OPINION:
Oil and electricity power civilization. That’s why energy prices may make or break the Republicans’ prospects for retaining the House and Senate next year. President Trump worries that his Golden Age could be tarnished by the coming green energy brownouts, which were set into motion by the previous administration’s recklessness.
“Stupid and ugly windmills are killing New Jersey,” the president wrote Tuesday on Truth Social. “Energy prices up 28% this year, and not enough electricity to take care of the state. Stop the windmills!”
The public will blame this administration if cooling homes in the summer and warming them in the winter becomes a financial struggle. That could happen as our electricity grid is strained to the limit, with intermittent power sources supplanting reliable electrical generators. That can’t be fixed overnight.
As old power plants are retired, new ones must be activated to cover any shortfall while providing for future growth. Each plant takes several years to build, which is why we’re saddled with the choices President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made years ago. They ditched affordable projects in favor of trendy alternatives that don’t measure up.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited his department’s report from last month describing the previous administration’s intention to unplug 100 gigawatts of cheap power and replace it with 22 gigawatts of solar panels and windmills.
“[That’s] a net loss of 78 gigawatts to an electricity grid that’s already tight, that already delivers blackouts at peak demand. They were on a trajectory to increase blackouts a hundredfold if Harris had won that election,” Mr. Wright said in an interview with Glenn Beck.
The White House recognizes the political peril if prices spike, which is why Mr. Trump has banned the construction of new turbines.
“Windmills are a train wreck,” Mr. Wright explained on X. “They are subsidized, inefficient, unreliable land hogs that drive up electricity prices. America needs affordable, reliable and secure energy that works 24/7, not just when the wind blows.”
The good news is that gasoline prices respond more quickly to supply, demand and federal incentives. Few issues highlight the difference between the Republican and Democratic agendas more than the contrast between “drill, baby, drill” and the left’s “renewable energy” shtick.
Drilling works. Gas prices have already dropped 10% from last year, and the Energy Information Administration predicts the pain at the pump will continue easing another 20 cents a gallon to $2.90 by next year. Freed from restraint, U.S. production is about to reach an all-time high of 13.6 billion barrels daily.
Many red states — including Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas — already have $2.80 gas, but AAA’s survey shows Californians pay $4.50. That’s what you get when a Democratic legislative supermajority enacts everything on the liberal wish list.
A “cap and trade” scheme that transfers wealth from productive producers to the uneconomic schemes raises the Golden State’s fuel price by 27 cents a gallon. The highest-in-the-nation gas tax adds another 70 cents to the cost of each gallon. The state’s regulatory zealots insist on the creation of boutique gasoline formulas just for California, bringing the price tag of leftism to $1.70 a gallon.
Should California Gov. Gavin Newsom continue assuming the role of standard-bearer for Democrats nationally, his disastrous electricity and gasoline agenda should take center stage. It tells a tale that the public needs to hear about the folly of going green.
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