Off-Grid vs Smart Grid; Apparently, There Can Be Only One Winner

     Have you ever stopped to think about the paradox in the national conversation over Energy Consumption?  On the one hand you have Energy Magnates like Warren Buffet, whose Northern Powergrid Holdings Co. in the U.K., is working with Siemens AG (SIE) to test a so-called smart grid that has the ability to control when consumer appliances will be used in the home.  Don't believe me? It's all there in Bloomberg Business Week.
     I've tried to warn people that the new Smart Grid meters will work with the new Energy Star appliances to eventually monitor and regulate how much energy you use in your home.  Of course I got the cynical looks ... there she goes again with her crazy conspiracy theories.

     But here's how it works, and how they sell it:  the smart meters are simply gathering information on your energy usage and helping you to decide the best way to conserve.  Because we all know that the planet is in crisis and we need to discover new ways to curb our gluttonous consumption, right?  But, let's put it in plain English ... the smart meters are collecting data on our energy usage so they can test, and at some point in the near future, implement “a so-called smart grid that has the ability to control when consumer appliances will be used in the home.”
     If you already have a smart meter on your home, you may be enjoying the convenience of the utility company telling you the optimum times to use power; (that information comes from all the data collection, don't you know).  And if you don't have a smart meter yet ... don't worry, you soon will.  And I would be willing to bet that you have one and don't even know it.  Many friends swore to me that they didn't have one, but on closer inspection, discovered that one had been installed without their knowledge or consent.  And there are some people that still don't see the problem ... "Everything is being automated.  It just makes it easier for the utility company to read the meter from a satellite."  That's right; just keep drinking the koolaid.
     But would it surprise you to know that Bloomberg reports that "Buffett’s U.K.-based system goes a step further. It gives people a choice, allowing them to either use appliances themselves at optimum times, or to let the system decide that for them."  It's only one more step until that choice is no longer your own, but will be made by the utility.  Of course, this could have nothing to do with the fact that Warren Buffet has invested $15 billion in wind and solar power in the U.S. , and he's ready to double that amount ... could it?
     Think about it ... every time you turn on a light, set your thermostat to make your home a little cooler in the summer, or even flush the toilet, "they" are monitoring your usage.  By the way, did you know that talking thermostats exist, now?  I'm sure that some consumers welcome them and love being part of the "new trend".  But think of it this way (as outlined by Truthstream Media) .. "Combined with the smart grid however, it comes off more like the super computer HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. You go to turn on your air conditioner and hear a calm voice say, “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Dave…".  Does that make you have second thoughts?  It should.
     The website, Inquisitr, reports that Texas and Florida are actively pursuing restriction of the off-grid, or "sustainable" lifestyle; going so far as to make it illegal.  Apparently, if you disconnect from the Smart Grid and try to live economically, simply, and relying on nature, you are defeating the Elite's plan.  So, let me get this straight ... if you use solar power, cook off a camp stove, and collect rain water, it is not seen as saving earth from the planet-destroying energy plants, but you are now viewed as a lawbreaker.

     But here's the opposite side of the coin.  It's supposed to be all about using natural resources and saving the planet, right?  But try going Off-grid and see how "the powers that be" like that!
     I'm trying to wrap my head around this whole paradox .... Warren Buffet and his billionaire friends are making billions off energy users by forcing their Smart Grid on us.  In Florida, it has been mandated that all homes must be connected to an energy grid.  Inquisitr revealed that North Carolina has not made it illegal yet to be off-grid, but "citizens can be evicted if they do not consume electricity, citing fears about candle fires." REALLY?!?
     But think about this, Buffet and his greedy cohorts also want to capture the monopoly on solar and wind power, too.  OK, now I get it!  It's really all about making money!!!  They can't have you using the wind and sun and rain that God made for us free of charge!  So, they not only want to control your use of electricity, they also want to restrict and control your use of our natural resources ... and they want to charge you in both instances! They get us coming and going; and it's all manipulated and controlled and about limiting our free choice.
     Tune in tomorrow, when I take this controversy one step further ... but you better tighten down your tin foil hats!  I will be connecting some dots that you haven't even considered!

Psalm 24:1   "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,"


     
 

Threat to Texas Independent Energy Grid Is A Threat to Us All

     I am treading on thin ice here.  I will admit that I do not have great knowledge about the electric energy market.  But, after receiving an email from our state representative of the 912 Association, a non-partisan national organization interested in returning to the Principles and Values at the founding of this nation, I figured I better educate myself on the subject.  This post is the result of my rudimentary research.

