Share this page!

Alex Epstein Profile picture
Twitter logo
8 Mar, 8 tweets, 4 min read
Embarrassing: this chart in a supposed "fact-check" of @RepDanCrenshaw by @PolitiFact falsely portrays wind subsidies as unremarkable using the bogus and dishonest metric of total subsidies, not the proper metric of per-unit subsidies.

🧵
The proper way to measure energy subsidies is: How much taxpayer money does the government pay per unit of energy? Every per-unit analysis using data from the US Energy Information Administration is clear: solar and wind get *dozens of times* more subsidies than fossil fuels.
A comprehensive analysis of federal subsidies per unit of electricity generated from 2010-2019 found that solar got 211 times more subsidies than natural gas and wind got 48 times more subsidies than natural gas.

lifepowered.org/wp-content/upl…
It is dishonest to use "total subsidies," not per-unit subsidies, to claim that fossil fuels are more subsidized than wind. By that logic Walmart is more expensive than Nordstrom because Walmart takes in more total $.

FYI no store can charge the crazy markup that solar/wind get.
Here's @RepDanCrenshaw's excellent thread on the TX blackouts, which was by far one of the most accurate statements by any politician on this issue.

For a thorough explanation of how wind subsidies and other preferential policies contributed to the TX blackouts, read this.

If @PolitiFact publicly admits its misrepresentation of wind subsidies in its "fact-check" of @RepDanCrenshaw's comments, I will gladly point out numerous other errors. I hope this will lead to reform at PolitiFact.

politifact.com/factchecks/202…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Alex Epstein

Alex Epstein Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @AlexEpstein

Alex Epstein Profile picture
2 Mar
Joe Biden's energy plan would shift us from energy production that is low-cost, high-reliability, and *America-centered* to energy production that is high-cost, low-reliability, and *China-centered*.

This would destroy, not create, millions of well-paying American jobs.

THREAD
Joe Biden says that his policies to eliminate US CO2 emissions through a largely solar- and wind-based energy system will create millions of well-paying "green jobs"--far more than will be destroyed in the fossil fuel industry.

This is impossible.
A largely solar-and wind-based energy system will necessarily destroy far more well-paying US jobs than it creates because the "green jobs" will be 1) far less productive, 2) largely in China, and 3) cause job losses in other industries via skyrocketing energy prices.
Read 16 tweets
Alex Epstein Profile picture
22 Feb
A tale of two places: TX vs. Alberta, Canada.

In TX, a spike in demand during cold temps led to devastating blackouts.

In AB, a spike in demand during *far colder temps* led to... very little disruption.

Why? AB has a reliable, resilient grid with 43% coal and 49% gas.

THREAD
The media want you to believe that TX's failure to handle spiking demand during cold temps proves that a fossil fueled grid can't handle such a challenge. They don't want you to know about Alberta, CA--where a fossil fueled grid handled a far bigger challenge with relative ease.
Alberta was far colder than TX last week.

Between Feb 14th and 17th, while Dallas, TX temperatures averaged between 10 and 25 degrees F, Calgary, AB temperatures AVERAGED between -13 and 16 degrees F!

Alberta's 43% coal, 49% gas grid performed spectacularly.
Read 8 tweets
Alex Epstein Profile picture
19 Feb
Q: Is the solution to TX's reliability problems to join the national grid and be regulated by the Federal government?

A: No, because the Federal government is pursuing policies that are even more anti-reliability than TX's. The solution is pro-reliability policies in TX.

THREAD
Many say the problem causing the massive TX blackouts is TX's insistence on being an independent grid, depriving it of ample power from local states as well as wise regulation from the Federal government. But joining today's Federal grid would make TX's problems far worse.
Texas is perfectly capable of having an ultra-reliable grid on its own. It is the size of a fairly-large country. Any weather challenges it has faced or will face have been easily dealt with by grids around the world using reliable and resilient nuclear, coal, and gas plants.
Read 20 tweets
Alex Epstein Profile picture
19 Feb
An energy engineer on @curryja's blog has written the best account of the TX blackouts so far.

It confirms my analysis that "the root cause of the TX blackouts is...policy that has prioritized the adoption of unreliable wind/solar energy."

THREAD

judithcurry.com/2021/02/18/ass…
"Who is responsible for providing adequate capacity in Texas during extreme conditions? The short answer is no one."
"[ERCOT doesn't] ensure that the resources can deliver power under adverse conditions, they don’t require that generators have secured firm fuel supplies, and they don’t make sure the resources will be ready and available to operate."
Read 18 tweets
Alex Epstein Profile picture
18 Feb
The head of the main oil/gas regulator in TX has released a statement confirming my analysis that "the root cause of the TX blackouts is a national and state policy that has prioritized the adoption of unreliable wind/solar energy over reliable energy."

facebook.com/WayneChristian…
"ERCOT was notified over a decade ago that TX power plants had failed to adequately weatherize....Instead of spending our resources making our grid more resilient, policy and spending has focused on mandating or subsidizing wind and solar to expand their presence on the grid.
"
Read 6 tweets
Alex Epstein Profile picture
17 Feb
Many people have asked me what I think of Twitter-promoted @JesseJenkins' account of the TX situation. Turns out he preemptively blocked me, but looking at his thread from another account I believe it's deliberately superficial, evading root causes that damn his favored policies. Image
Let's start with the simple truth: *the only real reason reliability has suddenly become an issue, everywhere*, is that policy now rewards unreliability and punishes reliability.

For much more on this read @MeredithAngwin's excellent "Shorting the Grid."
The primary goal of policies that reward reliability and punish reliability is to reduce CO2 emissions by the bizarre method of promoting unreliable solar and wind at the expense of reliable nuclear, as well as all other reliable power sources.
Read 12 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @AlexEpstein has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @AlexEpstein!

Read all threads by @AlexEpstein