Electricity Prices Plummet as Gas, Wind Gain Traction and Demand Stalls
Here’s a link and a graph. . .
My answer to my question is: what’s wind got to do with, really? Is not the growth of wind, and solar, due to government subsidies? What happens if that plug is pulled?
As James D. would say: Discuss.
Thanks for this post. Choked on my mocha latte.
You’re welcome.
Natural gas and fracking are the real story here. Why doesn’t oil show up on the graph? Surely oil must generate more electricity than solar.
Doesn’t oil go for petroleum products rather than electricity?
Someone over in the caf posted this comment on a thread about Elon’s big battery in Oz:
“Even without subsidies, in the strong wind r
egimes[regions] of the central U.S., wind would be 2x gas or coal, at most. Solar is getting to be the same and has a huge advantage of being generally peak coincident.”Our oil stocks go to make gasoline and diesel fuel, kerosene, naphtha, jet fuel and asphalt. Those end products are so valuable that American refineries don’t even power themselves with oil. Our refineries are themselves fueled with natural gas. Since American natural gas is so plentiful and cheap (due to fracking) our refineries are much more cost-efficient than European refineries. In fact, our east-coast refineries can buy oil from Nigeria, turn it into end products and then ship them to Europe for less than European refineries can do the same thing. (I don’t think they actually do that very much on account of the combination of European tariffs and American taxes, but I found that to be an illustrative bit of knowledge about the oil trade.)
Didn’t realize this. Thanks for the knowledge.
It’s true. Demand falls every time my gas and wind gain traction.