The impossibility of achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050

This is a follow up to my last post: “Influencers of American Energy Policy” The purpose of the January 4th post was to outline “who” influenced the current American Energy Policy and how the “War on Carbon” advanced to reckless, un-American government policies to reach the unobtainable goal of Net Zero Carbon by 2050. A decarbonization path removing 80%+ of the conventional energy we depend on without an engineered transition plan to replace either the conventional electric power generation capacity or the fuels for transportation, cooking, heating, industrial production, commercial enterprises and our high HDI (Human Development Index). If carbon free power is to be achieved and our economy and quality of life is to be sustatained, then a major investment in nuclear is needed. As it stands now, there is No government Energy Policy, only a Decarbonization and anti-nuclear policy, thanks to the heavy influence of Environmental Extremists. Since 2010 over 102,000 MW of reliable coal and nuclear generation capacity has been shut down. It has not been replaced with new HELE coal plants nor with no startups yet of any new nuclear plants. The shutdowns are equivalent to more than 40 power plants the size of the Robert Moses Hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls. And the MSM reports that the reason for Blackouts was unseasonable cold and too much electricity use for heat-pumps and electric heating. What caused Rolling Blackouts over Christmas week? My answer is because there was too much reliable coal generation shut down and retired, without replacing that capacity in new plants! It is not that I alone am concerned, see July NERC Reliability report which also warned of diminishing reserve capacity. Also, compounding the problem of minimum maintenance on the existing coal fleet. Why? Because Utility executives expect the coal plants to be required to be shut down anyway, such as the (another energy incompetent lawyer making public policy) NC Governor Roy Cooper’s Clean Power Plan.

Replacing 100% of reliable coal and nuclear capacity with wind and solar is not possible.

This post is intented to show the diffficulty and in fact, the impossibility of achieving the stated end result of Net Zero Carbon by 2050. Growth of fossil fuel use 2020 to 2021 is shown here by Petro-Physicist Andy May. The people of the world continue to demand conventional energy. Also, worldwide coal consumption was at an all time high in 2022 as reported by the IEA. Conventional energy growth is also forecasted by the and the EIA with projections of 50% increased energy Demand by 2050.

I personally gave a presentation to the August 4th ENERUM Conference in Columbus, Ohio where I cautioned the audience on the inability of wind and solar to replace the generation from prematurely retiring of coal plants based on my own obervations and experience in the industry.

The principal reference that I have used below is from Mr. Donn Dears latest book, “Clean Energy Crisis”. Donn Dears has written numerous books and on his Blog “Power for the U.S.A.” on the topics of Energy, Environmental Regulations, The Looming Electricity Generation Crisis, Net Zero Carbon, Electric Vehicles and the facts on carbon dioxide’s impact on the planet. At the end of this post I have included over 100 references for further reading that support both Mr. Dears and my belief (also many other climate scientists and power engineers agree) that America truly does have a Clean Energy Crisis and that America has a (to borrow a WSJ headline) self-sabotaged Electric Grid. This is being done by the people and organizations written about in my January 4th Blog post. The WSJ also has chronicled some of the failures of green energy.

In “Clean Energy Crisis” much of the reasearch and facts previously described by Mr. dears and documented in his books and his excellent Blog, “Power for the U.S.A. These facts and information are condensed and summarized in a little over 100 pages. Here are some of the facts and thoughts from from “Clean Energy Crisis”.

What it Will it Take To Achieve Net Zero Carbon Bulk Electric Power Generation by 2050

For an energy engineer or anyone trained and experienced in energy and electric power generation, it is absurd to believe that renewables can replace fossil fuels. For example, here is what Dears suggests as a generation portfolio in 2050 that has no natural gas or coal power generation. It will take……..

• Wind– 995,141 Wind Turbines of 2.5 MW each
• Solar 3,918,996 MW (this is 139,964 MW each year)
• Nuclear 881 new nuclear power plants, which is 31 per year for every year from 2022-2050

For anyone involved in electricity generation the numbers shown above for Wind, Solar and Nuclear will instantly appear unachievable due to the intermittancy & the low energy density of wind and solar. The land area required for solar and wind will be immense. Doug Houseman, Principal Consultant at 1898 Consulting Division of Burns & McDonnell has provided his insight here on a LinkedIn post.

