Just in time for the potentially crippling storm hitting the Southern Half of the United States, this podcast interview with Dr. Brett Bennett of the Texas Public Policy Foundation highlights the money spent on wind and solar, but not on resilience.

While significant improvements have been made to the ERCOT Grid system, a fundamental issue remains.

We have about $150 Billion in wind, solar, and batteries, and if we had spent only 25% less on renewables and put that toward resilience, we would not have concerns about grid stability. We are about to see how the grid holds up in this new storm rolling in this weekend.

Key topics include:

The main topics discussed in this transcript are:

1. The reliability and resilience of the Texas electricity grid:

- Dr. Bennett discusses how the Texas grid is still vulnerable to major winter storms, despite some operational improvements since the 2021 Winter Storm Uri.

- He explains that the underlying market design issues have not been adequately addressed, leading to a growing capacity gap and over-reliance on intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar that are not well-suited for winter peak demand.

2. The need to properly value reliability in the Texas electricity market:

- Dr. Bennett emphasizes that the current market structure overvalues cheap, intermittent energy sources like wind and solar, while undervaluing the reliability provided by dispatchable generation like natural gas.

- He argues that policymakers need to require wind and solar generators to meet certain reliability standards and pay for the transmission infrastructure they require.

3. The growth of data centers and their impact on the grid:

- We discuss the rapid growth of data centers in Texas and how they can be an asset or a liability for the grid, depending on how they are integrated and how they contribute to infrastructure costs.

- Dr. Bennett suggests that data centers should be required to pay their fair share for grid infrastructure and manage their energy usage to help reduce system volatility.

4. Decommissioning of wind turbines and managing the energy transition:

- The discussion touches on the growing issue of wind turbine decommissioning and disposal, noting that Texas has started to build a regulatory framework around this, but more work is needed.

- Dr. Bennett suggests that getting the market design right is key to ensuring a smooth and cost-effective energy transition, rather than relying on subsidies and policies that can distort investment signals.

Overall, our discussion provides a comprehensive overview of the key challenges facing the Texas electricity grid and the policy changes that Dr. Bennett believes are necessary to ensure a reliable, affordable, and sustainable power system for Texas.

Check out The Texas Public Policy Foundation https://www.texaspolicy.com/

Check out Dr. Bennett's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-bennett/

Check out the Substack https://theenergynewsbeat.substack.com/

Full transcript: https://energynewsbeat.co/

On this episode of the Energy News Beat Stand Up, I cover the key issues around Davos, Greenland, and some investing stories around Oil Field Service Companies, and why this is important.

The main topics discussed in this podcast are:

1. President Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he promoted America’s energy dominance and criticized policies like net zero emissions targets.

2. The potential acquisition or deal regarding Greenland, which the host suggests could be called the “Green New Deal” as a joke.

3. We give Newsom a shout-out as ourcriticism of California’s energy policies and the potential energy crisis in the state has helped our numbers and new subscribers.

4. Analysis of several oil and gas services stocks, including Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, and Liberty Energy. Liberty has successfully been changing its business model, and I am interviewing its CEO again in a few weeks. The nimble, profitable companies will thrive and survive.

5. Updates on crude oil inventory levels and energy market prices.

00:38 President Trump's Davos speech

2:18 Can we call Greenland acquisition “The Green New Deal” just to mess with folks

05:03 Trump takes aim at Net Zero

06:28 Greenland Deal specifics and update

09:03 Gavin Newsom and President Trump Showdown is on deck

14:06 Post-Maduro Capture is a good time to look at Oil Field Service Stocks

21:04 Oil inventories up

1.Trump’s Speech at Davos Sets the Choice of Grow Baby Grow or Keep Doing What You’re Doing

2.Trump Takes Aim at Britain’s Net Zero Agenda in Davos Tirade

3.Negotiations Over Greenland Are Moving in a Positive Direction, Says Trump

4.Trump vs. Newsom Energy Showdown is About to Start

5.Post Maduro Capture, Venezuela Is Not the Only Reason to Own Oil Field Services Stocks

6.US Crude Oil Inventories Up

This is a brief part of the admission that they have failed, but the key point is that the once-great poster child of the Green New Deal has admitted they cannot go on under the old ways.

But whether they will change is the key.

Check out the Energy News Beat Substack: https://theenergynewsbeat.substack.com/p/the-davos-crowd-just-got-the-royal

It is clear that the Davos trip was wild. We will cover it on The Energy Realities Podcast on Monday, and I will have more clips and try to dig deeper into the highlights.

Mark Carney and Gavin Newsom's behavior proves that they are not going quietly into the night, but will fight to be “stupid,” to use a Trumpism.

Thank you to all of our great subscribers, patrons, and Steve Reese at the Reese Energy Consulting for sponsoring the Energy News Beat Podcast.

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