Best Energy Picks - January 4, 2025

Readers pass along a lot of stuff every week about natural gas, fractivist antics, emissions, renewables, and other news relating to energy.

Jan 04, 2025

This week’s best energy picks:

The Green Energy Transition in Denmark Has Predictably Collapsed

Denmark went all in on net zero and now faces the reality:

Last week, Brian Vad Mathiesen one of Denmark’s leading professors in 100% renewable energy systems, sounded the alarm over possible power shortages. Ironically, he’s one of the same individuals that for many years recommended a 100% RE system.
This 100% RE system represents the kind of academic tabletop exercise that has led us to this outcome.
This comes after the Danish TSO Energinet published its annual report on Security of Supply, which makes the argument: In the future Denmark will face serve power needs.
Denmark is also expected to have the lowest domestic security of supply in the future. In 2034 Energinet expects domestic production in Denmark only being able to cover around 25-40% of its consumption in the most critical hour...

In 20-30% of the year Denmark will need to import electricity from its neighbors to keep on the lights.
In some hours Denmark will need to import between 7-11 GW of electricity in 2034. Today the maximum import requirements in Denmark are between 1-3 GW.
The recommendation by Mathiesen would be to extend the biomass fired power plants in Denmark long into the 2030’s to secure supply.
This is quite ironic as Mathiesen and his colleagues have fought against nuclear energy on Danish soil for centuries…
If all this wasn’t enough for the Danish green transition to shake, last week the Danish energy department announced that not a single company wants to build offshore wind in the Danish North Sea.
For the last decade Danish politicians and lobbyists in the wind sector have guaranteed that offshore wind wouldn’t need state subsidies.

It was all so predictable, wasn’t it?

Hat Tip: S.H.

US LNG Is Now Providing Ukraine with A Measure of Energy Security

This is interesting and is likely to become more so. Europe, and especially Ukraine, needs our LNG as Russia has destroyed one of its major markets.

Ukraine has received its first-ever shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, marking a pivotal step in Ukraine’s efforts to cut energy supply ties with Russia amid dismal relations between the two warring neighbors.
The LNG shipment—around 45,000 tons—was delivered to Ukraine via a Greek terminal in the Mediterranean on Dec. 27, according to DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy firm. While the United States supplies roughly 40 percent of Europe’s LNG imports, this is the first direct purchase of U.S.-sourced LNG by Ukraine.

While European countries have been reducing their reliance on gas imports from Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, LNG transiting Ukrainian territory still accounts for roughly 5 percent of the European Union’s (EU) imports…
Friday’s shipment is the first of a number of expected LNG deliveries from the United States to Ukraine, according to DTEK, which in June signed a deal with U.S. energy group Venture Global for gas shipments through the end of 2026 from Venture Global’s Plaquemines facility. Additionally, DTEK will be buying up to 2 million tonnes per year of LNG from Venture Global’s CP2 facility over the next 20 years…
Friday’s first-ever shipment of U.S.-sourced LNG to Ukraine followed President-elect Donald Trump’s recent threat to impose tariffs on EU countries if they don’t buy more oil and gas from the United States.

Europe always wants to lord it over us until they need us.

Hat Tip: D.S./R.N.

Bad Harmonics Are the Wages of Heavy AI Use of Electricity

AI is changing everything and creating new electricity challenges related to bas harmonics, of all things

A recent report by Bloomberg claims that the explosive growth of artificial intelligence is putting an unprecedented strain on the U.S. power grid, and it’s not just about keeping the lights on. A new analysis by Bloomberg, using data from Whisker Labs and DC Byte, shows that the mushrooming of data centers to support AI is distorting the quality of electricity delivered to millions of homes across the country, especially in areas like Chicago and Northern Virginia’s “data center alley.”
The problem, known as “bad harmonics,” occurs when the normal flow of electricity in steady waves is disrupted, leading to erratic spikes and dips in voltage. Whisker Labs, which tracks power quality using roughly 1 million residential sensors, found that more than three-quarters of the worst-affected homes are within 50 miles of significant data center activity.
Sustained exposure to distorted power can cause home electronics to overheat, make motors in appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners to rattle, and over time, lead to billions in damages. But experts warn bad harmonics are just the tip of the iceberg, foreshadowing deeper problems engulfing the nation’s power infrastructure.
“Harmonics are a pretty good canary in the coal mine for early signs of stress and problems,” said Bob Marshall, CEO of Whisker Labs. Left unaddressed, power quality issues can snowball, causing voltage surges that spark fires or sudden sags that trigger blackouts.

The core of the crisis lies in the insatiable appetite of data centers, which can suck up 10,000 times more electricity than a single household. The U.S., which operates the most data centers globally, is projected to see a 16 percent surge in power demand over the next five years, triple last year’s estimate, largely driven by new data centers.

Hmm…something else to consider when trying to electrify everything!

Hat Tip: T.Z.

Shapiro’s Lawsuit on Electricity Prices Rings Hollow

Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman was happy when the Keystobe State’s demagogic Governor Josh Shapiro blamed the PJM for problems he and his predecessor created:

“Over 13 months ago the Commonwealth Court ruled the RGGI Electricity Tax violates our state Constitution. Yet Governor Shapiro refuses to accept the decision and continues to waste more taxpayer dollars appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. If the governor is truly committed to protecting consumers, he should start by dropping his own lawsuit in defense of a program destined to increase the cost of electricity by nearly a half billion dollars annually.
“Simply voicing support for an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy while actively thwarting meaningful progress to move Pennsylvania forward by miring the energy marketplace in the six-year debate over the RGGI Electricity Tax is detrimental to the future stability of our Commonwealth’s energy grid.

“Pennsylvanians have no doubt been forced to deal with the realities and pressures of higher energy costs, which cannot stand. A strong, reliable, and cost-effective energy portfolio across our Commonwealth requires embracing an all-encompassing strategy when it comes to the generation and distribution of power. Throughout the 2023-24 Legislative Session our Senate Republican Caucus prioritized advancement of meaningful legislation to help address rising costs for consumers of electricity. It is unfortunate that many of the measures were not supported by the Shapiro Administration.
“Pennsylvania being a leader in electricity production is key to energy independence and national security. With the new two-year legislative session about to begin, we have a renewed opportunity to lessen the pressures from higher electric bills. Our Senate Republican Caucus will continue to be staunch advocates for working families who are feeling the stresses of inflation. Responsible enactment of energy policies which balance development of our God-given natural resources with environmental needs remains our focus.”

Shapiro, as Wolf did before him, has politicized energy in Pennsylvania and the price has yet to be paid for his virtue signaling in hopes being on a presidential ticket down the road.

Hat Tip: J.W.