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Steve Goreham: The great wind and solar land grab

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Steve Goreham: The great wind and solar land grab

By STEVE GOREHAM | THE WESTERN JOURNAL

Which is more environmentally friendly, an energy source that uses one unit of land to produce one unit of electricity, or a source that uses 100 units of land to produce one unit of electricity?

The answer should be obvious. Nevertheless, green energy advocates call for a huge expansion of wind, solar, and other renewables that use vast amounts of land to replace traditional power plants that use comparatively small amounts of land. 

Vaclav Smil, professor emeritus of the University of Manitoba in Canada, extensively analyzed the power density of alternative sources used to generate electricity. He defined the power density of an electrical power source as the average flow of electricity generated per square meter of horizontal surface (land or sea area). The area measurement to estimate power density is complex. Smil included plant area, storage yards, mining sites, agricultural fields, pipelines and transportation, and other associated land and sea areas in his analysis.

Smil’s work allows us to compare the energy density of electricity sources. If we set the output of a nuclear plant to one unit of land required for one unit of electricity output, then a natural gas-powered plant requires about 0.8 units of land to produce the same one unit of output. A coal-fired plant uses about 1.4 units of land to deliver an average output of one unit of power.

But renewable sources require vastly more land. A stand-alone solar facility requires about 100 units of land to deliver the same average electricity output of a nuclear plant that uses one unit of land. A wind facility uses about 35 units of land if only the concrete wind tower pads and the service roads are counted, but over 800 units of land for the entire area spanned by a typical wind installation. Production of electricity from biomass suffers the poorest energy density, requiring over 1,500 units of land to output one unit of electricity.

As a practical example, compare the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the eastern California desert to the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant near Avila Beach, California. The Ivanpah facility produces an average of about 793 gigawatt-hours per year and covers an area of 3,500 acres. The Diablo Canyon facility generates about 16,165 gigawatt-hours per year on a surface area of 750 acres. The nuclear plant delivers more than 20 times the average output on about one-fifth of the land, or 100 times the power density of the solar facility.

Steve Goreham: Green energy — the greatest wealth transfer to the rich in history

To approach 100 percent renewable electricity using primarily wind and solar systems, the land requirements are gigantic. “Net-Zero America,” a 2020 study published by Princeton University, calls for wind and solar to supply 50 percent of US electricity by 2050, up from about 14 percent today. The study estimated that this expansion would require about 228,000 square miles of new land (590,000 square kilometers), not including the additional area needed for transmission lines. This is an area larger than the combined area of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

This area would be more than 100 times as large as the physical footprint of the coal and natural gas power systems that would be replaced.

The land taken for wind and solar can seriously impact the environment. Stand-alone solar systems blanket fields and deserts, blocking sunlight and radically changing the ecosystem, and driving out plants and animals.

Since 2000, almost 16 million trees have been cut down in Scotland to make way for wind turbines, a total of more than 1,700 trees felled per day. This environmental devastation will increase the longer Net Zero goals are pursued.

Wind and solar are dilute energy. They require vast amounts of land to generate the electricity required by modern society. Without fears about human-caused global warming, wind and solar systems would be considered environmentally damaging.

Net-zero plans for 2050, powered by wind and solar, will encounter obstacles with transmission, zoning, local opposition, and just plain space that are probably impossible to overcome.

Steve Goreham is a speaker on energy, the environment, and public policy and the author of the new book “Green Breakdown: The Coming Renewable Energy Failure.” This column first appeared in The Western Journal.

Mat-Su teachers’ union approves contract

Suzanne Downing
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Mat-Su teachers’ union approves contract

With less than three weeks of summer vacation remaining, the Mat-Su Education Association, the union that represents teachers and other employees in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, has approved an agreement with the Mat-Su Borough School Board.

The union had authorized a strike in May if a new contract could not be hammered out.​

According to details obtained by Must Read Alaska, the agreement gives teachers a 3% raise and changes terms relating to the health insurance package. The district had offered a 2% raise during negotiations. The new contract will go through 2026.

The new contract was approved by over 72% of those members voting. 27.41% voted against the contract. About 1,030 of the 1,226 union members voted.

