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Buy the Book
November Energy Futures
Will green turn red? Robert Bryce shows why it should.
Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green”
Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future
By Robert Bryce
(PublicAffairs, 416 pages, $27.95)
The dividing line in next November’s elections will be between those who think the information needed to run the economy can be concentrated in Washington and those who think it is best run by millions of Americans tending to their own business and living their own lives.
Right now the Obama Administration’s philosophy is that Washington is the center of all wisdom. Doctors, hospitals, medical patients, insurers, bankers, venture capitalists, electric utilities, energy investors — all will perform better if they dance to the tune played in the nation’s capital.
Robert Bryce stands apart from this regulatory beehive. A native of Texas and managing editor of the Energy Tribune, he takes his perspective from Austin rather than the Potomac. As a result, what he says does not jibe well with what you read in the newspapers or see on television. His facts and opinions are unorthodox, if not heretical.
You mean we’re not on the road to Green Energy Utopia? Windmills are not our energy future? We’re not about to run out of oil? Nuclear power is a manageable technology? These are the kind of statements that get you in arguments at cocktail parties. Still, Bryce seems to know what her is talking about.
Briefly, Bryce’s position is this. At this moment in history, oil is an indispensable resource. Almost all our transportation runs on it. Still, we’re not in such bad shape. Only 15 percent of our oil comes from the Persian Gulf and consumption levels have not changed much for the last 20 years. What has driven our imports to ever-increasing heights is a decline in domestic production, driven basically by the federal government’s refusal to allow drilling where oil is most likely to be found.
Since the federal government got involved in running the energy economy in the 1970s, almost everything has turned out wrong. All the environmental folderol of the Carter Administration simply extended the life of coal. Coal burning was actually leveling off in the 1970s until Carter revived it, mainly by squelching nuclear power. Whereas coal provided 18 percent of our primary energy in 1973, it provides 25 percent today. Ten states still get more than 80 percent of their electricity from coal. These “coal states” form an almost impenetrable political barrier in Congress. Where are the “nuclear states”? There are none. So since politics rules, coal stays and nuclear stagnates.
Natural gas production has managed to break through the Washington straitjacket with the discovery of huge shale resources in the Eastern part of the country. The location is crucial because federal ownership of land is not a factor as it is in the West. Recent discoveries in Texas, Arkansas, and behind the Appalachian Mountains have expanded our gas supplies so we now have at least a century’s worth of current consumption. But we shouldn’t be converting everything to gas. Shale wells are showing a tendency play out early, so it will pay to be cautious.
What muddies the picture completely is the ludicrous notion of environmentalists and Democrats that agricultural crops and windmills are going to play a significant role in our energy future. All of this will be squandered investment. While ethanol may substitute for some gasoline — and rather poorly at that — nearly all the nation’s freight runs on diesel. Jet fuel also takes a large portion. As a result, substituting ethanol for gasoline has not reduced imports, since refiners still need crude oil for these “middle distillates.” Trying to extract diesel or jet fuel from “bio-diesel,” on the other hand, would involve absurd amounts of organic material. We could convert the entire soybean crop (our second largest and biggest export) into jet fuel and still replace only 20 percent of demand.
Bryce is particularly withering in his analysis of Denmark’s supposed success with windmills. The Danes, he notes, pay the highest electricity prices in Europe, 25 percent higher than second-place Holland and four times what we pay in the United States. This is the cost of putting up windmills. Even then the Danes must import all their coal to back up the windmills when the wind dies down. Although they claim to get 13.4 percent of their electricity from wind, they have not been able to retire a single coal plant. What keeps them afloat, Bryce notes, is their aggressive development of North Sea oil. In fact the Danes are the most oil-reliant people on earth, getting 51 percent of their primary energy from petroleum.
Power Hungry is filled with little tidbits like this that make endlessly fascinating reading. For instance:
• In 1971 we consumed twice as much energy from natural gas as from coal, but coal made a comeback under Carter and overtook natural gas in 1986. Since then they have run about even.
• The technology of oil and gas exploration has improved so much that whereas wildcatters hit paydirt only 10 percent of time 30 years ago, they now strike paydirt on 50 percent of their wells.
• The ash and scrubber sludge removed from coal plants is three times the volume of all the municipal garbage in the United States.