     The first thing that is important to know is that there are three grids in the Lower 48 states: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection — and Texas.  The Texas grid is called ERCOT, and it is run by an agency called the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, from whence it derives its name.  ERCOT was formed in 1970, in the wake of a major blackout in the Northeast in November 1965, and it was tasked with managing grid reliability in accordance with national standards. The agency assumed additional responsibilities following electric deregulation in Texas a decade ago. The ERCOT grid remains beyond the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which succeeded the Federal Power Commission and regulates interstate electric transmission.
     So it should come as no surprise that, in today's climate, there are entities within the federal government who would love to see Texas's independence curbed, and more regulation put in place.  While Texas has had occasion to import power outside the state -- from Mexico in 2011 during rolling blackouts -- the Lone Star state's main objective has been to keep the federal regulators at bay.  Now, there is a new effort to rein in that independence.
     At the basis of this controversy is the question of whether Texas will have enough energy to meet its future needs.  Last year, grid operators released a report by the Brattle Group that said low natural gas prices, a more efficient generating fleet, and a boom in wind power have combined to shrink the returns that power plants can expect for the energy they produce. As a result, the report said, power companies have built fewer plants that would help meet future electricity demand, which has increased at a rate of 2.3 percent since 2002.  Combine these market findings with hotter summers, colder winters, a booming population, and lack of investment in new power plants, and it all adds up to generate talk that Texas might transform its energy market, shifting from “energy only” to a “capacity” market. What does that mean, and why does it matter?
     It all comes down to a question of insurance ... how much backup energy capacity should Texas have on hand for its hottest days, and how can it best maintain that cushion?   Under the current wholesale energy model, utilities are paid only for the energy they generate. In a capacity model, companies are paid for maintaining a reserve capacity — costs that consumers bear.  Shifting to a capacity market is one change that would open the door to regulation and allow regulators to mandate a reserve margin.
     ERCOT currently aims for a 13.75 percent reserve margin, but that is a goal, not a requirement. The Council projects the real cushion will shrink to 9.4 percent by 2018 and 4.5 percent by 2023.  Now it seems, in a nonbinding vote, the Public Utilities Commission of Texas has decided to require a reserve margin.  The primary function of the PUC has been to provide statewide regulation of the rates and services of electric and telecommunications utilities.  Although the PUC’s mission is supposedly to “protect customers, foster competition, and promote high quality infrastructure”, one has to ask oneself, how do higher consumer costs to fix a problem that ain't broken, "protect customers"?  So the obvious question, for this consumer is, who is going to benefit from this change?
     If you listen to the Feds, who are insisting that the free market won’t supply enough electricity to keep the lights on here in Texas, we will soon be subject to rolling blackouts. So, what's their solution?  Why more government, of course!  They want to take apart the competitive electricity market and re-regulate it, turning it into a capacity market that would impose an electricity tax on Texas consumers of about $4 billion a year!  In essence, this is a tax that would fund subsidies for electricity generators and their bankers.  And when you consider the reality of the electricity market in Texas, it amounts to nothing more than a bailout.  Let me explain further:

     Companies that generated electricity loved the profits when competition was first introduced over a decade ago.  But now the electricity market is more efficient, and those huge profits have come down in size.  That makes those government subsidies look awful inviting!  Add to that, the fact that a lot of bankers and Wall Street investment firms want to profit by loaning money to electricity generating companies. With Texas being about the only state in the country where new generation is being built, they like the idea of a capacity market (regulated reserves) to decrease the risks of their investments.  There is also the reality that, back in 2007, many firms invested money in the Texas electricity market betting that high natural gas prices would keep electricity prices and profits high.  That didn't happen.  Natural gas prices went south, taking prices and profits with them.  Considering those investment losses, investors would love a new revenue stream (tax) from a capacity market to help bail out them out of their poor investments.
     Those who favor a switch from "energy only" to a "capacity market" in the electricity industry, seem to misunderstand that this would create a huge burden on Texas families.  And perhaps they don't understand that switching to a capacity market will do to the competitive Texas electricity market what the federal government is currently doing to the healthcare market.  Or do they misunderstand? Texans should question the PUC's motives in requiring a reserve margin of electricity.  Are they overstepping their bounds of authority?  In 1999, the Texas Legislature told the Public Utility Commission that it should “authorize or order competitive rather than regulatory methods to achieve the goals …of the Legislature’s shift to competitive markets."
     If a shift to capacity markets takes us down the paths of government subsidies, more federal involvement and regulations, and more taxes on the Texas consumer, then it seems to me that the PUC is failing in its mission.  And this should be a warning for the rest of the country, too.  Texas is on the front lines of this issue, but you can rest assured that it is coming to your state, too! The abomination that is the Affordable Care Act, should tell all of us that the less the government is in our business, the better off we will be.  I don't want the Feds in charge of my healthcare, and I certainly don't want them controlling my energy needs! 

