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Image shows graphics of leaves and co2 with a down arrow, along with text "Chevron Going Down"

Chevron Going Down

By Energy Rant No Comments
Last year I wrote that the Supreme Court of the United States, SCOTUS, ruling in the West Virginia case, is a sign of things to come. That case buried a fork in the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. The legislative and executive branches would have to modify the Clean Air Act to pass such limits. In response to the ruling, Politico quoted SCOTUS Chief Justice Roberts: “Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible ‘solution to the crisis of the day. But…
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Image shows electric car with text "Electric Vehicle Plans with the End in Mind"

Electric Vehicle Plans With the End in Mind

By Energy Rant No Comments
This week I’m repackaging recent news on electric vehicle (EV) developments – market, technical, and utility impacts. I like to look at scale (macro) rather than ubiquitous siloed micro thinking. Is it realistic to scale rare earth mineral mining, battery manufacturing, and battery disposal? What about charging logistics, third-world labor, and grid impacts? Breaking the Grid? Let’s start with the revelation that force, in the form of mandates, will break things. An aeronautical engineer’s piece in Energy Central, says EVs, at scale, will break the grid. He notes that the Biden regime is developing restrictions requiring the market share of…
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Image shows text, "The Anxious Leader and Li-Ion Batteries," along with 2 graphics of electric bicycles.

The Anxious Leader and Li-Ion Batteries

By Energy Rant No Comments
One of the nasty results of the Covid lockdowns was the meteoric growth of electric bikes. I thought, great. Let’s take the only means of exercise for some people and power it with a battery and motor to take away physical propulsion via the human body. Would you like to see a graphical representation of exponential growth? The following chart satisfies your craving to show e-bike fires in New York City alone. In an article published by The Wall Street Journal last week, New York Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh is quoted, “These are incredibly dangerous devices if they are unregulated…
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2022’s Lucky Seven Lookback

By Energy Rant No Comments
This post features the results of my Lucky 7 predictions I made a year ago, a grade for each omen, and a little sass here and there. Coal Record Prediction: Annual worldwide coal consumption will pass the all-time high set in 2014. Result: The Internation Energy Agency, on 16 December, reported, “Global coal use is set to rise by 1.2% in 2022, surpassing 8 billion tonnes in a single year for the first time and eclipsing the previous record set in 2013(sic), according to Coal 2022, the IEA’s latest annual market report on the sector.” This is remarkable, considering “For…
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Importing Illusions & Exporting Pollution

By Energy Rant No Comments
I had to go to my well of topics and found this interesting article from Clean Technica from last summer, A Realistic US Transport Electrification Plan - The Challenges We Can't Ignore. That is a catchy title because I am the woodchipper of grand ideas. Norway’s EV etc. Policies As Will Ferrell instructed us during last year’s Super Bowl, Norway crushes the United States in electric vehicle adoption. Clean Technica says 85% of new vehicle sales in Norway are electric and then complains about the lack of policy in the United States to support EVs. It makes a difference. For…
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Used Cars and the Energy Industry

Pretty Pleas to the Purchasing Department

By Energy Rant No Comments
I have a lot of gray hair. It’s a little frightening to see the age setting in when I see myself on video, but the years of wisdom from living life are nice because I’ve had the midlife crisis (20-some years ago), and I have learned to roll with things easily. Don’t confuse that with being intense as hell and unyielding on a few straightforward business and personal standards. One of the things I’ve learned is that if a person’s mission is to earn as much salary as possible, they should switch jobs every three to four years (red flag)…
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electric vehicles

Get People into Electric Vehicles Through the Zone of Acceptance

By Energy Rant No Comments
A few weeks ago, I observed a webinar sponsored by the Advanced Energy Economy to help me triangulate what the next great trend(s) might be. That meshed well with the electric vehicles (EV) post of last week and this week. The webinar featured two electrification apostles and two critics. The apostles led off with the no-brainerisms of the EV. The economics are hysterically bullish. It costs a tiny fraction to power personal transportation with electricity, primarily through cheap renewable energy, versus petroleum-based fuels. Point taken. Technological Determinism Later, when the critics came onto the scene, one of them noted that…
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electric vehicle (EV)

Electric Vehicle (EV) Sales Swoon – Easy Remedies

By Energy Rant No Comments
The electric car (or vehicle / EV) may be the most captivating technology of my career. I panned EVs ten years ago with a Frivolous Novelty. I implore you to go back and read that. Almost nothing has changed in ten years! The iPhone launched 13 years ago. Everyone has an iPhone or an iPhone wannabe. By contrast, the EV has gone from zero to 0.02 in the same period. This week I will cover market challenges and pain points. Next week, we will look at some mitigating solutions, some of which are stupendously simple. The Wall Street Journal reports…
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Kooky Car CEOs Catch Stockholm Syndrome

By Energy Rant No Comments
As a company leader and owner, efficiency advocate, and AESP Board Member, I spend many of my waking hours and maybe many of my unconscious hours analyzing and processing behavior. What motivates people, and why do they choose what they choose? When I read a headline like White House Poised to Relax Mileage Standards - Rebuffing Automakers, the caution lights start spinning in my mind. What is going on here? Why on earth would they want this? Read on. The Trump administration seeks to reduce the federal average fuel mileage standard from the Obama-set 54 miles per gallon to 37…
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Holy Mother of Bovine Batman!

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
It’s been a long time since I’ve written about compact fluorescent light bulbs, so I think I’ll keep it that way. This rant is brought to you by our friends at E Source.  Actually, as I was scrounging around for some information on their site, I came across this article on electric vehicles, or EVs, which left me mentally agape.  I am going to guess the author, Jay Stein, lives and breathes EVs and has for years. It appears he has worked tirelessly to bring the EV from the Frivolous Novelty to gas-electric hybrid stature and beyond, but jeezo, allow me to…
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