MSEA represents 3,400 teachers and support staff and has been without a contract since last year. The teachers’ union, an affiliate of the National Education Association, is suffering from a marked decline in membership since the Janus decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allows public employees to work without having to join a public employee union. Now, more than 35% of all Alaska public employees have opted out of paying the unions that represent them.

The Mat-Su Borough School Board will vote on the agreement on Aug. 2 at its regular meeting. School in the Mat-Su Valley starts on Aug. 15.

Five years since Janus decision, 35% of Alaska public workers opt out of union dues

Sullivan Arena details announced: Mayor opens it back up as venue

Suzanne Downing
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Sullivan Arena details announced: Mayor opens it back up as venue

Mayor Dave Bronson announced details of his decision to move the Sullivan Arena back to the use for which taxpayers paid: A venue for events such as sporting competition and .

He said the Municipality of Anchorage had signed an agreement with O’Malley Ice and Sports, which is already running the Ben Boeke and Dempsey Arenas. As the Boeke and Dempsey returned to use as ice arenas, the revenue to the city has returned to the 2017 and 2018 levels, Bronson said.

Under the agreement, O’Malley Ice and Sports is essentially renting the Sullivan to develop entertainment, trade shows, and other uses. John Stenehjem, who is the general manager of O’Malley Ice and Sports, will oversee the redevelopment of the arena.

The damage to the restrooms and the plumbing system that occurred while the building was occupied by the hardcore vagrant population under the Berkowitz Administration has been fixed and the building should be available by Nov. 1.

“This building is in remarkably good shape,” said Bronson, adding that the parking lot will be repainted with stripes soon and there is some glass that still needs to be repaired. The sound system is from the 1980s, he said, and at some point will need to be replaced.

The cold-weather plan for the homeless will be announced next week but will not include the Sullivan.

When asked by reporters what he will do to address the increasing number of street deaths in Anchorage, the mayor said that the recent deaths are not caused by exposure and that most of the deaths occurred after the Sullivan Arena was closed as a shelter in May.

A lot of the street deaths “are drug-related and alcohol abuse, fentanyl, we suspect, the indicators, it looks like fentanyl,” Bronson said. “”Winter is going to add to that unless, quite frankly, the assembly comes up with a shelter.”

Mayor Bronson had earlier announced his plan to give people plane tickets so they can either move back with their families or head to a warm climate. Assembly Chairman Chris Constant called that a bad idea, since he believes that Anchorage is Dena’ina-owned property, and Natives should not be invited to leave.

Bronson said, “We’ve spent $161 million in homelessness in this city. But we do not have a shelter. We need a shelter,” People are “better off living on the street in a wam climate than they are dying on the streets of Anchorage because of exposure.”

The Anchorage Assembly has blocked the mayor from being able to address the homeless situation. The Assembly blocked his development of a purpose-built structure that would serve the homeless as a navigation center. The Assembly instead has used homelessness as a political battering ram against a mayor that they openly despise, knowing that, with the help of the mainstream media in Anchorage, a crisis in homelessness over the winter could tilt the vote against the mayor in the March-April 2024 election.

Alaska fights EPA over confiscating mining property from state

Suzanne Downing
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Alaska fights EPA over confiscating mining property from state

Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority over a sizable piece of Alaskan land in Western Alaska — land that contains the Pebble deposit.

The state contends that the EPA’s restrictions effectively converted 309 square miles of state property into a national park without the state’s consent, an act which it describes as “confiscating State property.”

In January 2023, the EPA issued a final determination, commonly known as a 404(c) veto, under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, prohibiting any future permits for mining operations in a specific region surrounding the Pebble deposit in Southwest Alaska.

The veto was targeted at not only the proposed Pebble Mine under a 2020 mining plan, but any future mining endeavors within the demarcated area. This act has curtailed Alaska’s ability to govern its natural resources, leading to the current legal contention.

“An original action, where a case is heard directly by the Supreme Court instead of first progressing through the lower courts, is an extraordinary ask, but it’s appropriate given the extraordinary decision being challenged,” explained Attorney General Taylor.

The brief filed emphasizes Alaska’s unique dependence on its lands for its economic health. It also points out the state’s constitutional obligation to ensure the maximum benefit from its natural resources for its people.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision, highlighting the crucial role of Alaskan natural resources in supporting the state’s population. He criticized the federal authorities in Washington D.C., claiming they were stifling open discussion regarding the matter.

