out the Non-Government Organizations were really the Government.

The word for that is GONGO a government organised non-government organisation.

“Hands up who is still reeling with the news that USAID had 50 thousand million dollars of political and media influence? The annual budget of $50 billion dollars in the hands of unaccountable activist NGOs buys a lot of “journalists,” editors and teenage protestors. Suddenly a lot of global patterns make more sense.” Thank you Thomas J. Shepstone!

GONGO the SWAMP Monster

I started using the term SWAMP Monster and few years ago. First, I referred to the “Six Headed SWAMP Monster”, then seven and now 14. The Deep State SWAMP MONSTER is the fourth branch of government and has been working against the best interests of the U.S.A. for decades.

  1. Democrat Party
  2. EPA
  3. NGOs such as the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund and many more
  4. Main Stream Media
  5. Entertainment, Hollywood, TV
  6. United Nations
  7. World Economic Forum
  8. Public education K-12 and Universities
  9. The “Swamp Bureaucrats” in addition to the EPA and USAID who are employed by Federal and state government agencies creating excessively restrictive regulations and rules and funding anti-American activists
  10. Leftist Lawyers practicing Lawfare and so-called “Environmental Justice”
  11. Foreign governments
  12. Wealthy Billionaires
  13. Banking and Finance. World Bank, IMF and top financial institutions
  14. Activist Judges

Conclusion

Thank God President Trump is President. The government corruption of NGOs, Bureaucrats and Democrats will be very difficult to root out in just four years. I support Elon Musk as head of DOGE and his team. I have wondered for a long time why so many anti-American Regulations and policies were implemented. Now, at least to me, it seems clear. The people that have been making these Regulations have never worked in the Private Sector, do not understand what it takes to run a business and they do not care about the pain and suffering they cause to productive Americans. As stated above regarding Biden, the policies they supported were slanted toward weakening of the U.S. and strengthening of China. I wondered about why the EPA implemented so many Un-American Rules, such as:

  • New Source Review
  • The CO2 Endangerment Finding
  • Unattainable Vehicle Fuel Mileage Standards
  • These and other Rules and Regulations have created a coming electricity generation crisis and very nearly destroyed American automobile manufacturing as well as other manufacturing such as, steel, aluminum, large steam generators and fuel burning equipment for conventional power generation.

A Revolving Door of Employment

Many of the key persons appointed to high levels in the EPA moved through a revolving door of employment from activist organizations. Such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, Power Forward Communities and many more. These NGOs then are inter-related with the World Economic Forum, the United Nations and others as mentioned in the news stories above on USAID and the EPA. The corruption is far worse than even I thought it could be.

I will include some references below for further reading and support of my statements above. Thank you Elon Musk, President Trump, and all of the members of the Cabinet. Let’s Make America Great Again! You all have my humble but full support.

Dick Storm, February 21, 2025

References :

  1. Charley Reese’s Last Column on the “545 vs. 300 million” The Government Officials that should be accountable for government functions and efficiency: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2024/11/27/charley-reeses-last-column-a-classic-commentary-written-over-twenty-years-ago/
  2. Men of God and Country, Orlando Sentinel reprint of Charley Reese’s Last Column: 545 vs. 300 Million: https://menofgodandcountry.com/charley-reeses-final-column-for-the-orlando-sentinel/
  3. DOGE website of activity and tabulation of waste: https://doge.gov/savings
  4. The Whitehouse List of some wasteful spending uncovered by DOGE, as of February. 3, 2025: https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/
  5. Heritage Foundation article, June 2021 on “10 Absurdly Wasteful Items Tucked in Democrats 3.5 Trillion Tax and Spend Monstrosity” : https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/10-absurdly-wasteful-items-tucked-democrats-35-trillion-tax-and
  6. Lawfare and Abuse of the Legal System by Judiciary Committee, January 2024: https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-07-09%20Lawfare%20-%20How%20the%20Manhattan%20District%20Attorneys%20Office%20and%20a%20New%20York%20State%20Judge%20Violated%20the%20Constitutional%20and%20Lega.pdf
  7. Capital Research Center on Lawfare: https://capitalresearch.org/tag/lawfare/
  8. Influencers of Foolish U.S. Energy Policies, Dick Storm blog, Jan. 2023: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2023/01/04/influencers-of-american-energy-policy/
  9. Dick Storm Thoughts on January 21, 2021 regarding Joe Biden’s un-American policies: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/01/21/are-you-worried-about-the-future-of-america/
  10. 114th Congress, Majority Staff Report, Obama’s Carbon Mandate, August 2015: http://www.scientificintegrityinstitute.org/USSEWP080415.pdf
  11. Thomas J. Shepstone article on misuse of taxpayer dollars and questionable tax sheltered charities: https://open.substack.com/pub/energysecurityfreedom/p/we-need-to-stop-giving-ngos-government?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
  12. Capital Research Center, History of the Climate Polices, by Ken Haapala: Capital Research Center, Report on Climate Dollars https://www.climatedollars.org/full-study/a-short-history-of-global-warming-fears/
  13. Firebreak article on Lawfare on a Global Scale, Jan. 9, 2025: https://www.thefirebreak.org/p/supreme-court-should-crush-the-climate?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Musings on Self-Sabotaging Energy Policies and a Reminder of the History of the Rise and Fall of Nations

