Affordable, Reliable, Clean Scorecard: Natural Gas Is Tops, Wind and Solar Are the Worst

[rangerrebew]

Affordable, Reliable, Clean Scorecard: Natural Gas Is Tops, Wind and Solar Are the Worst
 
By
James Taylor
April 29, 2025
 

Policymakers on both sides of the political aisle increasingly advocate for affordable, reliable, and clean energy. This is for good reason – modern society requires energy that is affordable and available on demand. Environmental concerns are also very important. Together, affordability, reliability, and cleanliness form the three pillars of ideal energy policy.

Two new analyses evaluate competing electrical power sources and produce an affordable, reliable, and clean scorecard. The two analyses – one published by Northwood University and the Mackinac Center, and the other published by my public policy organization, The Heartland Institute – independently reach near-identical findings.

Both analyses find natural gas is the most affordable, reliable, and clean electrical power source. Not far behind natural gas are nuclear, hydro, and coal. Lagging at the bottom of the affordability scorecard are wind and solar power.

Natural gas is easily the lowest-cost electrical power source, with coal the second-most affordable. Natural gas also scores very high for reliable high-volume power production, as do nuclear and coal.

https://climaterealism.com/2025/04/affordable-reliable-clean-scorecard-natural-gas-is-tops-wind-and-solar-are-the-worst/

[IsailedawayfromFR]

This is a gross overall assessment.

In places natural gas can certainly be placed as more affordable, but not in places like California and the Northeast which limits its supply.

Coal I daresay is the overall most affordable as coal is plentiful.  Its only detriment are the roadblocks which are placed on it by environmental interests.  Its biggest differential with natural gas is its security of supply as no transportation issues arise when a mountain of coal can be stockpiled outside the coal generation plant.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Natural gas (demon methane) was supposed to be the "bridge" fuel from coal and nuclear to renewables.

As soon as the coal plants and nunclear plants were shutdown, Al Gore's Unholy Global Climate Change Cult designated methane as public enemy number one.

These nitwits and their nonsese is playing right into the Chi-coms' hands.