Accelerating the Transition [semi-satire]

Semi-News/Semi-Satire ^ | 23 October 2022 | John Semmens

[John Semmens]

The US was an energy exporter before Biden was inaugurated as president. It isn't anymore. Biden's energy advisor Amos Hochstein says this is a good thing. "When energy was plentiful under the Trump Administration it undermined the incentive for Americans to switch to green alternatives," Hochstein said. "The steps that President Biden has taken to reduce the availability gasoline, diesel, and natural gas have led to sharp increases in the prices of these non-renewable sources of energy. So, not only is it harder to get these fuels, it is also more costly. While this may be painful for consumers in the short run it will force them to change their ways."

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm called the transition to green energy "a matter of national security. As we squeeze out our domestic supplies of fossil fuels the remaining potential foreign sources are mostly hostile regimes. As we recently saw, Saudi Arabia rebuffed the President's request to hold off cuts in oil production until after the elections. This left him with no alternative but to further draw downs of our strategic petroleum reserves. I realize that some have called this use of the reserves dangerously politically motivated. However, whatever we can do to lessen the risk that the MAGA enemies of democracy will take over Congress is our highest national security priority."

"Once the reserve is completely depleted there will be no option but to quickly transition to a totally renewable energy system," Granholm added. "The subsidies the government has provided to encourage drivers to buy electric vehicles (EVs) have brought the out-of-pocket cost for these automobiles down to only $60,000 for a compact model. We have authorized states to construct recharging stations at 50 mile intervals along the entire Interstate Highway system within the next three years. And technology has reduced the time required to fully recharge your vehicle at these stations to about 45 minutes. Granted, refilling a car's gas tank takes only about five minutes, but the longer interval needed for EVs will enable travelers to get out of their vehicles, stretch their legs, and visit the convenience market and/or fast food restaurants that typically accompany refueling stops."

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[DallasBiff]

This is my opinion, but I think that 10% of the population is gung ho for EV’s, the rest of us like to go to the gas station, put the gas pump in the tank, get a lottery ticket, pack of smokes, or a slim jim, and be on our way in less than 10 minutes.

[gleeaikin]

Walmart, shopping malls, and some major modest cost restaurant chains would be smart to have some recharging stations installed so people could recharge while shopping or eating a meal. As more solar and wind power are used for residential electricity, getting a charging station hookup at home will be an option for many that is also “green”. My local electric co. uses 6% renewables, a slow but steady growth the past few years.

Finding the “sweet spot” for gas prices is a problem. When gas prices were near $2 I didn’t mind driving 380 miles RT every 4 weeks to visit my shore cottage and cut the large lawn. This year I hired someone to do 2 cuts a month from April to October for $100 a month. A problem with these very low prices was that after filling the National Petroleum Reserve (a good idea), filling all the storage tanks at Cushing, OK, and many large tanker ships, there was nowhere else to put it. For a couple of days, oil companies were paying people $30 a barrel to take their surplus away to give them time enough to stop pumping and shut down their producing wells.

Then Covid hit and people stopped traveling. Oil prices stayed down and more and more producers moth balled their production or stopped drilling. There are plenty of leases already sitting undrilled, but the oil companies are reluctant to open up or do more drilling until they have a better feel for what will happen next. Will the new Covid variants explode in the population and cut travel again. Will we have war with Russia if they start using dirty bombs or tactical nukes.

What would you consider a sweet spot for gas prices? I was favorably surprised last month to find a station charging $3.09. I can live with that. That was when oil was around $80 a barrel. Much below that and a lot of newer drilling areas are too expensive to develop or pump. I just hate feeling jerked around by big oil, so I hope they find their sweet spot soon and can share the market with their competitors, so stupid pricing does not prevail.