Biden-Harris Energy Plan Proposes High-Stake Changes

By Alex Mills

The Joe Biden-Kamala Harris team, if elected, will implement radical changes to energy policy increasing government oversight, and spending an estimated $2 trillion to eliminate the usage of crude oil, natural gas and coal.

Biden, who served as Vice President under President Obama, outlined in July his controversial energy program in a 23-page paper, which closely parallels the Green New Deal introduced by left-wing Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Also, Sen. Harris introduced the Climate Equity Act this year, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.

Neither proposal addresses the problems created by trying to rid the country from using fossil fuels, which currently provide 80 percent of the nation’s energy.

A recent study by the American Petroleum Institute estimated U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) would fall by a cumulative $700 billion through 2030, and U.S. oil imports would increase by 2 million barrel per day if Biden’s energy programs were implemented.

During his campaign for the Democrat Presidential nomination, Biden stated on his web page he will issue executive orders, seek legislative remedies, establish “enforcement mechanisms,” and make “historic investment in clean energy.” Those enforcement mechanisms include “action against fossil fuel companies and other polluters who put profit over people.” He said the cost of these enforcement mechanisms could be as much as $1.7 trillion over ten years.

Biden was asked by the moderator during one of the Democrat candidate debates if there would be “any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking” in his administration and he replied “no.”

After receiving the party’s nomination, Biden told an audience in Pennsylvania, which has become a major producer of natural gas because of the advancements in hydraulic fracturing (fracking): “I am not banning fracking.”

Mathematical tools predict if wave-energy devices stay afloat in the ocean: Texas A&M

October 16, 2020 — Ocean waves represent an abundant source of renewable energy. But to best use this natural resource, wave-energy converters need to be capable of physically handling ocean waves of different strengths without capsizing.

Texas A&M University researchers have developed analytical tools that can help characterize the movements of floating but anchored wave-energy devices. Unlike complicated simulations that are expensive and time-consuming, they said their technique is fast, yet accurate enough to estimate if wave-energy devices will turn over in an ever-changing ocean environment.

“Wave-energy converters need to take advantage of large wave motions to make electricity. But when a big storm comes, you don’t want big wave, wind and current motions to destroy these devices,” said Dr. Jeffrey Falzarano, professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering. “We have developed much simpler analytical tools to judge the performance of these devices in a dynamic ocean environment without necessitating massive amounts of simulations or physical model tests that take a lot of time to run and are cost-prohibitive.”

10-23-20

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