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High electricity prices have Europe facing deindustrialization; don’t let it happen here

Energy News Beat

After years of misguided energy policies, Europe’s electricity has become so expensive that trade unions have started warning of the threat of deindustrialization. The warning will hopefully prove a salutary one for the U.S., which is now headed down the same road to energy serfdom.

Despite Germany shuttering its nuclear plants and sanctions disrupting the supply of Russian natural gas, the European Union has doubled down on renewable energy mandates, further constricting the supply of fossil fuel power. After soaring to 10 times their 2019 levels a year ago, Europe’s electricity prices have settled at triple their pre-pandemic levels. They are projected to remain at this level for some time.

When electricity prices rise, production costs soar along with inflation in virtually every sector, negatively affecting trade and investment across the economy. The chickens have now come home to roost.

According to the European Commission, industrial output in the Euro area plummeted 5.8 percent in the 12 months ending November 2023. Capital goods production was down nearly 8.7 percent. Investment in plants and equipment has plummeted. Europe’s current account surplus, which has averaged more than 3 percent of GDP for decades, was wiped out in a single year by soaring energy imports.

And there is worse to come. A survey by the European Investment Bank shows that energy cost in 2023 was the chief obstacle to firms’ long-term investment decisions. As recently as 2019, energy had barely been in the top five. For firms in manufacturing and services, the impact of energy on investment has been even more pronounced.

Europe’s trade unions are sounding the alarm. “We are facing a very worrying situation,” a senior European trade union official told Euractiv recently. “The lack of investment we are seeing today is already having dramatic implications for working communities,” he added, citing plummeting investment in buildings and equipment. “Factories are closing and jobs are being cut in the very sectors that lifted Europe to where it is today.”

Deepening Europe’s crisis, the Biden administration has announced a pause in liquefied natural gas export license approvals. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm claims the pause won’t affect the country’s “ability to supply our allies in Europe, Asia or recipients of already authorized exports.” But the market for LNG exports is global. With global demand increasing, and Europe particularly desperate for more LNG since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a restriction in U.S. exports anywhere will raise LNG prices for all importers. U.S. allies in Europe and Asia may soon be accusing President Biden of waging economic warfare against them.

Desperate to cushion the blow of soaring electricity prices, Germany is now plowing more than 4 percent of GDP into energy price mitigation for households and businesses. That’s almost the entire U.S. budget deficit in an average year. Decades of German fiscal discipline have vanished in a single energy shock, along with the ability of its industries to compete globally.

Great Britain is facing a similarly dire situation. In a devastating new report, Rupert Darwall notes that British businesses are paying almost five times more for electricity now than in 2004, and in 2022 paid 2.3 times what American businesses paid. Britain’s electricity prices would be even higher, but for its anemic GDP growth in the last two decades. That represents a lost generation of economic growth due in part to Britain’s self-destructive energy policies.

America has thus far been spared similar pain, but alas, it is headed down the same road. Buffeted by the anti-fossil fuel policies of the Biden administration and states such as California and New York, average electricity prices in the U.S. have risen 30 percent since the start of 2021. That has contributed to cumulative inflation of 25 percent since President Biden’s inauguration, wiping out a generation of wage gains for American workers.

Making matters worse, Biden’s proposed electric vehicle mandates would significantly add to electricity demand, and his new power plant rules would force many coal and natural gas plants to shutter. If implemented, the new rules would wreck America’s electricity grid and make American electricity prices even more expensive than Europe’s.

Rising electricity prices could not come at a worse time. The revolution in artificial intelligence heralds a new age in America’s technological dominance, but only if America can keep its electricity prices low. The power requirements of AI are staggering. In 2021, Google alone consumed 18 terawatt-hours of electricity, more than many of the world’s nations. According to John Henessy, chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet, a Google search assisted by AI can consume 10 times more electricity than a normal Google search. Powered by AI, Google’s energy consumption could triple by 2027.

Rising electricity prices bode ill for the competition with China. While U.S. electricity prices have soared since Biden’s inauguration, China’s prices have kept steady at a level about 31 percent below ours, and will likely decrease as the country continues building coal-fired power plants at a frenetic pace. China’s tech industry is quickly catching up to America’s and could meet Chinese premier Xi Jinping’s stated goal of surpassing the U.S. by 2030.

America has been at the forefront of every major technological innovation since the Industrial Revolution began, a major reason the U.S. became the world’s superpower. Part of the reason has been abundant energy supply. But that era could be coming to an end.