Much has been discussed and written on the self-sabotaging of production of the sources of the primary energy that civil society depends. This article was inspired by a discussion with my senior engineer friend, Michael who emigrated to America from Russia in 1977. Michael and I had a discussion on the Russian Revolution and his musings of “why did Russia self destruct in 1917”? Before the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian economy was a top economy of the world, ahead of France’s. In 1913 it was number four after the U.S., Great Britain and Germany. Frankly, I did not know that until last week, but in checking, Michael is correct. This led to my pondering why are so many U.S. policies (especially energy policies) designed to destroy our country? Look at the decline of German industrial production as a result of their energy policies. Another sobering video of world history from the viewpoint of Economic Strength is prepared by Ray Dalio and is on You Tube. Who are the individuals or organizations behind these anti-American and truly, anti-western civilization policies? I will list some below.

What are some other examples of countries whose economies climbed and then fell? Here are four: China, India, Argentina and Venezuela. The causes of the rise and fall of various nations can be attributed to many factors, the causes of which can be debated. The purpose for this article is to highlight the facts of history that remind us that once great nations or empires fell from greatness largely due to internal politics and policies. Today, reasonable cost, reliable and abundant Primary Energy is in fact, a vital key to a countries greatness and power. Here is a chart of the rise and fall of nations by Visual Capitalist.

In This Modern World, Energy is the Economy

The Biden war on the sources of the Primary Energy (on which We Depend) is Self-Sabotaging Keeping America Great.

Previous articles posted on my blog discuss some of the villains of American Greatness. My #1 pick of the top villain is the Washington, DC SWAMP. This is the one catch-all group that is the source of most resistance to keeping America great. The SWAMP is a complicated group comprised of many organizations, (millions of) Bureaucrats, Biased Judiciary and legal system that conducts Lawfare, NGOs, RINO’s, foreign governments, finance and banking and the Democrat political party. Who Are Some of the Enemies of Keeping America Great?

The Thirteen Headed SWAMP Monster

In previous blog posts I have referred to the six headed swamp monster, later changed to nine headed and today with the addition of the U.S. Legal system, Lawfare, Banking, Wealthy Billionaires and foreign government influence, the Swamp Monster now has Thirteen Heads. Here they are:

  1. The EPA (2, 6, 80, 83, 88 )
  2. NGOs such as the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund and many more (2, 6, 27, 28, 43, 47, 77, 81, 89, 93, 95, 96, 101, 102, 104,105,110,111 )
  3. Main Stream Media (3, 11, 21, 40 )
  4. Entertainment
  5. United Nations (20, 61, 62, )
  6. World Economic Forum (57,
  7. U.S. Democrat Party (30, 44, 65, 67, 68, 82, 27, 29,)
  8. Public education K-12 and Universities(3, 4, 5, 9)
  9. The “Swamp Bureaucrats” in addition to the EPA, who are employed by Federal and state government agencies creating excessively restrictive regulations and rules
  10. Leftist Lawyers practicing Lawfare and so-called “Environmental Justice” (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 23, 83, 88)
  11. Foreign governments (.25, 42, 43, 49, 54, 55, 56, 61, 62, 64, 68)
  12. Wealthy Billionaires( 46, 77, 78, 97 )
  13. Banking and Finance. World Bank, IMF and top financial institutions (112)

Godspeed President Trump!

President Trump is the best person to meet these challenges. The resistance is well dug in and reversing the Biden policies will be a challenge. I am sending my best wishes to President Trump, for success in slaying the DC Swamp Monster and for his Team’s effort to Keep America Great!