Thanks to editorials in the Texas Tribune, the New York Times, Forbes Magazine, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation for their efforts in helping us laypersons understand this complicated subject.  And special thanks to Thelma Taormina, President of the Texas 912 Association, for her tireless work on behalf of freedom-loving Texans, and for bringing this issue to my attention. 

Proverbs 29:12    "If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked. "

   

China And The World's Oil (That Means Ours, Too!)

     I have heard it said that the oil boom in Texas is single-handedly keeping our economy going, and it is largely responsible for propping up Wall Street.  But it seems that the good ol' USA is not the only country benefitting from the massive Eagle Ford oil field in South Texas.  World Net Daily recently published an article that says China has been allowed to quietly buy major interests in the Eagle Ford and other oil and natural gas resources across the U.S.

     As the article suggests, I guess it's one way our government can keep the Chinese appeased in regard to the money we owe them.  If they have a vested interest in our economy, then they will most likely continue lending us the money we need to help offset our $1-trillion-plus annual federal budget deficits.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that China passed the U.S. in their consumption of oil.  It is no secret that China is looking to make deals with anyone they can, in order to feed their appetite for oil.  Their economy continues to grow, while ours flounders, and they need this valuable energy resource to continue their expansion.

Allowing China to buy into U.S. energy production is a reversal of the previous Administration's policy, which viewed such a practice as a threat to national security.  I can understand that.  But what I don't understand is this .... if we are seeking to become energy independent, and we have this incredible reserve of oil within our own borders, why would we invite a foreign country (and one that obviously doesn't have our best interest at heart) to partake of our riches?  Since we currently import 60% of our oil, wouldn't it make sense to keep this valuable resource for ourselves?  Is the end result going to be that we end up buying our own resources back from China???

     World Net Daily further reported that Beijing has been developing a proposal in which real estate on American soil owned by China would be set up as “development zones” to establish Chinese-owned businesses and bring in its citizens to the U.S. to work.  With unemployment in the U.S. hovering at the  "official" level of 8%, does anybody think it is a good idea to create autonomous foreign economies within our own country? 

     And Texas oil companies are not the only U.S. interests China has acquired.  The Wall Street Journal reported these acquisitions:

•  Colorado: CNOOC gained a one-third stake in 800,000 acres in northeast Colorado and southwest Wyoming in a $1.27 billion pact with Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

•  Louisiana: Sinopec ( a Chinese state-owned super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group) has a one-third interest in 265,000 acres in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale after a broader $2.5 billion deal with Devon Energy.

•  Michigan: Sinopec gained a one-third interest in 350,000 acres in a larger $2.5 billion deal with Devon Energy.

•  Ohio: Sinopec acquired a one-third interest in Devon Energy’s 235,000 Utica Shale acres in a larger $2.5 billion deal.

•  Oklahoma: Sinopec has a one-third interest in 215,000 acres in a broader $2.5 billion deal with Devon Energy.

•  Texas: CNOOC acquired a one-third interest in Chesapeake Energy’s 600,000 acres in the Eagle Ford Shale in a $2.16-billion deal.

•  Wyoming: CNOOC has a one-third stake in northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming after a $1.27 billion pact with Chesapeake Energy. Sinopec gained a one-third interest in Devon Energy’s 320,000 acres as part of a larger $2.5 billion deal.

     So let me get this straight ... if China buys one-third interest in all these companies, and the U.S. economy flatlines and these companies go broke, guess who will be ready and willing to buy out their interests?  See how my conspiratorial mind works?

     But China has not limited themselves to the U.S.  In December, Forbes Magazine reported that the Canadian government approved China’s biggest overseas energy acquisition, a $15.1 billion takeover of Nexen Inc. by CNOOC Ltd., China's state-owned and largest offshore driller.  In case that doesn't impress you, Nexen is the second-largest oil producer in the U.K. North Sea.  But lest you think China has limited their acquisitions to the North American continent, let me point out that China has invested in 49 of the 54 countries that make up the African continent.  They haven't limited their business deals to strictly oil and natural gas, however; they have bought sizable interests in a Metal Mining company in Zambia, and a cement plant in Nigeria.  An estimated 2,180 Chinese companies, many of them privately owned, are doing over 7,800 projects in Africa currently.