Nuclear, the most energy dense fuel, is the most proven provider of reliable, affordable Base load Bulk Power electricity generation. Nuclear power generation, in fact, has provided about 20% of America’s electricity for decades. For my state of SC over 50% of the total electricity is generated by four nuclear power plants. However, the building of 31 new plants nationwide, every year from 2022 till 2050 is simply not possible with the current workforce, manufacturing capacity, Federal regulations and numerous supply chain limitations. For those not familiar with primary energy and electricity production/generation a short overview is provided below. There is a lot of catching up to do to install reliable new power plants to replace the over 102,000 MW that has been shut down. Also, a lot of new power plants to produce the needed new power generation required for EV charging, hydrogen production and population growth. By 2050 the U.S. Population may exceed 438 million citizens. If everything is “Electrified” as some suggest, the electrification will not be from wind and solar. It is impossible for the Green New Deal to work.

What Fuels are used for the Currently Installed Bulk Electricity Generating Capacity Now? Here is What Powers America Now:

Electricity generation uses about 37% of the Primary Energy (see LLNL chart below) used by the U.S. Therefore, if much more expansion of EV use for transportation, home heating, cooking and other current uses of primary energy are transitioned from natural gas, gasoline, Diesel, Jet Fuel, etc, to being powered by electriciity, (are you ready to board electric or hydrogen powered airliners?) then the electric generation capacity will will need to be drastically increased. Also, by 2050 the U.S. population is projected to be up to about 438 million. The new citizens will want and should have high quality lives as we enjoy now. Like Donn Dears, I am interested in the future of America for our grandchildren and for future generations of Americans, which according the the Census Statistitions, will be more citizens in 2050.

1,143,757 MW of Installed Generation by Fuel in U.S.-2021: From EIA website. Note the numbers below express “Nameplate Capacity” This is not the same as actual generation, that will be discussed further down in the post.

Electricity Generation by Fuels, Now

The data above shows installed capacity in 2021 by “Nameplate” rating. The actual electricity generation for the Grid is accomplished by the most affordable fuels that are available at a given time. Those of us that have worked in the electric power industry know this as “Economic Dispatch” That means the lowest cost generation is selected to run at the highest possible capacity so that electric power production can be accomplished for the lowest overall cost to the consumers. Fuel alone constitutes about 90% of the production cost for a gas turbine combined cycle plant. So, if fuel costs double, so does the production cost of electricity.

Here is the Bulk Electricity Generation by Fuel for Christmas week 2022 Generation, for the 48 state U.S. Grid: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/gridmonitor/dashboard/electric_overview/US48/US48

Note: For the peak load which is highlighted, this is 80% Dispatchable Bulk Power provided by Natural Gas, Coal and Nuclear. Total electricity generation on Dec. 21st at the peak was 627,323 MW. Of that total, 221,648 MW was from gas, 132,423 MW was from coal and 92,397 MW was from nuclear power. Over 80% generation from conventional fuels.

Wind and Solar at peak shown above were 7% of the total generation mix. Not a forecast or guess. Just fact.

Wind and solar groups actively undermine grid reliability

This is excerpted from the “American Experiment.org” in Minnesota. This is regarding XCEL Energy’s plans to shut down the 2,238 MW Sherburne County Coal Plant in 2024. The below is quoted from the “American Experiment”.

“Adding new power plant capacity is fraught with challenges, especially if that power plant is supposed to be reliable.

For example, in Minnesota, Xcel Energy announced it would shut down all three units at the massive 2,238 MW Sherburne County (Sherco) generating station beginning next year for Sherco 2 (680 MW), Sherco 1 in 2026 (680 MW), and Sherco 3 (876 MW) by 2030.

Xcel’s original plan was to replace the retiring coal units with an 800 MW combined-cycle natural gas plant to maintain reliability, but the company caved to wind and solar special interest groups who, wrongly, argued the plant was not necessary for reliability.

