Biden Admin Says Its Natural Gas Phaseout Will Save Taxpayers Millions. It Will Do the Opposite.
The Biden administration is casting its plan to phase out the use of natural gas in federal buildings in favor of clean energy as a "cost-effective" move that will save taxpayers millions each year.
That's baloney, according to a Washington Free Beacon review of federal data, which indicates that a Biden administration statement touting the plan's frugality excludes the administration's own findings on the increased cost of green energy sources as compared with natural gas.
In that statement, President Joe Biden's Energy Department says the proposed natural gas phaseout "would save taxpayers $8 million annually in upfront equipment costs," a figure that stems from the department's Dec. 6 estimate of the plan's budgetary impact. That estimate, however, also acknowledges that so-called clean electricity is roughly four-and-a-half times more expensive than natural gas, leading to "increases in energy costs across the board" that outweigh the savings on equipment expected under the plan. As a result, Biden's transition away from natural gas will actually cost taxpayers up to $5 million annually, the Energy Department estimate says, a statistic that does not appear in the department's statement.
Despite the increased costs associated with the plan, green energy groups—which Biden aggressively courted during his campaign in an attempt to win over liberal voters—quickly applauded the move. The Sierra Club, for example, said it was "excited that the Biden administration is making good on its promise" to advance green energy and pledged to "continue to work with the Biden administration." But as Biden looks to expand his natural gas phaseout beyond the federal government and toward the general public—the Democrat has called for a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a decarbonized economy by 2050—he could alienate everyday Americans concerned about energy costs. Earlier this year, electricity prices in California surged to more than double the national average as the Democrat-dominated state worked to "swap gasoline-fueled cars and natural gas heaters for electric models," E&E News reported in April.
"It's a huge problem," University of California, Berkeley, energy economist Severin Borenstein told E&E. Should the state decide to "mandate electrification," Borenstein said, "then there's just going to be huge political blowback" given the "immensely expensive" prices.
The White House did not return a request for comment. An Energy Department spokesman confirmed that the department's claim that the plan would save taxpayers "$8 million per year" only stems from "the difference in the equipment cost from gas to electric" and does not factor in the increased energy costs expected under the plan. The spokesman did not answer questions on why the department excluded those increased energy costs from its statement announcing the plan.
The Biden administration is set to host a Jan. 5 "webinar" on its proposed federal building natural gas phaseout and will also field public comments on the plan through early February. The American Gas Association has already said it will "vigorously participate" in that public comment process, saying the cost of Biden's plan "will be borne by every taxpayer."
"Eliminating natural gas in federal buildings is an impractical, unscientific, and expensive idea that will have no environmental benefit," the association said in a statement. "AGA will thoroughly evaluate the proposal and vigorously participate in the public comment process."
Published under: Biden Administration, Department of Energy, Feature, Green Energy, Natural Gas
JOE BIDEN IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BANKSTERS AND
HIGH TECH BILLIONAIRES FOR OPEN BORDERS DECIDE
WHO SHOULD BE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Only 35 percent think we are going in the right direction, compared to 60 percent who believe we are heading in the wrong direction.
Plenty of Grievances to Air This Christmas Season
It has been a tough few years, first with COVID then an economy blasted by inflation and recession. Most Americans are hoping for a shiny present under the American Christmas tree this year. But will it be a lump of coal instead? In the spirit of Festivus, let’s air some grievances.
How do Americans feel about the current direction of the United States? Rasmussen Reports asked likely U.S. voters if the country is heading in the right or wrong direction. Only 35 percent think we are going in the right direction, compared to 60 percent who believe we are heading in the wrong direction. Americans say “bah-humbug” to those running the country, both Democrats and Republicans.
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What might Americans be concerned about as we enter the holiday season? Plenty. Rather than the 12 days of Christmas, how about the 12 days of discontent? It’s time to air some grievances, in no particular order as “all grievances matter”.
Those illegally crossing our borders can harbor myriad infectious diseases, but those who live in America must be vaccinated, boosted multiple times, wear a mask, and stay six feet away from every other human being in order to participate in society.
Foreigners who want to visit the U.S. to see their families, vacation, and spend their own money must wait years for a visa application appointment, but those crossing the border illegally receive free food, housing, clothing, healthcare, and education immediately.
Doctors and engineers who want to work in America for the benefit of America must take myriad exams, fill out endless paperwork, and wait for years for possible approval. But any illiterate, unskilled migrant or criminal can stroll into the U.S. to hurt and certainly not help America.
We cannot count the number of Americans in America for the census, but our borders are wide open for anyone in the world to enter America and be supported by the same Americans we cannot count.
Russians somehow influencing our elections is wrong, but it’s perfectly fine for Russians, Mexicans, Africans, or anyone else from anywhere else to vote in our elections.
We must pretend a man dressing as a woman is really a woman, and pretend along with him, or risk being called horrible names if we point out the obvious. Those who can’t define “a woman” celebrate a woman Supreme Court justice and eagerly await a woman president.
Friends and family have become hostile and dismissive over differing opinions about Trump, masks, vaccines, election integrity, and all things political. Those who scream the loudest for diversity and inclusion want nothing of the sort in their own lives, preferring no diversity or inclusion, eliminating those with alternative perspectives.
