Sheepdogs are breeds that guard and keep sheep herds together. Strays are kept from wandering away. Today’s energy markets are like sheep herds with various energies heading off independently. A good energy sheepdog might help regulators and politicians create sound policies rather than the quilt-like assortment of today.
A case in point was the announcement of Microsoft’s deal with Constellation to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1, a nuclear power plant shuttered for five years. The software giant needs the carbon-free baseload power for a new data center to support its artificial intelligence work.
Three Mile Island was famous for the 1979 partial meltdown of its Unit 2 nuclear reactor which helped fuel the anti-nuclear power movement. Unit 1 operated continuously until 2019 when it was shut down by poor economics. The 837-megawatt unit operated 96.3% of the time, an attraction for Microsoft.
While nuclear power is experiencing a rebirth of interest, renewables continue to dominate the energy news with soaring new capacity additions reported worldwide. Generating capacity, however, doesn’t always equal increased power output.
On the fossil fuel front, the Environmental Protection Agency is in court defending its latest air quality rule that will force early closure of coal and natural gas generating facilities. Four regional grid operators filed amicus briefs supporting the plaintiff and warning about blackouts.
Across the Atlantic, Germany’s economy continues to de-industrialize due to high electricity prices. A Norwegian hydrogen energy plan has imploded over cost. The lack of higher subsidies is hurting renewable projects on the continent, especially offshore wind. Public protests against EV mandates and agricultural restrictions are plaguing numerous countries.
Schizophrenic China continues building record renewable generation and new coal plants. Its policy to dominate green energy supply chains drives investment and sparks backlash from Western economies captive to Chinese supply chains.
The Chinese government just introduced significant financial stimulus to re-ignite its economy’s growth which could lead to increased petroleum consumption.
Weak Chinese oil demand has been the missing ingredient in higher oil prices. The stimulus could restart the long-term oil cycle.
The need for a dependable, clean, low-cost energy system has become apparent to politicians. The energy world has become more chaotic and needs a sheepdog to prevent national blackouts.
.jpg.small.400x400.jpg)
