A solar energy company recently awarded $3 billion by the Biden administration has been accused of scamming elderly people, and Republican leaders in the House and Senate are now asking the Energy Department to provide more details about the deal.
Sunnova Energy Corporation, a residential and commercial solar energy company based in Houston, benefited from “the single largest commitment ever made by the Federal Government to solar power” when the Biden administration <a href="https://www.energy.gov/lpo/articles/doe-announces-3-billion-partial-loan-guarantee-sunnovas-project-hestia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a loan guarantee with the energy company on September 28. Recent “<a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnBarrasso/status/1733234679761756625" target="_blank" rel="noopener">credible reports</a> of predatory sales strategies,” however, alarmed Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 
“We are alarmed about recent, credible reports that Sunnova has racked up numerous consumer complaints, including those alleging troubling sales practices, such as Sunnova pressing elderly homeowners in poor health to sign long-term contracts costing tens of thousands of dollars,” Barrasso and McMorris Rodgers wrote in a <a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/12_07_2023_Joint_Letter_to_DOE_LPO_c9ac40dc52.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> sent earlier this week to Jigar Shah, the director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy. 
“These reports cite interviews with individuals who struggled to deal with large contracts that their elderly parents signed shortly before passing away as well as state consumer complaints alleging maintenance delays and predatory sales strategies,” the letter stated. 
One woman said that a door-to-door salesman for Sunnova sold her father, who she said was in hospice care, a $60,000 solar system for his mobile home shortly before his death, The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/energy/biden-admin-gave-3-billion-loan-to-solar-company-accused-of-scamming-elderly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last month. 
&#8220;My dad told [the salesman] at that time he was on hospice and dying. And basically, he wasn&#8217;t in his right mind,&#8221; said Mary Loller, adding that Sunnova placed a lien on her father’s property preventing his family from selling it after his death.
Another person, Texas resident Terry Blythe, told the Free Beacon that her 86-year-old father who had been diagnosed with dementia was convinced by a Sunnova salesman to buy a 25-year solar panel lease in 2020. The contract was worth $34,000, which Blythe said she was left to deal with after her father died. 
&#8220;It was truly ripping off old people It was the biggest ripoff I&#8217;ve ever seen,” she said. 
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As far back as 2019, the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/26/sunnova-texas-solar-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria/2946484002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> a report on Sunnova, which confirmed some of its customers’ complaints, including misleading them about the costs of solar panel financing and contracts. 
“Residents in other parts of the country have also reported problems with Sunnova systems, including deceptive sales practices,” the Republican lawmakers’ letter continues. “These allegations are particularly troubling, as LPO has stated this program will focus on disadvantaged communities.” 
President Joe Biden has been pushing the Democrats’ leftist green energy agenda seeking to address the “climate crisis” and has emphasized expanding solar energy. Earlier this year, the Biden administration launched a $7 billion “Solar for All” grant competition proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and created by the president’s Inflation Reduction Act. 
McMorris Rodgers and Barrasso are requesting the Energy Department to provide documents and any information regarding its treatment of the concerns raised by the letter. The Energy Department has until December 21 to provide the lawmakers with the information they&#8217;re seeking.

Joe Biden/Jennifer Granholm

Solar Energy Company Accused Of Scamming Elderly People Was Awarded $3 Billion By Biden Admin. GOP Leaders Are Now Seeking Answers.

Biden Administration

Department of Energy

Energy

Joe Biden

Politics

Solar Power

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Communist China</a> announced this week new plans to restrict the export of two minerals critical to the production of electric vehicles, solar panels, military hardware, and more.
The minerals — gallium and germanium — and dozens of other related metals will be subject to new export regulations that are aimed at punishing the West for restricting China&#8217;s ability to access advanced semiconductors.
China dominates the global market as leading producer for both of the minerals, an advantage that they gained by &#8220;suppressing the price,&#8221; according to Christopher Ecclestone, principle at the natural resource research firm Hallgarten &amp; Co. When they stop suppressing the price, &#8220;it suddenly becomes more viable to extract these metals in the West, then China again has an own-goal,&#8221; Ecclestone <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-03/china-to-restrict-exports-of-metals-critical-to-chip-production" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
“For a short while they get a higher price, but then China’s market dominance gets lost &#8211; the same thing has happened before in other things like antimony, tungsten and rare earths,” he added.
<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/gallium-statistics-and-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gallium</a> is a soft metal that is used in aerospace applications, consumer goods, industrial equipment, military equipment, medical equipment, and telecommunications equipment, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2022/mcs2022-germanium.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Germanium</a> is used in the production of solar cells and fiber optics.
One Chinese semiconductor executive said the move could backfire on China. “It may affect the business of Chinese manufacturers instead during the economic downturn, but with a limited impact on the international market in the short term,” the executive <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6dca353c-70d8-4d38-a368-b342a6450d95" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The Eurasia Group <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/04/what-are-gallium-and-germanium-china-curbs-exports-of-metals-for-tech.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the move by China was “a warning shot, not a death blow.”
“But these latest measures are more limited in scope, and while the new rules require Chinese exporters to first obtain a license, no language automatically bars export to specific countries or end-users,” the group said. “It is a shot across the bow intended to remind countries including the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands that China has retaliatory options and to thereby deter them from imposing further restrictions on Chinese access to high-end chips and tools.”
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Some experts said that the move would have little-to-no impact — in terms of what consumers notice — over the course of the next year because existing stockpiles will fill the gap. They cautioned that if the dispute carries on longer than a year than a ripple effect will be felt.
Others <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-restricts-exports-of-two-metals-used-in-high-performance-chips-a649402b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the move will “will have an immediate ripple effect on the semiconductor industry, especially with regards to high-performance chips.”

