The 'Green' Future Meets the NIMBY Present
For Throwback Wednesday, one more glitch in the 'energy transition'
Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting Dickinson County, Iowa, but a few days ago, its board of adjustment voted to deny Invenergy a permit for “a wind farm just a few miles from East Lake Okoboji.”
Good call.
Nearly four years ago, I wrote about NIMBYism and “green” energy. And as Robert Bryce’s database reveals, I was ahead of the curve. (As usual.)
Enjoy!
■ ■ ■
According to the polls, Americans like politically correct electricity.
But when theory becomes reality, they like wildlife, scenic vistas, and property values more.
Wind and solar are unreliable and diffuse sources of “energy.” They only reason breezes and sunshine add more than a smattering of electrons to America’s grid is government. R&D, production tax credits, “renewable portfolio standards” — in the history of the country, no “industry” has received greater goodies from towns, cities, counties, states, and D.C.
Yet in 2020, not even a fifth of America’s electricity demand will be supplied by wind and solar. That means a great many turbines and panels are waiting in the on-deck circle, if the goals set by activists, pols, and virtue-signaling utilities are to be achieved.
“Renewables, Land Use, and Local Opposition in the United States,” just issued by the Brookings Institution, acknowledges an uncomfortable truth that few climate fabulists are willing to face. “Production of fossil fuels for electricity generation,” Samantha Gross writes, “mainly coal and natural gas, generally happens away from population centers. The fuel is then transported to generation plants that tend to be large facilities located away from most of the population.” In contrast, with an “electricity system based on renewables, the fuel can’t be transported. … By their nature, renewable electricity systems will be more widely-distributed [sic] geographically, with an extensive transmission system to move power to where it is needed. The expanding land needs of a renewable energy system raise concerns about ‘energy sprawl.’”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to No Dowd About It to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.