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Good morning, here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• IRA Grants Hit $100 Bln

• “Cheap” Wind Power Costs UK Over $1 Billion A Year

• Tweet of the Day

IRA Grants Hit $100 Bln

The Biden admin has committed $100 billion in grants under the IRA.

The money is supposed to fund transition projects.

Key word: supposed.

A last-ditch attempt to salvage climate policies

The IRA was planned as the financial engine of the U.S. transition. The engine was supposed to be up and running before the elections.

To an extent, it was.

Billions were splurged on battery plants, charger networks, and wind and solar.

But even before Trump won the November vote, the engine sputtered. Demand was not as expected.

So projects started getting shelved or canceled. Despite the IRA billions – that might never get actually spent.

This $100 billion is “obligated” — per Biden admin officials.

This means they are committed to certain contracts. But these contracts need to be signed and executed.

And that may never happen, not under a Trump presidency.

So, it seems all the Biden admin has to show for its IRA ambition is an illusion of success.

Some money will be spent:

• On building electrification

• NOAA climate change “research”

But those battery plants, chargers, and wind and solar are all uncertain.

Internal opposition looming over Trump policies

Trump is no fan of the transition, that’s crystal clear. But a lot of those IRA billions have been committed in GOP-led states.

They have secured jobs and revenues.

These states don’t want to see the money go.

Ultimately, however, it’s the market that would should decide.

No amount of subsidies can create demand where there is none, after all.

The silver lining? The unused money could be used for something that makes sense.

“Cheap” Wind Power Costs UK Over $1 Billion A Year

The UK bet its future on wind power. Turbines are its ticket for net-zero.

But it seems the planners forgot surplus supply.

Now, they’re paying through the nose to literally waste electricity.

Too much wind

There are thousands of wind turbines off the UK coast. Most of them are in the north…but a lot more people live in the south.

There are not enough transmission lines between North and South.

That’s not how grids are designed.

So, when there’s lots of wind, the turbines must be turned off. Because there is not enough consumption at those times.

It’s called curtailment, it means waste, and it has cost the UK 1.3 billion pounds.

Just this year.

Why? Because they pay wind turbine operators for their losses.

Offshore wind is good business – you can’t go bankrupt. You’re on long-term bailout terms with the government.

So, cheap wind has cost Brits 1.3 billion pounds, which is $1.6 billion.

The bill’s about to get a lot bigger, too.

40 billion pounds annually bigger.

Bad planning costs money

When the UK started building wind turbines it didn’t think about the long term.

It didn’t think about the delicate balance between supply and demand.

Or the fact most of the population lived far from the turbines.

Now, the transition is up for a course correction.

A very expensive course correction.

But hey, wind power is so cheap it’s virtually free, right?

Right?!

Tweet of the Day

Stay oily, my friend.

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