CHINA-BEIJING-NPC-CLOSING MEETING (CN)

China Restricts Export On 2 Minerals That Could Damage Economy

Communist China

Economy

Electric cars

World

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> issued a rare veto on Tuesday against a bipartisan measure that aims to reinstate tariffs on solar products from Southeast Asian countries after U.S. officials found China companies <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/china-solar-tariff-investigation-climate/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">using these nations</a> to get around trade rules.
The measure passed by the GOP-led House and Democrat-controlled Senate &#8220;bets against American innovation,&#8221; Biden said in a message from the White House announcing the third veto of his presidency. Biden also said it causes uncertainty for the U.S. solar industry, which is central to the president&#8217;s goal of reaching a &#8220;carbon-free electricity sector&#8221; by 2035.
At issue is a Commerce Department rule that instituted a two-year moratorium on penalties against solar cells and modules exported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. As explained in the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/07/01/2022-14241/procedures-covering-suspension-of-liquidation-duties-and-estimated-duties-in-accord-with#:~:text=Presidential%20Proclamation%2010414,-On%20June%206&amp;text=Biden%20signed%20Proclamation%2010414%2C%20%E2%80%9CDeclaration,35067)%20(the%20Proclamation)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Register</a>, Biden authorized the move with a proclamation in June 2022 to &#8220;ensure access to a sufficient supply of solar cells and modules to assist in meeting the United States&#8217; electricity generation needs&#8221; while the Commerce Department conducts inquiries into ways in which China is able to circumvent U.S. tariffs through its neighbors.
After preliminary findings <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/china-solar-tariff-investigation-climate/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported in December</a> showed at least four Chinese companies evading U.S. tariffs through Southeast Asian countries, Republicans in the House and Senate led the charge against the rule, arguing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) needed to be held accountable for breaking U.S. trade laws as well as for human rights abuses.
&#8220;Every day that this rule is in effect the CCP gets closer to dominating the solar market, making it harder for Americans to compete,&#8221; said Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), who introduced the resolution in the House.
Some Democrats joined the effort, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who co-sponsored the Senate version. The United States &#8220;cannot continue to let China get away with laundering solar energy components through other nations with absolutely no consequences,&#8221; Manchin <a href="https://www.energy.senate.gov/2023/5/manchin-to-vote-to-approve-solar-tariff-resolution-to-decrease-reliance-on-foreign-nations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
A group of Democrats in the Senate who <a href="https://www.seia.org/news/president-biden-protects-americas-clean-energy-economy-solar-tariff-veto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sided with members</a> of the solar industry in voicing support for Biden&#8217;s veto <a href="https://medium.com/@SenatorJackyRosen/americas-solar-jobs-depend-on-a-single-vote-in-the-senate-bc0379d14f6a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the bipartisan measure threatens &#8220;to derail much of the progress we’ve made and kill good-paying American jobs, while threatening our clean energy future.&#8221;
Biden said on Tuesday that he does not intend to extend the tariff suspension at the conclusion of the two-year period in June 2024, citing &#8220;progress&#8221; made in the U.S. solar sector.
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Biden issued his first veto in March to block a measure that sought to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-uses-first-veto-of-his-presidency-to-kill-rebuke-of-federal-esg-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overturn a rule</a> allowing retirement fiduciaries to invest in accordance with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG. Biden&#8217;s second veto, in April, struck down an effort to roll back a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/04/06/message-to-the-house-of-representatives-presidents-veto-of-h-j-res-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">waterways rule</a>. <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/vetoes/vetoCounts.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neither one</a> has been overridden.

Biden Issues Rare Veto, Third Of His Presidency

Biden Issues Rare, Third Veto Against Solar Panels Measure

Executive

White House

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV) fired the latest salvo in his ongoing conflict with the Biden administration over climate policy.
The moderate Democrat lent his support to two Republican proposals intended to overturn key pieces of the Biden climate agenda Wednesday. First, he cast the deciding vote to pass a GOP-backed bill that would overturn EPA regulations on trucks. Then, he co-sponsored a bill that would reinstate tariffs on solar imports. The moves follow previous threats from Manchin to vote to overturn the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act entirely.
First, the Senate passed a Congressional Review Act joint resolution on Wednesday that would roll back the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-unveils-proposal-for-landmark-nationwide-crackdown-on-gas-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EPA&#8217;s stringent restrictions</a> on nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions from heavy-duty trucks. The vote was 50-49, with Manchin casting the deciding vote.
“The last couple of years have shown that truck drivers keep our country moving,&#8221; Manchin said in a <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-statement-on-support-for-overturning-regulations-on-trucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> after the vote. &#8220;However, the Biden Administration wants to burden the trucking industry with oppressive regulations that will increase prices by thousands of dollars and push truck drivers and small trucking companies out of business. When our country faces record-high inflation and vulnerable supply chains, we cannot let the EPA continue to seize unrestrained power and create regulations that devastate our economy. I am proud to support this resolution to stop this government overreach.”
The Biden administration, however, has already signaled that the rollback will not become law. The White House said Wednesday that Biden would <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3973788-white-house-threatens-veto-of-resolution-to-nix-biden-truck-pollution-regulation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">veto</a> the bill. The restrictions, which would affect trucks beginning in model year 2027, are estimated to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 48% by 2045, <a href="https://rollcall.com/2023/04/26/senate-passes-measure-to-roll-back-truck-emissions-rule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roll Call</a> reported. They are expected to cost around $3.9 billion in 2027 and $4.7 billion in 2045, the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/senate-approves-rule-to-cancel-biden-truck-emissions-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington Examiner</a> noted.
Manchin also co-sponsored a similar CRA resolution authored by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), which would re-establish tariffs on solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Biden administration paused those tariffs in 2022.
“The United States relies on foreign nations, like China, for far too many of our energy needs, and failing to enforce our existing trade laws undermines the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to onshore our energy supply chains, including solar,&#8221; Manchin said in a separate <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-co-sponsors-resolution-to-end-solar-tariff-waivers-onshore-energy-supply-chains" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. &#8220;I cannot fathom why the Administration and Congress would consider extending that reliance any longer and am proud to join this CRA to rescind the rule.”
A Commerce Department report, via <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-lawmakers-seek-repeal-biden-solar-tariff-waiver-2023-01-26/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>, found that American solar companies are dodging import duties on Chinese-manufactured solar panels by moving them through the four Southeast Asian countries.
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The moves come two days after Manchin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/manchin-ups-the-ante-in-feud-with-biden-admin-threatens-to-repeal-inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to vote to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act — the Biden administration&#8217;s landmark climate spending bill, which he cast the critical vote for — if they did not stop their aggressive green energy push. “If this administration does not honor what they said they would do and continue to liberalize [green energy investment] — I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening,” the senator told Fox News&#8217;s Sean Hannity in an interview on Monday. “And if they don’t change, then I would vote to repeal my own bill.”

