In the aftermath of the Spanish blackout
Posted By: DVC, 5/14/2025 7:06:04 PM
One subject that renewable advocates are averse to discussing is asset utilization and I can understand why. Capacity factors, which are a measure of asset utilization, plummet when renewables enter the picture. As a typical example look at Red Eléctrica de España (REE). In 2024, it had capacity factors for wind, solar, and natural gas of 22%, 17%, and 16%, respectively. In essence, REE possessed three expensive assets that were grossly underutilized. If it discarded the wind and solar, the natural gas capacity factor would rise to 64%. Moreover, even with the price of natural gas being four times (4x) more in Spain than in Texas
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In 2023, Germany shuttered its last nuclear plant, and in 2024, wind energy became the nation’s largest single source of electricity, supplying 31.9%. But now it’s 2025, and as the staff at Remix News reported yesterday, “Germany’s wind lull is slamming electricity production” and creating losses in the millions.
Here’s the story:
Germany: Wind power firms face millions in losses as wind speed drops to 50-year low
The wind speed average has dropped below less than 5.5 meters per second in the first quarter of 2025, according to [the] German Meteorological Service (DWD).
In the aftermath of the Spanish blackout
2 replies
One subject that renewable advocates are averse to discussing is asset utilization and I can understand why. Capacity factors, which are a measure of asset utilization, plummet when renewables enter the picture. As a typical example look at Red Eléctrica de España (REE). In 2024, it had capacity factors for wind, solar, and natural gas of 22%, 17%, and 16%, respectively. In essence, REE possessed three expensive assets that were grossly underutilized. If it discarded the wind and solar, the natural gas capacity factor would rise to 64%.
Moreover, even with the price of natural gas being four times (4x) more in Spain than in Texas
In his latest proposal to end the war in Ukraine, former President Donald Trump reportedly offered Vladimir Putin a dangerous concession: de jure recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The proposal appears to accept the idea that Crimea was once part of Russia and that returning it to Russia would restore historical justice.
This logic is not just politically reckless, it is historically and legally indefensible. It echoes the imperial narrative Putin himself has long advanced: that modern Russia is the rightful heir to the entire Russian Empire[snip]
Crimea was never part of Russia, and the Russian Federation is not a successor to the entire Russian Empire.
In George Floyd: did a police administrator commit perjury? I wrote of the probability Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell committed perjury to ensure former MPD officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction in the self-inflicted death of George Floyd. I wrote in part:
Fourteen current and former police officers with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) have signed sworn declarations [snip] say they believe Blackwell perjured herself when she testified in court that the restraint method Chauvin used to subdue George Floyd in May 2020 was not a part of MPD officer training. In that trial, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder[snip]
Over 100 illegal immigrants arrested in
Colorado Springs massive underground nightclub raid 4 replies
Colorado Springs massive underground nightclub raid 4 replies
Federal authorities announced Sunday that more than a hundred illegal immigrants were detained in a massive raid at an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs that officials say was "frequented by TdA and MS-13 terrorists."
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Rocky Mountain Division led a multi-agency operation early Sunday morning and arrested 114 illegal immigrants at the venue that contained more than 200 people inside.
Authorities uncovered drugs, including pink cocaine, as well as evidence of prostitution and multiple firearms during the operation, according to the DEA.
This week marks the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the start of the Revolutionary War. Farmers, tradesmen, laborers, and mariners–Americans of all stripes–came together to defend themselves against the most professional army in the world.
April 19, 1775, marked the beginning of an epic journey for a band of brothers who risked EVERYTHING for a nation yet to be born. Over the course of nearly eight years, many of these Americans marched thousands of miles, often shoeless, unpaid, and starving, to fight for freedom and liberties most Americans today take for granted.
The biological mother of accused Florida State University shooter Phoenix Ikner kidnapped him and fled to Norway amid a bitter custody battle a decade before the deadly shooting, court documents reveal.
Anne-Mari Eriksen took her then-11-year-old son to the Scandinavian nation in March 2015 in violation of the custody agreement she had with Christopher Ikner — after telling the father she was taking him to South Florida for spring break, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office viewed by The Post.
Eriksen and Phoenix Ikner — who at the time went by his birth name, Christian Gunnar Eriksen — both have American and Norwegian citizenship.
Stellantis is halting production at two manufacturing plants, one in Canada and another in Mexico, just a day after President Donald Trump announced 25-percent tariffs on all foreign-made cars.