Instead of building more reliable natural gas capacity, these groups, consisting of Fresh Energy, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the Clean Grid Alliance, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Minnesota Citizens Utility Board, argued the company should instead pursue wind, solar, battery storage, and limiting people’s access to electricity through LMRs, which seek to solve the problem of renewable unreliability by reducing electricity demand instead of providing adequate reliable power. 

It was a textbook example of how these groups are willing to sacrifice reliability for more renewables.”

As outlined in my January 4th Blog post, what is stated by the “American Experiment” is typical across the U.S.A. The results of the shutdowns of reliable coal plants should not be unexpected……

Rolling Blackouts, Christmas Week, 2022 Tennessee and North Carolina

Yes, Christmas brought Rolling Blackouts to two well respected and well run Utilities, Duke Energy and TVA. Why? In my view, it was forced by environmental extremists that have influenced the Clean Power Plan in NC and the National Net-Zero Carbon Policy of the government to incentivize more wind and solar and the shutting down of reliable coal plants by TVA. Here is the testimony of a representative of a large Industrial customer of Duke Energy and his OpEd in a local NC Newspaper: 

N.C. Utilities Commission Testimony of Bradford Muller of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry:

https://starw1.ncuc.gov/NCUC/ViewFile.aspx?Id=54fbaba6-76d3-4367-abe2-ee3f8fade516

https://www.wunc.org/2023-01-06/cold-weather-blackouts-challenge-conventional-wisdom-on-reliability

The PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ENERGY that We Depend On:

Electricity and Hydrogen are forms of Secondary Energy. Primary energy must be used to create them. Forms of primary energy are natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, wood (Biomass), MSW Municipal Solid waste, wind and solar. I showed the U.S. Grid generation during Christmas week 2022 above. This was for electricity generation and on the chart are the forms of primary energy used to generate the electricty that was needed (called Demand). The chart below shows America’s use of just short of 100 Quadrillion BTUs of energy during the entire year 2021. This includes energy flows for all forms of energy from source to end use. I think it is the best graphic to show the energy needs of the U.S. in one illustration. Energy is expressed in British Thermal Units (Btus) and all forms are converted to Btus for comparison. For example, wind & solar power of 1 kWh is equivalent to 3,412.6 Btus. Thus, all forms of energy are depicted on the chart, including renewables in their BTU equivalence.

The title of this post is, “The Impossibility of Achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050”. One way to visualize the impossibility of replacing conventional primary energy with wind and solar is to study the LLNL energy flow chart above. Note that after decades of subsidies (since Jimmy Carter’s National Energy Policy Act of 1978) for solar and wind, less than 5% of our total primary energy was produced by wind and solar for the entire year. Also note the U.S. Grid chart of actual generation by fuel for Christmas week, 7% of the total electricity generation was from wind or solar at the peak load point that I referenced.

Conclusions

1. It will be impossible to sustain the American economy and our life styles without about 0.8 million Btus per person per day. This aggregates to about 100 Quadrillion Btus of annual primary energy use total. It is important to specify Primary Energy. Those who promote electrifying everything or using hydrogen for transportation are performing a disservice by promising mythical power that must be produced by a form of Primary energy. Electricity and hydrogen do not occur naturally in nature, they must be produced using primary energy.
2. Replacing the approx 80% of our primary energy now provided by Fossil Fuels with wind and solar is not possible today and without immediate and extreme technological advances it will not be possible by 2050.
3. The Climate Policies are harming America’s productive capacity and as headlined by the WSJ, “America Self-Sabotages it’s Electric Grid”. Another WSJ article refers to “Impossible to Achieve Goals of Green Energy”
4. Nuclear energy as a primary fuel, could provide a huge portion of (secondary energy) electricity and hydrogen. However, building 31+ nuclear plants/year is simply not possible. Why? because of manufacturing supply chain limitations plus a lack of a trained workforce of engineers & craftsmen. The workforce and supply chain will need to be rebuilt, literally starting at Middle School training, as many of the workforce that built the existing nuclear fleet are retired or in other forms of work.
5. The Perpetrators of the misguided “Demonization of the Fuels we depend on, deserves most of the blame. However, the cause of the decline in energy independence and electric reliability is spread widely as outlined in my January 4th post. Regional Transmission Operators and cut throat pricing exaserbated by subsidized renewables contributes to the problem. Meredith Angwin, an energy expert has outlined other problems of Grid Reliability. Here is a LinkedIn post on her book, “Shorting the Grid”.
6. There is no transition plan for “Decarbonization”. Only ever increasing regulations to force the shut down of reliable coal plants with no viable replacements. Over 102,000 MW of reliable coal and nuclear plants have been shut down since 2010. These have been (at least some thought capacity was replaced) replaced in “Nameplate” capacity with natural gas, wind and solar. The Rolling Blackouts over Christmas week are the result of shutting too much reliable coal and nuclear generation down over the last few years. A true transition plan would include replacing existing older designs with new HELE ( High Efficiency Low Emission) coal plants. A major (600 MW or larger) new coal plant has not been build in the U.S. since 2013.

