10/14/2021 / By JD Heyes
Last winter, power outages that struck Texas and other parts of the country at peak coldness endangered the lives of millions, but were, thankfully, short-lived.
However, this coming winter, things could be a lot different — as in, power outages and blackouts could get much worse thanks to a looming energy crisis, according to an insider.
Already, there is an energy shortage that is wafting through Asia and Europe, but according to Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC., it could also hit the U.S. this winter when Americans are at their most vulnerable.
“We’ve actually had discussions with power utilities who are concerned that they simply will have to implement blackouts this winter,” Thrasher warned in an interview with energy research firm IHS Markit.
That’s because U.S. energy producers are going to have to quickly pivot to more coal because natural gas prices are soaring in the Biden economy’s war on fossil fuels.
“They don’t see where the fuel is coming from to meet demand,” he continued, adding that 23 percent of utilities are moving away from gas this fall and winter so they can burn more coal.
If there is any good news in this assessment, it’s this: These soaring fossil fuel prices mean that the transition to so-called ‘renewable’ green energy will take decades, not years, because the technology is unreliable and it’s not going to improve because the sun only shines when there are no clouds and wind turbines only turn when there is wind. Plus, the existing infrastructure in the United States for green energy production is lacking (because, believe it or not, green energy production is more expensive than fossil fuels, and even they are rising in price, thanks to Biden’s policies).
But here’s the thing as well: Europe and Asia have shifted tons of resources into green energy production and because they have, they are suffering energy shortages worse than the United States because again, green power is unreliable. And as winter approaches, energy producers on their continents are also seeking out coal, though there won’t be enough to go around because coal production has taken a hit already since Donald Trump was forced out of office.
“Those who predicted last year the demise of oil, gas, and coal after the pandemic and those who said that peak oil demand was already behind us because lasting changes in consumer behavior would reduce the use of crude are now facing reality,” wrote Tsvetana Paraskova for OilPrice.com last week. “Global oil demand is just a few months away from reaching pre-pandemic levels, while natural gas and coal demand have already exceeded the 2019 volumes.”
“…[F]ossil fuels continue to supply most of that energy and will do so for years to come. Last year’s slump in fossil fuel consumption is being erased, and those who expected oil, gas, and coal demand to never return to pre-COVID levels now know they were wrong,” she wrote, adding: “Economies are recovering post-COVID, and consumer habits haven’t changed all that much: consumers still want a warm home, power, the latest tech gadgets, and to be able to freely travel and spend money.”
But even switching to fossil fuels this winter may not be enough to stave off power outages. That’s because the number of coal miners has been shrinking and now stands at its lowest number in decades. After collapsing from a high of 180,000 to 42,500 in August, the industry is now 9,500 miners short from pre-COVID times.
“That’s making it difficult for mining companies to boost production at a time when the global energy crisis is making utilities desperate for every lump of coal they can dig up. Even with coal prices surging around the world, the labor shortages are another sign that it’s going to be tough to shore up energy stockpiles,” Bloomberg reported.
“That whole supply chain is stretched beyond its limits,” Thrasher added. “It’s going to be a challenging winter for us here in the United States.”
The green energy ‘plan’ envisioned by liberals won’t power our ultra-modern country, period. We’re about to find that out the hard way.
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Tagged Under: Asia, Blackouts, brownouts, chaos, coal, coal shortage, Collapse, energy, energy infrastructure, Europe, fossil fuels, green energy, grid collapse, natural gas, power grid, Power Outage, preparedness, price increase, survival, United States, winter cold
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