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Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

seanobannon.substack.com

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Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#61

Post by sightbroke »

epistasis wrote: post #30
sightbroke wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really know, the details of measuring energy consumption, emissions, and price is a fairly convoluted concept as far as I know. Asking google AI: "California emmisions rate" gave: "California has seen a decline in greenhouse gas emissions, with a 20% reduction since 2000, while its economy has grown significantly. The state aims to reduce emissions to 85% below 1990 levels by 2045 and achieve carbon neutralit…

Google AI is not really useful, but going to an actual reliable source from that such as California's emissions inventory: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventory-graphs The graphs seem to contradict those in the article, as the article has a huge annual variability not shown in the government data, and also the article does not show the decline in the "Electric Power" sector that's shown so clearly in the CA government…

Texas has both less people and lower GDP than California yet emits more. How is that not a bit of a disaster?

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#62

Post by chowells »

epistasis wrote: post #46
ratherbefuddled wrote: post #24

It wouldn't be surprising that de-regulation is good for innovation in the US, because "regulation" in the US almost always means corporate capture of a market through political bribery. Regulation in territories where it is harder for corporations to buy politicians seems to be far more successful at driving improvements.

This is very true, and I think an underappreciated point specifically for utilities, so I hope you don't mind if I expand quite a bit on your excellent point. What "deregulation" means in Texas is that there's a competitive market for electricity generation, and that those who invest in the cheapest methods of production can make profits, and those who made poor investments can lose money. This "deregulation" is mere…

I can't believe people are using Texas as a positive example of deregulation after they demonstrated quite enthusiastically how broken their system is. A competent electrical system can handle sustained freezing temperatures without massive blackouts. Texas can't. (No, I can't believe they'll do any better next time. There were no market consequences for incompetence.)

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#63

Post by __MatrixMan__ »

ourmandave wrote: post #41
warkdarrior wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> current administration is out to completely gut any kind of cost savings for american businesses I am sure businesses that follow the administration's wishes will get government contracts, tax rebates, tariff exceptions, and other favorable treatment. I am not worried, the vast majority of businesses will learn within a few months that it is financially profitable to bend the knee.

Just don't forget to remove any DEI statements from your website.

> Just don't forget to remove any DEI statements from [redacted] website.

edit: removed pronoun

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#64

Post by triceratops »

baggy_trough wrote: post #57
triceratops wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read "zero insulation" as "shit-tier insulation" and that is approximately accurate for a lot of Bay Area housing.

That's closer to the truth, but to say that all homes have basically zero insulation is just wrong.

Well sure drywall is technically an insulator, since it's not a thermal or electrical conductor. So is the single pane of glass found on most windows.

Maybe there's some stuff between the drywall and stucco? I never checked because the lead paint on the walls (any of the walls I've lived among; the Bay Area has a lot of old, shit housing) made me wary of drilling holes.

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#65

Post by epistasis »

outer_web wrote: post #50
naasking wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nothing wrong with markets solving basic human needs as long as the incentives are properly aligned.

How does one properly align the incentives of people and corporations?

Regulations, of course! Of which there are many for Texas' electricity markets.

IMHO, you can't have markets without regulations, and the markets that work best are those in high-trust societies, and that high-trust usually comes form a solid regulatory structure (i.e. laws).

This is why saying "deregulation is bad" is just as incoherent as saying "regulations are bad." We need to move beyond that sort of fallacious dichotomy.

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#66

Post by bee_rider »

outer_web wrote: post #50
naasking wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nothing wrong with markets solving basic human needs as long as the incentives are properly aligned.

How does one properly align the incentives of people and corporations?

Probably some kind of basic income scheme, so that no people will become invisible to the corporations.

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#67

Post by epistasis »

buckle8017 wrote: post #16

The Texas grid was deregulated in an era where solar and wind were not price competitive. The price competitive producers were all stable fossil fuels, natural gas and coal. They failed to take into account unreliable low cost producers forcing reliable but marginally more expensive producers out of the market. If solar/wind producers had to guarantee power 24x7 at fixed rates the cost would vastly exceed natural gas…

> If solar/wind producers had to guarantee power 24x7 at fixed rates the cost would vastly exceed natural gas costs.

I think Texas' market right now is completely disproving that point. The amount of batteries being deployed everywhere are showing that storing solar/wind for a fraction of the day is going to be a lot cheaper than having tons of gas.

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#68

Post by gamblor956 »

kragen wrote: post #21

The most significant US regulations in the area aren't even mentioned in this article: the prohibitively high tariffs on Chinese solar modules and electric vehicles, which at least double the cost of solar panels and EVs in the US compared to much of the rest of the world. Current US elites grew up in the energy crisis that started with the Arab oil embargo of 01973 cutting off US energy imports, and they seem determ…

China's solar panels are cheap because the Chinese government is subsidizing solar panel production with the express purpose of destroying solar panel industries in other nations. Hence, many countries impose tariffs on Chinese solar panels.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/business/china-solar-ener...

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#69

Post by emilamlom »

warkdarrior wrote: post #14
xbmcuser wrote: post #11

Well Texas seems to be planing to put in regulation on the electricity market. Seems like the current administration is out to completely gut any kind of cost savings for american businesses. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/energy-markets/texas-bi...

> current administration is out to completely gut any kind of cost savings for american businesses I am sure businesses that follow the administration's wishes will get government contracts, tax rebates, tariff exceptions, and other favorable treatment. I am not worried, the vast majority of businesses will learn within a few months that it is financially profitable to bend the knee.

Just wondering, why does that not worry you? Requiring people to play the favoritism game seems like a terrible way to govern. Unless I just misunderstood, in which case I apologize.

Re: Deregulated energy markets accelerate solar adoption

#70

Post by m_fayer »

_bin_ wrote: post #47
kragen wrote: post #21

The most significant US regulations in the area aren't even mentioned in this article: the prohibitively high tariffs on Chinese solar modules and electric vehicles, which at least double the cost of solar panels and EVs in the US compared to much of the rest of the world. Current US elites grew up in the energy crisis that started with the Arab oil embargo of 01973 cutting off US energy imports, and they seem determ…

Because we cannot afford, geopolitically, to have a hostile rival nation with whom we may in the next decade be at war control our energy. There is no if, and, or but about that. Of course, most of said solar and battery tech was originally developed by Americans; chinese bought old patents, bought companies out of bankruptcy, and threw obscene amounts of state capital at developing it further. and now we're stuck wi…

Is casually conflating allied nations with “subordinates” some sort of signal of political orientation now?
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