Dick Storm, January 13th, 2025

References for further Reading and Research:

The list below provides published news regarding the basis for my selection of the dozen entities listed above and now referred to as the “Twelve Headed Swamp Monster”

  1. Politico, “War on Coal” 2015: https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/05/inside-war-on-coal-000002/
  2. EPA and Environmental Extremists have a Revolving Door Employment Policy. Activists are employed in NGOs in waiting for a Democrat Presidential administrations to come into power and all the while exchange information with EPA 114th Congress, Majority Staff Report, Obama’s Carbon Mandate, August 2015.  http://www.scientificintegrityinstitute.org/USSEWP080415.pdf
  3. Real Clear Wire, “Here’s the Climate Dissent You’re Not Hearing About Because it is Muffled by Society’s Top Institutions” :  https://realclearwire.com/articles/2023/09/13/heres_the_climate_dissent_youre_not_hearing_about_because_its_muffled_by_societys_top_institutions_978511.html?utm_medium=email&utm_content=iJgazUr_XAtMm8bXcO-NbIzld7XNG9xSjxbQsPeA5uyvxxlevtyy6INEIV4bUTjx
  4. Dr. Timothy Ball Paper on the Deliberate Corruption of Science, 2014: https://www.alachuacounty.us/Depts/epd/EPAC/BOOK%20REVIEW%20-%20‘THE%20DELIBERATE%20CORRUPTION%20OF%20CLIMATE%20SCIENCE%20by%20TIM%20BALL.pdf
    Tim Ball, CO2 is not a pollutant 2018: https://www.technocracy.news/tim-ball-the-evidence-proves-that-co2-is-not-a-greenhouse-gas/
  5. Dr. Judith Curry post on how Disinformation Industrial Complex is harming Trust in Science, June 2023: https://judithcurry.com/2023/04/23/how-the-disinformation-industrial-complex-is-destroying-trust-in-science/https://judithcurry.com/2023/04/23/how-the-disinformation-industrial-complex-is-destroying-trust-in-science/
  6. EPA Sue and Settle Lawsuits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce 2013: https://www.uschamber.com/assets/archived/images/documents/files/SUEANDSETTLEREPORT-Final.pdf
  7. Updated Chamber of Commerce Report on the Harm done by “Sue and Settle” Lawsuits 2013-2016: https://dev.uschamber.com/assets/documents/u.s._chamber_sue_and_settle_2017_updated_report.pdf
  8. CO2 Coalition home page: https://co2coalition.org
  9. Dr. Richard Lindzen on Temperature of the Earth: https://climateactiontracker.org
  10. Clintel Declaration (European Scientists): https://clintel.org/world-climate-declaration/
  11. WUWT Timeline of Failed Climate Doomsday Predictions: https://wattsupwiththat.com/failed-prediction-timeline/
  12. Roy Spencer Web site: https://www.drroyspencer.com
  13. Heartland Institute: http://climatechangereconsidered.org
  14. Professor Richard Lindzen, MIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lindzen#Views_on_climate_change
  15. Prof. Lindzen article in Tablet Magazine on China and his views on AGW: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/china-warming-richard-lindzen
  16. American Mind article by Dr. Richard Lindzen, Nov. 2024: https://americanmind.org/salvo/manufacturing-consensus-on-climate-change/
  17. Chinese Carbon Credits Scam investigation by German DW Magazine: https://www.dw.com/en/how-a-chinese-firm-ran-a-billion-euro-carbon-credit-scam/a-71010148
  18. Dr. Vinos interview on You Tube discussing natural Climate forces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7GdHPypAC8
  19. Heritage Foundation, “Climate Page” of Website: https://www.heritage.org/climate?mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGXfz3aREvIc4jAVmPqgO1KYBASQWFmxQ-BHw-RdsKU3zea2ONFX-HMz9iWNa3xxSVod5kd_G7r5LGVHI-fRyutA0OlgmXwc1DWzLyLX5vzmHHT47o
  20. IPCC Report Proves CO2 is Not an Emergency, Substack by Rob Schneider: https://rmschne.substack.com/p/ipcc-confirms-we-are-not-in-a-climate
  21. Competitive Enterprise Institute, 2019 article and references of; “50 Years of Failed Predictions of Environmental Activists”https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions/
  22. Heritage Foundation, “Climate Page”: https://www.heritage.org/climate?mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGXfz3aRIOsM-V1SirqN9euVM6CrLmE7mNXZhQ4H2glt9Gd_2YoZbmYOg5fUa5b7JmJoMHRBDVsGZP1lCmb_NkcC5x399HjWdkBQj0Z1KMzBL-m-oM
  23. Firebreak article on Lawfare on a Global Scale, Jan. 9, 2025: https://www.thefirebreak.org/p/supreme-court-should-crush-the-climate?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
  24. Book: “Merchants of Despair” by Robert Zubrin, on Radical Environmentalists, CriminalPseudo-Scientists and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism: Published 2012 by Encounter Books and again in 2016 by the Heartland Institute
  25. Capital Research Center video on China’s influence of American Environmental Policies: https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-china-designed-american-environmental-policy/
  26. Clintel Open Letter to U.N. Secretary General, June 23, 2023: https://clintel.org/open-letter-from-clintel-to-the-un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres/
  27. Washington Examiner: Gina McCarthy CEO of NRDC: https://eelegal.org/washington-examiner-gina-mccarthy-and-nrdc-together-again/
  28. Ken Braun’s article on Jennifer Graham background at Capital Research Center, “Green Watch”: https://capitalresearch.org/article/bonkers-about-batteries-the-unauthorized-biography-of-jennifer-granholm/
  29. Dept. of Interior Sec’y Deb Harland on Utah Land which has energy reserves: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/15/deb-haaland-national-monument-protections-joe-biden-trump
  30. E & E News June 6, 2023. How Green New Dealers became Washington Power Players: https://www.eenews.net/articles/how-green-new-dealers-became-washington-power-players/