The concern over EPA’s authority isn’t confined to the mining industry. Attorney General Taylor warned that if the EPA can bypass state and federal permitting processes using vague terms and subjective standards, it could potentially obstruct even smaller projects, such as family housing.

Commissioners of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources also voiced their grievances. They argue that their established processes were not respected by the EPA and that the agency’s actions disregard Alaska’s entitlement to manage its own resources under the cooperative federalism framework of the Clean Water Act.

Alaska is now seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court that the EPA’s veto is unlawful and is calling for an order to set it aside and enjoin its enforcement.

Speaker Cathy Tilton’s bill signed by Dunleavy: Alaska governments can’t shut down gun stores during declared emergencies

Suzanne Downing
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Speaker Cathy Tilton’s bill signed by Dunleavy: Alaska governments can’t shut down gun stores during declared emergencies

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Saturday signed a bill that prevents state or local governments in Alaska from shuttering gun and ammunition stores during a declared emergency. The bill signing took place at the shooting range behind Arctic Ammo and Reloading Supplies in Wasilla.

HB 61, sponsored by House Speaker Cathy Tilton, points out that in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Municipality of Anchorage under Mayor Ethan Berkowitz arbitrarily closed firearms retail stores for several days.

Some gun stores refused, setting up a constitutionally based tension between Mayor Berkowitz and the small business community. At the same time, Berkowitz allowed cannabis stores and liquor stores to remain open during the time when he closed firearm stores.

HB 61 reaffirms Alaskans’ right to survive and protect themselves, along with their rights granted to them through the Second Amendment. The bill stipulates that the state, municipalities, and other instrumentalities of the state may not implement new restrictions to access firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, firearms accessories, or shooting ranges during disaster declarations.

“During a disaster emergency declared under AS 26.23.020, the governor, a state agency, or a municipality may not issue or adopt an order, proclamation, regulation, ordinance, or policy forbidding the possession, use, or transfer of a firearm, a firearm part, a firearm accessory, ammunition, or other weapon for personal use; ordering the seizure or confiscation of a firearm, a firearm part, a firearm accessory, ammunition, or other weapon for personal use; limiting the quantity or placing other restrictions on the sale or service of firearms, firearm parts, firearm accessories, ammunition, or other weapons for personal use,” the new law reads in part.

“It is unfortunate that a state that is proudly 2A like Alaska had to pass this bill,” said Tilton during her introductory remarks to the crowd of about 40 who had gathered for the signing of the bill into law. “We shouldn’t even have to legislate this kind of a thing.”

Tilton said that if it is not put in state law, another person in authority could abuse their powers in the future.

Gov. Dunleavy then said that the Second Amendment is not an afterthought in America. While he visited Europe recently, he observed that in those countries, it’s the government that has the guns to control the people. In America, it’s the people who are armed, he noted … “the people that run the show, that supposedly we run the government, we remind the government who’s in charge.”

Citizens who are paying attention to current events can see that “all of our rights are under siege,” Dunleavy continued. “It’s our right to bear arms, and there’s a reason for that, it’s the history of our country. We have to be always on guard because our rights could disappear at any moment.”

HB 61 also provides a civil remedy to Alaskans, should any of those entities adopt statutes, ordinances, or policies in violation of the provisions of this bill.

Nothing in HB 61 limits the state, municipalities, and other instrumentalities from regulating firearms or their use within previously established constitutional and statutory boundaries.

Co-sponsors of the measure in the House and Senate included Reps. Kevin McCabe, Sarah Vance, Craig Johnson, Ben Carpenter, Mike Prax, Stanley Wright, George Rauscher, Tom McKay, Mike Cronk, Justin Ruffridge, Dan Saddler, Laddie Shaw, Frank Tomaszewski, Jessie Sumner, Jamie Allard, Julie Coulombe, Neal Foster, DeLena Johnson, and Will Stapp. Senators supporting the measure were Sens. Jessie Bjorkman, Robert Myers, Scott Kawasaki, Shelley Hughes, James Kaufman, David Wilson, Kelly Merrick, Bert Stedman, Click Bishop, Cathy Giessel, and Mike Shower.