U.S. policymakers should heed warnings from Europe, and embrace a policy of making American electricity once again the most reliable and affordable on Earth.

Mario Loyola teaches environmental law at Florida International University and is a Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

 

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California and Big Oil are splitting after century-long affair

Energy News Beat

Jan 29 (Reuters) – It is the end of an era for Big Oil in California, as the most populous U.S. state divorces itself from fossil fuels in its fight against climate change.
California’s oil output a century ago amounted to it being the fourth-largest crude producer in the U.S., and spawned hundreds of oil drillers, including some of the largest still in existence. Oil led to its car culture of iconic highways, drive-in theaters, banks and restaurants that endures today.
On Friday, however, the marriage will officially end. The two largest U.S. oil producers, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, will formally disclose a combined $5 billion writedown of California assets when they report fourth-quarter results.
“They are definitely getting a divorce,” said Jamie Court, president of advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, which said the companies long ago stopped investing in California production, and now want to hive off their old wells there. “They’ve been separated for more than a decade, now they are just signing the papers,” he said.
Exxon Mobil last year exited onshore production in the state, ending a 25-year-long partnership with Shell PLC (SHEL.L), opens new tab, when they sold their joint-venture properties.
The state’s regulatory environment has impeded efforts to restart offshore production, Exxon said this month, leading to an exit that includes financing a Texas company’s purchase of its offshore properties.
The No.1 U.S. oil producer’s asset writedown will cost about $2.5 billion and officially end five decades of oil production off the coast of Southern California.
Chevron will also take charges of about $2.5 billion tied to its California assets. It is staying but bitterly contesting state regulations on its oil producing and refining operations in the state, where it was born 145 years ago as Pacific Coast Oil Co.
California’s energy policies are “making it a difficult place to invest,” even for renewable fuels, a Chevron executive said this month. The company pumps oil from fields developed 100 years ago but has cut spending in the state by “hundreds of millions of dollars since 2022,” the executive said.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWAKENING

If oil companies fed California’s car culture, their oil spills spurred the U.S. environmental movement. A devastating oil well blowout in Santa Barbara in 1969 led to the National Environmental Policy Act that for the first time required federal agencies consider environmental effects of permitting decisions.
In the 70s and 80s, the state set curbs on drilling near homes and businesses and regulations on air pollution – rules that have been copied widely across the U.S. In 1996, California introduced reformulated gasoline to fight smog, developing the country’s most stringent and costly environmental standards.
That mixed legacy overshadowed oil’s economic contributions. California’s high-tech industry long ago replaced oil as a major employer and its governor, Gavin Newsom, has called for the state to ban sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
His administration last September filed a lawsuit targeting the oil industry for “lying to consumers for more than 50 years” about climate change. He signed into law a bill seeking to hold Chevron and other refiners liable for allegedly price-gouged consumers, opens new tab.
The American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s trade association, said climate lawsuits hurt “a foundational American industry and its workers” and represent “an enormous waste of California taxpayers resources.”

INDUSTRY IN DECLINE

For now, the acrimony makes the story of California and oil sound a lot like a tragedy.
“This is a green transition,” said Daniel Kammen, a professor of Energy at the University of California, who argues oil firms need to move to clean energy and away from fossil fuels. “There is a pathway for these companies. But if they chose otherwise, they are dinosaurs.”

Reuters Graphics

Oil production in the state has been on a steady decline for almost four decades. Crude output, including at its historic Kern County fields in southern California, is off by a third since its 1.1 million-barrel-per-day peak in 1985.
The state has lacked new oil development projects and the legacy fields that produce heavy oil have not been suitable for state mandates for high quality gasoline.
As of September, more than 50% of oil drilling permits issued to companies have gone unused, according to the California Department of Conservation. Unemployment in oil producer Kern County is at 7.8%, compared with the overall 4.9% average for the state.
And California today has six times more clean-energy as oil-related jobs.
“California can’t have both,” said UC Berkley’s Kammen, who formerly was a Science Envoy in the Obama administration. “That means there is no room for oil and gas after that.”

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Wind turbine explodes after bursting into flames at quiet Welsh farm, showering broken parts to the ground

Energy News Beat

Walkers enjoying a quiet stroll in the Welsh countryside captured a shocking sight on Sunday, after a wind turbine burst into flames before exploding.