  31. Profile of the Department of the Interior, compiled by Robert Stilson of CRC: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-department-of-the-interior/
  32. CRC Profile of the Department of Energy: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-department-of-energy/
  33. CRC on the EPA: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-independent-agencies/#environmental-protection-agency
  34. CRC on the WH Council on Environmental Quality: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-executive-office-of-the-president/#council-on-environmental-quality
  35. CRC on the WH Office of Domestic Climate Policy: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-executive-office-of-the-president/#office-of-domestic-climate-policy
  36. CRC on the Office of Science and Technology Policy: https://www.influencewatch.org/government-agency/biden-administration-executive-office-of-the-president/#office-of-science-and-technology-policy
  37. CRC on environmental group connections in this blog post from June 2021: https://capitalresearch.org/article/nonprofits-in-the-biden-administration-special-interest-and-advocacy-groups/
  38. Science Matters on the Roots of Environmentalism, Jan 2023: https://rclutz.com/2023/01/06/from-nature-conservation-to-climate-calamity/#like-28807
  39. C. Paul Smith “Closing Argument on the Climate Change Hoax”:  https://www.cpaulsmith.com/palmyra-bookstore/the-climate-change-hoax-argument/
  40. The UK and European experiences with “Green Energy” should be a clear warning to the U.S.A., The Telegraph, June 11, 2023: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/britain-s-green-energy-disaster-should-be-an-awful-warning-to-americans/ar-AA1compu?OCID=ansmsnnews11
  41. How the Greens Went Mainstream, Foreign Policy, April 2021: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/23/how-the-greens-went-mainstream/
  42. Russian Funding of Anti-Fossil Fuels Groups in U.S. March 2022, The Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/596304-investigate-russias-covert-funding-of-us-anti-fossil-fuel-groups/
  43. Washinton Free Beacon article on EPA Requests DOJ to Investigate Dark Money to Environmental Activist Groups, October 2020:  https://freebeacon.com/national-security/epa-requests-doj-investigate-foreign-funding-of-environmental-groups/
  44. Dark Money accepted by Democrats from BlueGreen Alliance admission, Washington free Beacon May 24, 2023: https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/senate-finance-committee-dems-said-theyd-fight-dark-money-they-just-fawned-over-a-liberal-dark-money-operative/
  45. “So-Called” Democracy Alliance Investment Report, 2014: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1202744/da-portfolio2012-2014-042714.pdf
  46. Swiss Billionaire Bankrolls Biden Agenda through Arabella Advisors, Reported in Washington Free Beacon, April 4, 2023: https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/swiss-billionaire-bankrolls-biden-agenda-with-63-million-in-dark-money/
  47. Meet the Group behind Banning Gas Stoves, Rocky Mountain Institute Creates anti Gas Stove Campaign, partially funded by China, as reported in Washington free Beacon, January 16, 2023: https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/meet-the-green-energy-group-behind-the-study-thats-driving-calls-to-ban-gas-stoves/
  48. Stacey Abrams working with Group, Rewiring America, to Ban Gas Stoves. Group has ties with Chinese Funding, Washington Free Beacon, March 16, 2023: https://freebeacon.com/democrats/election-denier-stacey-abrams-is-now-working-to-eliminate-gas-stoves/
  49. Obama’s Man in China is now China’s Man in Washington, Max Baucus is talking head for China, Washington Free Beacon, May 21, 2020: https://freebeacon.com/national-security/obamas-man-in-china-now-beijings-man-in-washington/
  50. Numerous articles on Environmental Activists around the world, The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/us/topics/environmental-activism-3496
  51. BBC Report on 50 years of Activism, How the Biggest Environmental Movement Began April 2020: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200420-earth-day-2020-how-an-environmental-movement-was-born
  52. Meet the Activists, Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/meet-the-activists
  53. House Lawmakers Step Up Action on Green Groups Working with Foreign Countries, June, 2018, Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-environment-congress-idUSKBN1JG204
  54. Washington Examiner, June 2018: Russian Groups Gave Millions to Green Groups to Fight Fracking in U.S.: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/russian-funded-environmental-group-gave-millions-to-anti-fracking-groups  
  55. GAO Report on Foreign Influence of U.S. Research, Oct. 2021: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105434
    81. FBI Investigating Foreign Influence of Jan. 6, 2020 Capital Riot, NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/fbi-probing-if-foreign-governments-groups-funded-extremists-who-helped-n1254525
  56. Capital Research Report on Combatting Foreign Influence of American Institutions, Robert Stilson, October 2020 : https://capitalresearch.org/article/combating-foreign-government-influence-in-american-institutions/  
  57. World Economic Forum Doesn’t Even Hide their Intent to Create Decline of the Western World: https://blackmon.substack.com/p/fridays-energy-absurdity-wef-isnt
  58. WEF Urban Mobility Paper, May 2023: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Urban_Mobility_Scorecard_Tool_2023.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  59. John Kerry Speech on “The Great Reset” New American, Nov. 2020: https://thenewamerican.com/john-kerry-talks-great-reset-at-world-economic-forum/