Watch the bill-signing ceremony here:

Mayor Berkowitz’ order says pot, liquor stores can stay open, but gun shops to close
Berkowitz vs. the People

David Blackmon: Texas should look north to Alaska to see what happens when feds shut down production

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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David Blackmon: Texas should look north to Alaska to see what happens when feds shut down production

By DAVID BLACKMON | DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION

What would happen to Texas if it’s the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to restrict its oil and gas industry were to succeed?

What would happen to the Texas budget and economy if, say, the proposed endangered species listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard or Environmental Protection Agency’s threat to hold the entire Permian Basin in violation of ozone standards had the impact of cutting production of oil and gas in half?

What has been happening in Alaska in recent years could provide a real-world example. Biden’s anti-energy policies have played a big role in leaving that state with a big budget hole, and some proposals to address the problem could place the state on a path to a California-like high-tax, slow-growth economy. (RELATED: DAVID BLACKMON: Here’s What Our Climate Overlords Fail To Understand About Fossil Fuels)

Alaska has been viewed over the years as a wealthy state sporting big state budget surpluses. The tax, leasing and royalty revenues coming from oil and gas have annually exceeded the true needs of state government, enabling it to pay an annual dividend to residents from the surplus. The bonus for 2022 came to $3,284 per person, in fact.

But here’s the thing: the energy and mining sectors not only pay for the dividend, their taxes account for two-thirds of the state’s revenues. That easy money has led to easy budget decisions, and per capita state and local spending is the highest in the nation at more than $17,000. That is twice as much as the state of Florida, whose economy is booming.

Rather than cut spending, some in the legislature want to tax more — much more. Proposals include an income tax, something Alaska has never had, ranking as one of just nine states without one. Also, a new state sales tax, a 40% increase in the fees charged to oil and gas producers and other potential “revenue raisers” are on the table. Another proposal would tax small oil producers at the same rate as major producers, dealing a blow to the independent energy sector.

The proposal to effectively increase state oil taxes by $3 per barrel would raise $2.5 billion over 10 years, according to some estimates. But the analysis specifically did not include changes to behavior of oil companies in response to the tax hike. And that is not prudent. Such a major tax increase would certainly result in lower drilling and development activity in the state.

From 2007 to 2013, Alaska used an oil tax system that produced effective rates of more than 90%. All over the world, oil production boomed during this time of high commodity prices, but production in Alaska fell by 300,000 barrels per day in one 6-month period and was projected to drop another 200,000 before the system was scrapped.

Under the new system, production has not declined. Instead of losing money as it was under the previous system, the state made $1.8 billion.

Fortunately, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican who won by 26 points in 2022, is unlikely to go on the taxing spree being considered by the legislature. He has a reputation as a fiscal conservative and has promised residents he would not raise taxes without a referendum.

As New York and California have proven, states cannot tax their way to prosperity. This is especially true in the energy sector. What Alaska needs is to get on with extracting its resources and to put its budget right by putting its people to work.

The Bottom Line

We saw a similar dynamic at play in Texas’s legislative session this year, as the booming oil and gas industry gifted state officials with a record budget surplus of $33 billion to start the session. The danger for Texas and other booming oil states is what happens when the boom ends. When that happens, state officials will be faced with the same hard decisions on taxing and spending Alaska officials are dealing with today.

The regulations and red tape from the Biden administration are by design serving to make the situation for Alaska even more difficult to resolve. They are putting Alaskans out of work and making them more dependent on state government while simultaneously reducing state revenues.

Let’s hope Alaska can devise an effective way out of this mess, because it is a mess that is likely coming to other oil and gas states as the Biden policies continue to take hold.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Juneau ballot set for Oct. 3 election

Suzanne Downing
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Juneau ballot set for Oct. 3 election

The filing period for Juneau citywide elections on Oct. 3 ended on July 24. While the deadline to withdraw was 4:30 pm Friday, July 28, the city website has not been updated since Thursday, July 27 at 11:10 am. It is usually updated before 5 pm on Friday.