During a speech in the Rose Garden on Wednesday evening, Trump announced the auto tariff and the United States reciprocal tariffs, marking an end to the nation’s decades-long free trade policy that has eliminated millions of American manufacturing jobs.
Stellantis, whose former CEO Carlos Tavares was the highest paid auto executive — raking in nearly $40 million annually before his resignation in December of last year — has announced that its Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada,
One of the virtues of being a mentally healthy person in an honest society is that you don’t have to deal with cognitive dissonance. That is, there are no moments when you are forced to accept two entirely conflicting facts or values. Instead, you have the mental freedom to work through the conflict and come out with an honest evaluation.
When people lack that honesty and liberty, the only refuge is delusions and heartfelt lies to themselves. That shows up in a very funny video from February that’s starting to gain deserved traction.
A Ph.D. in ‘Molecular and Cell Biology’
shows the difference between credentials
and knowledge 8 replies
shows the difference between credentials
and knowledge 8 replies
A leftist characteristic is the willingness to bend reality to political ends—and nobody does it better than the credentialed class. Indeed, the more credentialed, the better at bending. Two examples will suffice: The first is a PolySci major insisting that women are every bit as fast and strong as men, which could be laughed off by saying she’s not a science major. However, the second example is a man with a Ph.D. in “Molecular and Cell Biology” denying that race exists.
Democrat Pennsylvania State Sen. Lindsey Williams [snip] defended men in women’s sports by insisting that “female bodies are just as strong, fast, and capable as male bodies.”
Criminal attack? You're on your own
3 replies
My first article for American Thinker, on 12-13-23, was The police won’t protect you; you’re on your own. It was about Castle Rock v. Gonzales (US Supreme Court, 2005).
On June 22, 1999 at 5:00 PM in Castle Rock, Colorado, Jessica Gonzalez’s three daughters, 7, 9, and 10, were playing in her yard. Violating a custody agreement and restraining order her estranged husband took the girls without her knowledge. At 7:30 PM Jessica called the police. She showed them copies of the custody agreement and the restraining order and begged them to return her daughters
An Israeli biotech firm says it is nearing human trials for a breakthrough drug that could extend human lifespan by up to 30 percent by targeting the age-regulating protein SIRT-6, which the company says would also improve brain function, organ health, and overall vitality.
On Friday, Israeli news site N12 reported that Tel Aviv-based Sirtlab is preparing to launch clinical trials on a drug designed to stimulate SIRT-6, a protein associated with youth, vitality, and disease resistance. The treatment could be available within three years, pending successful trials and regulatory approval.
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New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen, who campaigned for Kamala Harris in 2024 and for every Democrat presidential nominee since John Kerry, had an epic show-long meltdown at the opening concert for his European tour in Manchester, England, Wednesday night over President Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the presidency.
Springsteen called Trump and his administration, “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous,” and an “unfit president and a rogue government,” among many criticisms.
Not a word by Springsteen about Trump working to bring good paying blue collar jobs back to America for the people whom Springsteen has made a career out of channeling their economic woes,
Walmart to Raise Prices Because of Tariffs
23 replies
Walmart said Thursday it plans to raise prices on some goods beginning later this month, in response to President Trump’s tariffs.
“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is expected to say during a Thursday earnings call, according to prepared remarks obtained by several media outlets.
The U.S. and China agreed earlier this week to lower their respective reciprocal tariffs for 90 days as they look to end a bruising trade war
BREAKING: James Comey Appears to Call
For the Assassination of President Trump
in Social Media Post 21 replies
For the Assassination of President Trump
in Social Media Post 21 replies
Did former FBI Director James Comey call for the assassination of President Trump?
James Comey posted a cryptic message to his Instagram account on Thursday spelled out in seashells: “86 47”
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey said in his caption. [Instagram]
Some interpreted Comey’s cryptic message as a serious threat. [Tweets]
It is no secret that James Comey despises President Trump.
Comey was fired as FBI Director by Trump in 2017 while he was leading an investigation into the president during his first term.
Shortly after the firing, it was revealed that James Comey penned several memos stemming from nine confidential conversations he had with President Trump.
On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe defended the church’s migration service refusing to resettle new migrants from South Africa and stated that “if you look at this decision, this is really about people who have jumped the line.”
