Energy News Beat
But what change you ask, well let’s start with the Inflation Reduction Act and what the huge “Porkulus Bill” as Dan Bongino has called it and see some of the line items. We will then jump to some current publications and announcements about what DOGE has found. It is truly amazing to realize that we have been forced to participate in a money transfer program that was not designed to help humanity or the environment.
According to Grok on X, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 has a comprehensive scope with various funding allocations. According to information available on the web:
- The IRA was initially estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to include about $790 billion in offsets to fund roughly $485 billion of new spending and tax breaks. This includes $739 billion of offsets and $433 billion in investments, as per the calculations provided by the CBO for the legislation.
- In terms of actual spending, by June 30, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had spent $6.9 billion (12%) of the $79.4 billion it initially received from the IRA for improvements in taxpayer services, technology upgrades, and enforcement actions. Note that subsequent budget adjustments reduced the IRS’s enforcement funding.
- The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office received approximately $11.7 billion in appropriations to support issuing new loans, increasing loan authority by about $100 billion.
- Estimates and projections of the total cost of the IRA vary significantly depending on the source. Some analyses suggest that due to uncapped incentives, the spending could exceed initial estimates, potentially pushing past $1 trillion. However, these are projections based on how incentives and investments might stimulate further spending or savings.
- For clean energy and climate provisions specifically, the IRA allocates nearly $369 billion in direct investment, according to some reports.
It’s important to note that these figures represent different aspects of the IRA’s financial impact, including direct spending, tax credits, and projected economic effects. The actual amount spent can be influenced by how quickly projects are implemented, the uptake of tax incentives, and changes in legislation or funding allocations over time.
To summarize, while exact figures for total spending from the IRA are complex due to ongoing implementation and evolving economic impacts, significant amounts have been allocated and spent, with projections suggesting the total financial commitment might exceed initial estimates.
Step In DOGE and Elon’s Team
The Senate held a press conference with some amazing tidbits of information. I believe that we are in the beginning stages of discovering the total level of corruption in the United States and the negative impact that the Democrats, and RINOs have had on our finances and horrific negative impactful issues around the world.
$50,000,000 in unaudited US taxpayer money in one month alone went to a pro-terrorist group disguised as a climate change organization. pic.twitter.com/DukBLSgsWl
— JOSH DUNLAP (@JDunlap1974) February 11, 2025
One group was the EPA granted $50 Million Dollars to the organization called Climate Justice Alliance. So they went to the website and they saw the bulldozer that went through the fence when Hamas attacked Israel, and they have other renderings on their website of decolonized Palestine with the same bulldozer. If you go through more of their website you can see that they support defunding the police.
The Senate committee points out a great question; Is any of the money actually going to be used on cleaning the water, air, or any research to lower energy prices? Or is it just for political activism money?
Here are some highlights:
- Fraudulent Government Payments: DOGE has allegedly identified significant fraud in government entitlement payments. This includes payments to individuals without valid identification or Social Security numbers, potentially including payments to illegal immigrants and known fraudulent or terrorist groups. This was particularly noted in relation to the Treasury Department’s payment systems.
- Embezzlement and Money Laundering: There have been claims of uncovering one of the largest money laundering and embezzlement schemes related to USAID, which some sources describe as a front for the CIA. This includes funds being misused or directed towards left-wing NGOs.
- Waste and Abuse in Federal Programs: DOGE’s investigations have reportedly exposed what some describe as billions, or even hundreds of billions, in fraud and abuse within agencies like the Department of Education and the military. This includes inefficiencies and unnecessary expenditure that could be cut to reduce government waste.
- Corruption Schemes: There are allegations of corruption and embezzlement linked to various federal agencies, with some posts on X suggesting that the scale of fraud discovered by DOGE is unprecedented, particularly in terms of annual financial misuse.
- Bureaucratic and Financial System Fraud: DOGE has also been involved in scrutinizing systems at agencies like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), looking into payment and contracting systems for signs of fraud and waste.
As of the latest updates found on the web and posts on X, the DOGE clock has tracked savings to the tune of approximately $63.39 billion in taxpayer dollars. This information was noted around February 6, 2025. Please note that this figure might have changed since the last update, as the DOGE clock updates in real-time.
So getting back to the global spending on renewable energy.
In 2024, the global investment in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is projected to exceed $500 billion, making it the leading form of investment in electricity generation. For wind energy, although specific global figures for 2024 alone are not directly stated in the provided sources, we can infer from trends and comparative data:
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) notes that investment in solar PV is now more than all other electricity generation technologies combined, reaching $500 billion in 2024.