Areawide Assembly member – Two open seats, no incumbents, (one 3-year term, one 2-year term)

  • Paul R. Kelly
  • Ivan Nance
  • Nathaniel (Nano) Brooks
  • JoAnn Wallace
  • Ella Adkison
  • Michele Stuart-Morgan
  • Emily Mesch
  • Dorene Lorenz
  • Laura Martinson McDonnell
  • Jeff Jones

Assembly District 1 – One open seat (3-year term)

  • Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, incumbent
  • Joe Geldhof

Assembly District 2 – One open seat (3-year term)

  • Christine Woll
  • David L. Morris

Two open seats on the Board of Education. (Both seats for a 3-year term)

  • Paige Sipniewski
  • Britteny Cioni-Haywood
  • David H. Noon
  • Brian Holst, incumbent, withdrew on Thursday

In addition to candidates, the Assembly is placing a question on the ballot about taxpayers paying for a new city hall. The Assembly is spending $50,000 of taxpayer money to advocate for the measure that failed at the polls last year.

Wasilla election filing deadline passes, and here are the candidates who filed

Suzanne Downing
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Wasilla election filing deadline passes, and here are the candidates who filed

Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford will appear on the Oct. 3 Wasilla ballot for reelection, and as of Friday’s close of business, Bernadette Rupright is her only challenger. Rupright has not yet filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, as of this writing, but appears as a candidate with the city clerk’s official list.

Filing for Wasilla City Council seat C was Timothy Johnson. He is the incumbent, first elected in 2020, and no one filed to oppose him.

Filing for Wasilla City Council Seat D is Simon Brown II, and Ian Crafton. Brown is the incumbent, serving since 2020. Crafton is running on a pro-business and pro-family platform.

The lack of multiple candidates means there will be no runoff this election. Normally, if no candidate for mayor receives more than 40% of the votes cast, a “runoff election” is held between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in Wasilla. To vote by mail, follow the instructions at this link.

The deadline to withdraw a candidacy is 4 p.m. on Aug. 4. The deadline to register to vote in the Wasilla election is Sept. 3. Early in-person voting starts on Sept. 18.

Why isn’t Robert F. Kennedy being given Secret Service protection?

Suzanne Downing
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Why isn’t Robert F. Kennedy being given Secret Service protection?

Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pointed out the lack of security given to him by the Biden Administration, as he mounts a challenge to President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party nomination.

Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, took his concerns to social media last week, saying the Department of Homeland Security denied his request for Secret Service protection.

“Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection. But not me,” Kennedy wrote on X. “Our campaign’s request included a 67-page report from the world’s leading protection firm, detailing unique and well established security and safety risks aside from commonplace death threats.”

In addition to his own father’s assassination, his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963.

Not all candidates are afforded protection, but the high-profile candidates are, although it’s up to the Secret Service. The Homeland Security secretary, in consultation with an advisory committee of the House and Senate, determines which candidates are considered leading candidates.

Typically, the leading candidates have Secret Service protection in the last 120 days of the election cycle. The presidential election is more than a year away, but the Democrats’ South Carolina primary is just 189 days from July 29.

Kennedy said his request to the agency went unanswered for 88 and that finally Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas responded and said “that Secret Service protection for Robert F Kennedy Jr is not warranted at this time.” 

Some say Kennedy has no chance against party-backed Joe Biden. But he has overall high favorability, much higher than other leading candidates, according to a Harvard/Harris poll for Newsweek last week. If the election was a winner-takes-all popularity poll, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would win.

During the 2020 race, NPR wrote that it is mostly up to the candidates to ask for protection from the Secret Service.

In a story that wondered why the Secret Service wasn’t assigned to candidates Sen. Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, NPR linked an explanation from the Secret Service, which has since been removed from the agency’s page.

That statement said: “Following a candidate’s formal request, the bi-partisan Candidate Protection Advisory Committee, which consists of the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate and an additional member selected by the committee, makes a recommendation to inform the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security.”

At that point in March of 2020, neither Biden nor Sanders had requested protection.

The Secret Service has also yet to be assigned to protect Joe Biden’s seventh grandchild, 4-year-old Navy Joan Roberts, who the president finally acknowledged on Friday night after coming under intense criticism for pretending she doesn’t exist.

People: Joe Biden finally acknowledges seventh grandchild
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