Make no mistake: Big oil, coal, etc. will move to "green" energy. However, this is how they want to do so:
- Maximize returns on existing investments: Mineral rights and leases and options and equipment.
- Maintain and gain control. Renewable energy is just fine, then, as long as they are in control and profiting from it.
The problem is, this screws over a lot of people and environments, in the meantime. Slows investment -- the U.S. has already lost much of the technology lead and even more of the manufacturing lead, to overseas. And, it vests the least progressive elements of our society with control over our energy future.
Oh, and environmental pollution -- not just CO2, but the outfall of CO2, heavy metals, radioactive byproducts (yes, from fossil fuels), continued support of authoritarian and criminal regimes...
Oh, yes, they can actually slow deployment, as well. Such as trying to get state legislatures to "outlaw" self-sufficient home deployments. Fighting, as they did for some time, end user feeds back into the grid (that can require grid upgrades to handle, at scale).
Anyway, these are not the people and organizations I want in control of our future energy production and distribution. Nor, in my opinion, do they deserve to profit from it.
But that's their goal.