Nick Blasdale, 61, and his wife Alison, 59, were left stunned when they saw burning parts of a turbine fall more than 100ft to the ground.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at Blaen Bowi Wind Farm near Newcastle Emlyn, Pembrokeshire at 11.46am, but could only watch and make sure passersby didn’t get too close.

Alison said: ‘We watched the top section burst into flames then drop off whilst still burning then explode when it hit the ground.’

The towering wind turbine (pictured) at Blaen Bowi Wind Farm near Newcastle Emlyn, Pembrokeshire, burst into flames before exploding

Firefighters were called to the blaze at 11.46am on Sunday

A lease for the wind turbines was signed in 1995 before the turbines became operational in 2002.

The 1.3 megawatt turbines at the site are expected to produce enough electricity to power around 2,000 homes a year.

Mid and West Wales Fire Service said: ‘Crews responded to a wind turbine which was well alight on their arrival.

‘Pieces of the wind turbine were falling nearby and crews monitored the condition of the debris.

‘No further action was taken by crews and the landowner continued to monitor for fire spread and falling debris.’

Fire crews responded at 11.46am and left at 1.03pm.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

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European Energy Cancels Wind Project Offshore Denmark

Energy News Beat

The Danish company European Energy has decided to cease the development of the Omø Syd (Omø South) offshore wind project in Denmark.

European Energy has been developing the Omø South offshore wind project for over ten years and had its environmental impact assessment (EIA) approved in 2020, together with its other project in Denmark, the Jammerland Bay offshore wind farm.

However, on the same day, the company learned from the Danish Government that they plan to designate the same area as a Natura 2000 bird sanctuary, according to an update posted by Andreas Karhula Lauridsen, Vice President and Head of Offshore Wind at European Energy.

“We have tried to get the project to fly, among other things, in coexistence with nature, but we have to note that authorities and politicians have not had much interest in this,” said Lauridsen.

“Since our feasibility study permit has a height limit of 200 meters and today’s offshore wind turbines have become 256 meters tall, it goes without saying that the project has no future.”

In February 2023, the Danish Energy Agency suspended the processing of 33 open-door offshore wind projects, including Omø South, until further clarification of EU law issues.

A month later, the agency resumed the assessment of four open-door schemes, including the 320 MW Omø South offshore wind project. The wind farm was planned to be developed in Småland water between Zealand and Lolland.

Apart from Omø South, European Energy is developing three other offshore wind projects in Denmark: the 160 MW Little Belt (located approx. 4km northeast of Als and 6km from Helnæs), up to 240 MW Jammerland Bay (located northwest of Reersø with over 6km to the nearest coast), and up to 72 MW Fredrikshavn (located 4km off Frederikshavn, and 1.8km off the coast of Hirsholmene).

Recently, the company entered into a partnership with TotalEnergies to develop offshore wind projects in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.

Source: Offshorewind.biz

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Liquefied Natural Gas Has Limited Impact in Displacing Coal Emissions

Energy News Beat

Holding global temperature rise to below 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels requires the world to accelerate the transition away from all fossil fuels, including fossil gas, starting this critical decade. The fossil fuel industry is selling a false narrative that liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion is a “climate solution” because it displaces coal consumption globally. This claim doesn’t stand up against the facts. There is mounting evidence that LNG is more greenhouse gas-intensive than previously estimated, and it could even be worse for the climate than coal. But crucially, U.S. LNG has no or very limited impact on coal consumption overseas. Instead, U.S. LNG is likely competing with investments in the clean energy economy the world needs to protect us from even graver climate impacts.

To defend the industry’s spurious claim that U.S. LNG is reducing coal use overseas it would need to be:

exported to countries with major sources of coal emissions—currently or realistically in the pipeline of development; AND
exported for sectors in those countries that heavily use coal—not just for sectors that are using other sources of gas; AND
be used in a manner that actually offsets the use of coal as opposed to competing with or replacing investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and low-carbon industry.

None of these factors are true in combination. So, let’s look at the real facts.

Where does U.S. LNG actually go?

The destination of U.S. LNG exports is shifting, making industry claims of coal displacement unsubstantiated.

Most of the recent U.S. LNG exports are going to Europe, accounting for 65 percent of total exports from January through October of 2023. The next largest buyers of U.S. LNG were in Asia with Japan (7.0 percent) and South Korea (5.8 percent) with India (3.7 percent) and China (3.5 percent) accounting for a smaller share. This shift in volumes to Europe is a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as prior to the war Europe only accounted for 31 percent of U.S. LNG exports, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.* See figure from Energy Information Administration**.