  60. John Kerry Targets Agriculture at WEF Speech, May 2023, Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-kerry-targets-agriculture-part-climate-crusade
  61. The Uselessness of the United Nations to Improve World Peace, Prosperity and to Lift Poor Countries from Poverty. The U.N. Energy and World Peace: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/04/05/energy-world-peace/
  62. Vaclav Klaus and his book, “Blue Planet in Green Shackles”:
  63. Visual Capitalist, Over 2000 Years of Economic History in One Chart: http://www.visualcapitalist.com/2000-years-economic-history-one-chart/
  64. U.S. IRA Funds Given to China for Green Power, Cowboy News Jan. 2023: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2022/12/31/energy-dept-gives-more-taxpayer-money-to-chinese-companies-barrasso-demands-answers/
  65. Report of Uranium One Deal sale to Russia and Russian Influence of the Obama’s and Clintons, Fox News 2018 : https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II06/20190625/109694/HHRG-116-II06-20190625-SD004.pdf
  66. The Hill, Wikileaks Releases Alleged John Podesta emails on Russian Business dealings of Clintons and Obama, Oct. 10, 2016: https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/299904-wikileaks-releases-alleged-podesta-emails/
  67. Politico, What you Need to Know About Hillary Clinton and Uranium One Deal, Nov. 14, 2017:https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/14/hillary-clinton-uranium-one-deal-russia-explainer-244895
  68. China buying Russian oil, gas and coal, Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/asian-buyers-russian-oil-gas-coal-2022-02-22/
  69. China-Russian Energy Deal, February 2022: https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russia-china-may-sign-energy-other-deals-amid-moscow-tension-with-west-2022-02-03/
  70. Russia overtakes Saudi Arabia as World’s largest oil supplier, June 20, 2022 Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-20/china-buys-7-5-billion-of-russian-energy-with-oil-at-record
  71. Korea Times, China depends on Sanctioned Russian Fuel, June 20, 2022: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/world/2022/06/501_331352.html
  72.  Government Accountability Office Report on Environmental Protection Agency–Application of Publicity or Propaganda and Anti-Lobbying Provisions EPA Lobbying, 2015: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-326944 
  73.  NRDC About us and link to IRS 990 Form: https://www.nrdcactionfund.org/about/
  74. Influence Watch, NRDC page: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/
  75. Washington Examiner: Gina McCarthy CEO of NRDC: https://eelegal.org/washington-examiner-gina-mccarthy-and-nrdc-together-again/
  76. Wrong Kind of Green, NRDC and Source Watch: https://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/the-group-of-ten/natural-resources-defense-council/
  77. Bezos awards $100 million to NRDC : https://www.nrdc.org/media/2020/201116
  78. Bezos plans to give Billions to Environmental Org’s: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/20/jeff-bezos-pledges-1-billion-to-conservation-through-bezos-earth-fund.html
  79. Activist Facts,  Environmental Report (Follow the Money): https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/19-natural-resources-defense-council/
  80. Washington Examiner 2013 EPA and Sue and Settle Lawsuits: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/epas-back-room-sue-and-settle-deals-require-reform
  81. Activist Facts, Sierra Club, Beyond Coal, Beyond Gas, Nuclear:https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/194-sierra-club/
  82. John Kerry, Far Left Support, Fox News Aug 2022: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-kerrys-climate-office-rife-ties-far-left-green-groups
  83. EPA Retains Tools to Harm Coal Power Production, Utility Dive, July 1, 2022: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/supreme-court-epa-GHG-carbon-power-plant/626456/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-07-01%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:42837%5D&utm_term=Utility%20Dive
  84. EIA 14.9 GW Total shutdowns planned in 2022, 12.6 GW coal: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50838
  85. Wind and Solar do not lower GHG Emissions for PJM, July 22, 2022, Real Clear Energy:https://www.realclearenergy.org/2022/07/22/wind_solar_fail_to_reduce_pjms_co2_emissions_843840.html?utm_source=rce-morning-volt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mailchimp-newsletter&mc_cid=0e024abebf&mc_eid=c7c23752b6
  86. Banning Modern Agriculture and High Crop Yields, EPA Rules, Paul Driessen, July 24, 2022: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/07/24/banning-modern-agriculture-and-high-crop-yields/
  87. EIA History of Renewable Energy Incentives March 2022: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/renewable-sources/incentives.php
  88. EPA New Source Review  Settlements Summaries: https://www.gem.wiki/EPA_Coal_Plant_Settlements
    EPA Settlements on NSR violations by WEPCO 2003: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/wisconsin-electric-power-company-wepco-clean-air-act-civil-settlement 
  89. Dissertation on the Sierra Club Success of Beyond Coal Campaign 2020: https://www.proquest.com/openview/b734be1b4fa402463fbb2ee03a7993e5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
  90. Inside the War on Coal Politico, The Agenda 2015: https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/05/inside-war-on-coal-000002/
  91. NRDC China Office: https://chinadevelopmentbrief.org/ngos/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/  
  92. Government Accountability Office Report on Environmental Protection Agency–Application of Publicity or Propaganda and Anti-Lobbying Provisions