• A 1000-MW nuclear reactor produces only 20 cubic meters of waste annually, while in one year the U.S. coal industry produces 2,200 times as much solid waste as our nuclear fleet has produced in the last four decades. Yet nuclear waste considered the bigger problem.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (35) | Leave a comment
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Peter| 4.26.10 @ 7:07AM
With his book "Power Hungry," you can now add Robert Bryce to the list containing William Tucker and Peter Huber as those who talk techenical and economic sense about energy.
Ken (Old Texican)| 4.26.10 @ 8:08AM
Mr. Tucker
Thank you for this column.
In extremely simple format, you have nailed the myths.
The "green energy" twerps are merely investing in government controls; snuggling up to government largess/waste.
TennesseeVolunteer| 4.26.10 @ 8:21AM
My company makes energy efficient steel panels for the commercial and residential industries. We save the average home 50% or more in heating and cooling costs while only spending 1-2% on the house compared to stick built/fiberglass batt insulated houses. These homes are also much stronger, termite resistant, mold resistant and fire resistant.
The return on investment with these utility savings can be saved in 1-2 years.
American ingenuity has many of the answers for our energy challenges. we just need to get the idiots from Washington out of the way so that people can begin to sell their existing houses and these new energy efficient homes can be built!
T.Dunsmore| 4.28.10 @ 9:51AM
If we built truly efficient homes and self limited our needs we might be able to afford the higher taxes our goverment is going to have to impose on us to pay for there extravagant ways.
Melvin| 4.26.10 @ 8:28AM
There is so much Methane off the Eastern Seaboard that it is bubbling up to the surface of the Atlantic Ocean on its own.
Billions upon billions of cubic meters of the stuff is dissipating on the surface and disappearing into thin air.
When burned this stuff burns with 99% efficiency. And the stupid Euro Zombies here still chant, "Windmills, we must have windmills."
The main reason that windmills are being crammed down our throats because of the EU lobbyists in Washington D.C. selling our morons a flawed bill of goods, because no one has noticed that all material and equipment is manufactured in Europe.
So much for our green jobs huh?
Spoonman| 4.26.10 @ 9:40AM
Duly noted that engineers run the power show in France, while engineers are far from perfect, most know how to solve problems versus creating more as is the tendency of our current politicians!
owyheewine| 4.26.10 @ 10:24AM
I'm a long time engineer in the energy industry, and applaud publication of real numbers about energy. None of the little energy facts are new information to anyone whe has even a little bit of awareness of the real energy situation, but every bit of light on the subject is helpful.
I do take a little offense to the implication in this post concerning the competency of engineers, however. We may not be perfect, but just like capitalist democracy is better than any political system that has been tried , we're just better than any other occupation around. Particurlarly at keeping the lights on.
Dan Hirsch| 4.26.10 @ 9:48AM
Melvin;
I might add to your point: that equipment is manufactured by a small number of very large companies like Siemens and, of course, the evergreen General Electric. I wonder if they have any political connections in DC?.... Hmmmm.
For a similar situation look at which companies manufacture those irritatingly expensive, mercury containing, short-lived dim bulb compact fluorescent bulbs. Pretty much Philips and good ol' politically unconnected (NBC owning) General Electric. I don't blame GE, I blame Congress. Them we can fix. GE, all we can do is shop elsewhere while it's still legal.
Don't tread on me.
Don't tread on me.
Conservative Reader| 4.26.10 @ 9:59AM
"The Story Of Stuff" makes me want to vomit. In the interest of "fairness" I propose we make a counter point video to her icky "Schoolhouse Schlock" propoganda piece circulating among fourth graders.
William Tucker | 4.26.10 @ 10:25AM
I should put in a word here, the news from the schools is not all bad. Three middle school students from Racine, Wis. just won Cspan's "StudentCam" competition for documentaries with an eight-minute video explaining - the need for nuclear power! They did a terrific job. You can view it on Rod Adams' blog: http://atomicinsights.blogspot.....prize.html
Conrad Spiracy| 4.26.10 @ 7:10PM
Mr. Tucker,
Thank you for posting the video by this amazing young woman. She has just surpassed Jeanne Kirkpatrick as my all-time heroine. She reminds me of an episode in my life.
In my high school Chemistry class, I was required to research and write a paper on a conventional topic. I had read an article in Scientific American (a since-turned commie-liberal rag) on the increased building of Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) in the people’s republic of Canada – this during the early years of Jimmuh Carter’s war on nuclear power. The China Syndrome was released a scant few years later.