While Europe has been the main destination for recent U.S. LNG exports, the contracts for new LNG supply are rapidly shifting to traders and portfolio players (fossil fuel companies) looking to sell to the highest bidder. From the beginning of 2022 through September 2023, almost 72 percent of newly signed U.S. LNG contracts have an unspecified import destination, with a much smaller share to non-European markets and only 9.4 percent to European destinations, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.*. The holders of these contracts are generally companies looking to re-sell their contracted LNG volumes (see figure). The small portion of new U.S. LNG contracts not going to LNG re-sellers is going to China (13 percent) followed by Japan (5 percent), Germany (4 percent), Poland (2.8 percent), and other parts of Europe (2 percent).

These “LNG re-sellers”—also known as portfolio players—are essentially oil and gas companies, gas traders, and others that are buying U.S. LNG and selling that fossil gas to whichever country, company, or project will pay the most money. The largest holder of these new U.S. LNG volumes with an unspecified import destination is Qatar Energy (13.7 percent). Qatar is itself the third largest LNG exporter, so it is clearly not buying U.S. gas to offset their coal consumption—it is looking to make an additional profit off U.S. fossil gas. The remaining list of LNG re-sellers is a “who’s who” of major oil and gas producers and gas trading firms. Oil and gas industry giants—including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Total Energies, Shell, and Chevron – make up seven of the eight largest holders of new U.S. LNG contracts with unspecified destinations (see figure). Again, these LNG sellers aren’t major players in coal electricity generation, so there is no clear explicit connection to cutting coal electricity emissions.

Do these importers use a lot of coal and is it used in sectors/industries?

The top current consumers of coal are: China (54 percent), followed by India (16 percent), the U.S. (5 percent), and the European Union (EU) (4 percent).***

No additional impact on European coal. Coal consumption in the EU is declining as they expand renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, shift industrial activity, and meet their legally-binding climate targets. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that coal consumption for power plants in the E.U. will be 44 percent below 2022 levels in 2026, and total coal consumption will be 64 percent below in 2030.**** So, expansion of LNG to the EU will not likely have any greater impact on this already significantly declining coal trajectory.

The EU’s climate targets imply rapid declines in both coal and fossil gas emissions. There is simply no emissions space to increase EU gas consumption to substitute for coal – both coal and gas emissions need to rapidly decline this decade as they head to zero. In fact, IEA analysis shows that EU gas consumption will need to decline by at least 26 percent by 2030 to meet its climate goals.****

Most of Europe’s fossil gas is used for home heating (55 percent), with electricity generation only accounting for around 19 percent of demand in western Europe (see figure). Given this, it is hard to argue that U.S. LNG shipped to Europe is offsetting coal since coal use for home heating is miniscule—it is simply gas replacing gas.

The EU is also shrinking its overall gas consumption so banking on growth in demand poses serious risks for the U.S. LNG export sector and its investors. In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe has seen a dramatic uptake in renewable energy, which has helped offset the need for an increase in coal electricity generation to replace Russian gas previously used for electricity production. Coal electricity generation in the EU declined by 120 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2023 from 2022 levels, with wind and solar rising by 54 and 30 TWh, respectively. In fact, EU gas-fired electricity generation declined by 72 TWh last year, according to Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy researchers. Europe has also seen a strong uptick in alternatives to gas for home heating with heat pump installations rising. Germany’s heat pump market grew by more than 50 percent reaching a record of almost 400,000 units in 2023.

Thin arguments on displacing coal power in Asia. With Europe heading into a structural decline in overall fossil fuel demand this decade and beyond, any new LNG supply from the U.S. will scramble to find a new destination. The industry (and others) will try to claim that U.S. LNG will offset coal use in Asia. The largest current and planned Asian buyers of U.S. LNG are China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. They all have sizeable coal power plant fleets, but, outside of China and India, none of these other countries are building new coal power plants. China and India combined only account for about 7 percent of current U.S. LNG exports and only China has signed direct contracts for new LNG purchases with around 13 percent of the new deals. Again, only a small amount of U.S. LNG exports is contractually obligated to countries that currently have a large amount of current coal electricity generation or are rapidly expanding.

