HardSchell Report

Let’s think about this: Yes we figured out how to control fire 300,000 years ago – and it was huge, but now we are seven billion and counting, burning carbon (coal, oil, gas) for energy conversion is primitive and ultimately destructive. The big obstacle to moving forward is that the highly organized and committed to looking backward extraction giants need to reinvent themselves and we citizens need to pay better attention.

Proposed Tax Plan: Currently operators of renewable energy sites can trade wind or solar tax credits to financial entities that can use tax deductions (Goldman Sachs, etc.). The proposed Senate tax plan cancels these credits making it less attractive to develop renewable energy. For some Kochish reason, $135 billion in subsidies are still there for the profitable oil and gas industry for ten years.

Back Door Coal Subsidy: The DOE has proposed new rules to provide for full recovery of costs for “fuel-secure” power generating units. To qualify as fuel-secure under the DOE proposal, the units must maintain a 90-day fuel supply on site. This means that only coal and nuclear power plants qualify for this subsidy. The rationale for this subsidy is that this will insure against disruption. Of course, a study by the Rhodium Group shows fuel supply to be responsible for only 0.00007 percent of electricity disruptions.

Employment: There are opportunities looking to the future with wind, solar, and of course battery technology. Coal mining doesn’t seem so promising.