Joe Manchin

Manchin Continues Feud With Biden Admin, Backs GOP Bills To Roll Back Two Pillars Of Biden Climate Agenda

Carbon Emissions

Congress

Republicans

Senate

Why are so many whales dying this year?
At least <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/03/16/why-are-so-many-whales-washing-up-dead-on-east-coast-beaches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">29 whales</a> have washed up on the Atlantic coast since December, including over a dozen in New Jersey. A number of whales beach on the east coast every year, but the uptick in deaths has alarmed scientists.
The string of whale demises has coincided with prep work for the installation of several large clean energy offshore wind farms in the waters around the northeast, sparking concerns that the wind farms are causing the deaths.
Critics of the wind farms have argued that ocean floor preparation work including the sonar used by energy companies to map the ocean floor and the noise made by seabed rock sampling may have caused the whale deaths.
At least 13 whales have washed up in New Jersey and New York alone as of April 4, <a href="https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/15804f85-838e-4870-bd16-aa383f37bd63/2023%20CETACEAN%20STRANDING%20DATA%20-%20Sheet1%20(17).pdf">according</a> to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
It&#8217;s not just whales, either. At <a href="https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/15804f85-838e-4870-bd16-aa383f37bd63/2023%20CETACEAN%20STRANDING%20DATA%20-%20Sheet1%20(17).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">least 25</a> dolphins and a couple of porpoises have washed up on New Jersey&#8217;s shores as well.
On Tuesday, New Jersey Republicans <a href="https://www.senatenj.com/index.php/oscanlon/oscanlon-durr-introduce-resolution-urging-moratorium-on-offshore-wind-projects/60146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a resolution calling for an immediate moratorium on offshore wind energy projects due to the &#8220;unexplained&#8221; marine life deaths. Dozens of New Jersey mayors have <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dozens-nj-mayors-call-immediate-offshore-wind-moratorium-latest-whale-deaths">called</a> to halt the projects as well.
&#8220;After months of whales and dolphins washing up on our beaches, enough is enough,&#8221; said state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, who represents a beach district and introduced the proposal.
&#8220;We cannot ignore the surge in marine life deaths that has occurred while offshore wind project preparation activities have been conducted along the coast,&#8221; O’Scanlon said. “While the Governor has stated that ‘there’s no evidence these activities are causing these whale and dolphin deaths’, he omits that he, and we, simply have no idea what’s causing these tragic deaths.&#8221;
New Jersey is working on <a href="https://dep.nj.gov/offshorewind/projects/#ny-bight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three</a> offshore wind projects with the ambitious <a href="https://www.nj.gov/emp/energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">goal</a> of 100% clean energy for New Jersey by 2050. The GOP proposal to stop work on New Jersey&#8217;s wind projects is likely to get shut down by Democrats. Even if it survives the legislature, Governor Phil Murphy is unlikely to sign it.
Last month, Murphy, a Democrat, <a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2023/02/citing-disinformation-murphy-will-not-stop-nj-offshore-wind-work-after-whale-deaths.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> &#8220;disinformation&#8221; around the whale deaths and said he will push forward with the wind energy projects despite the concerns.
The federal government has also downplayed the possibility of any connection to the wind farms.
Two government agencies, the Marine Mammal Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) <a href="https://www.mmc.gov/wp-content/uploads/Update-on-Strandings-of-Large-Whales-along-the-East-Coast-2.21.2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">both</a> <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/marine-life-distress/frequent-questions-offshore-wind-and-whales?fbclid=IwAR2TXmI7xEfF89Cws7dmZJWYxkgnqTfl-nd6Fj3ql0D15bGharPlYOa_Z5c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> initially that there is &#8220;no evidence&#8221; that wind farms are the culprit.
Some of the whales, mostly humpbacks, showed evidence that they were hit by ships, the MMC said.
Last week though, the NOAA <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNOAAFISHERIES/bulletins/352c198" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> that a planned wind energy project 15 miles off the shore of Atlantic City is &#8220;likely to adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued existence of&#8221; whales and other sea life in the area.
The NOAA has been <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/2016-2023-humpback-whale-unusual-mortality-event-along-atlantic-coast#causes-of-the-humpback-whale-ume" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tracking</a> higher numbers of beached humpback whales as an &#8220;unusual mortality event&#8221; since 2016, but deaths of several species of whales and other marine life have increased in the last few months.
New Jersey&#8217;s Environmental Protection Department was also quiet about the whale deaths at first. Eventually, the department said it is “aware of no credible evidence&#8221; that offshore wind farms are killing whales, but it will “continue to monitor” the situation.
The beached whales have caused a rift among environmentalists.
Clean Ocean Action, one of the few environmental groups to criticize offshore wind energy, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/29/whale-deaths-new-jersey-offshore-wind-00079462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became</a> an odd couple team with Republican lawmakers who oppose the projects.
On the other side are the New Jersey chapters of the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters, who say climate change is the bigger threat. Essentially, their argument is that a few dead whales now is worth the clean energy that will help save the planet.
“I find it unreasonable to call for the pause or moratorium on offshore wind — which is going to save us all,” New Jersey Sierra Club Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/29/whale-deaths-new-jersey-offshore-wind-00079462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
States in the northeast have been racing to become hubs for wind energy.
New York has also seen at least two whale deaths this year as it aggressively pursues plans for offshore wind projects.
Governor Kathy Hochul has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/nyregion/new-york-wind-farm-rhode-island.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for New York to produce <a href="https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/gigawatt-the-solar-energy-term-you-should-know-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enough</a> wind energy to power 6.7 million homes by 2035, more than twice the households in New York City. In December, a group of environmentalists <a href="https://nylcv.org/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-Governor-Hochul-on-Offshore-Wind-Goals.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> Hochul to commit to even more.
President Biden has <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/29/whale-deaths-new-jersey-offshore-wind-00079462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set</a> a national goal of enough offshore wind energy to power 10 million homes by 2030.
For now though, Republican legislators and many New Jersey residents are not going quietly, and they are optimistic they can make a change.
&#8220;I&#8217;m witnessing firsthand,&#8221; a commercial fisherman of over 25 years <a href="https://pressofatlanticcity.com/demonstrators-speak-for-whales-in-word-and-song/article_19668bc9-2441-5b76-ba0e-3e8deb2238b1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Press of Atlantic City at a protest last week. &#8220;The governor has the statistics with the actual work they&#8217;re doing and what the impact is, and they&#8217;re not addressing it. &#8230; Look at what you&#8217;re doing and what the documents say and pay attention to it. Stop issuing permits to kill endangered species.&#8221;
&#8220;The support is definitely getting stronger,&#8221; a woman at the protest <a href="https://pressofatlanticcity.com/demonstrators-speak-for-whales-in-word-and-song/article_19668bc9-2441-5b76-ba0e-3e8deb2238b1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the outlet.