One must be 21 years old to buy beer or cigarettes, but one can vote at age 18, and get an abortion or have gender mutilation surgery as an early teen.
Trump tweeting that he wouldn’t attend Biden’s inauguration was an incitement to violence and sedition, on par with Hitler or the Christchurch, New Zealand shooter, according to Twitter executives, leading Twitter to ban the leader of the free world from one of the world’s largest media platform. But the Ayatollah Khamenei calling Israel “a malignant cancerous tumor…that has to be removed and eradicated” is an acceptable tweet and not worthy of tweet deletion or banning according to the same Twitter executives.
Those who have never owned slaves must pay reparations to those who never were slaves. Along the same lines, those who never attended college should pay the tuition costs of those who went to college but did not learn enough to earn enough to pay back their own loans.
Vice President Joe Biden can threaten and blackmail Ukraine with impunity but when President Donald Trump asked about it, he was impeached.
A few billion dollars to protect the Southern border of America is too expensive, but over $100 billion to protect Ukraine’s border with Russia is still not enough.
Antifa and BLM activists could gather and riot in large groups during the height of COVID-19, but children could not attend school in person.
Children dying of heart attacks is blamed on video games and considered perfectly normal. Hundred of young healthy athletes and non-athletes dropping dead suddenly is attributed to global warming. Anyone questioning this is told to shut up.
Prescription drugs taken by millions of individuals for decades with minimal if any adverse effects were going to kill us, but experimental gene therapy was deemed “safe and effective” and required for work, school, and travel, even in young children at virtually zero risk from the causative virus.
If you are vaccinated and the vaccines work as advertised, then why does it matter if the person next to you is wearing a mask or not? If I had the measles vaccine, I am not concerned whether those around me might have measles. If the vaccines don’t prevent infection, then why are they mandated?
If you are wearing a mask and masks stop viral transmission, then why does it matter if the person next to you is not wearing a mask or is unvaccinated? If the masks don’t stop viral transmission, then why were they mandated in public spaces or on airplanes?
Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested as he “orchestrated a years-long fraud”. He “built a house of cards on a foundation of deception” and created “a limitless line of credit funded by customer assets”. He also used his fund as his “personal piggy bank,” and “He hid from investors and customers that he used the funds to buy luxury condos, support political campaigns, and make private investments.”
Change “SBF” to most members of Congress, Biden cabinet officials, Clinton, Pelosi, or Biden family members, and this behavior is perfectly acceptable, and hardly grounds for indictment or arrest.
Journalists cheered when Twitter banned the New York Post for discussing the Hunter Biden laptop. But when those journalists were themselves suspended from Twitter for doxing Elon Musk’s family, putting them at danger, the caterwauling was deafening, and the Constitution was suddenly important sacrosanct and under threat.
It is indeed an upside-down world with little making sense. In the season of hope and joy, things are more chaotic than ever. While we may wish for an exciting new toy under the American Christmas tree in a few weeks, instead we receive doubletalk, lies, and a big lump of coal. Let’s hope for a Christmas miracle.
Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a physician and writer. Follow me on Twitter @retinaldoctor, Truth Social @BrianJoondeph, and LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph.
‘Imperative’: Senator Requests ‘Thorough Review’ of Biden Admin Grants to Beijing-Backed Companies
'The Department cannot afford to keep making the same mistake of enriching China,' Wyoming's Barrasso says
The Senate energy committee's top Republican is requesting a "thorough review" of Biden administration grants to Beijing-backed entities after the Washington Free Beacon found the administration sent millions of dollars to a green energy company that partnered with a Chinese state-owned gas giant.
Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) called for the review in a Wednesday letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, which cites a Free Beacon report showing President Joe Biden's Energy Department funneled more than $10 million in grants to carbon capture company LanzaTech in the months after the company partnered with Sinopec Capital, the clean energy investment arm of the China Petrochemical Corporation. For Barrasso, those grants have direct national security implications, prompting the Republican to request the "policies and procedures related to the awarding of loans and grants to companies with leadership and/or financial ties to the People's Republic of China."
"The Department cannot afford to keep making the same mistake of enriching China's technological efforts at the expense of taxpayers," Barrasso's letter states. "It is imperative you conduct this review as the awarding of these grants and loans directly impacts the national security of the United States."
This is not the first time Biden's Energy Department, which did not return a request for comment, has come under fire for funding green energy companies that cozy up to Beijing.
In October, the department announced a $200 million award to Microvast Holdings, an investment Granholm said would "supercharge the private sector to ensure our clean energy future is American-made." But Microvast operates primarily in China, the Free Beacon reported last week, and the Securities and Exchange Commission recently added the company to a watchlist of Chinese companies that fail to comply with U.S. auditing requirements. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) called the department's decision to fund Microvast "crazy," while Barrasso said the grant "endangers our national security" and "undermine[s] the United States' position in its race against China for technological supremacy."
Barrasso's letter asks Granholm to respond by Dec. 7 and "provide the results of the Department's review" by Jan. 31. Should Granholm rebuff the senator, she could still face scrutiny from the House after Republicans take control of the chamber early next year. Republican staffers have already signaled they will probe Biden's plan to send taxpayer funds to foreign green energy mines, which the Democrat hopes to use to power his "clean energy agenda."
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