Summary

The people that truly understand energy and electricity know that replacing fossil fuels and nuclear with wind and solar is impossible by 2050, if ever. The problem as I see it, is that energy engineers and others trained and experienced in energy and electricity production are in a small minority of the U.S. and the world’s population. I estimate in the U.S. less than 3% of the total population understands energy and electricity generation. However, the majority of the U.S. and world citizens have been scared into believing carbon and nuclear energy is evil. How? By one very effective disinformation campaign by the MSM, WEF, the United Nations, wealthy Billionaires and government agencies. The policies of Environmental Extremism are about power over the people, not about saving the planet.

Some who read this post will disagree with me. That is expected because of the very effective work of the aforementioned organizations to demonize carbon and nuclear. This has been anticipated and below there are more than 100 reference links to support my conclusions, Most of these have not been reported fairly in the MSM so the original links are shown on this blog so that any one who disagrees is welcome to form your own opinion by reading and studying the references provided. Thank you for your attention to this important topic.

Yours truly,

Dick Storm, January 10, 2023

Suggested for further reading and reference. Many of the references are related to Climate Science, sea level rise and Anthropogenic Global Warming. However, the focus is on keeping America Energized!

1. Save America’s Grid, David Wojick:  https://heartland.org/opinion/save-americas-grid/
2. Excellent post on the difficulty of reaching Net Zero carbon, by Doug Houseman of 1898 Consulting on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/doug-houseman_plantozero-energytransition-energy-activity-7018530059871285248-ZSuj?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
3. POWER Magazine, Jan. 2023 Commentary, America’s Power, Michelle Bloodworth on the coming Reliability Train Wreck: https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2023/index.php#/p/40
4. POWER Magazine, Sonal Patel, Sept 9, 2022, EPA Rules likely to shut down about 86 GW of coal generation in next few years: https://www.powermag.com/group-epas-coordinated-regulatory-assault-on-coal-power-could-push-retirements-beyond-86-gw-by-2030/?oly_enc_id=3247D5884312C9W
5. Meredith Angwin Book, “Shorting the Grid”, LinkedIn Post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/meredithangwin_cleanenergyfuture-gridreliability-gridstability-activity-7018629775065837568-hV9y/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
6. Congressional Reference Reports, June 2021, Nuclear Plant Shut Downs: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46820/3
7. NERC 2022 State of Reliability Report, July 6, 2022: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/PA/Performance%20Analysis%20DL/NERC_SOR_2022.pdf
8. Dick Storm presentations at ENERUM, August 2022, Columbus, Ohio. These presentations are posted on the WESCOM website, Link to Dick Storm ENERUM Presentations and Podcast Oct. 2022:  https://linktr.ee/wescominc
9. N.C. Governor Roy Cooper’s Clean Power Plan, Typical of non-energy savvy leaders in many states and in the Federal government making policies without knowing the harm they will create: https://www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives/climate-change-and-clean-energy-plans-and-progress
10. WSJ, July 19, 2022, Climate Policy Causes Power Shortages : https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-wests-climate-policy-debacle-global-warming-energy-putin-russia-fossil-fuel-power-summer-heat-11658084481
11. 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/
12. WSJ July 19, 2022, Importance of Nuclear: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-global-nuclear-comeback-green-energy-fossil-fuels-supply-climate-mandates-power-generation-11658170860?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_4&cx_artPos=1&mod=WTRN#cxrecs_s
13. 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/
14. 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
15. World Nuclear Organization: https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx
16. Capital Research Center December 2021, “War on Consumers” article with Dick Storm contribution (pg 17) on why we cannot electrify everything: https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/Capital-Research-2021-8.pdf
17. WSJ December 28, 2022, “Refutation of Net-Zero Carbon” , Dec. 28, 2022: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-quiet-refutation-of-net-zero-climate-change-emissions-energy-global-warming-sec-goals-clean-power-11672262963?mod=opinion_lead_pos8
18. 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
19. Facts on EV Charging by EVESCO, Good explanation of electrical Demand for EV Charging: https://www.power-sonic.com/blog/levels-of-ev-charging/
20. Five Charts to Show the Ineffectiveness of Intermittent Renewables WUWT Oct 2022: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/10/05/a-few-graphs-say-it-all-for-weather-dependent-renewables-2/
21. Mark Mills, Prager Univ. Myths of Green Energy, Nov. 2022: https://twitter.com/prageru/status/1589634529253261312
22. IEA Solar Supply Chain Report, July 2022: https://www.iea.org/reports/solar-pv-global-supply-chains?utm_content=buffer2109b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
23. Canary Media, “China Owns the Solar Supply Chain, Jeopardizing the Energy Transition”, July 23, 2022: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/china-owns-the-solar-supply-chain-jeopardizing-the-energy-transition?utm_campaign=canary&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=220673447&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9qdplyTWSJwNbSUcaZsyQqMfEGosX_vUIpTFtv0RmnmBdVZVFKyZrThPLeb_nvaJ635TpzDjz8qaeF7K3f2mujCqjbtm3ezmo3tQu9mry8L1boHrk&utm_source=newsletter
24. American Public Power Assoc. Electric Generation by Sources, 2022: https://www.publicpower.org/resource/americas-electricity-generating-capacity
25. IEA Critical Minerals for EV’s : https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ffd2a83b-8c30-4e9d-980a-52b6d9a86fdc/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf
26. World Nuclear Assoc. Small Modular Reactors: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/small-nuclear-power-reactors.aspx
27. World Nuclear Association Info on Nuclear Power Contribution to Reducing Manmade Carbon Dioxide Emissions:  https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/energy-and-the-environment/nuclear-energy-and-sustainable-development.aspx
28. POWER Mag, Article on HELE Plants 2018: https://www.powermag.com/could-high-efficiency-low-emissions-hele-technology-revive-u-s-coal-power/
29. World Coal Assoc. : https://www.worldcoal.org/clean-coal-technologies/clean-coal-2/
30. IEA World Coal Consumption in 2022 was an all time high: https://www.iea.org/fuels-and-technologies/coal
31. EIA Energy Outlook through 2050: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/
32. Dr. Nicolas Kokel 2022 Energy Report: https://portfolio-pplus.com/Communicator/Details_Article/1023
33. Dick Storm Blog: It will be impossible to eliminate Fossil Fuels by 2050: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/07/31/the-importance-of-fossil-fuels-and-why-it-will-be-impossible-to-eliminate-them-in-my-grandchildrens-lifetimes-without-harming-their-quality-of-living-and-americas-leadership-in-the-w/
34. EIA Electricity Generation Facts, 2021: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us-generation-capacity-and-sales.php
35. American Dream=100 Quadrillion Btu’s, Dick Storm Blog: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/07/04/american-dream-100-quadrillion-btus/
36. Sustainable Living Requires about a million Btu’s per day per person: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/05/31/energysustainable-high-quality-of-life-what-do-the-politicians-think-we-are-willing-to-do-without-energyhigh-quality-of-life-strong-economy-and-freedom/
37. Science Matters on the Roots of Environmentalism, Jan 2023: https://rclutz.com/2023/01/06/from-nature-conservation-to-climate-calamity/#like-28807
38. Sustainable Million Btu’s per day per person: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2022/05/17/providing-a-sustainable-million-btus-per-day-per-person-by-fuel-source/
39. Solar Disappointment in the Southwest, National Review, Jan 4, 2023: https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/a-bright-shining-disappointment/