Rowe said, “[L]ook at the thousands of people fleeing war and violence, people who are waking up dead around the world, people who have helped our military that are being left in camps on a daily basis while white Afrikaners have been fast-tracked. You’re right. It is about need. And if you look at this decision, this is really about people who have jumped the line.
The Secret Service is investigating after ex-FBI Director James Comey posted an Instagram photo of seashells arranged to make the numbers "86 47" — a message that White House officials swiftly condemned as an attempt to put out a "hit" against the 47th president.
Comey later deleted the post after online backlash from government officials, lawmakers and President Donald Trump’s son. Trump has faced two assassination attempts — one of which resulted in him being shot and a bystander being killed — in the past year.
The post including the alleged "hit" showed the numbers in question etched into the sand at a beach using seashells.
Ed Martin, the new DOJ pardon attorney and head of the Weaponization Working Group, isn’t wasting time. This week, he announced a review of the shady “autopen” pardons Joe Biden’s team rushed through in its final days. “These deserve some scrutiny,” he said.
That’s an understatement. As PJ Media has previously reported, Biden’s White House frequently used an autopen to sign executive orders and pardons, which raised serious doubts as to whether Biden was even involved in the process.
In March, the Oversight Project dropped a bombshell memo detailing 32 instances where the Biden White House used an autopen to sign off on clemency warrants —
As we reported, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, fired two officials on the National Intelligence Council: Mike Collins, the acting chair of the National Intelligence Council, and his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof, according to senior intelligence officials.
Gabbard also moved the agency under her office so she could block any "politicization of intelligence."
The execrable former CIA head John Brennan had a meltdown when he was asked by MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace about the situation. Look at how angry he is and the wild blinking. "This whole thing just makes me livid," he ranted.
The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to approve a sweeping package of minimum wage increases for workers in the tourism industry, despite objections from business leaders who warned that the region is already facing a slowdown in international travel. The proposal, billed by labor leaders as the highest minimum wage in the country, would require hotels with more than 60 rooms, as well as companies doing business at Los Angeles International Airport, to pay their workers $30 per hour by 2028. That translates to a 48% hike in the minimum wage for hotel employees over three years. Airport workers
A 15-year-old illegal immigrant who killed a Colorado drug rehab worker in a high-speed crash in a residential neighborhood was given a slap on the wrist by a Democratic prosecutor, endorsed by several prominent party members.
The juvenile Colombian national, who cannot be named due to state law, was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service for the July 2024 death of Kaitlyn Weaver.
Arapahoe County District Attorney Amy Padden offered the teen the plea deal if he admitted guilt in the deadly crash, promised to attend school and not break any more laws, CBS News Colorado reported.
Not long after Michelino Sunseri, a professional mountain runner, finished a race across Grand Teton last fall, he found himself on the receiving end of a Justice Department criminal charge. His offense? Running on a closed trail, for which he could end up serving six months in jail.
We are not making this up.
Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to prevent such gross abuses. It is one of the most important – and underappreciated – actions he’s taken.
The “crime” Sunseri committed wasn’t a federal law passed by Congress. It was a crime invented by the National Park Service – one of some 300,000
Democratic Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar dropped his ill-fated effort to force the House to vote on his impeachment resolution against President Donald Trump following widespread pressure from Democrats to stand down. Thanedar, an embattled two-term lawmaker facing a primary challenge from the left, filed a privileged resolution Tuesday that would have forced House Democrats to vote on seven articles of impeachment brought against the president. Thanedar’s decision to cave to House Democratic leadership and not trigger a vote Wednesday, comes as Democrats viewed his impeachment effort as a distraction from the conference’s united opposition against the president’s “one big, beautiful bill.”
In 2023, Germany shuttered its last nuclear plant, and in 2024, wind energy became the nation’s largest single source of electricity, supplying 31.9%. But now it’s 2025, and as the staff at Remix News reported yesterday, “Germany’s wind lull is slamming electricity production” and creating losses in the millions.
Here’s the story:
Germany: Wind power firms face millions in losses as wind speed drops to 50-year low
The wind speed average has dropped below less than 5.5 meters per second in the first quarter of 2025, according to [the] German Meteorological Service (DWD).
Comments:
Spain is insisting on choosing the most expensive, complex and untested way to try to bandaid their crap-design grid system, while carefully avoiding the OBVIOUS fix of less solar, wind and other fraudulent, unreliable "power sources" and more reliable, affordable, proven conventional power plants.