There is a common sentiment among the chattering class that energy made from solar panels and windmills is good and energy generated by fossil fuels is bad. Nature is seen as holy, and fossil fuels are seen as crass. And now the Biden administration‘s Environmental Protection Agency is “playing nature,” using its regulatory power to force the shutdown of coal and natural gas plants and replace them with renewables.
But those who think the switch to renewables is cheap or easy need to do some rethinking. Renewables pose serious problems. For one thing, America’s transmission system doesn’t have enough battery capacity to store solar energy for use on days when the sun isn’t shining or wind energy for use on days when the wind isn’t blowing. Plans to build offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic have been shelved, mainly because of the high cost. And deployment of solar…