    EPA Lobbying, 2015: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-326944 
  93. NRDC About us and link to IRS 990 Form: https://www.nrdcactionfund.org/about/
  94. Influence Watch, NRDC page: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/
  95. Washington Examiner: Gina McCarthy CEO of NRDC: https://eelegal.org/washington-examiner-gina-mccarthy-and-nrdc-together-again/
  96. Wrong Kind of Green, NRDC and Source Watch: https://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/the-group-of-ten/natural-resources-defense-council/
  97. Bezos awards $100 million to NRDC : https://www.nrdc.org/media/2020/201116
    Bezos plans to give Billions to Environmental Org’s: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/20/jeff-bezos-pledges-1-billion-to-conservation-through-bezos-earth-fund.html
  98. Activist Facts,  Environmental Report (Follow the Money): https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/19-natural-resources-defense-council/
  99. Washington Examiner 2013 EPA and Sue and Settle Lawsuits: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/epas-back-room-sue-and-settle-deals-require-reform
  100. Activist Facts, Sierra Club, Beyond Coal, Beyond Gas, Nuclear: https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/194-sierra-club/
  101. Mother Jones 2012, Sierra Club “War on Coal” update to kill 167 coal plants: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/04/map-american-coal-plants/
  102. AEP Newsletter to employees and Retirees on Turk Plant Settlement: https://aepretirees.com/2011/12/22/aep-resolves-all-legal-challenges-against-turk-plant-plant-on-track-to-begin-commercial-operation-in-2012/
  103. PowerEngineering Articles on Turk and Duke Coal plant closures, 2/01/2012: https://www.power-eng.com/renewables/aep-resolves-all-legal-challenges-against-turk-plant/#gref
  104. Source Watch Brags on NRDC being responsible for forcing shutting down of Seven major coal plants in Texas in 2007: 
    https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Natural_Resources_Defense_Council#Support_for_coal_gasification
  105. Environmental Defense Fund: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Defense_Fund
  106. Influence Watch profile of EDF: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/environmental-defense-action-fund/
  107. Paul Driessen Federalist Papers on Global Warming News: https://thefederalist.com/category/science/global-warming/
  108. Dick Storm Blog Short Link, Energy and Food Production: https://wp.me/p5DzAo-vU
  109. WUWT, Article, July 8, 2022, Green Communism, Eradicate the Energy Privilege of Rich Countries:  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/07/08/green-communism-eradicate-the-energy-privilege-of-rich-countries/
  110. Hypocritical Germany is being brought to its knees
    Berlin loved to preach the virtues of net zero. Now it is being forced to confront its own policy failures “The Telegraph” July 2022: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://netzerowatch.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3Dc920274f2a364603849bbb505%26id%3Dd82a27da35%26e%3D9e46528ac6&source=gmail&ust=1657801743497000&usg=AOvVaw0CITru9QpdtRsT0GoCul0L
  111. “CDP: The Incredible Shapeshifting NGO”, by David Zarouk in Substack, “Firebreak” January 13, 2025 : https://www.thefirebreak.org/p/cdp-the-incredible-shapeshifting?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
  112. World Bank Limits Funding of New Coal Plants: https://www.eco-business.com/news/coal-power-financing-restricted-world-bank-energy-policy/
  113. Vaclav Smil, “Net Zero is Not Going to Happen”, Fraser Institute, June 2024: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/halfway-between-kyoto-and-2050.pdf
  114. CO2 is NOT a Pollutant and Humans Cannot Regulate It, by Professor Murray Salby, 2016: https://expose-news.com/2024/06/08/carbon-isnt-a-pollutant-humans-cannot-regulate-it/  
  115. Excellent Presentation on Climate and Energy for the General Public :  https://rumble.com/v2l3sqy-climate-and-energy.html
    You Tube Presentation on the Influence of the Sun on Earth’s Climate, also at 3 minutes 10 seconds into the video, the recent excellent paper on Net Zero Carbon by William Happer, Richard Lindzen and W. A. van Wijngaarden is discussed, (link below) June 12, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfhbEDuZXDs
  116. CO2 Coalition Paper. Net Zero Averted Temperature Increase: https://co2coalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Net-Zero-Averted-Temperature-Increase-2024-06-11.pdf
  117. WUWT-August 2024, “Anthropogenic Warming is Political Science, Not Physical Science”    :  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/08/13/anthropogenic-global-warming-is-political-not-physical-science/
  118. Climatism Blog, Background of the Global Warming Scare: https://climatism.blog/2018/12/19/draconian-un-climate-agenda-exposed-global-warming-fears-are-a-tool-for-political-and-economic-change-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-actual-climate/
  119. WUWT on Sea Level Rise using 19th century photos of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/08/06/despite-alarmists-denials-statue-of-liberty-photos-expose-sea-level-rise-acceleration-failed-projections/
  120. Dr. Roger Pielke, jr., “The Honest Broker” Sub-stack Story of Environmental Science from his viewpoint, Dr. Mike Hulme: https://open.substack.com/pub/rogerpielkejr/p/from-idealism-to-realism?r=kv1a9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
  121. he Changing World Order, You Tube video by Ray Dalio, April 2025. A chilling reminder of world history from an economic strength viewpoint. Well done, worth the 45 minute watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xguam0TKMw8

