Energy's Shifting Landscape: What It Means and Why You Should Care

Alright, let's get this straight. Another politician, another grand plan to "save the planet." Oregon's got this new executive order, courtesy of Gov. Tina Kotek, promising a carbon-free future. Eight gigawatts of energy storage by 2045? Streamlined permitting for wind and solar? Sounds fantastic, right?

The Usual Suspects

Except, I've seen this movie before. We all have. Promises, promises, and then… well, then reality kicks in. They're talking about "streamlining" land use and environmental reviews. Streamlining. That’s code for "we're gonna bulldoze through any objections, environmental concerns be damned."

Nicole Hughes from Renewable Northwest is "encouraged" by the call for alignment. Nora Apter from Climate Solutions is "enthusiastic." Of course they are. They always are. It's their job to be optimistic, even when the whole thing smells like a PR stunt. Give me a break.

And the part about prioritizing public-private partnerships? Translation: Big corporations get to cash in, while taxpayers foot the bill. Eni's Giacomo Silvestri wants to partner with startups and universities like MIT. Annalisa Muccioli from Eni says the energy transition requires combining mature solutions with emerging technologies. Well, offcourse they do. It's all about the synergy, baby!

The Reality Check

Oregon's already got some ambitious clean energy targets. Eighty percent emissions reduction by 2030, all clean electricity by 2040. The Clean Fuels Program supposedly cut 3 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2024. Sounds impressive, until you realize how much more needs to be done.

And what about the practical stuff? Pablo Duenas-Martinez from MITEI pointed out technical problems, lack of transmission capacity, and outdated procedures as reasons for the Spain and Portugal outage. You can have all the wind turbines and solar panels you want, but if you can't get the juice where it needs to go, it's all just expensive window dressing. More on the MIT Energy Initiative's research priorities can be found in MIT Energy Initiative conference spotlights research priorities amidst a changing energy landscape - MIT News.

Asegun Henry at MIT says we need 300 terawatt-hours of storage. Three hundred! That’s like trying to fill the Grand Canyon with AA batteries. And they're talking about "enhanced geothermal" and "offshore wind." Those are still mostly pipe dreams. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but...

Then there's Kelly Sims Gallagher from Tufts, dropping truth bombs about how the U.S. is losing the low-carbon tech race to China. China controls the supply chains, manufactures the wind turbines and solar modules. We're too busy fighting over tax credits and regulations to actually build anything.

And the "seesaw of energy policy" she mentioned? That hits hard. One administration pushes green energy, the next one rolls back the regulations. It's like trying to drive a car with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake.

Mike Gerty from PACCAR (a truck manufacturer) gets it right: manufacturing batteries in the U.S. makes the supply chain more robust and reduces geopolitical risks. Seems obvious, doesn't it?

The COP30 Elephant in the Room

Speaking of global challenges, let's not forget COP30 in Belém. Governments are supposedly going to respond to the fact that current emissions plans are a joke. They're aiming for 2.5°C warming instead of the promised 1.5°C. And they expect us to believe this nonsense, and honestly...what are they smoking?

Bill Hare from Climate Analytics says achieving renewables, efficiency, and methane targets by 2035 would lower warming to 1.7°C. Niklas Höehne from NewClimate Institute thinks it will trigger the transition away from fossil fuels. Maybe. Maybe if pigs fly and hell freezes over. According to Keeping promises on renewables, energy efficiency and methane ‘would avoid nearly 1C of global heating’ - The Guardian, keeping promises on renewables, energy efficiency and methane would avoid nearly 1C of global heating.

They're all patting themselves on the back for COP28 pledges to triple renewables and double energy efficiency. And the Global Methane Pledge? More than 150 governments signed up to cut methane by 30% by 2030. Let's see if they actually do it. I ain't holding my breath.

A Complete Waste of Time?

So, what's the real story? Oregon's executive order sounds good on paper, but it's just another layer of bureaucracy and wishful thinking. Until we get serious about transmission, storage, and competing with China, it's all just hot air. And maybe, just maybe, I'm being too harsh. But I doubt it.