Chuck and Sam on Renewable Energy Amidst the UK's Winter Struggles
Episode 166: Henry Olsen Unplugged: Inside Trump, Biden, and the Political Spectacle
Chuck and Sam delve into the constraints of renewable energy, drawing from the current situation in the UK where renewable energy struggles to meet escalating demands for home heating. Their discussion navigates the challenges and complexities surrounding UK's energy crisis, shedding light on the limitations of renewable energy amidst surging energy needs.
Listen at 49 minutes and 12 seconds:
CHUCK WARREN:
So, as we all know, dear listeners, I'm subscription poor, so I have some English newspapers I subscribe to, and this was in today's Telegraph.
SAM STONE:
Chuck subscribes to literally everything on the planet, and he sends me these links, like 15 links a day that I can't access. I'm like, okay.
CHUCK WARREN:
And I tell Sam to stop being cheap.But here it is in the Telegraph today. Britain's gas network has already hit full capacity as renewable energy fails to generate the power needed to heat UK homes. For those who don't know what UK is, it's called the United Kingdom.
Jon Butterworth, chief executive of National Gas, said demand for gas-fired power stations would be maxed out from today, folks, it's December 1st, through the weekend.
So, when you ever hear this garbage that renewable energies can take care of us, they have Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, who's basically going to have people freeze to death in four years. You need to pay attention to this.
Now, Sam and I have said this. Both you and I are like, look, we need to do everything in the book, throw everything at the wall for energy independence and renewables are part of it.
But you're not going to get rid of gas, you're not going to get rid of nuclear, you're not going to get rid of coal. It's crazy if you think that's going to happen. How do you think you get these electric cars charged?
SAM STONE:
I mean, this is the thing I think a lot of people don't understand. And I think if you broke down with most Republicans where they are on this, we're not opposed to what people are calling renewable energy at all. What we're opposed to is destabilizing the grid and driving the price through the roof so that people can't afford it or can't heat their homes and can't even get the gas.
CHUCK WARREN:
Jon Butterworth said freezing temperatures mean energy demands have soared in recent days.Again, folks, it's December 1st today, okay? And he said they're having low wind output.
So, if you're counting on wind farms… wind is important.
SAM STONE:
Actually, so this is something from growing up in the North. Really cold days tend not to be super windy. Like really cold days tend not to be super windy because the air is so heavy.
CHUCK WARREN:
Right, it doesn't blow.So according to the National Gas and the National Grid in the UK, the UK is reliant on gas for up to two-thirds of electricity. So that means this isn't even a majority. The renewables aren't even a majority, it's a third and it can't meet the needs of the people in the UK for a very cold weekend.
I just want to be realistic about if you're trying to make this transfer, you have to have the ability to keep people's lights and their heat on. You cannot go down this road. You gotta have a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C.
Listen to Chuck and Sam on the bonus segment of this week’s episode of Breaking Battlegrounds!
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Telegraph article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/11/30/gas-network-maximum-capacity-cold-snap-hits