The Magnificent and Indispensable Heat-Engine on Which Civil Society Depends, Part II, Focus on Fossil Fuels for Ocean Shipping

How many products have you bought lately that have a “Made in America” label on them? This article is to provide some background on the importance of conventional fossil fuels to provide the fuel for over 53,000 ocean transport ships. The MV Dali collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore provides a wakeup call regarding the immensity of world trade. The MV Dali is reported to have a fuel capacity of 1.8 million gallons of fuel. Its engine is an MAN-B&W Diesel rated at 41,480 MW or 55,6260 Horsepower.(2) There are thousands of other large ocean transport ships like her that we depend on each day to distribute raw materials and products to the people of the world, 99% are powered by fossil fuels.

Main Engine, MV Dali from NTSB accident (March 26) preliminary report issued May 14, 2024: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA24MM031_PreliminaryReport%203.pdf

Sometimes, it takes a tragedy to stir the public’s attention. Before the Dali collision and subsequent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, many folks may not have given much thought to the number of huge ships like this that are delivering raw materials and manufactured products throughout the world.

My main point is, the motive force to propel these ships through the water represents a lot of primary energy. According to the IEA, about 8.7 Exajoules (8.2 Quadrillion BTUs). About 25% of the world’s total energy consumption is used for transportation, when all ships, trains, motor vehicles and aircraft are considered.

How Much Fuel Does one Large Ship Consume?

One of the largest container ships to call on the U.S., the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, carries approximately 4.5 million gallons of fuel oil. The smaller Dali about 1.8 million gallons.

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin is considered an ultra-large container ship, as it can carry the equivalent of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in containers. Ultra-large container ships are more frequently used to bring goods from Asia to Europe.

Container ships that can go through the old Panama Canal locks are called Panamax ships and can generally hold up to 5,000 TEUs. Those vessels typically hold between 1.5 million and 2 million gallons of fuel. (The Dali was carrying 4,680 containers when it struck the Key Bridge)

Many container ships that call on the U.S. now are considered post-Panamax or New Panamax, named so because they are larger and can go through the newer, larger locks on the Panama Canal. Those ships are generally in the 8,000- to 14,000-TEU range. Ships in that size range can carry between 2.5 million and 4.5 million gallons of fuel.

The amount of fuel actually to be used on a trip depends primarily on the ship’s speed. Most ship engines have been designed for top speeds ranging between 20 and 25 knots per hour, which is between 23 and 28 miles per hour. A Panamax container ship can consume 63,000 gallons of marine fuel per day at that speed. This is a lot of fuel however, when expressed as fuel per ton mile, ocean transport is more efficient and uses less fuel/ton of cargo than any other method of shipping.