The vast majority of U.S. LNG is going to oil and gas companies and gas traders who will sell U.S. fossil gas to the highest bidder. Only 5.1 percent of new LNG contracts are committed directly to electric utilities, with an additional 16 percent committed to gas suppliers with some of that potentially going to electricity generation, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Fossil gas needs to decline to meet our climate goals

To be on a trajectory by 2030 to give us a shot at the 1.5°C goal, the world needs to cut all fossil fuel emissions by at least 35 percent below 2022 levels, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). To be on a 1.5°C pathway, global consumption of fossil gas needs to decline by around 20 percent from today’s levels by 2030 and be on a path to a cut of over 75 percent by 2050. Coal emissions need to also rapidly decline so we need demand reductions both in coal emissions AND fossil gas by 2030 (see figure).

The LNG industry can’t show us the receipts

The oil and gas industry likes to claim that U.S. LNG is offsetting coal-fired power. The industry can’t transparently show the receipts to back up those statements.

Instead of leading the world in LNG exports, the United States must curb the deeply harmful expansion of this sector and phase out all support for overseas fossil gas investments. It’s what is right for the economy, communities, and the climate.

Source: Nrdc.org

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Oil Ticks Higher on Significant Inventory Draw

Energy News Beat

Crude oil prices today inched higher after the Energy Information Administration reported an inventory draw of 9.2 million barrels for the week to January 19.

This compared with a draw of 2.5 million barrels for the previous week, whose effect on prices was muted, however, because of another round of substantial inventory builds in gasoline and middle distillates.

For the week to January 19, the EIA reported mixed changes in fuel inventories.

Gasoline stocks added 4.9 million barrels, according to the authority, with production averaging 8.3 million barrels daily.

This compared with an inventory increase of 3.1 million barrels and average daily production of 9.4 million barrels for the previous week.

In middle distillates, the EIA estimated an inventory decline of 1.4 million barrels for the week to January 19, with production averaging 4.5 million barrels daily.

This compared with a stock build of 2.4 million barrels for the week before last, with average daily production at 4.9 million barrels.

The EIA also said refineries last week had processed 15.3 million barrels of crude daily, which compared with 16.7 million barrels daily for the previous week.

Oil prices, in the meantime, remain stuck between expectations of weaker demand and geopolitical risk in the Middle East. That latter factor pushed prices higher earlier this week but the benchmarks still ended the Tuesday session with a dip.

On Wednesday, prices began trade with a dip as the demand outlook received some bearish support from the latest American Petroleum Institute estimate, which showed another massive build in fuel stocks. Per the API report, gasoline stocks had added 7.2 million barrels in the week to January 19, suggesting sluggish fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer.

At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $79.88 and West Texas Intermediate was changing hands for $74.81. Both were up/down from opening.

Source: Oilprice.com

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GAIL and ADNOC Gas ink a Long-term LNG contract

Energy News Beat

New Delhi, Jan 29 GAIL (India) Limited, India’s largest Natural Gas company, has successfully concluded a long-term LNG purchase agreement for purchase of around 0.5 MMTPA LNG from ADNOC Gas. This is pursuant to an MoU dated 30.10.2022 between GAIL and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) P.J.S.C wherein Parties agreed that, in potential areas of collaboration both parties shall explore opportunities including purchase of LNG by GAIL from ADNOC for a tenure ranging from short term to medium and long-term. This significant development between GAIL and ADNOC will reinforce the robust cultural and economic bonds between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Under this agreement, the deliveries will commence from 2026 onwards for a duration of 10 years, across India. This arrangement is believed to further aid in India’s rising energy security requirements and, simultaneously, also fuel GAIL’s strategic growth objectives to cater to its downstream customers in the rapidly evolving Natural Gas landscape of the country.

Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, GAIL (India) Limited said on this long-term LNG deal that this long-term LNG deal with ADNOC by GAIL will contribute to bridging gap in India’s demand and supply of natural gas and will open more avenues of strategic partnership between GAIL and ADNOC in other areas of energy domain.

Underlining the broader impact of the agreement, Sanjay Kumar, Director (Marketing), GAIL stated that this long-term LNG transaction by GAIL will help India in moving towards Government of India’s objective of enhancing share of natural gas in India’s energy basket to 15%. Further, this deal will also help GAIL to augment its significantly large LNG portfolio to serve its diverse consumer profile.

The long-term LNG purchase agreement with ADNOC Gas is anticipated to fortify India’s energy security, foster economic collaboration, and propel both GAIL and ADNOC into new realms of strategic partnership.

