EV's, Reliable Power, et al

[Herman]

Windmills are a scourge in Kansas. We drove through Kansas coming back from Vegas and they're a complete eyesore. Used prop blades everywhere too!

I hear Southern Alberta near the Montana border is like that too.

[Herman]

[Herman]

[Herman]

[Herman]

[Herman]

After billions of dollars wasted, on the breezy Saturday morning at 9:53 am - October 18th, 2025:
ALL the wind turbines in ALL of New England are contributing only 1.82% of the power to our grid.
(For context, refuse is contributing 3.25% of the power to the grid.)
Or in other words - only 176 MW of the current system demand of 9,044 MW.
Once again, it is natural gas at 63% and nuclear at 22% heating our homes and keeping our lights on.
Source: ISO-NE Website

[DKG]

What an incredible waste of taxpayer's hard earned dollars.

This is the problem with command economies where governments pick which industries will succeed and which ones will fail instead of counsumers.

Dying EV market running on subsidies
Recent production cuts show Canada's fledging, heavily subsidized EV market heading for scrap heap

Canada's fledging electric vehicle market — designed to run on taxpayer-funded subsidies to EV manufacturers and buyers — is heading for the scrap heap.

Every new announcement of production cuts in Canada throws into further doubt the decision of the federal, Ontario and Quebec governments to earmark up to $52.5 billion in capital investments and production subsidies — according to the Parliamentary Budget Office — to create an EV supply chain sector in Canada.

While much of this money hasn't yet been spent, what is the point of subsidizing an industry the car makers themselves are abandoning?

The latest blow came with GM's announcement Tuesday that it's scrapping production of its BrightDrop Zero EV delivery van in Ingersoll, Ont., because of poor sales.

In May, it idled the plant, laying off 1,200 workers with a now-abandoned plan to reopen it at half-capacity in November.

GM recently announced a $1.6-billion loss in its third-quarter EV earnings and plans to reduce production in favour of gas-powered vehicles.

Last week, Stellantis announced it was shutting down its previously idled Jeep Compass plant in Brampton.

That was supposed to produce parts for both EV and other versions of the vehicle, throwing 3,000 jobs into doubt with the company transferring production to Illinois.

EV MARKET SHORT-CIRCUITING?
That's part of its $13-billion US plan to increase auto production in the U.S. by 50% over the next four years, while de-emphasizing EVs in part because of the ending of federal subsidies under the Trump administration, as well as its ongoing tariff policies.

Honda has put on hold its plan to build four EV and EV battery plants in Ontario for at least two years because of the slowdown of EV sales in North America.

In Quebec, a plan by Northvolt Batteries North America to produce EV batteries in the province was scrapped when its parent company filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.

EVs cost more than conventional gas-powered vehicles and have limited range, particularly in cold climates like Canada's.

The only way to increase sales is to subsidize consumers to buy them, which the federal government and many provinces have either suspended or abandoned, although the feds promised during this year's election to bring them back.

In other words, to throw good money after bad.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-dying-ev-market-running-on-subsidies

[Brent]

The green energy myth is condemning Africa to poverty

Canada championed  G7-led policies to dry up investment and public finance in fossil fuel energy around the globe. Those policies did not catalyze an energy transition, and they have ultimately hurt the poor, as a lack of investment and funding has raised energy costs for many — especially in Africa .

It is time for Canada to follow the data and recognize that a transition to renewable energy is not happening any time soon. As the chair of the G7, Canada should lead the reversal of the policy of halting finance for fossil fuel energy.

Despite the billions of dollars it receives in subsidies, renewable energy still does not command a major global market share. One of the most reliable sources of energy data, the Energy Institute, reported in its 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy that fossil fuels account for 87 per cent of global energy consumption.

That contrasts with the Energy Institute's 2023 assessment of 81.6 per cent. The significant rise in the proportion of fossil fuels is based on growth in consumption, especially in China and India, as well as more accurate calculations of the modest energy output from today's renewables. There is no energy transition taking place from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Over the last several years, Canada has supported the decisions of the  G7 ,  World Bank  and  International Energy Agency to halt investments in fossil fuels. But since today's renewable energy cannot meet the needs of modern economies, this was never a rational policy. The policy of sapping funding for the energy currently in use, while there is no viable alternative, never made sense.

This policy of drying up funding and investments had consequences. Underinvestment in fossil fuels over the last decade led to increases in prices of oil, coal and natural gas. These price increases triggered a recession in Germany  and high inflation  in Canada and the United States. Energy price increases particularly hurt the poor, since energy captures a larger part of their income than in medium and high-income households.

Acting as if an energy transition is on the way, with no factual basis, has led to the emergence of expensive and unreliable electricity even in highly developed economies like Germany and the United Kingdom. This exacerbates a national security problem, as well: China and its allies continue to consume coal and produce cheaper and more reliable electricity than most countries in the West.

But more painfully, the higher prices also pushed energy out of reach for many Africans. According to a United Nations report last year, Africa saw its first decrease in electricity access in 2022, which dropped again in 2023. The halting of investments and loans meant that Africans could not develop their local oil and natural gas resources. While in the West the private market provides investments for energy development, Africa is dependent on public finance to develop energy and to create conditions to attract foreign investors.

The World Bank, the United Nations and the International Energy Agency must stop peddling the myth that the world is in the midst of an energy transition to African countries .

Unable to access international loans and funding for fossil fuel development, sub-Saharan African nations struggle to create enough power for their citizens. Meanwhile, Africans are left only with one energy option: to burn biomass inside unventilated homes for their energy needs, a toxic process that exposes users, especially women and children who spend more time at home, to deadly smoke .

Canada must recognize that fossil fuels — especially oil and natural gas — are necessary until a genuine replacement emerges. As a funder of the World Bank, Canada must demand that the bank renew funding for fossil fuel projects, especially natural gas. Africa and the developing world need more fossil fuels to reduce poverty, not less.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/brenda-shaffer-the-green-energy-myth-is-condemning-africa-to-poverty/ar-AA1P6vPx?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=68fba1517ded402a891c4b1fa11d9469&ei=15