Energy Can't Get Here From There

Energy “Plan” - No New Transmission
03/22/09 - ChicagoBoyz by Carl from Chicago

Deception and Policy

[edited] We are allowing our energy infrastructure to deteriorate. The Greens and the Left are disingenuous when they propose their “solutions”, because they don’t want to do anything constructive. They decry “old school” solutions like building new coal plants, which are known, sensible and cost-effective. They promote complicated and unproven alternatives.

This New York Times opinion article shows their duplicity by clearly stating that they don’t WANT to solve the transmission problem, even if someone could wind their way through the rat's nest of financing, legal issues, and permit requirements. The article is a “confession” of their duplicity.

The US has failed to invest much in generation and transmission assets over the last 25 years. “Base load” generation consists of

• Coal plants -- no one is building new ones because of environmental legislation.
• Hydroelectric plants -- no one is damming rivers due to the Sierra Club.
• Nuclear plants -- far too expensive, regulation is uncertain, and Three Mile Island hasn’t gone away.

Even if all the forces were lined up for building generation and transmission, financing is very difficult right now, and the utilities have little incentive to stretch and fund something that the states could invalidate even after giving all the permits to go forward.

The greens and the Left will sabotage any constructive solution. Remember, they dismantled the completely constructed Shoreham nuclear plant on Long Island, pretty much bankrupting the Long Island utility company in the process. Needless to say, the utility had the permits to build it, but the Left played dirty with politics and lawyers and had it disassembled.

The actual platform of the Left is:

• Do nothing about generation.
• Do nothing about transmission.
• Invest a little bit in distribution.
• Talk a lot about conservation.
• Dance for a few years, let the problem get much worse, and hand it to the next administration. Really, it will go to the states, since the Federal government can’t fix the problems, but can make them worse thru legislation.

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Magic Power
Could they do the magic if they wanted to?

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