How Many Ships?

There are over 53,000 merchant ships registered to sail the oceans. This according to “Info Maritime” (1) The top 15 countries for numbers of vessels is shown on the chart below.

Closing Summary

Ocean transport is important to supply the people of the world with the products, food and raw materials needed to live sustainable lives. (Sustainable to me means, living the high quality of life that we enjoy now)

I should mention that this article was inspired by Ron Stein’s article in “America Out Loud”, which made mention of petroleum products making possible 6,000 products, 50,000 military aircraft, 50,000 ships and 20,000 commercial airplanes that the people of the world all depend.(7)

Fossil Fuels in the U.S.A.

Fossil Fuels used in the U.S.A. are shown below by the EIA for the year 2023. The world use of maritime fuel was stated by the IEA at 8.2 Quadrillion BTUs. The U.S. portion uses 26.1 Quadrillion BTUs of petroleum products for all transportation (34% of total fossil fuels), as shown below by the EIA chart. (If Exajoules and Quadrillion BTUs seem abstract, then think “Billions of gallons”.)

Conclusions

Ocean transport is important to sustain our quality of life. Including transport of food. Billions of gallons of Fossil fuels are used for shipping and this reasonable cost and abundant fuel is extremely important to keep international shipping costs reasonable.

The marine industry is under pressure to Decarbonize.(9) This is not only ludicrous but also it will be very expensive. The large and truly magnificent reciprocating internal combustion engines, a couple examples are discussed above are versatile and with some modifications, can be converted to use hydrogen, Methanol or ammonia. However, the production of hydrogen as a fuel requires much more energy, up to four times as much for production as is provided by the burning of the resulting hydrogen as fuel. Therefore a quick back of the envelope calculation would indicate that changing to hydrogen fuel will cost 4 times as much as current marine Diesel or Bunker fuel. Have you bought any hydrogen lately?

Large reciprocating engines similar to those used for ocean transport have been successfully used on land in stationary power generation power plants. They have the operations flexibility for fast starting and a quick shut down.(10, 11, 12) Operational flexibility that is ideal for backing up intermittent renewable solar and wind. The next article will feature these derivatives of large marine engines that are used for backup of Variable electricity generation renewables.

Yours truly,

Dick Storm August 7, 2024

References and Information for Further Research

  1. Info-Maritime 53,000+ Ships of the world info: http://infomaritime.eu/index.php/2021/08/22/top-15-shipowning-countries/#:~:text=In%20total%20the%20world%20merchant,UNCTAD%20statistics%20data%20from%202021.
  2. Dali Accident Report by NTSB (accident March 2024, Report May 14, 2024) : https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA24MM031_PreliminaryReport%203.pdf
  3. Wikipedia Container Ship Propulsion system jpg: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marine-propulsion-system.jpg
  4. Fuel carried by largest Container Ship, Benjamin Franklin example, 4.5 million gallons: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-many-gallons-of-fuel-does-a-container-ship-carry
  5. EIA Report on Petroleum Use for year 2023, 77.2 Quads: https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/flow/fossil_fuel_2023.pdf
  6. Maritime Executive, Transport Uses 25% of World Energy: https://maritime-executive.com/article/transport-uses-25-percent-of-world-energy
  7. Ron Stein article,Published February 19 ,2024 at America Lout Loud NEWS, “Are policymakers oblivious to the importance of crude oil, or are they intentionally sending us back to the 18th century?
    https://www.americaoutloud.news/are-policymakers-oblivious-to-the-importance-of-crude-oil-or-are-they-intentionally-sending-us-back-to-the-18th-century/
  8. Interesting reference book on much about Geography and Shipping: https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter5/maritime-transportation/
  9. United Nations report on Decarbonization pressures on Maritime Industry: https://www.unctad.org/system/files/official-document/rmt2023ch3_en.pdf
  10. Denton Texas, 225 MW Reciprocating Engine Power Plant, using Wartsilla Gas Engines: https://www.crosstimbersgazette.com/2018/06/11/denton-energy-center-to-begin-operations-next-month/
    https://www.wartsila.com/media/news/21-09-2016-wartsila-supplies-225-mw-power-plant-to-the-city-of-denton-texas-usa
    https://www.cityofdenton.com/335/Denton-Energy-Center-DEC
  11. Wartsilla Marine Engines and Generating Sets:
    https://www.wartsila.com/marine/products/engines-and-generating-sets
  12. POWER Magazine article on Wartsilla Gas Engine Plant in Michigan: https://www.powermag.com/new-gas-fired-plants-come-online-in-michigan/