Environmentalists Rally During The World Whale Day To Call For End Of Offshore Wind Energy Development Along The Jersey Shore

With More Whales And Dolphins Washing Ashore, Officials Have To Ask: Are Wind Farms To Blame?

Biden

Democrats

Environment

Environmentalism

Environmentalists

New Jersey

Whale

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon</a> powered off the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/solar-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">solar</a> roofs helping to supply <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electricity</a> at its fulfillment centers after multiple fires and electrical explosions, according to a report from CNBC.
Internal documents viewed by the outlet <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/amazon-took-solar-rooftops-offline-last-year-after-fires-explosions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that six out of 47 sites in North America with solar installations experienced “critical fire or arc flash events” between April 2020 and June 2021, costing an average of $2.7 million per incident. Among other examples, an Amazon warehouse in Perryville, Maryland, <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/harford/aegis/cng-ag-amazon-fire-20210609-6a2bxr5hr5ddfnif33cvpjdlya-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caught fire</a> last year and caused $500,000 in damages.
“The rate of dangerous incidents is unacceptable, and above industry averages,” an Amazon employee reportedly wrote in one of the documents.
According to a <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-is-making-big-global-investments-in-renewable-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> published last year, Amazon is “the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy globally” and maintains 206 green energy projects around the world. At the time, Amazon had been on pace toward “100% renewable energy” by 2025.
In 2019, Amazon committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. The e-commerce giant is also a founding member of the First Movers Coalition — a group of companies brought together by the World Economic Forum and the Biden administration to <a href="https://www.state.gov/launching-the-first-movers-coalition-at-the-2021-un-climate-change-conference/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leverage market power</a> and accelerate global green energy adoption.
“We welcome the Biden administration and the World Economic Forum’s decision to launch the First Movers Coalition, which will help further accelerate our efforts to decarbonize our operations through real business change and innovation,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a recent <a href="https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/2021-sustainability-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> on the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts. The report did not mention the expenses incurred by the solar panel fires.
Amazon spokeswoman Erika Howard told CNBC that the company powered off all onsite solar installations in North America and commissioned an outside firm to inspect each facility. “As inspections are completed, our onsite solar systems are being powered back on,” she said. “Amazon also built a team of dedicated solar experts overseeing the construction, operations, and maintenance of our systems in-house to ensure the safety of our systems.”
Amazon is losing $940,000 per month for each of the 47 facilities at which the solar panels remain offline, according to the documents. Whole Foods, a grocery chain owned by Amazon, also has multiple solar roof systems.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $369 billion in spending for various climate policies, established 30% tax credits for new solar installations. According to a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/15/by-the-numbers-the-inflation-reduction-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fact sheet</a> from the White House, the legislation allows for the installation of 950 million new solar panels by 2030.
As gas prices increased following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other top Biden administration officials have repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/energy-secretary-lays-out-the-only-way-to-avoid-high-gas-prices-and-its-not-producing-more-oil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> the rapid adoption of renewable energy to compensate for high costs at the pump.
“The real truth is that as long as our nation remains overly reliant on oil and fossil fuels, we will feel these price shocks again,” Granholm said earlier this year. “This is not going to be the last time. The next time there’s a war, the next time there’s a pandemic or another hurricane, these extreme weather events we are experiencing — they will impact the access that we have to fossil fuels.”

