Natural Gas Is Green and Hugely Beneficial Economically

By Benjamin Zycher of AEI. Excerpt:

"Let us not forget the adverse environmental effects of wind and solar power, studiously ignored by the opponents of fossil fuels: heavy-metal pollution, wildlife destruction, noise and flicker effects, massive land use and degradation of vistas, landfill problems, and on and on.

And there also are the enormous costs of renewable power compared with fossil electricity. When we include the costs (all in in year 2024 dollars per MWh) of backup generation ($132.65, for the most part, natural gas turbines) needed to avoid service interruptions, the Energy Information Administration cost estimates are as follows. Combined-cycle natural gas: $44.95. “Ultra-super critical” coal: $92.98. Nuclear: $99.31. Photovoltaic solar: $173.72. Onshore wind: $177.93. Offshore wind: $286.29. Unconventional power is not competitive, and the past efforts to force a shift toward wind and solar electricity has yielded substantial economic harm."