40. Net Zero Watch, UK Experience with Wind Farms, January 7, 2023: https://mailchi.mp/86e68627c77f/payments-for-windfarms-to-switch-off-soar-to-quarter-billion-pounds-193411?e=9e46528ac6
41. Dick Storm, 93% of our energy is conventional: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2021/08/23/93-5-of-americas-energy-is-provided-by-heat-engines-and-80-is-from-fossil-fuels/  
42. WUWT Electricity Demand for EV’s on Grid: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/04/11/how-much-of-the-grid-must-be-upgraded/
43. WSJ Germany’s Nuclear Power Choice, July 2022. Can the U.S. learn from Europe’s mistakes?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/germanys-nuclear-implosion-bundestag-robert- habeck-energy-europe-russia-11657572926?st=i8v3nn5fczebec0&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
44. Forbes, We have Plenty of Uranium in the U.S. and Canada to fuel our Reactors, 2017: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2017/05/04/we-have-plenty-of-uranium-in-north-america/?sh=367854ef67ce
45. 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
46. Europe Green Policies a warning for U.S. Fox News Dec. 2022: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/european-green-energy-fiasco-is-terrifying-warning-us-this-winter
47. Great Britain Energy Briefing Book, Energy disaster in Europe, by John Constable, August 28, 2022:  https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.uk/the-great-european-energy-disaster/
48. NERC Long Term Reliability study: https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_LTRA_2021.pdf
49. LLNL TOTAL PRIMARY ENERGY FLOW CHART 2021: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov
50. EIA Total Energy Sources, 2021 including Pie Chart & Fuels 1950-2021: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/
51. IEA 2021 Energy Report, Exec. Summary: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021/executive-summary
52. BP Statistical Review 2021 (released (July 2022): https://www.bp.com
53. Judith Curry Blog 2017, On the Grid and Renewables by a planning engineer: https://judithcurry.com/2017/05/09/renewable-resources-and-the-importance-of-generation-diversity/#more-23051
54. Gas Turbine World Numbers on Hydrogen just do not add up, Aug. 18, 2022: https://gasturbineworld.com/gas-turbines-burning-green-hydrogen/
55. Dr. Furfari Hydrogen article on the “Illusion of Hydrogen”: https://www.naturalgasworld.com/the-hydrogen-illusion-interview-with-samuel-furfari-on-his-explosive-new-book-gastransitions-85316
56. Andy May, Petro-Physicist, Energy Use 2020-2021 : https://andymaypetrophysicist.com/2023/01/05/energy-use-2020-to-2021/
57. Great Plains Institute Warning, Aug 2022 of Blackouts due to insufficient Generation capacity:  https://betterenergy.org/blog/qa-blackout-risks-underscore-resilience-reliability-investment-needs-for-us-power-grid/
58. Riverland Energy, MISO Blackout Warnings: https://riverlandenergy.com/miso-maximum-generation-warnings
59. E&E News on Blackout warning, August 2022: https://www.eenews.net/articles/why-the-midwest-worries-about-future-blackouts/
60. Wind Turbines lasting half expected life, 12 years UK Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2254901/Wind-turbines-half-long-previously-thought-study-shows-signs-wearing-just-12-years.html
61. American Experiment Article, in Minnesota discussing Blackout risks, June 2022: https://www.americanexperiment.org/why-the-risk-of-blackouts-in-minnesota-continues-to-grow/
62. N.C. Utilities Commission Testimony on N.C. Clean Power Plan of Bradford Muller of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry: https://starw1.ncuc.gov/NCUC/ViewFile.aspx?Id=54fbaba6-76d3-4367-abe2-ee3f8fade516
63. North State Journal, OpEd on Duke Energy Blackouts over Christmas 2022: https://nsjonline.com/article/2023/01/muller-the-christmas-catastrophe-near-miss/
64. UNC Public Broadcasting article on Blackouts in NC over Christmas 2022: https://www.wunc.org/2023-01-06/cold-weather-blackouts-challenge-conventional-wisdom-on-reliability
65. Pew Foundation Population growth forecast: https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050/
66. WSJ article,” What Ever Happenned to Paul Ehrlich’s Population Bomb” https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-danger-of-rehashing-paul-ehrlich-arguments-population-bomb-starvation-11673297162?mod=opinion_major_pos16
