By Ralph Kisberg
February 4, 2023
Source: Daily Item
Photo Source: Unsplash,
In 2022, progress was made toward preventing the overwhelming, catastrophic consequences of the climate change that most of us observe occurring. The U.S. reclaimed its leadership role among nations tackling the issue. We passed three major pieces of legislation with the potential to greatly accelerate the pace of the transition to cleaner, healthier, energy sources. There is growing awareness of agricultural practices that alter the climate and how to reverse them, while increasing yield and profitability along with healthier food for all.
For me, December 2022 was the first time I was able to contract for a 100% wind and solar electrical power supply, and at a significantly lower cost than the mostly gas, nuclear, and coal-powered mix offered by my utility — lower even than almost any other choices on the list of available suppliers. The almost 20% lower cost per kilowatt hour is proving handy this heating season, with my current combination of electric and oil-fired heat for my home. I want to move to all electric, but the question of how to do so quickly is complex.
The war in Ukraine combined with the recovery from lower demand for oil during the 2020 economic disruption once again shows us how our fossil fuel-dependent economy is tied to events we cannot control. As long as our nation continues to rely overwhelmingly on burning globally-traded commodities for energy, that will continue. Europe is learning the hard way that reliance on Russian gas put them in a precarious position. Last year, the U.S. exported 10% of our gas production to overseas markets. A lot of it sold to Asian buyers who turned around and resold it at a large profit, then redirected the ships carrying it in a liquefied state (LNG) to Europe. Will U.S. LNG exports continue to grow? Will more of the proposed facilities to convert and export U.S. gas be built? More facilities in other nations to re-gasify and distribute it? If so, how will this affect the price of gas for our home and business needs, and half the electricity produced in our commonwealth?
In 2021, the U.S. produced about 18 million barrels of oil a day, more oil than any other nation. We exported a bit over half of our production (8.54 million barrels a day), while importing 8.47 million barrels a day. Why? Because a large percentage of what we exported was in the form of refined products: unleaded gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, etc. That is how the market works. We import different grades of oil, refine, and send much back out. That means that when someone fires a missile in the Middle East, the price of gasoline in Pennsylvania quickly shoots up. When the Chinese economy slows down, the price of our gasoline slowly creeps down. Wouldn’t it help us all to be free of these periodic jumps at the pump and on our electric bill? The big financial advantage of utility-scale renewable energy is that costs are mostly fixed. Build a wind farm or a solar array and most of the costs go to servicing the debt, paying back money borrowed or gathered to pay for the equipment and sighting. Those costs are known and stable, as with any industrial facility. Producing power without needing to constantly purchase fuel makes costs much more stable over a project’s lifetime. More renewables: lower, more stable prices for consumers.
Upfront costs for solar or wind farms are higher than for power plants that produce the same amount of gas-fired electricity, but operational costs cannot compare. Minerals needed for equipment to produce renewably powered electricity are also commodities with international markets, but the overall costs, known as levelized costs over a facility’s financial lifetime, are unquestionably lower with solar and wind.
New tax incentives paid for by a tax on corporate profits, not your taxes, speed up the nation’s journey toward less expensive energy and more competitive manufacturing. You may not like the landscape changes, neither do I, but they align with international climate goals and better health outcomes for us all. The more we unite behind these goals, the faster we get there.
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