OPINION:
As America’s chosen leader, President Biden has committed the United States “to lead by example” along an ambitious course toward achieving a clean-energy economy, pronto. Reducing energy usage that produces carbon emissions is one thing; replacing the energy lost in the “green” conversion is another. Unfortunately, the president has failed to show how the nation can accomplish both goals simultaneously without risking a collision with energy deficiency.
Mr. Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order directing the federal government to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, including 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030. The order includes directives to purchase only zero-emissions light-duty trucks for government use by 2027 and make all federal vehicles zero-emissions by 2035. Additionally, federal buildings are expected to achieve a 50% reduction in emissions by 2032, and the feds’ entire building portfolio should reach net-zero emissions by 2045.
The big energy picture illustrates the difficulty in fashioning a carbon-free economy. Total U.S. primary energy consumption for 2020 measured 92.9 quadrillion British thermal units (or “quads”), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Fossil fuels, which generate those hated carbon emissions as a byproduct, make up a preponderant, 79% of the nation’s energy consumption. Nuclear power contributes 9% to the total, and renewal sources add the remaining 12%.
Were Americans one and all to join the Biden “green” revolution, they would need to replace 73.4 carbon-laden quads with some extremely potent substitutes. Though clean, nuclear power is out of fashion and thus out of the question, leaving only renewables to carry the load. Solar panels and wind turbines generate 4.3 quads of power, and hydroelectric and biomass add another 7 quads. All told, the entire inventory of renewal fuels currently falls vanishingly short of fulfilling the nation’s energy needs.
Mr. Biden’s executive order means Americans are likely to witness a government-run energy shift with, among other things, federal employees tooling around in battery-powered electric vehicles. If too many of their neighbors follow suit, though, the nation’s supply of juice would soon dry up. That’s because 90 percent of the nation’s transportation-sector fuel — 24.2 quads annually — comes from petroleum. Replacing all that liquid energy with plug-in power would require a 40% boost to the nation’s current electricity usage of 35.7 quads.
Of course, going clean won’t happen with the flip of a switch. Before the president’s new orders, the EIA was predicting U.S. electricity requirements would only rise by less than 1% annually between 2020 and 2050. A Biden-ordered charge away from fossil fuels — particularly in transportation — could overwhelm the nation’s projected electricity generation capacity.
Fortunately, worldwide carbon-dioxide emissions have been flat for a decade, according to the Global Carbon Project, undercutting the rationale for drastic measures. Americans shouldn’t play “follow the leader” with “President Carbon-Free-Wannabe Biden.” Doing so would risk a collision with reality in the form of energy deficiency.
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