Blackout Britain threat rises on collapse of Norwegian government
Britain’s increasingly dangerous reliance on imported electricity has just gone up another notch with the collapse of Norway’s Government.
The Telegraph reports:
Britain risks being left more vulnerable to blackouts as a political row in Norway over power exports escalates.
The Norwegian government collapsed this week following a row over EU green energy laws. A junior coalition partner in the government quit in protest at plans to implement the policies, amid a broader rise in energy nationalism in the country.
Experts said the collapse raised questions over Britain’s reliance on Norwegian energy imports to keep the lights on. Last weekend, Norway accounted for 4pc of the UK’s power, coming via cables that run under the North Sea.
Kathryn Porter, an energy consultant at Watt-Logic, said there was “increasing pressure” on Oslo to re-evaluate its relationship with the UK on electricity.
Before the Norwegian coalition’s collapse, both governing parties had signalled they wanted to end a deal to supply Denmark with electricity and renegotiate deals with the UK and Germany.
Norway is a key source of electricity for Britain when the nation’s own power supplies dip. Norway generates energy from its hydroelectric power facilities, which offer a stable source of electricity in contrast to intermittent solar and wind.
A backlash over high energy prices in the country has increased pressure to cut electricity links into Europe. The country is set to go to the polls in September, with the issue expected to be front and centre of debates.
The 1400 MW North Sea Link is currently running flat out.
The issue is a very simple one, as far as Norway’s voters are concerned.
When electricity is in short supply in Germany, Denmark or Britain, demand for Norway’s power rises, pushing up prices for Norway’s consumers as a result.
It is unlikely that Norway would simply switch the interconnector off, but we may have to pay a lot more for it.
I’m not even going to comment on this latest absurd report from The Mail. It shows just how far the MSM has descended into oublishing such puerile nonsense. It is little wonder that very few people now believe what the media tells them anymore.
The summer of 2022 was not even as hot as 1976, which rather destroys the narrative.
But where do they get the idea that Storm Eowyn was caused by climate change?
As a minute’s research would have told the pathetic journalist who wrote this drivel, Eowyn was a run of the mill storm, the sort which has happened many times in the past.
But it certainly proves the point of what I have been saying for years now – that the Met Office’s naming of storms and the use of recently introduced clifftop and hilltop sites to produce scary headlines has now created an atmosphere of hysteria, upon which the corrupt media feed.
Of course, I might be wrong.
But I have not seen anything from the Met Office so far that puts Eowyn into perspective, or acknowledges the fact that there is no trend towards more intense or frequent storms.
Indeed, they have just published a new post on their blog, “Is further stormy weather on the way?”, which would have offered the chance to put the record straight.
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Amanda Lefton, the former director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), went to work for a major offshore wind company after the agency boosted the industry and worked to limit offshore fossil fuel development on her watch.
Lefton spearheaded the Biden administration’s effort to build out 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity along America’s coasts by 2030 in her capacity as the leader of BOEM, playing a key role in the administration’s all-of-government offshore wind push from February 2021 to February 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. She then went to work on green energy-related issues for Foley Hoag LLC — a major D.C. law firm — for approximately six months and then joined RWE, a major player in the offshore wind space, as the head of development for the east coast in July 2023.
This is hardly surprising given the incestuous relations between the Biden BOEM and the wind industry. On Ms. Lefton’s watch the agency helped rush the so-far disastrous Vineyard Wind project through. BOEM even waived the financial assurance requirements intended to protect the taxpayers from the costs of decommissioning the project when complete (while, in the Gulf, it was modifying those same requirements in an attempt to drive small oil and gas companies out of business),” Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Former Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau, her boss during most of her tenure at BOEM, had previously represented Vineyard Wind. This revolving door has been spinning everywhere the Biden administration and the climate sector meet. The players remain the same, the only thing that changes is who signs the paychecks.” (RELATED: Revolving Door: It Took CNN Less Than 48 Hours To Hire Comey’s Assistant)
Dem Senator Who Decried ‘Revolving Door’ Poses With Lobbyists Who Donated To Her Campaignhttps://t.co/ZuJkFb601w
RWE is headquartered in Germany, but it has offices in New York City and other American cities. The company became the largest offshore wind leaseholder in the New York Bight lease area in 2022, the same year it won a lease for floating offshore wind development off the coast of Northern California.