Amazon

Get Woke, Go Broke: Amazon Installed Solar Panels In An Attempt To Go Net Zero. They Kept Catching Fire And Were Turned Off.

Amazon Powered Off Solar Panels After They Kept Catching Fire

Climate Change

World Economic Forum

Critics absolutely roasted Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm after she <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/energy-sec-granholm-families-should-use-ev-tax-credits-weatherize-their-homes-finance-solar-panels-to-cope-with-inflation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that lower to middle class Americans could fight the rising cost of living by investing thousands in solar panels and other green energy initiatives.
Granholm made an appearance on &#8220;<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/god-walks-with-us-new-fox-news-sunday-host-explains-how-getting-fired-made-her-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News Sunday</a>&#8221; to explain how the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act — which has since been touted as a tax, energy, and health care bill — would impact everyday Americans who are struggling with record-high inflation, food, gasoline, and energy costs.
&#8220;If you are low income, you can get your home entirely weatherized through the expansion from the bipartisan infrastructure laws, a significant expansion — you don&#8217;t have to pay for anything,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;&#8221;If you want heat pumps, insulation, new windows, that is covered,&#8221; she said. &#8220;If you are moderate income, today you can get 30% off the price of solar panels. Those solar panels can be financed, so you don&#8217;t have to have the big outlay at the front … If you don&#8217;t qualify for the weatherization program, you will be able to, starting next year, get rebates on the appliances and equipment that will help you reduce your monthly energy bill by up to 30%. That is all about reducing costs for people.&#8221;
But as critics quickly pointed out, people who were struggling to feed their kids or wondering how they&#8217;d afford the gas to get to work were not just waiting on a 30%-off sale to make the jump to solar — they were just doing what they could to get by.
&#8220;GOP just needs to run ad after ad of Granholm telling the poors to buy solar panels and electric cars to save money,&#8221; Erick Ericksen tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
GOP just needs to run ad after ad of Granholm telling the poors to buy solar panels and electric cars to save money. <a href="https://t.co/oAdXKutrBi">https://t.co/oAdXKutrBi</a>
&mdash; Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) <a href="https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1561465196316606464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;If you’re poor, Tim Ryan will give you 30 percent off the price of solar panels. They won’t keep you warm this winter but they are made in China, so there’s that,&#8221; Ohio Republican Senate candidate <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1561401649251422210" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commented</a>.
&#8220;They don&#8217;t know how they sound,&#8221; Omri Ceren added. &#8220;Because everything they read and everyone they know just echo their ideology back at them — except turned up in volume, higher in pitch, and with applause.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
They don&#39;t know how they sound, because everything they read and everyone they know just echo their ideology back at them &#8211; except turned up in volume, higher in pitch, and with applause. <a href="https://t.co/kniDhNR4WB">https://t.co/kniDhNR4WB</a>
&mdash; Omri Ceren (@omriceren) <a href="https://twitter.com/omriceren/status/1561409660736897024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
RNC Rapid Response Director Tommy Pigott <a href="https://twitter.com/TommyPigott/status/1561387625894006784" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, &#8220;Perfect of example about how Democrats don’t care about rising costs, only their Green New Deal. Food is rising at the fastest pace since 1979 and Biden’s response is to push you to buy solar panels.&#8221;
&#8220;An underrated aspect of the Biden admin unpopularity is just how terribly his cabinet has performed at messaging,&#8221; Ben Domenech tweeted. &#8220;Becerra, Mayorkas, Granholm, Buttigieg, Garland, Yellen all drags. When your best performer is Tony Blinken you have a problem.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
An underrated aspect of the Biden admin unpopularity is just how terribly his cabinet has performed at messaging &#8211; Becerra, Mayorkas, Granholm, Buttigieg, Garland, Yellen all drags. When your best performer is Tony Blinken you have a problem. <a href="https://t.co/i0Du46TXPQ">https://t.co/i0Du46TXPQ</a>
&mdash; Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) <a href="https://twitter.com/bdomenech/status/1561373915011760128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Global Leaders Come Together For The Sydney Energy Forum

‘They Don’t Know How They Sound’: Critics Roast Energy Secretary For Telling Poor People To Buy Solar Panels

