Renewables bubble popping
- Germany installs fewest wind turbines since 2000
- Tesla lost $2.6B in bail-out of Solar City
- SoftBank has built or has deals for just 1.6% of solar farms promised
- Subsidies ending in US, UK, Germany
- Local & eco opposition to renewables growing
- Germany installs fewest wind turbines since 2000
- Tesla lost $2.6B in bail-out of Solar City
- SoftBank has built or has deals for just 1.6% of solar farms promised
- Subsidies ending in US, UK, Germany
- Local & eco opposition to renewables growing
Industrial wind turbine installations declined 82% since 2018
Main reason is local & environmentalist opposition to high number of bird deaths, particularly the red kite, a raptor
In 2 years, more wind turbines will be scrapped than added in Germany
thegwpf.com/collapse-of-wi…
Main reason is local & environmentalist opposition to high number of bird deaths, particularly the red kite, a raptor
In 2 years, more wind turbines will be scrapped than added in Germany
thegwpf.com/collapse-of-wi…
Tesla wasted $2.6B bailing out failing Solar City
Solar City installations down 86% from peak
Abandons much-hyped solar roof tiles
Analyst: Tesla would “be better off shutting the solar business down”
latimes.com/business/story…
Solar City installations down 86% from peak
Abandons much-hyped solar roof tiles
Analyst: Tesla would “be better off shutting the solar business down”
latimes.com/business/story…
Soft Bank promised 220GW solar in India & Saudi Arabia but has done just 3GW in *deals* not contracts in India & *zero* in Saudi
The need for huge tracts of land for solar (400x more than for nuclear) has triggered resistance by squatters in India
wsj.com/articles/softb…
The need for huge tracts of land for solar (400x more than for nuclear) has triggered resistance by squatters in India
wsj.com/articles/softb…
Soft Bank’s spectacular failure is a result of the company’s founder viewing solar panels as similar to microchips
But information tech is utterly unlike energy tech
“In tech, betting big can disrupt markets... But in infrastructure, it cannot.”
wsj.com/articles/softb…
But information tech is utterly unlike energy tech
“In tech, betting big can disrupt markets... But in infrastructure, it cannot.”
wsj.com/articles/softb…
In UK
- in 2018, new renewables fell to lowest level since 2012 & would have fallen more had there not been increase in bioenergy, aka wood-burning, which is worse than fossil fuels
-renewables had already declined 56% from 2016 to 2017
theguardian.com/environment/20…
- in 2018, new renewables fell to lowest level since 2012 & would have fallen more had there not been increase in bioenergy, aka wood-burning, which is worse than fossil fuels
-renewables had already declined 56% from 2016 to 2017
theguardian.com/environment/20…
In Germany, only 8% of massive transmission lines have been built due to local & environmentalist resistance
The 20-year subsidies granted to renewables since 2000 end next year
“The wind power boom is over,” says Der Spiegel
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
The 20-year subsidies granted to renewables since 2000 end next year
“The wind power boom is over,” says Der Spiegel
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
Renewables “revolution” was a mirage
Always depended on massive, unsustainable subsidies
Would cost $3-4 trillion for Germany to go from today’s 35% renewables to 100%
Germany gets as much power from biomass, which is polluting, as from solar
Germany remains fossil-powered
Always depended on massive, unsustainable subsidies
Would cost $3-4 trillion for Germany to go from today’s 35% renewables to 100%
Germany gets as much power from biomass, which is polluting, as from solar
Germany remains fossil-powered
Renewables always fail for same reasons
- they externalize onto society the high cost of adding unreliable electricity to the grid;
- their low energy density means they degrade nature & kill wildlife
- they’re only profitable when heavily subsidized
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
- they externalize onto society the high cost of adding unreliable electricity to the grid;
- their low energy density means they degrade nature & kill wildlife
- they’re only profitable when heavily subsidized
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
The only “Green New Deals” that have worked were done with nuclear, not solar
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
Had California and Germany invested $680 billion into new nuclear power plants instead of renewables like solar and wind farms, the two would already be generating 100% or more of their electricity from clean (low-emissions) energy sources
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
No amount of marketing could change the poor physics of land-intensive renewables. Solar farms take 450 times more land than nuclear plants, and wind farms take 700 times more land than natural gas wells, to produce the same amount of energy.
The transition to renewables was doomed because modern industrial people, no matter how Romantic they are, do not want to return to pre-modern life.
The reason renewables can’t power modern civilization is because they were never meant to.
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
The reason renewables can’t power modern civilization is because they were never meant to.
forbes.com/sites/michaels…