Source: Sarkaritel.com

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Electric buses are sitting unused in cities across the US; here’s why

Energy News Beat

Between the federal government, states and municipalities, untold billions in taxpayer dollars have been spent adding electric buses to transit fleets across the U.S. in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.

However, cities from coast-to-coast are grappling with broken-down e-buses that cannot be fixed, are too expensive to fix, or they have scrapped their electric fleets altogether.

Officials in Asheville, North Carolina, recently expressed frustration that three of the five e-buses the city purchased for millions in 2018 are now sitting idle due to a combination of software issues, mechanical problems and an inability to obtain replacement parts.

Earlier this month, The Denver Gazette reported two of the four e-buses Colorado Springs’ Mountain Metropolitan Transit acquired in 2021 are not running. They cost $1.2 million a piece, mostly paid for by government grants.

A photo of the Proterra Catylist XR bus is seen at the electric bus company that has its headquarters in Burlingame, California.

Part of the problem is the manufacturer of the buses, Proterra, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August. The company, founded in 2004, rose to become the largest e-bus company in the U.S., representing nearly 40% of the market prior to going belly-up.

THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSH RUNS OUT OF POWER

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm sat on Proterra’s board until she joined the Biden administration, and President Biden touted the company while taking a virtual tour of the manufacturer in the spring of 2021. Granholm made $1.6 million selling her stock in the company shortly after that, following criticisms that her holdings in the firm were a conflict of interest.

President Biden delivers remarks on energy as Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm listens during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Oct. 19, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

Asheville’s interim transportation director, Jessica Morriss, told local outlet WLOS-TV it has been impossible to get parts since Proterra filed for bankruptcy last summer. However, Asheville – and several other cities – had problems with the company’s buses long before then.

In 2020, The Philadelphia Tribune reported SEPTA’s entire $24 million fleet of Proterras had been pulled out of commission. A spokesperson for the transit agency would not get into the specifics of why the 25 buses – the third-largest fleet of all-electric buses in the U.S. at the time – were put on ice, but suggested the issues might be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.

Then in Sept. 2021, the Daily Bulletin out of California reported that “As of August, Foothill Transit, based in West Covina and serving the San Gabriel Valley, parts of Los Angeles and Pomona Valley, had 13 idled battery-electric buses out of 32 in its fleet. At one point, the agency indicated up to 67% of its electric buses were not operating during 2019 and 2020.”

An all-electric Proterra bus moves through the neighborhoods on Route 60 in Stockton, California, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016.

The outlet noted San Joaquin Regional Transit District in Stockton, California, the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County in Reno, Nevada, and the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) in Louisville, Kentucky, were also struggling with Proterra buses sitting idle.

In Nov. 2022, WDRB-TV reported that TARC’s entire fleet of Proterra electric buses had not operated in two years. The outlet said $9 million had been shelled out for Louisville’s e-buses.

Last month, Austin, Texas-based KUT News reported the city’s Capital Metro had entered into a $46 million deal with Proterra in 2020 for the company to build 40 buses. CapMetro only has six of them in operation while they await another 17 that have been built but are sitting in Proterra’s South Carolina factory because chargers for them are not yet available.

The outlet also pointed to a filing from attorneys representing Broward County, Florida, regarding Proterra’s bankruptcy. The lawyers told the court Broward County purchased 42 buses from Proterra for $54 million, and the first batch only operated for an average of 600 miles before breaking down, while the second batch averaged 1,800. For comparison, the county’s diesel buses average 4,500 between failures, the filing said.

Some of the cities that have taken multimillion-dollar losses on inoperable e-buses, including Asheville and Colorado Springs, have paused purchasing more all-electric transit vehicles for now, and are instead opting for adding hybrid models to their green fleets until EV technology improves.

In the meantime, Proterra is poised to make a comeback.

The company was split into three parts during bankruptcy and its transit bus division was purchased earlier this month by Phoenix Motorcars, a California-based manufacturer that primarily builds medium-duty electric vehicles like shuttle buses for airports.

Jose Paul, Phoenix Motorcars’ chief revenue officer, told FOX Business in an interview that the company has taken ownership of “really world-class technology” in its acquisition of Proterra.

He noted that EVs, like any new technology, have issues but are continuing to evolve and advance. When Henry Ford rolled out the Model T, it was not perfect, Paul pointed out, and says Proterra’s buses have continued to improve with each generation.

Paul acknowledged that some customers, like the city of Asheville, have had challenges with operating Proterra buses, particularly due to the inability to obtain parts since the bankruptcy. He said one of the first things Phoenix Motorcars plans to do is to focus on restocking spare parts to make them available, explaining that some suppliers refused to sell to Proterra while it was under bankruptcy protection.

