Renewable energy
Utility scale renewable energy is a bad investment, and a drain on Americans.
Disguised conservative influencers apparently misled Rep. Jen Kiggans and Gov. Glenn Youngkin to mismatch renewables with the all-the-above approach to energy in the same sentence.
These influencers should learn energy, the State Corporation Commission, Virginia Commission on Electric Utility Regulation, and empirical U.S. Energy Information Administration data, of which I participate in, use and reference as a professional engineer.
Heavily subsidizing renewable energy’s upfront costs have not leveled any playing field. If renewables are not sufficiently maintained, that leads to a quick decline in output.
Congress is hitting the mark by sunsetting subsidies on renewable energy.
None of the conservative lawmakers on the Virginia CEUR approved the advancement of the PRO Renewable HB2126 and SB1190. Fortunately, these bills failed.
At the May 22 CEUR meeting, AES stated they spoke for all renewable developers by saying “Without subsidies they will leave Virginia for other states.” Good.
Virginia’s solar capacity factors are bad at less than 20%. Battery energy storage systems are coming in at negative 20% “round trip in-efficiency.” At Virginia’s two pump storage facilities, Bath County has a negative 30% output and Smith Mountain Lake has a negative 75% generation output, unlike traditional energy generators, the rate payer pays for these negative values.
Where are the sustainable jobs? Let’s count W-2 forms. Like the coal facilities went through in the early 1980s, renewables are overdue to prove themselves or become shuttered.
David Tucker, Smithfield
Spine
Re “America’s future” (Your Views, July 11): Yes, we see what’s happening in America these days. We see what ICE is doing. I’m sure the citizens of Germany in the 1930s saw what was going on too.
The question is: what are We the people going to do about it? We love to sing “Freedom isn’t free…” on the Fourth of July but do we still have the spine to back up those words?
Glenn Harris, Chesapeake
Obey the law
As I watch on TV and read in the newspaper about protesters complaining that the illegal immigrants are being mistreated, I wonder how many migrants these people have taken into their homes. Does no one wonder how these people can protest every day with no visible means of support?
By coming into our country illegally makes them lawbreakers. Committing other crimes only adds insult to injury. Our laws can’t be broken a “little bit.” Wanting cheap labor or voters is no excuse for allowing this to happen.
There are legal ways of entering this country. Should that not be the proper path to citizenship? I understand desires for a better life but we can’t absorb all the people of the world. This desire does not give them the right to enter our country illegally. If one is in a bad financial place, does that give them the right to commit robbery? Of course not. If our citizens are not allowed to enjoy a better life by breaking the law, why are illegal immigrants allowed to? Also, note that no one complains about legal citizens being separated from their children when they are incarcerated.
Regardless of whether one loves or hates President Donald Trump, we must acknowledge that he is doing what he was elected to do. That’s a rarity with today’s politicians.
Ashton Haywood, Hampton
Future
I fear for my grandchildren’s future. I don’t believe their standard of living will be as high as their parents. They will have to grow up with a Republican economy and Republican environment, neither of which will be healthy for them.
Some responsibility falls on their congresswoman, Jen Kiggans, who showed that her loyalty lies with the president, not the Constitution or her constituents. I look forward to voting her out of office next year.
Bill Myers, Chesapeake