“RWE abides by all conflict-of-interest laws and regulations,” a RWE spokesperson told the DCNF when reached for comment on behalf of Lefton. The company did not address questions about Lefton’s compensation or whether her intimate knowledge of BOEM played any role in the firm’s decision to hire her.
Sam Eaton, the CEO of RWE Offshore Holdings, praised Lefton’s “know-how navigating all levels of government” that helped lead to approvals for two major offshore wind farms in her tenure at BOEM in a statement addressing her hiring.
As Chamberlain noted in his statement, Lefton ran BOEM when the agency greenlit the massive Vineyard Wind development off the coast of Nantucket in May 2021. Lefton said at the time that the Vineyard Wind approval “represents the power of a government-wide approach to offshore wind permitting, taking stakeholder ideas and concerns into consideration every step of the way.”
However, Vineyard Wind later became the subject of controversy when one of the development’s turbine blades malfunctioned, fractured and fell into the Atlantic. The resulting debris floated its way to nearby beaches, forcing their closure as workers cleared the pollution and enraging locals.
Moreover, BOEM finalized the most restrictive five-year schedule for oil and gas leasing in modern U.S history in December 2023. While Lefton was no longer running the agency at that point in time, BOEM published the schedule approximately 500 days late, meaning that the agency was dragging its feet on the oil and gas leasing schedule while Lefton was in charge of BOEM.
Lefton is also an on-the-record opponent of the continued long-term use of fossil fuels, telling E&E News in May 2022 that “we have to transition to clean renewable energy in order to fight climate change” and that she favors policies like incorporating climate costs into oil and gas leasing analyses and making use of the social cost of carbon metric. The outlet later reported on Jan. 24 that Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering nominating Lefton to run the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
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According to internal communications obtained by ABC News, USDA Director of Digital Communications Peter Rhee instructed staff to “identify and archive or unpublish any landing pages focused on climate change” by a specified deadline. This directive categorizes content into tiers based on the prominence of climate change discussions, ensuring a thorough and systematic review.
This initiative is reminiscent of previous efforts during Trump’s first term, where federal agencies were prompted to reassess and often remove climate-related content. Such actions reflect a consistent approach to eliminating what the administration views as unsubstantiated claims that could impede economic development.
Reaffirming Commitment to Energy Independence
In a series of executive orders, President Trump has taken significant steps to bolster America’s energy sector. By declaring a national energy emergency, the administration has paved the way for expedited approvals of energy projects, particularly in oil, gas, uranium, and geothermal industries. This move is designed to cut through bureaucratic red tape, facilitating the construction of natural gas pipelines and nuclear power plants.
Critics argue that these actions will exacerbate environmental degradation and accelerate climate change. However, the administration maintains that a balance can be struck between environmental stewardship and economic growth. By focusing on deregulation and promoting energy independence, the administration aims to reduce consumer costs and enhance national security.
The appointment of Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary further underscores this commitment. Tasked with boosting fossil fuel production, Burgum emphasizes the potential benefits of energy development, including promoting peace and reducing consumer costs. This perspective challenges the prevailing narrative that prioritizes renewable energy sources, advocating instead for a diversified energy strategy that includes reliable sources like coal and nuclear power.
Conclusion
The Trump administration’s recent actions reflect a steadfast dedication to reevaluating and often reversing policies that it perceives as hindrances to economic prosperity. By removing climate change references from USDA websites, expediting energy projects, and withdrawing from international climate agreements, the administration is charting a course that prioritizes national interests and economic growth. While these moves are contentious, they underscore a broader commitment to challenging established narratives and promoting a pragmatic approach to environmental policy.
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