I predict a resurgence.
Posted on 06/12/2011 12:57:54 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Have you had a lot of fun watching the price of gasoline shoot out of sight this year at the pump? That will be just the appetizer. Thanks to new regulations from the Obama administration, power companies will shut down a significant number of coal-fired plants by 2014, and without any other reliable sources of mass-produced electricity, consumers will see their bills go up as much as 60% (via Instapundit and Newsalert):
Consumers could see their electricity bills jump an estimated 40 to 60 percent in the next few years.
The reason: Pending environmental regulations will make coal-fired generating plants, which produce about half the nation’s electricity, more expensive to operate. Many are expected to be shuttered.
The increases are expected to begin to appear in 2014, and policymakers already are scrambling to find cheap and reliable alternative power sources. If they are unsuccessful, consumers can expect further increases as more expensive forms of generation take on a greater share of the electricity load.
You won’t just pay more to the utility company, either. The Chicago Tribune runs the math on public-sector cost increases in just their city:
What analysts know is that a portion of ComEd bills that pays electricity generators to reserve a portion of their power three years into the future will increase more than fourfold. That would translate into increases of $107 to $178 a year for an average residential customer in ComEd’s territory, starting in 2014, according to calculations by Chris Thomas, policy director for consumer advocacy group Citizens Utility Board.
In 2014 those so-called capacity costs are expected to add approximately $2.7 million over the previous year to electricity bills in Chicago Public Schools, $3.3 million for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and $5.4 million to the city of Chicago, according to an analysis by Tenaska, aNebraska-based power development company that wants to develop a coal-fed power plant in central Illinois that would meet stringent regulations because it would capture and sequester emissions.
It’s the EPA gift that keeps on … taking.
On the other hand, we can consider this a rarity — an Obama promise kept:
Obama told the Chronicle:
The problem is not technical, uh, and the problem is not mastery of the legislative intricacies of Washington. The problem is, uh, can you get the American people to say, “This is really important,” and force their representatives to do the right thing? That requires mobilizing a citizenry. That requires them understanding what is at stake. Uh, and climate change is a great example.
You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.
They — you — you can already see what the arguments will be during the general election. People will say, “Ah, Obama and Al Gore, these folks, they’re going to destroy the economy, this is going to cost us eight trillion dollars,” or whatever their number is. Um, if you can’t persuade the American people that yes, there is going to be some increase in electricity rates on the front end, but that over the long term, because of combinations of more efficient energy usage, changing lightbulbs and more efficient appliance, but also technology improving how we can produce clean energy, the economy would benefit.
If we can’t make that argument persuasively enough, you — you, uh, can be Lyndon Johnson, you can be the master of Washington. You’re not going to get that done.
Even without cap-and-trade — or perhaps more accurately, even with a backdoor carbon tax through regulatory adventurism — Obama kept his promise to have electricity rates skyrocketing, and putting the burden on consumers, business, and taxpayers. Who said that every Obama promise comes with an expiration date?
Why cannot these coal-fire plants be converted to natural gas?? Seems to me that you should be able to re-make them either as straight nat. gas fired steam turbine plants, or stick a few gas turbines up front and turn’em into co-gen plants.
And what Republicans have come forward to declare that if they are returned to power in the senate and keep the house, as well as getting the presidency, they will:
1) Drill, baby, drill.
2) Deregulate the coal industry, with 50 year unmodifiable contracts to mine, process, transport and use coal for industry and to generate electricity, unhindered by additional federal regulation.
3) End ethanol for fuel requirements.
4) Deregulate and streamline the nuclear industry, eliminating vast amounts of red tape and federal involvement, as well as reopening Yucca, NV for high grade nuclear waste disposal.
5) Provide strong tax incentives for the building of new oil refineries.
I haven’t heard any Republican advocating these. Perhaps they need to be encouraged to do so.
Install them tightly. Our neighbors in Phoenix had theirs done professionally and within a year they were blown down by the wind and landed in their front yard (and thankfully not ours). By the way, our lots were very large, but the wind can carry them once they have jiggled free.
The eco-nazis have made upgrading coal plants impossible ... If you have an existing coal plant putting out 10 units of emissions a year to produce 1x megawatts and you want to upgrade any part of the plant and make 1.5x megawatts you now have to upgrade the entire plant to new standards of 4 units of emissions which cannot be met.
I predict a resurgence.
This is how ‘the hypocrite leftist elite’ live.
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/06/10/the-earth-is-full-of-hypocritical-eco-blowhards/
I hope there are plenty of extra boxes around so we can set up house under an interstate overpass.
We can call it “This ain’t the change I was hopin’ for”.
Do we need anymore proof?
They are making up reasons to remove electricity supply.
No he couldn't possibly do all this by himself. Besides Soros he probably has leaders in several countries helping and who knows who else. His sheeple just fall in line. Oh yeah, he was the 'chosen one' for this time in history, to destroy America.
Look closely at the upside down letters in pepsi. LOL. These Aluminati were publik skool gradgeates.
Conversion to natural gas should not run into these bottlenecks. Nat. gas should meet or beat any possible emissions regime, perhaps only excluding CO2, for which it will be "the" best solution aside from nuclear (i.e. natural gas emits less CO2 per unit of electricity than any other source).
No matter if you conserve or not your rates will go up.
If you cut back, they bitch that people aren’t using enough power and they need to make up the ‘projected revenue’ they anticipated. So costs go up.
If you keep using the same, they bitch you’re not cutting back, they need to increase capacity for future growth, they need to maintain existing plants. So cost goes up.
If you use more, they bitch they need more to meet the growing demand for power. And also more money to tell you to use less. So costs go up.
It will do that
A) when the sun is shining and at a high enough angle (about 10% of the time) and
B) they aren't running anything more than a toaster inside.
The rest of the time they are buying power just like the rest of us. I guarantee they are not storing energy. It is also likely that they are getting a subsidy for that "left over" power because the power company is forced to buy it at the regular rates (i.e. meter spins backwards) even though that power is not produced at peak time when it is needed and therefore should be priced less.
Just be thankful you don't live in Germany. There your neighbors put up solar panels and you are forced to buy their power for 50 cents per kWh (what they get paid) plus electric company markup. That compares to the five cents or so we pay here for wholesale power from a real provider. It is the ultimate scam, rich people getting paid by poor people for an imaginary product so they can all feel good.
BTW, if any of you are interested in PV solar power for electricity, are not getting tax credits or other subsidies and are building something for yourself, some study is a good idea first.
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PV/pv.htm
Coal is America’s future. Obama must go.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com: "CONSUMERS' ELECTRIC BILLS LIKELY TO SPIKE AS COAL PLANTS CLOSE As stricter environmental regulations approach, some power generators are choosing to shutter their coal-fired plants." by Julie Wernau (SNIPPET: "Consumers could see their electricity bills jump an estimated 40 to 60 percent in the next few years.") (June 11, 2011) (Read More...)
Well I suppose this is the whole point of cap and trade isn't it...to destroy our middle class and get the ruling class richer....sort of like the Soviet Union or Zimbabwe.
Fundamental Change! Treasonous Bastards.
BTW, our day care center is really nice....just like the rest of the campus - has to be one of the best in the world. Here's something about one of our stores: http://www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/considered_design/features/nike_innovates_at_retail.html
In a plant upgrade EVERY part of the plant would have to be compliant ,, not just meet standards “on average”.
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