Roughly 300 Proterra employees, some of whom have been with the company from its start, have agreed to stay on board with Phoenix. The new owner is currently working to identify what parts customers need and, if required, to provide service technicians to get inoperable vehicles fixed.

“It’s been eight days, and we’ve already made significant progress,” Paul told FOX Business. “We can now go out there and start ramping up on all fronts, be it honoring…the backlog of orders which Proterra had…ramping up production. That’s the immediate goal for us. So those are all things we’re doing right now.”

Paul said Phoenix’s hope is that a lot of the issues customers have faced due to Proterra’s bankruptcy will be handled within the next six to nine months.

He emphasized, “Our goal is to take care of customers…every single customer.”

Source: Foxbusiness.com

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Europe Demand to Drive $223B Gas Investment in Next Decade: Study

Energy News Beat

Europe’s demand for gas is driving $223 billion in new investment to produce the fuel globally during the next decade, according to a new study that casts a spotlight on the region’s broad carbon footprint even as it tries to rein in emissions.

Two US liquefied natural gas companies — Venture Global LNG Inc. and Cheniere Energy Inc. — are set to lead spending on new developments going forward, climate activist group Global Witness said in its report, which analyzes data from Rystad Energy. Industry heavyweights TotalEnergies SE and Equinor ASA are also high on the list.

Overall, the fossil fuel industry is set to invest $1 trillion in gas production for Europe through 2033, it said.

The findings add to indications that Europe’s gas demand is set to continue its upward trajectory — despite efforts to slash emissions — as it rebuilds its energy framework after Russia cut most supplies in the fallout of war in Ukraine. Europe’s consumption of the fuel is forecast to grow by 3 percent this year — slightly higher than the global average, though lower than the world-leading 4 percent rate in Asia, according to the International Energy Agency.

Although gas produces less pollution than other fossil fuels, its projects worldwide are under increasing scrutiny for their effects on climate change, raising questions about which facilities will ultimately get built.

The Biden administration on Friday halted approval of new US licenses to export LNG while it studies the climate effects, a move that could disrupt billions of dollars in investment. The Global Witness study was compiled before that decision.

Europe relies heavily on imported gas from the US and Qatar, the world’s top LNG suppliers. It’s also looking to boost production within its own borders to serve as a bridge during the energy transition. Germany, the region’s largest economy, is considering support for a massive expansion of its fleet of gas plants, which could ultimately burn hydrogen.

‘Dangerous Path’

“Europe is hurtling down a dangerous path by doubling down on fossil gas,” said Dominic Eagleton, senior fossil fuels campaigner at Global Witness. He called on the European Commission to set 2035 as a phase-out date for the fuel.

Forecast production for Europe would lead to 6.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere until 2033 — equivalent to more than two decades-worth of France’s annual emissions, according to the group.

Its study analyzes forecast operating and capital expenditures for gas production, compiled by researcher Rystad. The report covers demand and projects for all of Europe, not just EU nations, excluding Russia. Top spenders on total gas infrastructure for the region include some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, it said.

Europe has generally been at the forefront of regional efforts to tame climate change. Next month the commission, the EU’s executive branch, will put forward its recommendation for an emissions-cut target of 90 percent by 2040, while acknowledging that fossil fuels will still continue to play a role, according to people familiar with the matter.

The question is whether the deals signed by energy companies match up to those ideals. In the run-up to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year, the EU declared it will push for a global phase-out of fossil fuels well before 2050. Two days later Shell Plc signed a 27-year agreement to buy Qatari LNG for the Netherlands. TotalEnergies signed a similar contract.

Global Witness’ analysis shows that those two companies, alongside Exxon Mobil Corp., Equinor and Eni SpA are set to spend a total of $144 billion on the gas supplies Europe needs over the next decade.

Source: Rigzone.com

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Globalists Are Using ‘Green Energy’ to Destroy Our Way of Life

Energy News Beat

In 10 years before the proverbial 2035 date when many mandated transitions to “green electricity” occur to reduce or eliminate usage of fossil fuels, most of today’s elected officials, policy advisers, and policymakers are:

Mostly NOT trained in engineering.
Only from wealthy countries.
Unaware of the engineering reality that without the petrochemicals manufactured from crude oil, those 6,000 products that entered society after the 1800’s, start to disappear, the same products that have been the basis of the world populating over the last 200 years, after the discovery of crude oil, from 1 to 8 billion. 
Unwilling to engage in conversations about where and how the world is going to replace the fossil fuels that are now providing the basis of all the “PRODUCTS” in society that did not exist before the 1800’s.

