Free Republic

In the fantasy of the zero-emissions electricity future, there will either be regular devastating blackouts, or something must back up the intermittent wind and solar generation. In New York we call that imaginary something the “DEFR” (Dispatchable Emissions Free Resource). But what is it? Nuclear has been blocked for decades, especially in the blue jurisdictions that are most aggressively pursuing the wind/solar future. Batteries are technologically not up to the job, and also wildly too expensive. That leaves hydrogen. Anybody with another idea, kindly speak up. I’ve had several posts discussing the question of whether hydrogen could do this job,...

Omsk oil refinery is responsible for 10% of Russia's gasoline output. And it just exploded, along with many other refineries' troubles. Putting two and two together - gasoline shortages are expected.

Stocks, bonds, gold and bitcoin — pretty much everything but the U.S. dollar — soared Friday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell not only declared that the time has come for policy to adjust but that further increases in the unemployment rate would be unwelcome. Markets looked set for a calmer session Monday, a period of tranquillity that may run until Nvidia reports its results on Wednesday. In the meantime, it’s worth looking at food prices, which have become a potent political issue in the presidential campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris outlined a plan, still lacking many concrete details, that would...

As parties go, this one was glitzy, slick, star-studded and electric. It was also terrifying. By the time Kamala Harris took the stage at the DNC on Thursday evening, we had been told by the Obamas, Oprah, the Clintons, Hollywood and Harris herself that there is no one better to be the next American president, because… After a week of this, I still can't tell you. After a week of the mainstream media insisting the same, I'm at a loss. I doubt I'm alone. We just witnessed not so much a convention as a coronation. This entire production, created to...

As the world seeks economical and efficient methods to produce and utilize sustainable energy sources, Germany is following this noble cause by shifting its fuel type from hydrogen to Methanol for engines. This change aims to cut pollution levels and improve efficiency in sectors like shipping. MAN Energy Solutions, a market leader in this niche, has developed methanol-ready four-stroke engines for substantial emissions cuts. These engines are set to enable the maritime sector to use cleaner fuels, offering a solution to the shift from current marine fuels. MAN’s methanol-ready engines to fuel the future: How advanced technology is revolutionizing maritime...

New vehicles sold in the US will have to average about 38 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2031 in real-world driving, up from about 29 mpg this year, under new federal rules unveiled Friday by the Biden administration. The final rule will increase fuel economy by 2% per year for model years 2027 to 2031 for passenger cars, while SUVs and other light trucks will increase by 2% per year for model years 2029 to 2031, according to requirements released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The final figures are below a proposal released last year. Administration officials...

Congressional Democrats on Thursday accused oil companies of inflating the cost of gasoline and vowed to investigate them, pushing back on who's to blame for rising prices hurting President Joe Biden's reelection chances. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top Democrats were flanked by supporters in matching blue shirts holding signs that read, "Stop gouging us at the pump." Schumer criticized recent billion-dollar oil company mergers, such as one between ExxonMobil and Pioneer Natural Resources, as potentially "disastrous for consumers." He said previous mergers in the industry decreased competition and led to higher prices. Schumer said he had already...

Like more Baltimore-style bridge-ship collisions? According to a news nugget buried deep in a long Washington Post investigative report, ships losing propulsion is shockingly common and can lead to ships running aground or colliding with bridges and other structures. A look at Coast Guard records showed that more than 100 incidents involved huge container ships. One of the reasons they happen is because of greenie fuel mandates.The story is actually very good and very long, giving the reader a feel for what drives how ports operate.But that tiny item about greenie environmental regulations forcing ships to change fuel after they...

Ford issued a recall for 42,652 examples of its 2022-2023 Bronco Sport and 2022 Escape SUVs to address a fuel leak caused by a cracked fuel injector. Vehicles equipped with 1.5-liter EcoBoost engines are included in the recall. The fix includes the installation of a drain tube to redirect any leaking fuel from the engine to the ground along with a software update that adds fuel injector leak detection to the engine control unit. This might sound eerily familiar to owners of these particular vehicles. Back in November of 2022, Ford issued a much larger recall covering a similar range...

By its 2019 Climate Act, New York has officially embarked on a great energy transition to Net Zero by 2050, with statutorily-dictated interim mandates along the way. The first of those mandates is 70% “emissions-free” electricity by 2030, only 6 years from now. This is far and away the biggest government-directed project that the State of New York has ever undertaken. However, to date, relative to this project there exists no environmental impact statement, no feasibility study, no prototype, and no demonstration project to show how this can be done, let alone any detailed cost analysis to show how much...

