USA: the energy crisis will lead to winter blackouts
According to Bloomberg, the energy crisis facing Asia and Europe could trigger electricity shortages and blackouts in the United States.
Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC., Told energy research firm IHS Markit that US power companies are rapidly turning to the use of coal due to soaring natural gas prices.
“We have actually had discussions with power companies who are concerned that they will simply be forced to implement blackouts this winter,” Thrasher warned.
He said, "They don't see where fuel can come from to meet demand," adding that 23% of utilities are abandoning gas this fall / winter to burn more coal.
With the soaring prices of natural gas, coal and oil it is a clear signal that the transition to green energy will take decades, not years and that until then fossil fuels will remain essential. Leaving them to get unreliable clean energy was a disaster in Asia and Europe. These energy-hungry continents are struggling for fossil fuel supplies as inventories are well below seasonal trends ahead of cooler weather.
A similar story is taking place in the United States, where the increased demand for coal may not be met by mining companies. On Thursday morning we noticed that increasing production could be difficult due to years of mining decommissioning to reduce carbon emissions and shift the economy from fossil fuels to green energy. There has also been a steady decline in miners over the past three and a half decades.
“The entire supply chain is stretched beyond its limits,” Thrasher said. "It will be a busy winter for us here in the United States."
The Piedmont natural gas unit of utility company Duke Energy Corp., which covers customers in North and South Carolina, has warned that electricity bills this winter are set to rise due to high natgas prices and low production.
One coal-only company that is already benefiting from increased demand and rising prices is Peabody Energy Corporation. As cooler weather approaches, the company could see an increase in demand for its thermal coal that utility companies use to produce electricity. It must be said that this company is growing
US oil companies are also seeing some interest
The troubled transition to green energy gives the fossil fuel industry new hope, most notably "Making Coal Great Again". Even in economics, every action involves an equal and opposite reaction …
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The US article : the energy crisis will lead to winter blackouts comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/usa-la-crisi-energetica-portera-a-black-out-invernali/ on Fri, 08 Oct 2021 11:50:25 +0000.