- Wind energy, while not explicitly quantified for 2024, is part of the broader renewable energy investment landscape. Posts on X mention that $1.8 trillion was spent globally on the green transition in the previous year, indicating significant investment in renewables, including wind.
Combining these insights:
- Solar PV Investment in 2024: Exceeds $500 billion.
- Wind Energy Investment in 2024: While exact figures for wind alone aren’t specified, it’s part of a large investment in renewable energy, suggesting billions are involved, but less than solar PV for this year.
Thus, the total spending on wind and solar renewable energy in 2024 is likely to be at least $500 billion for solar, with wind contributing significantly but to a lesser extent. The exact combined total for both wind and solar would require more specific data on wind investment, but it’s clear that renewable energy, particularly solar, has seen substantial financial commitment in 2024.
Without fail in every major market that is putting in large amounts of wind and solar we are seeing a huge increase in electricity prices. So called “Renewable” wind and solar is not cheaper, nor better for the enviornment.
Over the last 20 years, the global cost of electricity has shown varied trends across different regions, influenced by factors like energy policies, the mix of energy sources, economic conditions, and geopolitical events. Here’s a summarized view based on the web and X posts:
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- United States:
- Electricity prices in the U.S. have increased by an average of about 2.67% per year over the last 25 years (from 1998 to 2023), with a 20-year average increase closer to 3% per year. The most significant year-on-year increase was observed in 2022 with nearly 11% due to global energy crises and domestic policy changes.
- Texas is about half of California and New York because of the balanced approach. Wind, Solar, nuclear, coal and natural gas. The plans for ERCOT look to be on target to meet the grid demand doubling in the next 5 years. This is being achieved almost exclusively with the natural gas infrastructure being increased or added. We need nuclear, but the regulatory processes are just now being looked at by the new Trump Administration.
- Europe:
- Europe, particularly countries like Germany, has seen electricity prices more than double over the past 20 years, largely due to political decisions affecting energy policy, including renewable energy surcharges and taxes. In Q4 2024, Europe had the highest residential electricity prices at USD 0.228 per kWh.
- Asia and Africa:
- In Asia, countries like Iran have some of the lowest electricity prices due to subsidies, while in Africa, the prices can vary significantly; for instance, Ethiopia has very low electricity costs due to low-income levels necessitating subsidies.
- United States:
- Geopolitical and Economic Events:
- Events like the 2022 energy crisis, largely influenced by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, led to sharp increases in electricity prices worldwide, particularly in Europe. This event underscores how global events can affect electricity pricing.
- Country-Specific Examples:
- Germany: Prices more than doubled over the last 20 years due to policies like the Renewable Energy Act which imposed significant surcharges. You can also see the impact of the total deindustrialization of Germany from the loss of cheap Russian natural gas, the closing of their nuclear plants and having to fire up their closed coal plants again.
- Türkiye: Experienced a 47% decrease in household electricity rates from 2020 to 2023, although this was also influenced by currency devaluation.
The Bottom Line:
I have said for years that the more money spent on “Renewable Wind and Solar” the more fossil fuels will be used. We see more oil and gas demand, more coal being burned and the only way to meet demand while being fiscally responsible is the addition of natural gas power stations.
Call it Turley’s Law if you would like, but it is a constant. The more we spend on non-renewable wind and solar as it should be called, the more coal, natural gas, we will use. The world would be a cleaner place with less pollution if we would cut out the fraudulent spending on “renewable energy”, and cut all the bills and government subsidies like the Inflation Reduction Act. It was used as a piggy bank and never positively impacted the United States Citizens.
As for the environment we are about to see how bad “renewables” are on the environment. As subsidies dry up around the world we are going to see who is responsible to clean up the toxic wast of the solar farms and wind farms. Right now the land owners are on the hook and it is not shaping up to be pretty. If companies start going out of business, who is going to clean up the defunckt renewable energy farms is going to be a huge financial and environmental crisis.
I for one am looking forward to more reports coming out from Elon’s DOGE team and watching more of the Democrat and RINOs trying to defend the corruption that has gone on for 50 years.
Energy policies should be made by looking at physics, science and fiscal responsibility. Our new Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, has been vocal of not pushing the Net Zero by 2050, but rather Zero Energy Poverty by 2050. That is a great way to look at energy policies.
The post How has green energy policies impacted the environment, society, and our financial systems? DOGE found that the Inflation Reduction Act was funding change. appeared first on Energy News Beat.