Critics Roast Energy Secretary For Telling Poor People To Buy Solar Panels

Fox News Sunday

Jennifer Granholm

Tesla is asking all Texas-based customers to avoid charging their electric vehicles during certain times of the day as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas">the Lone Star State</a> is currently experiencing a massive heatwave that is straining its electrical power grid.
On Wednesday, The Verge <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/13/23207428/tesla-texas-ev-charging-heatwave-off-peak-grid">reported</a> that Tesla recently sent a notice to the screens inside Tesla vehicles in Texas saying, &#8220;A heat wave is expected to impact the grid in Texas over the next few days.&#8221;
&#8220;The grid operator recommends to avoid charging during peak hours between 3pm and 8pm, if possible, to help statewide efforts to manage demand,&#8221; the alert added.
On Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — which operates the state&#8217;s power grid — asked residents to conserve energy between the hours of 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm local time by not using heavy appliances during that timeframe.
Texas uses a mix of fossil fuels and renewables to keep its electrical grid running. When major heat waves move through the state, wind power is often decreased due to a change in pressure in the atmosphere. Thus, the state&#8217;s wind turbines are failing to produce the necessary amount of energy to keep the grid operating without significant problems.
Texas has experienced similar issues in recent years due to extreme weather — including winter storms. The state so far has been able to avoid rolling blackouts during the latest weather calamity — which some say is because of voluntary cutbacks on energy. While others argue that the problem is overly relying on wind power or insufficient investment in the energy infrastructure.
Daniel Turner, the founder of Power the Future, told The Daily Wire that the recurring energy problems illustrate one of the major drawbacks of transferring to green energy. In recent years, Texas has<a href="https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2021/04/26/after_the_texas_blackouts_follow_the_wind_and_solar_money__all_66_billion_of_it_774468.html"> spent billions</a> increasing the capacity of its wind farms.
&#8220;Texas has spent $66 billion of taxpayer money on renewable energy with the promise of 30,000 MW of capacity,&#8221; he said in an emailed statement. &#8220;According to ERCOT for the last few days it has generated far less than that.&#8221;
On Monday, ERCOT <a href="https://www.ercot.com/news/release?id=90030206-5cf5-db8e-13d1-f8fe2bd0128f">announced</a>, &#8220;While solar power is generally reaching near full generation capacity, wind generation is currently generating significantly less than what it historically generated in this time period. Current projections show wind generation coming in less than 10 percent of its capacity.&#8221;
&#8220;This is the ongoing lie about green energy,&#8221; Turner continued. &#8220;Capacity is not a valid metric since it is dependent on unknowable wind and sun. The electric grid requires constancy yet it is being sourced with a persistent variable. This is the application of the social sciences, political philosophy, and equity studies to the hard science — not engineering and physics.&#8221;
Turner explained further, saying that despite rhetoric emphasizing that green energy is beneficial — it can severely impact your day-to-day habits.
&#8220;Texans are sent warnings to raise their air condition temperature and not use appliances like washing machines,&#8221; Turner clarified. &#8220;These are the messages sent to the developing world, yet in the name of &#8216;progress&#8217; Texans are taking steps backward in their quality of life.&#8221;
Turner also pointed out that the state is currently being assisted by fossil fuels — the kind demonized by leftists — to keep the grid afloat.
Others, like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), argue that the state&#8217;s ongoing problems point to the fact that more investment is needed in the grid to ensure it can run smoothly.
Texas&#8217; grid largely relies on its own power structure  — meaning that it is essentially incapable of using energy from neighboring states during times of need.
&#8220;Texas suffered the worst outcomes in large part because most of the state is an electrical island with very limited connections to neighboring states,&#8221; NRDC <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/christy-walsh/texas-storm-proved-need-grid-investments">said</a> in a February 2022 press release while discussing a 2020 winter storm that caused several days of blackouts in Texas. &#8220;With no transmission crossing state lines, it could not lean on its neighbors for power.&#8221;
NRDC says the solution is to have a diverse power grid capable of maximizing its energy potential in conjunction with other energy providers.
&#8220;No single power source is infallible, but a nimble and resilient grid can deliver electricity across the country from the producers that have it to the areas that need it,&#8221; NRDC <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/christy-walsh/texas-storm-proved-need-grid-investments">added</a>.
Tesla, led by the world&#8217;s richest man Elon Musk, moved its headquarters to Texas from California in late 2021.

Windfarm

Tesla Asks Texans To Limit Charging Cars During Heat Wave As Wind Power Slows

Elon Musk

Tesla

Texas

A massive sunspot named AR3038 doubled in size over the last 24 hours, sparking concerns about a solar flare alert that may head toward Earth.
SpaceWeather.com reports the sunspot went from &#8220;big&#8221; to &#8220;enormous&#8221; within a day.
Sunspots produce radiation waves after forming dark areas on the sun&#8217;s surface with strong magnetic fields.
Spaceweather.com also added it has an &#8220;unstable beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares.&#8221;
&#8220;And it is directly facing Earth,&#8221; the website says.
NASA&#8217;s Solar Dynamics Observatory video footage confirms AR3038 has evolved while twisting and contorting, techexplorist.com reports.
Although M-class flares — the second largest out of five solar flares ranked — can temporarily cause radio blackouts for approximately ten minutes and disrupt GPS signal transmissions, the explosions are not strong enough to cause any physical harm.
X-class flares can cause more significant disruption on Earth, such as radio communication interference for network and marine or aviation navigation systems.
&#8220;The explosive heat of a solar flare can&#8217;t make it all the way to our globe, but electromagnetic radiation and energetic particles certainly can,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/flare-impacts.html#:~:text=The%20explosive%20heat%20of%20a,be%20off%20by%20many%20yards.">NASA</a>.
Currently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&#8217;s Space Weather Prediction Center has not issued any warnings about a solar flare event, but is keeping an eye on its progress.
Like the Richter scale for tracking earthquakes, scientists divide solar flares into five separate letter categories — A, B, C, M, and X — ranging from smallest to largest.
Each solar flare sends energy, light, and high-speed particles into space after giant explosions occur.
Last month, the <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/r3-strong-flare-955-am-edt-10-may-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space Weather Prediction Center</a> reported that an &#8220;impulsive&#8221; X-class solar flare exploded from the sun sending high-frequency energy and light that likely restricted sunlight on much of the Atlantic Ocean, and portions of eastern North and South America, western Africa, and Europe.
Solar flare activity increases approximately every 11 years, with NASA claiming large and small radiation-filled flares will impact the Earth in the future.

