https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/sep/28/a-woke-green-future-means-soaring-energy-costs-bla/
A woke, green future means soaring energy costs, blackouts, food shortages and more unemploymentby Richard W. Rahn
September 28, 2021
The green-energy future has arrived – in Europe – and it is not a pretty sight. Even more than in the U.S., many European politicians claimed that it was possible to go “green” without disastrous costs – but that lie has now come home. Natural gas and electricity prices have been surging as supply is being artificially restricted. The winds in the North Sea stopped blowing two weeks ago, the wind turbines stilled, and U.K. energy prices surged “to 11 times normal levels.”
The irony is that several years ago, vast deposits of natural gas were found in Britain (an estimated 51 years’ worth using today’s technology). But instead of rejoicing in the windfall, the Brits banned fracking – at a time when the gas they get from their North Sea wells is declining. The argument was made that the loss of gas power could be made up with wind and solar. Of course, solar only generates power during sunny days, and wind farms require the right weather conditions for optimal output. Economical ways to “store” excess solar and wind energy when it is generated are lacking. The result is that with the drop in wind power, Britain was forced to restart some of its coal stations.
Britain’s problems were self-inflicted by listening uncritically to the greens. Historically, Britain was blessed with plenty of coal to fuel its power stations. And then cheap and clean natural gas from the North Sea was found. As the North Sea fields were depleted, LNG was imported, many wind turbines were erected, and power interconnectors to Europe were built to balance fluctuating supplies.
The Russians are increasing their gas supplies to the Europeans through existing pipelines, LNG exports, and soon through the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline. All of this boosts the price and supply stranglehold Russia will have on Europe, including Britain, which is increasingly dependent on power from Europe. (Note: One of the five power interconnectors with Europe failed a week ago during the lack of wind crisis.) The sensible action would be for Britain to reembrace nuclear and allow environmentally sound fracking as done in the U.S. – but this would require the public and political class to free themselves from the environmental extremists.
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