Texas

TexasTowelie

(112,122 posts) Sun Mar 3, 2013, 04:32 AM Mar 2013

New discoveries of natural gas compete directly with alternative energy

New discoveries of natural gas compete directly with alternative energy, mostly in the realm of electricity production.

Most of the electric plants in Texas are powered with natural gas, and natural gas prices are low thanks to formations such as the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.

“With the natural gas boom and especially natural gas prices, (electricity is) going to stay very, very, inexpensive to where it has been in the past,” said State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. “Gas is very cheap, which is good news for electric customers, but it is probably bad news for the renewables because they have a lot of trouble being competitive.”

Sustaining wind energy at the moment are federal production tax credits, which had been set to expire in December but were extended for a year at the last minute.

More at http://www.caller.com/news/2013/mar/02/renewable-energy-lege-fdgdf-dfgdf-dfgdf-deck/ .

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New discoveries of natural gas compete directly with alternative energy (Original Post) TexasTowelie Mar 2013 OP

I will never understand the claim that a power plant that uses fuel you must buy, mbperrin Mar 2013 #1

mbperrin

(7,672 posts)

1. I will never understand the claim that a power plant that uses fuel you must buy,

Reply to TexasTowelie (Original post)

Sun Mar 3, 2013, 12:59 PM

Mar 2013

even "cheap" fuel (forget all that global warming scare, eh?), can possibly be cheaper to run than a power plant that runs on (actually) free wind and sunshine.

And this Fraser character, who hates alternatives, obviously, is in a position to hurt renewables and gets press saying stupid shit like he says.

WHYY does he not mention that the oil industry receives, has received for a hundred years, billions in subsidies annually, including ExxonMobil to the tune of $4 billion last year? The oil gluttons always hate that there are some tax breaks for alternatives, forgetting that they give the environment a break as well.

Right now, in spite of the bastards, Texas is #1 in wind energy. Unless they start dynamiting the towers, I believe that will continue, but it gets my blood pressure up.

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