Author's Note: This is the first article in a three-part series.
In the renowned 17th Century Spanish novel Don Quixote, the protagonist is a misguided hero who believes he can save the world from imaginary threats. Astride his horse and armed with his lance, he mistakenly attacks windmills, thinking they are giants.
Today’s energy policies likewise too often tilt at windmills, mankind’s imaginary foes created by figures like Kamala Harris, who promote the misleading narrative of net-zero, energy transitions and renewables as solutions for an alleged climate change crisis, while ignoring the need for fossil fuels and nuclear power. This narrative contradicts fundamental facts and the principles of physics and engineering.
The Biden-Harris administration has produced numerous energy-related absurdities.
Two years after passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), its direct and inflationary costs have far exceeded initial estimates. Wood Mackenzie reports that “the total cost of IRA tax credits through 2050 is estimated to be $1.9 trillion,” while other analyses suggest the total could range between $2 to $4 trillion.
This is a significant departure from the $369 billion price tag originally presented to the public.
Adding to bipartisan madness, a group of 18 House Republicans recently praised IRA tax credits, claiming they are "making our country more energy independent, and Americans more energy secure."
Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote on the IRA and was a cosponsor of Senator Ed Markey’s “Green New Deal” resolution. Harris has expressed her intention to spend “$10 trillion toward climate initiatives and mandate 100% carbon-neutral electricity by 2030.”
The Biden-Harris administration has overseen additional absurdities, as much of the U.S. electrical grid has deteriorated and been left in shambles, with even energy-rich Texas experiencing grid failures. The administration recently ordered Vineyard Wind’s offshore project south of Nantucket to halt construction and electricity production after a turbine blade malfunction caused shattered fiberglass to litter pristine and scenic Nantucket beaches.
Hydrogen “subsidies are 1900 times larger than for nuclear, 9x larger than for solar, 47x than for wind and 1,800x larger than for hydrocarbon” energy. Biofuel subsidies are likewise enormous. These fuels are cornerstones of the Biden-Harris energy plan, yet they are failing, The Wall Street Journal notes. Even wood pellets (biomass) are surprisingly polluting, do not qualify as sustainable green energy and “threaten the health of local communities.”
These initiatives are falling short because both America and the world demand energy that is abundant, reliable, scalable, affordable, resilient and flexible – the kind of energy that fossil fuels like coal provide, but wind and solar cannot.
According to data from the Global Coal Plant Tracker: “Global operating coal capacity grew by 2% in 2023; 69.5 GW of coal power capacity was commissioned that year, while 21.1 GW was retired, resulting in a net annual increase of 48.4 GW for the year and a global total capacity of 2,130 GW. This is the highest net increase in operating coal capacity since 2016.”
Coal is here to stay.
Why is energy now a life-and-death existential question? Because the U.S. is funding its existence with a credit card and cheap energy will eventually run out because that energy is being placed off-limits.
Abundant U.S. energy is the only reason America isn’t in a crushing recession, however. Since energy is everything – essentially life itself – our national hydrocarbon resources are what keep economic threats at bay. This is evidenced by the fact that “59% of the country believes we are in a recession.”
It is a matter of life and death that all American and global stability advocates, who have maintained peace since the end of World War II, understand the stark differences between Vice President Kamala Harris’s energy policies and those of former President Donald J. Trump. The second article will explore the two candidates’ records.
Todd Royal earned his M.P.P. from the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. He is program manager for research development at the Southeast Nuclear Council and host of its Nuclear Perspectives webinar.
Robert G. Kaufman, Ph.D., is the Robert and Katheryn Dockson Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University and specializes in American foreign policy, national security, international relations, and America politics.