67. 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
68. 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
69. IEA Energy and Food Production: https://www.iea.org/commentaries/how-the-energy-crisis-is-exacerbating-the-food-crisis
70. Daily Signal, Biden Energy Policies are Hitting Americans Wallets, Dec. 1, 2022: https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/12/01/a-hard-winter-looms-for-americans-energy-bills-and-wallets-blame-biden/https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/12/01/a-hard-winter-looms-for-americans-energy-bills-and-wallets-blame-biden/
71. EIA U.S. Oil & Gas Energy Reserves Y/E 2020: https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/crudeoilreserves/
72. US and World Coal Reserves Map: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Coal-reserves-volumes-by-countries-of-the-world-3_fig1_328037099
73. WSJ article, “America Self-Sabotages it’s Electric Grid”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-self-sabotages-its-electrical-grid-renewable-fossil-fuel-power-11672685320?mod=opinion_major_pos16
74. Chart of the Week, Majority Electricity Fuel, by State: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/chart-whats-the-top-source-of-electricity-in-your-state?amp%3Butm_medium=email&amp%3Butm_campaign=canary&_hsmi=238458171&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9ZKMG7ftPsfldZhrW5x6MtMJkzGjNxD4L-AXAo4Gd_mepiPb8KHeqRQ7rVU-RrodbYNhOJ8MQbriwy3qgoTARkx9fDM9JRGgQCMVuYjG6ofYWbI9o&utm_source=newsletter
75. Hawaii Energy by NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/15/1066578157/bidens-climate-agenda-is-stalled-in-congress-in-hawaii-one-key-part-is-going-ahe
76. Civil Beat article on skyrocketing electric bills: https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/09/whats-up-with-these-skyrocketing-electric-bills/
77. Hawaii, Electricity Generation Experiences are a Glimpse into future of the Green New deal: https://dickstormprobizblog.org/2020/06/03/hawaii-a-gimpse-into-the-future-of-the-green-new-deal/
78. How Carbon Capture Works, June 2021: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-capture.htm
79. Global Carbon Capture & Storage Institute Library:  https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/resources/multimedia-library/
80. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, Global CCS: https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/State-of-the-Art-CCS-Technologies-2022.pdf
81. POWER Magazine, August 1, 2022, OSAKI-CoolGen Plant J-Power, Japan: https://www.powermag.com/a-japanese-project-demonstrates-a-carbon-neutrality-pathway-for-coal-power/
82. ESG Directive from Biden, reported in Oil & Gas Journal, Jan. 2023: https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/government/article/14288039/biden-administration-directs-agencies-to-prioritize-ghg-reductions
83. 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 
84.  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/
85. China buying Russian oil, gas and coal, Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/asian-buyers-russian-oil-gas-coal-2022-02-22/
86. 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/
87. 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
88. 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
89. POWER Magazine, 1,000 MW Chinese Coal Plant starts up in Mongolia, Dec 2021. Check other references on the importance of coal and nuclear to power Chinese Manufacturing. Here is just one article: https://www.powermag.com/first-1-gw-unit-of-major-china-coal-fired-plant-comes-online/
90. POWER Magazine article on John Turk Power Plant, most efficient in 2013: https://www.powermag.com/aeps-john-w-turk-jr-power-plant-earns-powers-highest-honor/
91. The largest “Batteries” in the U.S. are Pumped Storage Hydro: FERC Licensed Pumped Storage HydroElectric plants, updated May 2022: https://ferc.gov/media/licensed-pumped-storage-projects-map-2022
92. Bad Creek, Duke Energy: https://badcreekpumpedstorage.com
93. EIA and Utility Dive Battery Storage in 2021: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/energy-storage-capacity-eia-2021-report/627028/
94. Dominion, Smith Mountain Pumped Storage Hydro: http://www.virginiaplaces.org/energy/pumpedstorage.html