FBRs, as the currently “best” technology, produced more output per kg/fuel than other system. They also produced less waste and used deuterium (heavy water, H3O) as their medium. To totally confuse a current-day liberal, ask them if they’d rather live 30 years near a coal fired power plant or sleep for a year within 10 feet of a spent fuel pool (a pool of water containing used fuel rods).
Of course they’d choose the coal-fired plant because, as the uninformed, scare-tactic line goes, the half-life is 95,000 years. Well, turns out the idiots don't realize that the long half-life is our best friend. The pools of water significantly reduce the speed of the released neutrons, and the long half-life means that fewer neutrons are released more slowly, reducing one’s exposure to radiation. I’d choose the pool – I also wouldn’t need any thermostat because the pool would be warm…..
Three Mile Island? Liberal hype. One released puff of radiation amounted to about the equivalent of 78 chest x-rays.
Chernobyl? No containment vessel to prevent meltdown.
The only drawback is that since GE ceased making containment vessels after Jimmuh led the charge against the safest (thanks to one of my long-standing, anti butt-kissing heroes, Hyman Rickover), least expensive forms of energy, the sole producer of them is Japan – and they have a 20-30 year backlog. So… Congress, pass whatever laws you like, however if you wish to reenergize this form of energy, unless you are ready to unleash a Manhattan Project style impetus, we are stuck in line.
Con Spiracy
Excelsior!
Conrad Spiracy| 4.26.10 @ 7:28PM
"The only drawback is that since GE ceased making containment vessels"
My error - could be Westinghouse - but what's the difference anyway?
Con Spiracy
Excelsior!
Matt Morehouse| 4.26.10 @ 10:27AM
I'll second that. My grandkids are even forced to participate in a play about the Green propaganda.
They came over the other night a were singing some stupid song about leave your SUV's at home.
I told them to shut up.
Fortunately their parents are Conservative and try their best to counteract the crap.
Petronius| 4.26.10 @ 11:31AM
I buy a dozen incandescent light bulbs a month. And I'm looking for low milage vehicles made between 2002 and 08 with V8's. I will update my stereo and buy a couple more pinball machines. And I'll buy more oil stocks with what's left. When gas got to $4 a gallon the dividends covered most of my driving expenses that year. So keep it up ecocksuckers.
Shamus| 4.26.10 @ 11:50AM
Carter was unquestionably the worst president in American history. He made Muslims into our implacable enemies while ensuring that they were primary suppliers of our energy needs. Countries like France and Japan use nuclear to supply their energy, but thanks to Carter we don't. Thanks so much Jimmah.
Dan Hirsch| 4.26.10 @ 2:31PM
Barack Obama will make Jimmy Carter look like Ronald Reagan. Really. Watch.
Don't tread on me.
Christopher Holland| 4.26.10 @ 10:08PM
France generates 80% of its electricity in nuclear power plants and the waste is stored in one facility the size of a tennis court. After 26 years as an economist, working primarily on environmental issues, I still have no idea where the environmental movement thinks this is a bad idea.
The only reason that makes any sense to me is that that environmental movement simply hates anything to do with technology and the standard of living that goes with living in a modern industrial society. I think the environmental movement is not concerned with the environment at all - they are a bunch of nazis and misanthrops who hate people and want to make them suffer, and belting them over the head with a green club is the best way for them to do it. For me, spending 26 years of my professional life working for these ecological nazis was a waste of time - I should have flipped them the bird and gone fishing in the biggest, most polluting monster of a greesn house gas producing boat possible.
Eric(OfConservativeMind)| 4.27.10 @ 3:20AM
Don't forget to put some of that coal plant sludge in a doggie bag on their front porches. I'm sure they'll know how to properly dispose of it, given their greeeeeeeeenie-ness; Perhaps they'll even save us the trouble of living and try to consume it, if you package it like Tofu.
Dan| 4.27.10 @ 5:38AM
Spark the imagination of our youth to the power in a tiny atom and maybe a brave , renewed America will emerge.
Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 12:38PM
Keep the Lights On | America Watches Obama links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Jeff Perren | 5.5.10 @ 4:22PM
"After November, we may hope to have fewer lawyers and more engineers running our energy economy."
A very useful column, but be careful what you wish for. Hoover was an engineer.
Jeff Perren | 5.5.10 @ 4:24PM
Addendum: NOBODY should be "running our energy economy." The free market can solve which forms of energy are most cost-effective without any central control at all, and ONLY if there is no central control - by lawyers, engineers, or anyone else.