     So if you were skeptical about China's long-term goals before, I'm betting you've had a change of mind after reading these statistics.  You won't see these moves being touted in your local newspaper, but make no mistake --- China is playing this chess game to win.  And our government doesn't appear to give a damn.

Exodus 15:9     "The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ "

     

     

   

The Controversial Subject of Fracking

    I overheard an interview with documentary filmmakers Phelim McAleer (UK) and Ann McElhinney (Canada) that piqued my interest.  These two filmmakers have a history of tackling controversial subjects and fearlessly questioning the core premise of a position.
     Their 2006 documentary Mine Your Own Business, examined the Roșia Montană mining project in Transylvania, Romania.  Environmental groups such as Greenpeace opposed the project, and the documentary asserted that opposition by such environmental groups was unsympathetic to the needs and desires of the locals.   They further maintained that opposition prevented industrial progress, and consequently locked the people of the area into lives of poverty. The film claimed that the majority of the people of the village supported the mine and the investment in their hometown.
     They produced a similar documentary in 2009, titled Not Evil Just Wrong, that challenged Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, by suggesting that the evidence of global warming is inconclusive and that global-warming legislation will have a negative impact on industry, resulting in more harm than benefits for the human population.

     McAleer and McElhinney have now been joined by Polish documentarian Magdalena Segieda, in a new film, titled FrackNation.  The project began as an answer to the anti-fracking documentary Gasland, by Josh Fox.  Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) is a process by which oil and natural gas are extracted from the ground; it has been around for decades.  Fracking makes it possible to produce natural gas extraction in shale plays that were once unreachable with conventional technologies. Recent advancements in drilling technology, such as three dimensional imaging, helps scientists determine the precise locations for drilling.  Highly pressurized water and fracking fluids are injected into the shale areas, creating new channels within the rock from which natural gas is extracted at higher than traditional rates.  The well is then cased with cement to ensure groundwater protection.
     In Gasland, Josh Fox asserted that this process was so dangerous, that it was poisoning the water, even making it flammable.  In the making of their documentary, McAleer and his partners confronted Fox on this position, pointing out that water has been lit for centuries (the French explorer La Salle was shown the "Burning Springs" by Seneca Indians in 1669).  Mr. Fox was momentarily able to censor this information from the internet, by having the subsequent video of this confrontation removed first from YouTube, and then Vimeo.  But the law was on the side of McAleer and the video is once again up on YouTube.
     The object of FrackNation, as in their previous videos, is to show both sides of the argument.  Environmental groups never show the opinions of the locals that are most affected by these issues. And to be honest, the environmentalists always seem to have a hidden agenda behind their viewpoints.  I am just as concerned as the next person about approaching drilling and the new technology with an eye on how it will affect our environment and lands for future generations.  But the hypocrisy of such "protectors of the environment", as actor Matt Damon, is laughable.  He recently made a film, called Promised Land, which purportedly explored the alleged damage fracking caused both the environment and local communities.  But how can you trust his opinion after discovering that he received funding from the United Arab Emirates, who stand to make billions of dollars in oil if fracking is banned here in America.

     On the other hand, locals who are making hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars themselves from leasing portions of their lands to the oil and gas industry, are subject to suspicion, too.  I have personally seen the favorable impact on families who were on the brink of losing their family farms.  Once, they felt forced to sell their land to housing developers to avoid bankruptcy; now they are the beneficiaries of an economic boom that could allow the US to be energy self-sufficient.  Fracking holds the promise of ensuring cheap energy for generations to come.  Obviously, the locals might have a prejudicial opinion, considering the positive economic impact drilling has brought to their families.
     It is hard to know who is telling the truth.  Environmentalists have a visceral hatred for the oil and gas industry, wanting to enslave us to the UN and Agenda 21-style "sustainable energy programs."  But who would that benefit?  "Green energy" sources such as solar, electrical and wind will simply not sustain our economy.  Is this agenda being pushed just to make money for those individual such as Al Gore and Jeffrey Imelt (GE) who have so heavily invested in what they thought would be "the next big thing"?
     I have heard it said that the explosion of Natural Gas exploration in the US is what is keeping Wall Street and our economy afloat.  I tend to agree with that.  Millions of jobs and billions in revenue have been the result.  And it just seems natural to exploit the stupendous reserves we have within our own borders.  Why would we want to pay some Arab sheik for oil, when we have a cheap source of energy right here at home?   And just maybe, the Good Lord in His role of Creator of the Universe, allowed all that natural gas to form for just such a time as this.
     Yet I can't seem to find answers to questions such as "How does fracking affect our levels of underground water?" I'm not so much concerned about pollution of the water (that problem seems to be eliminated), as I am about the volume of water needed to reach the natural gas.  Seeing the country all around me suffering from a debilitating drought makes this a sensitive issue for me.  But I will admit to ignorance on the actual impact and perhaps someone else can enlighten us.
     In the end, I am happy to see documentary filmmakers such as McAleer and friends, who are willing to probe both sides of this important issue.  The one thing I know for sure is that we can't trust the EPA or the UN for honest appraisals.  Our economy and our energy needs will benefit greatly from fracking and the natural gas industry.  We just need to make sure those rewards are balanced by sound conservation policies and protection of water supplies.