Petrochemicals manufactured from crude oil:

Are key ingredients in manufacturing wind turbine blades and solar panels.
Are widely used in healthcare as feedstock for pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and plastic medical supplies.
Are the key ingredients for construction materials to décor and kitchen necessities.
Are the basis of tires and asphalt used in transportation infrastructures.
Provide the fuels to move the heavy-weight and long-range needs of jets moving people and products, and the merchant ships for global trade flows, and the military and space programs.

Those policymakers only focus on “just weather” dependent electricity generated from wind turbines and solar panels, i.e. “green electricity” that only exists because of subsidies from governments. They fail to understand that it’s the PRODUCTS that run this world, not just electricity. They also fail to comprehend that wind turbines and solar panels CANNOT make any products needed to support humanity.

Not being able to comprehend simple engineering principles, they fail to understand that all the components needed to make wind turbines and solar panels are made from the petrochemicals manufactured from crude oil, the same crude oil that they want to rid the world of!

By 2035 most of today’s elected government officials and policymakers will be termed out of office, and either be retired or deceased, leaving their policies for today’s teenagers and grade school kids to pay for the implementation of those dictates from today’s “leaders” in wealthy country dictates!

The other 90+ percent of the world of developing countries continue with unabated emissions for their dismal economies!

Today’s policy advisers, policymakers, and the news media, also mostly NOT trained in engineering, constantly refer to all climate changes being caused by humanity, but they never identify where most of that emission generating humanity is located!

The healthy and wealthy countries of Germany, Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and all the EU, and the USA representing about one of the eight billion of the world’s population could literally shut down, and cease to exist, and the opposite of what the media tells us and believes will take place.

Emissions will be exploding from those poorer developing countries, i.e., the other seven billion on this planet. Unlike the wealthy countries that have huge economies that can subsidize any delusionally obsessed idea, these poorer countries dismal economies cannot subsidize themselves out of a paper bag!

Simply put, in these healthy and wealthy countries, every person, animal, or anything that causes emissions to harmfully rise could vanish off the face of the earth, or even die off, and global emissions will still explode in the coming years and decades ahead over the population and economic growth of India, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Tanzania.

When Thomas Edison and his researchers at Menlo Park came onto the lighting scene, they focused on improving the filament — first testing carbon, then platinum, before finally returning to a carbon filament. By October 1879, Edison’s team had produced a light bulb with a carbonized filament of uncoated cotton thread that could last for 14.5 hours. They continued to experiment with the filament until settling on one made from bamboo that gave Edison’s lamps a lifetime of up to 1,200 hours.

Thomas Edison (1847-1931) is widely credited as the inventor of the incandescent light bulb, but the more accurate telling is that he improved on a technology that already existed. Many of Edison’s 1,093 patents were the product of teamwork, with a large team of researchers working out of his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Their research also played a key role in the development of sound recording and motion picture technology.

One of his biggest achievements was opening the first power plant in New York City in 1882, the Pearl Street Station. He also installed the first electric streetlights in Roselle, New Jersey, marking the beginning of the end of gas lighting in American cities.

Eventually, Edison’s companies evolved into the General Electric brand, which is known for its washing machines, refrigerators, and electric light bulbs, that all utilize parts and components made from crude oil.

Looking back at the history of the petroleum industry, it illustrates that the black cruddy looking crude oil was virtually useless, unless it could be manufactured (refineries) into oil derivativesthat are now the basis of chemical products, such as plastics, solvents, and medications, that are essential for supporting modern lifestyles. The more than 6,000 products that are based on oil are being used for the health and well-being of humanity and the generation of electricity did not exist a few short centuries ago.

Today, we have more than 50,000 merchant ships, more than 20,000 commercial aircraft and more than 50,000 military aircraft that use the fuels manufactured from crude oil.

For aircraft and ships, just like that for the diverse options for the generation of electricity, they all utilize parts and components, i.e., the “PRODUCTS” made from the oil derivatives manufactured from raw crude oil.

When will our policymakers engage into conversations to identify the new source that will replace crude oil that is the basis of all the “Products” for today’s humanity of the 8 billion on this planet?

Source: Heartland.org

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