Solar Flare

Massive Sunspot Doubles In Size, Sparking Solar Storm Concerns

NASA

Natural Disaster

Space

Weather

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, signed off on a proposed settlement Wednesday with an energy company to cease coal use by 2025, <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2022/04/20/ag-nessel-consumers-energy-reach-settlement-to-end-use-of-coal-in-michigan">according</a> to a government-issued press release.
The decision comes 15 years earlier than the original plans. Michigan&#8217;s agreement with Consumers Energy Company — which says it delivers electricity and natural gas to 6.6 million of the 10 million residents in Michigan — must now be approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission.
&#8220;Not only is this settlement a win for our environment, it’s also a win for Michigan ratepayers who have struggled to stay current on their bills,” Nessel said in a statement. “This agreement was truly a collaborative effort from all involved parties and a symbol of what we can achieve when stakeholders work together to create positive change.&#8221;
Last June, Consumers Energy filed a <a href="https://www.consumersenergy.com/-/media/CE/Documents/company/IRP-2021.ashx">resource</a> plan that proposed shuttering coal plants across the state. The idea is to move toward solar energy usage by 2040, building roughly 8,000 megawatts, to have &#8220;clean energy&#8221; resources comprise 90% of electricity. Coal generated the third most electricity in Michigan in 2020, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=MI">according</a> to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
State Rep. Joe Bellino, a Republican, told The Daily Wire that he is &#8220;worried about the state having enough energy.&#8221;
&#8220;I hope the attorney general&#8217;s got the numbers down to keep the power running,&#8221; he said in a Friday interview. &#8220;That&#8217;s all I hope. … We&#8217;re in a peninsula. We can&#8217;t get energy from the east, west, or the north.&#8221;
Nessel&#8217;s office declined to offer further comment to The Daily Wire on the proposed settlement — pointing to the attorney general&#8217;s comments in the press release.
The proposed settlement includes a provision for Consumers Energy to donate $5 million this year to a fund for low-income utility ratepayers, &#8220;with the potential for $33 million in total assistance in additional $2 million increments over a 14-year period.&#8221; This portion was negotiated by The Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, which seeks to make utility costs cheaper for state residents.
Nessel&#8217;s move comes as consumers deal with the highest level of inflation statewide since November of 1981, according to <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/michigan-inflation-expectations#:~:text=Michigan%20Inflation%20Expectations%20in%20the,United%20States%20Michigan%20Inflation%20Expectations.">data</a> from the University of Michigan. Inflation reached 5.4% in April, compared to 4.9% in January and 4.7% in July 2021.
Democrats have continued to target the fossil fuel sector, with U.S. Special Presidential Evoy for Climate John Kerry issuing a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-21/u-s-climate-envoy-kerry-pushes-time-limit-on-new-gas-projects">warning</a> to the domestic natural gas industry on Thursday.
Kerry, who was secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, said natural gas producers should have to prove they are using carbon capture technology to reduce emissions, and, if not, abandon their procedures.
&#8220;We have to put the industry on notice: You’ve got six years, eight years, no more than 10 years or so, within which you’ve got to come up with a means by which you’re going to capture, and if you’re not capturing, then we have to deploy alternative sources of energy,&#8221; he said.
Consumers Energy Company did not respond to a Daily Wire request for comment.

Power plant

Michigan Democrat AG, Major Energy Company Agree To End Coal Use By 2025

Coal

Democratic Party

Inflation

Michigan

As American policymakers seek to encourage the expansion of renewable energy sources, researchers expressed concern that outdated solar panels, wind turbines, and electric car batteries will clog landfills with dangerous materials.
A Harvard Business Review report explained that Americans are turning to solar power due to federal tax benefits and rising solar panel efficiency. One side effect, however, is that Americans will have reason to toss their solar panels for updated models — a reality that will clog landfills with hazardous waste such as cadmium and lead.
As the analysis <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/06/the-dark-side-of-solar-power?ab=hero-main-text">explains</a>:
<blockquote>Economic incentives are rapidly aligning to encourage customers to trade their existing panels for newer, cheaper, more efficient models. In an industry where circularity solutions such as recycling remain woefully inadequate, the sheer volume of discarded panels will soon pose a risk of existentially damaging proportions.</blockquote>
The report claims that this downside of solar power is “hidden” by bodies such as the International Renewable Energy Agency, which published official forecasts for solar waste that do not consider consumers’ willingness to upgrade solar panels before their lifecycles expire. 
Harvard Business Review explained that green energy groups’ projections may be off by a factor of fifty:
<blockquote>If early replacements occur as predicted by our statistical model, they can produce 50 times more waste in just four years than IRENA anticipates. That figure translates to around 315,000 metric tonnes of waste, based on an estimate of 90 tonnes per MW weight-to-power ratio.</blockquote>
The industry for harvesting used solar panels could create “a billion-dollar opportunity for recapture of valuable materials.”
The researchers noted that a similar threat exists for wind turbines and electric vehicle batteries. For the former, they cite an NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/10/759376113/unfurling-the-waste-problem-caused-by-wind-energy">report</a> explaining that windmill parts are too durable to decay quickly and too large for most landfills to compress. For the latter, they cite a BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56574779">article</a> explaining that there is currently no robust recycling industry for lithium-ion batteries.
Harvard Business Review’s analysis emerges as the Biden administration seeks to encourage a national transition away from fossil fuels — for instance, by shuttering the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Twenty-one states filed a lawsuit to reopen the project, stating that President Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/21-states-file-lawsuit-against-biden-to-overturn-controversial-canceling-of-keystone-xl-pipeline">ignored</a> the constitutional process for regulating interstate commerce:
<blockquote>Revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline permit is a regulation of interstate and international commerce, which can only be accomplished as any other statute can: through the process of bicameralism and presentment. The President lacks the power to enact his “ambitious plan” to reshape the economy in defiance of Congress’s unwillingness to do so. To the extent that Congress had delegated such authority, it would violate the non-delegation doctrine. But Congress has not delegated such authority: It set specific rules regarding what actions the President can take about Keystone XL and when.</blockquote>
More recently, as President Biden and other G7 leaders <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/as-biden-pushes-climate-change-efforts-china-walks-back-theirs-to-ramp-up-growth">touted</a> the importance of addressing climate change, Chinese diplomats scaled back their emissions goals in order to prioritize economic growth. The move came despite the fact that U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and China&#8217;s Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua signed a statement promising to jointly “tackle the climate crisis” only two months earlier.
A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to calcium as one of the hazardous wastes. The waste is cadmium.