95. Scientific Papers that dispute the affects of manmade Climate Change: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/01/14/nearly-140-scientific-papers-detail-the-minuscule-effect-co2-has-on-earths-temperature/
96. Sustainability, Science or Religion, Science Matters, by Ron Clutz: https://rclutz.com/2022/01/16/why-sustainability-isnt/?like_comment=39170&_wpnonce=d774fe4278
97. History of Control of people by Politicians. Perhaps some insight of the motivations of politicians: http://www.davdata.nl/math/piedpiper.html
98.  Professor Vaclav Smil quote: (Smil is a prolific author on energy issues and lives in Canada)I absolutely hate the word sustainability because there is no such thing. Sustainability cannot be defined. Sustainable for what? Over next year? Over 10 years? Over a millennium? On a local basis, on a planetary basis? I mean, there are so many time and space dimensions to it you cannot define what is sustainable. If somebody is boasting what they are doing is sustainable, it’s a total laugh. There is no sustainable thing.
99. CLINTEL website:  https://clintel.org
100.  Bjorn Lomborg Science Direct, Technological Forecasting Jan. 2023: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162520304157
101. Tim Ball, 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
102. Judith Curry  (Retired GA. Tech Professor)Slides and Presentation to IPCC and New Jersey Group, 2021: https://judithcurry.com/2021/10/22/challenges-of-the-clean-energy-transition/
103. Richard Lindzen MIT Professor and Climate Expert: https://www.heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/richard-lindzen
104. Climate Change 101 website WUWT: http://climatechange101.ca/learn-more-about-climate-change/many-factors-affect-climate/
105. It’s the Sun that causes Climate Change, WUWT: http://climatechange101.ca/learn-more-about-climate-change/its-the-sun-not-you-not-co2/
106. Sea Level Rise about 1.36 ft/100 years:  https://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?id=8534720
107. WUWT Sea Level Rise: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/06/14/sea-level-rise-fastest-in-2000-years-or-not/
108. Climate Activism, WUWT March 23, 2022: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/03/23/climate-change-is-about-control-stupid-not-the-environment/
109. D. Roy Spencer  (NASA Scientist) website: https://www.drroyspencer.com/global-warming-101/
110. Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT, Article on his views on Climate Change: https://clintel.org/the-imaginary-climate-crisis-how-can-we-change-the-message-a-talk-by-richard-lindzen/
111.  SEPP, March 12, 2022, Discussing W. A. van Wijngaarden and W. Happer  paper: http://www.sepp.org/twtwfiles/2022/TWTW%203-12-2022.pdf  
112. The Right Stuff Climate Team (Retired NASA Engineers): https://www.therightclimatestuff.com
113. WUWT Sept. 2021, Summary of William Happer (Happer is Princeton Professor of Physics) and Wijngaarden   : https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/09/21/the-greenhouse-effect-a-summary-of-wijngaarden-and-happer/
114. Andy May website: https://andymaypetrophysicist.com/2021/12/28/climate-change-2021/?amp=1
115. CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH CENTER REPORT, PRIMER ON ENERGY (Good reference) https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46723
116. Global Warming Policy Foundation (From UK Science based individuals): https://www.thegwpf.org
117. Sky News  (Australia) report on Green Energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fQZfFy9cFs
118. Professor Judith Curry web site, Climate Etc. : https://judithcurry.com/2021/01/30/interview-climate-change-a-different-perspective-with-judith-curry/
119. Heartland Institute on Professor Singer and his books, work: https://www.heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/s-fred-singer
120. World Report on Environment Dec. 11, 2022, by John Shanahan and others: https://issuu.com/johna.shanahan/docs/221029a_world_report_card_on_climate_energy_and_
121. Dr. Roy Spencer web page. Outstanding science info:  https://www.drroyspencer.com/
122. CO2 Coalition, Facts from Climate Scientists: https://co2coalition.org
123. CO2 and the Importance of CO2 for Plant Growth: http://www.co2science.org/articles/V4/N5/COM.php
124. Green Energy Revolution Summary: :  https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/un-cop27-its-a-gas-gas-gas