FrackNation, the documentary, will appear January 22, at 9 pm ET, on www.axs.tv.  Dish Network and DirecTV will also carry it.

Psalm 85:11-12        "Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.  Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce."

Did You Miss The Latest Executive Order?

     If you are politically minded, you might have been watching Mitt Romney's acceptance speech last Thursday night.  Or if politics and the Republicans aren't your thing, then you could have been involved in any number of family, entertainment, or recreational pastimes.  But chances are, none of you knew that another Presidential Executive Order had been issued.  This one is called Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency.
     Before we even begin tackling what this EO means for "we the people", let's take a look at the opening sentence of the official White House statement:  "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote American manufacturing by helping to facilitate investments in energy efficiency at industrial facilities, it is hereby ordered as follows"....
     OK, I know I've tipped my hand, but anybody else notice that this statement is not exactly accurate? First of all, the Constitution does not give the President of the United States authority to bypass Congress in ordering any initiatives!  And if you actually read the Executive Order, you will find an awful lot of language that "encourages" development, adoption and investment to expand the use of combined heat and power (CHP) facilities, which generate thermal and generating power in a single process.

     The idea behind this EO is supposedly to urge cleaner and more efficient energy production in this country.  Now, what's wrong with that?  We'd all like cleaner air and lower costs, right?  But what is hidden in the phrasing and the intent of this Executive Order is that there has been considerable opposition to climate change legislation (which used to be known as global warming; until it had to be changed to global cooling).  In other words, the government is frustrated that it has not been able to pass legislation in a legitimate, Constitutional manner, so according to the language in the EO, The Federal Government has limited but important authorities to overcome these barriers, and our efforts to support investment in industrial energy efficiency and CHP should involve coordinated engagement with a broad set of stakeholders, including States, manufacturers, utilities, and others. 
     What we are being told is that this order (remember, it is not legislation) will save energy users $10 billion per year, result in $40 to $80 billion in new capital investment in manufacturing and other facilities that would create American jobs, and would reduce emissions equivalent to 25 million cars.  What it really means is that the order dictates that the Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency coordinate their actions to provide “policy and technical assistance” to states in order to ensure energy efficiency targets are being met.
     As you know, I am highly skeptical of the significance of "green jobs" and the "green industry", in general.  Has everyone forgotten Solyndra?  They always promise an abundance of jobs and a great return on the investment, but the underlying facts are that this mandate from the highest office in the land will create HUGE expenditures by utilities and energy companies to change the way they process energy.  And guess who those costs are going to be passed on to?  Does anyone really think that city and state utilities (let alone the consumer!) can afford these changes at this time?  And they only have eight years to accomplish it!
     No one will argue that we need to do things better; more effectively and efficiently to accommodate our changing way of life and our growing population.  But to usurp the rights and the powers of the individual states by "encouraging" that they comply with the EPA is not my idea of the best solution.
     And if this isn't enough to make your skin crawl, there is another small line tucked away in the midst of all the technicalities of the EO.  It says the purpose of the order is "to encourage efforts to accelerate investment in industrial energy efficiency by improving the usefulness of Federal data collection and analysis.   So you think that rolling brown-outs and black-outs are a nuisance now.  Just wait until the Federal Government collects the data that allows them to determine if your State (or you!) have used too much energy.
     The message is clear:  if the "Green Industries" can't get legislation passed the Constitutional way, then they will go around this "barrier" anyway they can as they seek to expand participation, whether we like it or not.  Utilities will be told how to process energy, households will be limited to established levels of consumption, and there will be many more Solyndras.  "Lights out" is an inevitable reality.

Psalm 90:8     "You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. "