The fossil fuel industry is cashing in on the $7.5 billion for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations that President Joe Biden approved in the Inflation Reduction Act, lobbying to have the stations built at existing gas station locations. Politico‘s Energy & Environment News reported: More than half of the charging stations being built so far from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law are rising at truck stops and gasoline stations, according to data exclusively provided to E&E News by EVAdoption, an EV data consultancy. In essence, the law’s $7.5 billion pot for charging is reinforcing the very fossil-fuel infrastructure that the...

The Cuban government has summoned the US ambassador, Benjamin Ziff, to its foreign ministry, accusing Washington of stoking a protest which saw hundreds of people take to the streets in the island’s second city of Santiago de Cuba. The demonstration late on Sunday was a rare public show of disenchantment against Cuba’s communist government, and was apparently led by parents struggling to feed their children in the face of a worsening food crisis. The protesters reportedly chanted: “Without electricity and food, the people get hot.” Power cuts of up to 18 hours a day have meant that as the island...

The recently launched satellite will provide a global view of methane emanating hot spots, and make its data open to the public. Earlier this week, a new satellite launched to track methane as it emanates from oil and gas fields across the world, hoping to expose major producers of the greenhouse pollutant and hold them accountable... “Data from this satellite will help us to better measure methane emissions and target their sources, bringing more transparency to the problem, giving companies and investors the information they need to take action, and empowering the public to hold people accountable,” Michael Bloomberg, United...

The ZEROe demonstrator is also the first-ever A380, also known as MSN001, produced. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY Airbus plans to install the hydrogen fuel cell system on its A380 test-bed for in-flight testing in 2026. The ZEROe project aims to produce a hydrogen-powered commercial plane by 2035 using innovative technologies and concepts. The demonstrator will be the first A380 to have taken the sky, with production number MSN001. After the recent success in testing the hydrogen fuel cell system, the 'iron pad,' Airbus is set to install the fuel cell propulsion system on its ZEROe test bed, an Airbus 380 registered F-WWOW,...

The government of Cuba has announced a 500% increase in fuel prices beginning on February 1, as the nation suffers its worst economic crisis since the 1990s, with Cubans now readying themselves to weather what is being called a humanitarian crisis. The Cuban government can no longer manage a massive subsidy campaign that puts subsidized prices on nearly all essential goods and services. “The country can not maintain the price of fuel, which is the cheapest in the world,” media cited Economy Minister Alejandro Gil as saying on Monday. Officials confirmed on Monday that the cost of one liter of...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration released its highly anticipated proposal for doling out billions of dollars in tax credits to hydrogen producers Friday, in a massive effort to build out an industry that some hope can be a cleaner alternative to fossil-fueled power. The US credit is the most generous in the world for hydrogen production, Jesse Jenkins, a professor at Princeton University who has analyzed the US climate law, said last week. The proposal — which is part of Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act passed last year — outlines a tiered system to determine which hydrogen producers get the most...

The president of Cop28, Sultan Al Jaber, has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5C, the Guardian and the Centre for Climate Reporting can reveal. Al Jaber also said a phase-out of fossil fuels would not allow sustainable development “unless you want to take the world back into caves”. The comments were “incredibly concerning” and “verging on climate denial”, scientists said, and they were at odds with the position of the UN secretary general, António Guterres. Al Jaber made the comments in ill-tempered responses to questions from...

As we enter the Christmas season in earnest, with decorating, gift shopping, and other seasonal activities keeping us busy, we cannot help but notice the unprecedented level of inflation everywhere we go. There are several reasons for these three years of price hikes, of course. It’s not all caused entirely by a single issue. But there is one major cause that outshines the rest: the cost of diesel fuel. What, you don’t buy diesel, yourself? You don’t have to. In many ways, the American economy itself runs on diesel fuel. Transportation costs – inbound and outbound, raw materials and finished...

Another report suggests that Hamas does not care about civilians living in Gaza. As the war between Israel and the terrorist group continues, Palestinian civilians are experiencing perilous conditions as Hamas uses them as human shields and prevents them from fleeing the area.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it tried to send fuel to Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza but was rebuffed because Hamas did not allow the facility to accept the badly needed fuel.Israeli troops on Sunday advanced in the northern Gaza Strip, capturing an urban area near Beit Hanoun as fierce fighting continued around Shifa Hospital and Israel...

Hamas loves to use human shields. That is one reason they take hostages and the major reason why Gazans are suffering from the shortage of fuel we keep hearing about. It’s not that there is no fuel left in Gaza–there is plenty of it. Rather, Hamas has a war machine to run and civilians be damned.NBC News: Hamas is stockpiling 200,000 gallons of fuel to supply rockets and support electricity for its elaborate network of underground tunnels. This as hospitals and relief organizations in Gaza warn they’re perilously low on fuel. https://t.co/otBxYjkW4P— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) November 2, 2023As U.N. officials...