FRANCE-ENERGY-SOLAR-PHOTOVOLTAICS-ENVIRONMENT

Outdated Solar Panels, Wind Turbines, Electric Car Batteries Will Clog Landfills With Hazardous Waste According To New Report

In the latest video from PragerU, Charles McConnell, former Assistant Secretary of Energy in the Obama Administration, addresses a question on many Americans&#8217; minds: Why are utilities so expensive?
Though the price of natural gas has fallen by 43% and coal prices have dropped 11% <a href="https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_07_04.html">since 2010</a>, the price of electricity for residential users in the United States rose by 13% during the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/topic/7?agg=0,1&amp;linechart=~ELEC.PRICE.US-RES.A&amp;freq=A">same period</a>, McConnell notes. “Why does your electricity bill keep going up when the cost of producing electricity keeps going down?” he asks.
This is because, McConnell says, a portion of the substantial money that should have been saved instead “went to subsidize renewable energy,” with wind and solar being far more expensive than advertised.
“Perhaps if renewable energy was what made our air cleaner or what caused the dramatic reductions in CO2 over the last decade, you could say it was worth it,” McConnell argues. “But our air was already becoming dramatically cleaner long before wind and solar were identified as ‘environmentally critical.’ Emissions of harmful pollutants have decreased 77% in the US <a href="https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/progress-cleaning-air-and-improving-peoples-health">since 1970</a>. And that had nothing to do with wind and solar. It was <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-gas-in-todays-energy-transitions">almost entirely due</a> to the switch from coal to natural gas.”
Given that “we’re getting no cost savings from wind and solar and minimal benefits in terms of cleaner air or reductions in CO2,” McConnell then questions our continued obsession with these forms of power by exploring the three main parts of our electricity bills: generation cost, transmission cost and taxes and fees.
McConnell estimates that the cost of generating and reliably maintaining electricity &#8220;comprises about 50% of your power bill.&#8221; While “fossil fueled electricity is inexpensive, and the fuel can be stored or sourced on site,” making it available when needed, “wind and solar generate electricity based on the mood of Mother Nature,” providing us with the “intermittency problem.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Why Are Utilities So Expensive?" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SRePOQR4dfU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
McConnell then describes what this means in practical terms, saying that wind and solar farms usually require fossil fuel facilities to make up for their intermittent energy supply, and &#8220;all that wasted money is reflected in your electricity bill.&#8221;
The cost to transmit electricity is “determined by the distance between the power plant and your home or business,” he explains. “This is one of the reasons fossil fuel and nuclear plants are ideally suited to power our large, dense cities and industries,” McConnell states. “They require little land space and can be situated near or within population centers, so they need relatively few transmission lines. But wind and solar resources <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/3-reasons-why-nuclear-clean-and-sustainable">require large tracts of land</a> and are therefore usually placed in remote locations.”
Such remoteness introduces the requirement for expensive new infrastructure. For example, Texas “has already spent over <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-leader-in-renewable-energy-wind-turbines/">$7 billion</a> in new transmission lines to bring distant wind power to cities in the east and south,” and with <a href="https://www.newschannel10.com/story/8693500/texas-approves-massive-new-wind-power-project/?clienttype=generic&amp;smartdevicecgbypass">further expenditure required</a>, Texans are “already seeing those costs in their energy bills.”
Finally, McConnell looks at taxes and fees. “Most taxes are plainly stated on your power bill. State taxes, city and county taxes. Plus, a bewildering assortment of fees. Those are bad enough,” McConnell says. “But what you won’t see on your electricity bill are the Federal and, in many places, state taxes that you pay to <a href="https://lifepowered.org/new-research-examines-last-decade-of-federal-energy-subsidies/">subsidize</a> wind and solar generation.”
“Federal subsidies alone for the wind and solar industries totaled more than <a href="https://www.ewg.org/energy/22777/federal-energy-subsidies-what-are-we-getting-our-money">$70 billion</a> from 2010 to 2019. Most state governments kick in their own incentives. The subsidies for wind and solar are in a class by themselves and have been for decades,” McConnell warns. “We are not incentivizing new technology but are artificially supporting an industry. Take away the subsidies and very likely that industry does not exist.”
After explaining these three parts — the generation costs, the transmission costs, the taxes and fees — when they’re added together, “you’re paying a lot more than you should.” 
While some can afford it, many can’t.
“An electricity bill is a regressive expense, meaning it takes up a lot bigger chunk of the budget of a lower middle-class family than it does an upper middle-class one,” McConnell explains. “Many poor families devote <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm#annual">more than 10%</a> of their income after food, rent, and transportation to electricity, while the those further up the income scale spend only a few percent. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/09/19/649633468/31-percent-of-u-s-households-have-trouble-paying-energy-bills">A third</a> of American households report having difficulty paying their electricity bills and 7 million families face the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/reports/2015/energybills/">choice</a> between putting food on the table or keeping their home warm during the cold winter months.”
McConnell concludes by suggesting that we consider the families struggling with these rising costs, instead of focusing on “expensive, inefficient wind and solar energy.”
“Yes, the wind and the sun are free,” McConnell says. “But wind and solar power are anything but.”
PragerU is the world’s leading educational nonprofit focused on changing minds through the creative use of digital media. You can make a <a href="https://donate.prageru.com/give/316306/#!/donation/checkout">tax-deductible donation here</a> to help PragerU continue to reach millions of young people with their videos.

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